I intended to do an overnight hard disk/DVD transfer of the Last Night Prom (2013), Part I - 93 mins & Pt II 99 mins. This left space for a 50 mins fill-in on a 240 mins DVD. An enjoyable tussle as I mulled over the possibilties. I'd already transferred the Late Night TV Proms which usually had a running time of 75-90 mins but realised - a sudden magnificent obsession 
- that a suitable companion would be the 1997 documentary, "Modern Times - Prommers" and was relieved to see that it ran to 49 mins, ideal! I'm sure that a few members will already have this fascinating insight on their shelves as I discussed it a few years ago - the R3 boards - or, erm, another place? I seem to recall a response from David Underdown and smiled as i noted that he was listed as a viewer today. Still contributing as a collector for musical charities, David? £85,000+ this year. Congratulations and thanks to you all for your time and effort.
The 'Prommers' documentary remains good archive material representing 'a world elsewhere' and it is also a touching reminder of a few faces still familiar from my years as a Prommer from the early
60s. The loner in the 'day trippers' front rail who always wore a harris tweed jacket and used a Colin Davis gift of a baton to conduct Land of Hope & Glory, out-of-time! Recognised, too, the white haired man with matching walrus moustache who regulariy appeared, like the Scarlet Pimpernel, at the top of the stairs, at the nearside Exit, to the Season Ticket holders. In the film, he is seen seated on the chairs surrounding the fountain. The last discussion ascertained that they had both shuffled off this mortal coil.
I still feel a slight unease at the eccentricities of the Season Ticket stalwarts who have the stamina to queue for 400 hours throughout a season but am not surprised that they are strictly territorial about their space and fully alert to the late comers who try to elbow their way to the front beyond the clearly indicated white line. One or two of those regulars could still be seen in their 'place' until a year or two ago. In 1997, a feisty lady, Sue, "the uncrowned Queen of the Proms" dominated her squad and viewers could even join- in on her birthday celebrations. We even got to know the the amateur conductor who plighted his troth to another Susie - "the best librarian ever" who assisted him in recruiting and rehearsing a scratch orchestra from the regulars with a one- and only- early afternoon performance in the portals of the Hall, towards the end of the season. Touched, too, to realise that '97 was also the year when Colin Davis deputised for George Solti who had died a week before he was due to conduct the Verdi Requiem; this year, in turn, Sir Colin had to be replaced for Prom 51, (20 August).
Always a pleasure to see the surrounding environs of the RAH and to see so many expectant faces seeking a new experience in the power of music and performance in the extraordinary ambience of the cavernous auditorium. Small pleasures, too, in watching a red coat, presumably a 'resting' singer, exercise his tonsils in an empty Arena with a rendition of "Just one cornetto..."
"O Divine music,
Renew our hearts." King Priam
- that a suitable companion would be the 1997 documentary, "Modern Times - Prommers" and was relieved to see that it ran to 49 mins, ideal! I'm sure that a few members will already have this fascinating insight on their shelves as I discussed it a few years ago - the R3 boards - or, erm, another place? I seem to recall a response from David Underdown and smiled as i noted that he was listed as a viewer today. Still contributing as a collector for musical charities, David? £85,000+ this year. Congratulations and thanks to you all for your time and effort.The 'Prommers' documentary remains good archive material representing 'a world elsewhere' and it is also a touching reminder of a few faces still familiar from my years as a Prommer from the early
60s. The loner in the 'day trippers' front rail who always wore a harris tweed jacket and used a Colin Davis gift of a baton to conduct Land of Hope & Glory, out-of-time! Recognised, too, the white haired man with matching walrus moustache who regulariy appeared, like the Scarlet Pimpernel, at the top of the stairs, at the nearside Exit, to the Season Ticket holders. In the film, he is seen seated on the chairs surrounding the fountain. The last discussion ascertained that they had both shuffled off this mortal coil.
I still feel a slight unease at the eccentricities of the Season Ticket stalwarts who have the stamina to queue for 400 hours throughout a season but am not surprised that they are strictly territorial about their space and fully alert to the late comers who try to elbow their way to the front beyond the clearly indicated white line. One or two of those regulars could still be seen in their 'place' until a year or two ago. In 1997, a feisty lady, Sue, "the uncrowned Queen of the Proms" dominated her squad and viewers could even join- in on her birthday celebrations. We even got to know the the amateur conductor who plighted his troth to another Susie - "the best librarian ever" who assisted him in recruiting and rehearsing a scratch orchestra from the regulars with a one- and only- early afternoon performance in the portals of the Hall, towards the end of the season. Touched, too, to realise that '97 was also the year when Colin Davis deputised for George Solti who had died a week before he was due to conduct the Verdi Requiem; this year, in turn, Sir Colin had to be replaced for Prom 51, (20 August).
Always a pleasure to see the surrounding environs of the RAH and to see so many expectant faces seeking a new experience in the power of music and performance in the extraordinary ambience of the cavernous auditorium. Small pleasures, too, in watching a red coat, presumably a 'resting' singer, exercise his tonsils in an empty Arena with a rendition of "Just one cornetto..."
"O Divine music,
Renew our hearts." King Priam
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