Through a Grill

A bit of a big day today for the Music Group. Thursday was the 200th Anniversary of the birth of Giuseppe Verdi, the great opera composer, so we devoted today's session exclusively to his music.

Despite being without my wrist cast, I still have a brace on my hand and I'm still in a sling, so I sent round an email appeal looking for someone in the group who'd pick me up and bring me to Balbriggan for the session. I got lots of offers, so had to disappoint some of my fans. Brian, first to offer, picked me up at 12:30, stopping on the way to pick up another of the gang.

We did Verdi proud. On occasions like this, I like to delve into the composer's composition list and choose out-of-the-ordinary offerings. I did that today, with a song and a movement from a string quartet. Filling our allocated ten minutes was a famous aria from Aida. Others opted for a mix of the familiar and the unfamiliar, including an excerpt from a wonderful new recording of the Verdi Requiem. A great day. Next on our special-day list is 23rd November, when we'll have a Britten Day in recognition of the centenary(!) of the birth of Benjamin Britten (actual date 22nd November).

Brian left me back home. I'd asked him to drop me off on a main road at a corner from where I could walk the rest of the way, but he insisted on leaving me to the door. I was feeling a bit restless later on and took myself off to a not-so-local pub for a relaxing Bulmers. So here I am, blipping yet another pub interior.