I listened to:

"On The Transmigration of Souls" composed by John Adams and performed by The New York Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Lorin Maazel. This piece was commisioned in memory of 9/11.

-Richard

I am showing another spectacular sports video. This is one is from a One Day Cricket match between England and Australia in 2005. It is an amazing catch by Durham and England's Paul Collingwood. The bowler is another Durham player, Stephen Harminson.


Best Catch - video powered by Metacafe

-Richard

One of the hard things about living away so far from home is the distance from friends and family. This is generally ok, and due to the fact that I know the choice that I/we made to move to the US was the right one, it is something that I do not often dwell on. However, the things that really are difficult are when major life events happen to those I love. By this I mean marriages, kids, sickness etc...

So far I have missed the weddings of my two brothers, my best friends, my Grandma being sick and dying and children being born and growing up. My youngest brother, Phillip and his wife Sam have two children, Lucy and Andrew who have never met me. They are growing up very quickly. However, at least, with the advent of the internet and digital technology it is possible to keep involved electronically. Recently, after my parents visited, we sent some presents back for them. Philip sent me some photos which are posted here (Andrew top left, Lucy bottom right).

-Richard

Score Update:

International Cricket: England beat the West Indies by 3 wickets. ICC Champions Trophy. England are eliminated.

Rugby Union: Frederick 20 Raleigh 21 MARFU Divsion II South.

Football: Hartlepool United 0 Darlington 0. League 2. Pools drop to 14th place.

American Football: Dallas Cowboys 22 New York Giants 36. The Giants move to 4-2 and 1st place in the NFC East Division.

Ice Hockey: Carolina Hurricanes 5 Atlanta Thrashers 4 (Over-time)
Tampa Bay Lightening 5 Carolina Hurricanes 1
Carolina Hurricanes 6 Tampa Bay Lightening 4. Canes have 12 points and are 2nd place in the South-East Division, 7 points behind Division Leader, Atlanta Thrashers.

Baskeball: Miami Heat 71 Houston Rockets 96. Pre-Season
Orlando Magic 94 Houston Rockets 90. Pre-Season

College (American) Football: Texas Tech Red Raiders 31 Texas Longhorns 35. Texas improve to 8-1 overall and 5-0 in the Big 12. They are in 1st place in the Big 12 South Division and ranked 5th in the nation.
Oklahoma State Cowboys 41 Nebraska Cornhuskers 29. Nebraska fall to 6-3 overall and 3-2 in the Big 12. They are 2nd place in the Big 12 North Division and are ranked 20th in the nation.
Virginia Cavaliers 14 North Carolina State Wolfpack 7. NC State fall to 3-5 overall and 2-3 in the ACC. They are 5th place in the ACC Atlantic Division.

-Richard

Finished Reading:

"The Young Churchill" about book about Winston Churchill's life up to the age of 25 in 1900 when he first became a Member of Parliament (for Oldham). It is written by his son, Randolph Churchill.

-Richard

I listened to:

"The Planets" composed by Gustav Holst performed by the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Yan Pascal Tortelier.

-Richard

Petrushka

Snow falls,
Tree towers,
Balalika calls,
Love flowers,
Cossaks dance,
Tolstoy writes,
Ponies prance,
Northern lights,
Music dreams,
Audience claps,
Russian Scenes,
Reality back.

7th August 1991 - The Royal Albert Hall, London, England.

This short poem was written after listening to a performance of Stravinsky's Petrushka at a Prom concert.

-Richard

I listened to:

"Proverb" composed by Steve Reich performed by Theatre of Voices with members of The Steve Reich Ensemble conducted by Paul Hillier.
"Nagoya Marimbas" composed by Steve Reich performed by Bob Becker and James Preiss.
"City Life" composed by Steve Reich performed by The Steve Reich Ensemble conducted by Bradley Lubman.

"Symphony No.3 in A minor (Scottish)" composed by Felix Mendelssohn performed by The BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra conducted by Osmo Vanska.
"Symphony No.1 in C" composed by Ludwig van Beethoven performed by The BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra conducted by Osno Vanska.

-Richard

Score Update:

International Cricket: India beat England by 4 wickets. ICC Champions Trophy
Australia beat England by 6 wickets. ICC Champions Trophy

Rugby Union: West Hartlepool 29 Horden 10. League Two North East. West stay in 2nd place.
Raleigh 26 Norfolk 17 MARFU Division II South
James River 3 Raleigh 62 MRFU Division II South. Raleigh are in 1st place.
Raleigh 26 Newport News 22 Friendly.

