text:
Economic development Networking SME/Major Groups Meetings
On one side there are the SMEs, essentially focused on innovation, and on the other are the major groups, who have the technical, human and financial resources to bring the innovation projects to market.
Given this situation, there is no doubt about the interdependence and complementarity that exist between SMEs and major groups.
Lyonbiopole is involved in facilitating interactions between major groups and SMEs by organising SME/Major Group meetings.


text:
With more than 25 years of experience, AirPlus is your business travel payment expert. We provide a complete range of advanced business travel payment and management solutions, including:
Assisting 46,500 corporations globally in managing their business travel spending. AirPlus is travel agency neutral, the leading issuer of UATP worldwide and the preferred partner of various Airlines.
As one of the high-end, innovative service industries brought in by the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce in 2008, AirPlus International officially established a wholly-owned subsidiary in Shanghai in January within the same year. It was the first time that the business travel payment management concept – a relatively unique business model then – was introduced to China market. After more than 8 years of rapid development, AirPlus International China has achieved double-digit annual growth rate for 7 consecutive years and an annual turnover exceeding RMB6 billion. Today, AirPlus International has more than 1,100 corporate customers in China, ranging from big European and American multinational corporations, large Chinese state-owned enterprises to large private Chinese multinational companies, thereby firmly establishing us as the leader in the business travel management industry in China.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
I love personalized items-note cards, pillows, key chains, wall hangings...and even if I have not made a personalized wall hanging for my son yet, I have made a few as gifts. Above is the most recent one that I made for a newborn baby of a friend. (Isn't Felicity a beautiful name?) It is really basic with just paint for the background instead of scrapbook paper. (I didn't want to clash with nursery decor.) For the lettering, I used a brown behind a green print that had brown and pink in it, though you would need to click the photo to enlarge it to see all of that.
You might notice the shiny glare...the Mod Podge I used was glossy. Next time I will use regular matte finish. The photograph shows just how imperfect it is...if you have any tips for keeping lettering straight while using Mod Podge, please share! I'm glad it was appreciated despite the flaws!
If interested in how to make a personalized wall hanging or changing it to a barrette holder, you can click the links.
Washington, D.C. Family Trip
With Washington, D.C. only a couple of hours away, our family took an
overnight trip to our nation's capitol. It was highly educational, but more
than that...


text:
Get Free recharge from Encashit app :
Wanna recharge your mobile.Looking for free recharge offer.Now get free recharge from Encashit app.
How to get free recharge from Encashit app :
- Click here to download Encashit app.
- Now sign up on Encashit app using your PayUmoney email id.Click on 'I have promo code' and enter PAYU100.
- Note that you'll need PayUmoney account to get free recharge.If you don't have PayUmoney account then click here to create new PayUmoney account. And use that email to sign up on Encashit app.
- After that verify your mobile no.
- That's it…..!!!! Within 24hrs. You'll get free 100 PayUmoney points (I.e. = Rs.10) in your PayUmoney account.
- You can also earn recharge by downloading apps and referring Encashit app to others.
Important Note : Use your PayUmoney account email id when sign up on Encashit app.


text: The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and the nearby airfields at Hawaii continues as death and devastation engulfs both men and machine. News of the horrible attacks reaches the Cahill family back in the United States. "?conveying to today s fans what life was like, both at war and at home during this turbulent era." - Comic Shop News.


text:
On a nice day there is nothing better than sitting and enjoying the breeze by an open window. While a window's primary purpose is to let light in and keep the environment out, a hinge allows you to open up the window when the weather calls for it. It's useful to look at some types of hinges and how they are used for windows.
Other People Are Reading
Butt hinges are the most common type of hinge for doors, but they are also installed in windows that have a wooden frame. Butt hinges are composed of two metal leaves that are fastened to abutting surfaces on a door or window and connected by a pin. You will have to cut recesses in the window and the window frame to install a butt hinge.
Continuous hinges
Continuous hinges are also known as piano hinges because of their appearance. Continuous hinges are composed of two leaves that run most of the length of the window, with a long pin running between them to hold them together. This is often the type of hinge used in the top of awning windows.
Center pivot hinges
Center pivot hinges are composed of two long metal leaves connected in the middle by a fastened bearing. These hinges are fastened to both sides of the window and allow it to rotate up to 360 degrees.
Parliament hinges
Parliament hinges look similar to butt hinges, but are a little longer--which allows the window to swing open wide enough to avoid trim. Parliament hinges are also ideal for deep-set casement windows.
Flush hinges
Flush hinges also look similar to butt hinges--and they function in nearly the same manner. The only difference is that in a flush hinge, one of the leaves fits inside of the other when the window is closed. This allows you to install the hinge right into the window and window jam without having to cut a recess.
Awning windows
In addition to being hinged at the top, awning windows also have a three- or four-bar hinge at the bottom. These prevent the window from opening too far and putting too much stress on the hinge, and also allow the window to stay open.


text:
Other Web-links related
to the Kingdom of Biffeche
Links to Other World-Wide-Web Sites
[Some of these links may be inactive, and active links become obsolete from time to time. Also some sites may be under construction. We regret any inconvenience.]
For French version of Kingdom of Biffeche web-page: Royaume de Biffeche.
The King (Our King is also King of Axim.)
The Université Gaston-Berger, a great university in Sénégal right near the Kingdom of Biffeche.
Republic of Sénégal Pages.
Republic of Mauritanie Pages.
Royalty of Sénégal Page: Waalo. Royalty of Sénégal Page: Cayor. H.M. the King of Sine, Sénégal .
H.M. King El Hadji Mbaye Badiane of Saloum, Sénégal.
H.R.H. the Prince Bethio (Beetyo) in Sénégal and Mauritanie.
The Kingdom of Diolof (Jolof), Sénégal. Royalty of Mauritanie Page: Trarza. Royalty of Mauritanie Page: Brakna.
Seydina Mame Alassan Ley, Khalife generale des Layenes (Lebou ruler in Sénégal).
Travel pages to get you to Biffeche quickly: Iberia Airlines Page. Air France page. SeneCarTours (car rental with driver in Sénégal). Hotel de la Poste, Saint-Louis, Sénégal. (Excellent hotel; the King often stays there.)
Maps of Biffeche area.
Find out the weather today in Biffeche and see the current satellite photograph of our skies.
Mention of Biffeche in old French documents.
Relevant Languages Sérér-Ndut language. Pulaar (Peulh, Fula) language. Wolof at UCLA. Arabic language. French-English dictionaries.
Other Links Research on the disease of the poor caused by Bilharzia in our snails: Schistosomiasis.
Biffeche Home Page
History of Biffeche | Current Events | Visiting Biffeche
People and Cultures | Frequently Asked Questions Help the People | King and Aristocracy
Royal Orders, Decorations and Knighthood | Links | Contact the Kingdom of Biffeche Visit the Kingdom of Axim website | Epic Song of Biffeche


text:
SoBeWFF's Oyster Bash: Shuck Buddies and a Sassy Ming Tsai
Ming Tsai created impromptu "Kir Royale" oyster shooters.
All photos by Zachary Fagenson
The person who roots for movie villains would've also hoped the Island Creek Oysters shucking team would collapse under the onslaught of boisterous, middle-aged food nerds at the South Beach Wine & Food Festival's Oyster Bash.
But cynics be damned. For two early-evening hours on Hotel Victor's roof on Friday the four-person squad mercilessly shucked hundreds of meaty, briny Virginica oysters. Despite the occasional bit of shell and a rare too-salty oyster the Island Creek team gave every amateur shucker in the building something to aspire to.
Island Creek shuckers. |
The two, four-foot-long rowboats filled with ice and some of the 6,000 oysters brought down from the Duxbury, Massachusetts, farm were the main event.
If you made early friends with one of the shuckers you could easily recoup the $95 ticket. Island Creek Founder Skip Bennett said they sell 100-count bags of oysters for $150, including shipping. If you're not cut out to save a few bucks and shuck them yourself, you'd likely pay $3 or $4 per piece at a restaurant. That meant eating just over 30 oysters would bring you near break-even territory. Challenge accepted.
Ming Tsai, chef and owner of the Blue Ginger near Boston, played the celebrity chef role to a tee: Hawking Double Cross Vodka for the crowd and cameras while dishing out oyster shooters with coconut water and the sponsored vodka infused with cilantro and chili.
Tsai threw a couple back with fans, said he could only take a few, and then had a couple more. He was loose enough to sass a few hecklers and a fellow chef. "Todd English is doing an event a few blocks over. Olive oil and bread for $12."
Grilled oyster. |
The best bite of the night was grilled oysters topped with a butter, black pepper and white wine sauce and Panko breadcrumbs. There was always a wait, though no line. Survival of the pushiest.
Fried oyster slider and lobster tacos. |
Two-bite tacos filled with buttery lobster knuckle meat were the runner up, mostly due to the orgiastic amount of lobster packed into each bite.
The Oyster Bash also seemed to be the party to hit for tourists dropping serious coin on multiple events. We ran into groups from Houston, Denver and New Jersey.
One Buffalo, New York, couple said they'd been trying to make it down for 10 years, and for their first festival were spending more than $5,000 on getting to Miami, The Q, Oyster Bash, Burger Bash, two days at the Grand Tasting Village and the porktastic Swine and Wine.
It's an ambitious itinerary, even for the well-connected, party-obsessed local.
For more follow Zach on Twitter @ZachIsWeird.
Follow Short Order on Facebook, on Twitter @Short_Order, and Instagram @ShortOrder.
In Case You Missed It
Popular Stories
Sponsor Content


