Yesterday Jake and I went to the West Downs. Well that�s what they might be called in a logical fashiom as they are the chalkland that links the Noth Downs and the South Downs. From the scarp edge we could look North East and see the chalk ridge that my house sits at the bottom of. We could also see the broad expanse of Greensand stretvhing up to Haslemere and Hindhead. These places are visible from the hill above the house but take a completely different shape.

The chalk on the West Downs is sufficiently hard to be quarried and used as a building material and so there are various white houses, white barns and white walls in the landscape. There was also a white moon in the blue sky.

We were sort of looking for the Roman Road in an unsystematic way. Knowing how it went to the West of Alton and Basing over the chalk one could get a rough idea of the path that it took over the broad mass of the greensand North of Chichester and just South West of where we were walking. I think we were probably a mile or so far to the East � of the RR but never mind � it was really good countryside and Jake had a great time sniffing around.

I started work on a suggestion of Andrew�s � a kind of locality mapping at a particular time and place � which I found very absorbing. As part of this I looked Emile Spira up on the net and found that he had also taught a candidate for the London mayor elections (who also composes). So I mailed Ken Bradley - the man in question and included the www.kwase-kwaza.com website in the mail. He mailed back smartly ordering a record � an excellent development. Unfortunately being online I missed a call from Vita saying she was arriving back early and a degree of confusion ensued.

There was a really interesting description Beethoven as a piano improviser in yesterday�s Guardian. It seems that improvisation was the technique that B used to get people in his stuff � then they�d come and hear his Piano Concertos. He�d perform the latest one but this wouldn�t bbe on sale. One could buy the score to the previous one. Beethoven was very interested in the quality of pianos � the one which would allow the greatest range of techniques in terms of hard hitting and soft sustain. The piano technology was changing at the time and B tried different manufacturers. I knew he was given a Broadwood because I nearly bought one in the late 1980s � and regret I didn�t even though I am a pretty eccentric pianist.

�Once he began to revel in the infinite world of tones, he was transported above all earthly things � his spirit had burst all restricting bonds. Now his playing tore wildly on like a cataract and anon he sank down exhausted exhaling gentleplaints dissolving in melancholy. Again the spirit would soar aloft triumphing over terrestrial sufferings.�

This brings to my mind an equation that I read recently � made by Patti Smith � linking Beethoven and Cotrane in terms of performance power. It also points to Keith Jarret especially the kinds of thing that Jarret says about how he performs Bach � the way that his engagement with the music works.

Talking of Jarret I picked up a Wyndham Hill sampler along with the H&O. I have never heard this pno music before � just its reputation for being sub-Jarret. Actually on first pass that seems unfair. If anything its sub-Debussy and that�s a charge most of us will sustain. I was impressed � it reminded me slightly on Howard Skempton, a one time associate of Andrew�s.

Today Jake and I went back to the same area that we visited yesterday � just a bit further West and probably an even prettier day. I made a bit more sense of the geology � I think there is quite a narrow layer of quite hard chalk. In places the chalk is eroded away and streams eat steep narrow valleys called �hangers� out of the underlying sand. We walked up a hanger which had a series of large artificial pools built in � at the top there was a small spring quite near the surface. It was so near the top of the hill that it was hard to imagine where the water was coming from. Anyway � even though it was fantastic weather there were hardly anyone around and we more or less had the place to ourselves.

On the way back we came across a classic Celtic site taken over by Christianity � the road actually diverted round the churchyard right at the top of the hill - the layout of the village was dictated by the roundness of the church site rather than the linearity of the road. Inside the circle, the church was made of chalk � quite unusual � what it must look like glowing in the moonlight!

We drove back trying to keep as close as possible to one branch of the River Wey � and it made me think that there must be a really good point to point walk across this changing landscape on the Surrey/Hampshire border . Like the Forest of Arden � this distinct zone seems to have caught my imagination with all its peculiar shapes , odd residues and separateness. I think Jake is prepared to go along with this on a �regular walks� basis.

I am glad Orlando's party went well - congratulations - throwing a party is a difficult artform I think!