Another flooded river

Tuesday 11th

Holy Trinity Church, Micklegate, York

Seascape by Henry Moore (1831-1895)

The River Ouse that flows through York is often flooded in winter; this week's floods are worse than usual, but so far not as extreme as the floods they had here in 2015. After walking through Micklegate Bar, the 14th century stone gateway to the city that stands near our hotel, and passing an old church with masses of snowdrops blooming in the grass around it. I crossed the Ouse Bridge and saw the high water again. My breakfast was at Betty's, the deservedly famous tearoom, although his morning I ordered a coffee and croissant with jam and butter + pain au chocolat, which came elegantly served on a tiered cake stand. I shan't be breakfasting here every morning I'm in York; that would be too extravagant, but today's a day for treating myself while Chris is busy at Day 1 of the annual SCSC conference which I dare say he is enjoying.

Continued later:

Alfred Wolmark

Today I visited the Art Gallery (for an exhibition of paintings of the sea), remembering having seen pieces from their permanent collection before, such as the "HANDS ON" busts (i.e. visitors may touch them) of Paul Robeson by Epstein and of Alfred Wolmark by Gaudier-Brzeska, "a daring and unusual sculpture", as its label says. The subject of the latter was killed in the 1st World War. I like John Piper's painting of the cliffs at Lulworth, too, which stands out from the other paintings on that wall. The gallery includes a recent painting (2017) by the Iraqi painter Mohammed Sami, entitled British American Scarecrow, symbolically political. Some ceramics by Picasso were on display, besides.

Landscape by John Piper

The Iraqi painting

After an exhausted lie-down at the hotel, I went out again to sit in the choir stalls of the Minster for the Evensong service, in which the boys of the choir in their smocked cassocks chanted the Psalms of the day, with very clear articulation and some relish:

O God, thou hast cast us off, thou hast scattered us, thou hast been displeased; [...] Thou hast made the earth to tremble; thou hast broken it: heal the breaches thereof; for it shaketh. [...] Moab is my washpot; over Edom will I cast out my shoe ...

Waiting for Evensong to start,
at York Minster

 The responses were sung in Plainsong style and the Magnificat and Nunc Dimitis came from Quinney's "Short Service". When it came to the Anthem for the day, the boys sang Mozart's aria Agnus Dei from the Coronation Mass, in unison, very musically. It does them so much good to learn and imbibe music of this calibre at a young age; they'll never forget it. The massive organ in York Minster is under reconstruction; the organist used a substitute one, not as resonant.

Then, blasted by the bitter winter wind and rain, I found Chris and some of his colleagues by gate-crashing their Drinks Tasting reception and exhibition; then we escaped for a Thai supper, Sally and Rob joining us once more. Monday evening we'd been at Los Vaqueiros, a Brazillian red meat restaurant with imaginative salads.