text:
Extraordinary high fees received by the auditors from their clients during the recent financial crisis have attracted public attention. However, reasons for high fees for audit service are Continue reading
Get Latest MBA/BBA Projects in your Email
The Impact of Product Innovation on Sales Volumes of Consumer Goods
Studies have shown that application of innovation in products and marketing as strategy is important to the survival of a firm. However, only few companies are Continue reading
The Effects of Consumer Confusion on Decision Postponement and Brand Loyalty in a Low Involvement Product Category
Consumer confusion, caused by product similarity, choice and/or information overload, and the presence of Continue reading
Improving the Order Receiving Process: Case Study: Ekmans AB
The purpose of the thesis is to identify problems cooperating departments suffer from, create solutions and discover ways to successfully implement the Continue reading
Postponement in Retailing Industry: A Case Study of Siba
Today's business environment is characterized by changing customer demands, increasing cost pressures on retailers, shorter product life cycles and products becoming Continue reading
Auditing Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures: A Case of the Big 4 Audit Firms
In today's business environment, rising demand in financial reporting and frequent changes in accounting frameworks lead to an increased focus on reliability in Continue reading
Client Information Needs of MFIs: A Case Study of ASA Bangladesh
To enrich the knowledge base of client's needs of financial services and assessing the tools MFIs used to collect clients' information and how they utilized the information for Continue reading
Corporate Social Responsibility and its Implications on Firm Performance: A case study of Emballator Lagan Plast
Corporate social responsibility is a widely discussed concept in today's business, with different perceptions as well as explanations regarding the meaning and impact of the concept. Organizations are becoming more aware of the Continue reading
How Corporate Governance Affects Strategy of Corporations: – Lessons from Enron Corporation
Corporate governance is a subject of academic and professional debate. It has and it will continue to be a topic under scrutiny for subsequent deliberations since there are Continue reading
Bench Marking of Financial Solutions Offered by Islamic Banks
There has been significant growth in Islamic banking sector over the last two decades and this market has become very Continue reading


text:
Putting Lipstick on a Pig: McCain's Pygmalion Complex with Sarah Palin
Quick: What's the difference between Joe Biden and a hockey mom running for vice-president? Answer: One of them is a pit bull-of-a-politician with a world of foreign-policy and lawmaking experience, while the other is, uh, Sarah Palin.
Okay, so it's not exactly a punch line, and it's not exactly funny, unless you're the sort who enjoys watching a slow-motion train wreck — a potential destination in our country's itinerary, as the American public struggles with the weighty decision over whether to vote for a qualified politician of substance, education, experience and stature, or vote for Sarah Palin. One can only hope that John McCain has an awfully big tube of lipstick, because he'll need it to put lipstick on that pig. To do this, he'll need to accomplish three things. Here, the recently afflicted McCain's pygmalion complex will come in handy.
The Road to the White House in 3 Easy Steps
First, John McCain needs to keep convincing the American public that education, intelligence and experience are inherently bad things. This has been, so far, neatly accomplished by attaching the "elitist" label to those who speak with even a modicum of intelligence on matters of import, or, alternately, sticking the "elitist liberal" label to anyone who deigns to disagree with McCain's kamikaze candidacy. The second step McCain needs to accomplish is a to give Sarah Palin a crash course in U.S. and world history, domestic and foreign policy, constitutional law, political science, presidential diplomacy, how to use a salad fork, and so on, while infusing her with the nuts-and-bolts nuances and the grasp of language necessary to speaking and acting authoritatively on such matters. The third step is to sequester his creation from the world — just like his predecessor, Professor Henry Higgins, did with Eliza Doolittle — while Sarah makes her Pygmalion transformation from Alaska's shrill-voiced, caribou-killing, liar of a First Lady, to McCain's Fair Lady.
The McCain campaign began working on that third step during the RNC convention, as they lobbed pre-emptive strikes toward the media, calling them sexist (while being at a loss, when asked, to produce evidence of this) and by attaching the "elitist liberal" label to the media. So it came as no surprise, after all this foreshadowing, when the McCain campaign announced they'd put a gag order on Sarah Palin: for now, there will be no questions, no interviews; Sarah Palin will give only scripted speeches and choreographed interviews to the American public.
If this sounds familiar, there's a reason for that. McCain — following ever-steadfastly in Bush's footsteps — has actually taken a page from Bush's 'pre-packaged news' campaign. Remember? It's not been that long, really, since the American public learned that our evening news was being manufactured by the Bush Administration — produced by various government agencies, such as the Dept. of Defense, and delivered by actors posing as journalists, who were paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to ask scripted questions of authorities, who were also being paid hundreds of thousands of dollars, to give scripted answers — all designed to tell the American people what to think about issues, such as the war in Iraq and Medicare reform. Perhaps McCain will also take a page from George Bernard Shaw's script, and only allow Palin to talk about the weather and other people's health, should she be pressed into giving unscripted comments.
"The rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain, and in Hertford, Hereford and Hampshire, hurricanes hardly ever happen"
Prof. Henry Higgins had an easier job of it — tasked with teaching only the linguistic facets of speaking on foreign places. Eliza had only to aspirate her h's and draw her a's into a long phoneme, while Sarah Palin will be expected to speak authoritatively on topics about which she currently commands next-to-nothing, in the way of knowledge or experience. Prof. Higgins also had more time — with a full six months to teach Eliza Doolittle to speak properly before her debut at the Embassy Ball (see photo, above /left). McCain has a mere 26 days to teach Sarah Palin the fundamentals, beyond God's plan, of war and peace before her second-coming in the vice-presidential debate on October 2nd. McCain's hope is, of course, that once Sarah Palin has been refined with the proper tutoring, scripting and blocking, the American people will greet her encore performance with the sure belief that she always owned the knowledge, experience, temperament and good judgment to be vice-president of the United States.
A tricky balancing act: How to give American women a voice, while telling them to shut up
The problem for the McCain campaign is the pesky media, not a factor in Higgins' day. The media will likely continue hounding the McCain team, obsessing on highly personal details about Sarah's life, such as her qualifications and experience, riddled as these are with discrepancies, controversy, scandals and lies. The media will no doubt question, too, the motives behind the McCain campaign's decision to put a gag order on Sarah Palin. Feminists of good standing might also begin to question how the Republican Party — which is acting like they, themselves, invented the feminist cause and have simultaneously addressed the grievances of the suffragette movement in one fell swoop — can also parade their poster child out with a gag across her mouth. But we trust the McCain campaign to do a good job with this. As we've learned over the past 8 years, if there's one thing the Republicans do well, it's putting on a good show: convincing the American people it's raining, while they piss down our backs. On this note, we can hardly wait to see the unveiling of McCain's pygmalion creation.
by Mantis Katz, for the canarypapers
Related links of interest:
salon.com: Sarah Palin and Mark Halperin's complaints of "liberal media"
….The very notion of the "Liberal Media" is one of the most inane myths in American politics — something spat out and repeated in the lowest right-wing sewers for so long that it has become conventional wisdom — but Halperin's frequent vouching for that myth, in his role of "journalist," illustrates all one needs to know about him. The media's contempt for both John Kerry and Al Gore was matched only by their reverence for George Bush's swagger. The first several months of media coverage this year was dominated by Jerimiah Wright, lapel pins, bowling scores, Bittergate and elitism. And it is highly unlikely that there has even been a time in American history when the media was as subservient to Government as they were during the Bush era. It's literally hard to imagine a claim that ought to be more discredited in general than the notion of the "liberal media" and its "anti-Republican bias"….
TheModerateVoice: The Sarah Palin Cone of Silence
Rumors are slowly crystallizing into confirmed reports when it comes to the dating phase of America's relationship with Sarah Palin. Following our brief introductions, this particular shiddach will apparently be overseen by Team McCain adhering to ancient traditions – there will be no future dates without strict chaperones in attendance and the conversations will be passed through the mothers. Should we wish to know anything further about the Alaska Governor, the campign team will define what it is we should know and when we will find out about it….
Lastly…. Somewhere during the process of learning what exactly a vice-president does, Sarah will also need to take a crash course in what a vice-presidential candidate does — specifically, what a vice-presidential candidate on the McCain ticket does, to promote the McCain platform, about which she is also apparently clueless.
4 Responses
Excellent analysis. Thanks!
Sarah Palin: Sincere but misinformed
I like Sarah Palin. She is sincere and full of energy. But she is woefully misinformed.
No sex education! Whoops! Teenager has a baby! Shouldn't that be a clue?
Brother-in-law is harassing her sister. Palin pulls strings to get him fired. Is that going too far?
Doesn't like some of the books in the local library. She asks the librarian if she would mind removing certain books. The librarian indicates she will not tolerate censorship. Palin gets her fired.The common thread here is the self-appointed assumption that what I (Palin) decide is better for you than what you decide. Ohh,
that smacks of totalitarianism! Too bad it hasn't worked, doesn't work, and won't work in the future. Most amazing of all (and tragic) is that some people don't like to think for themselves. They are mentally lazy, and oh-so willing to let others make these crucial decisions for them. You could see hoards of these mindless drones waving flags and cheering her at the Republican Convention.Reminds of the Stockholm syndrome. The captives after a while begin to idolize their kidnappers. "I'm going to restrict what you can say and do, but trust me, this will be good for you!" Yeah!
Pit-bull with lipstick!
(And the crowd goes wild!) -
[…] unknown wrote an interesting post today onHere's a quick excerptMcCain has a mere 26 days to teach Sarah Palin the fundamentals, beyond God's plan, of war and peace before her second-coming in the vice-presidential debate on October 2nd. McCain's hope is, of course, that once Sarah Palin has been … […]
Read this for your daughters!
Senator Clinton and Governor Palin are proof that women can and do diverge on important issues.
Even on the question of whether women should vote!
Most people are totally in the dark about HOW the suffragettes won votes for women, and what life was REALLY like for women before they did.
Suffragettes were opposed by many women who were what was known as 'anti.'
The most influential 'anti' lived in the White House. First Lady Edith Wilson was a wealthy Washington widow who married President Wilson in 1915.
Her role in Wilson's decision to jail and torture Alice Paul and hundreds of other suffragettes will never be fully known, but she was outraged that these women picketed her husband's White House.
I'd like to share a women's history learning opportunity…
"The Privilege of Voting" is a new free e-mail series that follows eight great women from 1912 – 1920 to reveal ALL that happened to set the stage for women to win the vote in England and America.
It's a real-life soap opera! And it's ALL true!
Powerful suffragettes Alice Paul and Emmeline Pankhurst are featured, along with TWO gorgeous presidential mistresses, First Lady Edith Wilson, Edith Wharton, Isadora Duncan and Alice Roosevelt.
There are tons of heartache on the rocky road to the ballot box, but in the end, women WIN!
Thanks to the suffragettes, women have voices and choices!
Exciting, sequential episodes are great to read on coffeebreaks, or anytime.
Subscribe free at
[…] We've seen this same tack replay in recent days during the Wall Street crisis. No need to puzzle over McCain's fist-flailing and wild contradictions from one day to the next. This is simply what he does. He's not so concerned about the facts and inner workings of the situation at hand, as he is about preserving the appearance of being right. The question then becomes: on what does John McCain base his pre-conceived answers? Like anyone else, he likely bases his original answers on information. Problems arise when (1) the information changes, as is wont to happen in real life, or (2) his original conclusion proves to be wrong. This is the real McCain. The only reason we're seeing him so clearly, is because he's standing under a bigger microscope. It's historically in keeping with his character to attack those who challenge him, to erratically say and do things that make absolutely no sense, and to lie. Quit calling McCain's Spanish Inquisition a "gaffe," folks. It's a character flaw. And it doesn't take much imagination to see how this flaw could play out in various foreign policy exchanges. Repeat after me, Professor Higgins: "The rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain, and in Hertford, Hereford and Hampshire, hurrica… […]


