Still working up to Christmas shopping although I did manage to wrap a few presents. Vita came up with yet another collaborative deal � and explained to me how she�d made money on the last one � she persuaded me to give her the full price of a present for Yvonne and then bought the item discount through James at Heals and pocketed 30% of the money.

Jake is still with my sister and the house seems really empty with him not here. The Osbornes seem to get funnier and funnier � and one of their more endearing features is how they relate to their dogs,

Yvonne she thought the collective Christmas behaviour looked madder than ever this year � I can see what she�s getting at. On the other hand I liked David Beetge�s message which Robert sent me - I put it up on www.kwase-kwaza.org. I quite like the ITV Nativity told as news bulletin � it gets the resonances of the violence, cultural complexity and oppression well by looking like contemporary reporting. The BBC2 programme about the three kings was interesting up to a point � probably Magi from Babylon, part of an intellectual administrative elite, big on interpreting dreams. But it coud have been better on the text � why only Matthew tells this story, for example.

The Elvis programmes on C4 were much better than expected � Bono�s poem impressed me. Scotty Moore looked a cool character. There was one striking shot of Las Vegas Elvis � the commentator said that at this point he became an opera singer and the clip showed this extraordinary passionate engagement with a ballad. He seemed to be playing keyboards.

A good article about Measure for Measure in the London Review of Books � the play �takes a great leap into the centre of disharmony: and its chief discordance or broken music is that of inner against outer � Mind against Body.� On the Duke � �more and more the butt of events, his motives hidden perhaps because he has none, he acts with an abruptness and inexplicable decisiveness as we live within ourselves��..something like our inward process of responsible self-knowledge and self �discovery.�

I made up a 7 track Cd for Gilbert � four pieces from the latest CD that he sent me (from the one I sent him at the end of October) .One of these is a Fifths piece and so I included Robin�s and Mark�s pieces which they made from the Fifths basic track and I also added Adam Postgate just to see how it sounded after a few weeks left fallow.

I made the CD by the old method � rather than burining from a WAV inside the portable I played the WAVs through the card and into the analog input of the Pioneer audio CD recorder - hearing the piece go through in real time and checking the level seemed to be worth the extra time (and extra D-A A-D steps) when I am still making up my mind about them. I really liked the quality of the sound on Robin and Mark�s recordings � I guess all that time behind a mixing desk is bound to leave an impression.

I spent some time on the net looking for material on Varese�s 21.5 � no MIDIS and part of it mp3 was all I managed to find. Lots of references to the different analyses of the piece carried out from various points of view but none of the original analysis was on offer either. Some people have shown how closely the piece follows Syrinx eg in terms of tri-tones and semi-tones.

Mails from Gilbert and Robin. I think Gilbert is right about people travelling hopefully � for example both the visitors to my new flat have been reckless or careless in equipping themselves with the directions and telnos that I have provided them with and so have spent a lot more time finding the place than they need to have � I don�t mind because that is exactly how I am. Maybe this is to do with being low on the use of structure and having a strong interest in possibility relative to actuality. If you have a structured approach to actuality than you plan a route and take it with you.

The street where we live in Guildford only does one thing collectively. On a Saturday in advent it collects at 5.30pm under a lamppost and travels its length singing carols. I was in two minds whether to do it this year - but I turned up with the Dhorn and played from memory. Then we always go back to someone's house for mince pies and mulled wine - this means I get more conversation with my neighbours in one evening than I do in the whole of the rest of the year.