The Wasps – Ouverture

Big Dreamer and I had a lovely evening out together this weekend. I know, out, together, in the evening! Shock horror! We left my lovely mum in charge. That’s not technically true. Little Owl was in charge, but my mum was there. We put on some nice clothes, left the change bag at home, and stepped out into the warm evening to go to a concert for wildlife. The Exeter Symphony Orchestra were performing at Exeter cathedral in aid of the Devon Wildlife Trust and we had tickets.

We took our seats under the magnificent vaulted ceiling, the evening sunshine pouring in through the massive stained glass windows highlighting every elegant curve and beautifully sculpted piece of masonry. Opening with Johann Strauss’ Ouverture from Die Fledermaus (The Bat, in case you were wondering), the cares of the day slowly started to slide away. Devon is one of the last strongholds of the greater horseshoe bat so this piece of music was particularly apt. The Devon Wildlife Trust have a fundraising campaign currently running for Devon’s Bats and if you would like to support it you can do so by going here. My absolute favourite piece of music they played was the Four Sea Interludes from Peter Grimes by Benjamin Britten. It was so effective at conjuring up mental images that I felt totally transported. Big Dreamer was equally transported by the evening’s entertainment. He fell asleep part way through the first half. Out, together, in the evening. Possibly a mite on the ambitious side. We’ll try again in another six months!

Here’s an illustration from a recent commission about DNA.