text:
368 members
Latest Activity: Feb 16
A place for Tennis Players on or visiting Oahu to connect. Click join and start a new discussion below. :-) Aloha.
89 members
Latest Activity: Mar 11
Norfolk, Portsmouth, Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Suffolk, Hampton. Find and meet fun and friendly tennis partners.
© 2017 Created by Mark / The Mayor. Powered by


text:
Moore et al v. Moonstone Transport, Ltd. et al
J.M., a minor, C.S., a minor and Kashatria Moore
John Doe and Moonstone Transport, Ltd.
Case Number:
March 11, 2013
Michigan Eastern District Court
Presiding Judge:
Marianne O. Battani
Referring Judge:
Laurie J. Michelson
Nature of Suit:
Motor Vehicle
Access additional case information on PACER
Use the links below to access additional information about this case on the US Court's PACER system. A subscription to PACER is required.
Access this case on the Michigan Eastern District Court's Electronic Court Filings (ECF) System
- Search for Party Aliases
- Associated Cases
- Attorneys
- Case File Location
- Case Summary
- Docket Report
- History/Documents
- Parties
- Related Transactions
- Check Status
Disclaimer: Justia Dockets & Filings provides public litigation records from the federal appellate and district courts. These filings and docket sheets should not be considered findings of fact or liability, nor do they necessarily reflect the view of Justia.


text:
34 Ditton Rd, Bexleyheath, DA6 8JL
As a certified junk removal company, Bexley Prime Rubbish Removals have more than a decade of industry experience. We've removed countless tons of waste materials and sent for recycling whatever we could. We remain the number one provider of professional waste collection in the area of Bexley DA15. You can take care of the time-consuming chore of junk removal with a single phone call to 020 3404 3978! We offer removal of all kinds of domestic and industrial waste. Give us a call today and request a service.


text:
Attention has frequently been focused on many phases of peptic ulcer. Although most factors in the production and life cycle of peptic ulcer are probably known, the complete picture of this condition has not been fully attained. The causes of peptic ulceration remain a debatable question. The role of acid still seems predominant in the etiology of this condition. The importance of psychogenic influences is fairly well established, but the exact mechanism in which it plays in the etiology of peptic ulcer is hot definitely known. There is no doubt of its constant association in the majority of cases of duodenal ulcer.
The life cycle of duodenal ulcer usually follows a distinct clinical pattern. In many instances there are clinical variables. The clinical variations are due to the type, acute or chronic, healing, recurrences and complications. The majority of duodenal ulcers are of the chronic type. The symptoms often come
FELDMAN M. STATISTICAL STUDY OF LIFE CYCLE OF 1,154 CASES OF DUODENAL ULCER. JAMA. 1948;136(11):736-739. doi:10.1001/jama.1948.02890280004002
© 2017


text:
XP is just a number | |
PerlMonks |
Re: unable to connect new database in mysqlby fisher (Priest) |
on Aug 10, 2011 at 08:50 UTC ( #919615=note: print w/replies, xml ) | Need Help?? |
Connection Error: Unknown database 'ram'
It is the answer from your DB server; I can translate it into many languages, if you didn't understood it.
In Section
Seekers of Perl Wisdom


