Rhododendron augustinii 'Marion MacDonnell' - 17 April 2025

Blue was my Rosemary’s favourite colour in the garden. Perhaps it had to do with the fact that blue is a difficult colour to find there.

My friend Alleyne Cook selected a Rhododenron augustinii that he thought had blue flowers. It is called Rhododenron augustinii ‘Marion MacDonnell’. None of us ever thought it was really blue. It was purple. He gave me a plant which in my Kitsilano garden is now a small tree. This year the flowers are almost blue. I smiled. While both my Rosemary and Alleyne are gone they would have told me, “Alex, I told you so.”

Alleyne Cook

For me blue is colour that reminds me of my blue winter uniform when I was a conscript in the Argentine Navy. Blue also brings me a memory touched with melancholy. In Buenos Aires, while in the navy, I had a lovely girl friend called Susy. One day she me and told me, “Alex you are never going to amount to anything and you have no culture. Don’t ever call me back. I am leaving you for a violinist in the Teatro Colón Symphony Orchestra.” I was living alone in a pension in the middle of a dark, cold and rainy Buenos Aires winter. I was depressed. I played the Miles Davis Kind of Blue album (which is the one I have kept all these years and is in this scan) endlessly somehow thinking that the more I got depressed the better it got.

In some way my Rosemary, like her colour blue, was a cool woman. She kept her thoughts to herself. But when she smiled she was all warmth. I never did tell her the significance of this album that has not a scratch and I could play it. I will not. I would rather wake up tomorrow and look out of the window. Rhododendron augustinii ‘Marion MacDonnell’ will be blue. It will remind me this Emily Dickinson Poem when I wake up tomorrow:

A slash of Blue - Emily Dickinson

204

A slash of Blue —

A sweep of Gray —

Some scarlet patches on the way,

Compose an Evening Sky —

A little purple — slipped between —

Some Ruby Trousers hurried on —

A Wave of Gold —

A Bank of Day —

This just makes out the Morning Sky.

More Emily Dickinson blogs

For I - inhabit Her

In Ceaseless Rosemary

The Morns are meeker

A Favourite Just Noticed 

All the Witchcraft that we need 

It only gives our wish for blue 

My heart is laden 

Of bronze and blaze

The red and the white 

A Lady Red

Hands 

I took my power in my hands 

That clarifies the sight 

 Nature rarer uses yellow

Rosemary white and a bit of yellow 

Nature rarer uses yellow

Luck is not chance 

T is iris sir 

The white heat

I tried to be a rose 

nature rarer uses yellow 

The Tulip

Nor would I be a poet 

November left then clambered up
You cannot make remembrance grow
November
the maple wears a gayer scarf 

Alex - 1958

Living in my Kistsilano home, I am surrounded by framed photographs of family and of magazine assignments from my past. There are exquisite objects from Mexico that Rosemary and I purchased. I could state that I live surrounded by memories.

But there is more to this, particularly with the digital trends of this century. I have extensive metal filing cabinets full of my photographic output which began in Austin, Texas in my boarding school St. Edward’s High School. I purchased a Pentacon-F SLR.

Those taking photographs with their phones or with digital cameras and relying on technology that is not all that stable, might not have the memories I have when they are as old as I am (82).

My memories are tactile. I wish I could coin that expression as I think it is an important one that came suddenly to me today as I was bed rotting with my Niño and Niña cats.

How many people have in possession (a touchable one) of the first jazz album they ever bought? How many have a decent turntable (a linear tracking Sony)  and a sound system that can play the record without and skips and scratches?

I do!

I bought this album, used, at a record store in downtown Austin in 1958. In those days you could take the record into a booth to listen to it before you decided on buying it. I did because it had one song that seemed interesting – Oodles of Noodles.

It seemed that I was afraid that someone would steal my record (it was recorded in 1957) because I can clearly see my name on the back cover and also includes that I was in the Brother Vincent De Paul dorm for freshmen.

There is not available YouTube recording of my fave song for the 1967 album but a 1996 version is pretty close. The link is below.

Oodles of Noodles - Herbie Mann

Salvia rosemarinus 14 April 2025

Often other languages define things, places and in this case seasons with more insight.

Del lat. vulg. prima vera, y este del lat. primum 'primero' y ver 'primavera'. RAE (Diccionario de La Real Academia)

In Spanish spring is primavera which literarily means "to see first”. In my Kitsilano garden now is the time to be surprised at every turn as I walk and notice little flowers in bloom like anemones and primulas. I have even spotted some buds in two of my roses. They just might open in a week.

But the biggest surprise for me involves a plant that botanically is called Salvia rosmarinus. I was never aware or had ever noticed that it has little blue flowers. There is a fine but sad story about the rosemary in my garden.

My Rosemary gave our youngest daughter Hilary a small rosemary. All these years later is has grown to a large plant. Hilary no longer wants to deal with a garden and offered me to have it. I had to break the pot and put the plant is a canvas and bring it home from Burnaby. I planted it about two weeks ago and it never suffered being transplanted.

What can I possibly write here about a plant, a rosemary plant given to Hilary that is now back in the garden that used to be Rosemary and my garden? It seems somehow a symmetrical situation of a rosemary that is back to the fold. 

Another revelation for me is that I did not know that rosemary was a salvia.

Matthew Udry - 12 April 2025

 

Saint Anselm’s Anglican Church, 5210 University Blvd, brings to Vancouver programs of outstanding baroque music in a venue with lovely sound and for the suggested $20 entrance fee you get a sumptuous repast. That is incredible.

More incredible is that in 2023 and 2024 violinist Marc Destrubé played all 6 Bach Suites for solo violin at St. Anselm’s. This sort of event is extremely rare. Few violinists are able to tackle those Bach compositions.

In any other city thousands would have been in attendance. Why weren’t they? I have a secret to reveal. With the death of journalism in Vancouver you must sign up to email lists and then you will know about these.

My graphic designer friend Graham Walker attended the concert this past Saturday 12 of April which began at 3 pm.

We were not in the least surprised at the excellence of the group. But at the same time we were astounded to find a young man, Sam Ivory, who played that most difficult instrument superbly. The instrument? The baroque trumpet.

The concert was conducted and organized by prominent Vancouver violinist (also a teacher) Chloe Meyers.

For anybody reading this far be advised that on June 21^st, 1pm violinist Marc Destrubé will be performing in a concert billed as a “Summer Strawberry Special”.

When I was a magazine and newspaper photographer and writer one of my obligations was to take sharp photographs. Since I am now an amateur "music critic" I can do as I please. I love shooting what I call my swirls. On my digital Fuji X-E3 I use an attachment nicely called a Lensbaby. I had a particularly fun time shooting cellist Mathhew Udry as the large windows stage right at the altar reflected ever so nicely on his instrument.  

While Early Music Vancouver supports these concerts I cannot understand why none of its executives were in attendance.  In past concerts that has been the situation. On the other hand most of the young musicians at the concert are all studying in the music program of the University of British Columbia.