Tuesday 8th March: Getting my camera back, Ralph Towner and Paolo Fresu concert

I woke up a bit tired. Had a sleep-in. Then I got lunch from the Portland Building. I was feeling pretty good about getting my camera back today. In the food area I saw Karlijn, Sarah (the Canadian I met at rambling two weeks ago. She is friends with all these people too), and Amelia. I talked with them for a while. Then I got a nutella and banana pancake. The line was very long.

Then I embarked on the journey to get my camera back. I had to get to the bus company headquarters and that was in some kind of industrial suburb on the other side of the city. I don't really like taking busses (having to work out what time they run, wait around, pay, etc), so I planned to walk there. I drew a rough map from google earth to help me find it. I thought I could go through a big carpark, but it was a fenced off area for a distribution centre. I found the place alright.

I asked the lady in the office about my camera. At first she was confused. Then she remembered. Then she couldn't remember where she'd put it. She said she'd put it somewhere safe and then forgotten the location. Then she found it! "Here it is." I had it back. Hooray!

Fairly dodgy picture, but it's the first I took after I got it back, and I was pretty happy about it.

After that I walked back a different route taking me through the city. I happened to find two guitar stores. I am still sort of looking for a guitar, so I had a look in the first store. Their cheapest acoustic was 150 pounds and he gave me the big spiel about how he really shouldn't sell it to me for that price but he will because the manager isn't around, and that it's a really great guitar. Nice try, sir. I didn't think it sounded that great. Sales guy isn't going to short change the store as an awesome favour to me after talking with me for 30 seconds. Ridiculous.

Just around the corner I found another music store. This one was a little bigger and so there was a better range. They had a room of acoustic guitars. I tried two nylon string guitars, 50 and 70 pounds. They didn't really suit the music I was playing. I played some steel string guitars. Two Squier's for 60 pounds each. I think they felt really good and had a pretty good sound. Then I tried two Fenders for 100 pounds each. They sounded a little better and had a slightly better feel. I also found another fender for 130 that included a bag and some other stuff. The body was smaller and the neck felt really great. Very fun guitar to play. I switched around between the guitars quite a lot and gradually remembered some of the songs I can play. I might like to buy one of the ones I played, but I'll have to think about it.

Walking through the city on my way home. They constructed this ferris wheel a month or so ago.

Then I walked home. Awesome traffic jam beside me as I was walking. It was 5:30pm. I got home and the dinner was really good. Lasagne, chips, peas, garlic bread, some kind of pudding with custard, and I drank lots of orange juice. At dinner I sat opposite Amanda and one of her friends called Liddy who I hadn't met before. She is in first year studying mathematics. Awesome.

I went back to my room and did some stuff. Then walked to the place where the Ralph Towner concert was going to be. It's on the campus.

Ralph played one set which last almost an hour. Previously I didn't know anything about the trumpet player who was with him. I thought that some youtube videos of  them together didn't sound very good. But in the live situation I had the opposite impression. He played very nice tasteful things. He also played a few different sorts of wind instruments for different kinds of sound. The combination of that with guitar was really nice. They complimented each other but each could be heard doing complex things on their own. I really like the sound of Ralph Towner. He's a very tasteful player. They played some of their originals plus some jazz standards in their own style.

Here is one of the tunes they played. I really liked how Paul Fresu played the melody on this one. They are great musicians to go and see.

At the intermission I went downstairs to get some water. I was very shocked to see Liddy there, the mathematician I'd met just a few hours earlier. They were enjoying the show too and were sitting in the row right in front of me. Strange statistical anomaly.

They played a second set lasting almost an hour again. Then went offstage. Then we clapped them back for an encoure. I went home and to sleep. It was a nice day.