text:
A Source Guide to the Music of Percy Grainger
Selected Chapterscontinued |
Table of Contents to Source Guide |
1. Biographical/Artistic Vignettes |
4. Program Notes |
1. BIOGRAPHICAL/ARTISTIC VIGNETTES, continued |
"'I'm not against education--it's harmless.'[--Thomas C. Slattery, Percy Grainger, The Inveterate Innovator (1974), 142.] Coming from a highly educated man with no formal schooling to speak of, the remark seems understandable enough, if somewhat cynical. In refusing an honorary degree from McGill University in 1945, Percy Grainger wrote, 'as I have had only three months' schooling in my life, I feel that my music must be regarded as the product of non-education.'[--John Bird, Percy Grainger (1976), 221.]
"Despite his rather slanted view of the value of formal training, Grainger did hold several teaching posts in universities for brief periods and gave master classes until almost the end of his life. It was at one of these classes in Cincinna ti that I had the opportunity to play for him. At the time I was studying engineering at the University of Cincinnati, playing the piano as a sideline only. I performed the Mendelssohn Spinning Song rather fast and carelessly, and I can still remem ber his kind and generous encouragement that helped to persuade me to take up music as a career the following year.
"Though his manner was good-humored and encouraging in the classes I attended, it is known that he could be quite demanding of students in his earlier years. His respective sojourns at Chicago Musical College and later, Interlochen, were mar ked by increasing impatience and frustration with the students whom he felt were already trapped in the rut of traditional thinking.
"He once remarked to one student: 'You can get more keyboard skill out of Bach's 48 Preludes and Fugues than out of a boatload of studies by tone-deaf nit-wits like Czerny.'[Slattery, op. cit., 147.] He claimed that the students he encountered displayed no musical curiosity or energy because they were sissies, 'all frenzy having been ruled out of their life.'[Ibid., 148.]
"Grainger felt a strong need to endure physical suffering and to test his strength against the forces of nature. He regarded playing the piano as an athletic activity and felt strongly that pianists should develop their muscle power to the fullest, especially that of the hands and arms. Indeed, rather than pampering his hands as so many pianists are wont to do, he often engaged in long, arduous physical labor to help build up his own endurance, since he was firmly convinced that muscular fatigue was one of the performer's greatest enemies. He believed that a pianist should have far more strength and endurance than required to assure adequate control during performance.
"According to Joseph Rezits, he sometimes tested his own pianistic power by having two or three persons at separate pianos accompany him in a concerto, playing as loudly as possible.[Joseph Rezits, "Grainger the Pianist", Lewis Foreman, ed., The Grainger Companion (1981), 178.] He also put his memory to the test in a similar manner by requesting the accompanist to start at any point at random in a concerto to see if he could enter quickly at the correct spot.
"In spite of his own highly personal style of performing (his own works as well as the works of others), Grainger was meticulous in his teaching about the accurate realization of the composer's intentions via the printed page. If a student's technique was well-developed, he generally didn't tamper with it; but if the student seemed unable to effect necessary changes in technical approach, then Grainger would help him to explore different ways of using the hand and arm, alternate fingerings, or a more sophisticated use of the pedals, something he himself did well. he felt that the sostenuto pedal was generally overlooked by pianists and he used it frequently in his own pieces, as well as in the organ transcriptions and impressionist pieces he frequently performed.
"Grainger favored fingerings that keep the hand as small as possible, using rapid lateral motion to achieve wide leaps. He also had no hesitation about refingering difficult passages, or redistributing parts between hands when feasible.
"The use of metaphor and imagery was another prominent part of Grainger's teaching. My mother, a former student and friend of his, recalls the time she was playing Debussy's Poissons d'Or for him, and mentioned the fact that the clima ctic passages seemed to her incongruous with the image of goldfish in a pond. Grainger replied that if instead, she imagined herself to be the goldfish in the pond with the slightest ripples on the surface becoming tidal waves, the effect of the work would become stronger and more vivid.
"My mother also mentioned his preference for teaching in groups, since he felt that the group setting afforded more possibilities for exploring musical ideas. Students often played solo works as multi-piano ensemble pieces, particularly fugues with each performer playing a separate voice in order to provide a clearer understanding of the texture. Occasionally students would perform different works simultaneously as a test of their powers of concentration.
"During master classes Grainger was constantly in motion, rarely watching the performer but moving around the room, sometimes even hopping up on tables or chairs. He felt that a teacher must be active in the lesson, not just verbally making corrections. And herein I think lies the key to the effectiveness of his teaching. Admittedly, like so many master teachers, or just ordinary ones for that matter, he was at a loss as to why less-gifted persons than himself could not learn and perform the way he could. However, the force of his unique personality and musicianship communicated very powerfully to talented and accomplished students, and tended to have a strong effect on their own playing as well as on their musical outlook."--Karl Payne.
"When Percy Grainger, the Australian pianist and composer, arrived in America [in 1914] he was not known as a player and but little as a composer, although a couple of his works for orchestra had been performed during a former season. When h e gave his first recital, he proved to be a pianist of solid attainments and also of unusual freshness and charm. His playing, his compositions, his personality, went straight to the hearts of his hearers; he soon found himself the lion of the hour; succe ss attended each subsequent appearance.
"It has been aptly said that a musician can do little or nothing without enthusiasm. In Percy Grainger, the quality of enthusiasm is a potent force in his character and career. According to his own testimony, he loves to play, to compose, to teach, to visit new lands, to become familiar with new people. He has the youthful buoyancy that welcomes with eagerness each new event and experience.
"To come into personal touch with Percy Grainger, to hear him in recital and with orchestra, is to be conscious of an entirely new series of experiences. Personally you feel here is a particular kind of mentality, one which is care-free, unt rammeled; of most gentle spirit, yet bold and heaven-storming when bent on carrying out a purpose. Perhaps the words original and unconventional would apply, though no words can aptly describe so unique and complex a nature. At one moment he speaks of the homely matters of everyday living, with the utmost simplicity; at the next his remarks bespeak wide knowledge of men and affairs, of various countries and peoples. Whether he thoughtfully fixes a serious, searching gaze on you, or whether his face is sun ny with smiles, you have the same impression of the utter sincerity and single-heartedness of the man, of the radiant vitality of his individuality.
"It is the same when he plays. Sincerity shines through everything he does, and the buoyancy of a fresh, earnest, healthful spirit carries you along with it. There is no flagging of energy, no moment of languor, all is vital and alive. At ti mes his playing is electrifying. To hear him deliver the opening of the Tchaikovsky B minor Concerto is the most exciting experience; something that carries you off your feet like a whirlwind. As a pianist remarked to me recently, 'A recital by Percy Grai nger alway makes one feel happy, inspired and ready to meet everything.'[$FIn a recent conversation, the composer Howard Brubeck has recalled to the present editor the experience he had as a child attending a Grainger concert. First, Grainger made his ent rance by leaping up on stage from the auditorium floor! This same display of energy--of guileless jubilation, even--was maintained throughout the program. Afterwards, young Brubeck (David's brother) was taken backstage to meet the celebrated artist. Once again, he recalls the force of Grainger's personality "up close"--his impressive vitality, and sense of optimism. (Ed.)]
"Although it has been my privilege to confer with Mr. Grainger at various times, it is pleasant to recall the memory of our first conversation. We were seated in the sitting room of their apartment in the hotel, and Mrs. [Rose] Grainger had just poured tea for us. She might easily be taken for an elder sister of the young artist, instead of his mother. The same sun-bright hair, clear blue eyes and fresh ruddy color. She is his devoted and constant companion, accompanying him everywhere. You feel they must both have lived much in the open, have tramped 'o'er moor and fen', have been steeped in fresh air and sunshine.
"`I had not expected to come to America at this time,' began Mr. Grainger, 'but we came primarily on account of my mother's frail health, which I am happy to say she has regained in this country. My European tour, embracing many concerts, had of course to be relinquished on account of the war.[Grainger was also a pacifist. (Ed.)] We sailed at three days' notice, and our intention was to stay two or three months at the most. It looks now as though we would remain in America for a long time.[In fact, more than forty years. One of the reasons given for his move in 1921 to White Plains--approximately a half-hour's train ride north of Grand Central Station--was, to have ample quarters in which to practice without distraction, or giving offense to others. At that time the modest slopes of White Plains remained rural (and wooded) to a large extent. Today, the city, though remaining pleasant in many particulars, is slowing being cemented over in its apparent determination to seed a forest of skyscrapers of its own, which are joined here and there by concrete overpasses and underground parking facilities. Grainger, who neither owned a car nor built a driveway by his 1893 Victorian-style house (a bit of an inconvenience to visitors today), would discover that the views from the upstairs floors are, now, somewhat blocked in several directions. (Ed.)]
"`My mother, who is an excellent musician, was my first teacher. She began with me when I was five, and worked with me constantly, two hours daily, for five years. This was in Melbourne, Australia, where I was born. We left there when I w as twelve. At about the age of ten I appeared in public and my career as pianist began. My teacher at that time was Professor Pabst, who subsequently became connected with the Moscow Conservatory. When we came to Germany, I went to Professor Kwast, at Frankfort, with whom I remained six years. Later I studied with Busoni, whom as pianist and teacher I most deeply revere.
"`Together with playing and composing, I have found some time for teaching, through this work suffered frequent interruption on account of my tours as a pianist. But I enjoy teaching immensely; it is such individual work; it is like condu cting in its effort to bring out the meaning of the composer by means of another medium or mentality. It is showing others how to express the idea. This is where the true teacher can so greatly assist the student, by being able to show him exactly how var ious effects are to be made, provided, of course, the pupil is anxious to learn how. As for methods of teaching technic [technique], I do not in general care for them; I avoid them. They are often only an excuse for laziness, as they prevent the pupil fro m thinking for himself. As for technical training, he can get it--after the foundation is laid--in the pieces he studies. I do not believe in set rules for technic; if the player wants to turn his hand upside down and play with the palm uppermost, I dare say he could do it, if he worked at it with the same zeal that he does with the accepted position. In other words, I believe we should inculcate principles of technical freedom and individuality in every player.
"`Pupils often come to study with me from the various countries where I have played. I have appeared frequently in Scandinavia and Holland, and have had numerous pupils from both those lands, as well as from England and the Colonies. The Dutch are a very musical people. I might say English and American pupils are perhaps the most talented, but their talent takes the form of doing things easily. There is a talent that acquires all with hard work, and another sort that achieves without great labor.
"`You ask if I approve of the metronome. I certainly do; and it is amusing sometimes to see how different the mechanical idea of rhythm is from the true sense and feeling for it. We can also use the metronome for working up velocity.
"`In regard to the natural feeling for rhythm, I don't find people in general so deficient in this quality as if so often imagined. The common peasant, with no cultivation whatsoever, has an innate sense of rhythm. It will not harmonize, I grant you, with the beat of the metronome, but it is a very forceful and individual thing. He will put a swing and "go" into a popular air which can never be found in mechanical rhythm. Mechanical means may be necessary in the student's early st ages, especially if the learner has not a just conception of the various note values.
"`About mental processes during actual performance of the piece in public, it is difficult to speak, as so many subtle influences are brought to bear. It is to be regretted that the custom prevails of playing everything without notes. I t hink many a fine pianist is greatly worried over the fear of failure of memory. This may affect his playing; it may prevent the freedom of utterance he might have, were he relieved of the fear of forgetting. All pianists agree that it is a great mental strain to perform a long and exacting program from memory; it is no wonder that even the greatest artists occasionally forget. It is no crime to have a lapse of memory, though it is annoying, especially if one is playing with orchestra. This has never happened to me; if it ever should I think I would treat the situation quite calmly; perhaps I would go and get the notes--I always have them with me--or I would look over the conductor's shoulder, assure myself of the place and then go on. The great thing is to have presence of mind in such an emergency. If one is not very strong physically, or if a great deal depends on the result of one's performance, the strain of performing an exacting program in public, from memory, is greater. Of course it is not artistic to play badly, so it were much better to have the notes in front of one than to produce poor results. Most artists would play more naturally with notes before them--if accustomed to use them. Fear often destroys the perfection of what might be a fine rendition. The comfortable, the ideal way, I suppose would be to really know the piece from memory and yet play from the notes.[Grainger's is an intriguing reponse to an issue to which teachers and players might wish to give more attention than perhaps they customarily do. The composer and performer Ruth Schonthal--who also has many years of teaching experience--insists that playing from memory is indeed overrated. Among several minuses (she observes), the habit of playing only what one has learned by heart tends to limit one's repertory. (Ed.)]
