Although it was officially a day off, yesterday was full on and by the time I'd done all my stuff, I had a window of about an hour and a half for practice.  This is my challenge, to shrink it all down into less time.  As I began I instinctively closed my sheet music and played the first 2 pages slowly from memory just to see what would happen.  I was pleasantly surprised that it was correct, so by going with my gut rather than practice in a certain prescribed way, I was able to save a lot of time and work efficiently without falling into my customary trap of "it's all s**t".  I'm one of those musicians who loves practicing (at one stage I loved it more than I did performing) and would gladly spend all day befriending each note, rolling them around in my fingers and ears.  Unfortunately practice doesn't pay the mortgage, and it doesn't make perfect either, actually.  As I worked through my music, I identified any danger areas, hesitations and issues that had arisen on Tuesday.  Knowing what sort of sound is required (even notes with no "ping" on the last note of the arpeggios - that can be hard when you're playing with gusto) helps narrow things down.  I'm always fascinated with the process between accepting work and the end result.  It often feels to me like that humungous exotic splurge of notes is never going to come together, and I love those final days before a performance and the conciseness they bring.  Personal practice is insular by definition and I like the shift in focus from home work to sectional to the spectacular moment when I'm allowed to join in with all the others.  It feels like a big musical shindig!

After practice I headed to the pool for my exercise fix, and every time I go I jump in further and further towards the deep end - it's the only way I can do it now, none of this tip-toeing down the steps nonsense.  Besides, if I jumped in the shallow end I might do myself an injury!  I usually go on a Tuesday and Thursday but could only fit in Wednesday this week, and it was a different instructor.  She scared me from word go!  I think they have to be quite shouty to be heard above the frantic torso-thrashing splashing and energetic music and it takes me a couple of sessions to get into an instructor's groove so to speak.  I just couldn't get into the rhythm at all, I felt no flow.  The class was full and I was too close to two women who were yakking away all the way through the class - how can they do the moves and talk?!  After 20 minutes I was wishing it was over and I kept looking at the clock.  I'm still glad I went - it's never easy but the long-lasting feel-good factor afterwards is worth the effort AND there was the added bonus of a hot bloke sitting waiting for the next class as I got out...  Hmmm.  I might go again next Wednesday.

Today felt a bit strange in that we were only required for the first half of the morning rehearsal and the same in the afternoon.  This meant that we played around 10 bars in total at the end of Act 1, I could count the notes but I'm not going to, not many in any case.  Feast or famine.  Not a single pedal change.  Not to worry - Wagner more than makes up for it in Act 3.  My back feels much better tonight.  I took 3 seat pads with me to see if I could resolve my chair height issue but it still didn't feel high enough.  Shy bairns get nowt and as I enquired about the possibility of using a piano stool for the performances, those lovely orchestra attendants soon provided me with an unusually spare cello chair which made all the difference.

It was good to have an early finish and I'm enjoying some time catching up at home - I feel a bit tired and in need of a creative feed and as a night owl, as early a night as I can muster.  My spirits were raised when I spotted yours truly in the garden when I got in (WARNING - the following footage contains scenes of a feline nature):

See what I mean about her tail making an umbrella handle shape?  Almost a fortnight after her tests she's looking much better and has filled out thank goodness.  

AND I nailed the online parking!