Liverpool International Music Festival 2013

Below find more footage I took of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic and Vasily Petrenko, opening the International Music Festival in Sefton Park.

I am not a big festival goer nor a big fan of bands but on discovering that the Philharmonic were performing at Sefton Park only 15 minutes drive from me, I knew I just had to go! On the Friday I was so very excited, I was like a child waiting for Father Christmas to visit! The rain stayed off and the music and setting was enthralling! I hope you think so too. 🙂

RLPO playing John Barry’s James Bond Theme.

RLPO playing Klaus Badelt’s Pirates of the Caribbean theme.

RLPO playing Holst’s Mars from the Planets.

Happiness is for Everyone.

Friday was the beginning of the August long weekend and AT LAST I have something more interesting to write about than garden birds! David with car packed full with deck chairs took my Mum, brother Daniel, his friend Paul and myself to Sefton Park to see the opening of the Liverpool International Music Festival.

First on the bill was the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and Vasily Petrenko. It was a must see and being free was not to be sniffed at! So sitting under a cloud laden sky we all eagerly awaited the beginning of the concert. The organisers said there were up to 10,000 people at the opening night and we were five of that 10,000!

The concert was presented by Jamie Crick of Classic FM fame and whom I thought was a little bit ditsy as he tripped over his words and also got the programme wrong on one occasion. The orchestra opened with the theme from James Bond and went on to Pirates of the Caribbean and the Ride of the Valkyries before culminating with Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture and at the crescendo a flurry of fireworks accompanied the rousing finale. The concert was enjoyed by all and we left the park feeling uplifted and happy.

On Saturday we left early for Manchester’s Trafford Centre where we spent 1.5 hours walking around the shopping mall. We were not shopping but talking pictures of the Elephant Parade, where there were 30 colourful painted elephants gracing the upper and lower levels of the mall. I loved all the varying artistic designs and also managed to purchase my own memento of the occasion though it knocked me back £45!

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Oh no!!

Today, with only working four hours I was home relatively early in the afternoon. The bird feeders again were full of the usual suspects, Goldfinches, House Sparrows, Starlings and Pigeons. However on closer inspection of the feeding station I noticed a little parcel on one of the mesh feeders. Wondering what it was I took a closer look and was horrified at what I saw!!

A Magpie must have been raiding a nest nearby and the package must have been dropped in my yard! (I can’t think of how else it could have got there!) What I saw was a cracked egg! I first thought that it must have been laid by a visiting Pigeon but on closer inspection, inside the shell was the ready formed body of a bird. My stomach lurched! I have never witnessed anything like this at the bird feeders!

Then later, I got nostalgic and started rooting amongst the videos on my Sony pocket camera. I came across a video I took when the Lindt Big Egg Hunt was in Liverpool. The egg was designed by artist Mikey Georgeson and I share the video with you. I particularly liked the small poem painted on it.

My gift to you then is an egg,
Not mine to give nor yourself to beg
If you want it then it’s yours
Hold it gently till it soars.

Baking for the Birds.

Saturday after a long morning of endless shopping. David went into the new house to fiddle with the bathroom floorboards while I cooked up a mess in the kitchen!

I melted down a block of lard in the microwave and then added chopped peanuts, dried fruit, mixed bird seed, oats and flour. I then popped the mixture into three small plastic cups with string drawn through the bottom (for hanging on branches) and waited for the fat to solidify again.

This morning I was watching with glee as 10 House Sparrows, yes 10! Were in the garden eating the fat balls. No wonder I am having to buy a box load each week!! The Sparrows really did have a bumper brood this year!!

For this evening the family have planned to order a nice Saffron curry. I can’t wait!! 😀

Mourning the Loss of Summer…

Is it just me or has this week been extra long….??

On the great British subject of the weather, it has been rather changeable this week.

My day off last Friday was a blur, as I was rather incapacitated with a migraine. Whether it was through hormones or alcohol who knows?

I have done a full 30 hour week at work this week and with this Friday being my day off (as I only work four days) I accompanied my mum to my brother’s house to visit his family. I loved playing with my two nephews Nathan and Aaron. I conversed with them as they played on the computer and for lunch I shared my tomato soup with Aaron who in turn shared his strawberry yoghurt with me. It was fun! 😀

I have been going through 50 fat balls a week recently as lots of Starling families have been visiting. There were at one count 15 Goldfinches. I am wondering whether this winter we will break the record of 20 Goldfinches visiting the feeders??

There were at least four House Sparrows in the yard the other day and walking to work on Monday I walked down a road and there were about 20 Sparrows all in the road foraging for food…

I know the seasons have changed as the afternoon sunlight through my bedroom window has changed direction. I just hope we get a breeze of an ‘Indian summer’ come the end of August just in time for the Liverpool Philharmonic to perform in Sefton Park, next Friday!

The concert includes:

Bizet Prelude to Carmen
John Williams Jurassic Park Theme
Klaus Badelt Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
Wagner The Ride of the Valkyries
Holst Mars from The Planets
Verdi Triumphal March from Aida
Prokofiev Montagues and Capulets from Romeo and Juliet
Tchaikovsky 1812 Overture
and much more great music…

Vasily Petrenko conductor 
Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra
Hosted by Jamie Crick, presenter of the weekday afternoon show Classic FM Requests. 

I simply can’t wait!!

This weekend I have nothing planned. David will probably want to complete the bathroom floorboards, while I, probably will enjoy a nice Costa coffee from my Tassimo machine 😀

Progress in the Garden.

Over the past weekend, David and I worked on finishing one half of the garden. Saturday was a pleasant day and we spent the afternoon putting soil into the designed walled garden and then planting the flowers and herbs.

Sunday was a very different affair. Whereas Saturday was nice and gentle the Sunday was hard work (on David’s part) and long for me. With finding woodworm in the bathroom, David had to take up the infected floorboards and then replace them with brand new ones ready for Rentokil to come out and spray the house. It looks better now!

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The beginning of August has seen a flurry of activity at the wild bird feeders. We have been inundated with young and adult Starlings and the Goldfinches have been bringing their hungry fledglings to the sunflower seeds. The video below is of a baby House Sparrow. The Sparrow is one of the many British birds that are in decline yet this year I have seen up to five Sparrows at one time on the feeders. The hot weather must have benefited them. I hope they continue to visit my yard as last year they only passed by on their way to more greener pastures.

Birthday Cheer and Gardening.

Today was David’s 39th birthday!! We celebrated by going to garden centres near Chester with his mum, dad and sister.

We have purchased lots of wildlife friendly plants for the garden. I am very happy with my small collection of herbs, amongst which I bought, Marjoram, Basil and Oregano. Today I came away from the garden centres with a Jasmine and a passion fruit! David got some plants for his alpine rockery.

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Amongst the plants I photographed a Peacock Butterfly, looking beautiful on a Buddleia and also spotted a Silver Y Moth!

On the way back home we crossed the Runcorn Bridge and I had to get my camera out to film the footage!