A few other events have occurred to welcome in the change of seasons... Dave was gone for the week of Valentine's Day, but made it up to me on the weekend with a visit to the Purple Poppadum on the far side of Cardiff. I didn't know until we starting walking there what I was in for... all Dave had told me was that I wasn't allowed to eat a big lunch. It was a bit intimidating when we first walked up the stairs and were greeted by swanky lighting and a sea of waiters and diners in suits while we had backpacks, but the crowd demographics shifted in our direction as the evening went on. Dave treated us to the Chef's tasting menu, which included perhaps the single best piece of chicken I have ever had in my life. There were exploding bitesize yogurt parcels (thank goodness the waiter told us to eat it in one bite!), salmon done three ways, three curries, lychee sorbet to cleanse the pallet, and chocolate ganache samosas... definitely remembering the chocolate ganache samosas. Thank you Dave!
| Foreground: exploding yogurt parcel. Green blob: best piece of chicken I have ever had. Background: happy Molly. |
| A shadowy Dave surrounded by gluttony... I think Dave had over 35 courses this week, when you combine the tasting menu with his week of Oxford dinners (and lunches)! |
| Green tea creme brulee, chocolate samosa, and tandoori pineapple (first pineapple I have ever really become infatuated with) |
In less gluttonous news, I have had some surprising musical developments. The director of the university chamber choir asked if I would perform something with them... he wouldn't give me any details until I met with him, perhaps because he figured the Sunday 8am performance time would scare most people off! But I am going to be making my radio debut... BBC radio 4 on March 11th at 8am, I will be the solo oboe accompanying Psalm 23 by Rutter. Live radio: I'm nervous but super psyched. For those with legal or quasi-legal access to BBC radio, tune in!
And lastly, a very happy St. David's Day from Cardiff... it's the St. Patrick's Day, the St. George's Day, the St. Andrew's Day, but of Wales. I went to a pub in the center of town, Owain Glyndwr, with a few friends from the uni orchestra. A violinist in that orchestra was going to be bringing her violin to the pub to join in some folk music. The evening was my first encounter with random pub folk music, which blankets the celtic countrysides but generally peters out when approaching the big cities. When we arrived there were bagpipes and bombards (very much like marching oboes, I would LOVE to try to play one!) that reflected more of Brittany's culture than Wales, but were impressive nonetheless. A pint in, and suddenly the table next to us (an older crowd) pulled out violins and flutes and a guitar and drum and began to play from their seat, sipping pints between numbers. I've never experienced that type of impromptu, expected music.... it was fantastic.
The pub devolved a bit into an open mic event, with younger pop singing and an American import playing Baby Got Back on banjo interrupting the folksy flow. Faint applause marked the otherwise unremarkable gaps in their performances. And then a more traditional group would stand up, say pipes and drums that knocked the roof off, and people were on their feet and cheering or singing along. The quieter folk players moved next door to a side room for a proper session of strictly Welsh music. Gwenno (the aforementioned violinist) invited me to come try someone's "pibgorn," which is an esoteric Welsh instrument with a brass-like mouthpiece and a reed hidden inside. I admit I sounded like a boy going through puberty, the way the pitches cracked uncontrollably, but it was highly entertaining to give it a go (even if it was in public, and a bit embarrassing!) Overall, a fantastic (and very Welsh, and slightly tipsy, and definitely excellent) night in Cardiff. Dydd Gwyl Dewi hapus!
