Music, good company and snow

So a busy Sunday. Off to Seaford Station on the icy pavements, but the trains were delayed or cancelled due to ice on the third rail and there was no foreseeable train for at least half an hour. This country going to the dogs etc. So we got a refund on our tickets, and decided to drive instead. As soon as we left the station and were almost home there was the galling sight of a train arriving. 

Nevertheless a pleasant drive to the University of Sussex where we met Paul and Dawn to see a fantastic French string quartet, The Quatuor Arod, The concert had been relocated from the usual concert hall to the Meeting House, a modern church building with effective stained glass in simple blocks of colour embedded in the encircling concrete of the round building. A lovely setting, although perishingly cold and everyone sat with their coats on, except for the four young guys in the quartet. 

First they played Mendelssohn's Op.44 No.1 with sparking competence, but the piece itself left me with the phrase 'much ado about nothing' in my head.  The next selection a modern piece by Benjamin Attahir  called Al 'Asr written in 2017, was gorgeous. The viola player told us the instructions to the piece suggested it be played as if in desert heat. Some laughter at this. There was a break of half an hour in which we wandered about the campus. I had an interesting conversation with Paul -- and told him about having rehearsed This concert will fall in love with you at this campus.

Then back, sitting in our hats and coats for part two. Two tiny radiators had been put either side of the viola player, as I saw him breathing on his hands and rubbing them together, and at one point in the first half he had dropped his bow, which I put down to being freezing. Anyway... the second half featured Debussy String Quartet No.1 which was absolutely full of colour and loveliness. Loved hearing the live music. Tickled to read too that the Quatuor were named after Legolas's horse in LoTR. 

From there we hurried back to our cars. Lorraine drove us off to the London Road car park in Brighton, and walked in the icy rain to Chilli Pickle opposite the Library to celebrate Catherine's birthday. 

However, the Papal one, Catherine, was not there due to feeling ill, so Tanya, Guy, Tim, Lorraine and I had a cheeky curry in her absence. The Chilli Pickle has definitely moved firmly down market from its deliciously quirky beginnings in the Lanes, but we had fun. Such good conversations with those folks.

As we strapped on our nosebags proper snow began falling in Brighton. And by the time we left, there was slushy snow everywhere. Guy, hailing from the north east, passed on some wisdom from his father to Lorraine about driving in the snow... Get into second gear as fast as you can.

The traffic out of Brighton was moving at walking pace, until we got onto the motorway,  and things sped up but people still driving at only around 45 mph. Seaford untouched by snow when we got gratefully home at 5pm. 

I called Mum and chatted to her and Mas. Very cold but no snow there. 

Lorraine and I stayed firmly indoors in the warm from then on.

Below driving past our old haunt of Preston Park north out of Brighton. Traffic moving at a snail's pace. The bus before us sliding about alarmingly a bit further down the road. Makes you wonder how the Canadians survive. There was absolutely no provision for snow made, no grit or salt or anything of that kind because snow in Brighton is a very rare event. Tanya making off after our meal, and Lorraine and I being snowed on.