"`Art is the expression of natural impulses; therefore I do not believe in being fettered by many rules. Rather I believe in being as natural and free as possible in the working out of artistic ideals at the instrument. For instance, I do not believe in people striving to acquire a certain pianistic style they are not fitted for. If the hand is small and the physique delicate, why not keep the dynamic scale small? Why not play with delicacy and fineness, instead of striving to become heroic? Pachman, for instance, is a pianist whose limitations are to a certain extent responsible for his greatness. It is said he never makes a real fortissimo; but we admire his delicacy and finesse and do not wish him to strive for great power.
"`The technic of an art is, to a certain extent, mainly habit. I do believe in habit. We get used to measuring skips, for instance, with eye and hand, until we can locate them automatically, from habit. It is the same with all sorts of technical figures; we acquire the habit of doing them through constant repetition. When the mechanical part has become automatic, we can give the mind fully to the emotion to be expressed. For I do not believe you can feel the structure of the piece and its emotional message at the same time. For my own part I am not much concerned about how the piece is put together; I think of it as music, as the expression of natural impulses, desires or aspiration.
"When teaching piano, I make a great study of pedal effects with my pupils. Many fine effects of diminuendo can be made with quick half pedaling. The subject of pedaling is none too well understood; most wonderful tone colors can be produced by an artistic use of the pedals.' Mr. Grainger seated himself at the piano and played a brilliant passage ending with sustained chords, for which latter he used shifting, vibrating pedals with charming effect.
"`Another point I make is the bringing out of a melody note above the other tones of a chord; that is to say, making one tone in a chord louder than the rest. This is not new, of course, but students forget to study it. The ability to bri ng out a desired tone comes with practice, for it is not easy to accomplish at first. Most learners think they must play such chords forte, whereas the best way to study them is piano.
"`Many of the modern French compositions are very useful in developing sensitiveness of finger, and I make much use of them with pupils. From Debussy Reflets dans l'eau, and Pagodes may be chosen; also the Ondine and other pieces by Ravel. From Cyril Scott take the Lotus Land and Sphinx, also the set of five Poems; all are valuable as touch developers. I find little attention is given to the study of pianissimo effects; these pieces give on e much opportunity to acquire delicacy.
"`Do not imagine I want less study because I seek to avoid many formalities. Study is the only thing I care about in life, but I love the study of nature as well as art. No one can study too much; but let us have the heart of everything, not only the formal side. I like to study the language of a people, but rather the phonetics than the grammar.
"`To me art is joy. The more intensely studious the artist, the more joyous will he be in his art. To my mind everything connected with art and the study of art, should be easy, natural, individualistic, untrammeled and instinctive. Above all instinctive; "Von innen heraus"[Roughly, "from within, outward--." (Ed.)]
"`In art there is no escaping from one's true inner nature; neither for beginnor for finished artist. It seems to me the teacher should not strive to teach any one pupil the entire gamut of pianistic technic, but concentrate rather upon t hose phases of it to which the pupil seems physically addicted, or emotionally attracted.
"`One hour spent in practicing a phase of music for which a pupil has a natural physical or imaginative ability, will generally prove more fruitful than many hours devoted to problems towards which the pupil is less instinctively impelled .
"`Let each student and subsequently each artist choose those compositions that contain in abundance the particular pianistic style for which his emotional and physical nature equips him. This course will make for individuality in the artist's repertory, and tend to banish samishness from concert programs.
"`Beginners at the piano need to learn so many things at the start. There is the training of eye, ear and hand, the learning of notes and note-values, together with all sorts of movements. If students could have thorough drill in these th ings before they come to us, how much greater progress they would make in the real business of playing the piano!
"`As to instructing beginners, I find naturally no necessity for doing this on the piano; but I have taught beginners on the mandolin and guitar. I am fond of the combination of these instruments with strings and have written a number of compositions for a small body of string players. I play the guitar myself, and so does my mother; I have a special method of performing on it. I prefer to take an out-and-out beginner on this instrument than to take some one who has played it a good deal, and be obliged to show him all over again.'
"Mr. Grainger had much to say about composing for a small orchestra.
"`Very interesting to a modern composer,' he remarked, 'are the several newly invented or perfected instruments, such as the Mustel organ, the various Saxophones, the Haeckelphone; also the percussion instruments, such as the Marimbaphone , Bass-xylophone, Resonaphone, and the like. The tone of most of these new instruments is fairly delicate and sensitive, and would be swamped or lost in a modern mammoth orchestra. My own feeling is that it is in combinations of chamber music that these s maller, subtle, but highly characteristic instruments come into their own, and are heard at their full value. The latter-day tendencies are not toward noise and tonal effects on a gigantic scale, but rather toward delicacy, sensitiveness and, above all, t ransparency of color. Personally, I enjoy best of all writing for combinations of--let us say--six to twenty instruments, such as four strings, celesta, English horn, two guitars and resonaphone. Or such a combination as this: five men's voices, Mus tel organ, four woodwind instruments and six strings.'
"Some of Mr. Grainger's compositions already published embody the folk tunes of various countries in new and orginal forms. Those for piano incude Shepherd's Hey, Green Bushes, Country Tune, and Colonial Song; these are also sc ored for full orchestra. They can be obtained for a smaller company of players, even as small a number as twelve.
"Percy Grainger has been called by Runciman `the one cheerful, sunny composer living'. Finck says of his music: `One really feels tempted to say that these are the best things that have come to us from England.' Other critics have written mu ch in praise of his compositions. 'He catches us up and whirls us away in the spirit of the country dance.' `His music sounds like the dawning of a new era.` `Such genuine humor and wit, such enthusiasm, such virility and masterly musicianship as Mr. Grai nger shows are met with only on the rarest occasions in a musician of any country. Indeed it is doubtful if all these qualities are combined in any other composer now before the public.'
"These are words of high praise, from well-known authorities. We should rejoice to find a composer who can write in a healthy, sane and buoyant spirit. We do not want to be forever in the depths, racked by violent unhealthy emotions; we want to be on the heights, in the sunlight, whenever we can reach such attitudes.[This very aspect of Grainger's musical character in a sense transcends the issue of the "originality" of any given work which is "done up" by Grainger, insofar as that personality is, itself, such a distinctive, creative thing. Like those of Handel and Bach, indeed, even his arrangements become immediately recognizable as expression of his own particular voice, howeverso much they may also remain the folk or art originals of some other hand: moreover, his frequent choice of folk (which is to say, democratic and popular) materials is, itself, a characteristic aspect of just that "style" or "voice" which is--always--so unmistakeably "Graingeresque". (Ed.)]
"Mr. Grainger's compositions are popular in England and on the Continent, and bid fair to become equally so in America. Like most true artists, he feels strongly that 'wars or rumors of wars' should not be allowed to upset the internationali ty of art. The young Australian is deeply touched by the true spirit of artistic neutrality he has met on all sides in New York, amongst musicians of every nationality, and he points with pride to the fact that some of the best criticisms he has received in America have appeared in the German newspapers. He is no less proud of the high spirit of neutrality which permeates Engish musical life at present. Not long ago two large festivals of Germany music, one devoted to Brahms, the other to Wagner, were hel d there. Another 'Festival of German Music' is shortly to be held in London, side by side with a `Festival of British Music', in which the works of Cyril Scott, Frederick Delius, Stanford, Elgar and Percy Grainger figure largely. At present Frederick Deli us, the great Anglo-German composer, and Percy Grainger run one another very close in popularity. Mr. Grainger is boundlessly enthusiastic over his `rival', who, in his judgment, is the greatest of living composers.
"`It is inspiring to live in an age in which such noble and altruistic interpretations of the universality of art are displayed,' said Mr. Grainger. `In Frederick Delius,' continued his Australian admirer, `German and British qualities ar e most fortunately blended and have contrived to produce a unique genius, whose work recalls at once such creative types as Bach, Walt Whitman, Keats and Grieg.'
"Mr. Grainger is gifted as a
linguist and is enthusiastic over the various tongues and dialects of
the different countries through which he has traveled. He speaks
German, Danish, Dutch and Norwegian, and has some knowledge of
Icelandic, Jut ish, Frisian, Faroese and the peasant dialects of Norway.
This acquaintance with the languages has greatly assisted in the study
of folk melodies. He is considered one of the [foremost] authorities on
folk songs and primitive music, having himself collect ed and carefully
noted down nearly five h "As a pianist Percy Grainger plays with clarity of touch,
variety of tone color and splendid sweep and virility. He is able to
set the composition before the listener in well-balanced proportions,
and direct simplicity of thought. One feels the composer of the work
under consideration would wish it played in just this way, with just
this directness of utterance. At the same time the pianist lends to
everything he touches the glow of his own buoyancy and enthusiasm, by
means of which well-kno wn themes take on a new meaning and make a new
and unusual appeal."--Harriette Brower.
"He could sleep soundly, anywhere. The story has often
been told of his arrival in a Midwest town in late afternoon after a
strenuous hike from the town where he had played an earlier concert. He
went immediately to the concert hall and stretched out for a nap on the
top of the closed Steinway. On one occasion at least, the audience
began to arrive while Grainger, still in hiking outfit, was deep in
sleep. Grainger would arrive for [the master classes he gave at the
Chicago Musical College c .1921-22] promptly at 1 p.m., after having run
up 10 flights of stairs, often carrying a piano bench or a large armful
of music. He never walked when he could run or jump; when he wanted to
get across the room he either vaulted over the two Steinway Grands or
crawled beneath them on hands and knees.
"In the class he
talked a lot and played a lot, and was generally lenient with the
students who performed. His constant advice was to follow his example
and practice for a least one hour each day with the metronome. He
seemed to give the metronome credit for the unrelenting rhythmical
drive of his playing. At that time the metronome was considered to be
an old-fashioned and mechanical sort of discipline, and up-to-date piano
teachers of that day would never recommend it. Grainger's advocacy of
the metronome was nothing less than shocking to students of that time.
He talked a great deal about what he called 'simultaneous tone-color
contrasts', and he took great delight in all the tricks he had devised
for the middle or sostenuto pedal of the piano....
"Grainger's mother, Mrs. Rose Grainger, attended every class. As
the time neared the end she never took her eyes off the watch. Promptly
at the moment of 3 p.m. she would call out loudly, 'Percy! It's 3
o'clock!' and everything had to stop o n the second, whether Grainger
was playing or talking, or whether some student was in the middle of a
piece. Grainger would stop whatever he was doing on the instant and
meekly say, 'Yes, mother!' and the class would file out promptly....
"It was probably the following spring that I had my only
private lesson with Grainger. He was to be soloist with Frederick Stock
and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at the annual North Shore Music
Festival, held in the vast Patten Gymnasium of Northwestern University
in Evanston. Somehow I made advance arrangements for him to hear me at
the conclusion of the rehearsal. The piano stood in the midst of a
clutter of music stands and double bass cases on the empty stage. I was
aflutter with nerves in such strange surroundings. Grainger was kind
but obviously not very impressed nor very interested. I played such of
his pieces as One More Day, My John, Irish Tune from County Derry,
Molly on the Shore, Colonial Song, and the like. Aside from a few
neat tricks with the sostenuto pedal, I cannot recall that I learned
anything from the lesson. But at least I could henceforth legitimately
label myself 'Pupil of Percy Grainger', a considerable recommendation at
that time."--Albert Goldberg.
"[Grainger's] biography (with an emphasis on his career as
a pianist) begins in an outer seaside suburb of Melbourne in Australia
on July 8, 1882 when a son was born to an alcoholic and wayward father
by the name of John Grainger and a stron g-willed and over-possessive
mother called Rose (n�e Aldridge). Both parents were musical, and Rose
sat by him for a few hours daily from the age of five whilst Percy
practiced at the piano. The marriage was to be short-lived and violent
and the mother an d son departed when Percy was eight, thereby allowing
the maternal influence upon the youngster to be life-long and emphatic.
Grainger himself has bequeathed vivid accounts of his mother's playing
characterized by 'great volumes of tone' and a 'rhythmic robustness'
with the softer passages marked by 'gracefulness' and an 'irresistably
winsome lilt at once gentle and vivacious'--traits very discernable
in Grainger's own playing.
"Two very musical family
doctors also exerted a strong influence on him at this stage. First an
Englishman called Robert Hamilton Russell (who, as a young man, had
served as dresser to Lord Lister, the innovator of antiseptic surgery).
Grain ger described him as 'the first exquisite pianist of my life',
recalling above all his interpretations of Schumann.
"The other doctor, an Irishman by the name of Henry Michael O'Hara (the
doctor who saw Percy into the world and who was also [Dame Nellie]