Football: Hartlepool United 3 Rotherham United 1. Johnstone's Paint Trophy
Chester City 2 Hartlepool United 1. League 2. Pools slip to 13th place.

American Football: Atlanta Falcons 14 New York Giants 27. The Giants improve to 3-2 and 1st place in the NFC East

Ice Hockey: Pittsburgh Penguins 1 Carolina Hurricanes 5
Tampa Bay Lightening 1 Carolina Hurricanes 5
Buffalo Sabres 5 Carolina Hurricanes 4
New York Islanders 4 Carolina Hurricanes 3 (over time). The Canes have 8 points and are in 3rd place in the South East Conference.

Basketball: Dallas Mavericks 69 Houston Rockets 72. Pre-Season
Houston Rockets 111 Millwaukee Bucks 97. Pre-Season
Houston Rockets 93 San Antonio Spurs 72. Pre-Season

College (American) Football: Texas Longhorns 63 Baylor Bears 31
Nebraska Cornhuskers 20 Texas Longhorns 22. Texas improve to 7-1 on the Season and 4-0 in the Big 12. They are in 1st place in the Big 12 South Division. They are ranked 5th in the Nation.
Kansas State Wilcats 3 Nebraska Cornhuskers 21
Nebraska Cornhuskera 20 Texas Longhorns 22. Nebraska are 6-2 overall and 3-1 in the Big 12. They are 2nd in the Big 12 North Division and are ranked 20th in the Nation.
Maryland Terrapins 26 North Carolina State Wolfpack 2o. State fall to 3-4 overall and 2-2 in the ACC. They are in 5th place in the ACC Atlantic Division.

-Richard

I listened to:

"Adagio for Strings (from String Quarter, op.11)", "Overture to 'The School for Scandal', op.5", "First Essay for Orchestra, op.12", "Music for a Scene from Shelley, op.7", "Second Essay for Orchestra, op.17" and "Symphony No.1 (in one movement), op.9". All were composed by Samuel Barber and performed by The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra conducted by David Zinman.

-Richard

Finished Reading:

"Sphere" by Michael Crichton.

-Richard

I listened to:

"String Quarter in G minor, Op.10" composed by Claude Debussy performed by The Lindsay String Quartet.
"String Quartet in F" composed by Maurice Ravel performed by The Lindsay String Quartet.
"Three pieces for String Quartet" composed by Igor Stravinsky performed by The Lindsay String Quartet.

-Richard

Finished Reading:

"Red Star Over China" written by American Journalist Edgar Snow.

-Richard

I was looking at some on-line videos and found one of arguably the greatest rugby try ever. It was scored by Gareth Edwards playing for the Barbarians against the New Zealand All Blacks in 1973. Watch and enjoy!!


The Greatest Try Ever - video powered by Metacafe

As I find some classic sports clips that mean something to me, or that I particularly enjoy I will also post them.

-Richard

The next cat we fostered was Stella. She was initially a very scared shy cat at our main foster home. I spent a lot of time with her and she started to trust me and used to come out to me. I think this was the point that discovered spending and time with scared, shy and semi-feral cats and getting them to be trusting, tame and eventually to a "forever" home became a passion of mine.

When her original foster home went through some minor renovations we took Stella as a foster cat. After about a year she found her home. A fantastic young lady who now is fostering Star for us. Stella is doing really, really well in her new home with some brothers and sisters. My work with her and the success of this is one of the inspiration along with Baby Boy as an inspiration to why I am so involved and so passionate about cat rescue.

-Richard

Score Update:

International Cricket: England beat Rajasthan Cricket Association XI by 144 runs. One Day International: Warm Up Match for the Champions Trophy.

International Football: England 0 Macedonia 0. Euro 2008 Group E Qualifier.
Croatia 2 England 0. Euro 2008 Group E. Qualifier. England are in 1st place with 7 points after 4 games.

Rugby Union: West Hartlepool 31 Hartlepool Rovers 14. League North 2 East. This is game I care about more than any other: West vs Rovers. This is the 125th year they have been at it.
Rochdale 0 West Hartlepool 19. League North 2 East. West move up to 2nd place in the table.

Football: Lincoln City 2 Hartlepool United 0. League Two.
Hartlepool United 1 Stockport County 1. League Two. Pools fall to 10th place in the table.

American Football: New York Giants 19 Washington Redskins 3. The Giants improve to 2-2 and 2nd place in the NFC East Division.

Rugby League: Hull 19 Bradford Bulls 12. Superleague Grand Final Play-off Elimination Game. Bradford are elminated to end their Season.

