Evening light

Today's music group session was in Rathgar, not a million miles from St Luke's hospital where I'm virtually camping out these days. We had the usual grand old time, with lots of wonderful and varied music and a revelation during the final 30-minute presentation (for those interested, it was Antonin Reicha's Octet for Winds and String Quartet, a work new to most of us).

On the spur of the moment, I decided to stop off in town rather than go directly home afterwards, largely because it was such a beautiful day. wandered around Stephen's Green and the maze of streets between it there and Aungier Street before plumping for a gin or two in the Westbury hotel. The upstairs bar there is nice and quiet and civilised, a nice spot to enjoy a few moments of calm and peace and quiet. There was a noisy wedding part in progress in the main seating area outside, and at one stage a guest came in to bar asking for a TV to be turned on so he and a mate could watch the rugby match involving Ulster. I actually spoke up and expressed my dissatisfaction at the idea of having a TV on, but I needn't have as it happens, since a manager type told the gentlemen that it was hotel policy not to have TV sets switched on (though they were told they could go downstairs to the café if they wanted to watch the match). Phew!

Afterwards I went on to one of the restaurants on Chatham Street for a pleasant-enough soup and pasta meal before eventually making my way back home. It was after I left the restaurant that I turned a corner onto York Street and got a glorious dose of evening sunlight, looking especially nice sining through the trees.

The rest of the evening was uneventful. TV probably, music definitely.