Melba's doctor), suggested that after his mother's tuition he be taken
to study with someone who turne d out to be Grainger's most influential
piano teacher, one Louis Pabst. Pabst went to Australia in 1894 from a
musical family in what used to be called Königsberg, East Prussia (now
Kaliningrad, USSR), and he brought with him impeccable credentials, the
m ost important of which was that he had been one of a handful of
private pupils of the formidable Russian pianist and pedagogue, Anton
Rubinstein, one of the rare nineteenth-century pianists whose name was
ever mentioned in the same breath as that of Liszt. Curiously, from the
point of view of his pianistic pedigree, this move put this wild
Australian boy firmly in the Russian school of piano playing and, like
Horowitz, it makes him a pianistic 'grandson' of Rubinstein.
"Grainger made a sensational début on Monday, July 9, 1894, the
day after his 12th birthday, and Pabst was so enraptured by the talents of
his brilliant pupil that he offered to take him back to Europe and 'make
of him a real virtuoso'. Perc y's mother refused, saying that she would
rather he gave up music altogether than see him become a mere pianist!
"When Pabst left for Europe, Grainger continued to take
lessons from another Pabst pupil called Adelaide Burkitt--a woman of
whom he always spoke affectionately. She groomed him for further
performances and soon it was decided that he should go to Germany to
further his general musical education.
"Once installed in
Frankfurt-am-Main, the young Australian enrolled at Dr. Hoch's
Conservatorium of Music where he studied piano under the Dutchman James
Kwast (pupil of Reinecke, Richter, Gevaert and Brassin). Grainger also
took a few valuable lessons from Lamond and Friedberg and in later
years always spoke of the enormous influence made on his playing after
attending recitals and concerts given by Ossip Gabrilowitsch and
especially Eugene D'Albert.
"In 1901 the Graingers moved
to London and now, armed with a formidable technique, the young
Australian began the final stages of the transformation from Master
Percy Grainger to Percy Grainger the Master. He very quickly became one
of the most sought-after pianists of his day and during these London
years he performed under the batons of Steinbach, Ziloti, Wood,
Mengelberg, Beecham, Richter and many others. His concert repertoire,
of course, embraced the major output of the Romantics, but h e hardly
played a note of Beethoven and, after his student days, nothing whatever
of Mozart or Haydn. He did, however, draw much from the Bach and
pre-Bach period and, ever the champion of a thousand underdogs, he also
performed the music of his friends a nd contemporaries. He was the
first to perform the keyboard works of Debussy, Ravel, Albeniz and
Granados in Australia, South Africa and the British Isles.
"In 1903 Grainger was introduced to Ferruccio Busoni, and the
Italian was so impressed by his playing and indeed by his compositions
(describing him in a letter to his wife as 'a charming fellow, highly
gifted and a thinker') that he invited him for a few weeks later that
year to join his Berlin Master Classes.
"Though Busoni
clearly admired Grainger's innovative music, and Grainger benefited from
the Master Classes (they specialized in Bach's keyboard music), the
human relationship nevertheless soured and an insight into the pattern
of this encounter can be gleaned from a perceptive pen-portrait
bequeathed to us by Grainger:
"As a teacher, Grainger tried to make his students
conscious of the contrapuntal elements of the pieces they were
preparing, and to this end he tended to steer their interest toward Bach
and pre-Bach music. Sometimes he would re-arrange and isolate the
various voices of a Bach fugue amongst a group of students on different
pianos. Taking this a step further, there were times when he would
invite a few of them to practice wildly different pieces on different
pianos at the same time in the sam e room. This, he said, improved
"Early on in his career he preached the
gospel of stiff fingers, wrists and arms, though he found as he grew
older that this did not matter quite so much. He never believed in
pampering his hands, but felt they should be subjected to hard, even
harsh, work constantly; and this explains why, for example, he would
always carry his own suitcases--all part of his obsession with tough
physical exercises. Grainger never took recommended fingering--even
his own--as holy writ, but rather he suggested that each pianist
should find the fingering that suited his or her own hands best. He
believed scales were idiotic exercises and felt that the music itself
provided the best exercise and practice. He always placed great stress
on the various us es of the pedals--'half-pedalling',
'pedal-fluttering'--and an extensive use of the sostenuto
"Before the Great War he had toured Scandinavia,
Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Germany, Russia, Holland,
Switzerland, Bohemia and, of course, the British Isles. These years of
frantic activity and self-discovery also saw his brief but important
friendship with Grieg (1904-07), his most intense folksong collecting
activities (1905-09), the beginning of his devoted friendship with
Delius, the start of his career as a recording artist (1908), the
continuation of his most fruitful compositional period and the
publication and first performances of his compositions.
"In 1914, at the outbreak of war in Europe, the Graingers moved to
the United States where he became an instant success as a concert
pianist. His heart, however, lay in composition and he was never able
to free himself from the dilemma of wa nting to give more or all of his
time to composing but only being able to support himself by being yoked
to the concert platform, which, of course, took up most of his time and
energies and in which he became inextricably enmeshed. He thereby
created a re putation which, by his own criteria, all but destroyed him.
Much of this is explained if we recall that famous American band
director, Richard Franko Goldman, who said of Grainger that his life
forced us to reflect upon that obscurity caused by the wrong kind of
fame. As time passed, Grainger himself became keenly aware of and,
under protest, resigned to the fate that awaited him; and partly for
this very reason we constantly read of his expressing a hearty contempt
for his career as a pianist and the pia no as a vehicle for containing
his musical ideas--'a mere boxfull of hammers and strings'--though
we do see him occasionally articulating a sneaking sense of victory
after a successful concert.
"Grainger's commercial career as a recording artist
stretched from 1908 to 1957 and embraces a rich variety of music. Some
of his records are now amongst the most cherished collector's items, the
rarest of which command prices of many hundreds of dollars in dealers'
lists. There also exists a large body of non-commerical, 'live',
off-the-air and home recordings--a body which is continually
expanding with new discoveries. The first session at the London studios
of the Gramophone Company in 1908 captures the twenty-six-year-old
Grainger at the dazzling peak of his technical powers, and between
August 1917 and October 1931 he recorded exclusively for the American
Columbia Gramophone Company. This association produced some of the
glories of recorded piano playing. After this, sad to tell, the major
record companies cast him aside like a worn-out child's plaything.
"Those wishing to acquaint themselves with Grainger's
recorded playing could well turn to the Columbia discs of the Chopin
Sonata No. 3 in B minor, Op. 58, the last movement of which he devours
with a murderous ferocity. A joy to hear, too, is the relentless logic
and clarity of voicing woven from the Bach/Liszt Organ Transcriptions.
His Schumann and Brahms playing glows with a warmth and youthful energy
and his performances of Grieg's and his own music have become yardsticks
against which all can be measured. Some of these recordings have been
well transferred to LP, but only on small and ephemeral labels which
seem to arrive and disappear with an indecent haste (Encore and MJA in
USA and Imprimatur and Pearl in UK); and it is painful that the owners
of the original copyrights have continued to ignore these treasures.
The LP recordings of Grainger's piano rolls, still available in large
numbers in some stores, are mostly musical abortions which do Grainger's
memory an unforgivable disservice.[For comprehensive lists of
recordings, see Ch. 5, Discographies, below. (Ed.)]
"As a composer Grainger's contribution to the lot of human happiness
has hardly been tapped. That he continues to be ignored by the mainstream
in the performing arts is a major tragedy for twentieth century music.
Much of his keyboard output is fearsomely challenging, but rich rewards
are to be gained by the thoughtful and competent pianist. His music
ill-repays those who approach it lightly. Grainger scores are
frequently littered with the most minutely specific directions nearly
always in English. When Beethoven, Schumann and Mahler bypass the
conventional Italian and use their own language in their scores, we
respect and even revere them for it; yet when Grainger does exactly the
same thing we tend to fall about in heaps of laughter. One is tempted
to ask why? Like practically everything he did in music, he devised and
applied his English directions with a poker-faced seriousness, and where
he instructs the pianist to play a piece 'jog-trottingly' or a
particular chord in the left hand to be 'violently wrenched' then to do
otherwise would be to miss the whole point. Contrary to general belief,
Grainger's is not 'safe' music and it is not for the timorous or
indecisive unwilling to take risks.
"Tracking down his
scores and sheet music can be endlessly frustrating, and even finding
out exactly what he composed can be a major undertaking. In 1982,
however, his British publisher, Schott & Co., Ltd. produced an
invaluable booklet whic h can help anyone pick his way through the
appalling jungle of his compositions. It contains a complete list of
his published and unpublished creative output with names of publishers,
timings, availability and so on.
"Percy Grainger was a
man of very substantial creative genius. He was different, he was
special, but above all he was Australian. Perhaps because of this he
will always be destined to remain outside the mainstream--a destiny
not entirely without honor when one considers the company he will keep.
He was a man beset with self-lacerating doubts like most
larger-than-life creators and doers and he paid the price for his gifts
in terms of human suffering and neglect from an ungrateful public.
"When will the pianists brave the cold? His music is
there for our enjoyment and profit and all it needs now is a few good
pianists to take up the challenge."--John Bird.
"Perhaps the oldest living musician to remember meeting
and hearing Percy Grainger before the first World War is Kyriena Siloti,
daughter of the distinguished Russian pianist-conductor and Liszt pupil
Alexander Siloti. Mme. Siloti has been t eaching piano privately in New
York City and Cambridge, Massachusetts [c.1983] and at 88 has scarcely
curtailed her schedule at all. Unquenchably high-spirited and vivacious
as ever, she has regaled this writer with an inexhaustible trove of
reminiscences of the great musical personalities of the century, most of
whom she met as a young girl in pre-Revolutionary Russia in the Siloti
household in St. Petersburg, where the great touring virtuosos who came
to play with her father's orchestra were greeted with a VIP breakfast
or dinner.
"It was there that she met Grainger, whom she
described to me as a 'nice boy' (it was 1913 and Percy was 31). She
remembers him racing to catch the back of streetcars in St. Petersburg,
a characteristic portrait no doubt shared by many other s who remember
Grainger at various times in his life. She and her sister Oxana, 90,
remember Percy's visit but couldn't pin down the exact date, even though
they have a spiral notebook of all the programs Alexander Siloti
conducted with the St. Petersburg Orchestra from 1900 to 1913 (those of
1913 to 1917 are not recorded), translated into English....
"According to John Bird's biography, Grieg wrote a letter to
Alexander Siloti in 1907, shortly before his own death, describing
Grainger: 'He is possessed, incidentally, by the same absurd idea as
you are: he does not wish to be a pianist, b ut something different.'
Indeed, Siloti, too, considered himself more musician than virtuoso,
and, like Percy, was a lifelong devotee of Bach, whose music he
copiously arranged for piano and played in recitals.
"Bird's book records that Grainger performed the Grieg Concerto
under Siloti's baton in St. Petersburg on October 26, 1913--just
after the cut-off point in the Siloti sisters' notebook. The preceding
week Percy and [his mother] Rose had h eard Siloti as pianist in the
Tchaikovsky Concerto. Bird records that Grainger wrote a letter to
Siloti the following spring praising this performance and expressing
hope that Percy could appear again under his baton in the Delius
Concerto. Sadly, this do es not seem to have materialized, as Grainger
shortly thereafter went on to America. There is no record of whether
Alexander Siloti and Grainger met later in America, although we know at
least that pianist and Busoni student Edward Weiss was a mutual frie nd
of the two men.
"Madame Siloti's pleasant memory of Percy
('he was likeable and winning') is interesting to compare with her
uninhibited evaluations of other famous figures of 1913 vintage. There
was Prokofiev ('arrogant in his youth then, but he mellowed a s he got
older'); Josef Hofmann ('personally he seemed distant, but the greatest
pianist'); Rimsky-Korsakov ('not very warm around children'); and
Scriabin ('he had crazy ideas about theosophy but he didn't put on
airs'). She recounts an amusing anecdote of standing up to
Rachmaninoff, whom she knew very well. The great pianist-composer had
played a Beethoven piece in a New York recital and asked Kyriena's
opinion. 'It wasn't played in the style of Beethoven,' she replied
forthrightly. 'Oh, so that's what we think!' boomed the
spulchral-voiced Rachmaninoff with a big smile and mock-patronizing
laugh, patting her hand paternally. (She says now, 'You know how big
people can take criticism. Little people can't.') Leopold Godowsky
told her, 'I wish you were m y daughter!' and Casals called her 'my
little Velazquez' when she was a little girl. And Rachmaninoff later
told her, 'Kyriena, don't ever change.'
"Mme. Siloti was unware that Grainger lived for so many years in
White Plains (she also had a country house) and says, 'If I had known that,
I would like to have seen him.' Told of his cancer, she added, 'Poor
boy.'"--Mark N. Grant .
I admired him without reservations of any kind and revelled
in evrything he did pianistically.... He was not a normal player...
unfolding the composer's music straightly and faithfully. Busoni was a
twisted genius making the music sound unlike itself, but grander than
itself, more super-human. I cannot recall ever hearing or seeing Busoni
play a wrong note. He did not seem to `feel' his way about the keyboard
by touching adjacent notes--as most of us do--he smacked the keys
right in the m iddle... Busoni got brilliant results with next to no
effort. I was slow and peg-away. Busoni impressed people immensely,
but pleased few. I was able to please almost everybody including
Busoni, but impressed nobody. Busoni was a big-town artist, I a smal
l-town artist. My patience and humble stamina must have been just as
annoying to Busoni as his flashy pretentiousness was to me.