Ice Hockey: Carolina Hurricanes 2 Buffalo Sabres 3 (Over time loss)
New Jersey Devils 4 Carolina Hurricanes 0
Washington Capitals 5 Carolina Hurricanes 2
Florida Panthers 6 Carolina Hurricanes 3
Atlanta Thrashers 3 Carolina Hurricanes 4. The Canes have 3 points and are in third place in the South East Division of the Eastern Conference.

Basketball: Houston Rockets 69 Memphis Grizzlies 75. Pre-Season.
Houston Rockets 107 Atlanta Hawks 93. Pre-Season.

College (American) Football: Oklahoma Sooners 10 Texas Longhorns 28. Texas are 5-1 on the Season and 2-0 in the Big 12 and are in 1st place in the South Division. They are ranked 6th in the Country.
Iowa State Cyclones 14 Nebraska Cornhuskers 28. Nebraska are 5-1 on the Season and are 2-0 in the Big 12 and are in 2nd place in the North Division. They are ranked 21st in the Country.
North Carolina State Wolfpack 24 Florida State Seminoles 20
North Carolina State Wolfpack 23 Wake Forest Demon Deacons 25. NC State are 3-3 on the Season and 2-1 in the ACC. They are 4th place in the Atlantic Division.

-Richard

Snowflake unfortunatley lost one of foster cats, Sampson two weeks ago. He came to us when his owner died last year. He was, a sweet wonderful boy. After he'd been with us about a week his foster Mam at the time noticed he wasn't feeling well. We took him to our specialist vet. They diagnosed him with Lymphoma. We made the decision to treat him and he lived extremely happily for almost a year and half in a very special home, with a very special foster Mam who gave him all the love and attention he deserved. Finally he decided it was time to go leaving us a lot a very happy memories as well as a big hole because he impacted all the volunteers. I'm sure he is now playing with Baby Boy, Veronica and Adobe as well as a lot of other friends. He will be and is missed.

-Richard

I listened to:

"El Salon Mexico", "Dance Symphony", "Fanfare for the Common Man", "Four Dance Episodes from Rodeo" and "Appalachian Spring (1945 Suite)" all composed by Aaron Copeland performed by The Detroit Symphony Orchestra conducted by Antal Dorati.

"Symphony N0.2 (Mysterious Mountain)", "Prayer of St. Gregory", "Prelude and Quadruple Fugue", "And God Created Great Whales", "Alleluia and Fugue" and "Celestial Fantasy" all composed by Alan Hovhaness performed by The Seattle Symphony Orchestra conducted by Gerard Schwartz.

-Richard

I listened to:

"The Piano Concerto" composed by Michael Nyman performed by Katherine Stott (piano) and The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Michael Nyman.
"MGC (Musique a Grande Vitesse)" composed by Michael Nyman performed by The Michael Nyman Band and Orchestra conducted by Michael Nyman.

-Richard

The Promenanders

As the music rises and falls
In an atmosphere that calls,
Even the least ardent of souls,
Out of the everyday roles
That it has been deigned for them to play.
As they sit aroud they can be heard to say
The most beautiful thoughts and speeches,
The kind of talk that reaches
The heart of every man.
It is if their plan
Is to reach that schism
Of happiness, of delight - hedinism.

Unfortunatley this state of rapture,
Is gone at the finale. One can't recapture
Even a moment later.
As if the heart is left a crater,
A gap, a longing to be fulfilled;
The feelings of the world to be stilled.
The souls cry out just for peace
The music it seems is just a lease
As other things try
To reach that unknown high
That will again leave in time.
This scurvy needs a cure - it needs some lime!

27th July 1991 - The Royal Albert Hall, London, England.

This poem was written during a performance of Rimsky-Korsakov's Scherazade during the 1991 Prom Season.

-Richard

The next short poem was written whilst I was waiting outside Buckingham Palace for Louise and her parents to come out. Her Dad was the County Scout Leader for Cheshire and had been invited to one of The Queens garden parties. Etiquette states that the wife plus any un-married daughters are to attend.

On Guard

Not a movement, not a glimmer.
For a home a small black box,
Not a home of your own
It's shared with countless others
AS folks stand and stare.

In the summer it is stiffling
As bright red tunics buttoned up.
And tall hats made of fur
In the winter give no protection
To the wind, the rain, the snow.

But, no matter what
You stand there all alone
As dignatories in posh cars
Or guests all togged up
Seem to pass you unaware.

9th July 1991 - Buckingham Palace, London, England.

