Great War Symphony at the Royal Albert Hall

Royal Albert Hall – Great War Symphony

There was a strange concert at the Royal Albert Hall in early October, at times moving but often disconcerting. It was a programme of music marking the end of WW1, including a new choral symphony composed by the conductor for the evening, Patrick Hawes.

The Regent's Canal

The Regent’s Canal

I’ve known the Regent’s Canal, which describes a 200 hundred year old, East-West arc through London just to the north of the centre, for many years.

When I worked on the northern edge of the city of London, it was easy to reach for a lunchtime jog. It is also part of the least stressful route for cycling from further north to Limehouse, where the canal joins the Thames, and thence through Canary Wharf down to the Greenwich Foot Tunnel (firebombed in the zombie film 28 Weeks Later).

"Magic Realism" at Tate `Modern

Magic Realism at Tate Modern

The Exhibition’s title, Magic Realism, is a little pedantic, obscure, and perhaps misleading. The subtitle, however, cuts to the chase: Art in Weimar Germany 1919-33. But the headline may have had the effect of enticing into the free display some of the meandering crowds of summer tourists, hoping for something rather more comic book than what is in fact on offer.

WG Sebald

WG Sebald

For some time, I’ve been aware of the name, WG Sebald. I was aware that he is highly regarded as a writer (the word “cult” is sometimes used in reference to him, in various combinations: cult following, cult writer – but that gives me a bit of the creeps). 

"Aftermath" at Tate Britain; Postcript - the Royal Academy's Great Spectacle

Aftermath at Tate Britain; Postscript - the Royal Academy's Great Spectacle - 250 Years of the Summer Exhibition

The Exhibition called Aftermath at Tate Britain is a strange affair. Its starting point is the First World War. The Exhibition claims to “explore the impact of the ..War on the art of Britain, France and Germany between 1916 and 1932”.

(Why those dates are chosen is something I’m still puzzling over. 1932 was the last full year of the Weimar Republic in Germany – Hitler came to power in 1933.)

Self-help from Aristotle

Self help from Aristotle

In my on/off time as a student of philosophy, I’ve always had an uneasy relationship with Aristotle. When an undergraduate, I think I avoided him altogether. Later, as a “mature” MA student, I quickly decided to concentrate on other areas of the Ethics syllabus, but not without some preliminary grapplings with lectures and texts concerning the great man.

John Gray in Conversation

John Gray in Conversation

I have written before about John Gray in a blog about liberalism and toleration (Feb 2016). To recap: Gray is a genial pessimist about human societies, but a staunch upholder of human decencies. He rebuts any notion of a benevolent Progress, or History, always moving humankind towards a better future.