text:
Download presentation
Presentation is loading. Please wait.
Published byTrevion Gammill Modified over 2 years ago
1 Cancellation/discharge of Indebtedness Under the Internal Revenue Code, a cancellation/discharge of indebtedness may be income to a debtor for tax purposes. See 26 U.S.C. 61(a)(12). Federal agencies are required to report certain cancelled/discharged debts to the IRS (26 U.S.C. 6050P). IRS Form 1099-C is used to report this information. IRS has issued an official publication "Instructions to Forms 1099-A and 1099-C" and detailed regulations at 26 CFR 1.6050P-1. WHAT IS A CANCELLATION/DISCHARGE OF INDEBTEDNESS?
2 Cancellation/discharge of Indebtedness IRS regulations list 8 circumstances which trigger the requirement to report a discharge of indebtedness to IRS on Form 1099-C. These are called identifiable events. WHAT IS AN IDENTIFIABLE EVENT?
3 Cancellation/discharge of Indebtedness Very generally, the 8 identifiable events concern discharges of indebtedness involving: (1) Title 11 Bankruptcy (Business reorganization); (2) receivership, foreclosure or similar court proceedings; (3) upholding of the affirmative defense of the statute of limitations; (4) use of foreclosure remedies (such as non-judicial foreclosure) where further collection is barred; (5) probates or similar proceedings where the debt becomes unenforceable; (6) compromises for less than the full amount of the debt; (7) decision by the creditor to cease collection on the debt based on the creditor's defined policy; and (8) Expiration of the non-payment testing period (generally, non-payment on the debt for 3 years). WHAT ARE THE 8 IDENTIFIABLE EVENTS? The rules regarding identifiable events are very detailed and IRS regulations should be reviewed carefully to understand each event, its limitations and its exceptions.
4 Cancellation/discharge of Indebtedness WHAT ARE SOME OF THE RULES REGARDING IRS FORM 1099-C REPORTING? An agency is required to file a 1099-C following an "identifiable event". There is a dollar amount threshold. The filing of a 1099-C is mandatory for debts over $600, but an agency may report lesser amounts. For lending transactions the dollar amount refers only to principal. For non-lending transactions the dollar amount includes administrative costs and penalties. Interest may be reported in lending and non-lending transactions, at the discretion of the creditor agency. The agency should not report a debt if it has a lien against the debtor's property, unless the agency decides to release the lien.
5 Cancellation/discharge of Indebtedness WHEN MUST THE 1099-C BE FILED WITH THE IRS AND PROVIDED TO THE DEBTOR? The agency must send a 1099-C to the IRS by February 28 th of the year following close-out or by March 31 st if filed electronically. A copy of the 1099-C must be sent to the debtor by January 31 st of the year following close-out. For debts referred to FMS for cross-servicing, FMS will complete 1099-C reporting, if requested by the agency.
6 Cancellation/discharge of Indebtedness HOW DOES REPORTING A DISCHARGE OF INDEBTEDNESS TO IRS AFFECT THE AGENCY'S ABILITY TO COLLECT ON THE DEBT? Once a debt is reported to the IRS, no further collection action may be taken by the agency. The agency may accept voluntary payments on the debt, and there is no obligation to notify IRS of a change in the amount of the debt.
7 Cancellation/discharge of Indebtedness STUDENTS – YOU HAVE DONE WELL! YOU HAVE COMPLETED ALL THE PARTS OF MY TUTORIAL! YOUR PROFESSOR IS PROUD OF YOU! Congratulations, your are now "TERMINATORS, WRITER- OFFERS, AND DISCHARGERS OF DEBT." As a review of your knowledge, I have prepared several questions for you to answer. If you are up to the challenge, proceed to the next part by clicking on the arrow.
Similar presentations
© 2017 SlidePlayer.com Inc.
All rights reserved.