-Richard

I listened to:

"Violin Concerto" composed by John Adams and performed by Gidon Kramer (violin) and The London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Kent Nagano.
"Shaker Loops" composed by John Adams and performed by The Orchestra of St. Luke's conducted by John Adams.

-Richard

Poets Inspiration

I can see why
The poets where inspired
One can sit or lie
And let imagination be fired.
The powerful mountains that rise
Above a silvery, shinnering lake
Their grandeur and size
Proving all mans work just to be fake.

4th June 1991 - Ambleside, England

This was written whilst spending a summer vacation in the Lake District area of England with two of my College friends, Leon and Steph. The Lake District is home to the great English poet William Wordsworth as well as inspiring many others amongst them John Keats and Robbie Burns.

-Richard

The next poem I am going to post was written in response to seeing the starving and suffering Kurdish and Bangledeshi people on Television.

Pain


They stand on stage and sing
Claiming adulation as they dance
Not for themselves
They're millionaires:-
They want "us" to give to the suffering.

They stand there in Parliament,
Arguing like children just to score points
All for themselves.
They need votes:-
"Compassionate" aid is sent.

They go around the streets preaching
Like a competition to convert the most
All for themselves.
They want to get to Heaven:-
A hungry babe in screaching.

17th May 1991 - Ealing, London, England.

"The King will reply, "I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these you did not do for me". Then they will go away to Eternal punishment".

Matthew 26: 45,46.

-Richard

I listened to:

"Requiem, KV 626" composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart performed by the Academy and Chorus of St. Martin-in-the-Fields conducted by Sir Neville Marriner.

-Richard

The next cats we fostered were/are Fred and Barney. They were returned because of health problems. They were adopted out together as kittens and came back together because Fred had food allergies. Due to the fact that they had to be on special food they had to be kept seperate so when Baby Boy was adopted out we agreed to take them. That was in October 2003 and they are still with us. It became apparant that their health problems were much more chronic. They need to be kept together and not mixed with other cats. They now live happily together in my office at home. They are still up for adoption. However, due, to the health issues and the fact that they need to go together makes it very unlikely that they will and that they will be my office cats for some time to come.

This photo of the boys was taken by a professional photgrapher who has volunteered to take photos for Snowflake. Her name is Katie Seitz and her web-site is found here.

-Richard

Score Update:

Rugby Union: Percy Park 10 West Hartlepool 36 League North Two East. West move up to 3rd place.
Rocky Gorge 20 Raleigh 20. MARFU Division II South. Raleigh are in 1st place.

Football: Grimsby Town 1 Hartlepool United 4. League 2
Hartlepool United 3 Wrexham 0. League 2. Pools move up to 7th place.

American Football: Seatle Seahawks 42 New York Giants 30. The Giants fall to 1-2 and 4th place in the NFC East Division.

Rugby League: Bradford Bulls 40 Warrington Wolves 24. Superleague Play-offs.

Ice Hockey: Columbus Blue Jackets 4 Carolina Hurricanes 2. Pre-Season.
Carolina Hurricanes 1 Columbus Blue Jackets 4. Pre-Season.
Washington Capitals 2 Carolina Hurricanes 4. Pre-Season.

Baseball: Philadelphia Phillies 4 Houston Astros 5.
Pittsburgh Pirates 4 Houston Astros 5.
Pittsburgh Pirates 4 Houston Astros 7.
Piitsburgh Pirates 6 Houston Astros 7.
Pittsburgh Pirates 0 Houston Astros 3.
Atlanta Braves 4 Houston Astros 1.
Atlanta Braves 4 Houston Astros 5.
Atlanta Braves 3 Houston Astros 1. The Astros improved t0 82-80, but, despite closing the gap onto the St.Louis Cardinals to 1 1/2 games. A little to late. The Astros finish the Season in second place in the National League Central Division and fail to make the play-offs.

College (American) Football: Texas Longhorns 56 Sam Houston State Bearkats 3. Texas are 4-1 on the Season, 1-0 in the Big 12 Conference South and in 1st place. They are ranked 7th in the Country.
Nebraska Cornhuskers 39 Kansas Jayhawks 32. Nebraksa have an overall record of 4-1 and one and a Big 12 Conference record of 1-0. They are 1st place in the Big 12 North and are ranked 22nd in the country.
North Carolina State Wolfpack 17 Boston College College Eagles 15. NC State have a record of 2-2 and are 1-0 in the ACC. They are in 1st place in the Atlantic Division of the ACC.

-Richard