"A liberal is a man or a woman or a child who looks forward to a better day, a more tranquil night, and a bright, infinite future."
- Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990)

Early evening walk,  exploring a different path to the beach from the route that I usually take.  Didn't go as far as the sea because it was getting late and chilly in spite of the sunshine, but I certainly will do so very soon, for the sheer pleasure of doing it differently.

Otherwise, it was a solitary day at home soaked in sunshine and boredom, with a couple of hours of online tutoring this afternoon to occupy me. Late evening got sucked in to the abyss that is YouTube.  I was initially looking for some English learning videos for one of my online students to watch because she is currently unable to come to class while caring for her parents at home, both unwell with covid, and now showing symptoms herself.  I mention this  as a sign of the times and awful reminder of the impact this pandemic is having, still, on the most ordinary of lives, and the salutary reminder that I have merely suffered from boredom, loneliness, and slight weight gain. 

Entering the black hole that is YouTube around the time that I should really have been going to sleep, I ended up watching the gifted and extraordinary Leonard Bernstein discuss Beethoven's 6th and 7th symphonies with Maximilian Schell (here).  This of course led to small wee hours nostalgia for my days singing in the London Symphony Chorus, 40 years ago at the Royal Festival Hall and Albert Hall, with various notable conductors of the day, including the amazing Leonard Bernstein, where every rehearsal was a music seminar - I think it was for a performance of Mahler's 8th Symphony - no way of checking when all my souvenirs are in Essex, but ah, what times they were.