text:
This promotion is for Rewards members only. To take advantage of exclusive offers like these, join Office Depot® OfficeMax® Rewards now!
- Home /
- Product Details
- Includes grommets and back panel cutouts for convenient clutter-free wire management.
- Offers ample work/storage space. Includes 2 box drawers for miscellaneous supplies, plus a file drawer that holds letter- or legal-size files. Accepts a 72" hutch, return, peninsula, or 48" bridge, as well as a CPU Holder, pencil drawer or keyboard shelf and monitor arm in the 3" grommets (all pieces sold separately).
- Premium Installation Service: Furniture is delivered and installed in 1 visit within 21 business days with all packaging removed. Some furniture may be delivered partially assembled, requiring on-site assembly by the delivery service. Some areas may take longer than 21 business days.
was removed.
Thank you, you will now be redirected to comparisons.
Just a moment while we prepare the page
Check In-Store Availability


text:
Sleeps | 8 |
Bedrooms | 3 |
Bathrooms | 2 |
Space | 2,000 sq. ft. |
Property type | house |
Minimum Stay | 1 - 2 nights |
Described by several guests as 'magical' this home is a former wing of an historic manor that in the past has been a girls school and a monastery complete with it's own private chapel. Hidden away in a vast parkland estate with it's own large private garden it is the perfect place to relax and unwind.
With high ceilings and spacious proportions this large 3 bedroom house is elegant but comfortable and homely. Although listed as sleeping 6 adults (2 each in 3 bedrooms), the Master and Kingsize bedrooms are large enough to accommodate another adult sleeping on an electric single airbed to accommodate up to 8. For infants (up to 2 years) a travel cot is provided.
All 3 bedrooms are equipped with TV/Freeview Channels, full tea/coffee making facilities, quality cotton bed linen and plenty of towels. An iron, ironing board and hairdryer is also provided.
The large patio and garden is ideal for al fresco dining or relaxing and regenerating, surrounded by mature trees.
Guest Access:
Check-in is from 3:00 PM local time and checkout is by 12:00 PM local time. Guests have full use of the house which includes:
Entrance Hall with coat/boot room and a separate cloakroom/toilet.
Large Sitting room with laptop working area
Large kitchen/diner
Laundry facilities in a separate utility area
3 bedrooms comprising of 1 Master Bedroom with ensuite bathroom,
1 Kingsize Bedroom, 1 Double Bedroom
Large Family Bathroom
2 single raised airbeds (or 2 basic camp beds with sleeping bags) and a travel cot for infants up to 2 years are available to use on request for groups of 7-8.
Large private patio and garden surrounded by mature trees
Parking for up to 2 cars in the courtyard
Interaction with Guests:
All guests will usually be welcomed personally and settled in by myself or other family member. During longer stays a basic clean and change of bed linen and towels is included every 7 days.
House Rules:
This home is a peaceful retreat. strictly no parties. Guests are expected to treat it as they would their own home - ie. with loving care.
To book this property for workshops, talks and other small events please see below and contact me to discuss your requirements.
Short Stay B&B Option: Short stays including the ingredients for a self catered breakfast is available throughout the year. Please ask for details before booking.
We can host and/or fully organise a wide variety of small events ...
Spa breaks (including massage, face and body treatments)
Pre or post nuptial stays
Meditation or yoga groups
Private meetings
Country pursuits
Spiritual retreats (including talks, workshops and intuitive development)
Honeymooners Welcome:
All newly weds or new civil partners booking a three night stay (or more) receive complementary sparkling wine and flowers in their room on arrival.
The Neighbourhood:
The house is hidden away at the end of a half mile drive through a fourteen acre parkland, accessed from a B road four miles from Ware Town. Due to the lack of light pollution on a clear evening it's a wonderful place to stargaze.
Our county landscape is full of diversity – dense ancient woodlands nestle alongside open arable farmland; expansive country estates stretch across hills and vales, while many fields and forests are punctuated with public tracks, bridle paths, rivers and lakes.
The area is ideal for bird watchers, nature lovers, walkers, cyclists, trekking and horse riding with many public footpaths and bridal ways through open countryside close to the house. Pretty villages and market towns are prevalent in this part of east Hertfordshire. You'll be amazed that you're only 45 minutes from London and half an hour from Stansted Airport. My family and friend's nickname for the area is 'Middle Earth.'
Getting Around:
For easy transport and to appreciate the surroundings, a car is ideal and will make the most of your stay if a touring break is in mind. There is a good choice of local car hire companies including those that will deliver your vehicle to the house or organise pick up at any airport.
Easy access to and from the A10, M11 and M25.
If you are looking for a tranquil stay before a flight, Stansted Airport is 15 miles (28mins) away by car/taxi.
The nearest train station (Ware Town) is 3.7 miles (9mins) away and taxi fare to or from the house is approx £7
45 min train journey time into London Liverpool Street from Ware Town.
Other train stations within 10-15 mins drive from the house are Hertford, Hertford East, St Margarets and Harlow.
Born and lived in London, committed urbanite, ex graphic designer and studio owner ... AKA recovering workaholic. After two decades running a small business I made a life change to one of balance and moved out of the city.
Having re-trained I enjoyed some years as a Progressive Kinesiology Practitioner and emergency/respite foster carer for children and young people with learning challenges. Now semi retired I share my peaceful haven by hosting individual guests and small group events involving relaxation and self development.
As a guest I treat wherever I stay with the utmost respect and appreciate privacy and clean, uncluttered spaces. I like to think I'm an easy, warm and friendly guest and always do my best to leave a place as lovely as I found it.
As a host, all guests are welcomed personally and settled in but from then on, they can relax and enjoy the house and garden to themselves.
My Life motto is: "Commit Random Acts Of Kindness."
India purchased this house in 2000
If you are looking for a spacious, rural sanctuary that feels very 'far from the madding crowd' but is only forty minutes from London, only twenty minutes from Stansted and in the middle of an idyllic country landscape .... this could be it.
Serviced Seven night/Weekly/Monthly Holiday Home or Meeting Base Rental:
Stays of a week or more are based on a short term holiday/vacation let agreement and require a deposit. A weekly cleaning and change of bed linen service is provided and included with these types of rentals. The owners do not reside at the property during these periods but someone is always on hand or easily contactable for the assistance of guests.
Short Stay B&B Option: Short stays including the ingredients for a self catered breakfast is available throughout the year. Please ask for details before booking.
Specially tailored retreats and events:
We can host and/or fully organise a wide variety of small events ...
Spa breaks (including massage, face and body treatments)
Pre or post nuptial stays for small wedding parties
Meditation or yoga groups
Private meetings
Small celebrations (can include outdoor marque/equipment hire)
Country pursuits
Spiritual retreats (including talks, workshops and intuitive development)
Honeymooners Welcome:
All newly weds or new civil partners booking a three night stay (or more) receive complementary sparkling wine and flowers in their room on arrival.
Parking for the Airports:
Depending on the time of year it may be possible for us to look after your car for guests flying out of Stansted (or Luton) for short trips. There is an additional charge for this service. Please enquire at the time of booking.
A lovely quite couple of days after an hectic run up to Christmas just what the doctor ordered, plenty of room for my grandchildren to play hide and seek weather could have been better we could not see the wonderful grounds until the day we left, but the open fire was cosy.
We loved staying here for Christmas. India had left a Christmas tree up and the house looked amazing. The beds were comfortable and the house had all the facilities that we needed.
The house is set is such beautiful countryside - ideal for walking and bird watching.
This house is so lovely. The house and garden are both massive and so well kept!
We stayed for a wedding and the whole weekend went so smoothly because of everything India provided for us, she's such a lovely host :) thank you for letting us stay in your gorgeous house ❤
I would unreservedly recommend anyone to stay in this beautiful house. The owner of the house is extremely helpful and does all that she can to ensure that her guests have a great time staying in her home.
The house is very well kitted out, and has just about everything one could need to make for a comfortable stay. We did not need to take anything from home apart from ourselves and our luggage.
Everything was spotlessly clean and all the bedrooms ready for an excellent night's sleep. All the rooms are large or very large and are furnished very nicely; the beds were particularly comfortable as was the living room furniture.
The garden is very large and excellent for young children to play in.
All in all I would give the house 10 out of 10 for giving us a wonderful weekend
Myself and four girls have just returned from this beautiful property and a glorious, relaxing weekend away.
The house is stunning, fully equipped and comfortable.
India couldn't have been more helpful in organising everything for us, from receiving a shopping delivery to booking a table at the local pub.
We have had a fantastic weekend and we will be back in December for a girls "Christmas" weekend away!
Thank you India
I hired the cottage for a weekend away with some girl friends and we had a fantastic time.
India was very welcoming and the little touches of leaving us milk, toiletries etc. was great.
The cottage was much larger than I thought from the pictures, and there was plenty of room for the 8 of us, including the garden which was beautiful. Everything was immaculately clean and tidy and the reason for the fifth star!
The location was remote but the town of Ware is only a short (10 minutes) drive away and it had everything we needed, shops, bars and lovely restaurants.
I would definitely recommend this property & host to anyone. Thank you India :-)
Rate Period | Nightly | Weekend Night | Weekly | Monthly * | Event | ||||
Christmas 2017
Dec 24 2017 -
Dec 26 2017
2 night minimum stay
Notes: Rates are based on 6 guests; add $37 per night, per additional guest | |||||||||
My Standard Rate
1 night minimum stay
Notes: Rates are based on 6 guests; add $37 per night, per additional guest |
Fees | No additional mandatory fees |
Refundable damage deposit | $624 |
Rates are subject to change until reservation is confirmed. There is a mi casa tu casa approach with this home but guests are expected to treat the house, all of its contents and gardens as they would their own home - with tender loving care. Guests are ultimately expected to leave the home as they found it. Please contact me for all house rules, health and safety information, privacy/data protection and other details from the house manual that will help you decide if this home-from-home is right for you and your family or friends. The retreat is exactly that. It's a beautiful (but not stuffy) home in a stunning historic building and very quiet and peaceful location. Loud, large or late parties are not acceptable at any time.
For short stays a self catering breakfast is included in the price. The owner usually lives at the property during short breaks but once they are welcomed and settled in by their hosts, guest have the freedom and privacy to use the whole house and private gardens with the exception of the owners private suite (accessed from the first floor landing.)
During longer serviced lets, guests have access and full use of the same facilities (whole house excluding private rooms) but the owner is not resident during your stay. For stays of more than one week, a weekly house clean and change of bed linen is included.
* Approximate monthly rate. Actual rate will depend on the days of the month you stay.
Only 26 miles from Central London East Hertfordshire is an excellent base to explore and enjoy the abundance of nature and outdoor pursuits while being very close to many attractions and other activities. From fly fishing to white water rafting at the Lee Valley Park, A visit to the gunpowder mills near historic Waltham Abbey, Paradise Wildlife Park, Abbeys, Churches, Market towns and villages are all within easy reach. Whether you fancy traditional fish and chips on the beach in an old sea side town in Essex or hitting the highlights of London, this a perfect place to be. A peaceful, relaxing rural sanctuary in easy reach of anything else you might need ... what could be more ideal. Here's just a few ideas ...
The Ware and Hertford Waterbus:
The waterbus between Ware and Hertford cruises along the picturesque flood plains of the River Lee. The River Lee with an abundance of wildlife connects these two historic towns. On route you pass through two original working locks. Operating every Saturday and Sunday (except in extreme weather or special event) between Ware Town Quay (next to The Priory, behind the Library car park) and Hertfords Bircherley Green Shopping Centre (by Starbucks). A wonderful way to watch the scenery with journey times approximately 75-90 minutes each way. The service is fully accessible and has two toilets (one disabled), refreshments and a licensed bar on board. Boats have space for up to 60 passengers and welcome buggies and wheel chairs.
The historic and Exclusive Fanhams Hall:
Afternoon tea or just a walk through the grounds is a treat for the senses at Fanhams Hall. A listed Jacobean building dating back to 1412, it has two distinctly different but equally magnificent gardens. The formal Queen Anne garden of topiary, winding paths, pond and fountain is beautiful and traditional in it's 'British-ness.' Take a spiritual journey to the Japanese gardens called Koraku-en which means 'Joy After.' Designed by Mr Inaka and laid out by Professor Suzuki in the early 1900s the gardens include many magical features such as the fox lake, spirit bridge and tea house.
Scott's Grotto - the largest in the UK:
You may be surprised to know that tucked away in a street of modern houses in Ware is the UK's largest grotto. Most examples of eighteenth century garden buildings are in the grounds of stately homes which makes this one unique. Scott's Grotto was restored in 1990 by the Ware Society. The Grotto is a series of six chambers extending over 65 feet into and 30 feet below a chalk hillside, with air shafts, light wells and connecting passages. The chambers are decorated with shells, stones such as flint and fossils, and coloured glass. It's open to the public from 2.00pm - 4.30 pm every Saturday and Bank Holiday from April to September. Parties can also be shown round at other times by appointment with the Warden. Entrance is free but a donation of £1 is suggested from new visitors. It's advisable to wear flat shoes and bring a torch.
The Henry Moore Foundation at Perry Green:
Open 1 May to 25 October 2015, Wednesday to Sunday and Bank Holidays. Founded by the artist in 1977 to encourage public appreciation of the visual arts, you can interact with the amazing sculptures in the grounds, visit the studio and attend events.
Golf Courses Galore:
There are choices of golf courses within close proximity including Chadwell Springs, Ash Valley Golf Club, Hanbury Manor Hotel and Country Club, The Hertfordshire Golf and Country Club and Briggens Park Golf Club.
Standon Calling Music Festival:
A must-do on the UK music festival scene, Standon calling is on this year from 31st July - 2nd August 2015. Only 18 mins from the house, ideal if you're a luxury loving festival goer or need a rest in a peaceful sanctuary after attending ;)
Country pursuits are abundant in the area including Fishing, Horse Riding and Clay pigeon shooting with facilities and opportunities for experts to novices including family fun days and events.
A great base from which to explore and visit areas of natural beauty, towns, villages, historic sites and attractions in and close by East Hertfordshire, The Lea Valley, Essex borders and Cambridgeshire. Ware Town and Hertford are minutes away with a fantastic choice of restaurants, pubs and bars. Slightly further afield are Hatfield, St.Albans and Bishops Stortford. Within just over an hour, you could be in historic Cambridge, Central London or a seaside town in Essex.


text:
From Salzburg to Telc
From CK Cesky Krumlov to Nuremberg City
Graz Airport
Description of Airport Shuttle transfer:
Our driver will pick up you from Graz International Airport infront of Arrivals. We will be looking for you holding your name written on the signboard. We will transfer you to the CK Cesky Krumlov, Telc, Karlovy Vary - Carlsbad Airport Hotel, Prague Hotel or Prague International Airport in Czech Republic or any other destination by your choice.
Door to door service. Leaving up to you!
Our shuttle also start from CK Cesky Krumlov to Prague International Airport or Prague Hotel, Vienna International Airport or to Vienna hotel, Salzburg International Airport or to Salzburg hotel, Hallstatt Hotel, Munich International Airport or to Munich Hotel or to any other destination by your choice.
You can choose between private shuttle or shared shuttle bus transfer. email@example.com