corollary

Entry #234

Listening to:

Arnold, symphony no. 7, Op. 113. This recording is of the National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland, conducted by Andrew Penny, on Naxos. It says that it was ``recorded in the presence of the composer''. It's still a little strange and new to me, but I think it's a piece I'm going to like.

Just read:

Felix Barker and Peter Jackson, The history of London in maps. This book is a survey of London's history as a city, as portrayed by a long series of maps. As the chronology progresses, it's neat to see the city grow across the countryside. For example, what is now Euston Road near King's Cross and Euston Stations was originally conceived as a London bypass and called the New Road. It went through fields, and nearby estate owners complained that dust from the traffic would adversely affect their animals. (See also here for an aerial photograph of the area.)

The book covers all of the ``usual things'': the Great Fire of 1666, the Great Exhibition of 1851, the Blitz in WW2, as well as a slew of others, like maps put together in the 19th century for cab passengers to use to calculate distances and thus correct fares (just in case their driver was cheating them; there were no meters in cabs until after 1900). All of the maps are accompanied by prints, paintings and photos of relevant things as well. The closing map is of the Docklands area, which seems a little prosaic, but it probably was the most extensive change to the large-scale structure of London in the early 1990s, when the book was published. The narrative thread is a bit disjointed, presumably because the available material dominated what was to be said.

Now reading:

Kenneth Clark, Civilisation; a book based on a famous BBC TV series from 1969.