magictreehouse | Entries tagged with theatre

In my dinner house I have been to a tour of Leeds Grand Theatre! Heritage Open Days are next month but they've put some paid tours on in the run up to that. It was fascinating, especially as it's a Victorian theatre and the whole thing's a proper rabbit warren. Queen Victoria and Prince Albert came to visit the opening of the Town Hall in the 1850s and Prince Albert apparently asked where the nearest theatre was. Leeds didn't have a 'proper' one so they built it after that in order to raise the standards of Leeds. The stairs are really wide as the ladies wore massive dresses and people could show off the way up and down - the same reason that there are boxes, to show off. The proles used to sit in the stalls and the corridors up to the seating area are sloped. The corridor used to be tiled too so that they could easily be washed down after all the dirty people had left, the water running done the sloped hall and out on to the streets. The theatre itself is meant to look like a Faberge egg. I was disappointed to learn the chandelier at the very top of the roof comes down. Apparently, when the guy does tours with kids he gets so wonderful suggestions on how to clean it. Via jet pack and tight rope walker are especially good.

After that we went backstage to see the dressing rooms (not inside them though). There's a seat in the corridor for dressers and the less important actors have to sit upstairs. There's also a Victorian fire door which has a wire that melts when there's a fire, shutting the door. This goes with the sprinkler system which runs through the theatre, one of the first in Europe. Then we went on-stage! The whole of the stalls and the stage is raked and you don't realise how high up the whole thing goes until you go out to the back and find out that you're a whole floor up. Until a lift was built in 2007 men had to pull up the props boxes by hand! Mad. Then we went upstairs to the stage control place (fly?) which was nicely decoarted, including Claire Sweeny's knickers! At one time the theatre used to employ 20 sailors to raise the stage backdrops. The reason it's meant to be unlucky to whistle in the theatre is that that's how the sailors used to communicate so if you whistle you might get somebody to do something that you didn't want. Now it's done by two men. One to operate the computer and one as a 'spotter' who makes sure everything's ok. Problems have arisen with ballet dancers getting attached to the set as it's being lifted up...

The other bit we saw was where the old sets used to be painted. They don't do it any more as it's a receiving theatre only (it doesn't create its own performances). I'll put pictures on Facebook tonight. The one other thing of interest is the building exterior itself. The creators travelled all over and so got influences from Spain, France and Italy while also putting (much later on) a Pan head above the actor's entrance as Pan was the Greek God of theatre critics! All good stuff.

Yesterday I was trained on cataloguing at Bradford Uni Peace Library. It was a headache during my MSc and it's still a headache now. It's so difficult but I think that I got there in the end. I'm only doing journals at the moment. I assume I'll be able to do books at some point too. Hopefully soon! I'm hungry for more experience!

The only other things of note to mention is that we watched Educating Rita last night. It's a brilliant film and I found some of it quite moving for some reason. It was very interesting from a Literature graduate point of view and I thought that studying literature in such depth was useless as well. Ha. 'Go outside, make love...' - very true. Julie Walters and Michael Caine are so good in it and I'm glad that their resolutions were so not obvious. They weren't cut and dry.

Oh, I must mention finishing my book. It was Giles Brandryth's 'Oscar Wilde and The Ring Of Death'. Yes, I'm aware that that sentence makes no sense! But it was very well written and really interesting, especially if you know about Oscar himself. I've read up on his family afterwards His poor wife died after falling down the stairs at home. One of his children died in the First World War and the other became a translator for the BBC. Oscar Wilde has one descendant left living though, who writes biographies of him. Something which I find quite nice considering that after Oscar was jailed Constance attempted to completely cut him off from his children, even changing their surnames.

One last thing. Must mention the horrendous time we've been having at work. Yes, it's Debbie fun again. She'd had a meeting set to find out the verdict of her sacking/not sacking. I was on my own here on Tuesday so she was loitering enough as it was, telling me about her 'imminent' move to Orkney rather than just doing her work. Then yesterday when the meeting was due she was hanging around our side of the office saying how 'no-one likes to be made to feel useless at work', generally looking for sympathy. I can't give sympathy to her because the sickness record isn't because of her mental illness, it's stems from laziness so I don't bend at all. So later in the afternoon she sat at our block and started crying, saying how she was worried about losing her job. I couldn't take it any more so I'm ashamed to say that I ran off (but so did Eleanor!) and Louise was left to deal with it. I bought Louise a KitKat after because I felt guilty. I'm not paid for this! Anyway, she's back to normal today. She's even diagnosed herself with a new medical condition so she must be alright. When will it end?!

Current Mood: drained

I'm a bit fed up today so I've put Alphabeat on as a remedy. It's working a little. It's a shame really as I've had a really nice weekend. Work is being a bit up or down though which is the problem really. On Friday I found out that I'm the only person to apply for my own post so I should be ok. Now they just need to ascertain whether I need an informal interview as it's a grade higher. Good news I guess even if I really do want to do the job. Still, they're interviewing for the new manager position tomorrow and if Eleanor doesn't get it then I'm going to be managed by someone I don't like. I don't even want to think about it.

Anyway, on Friday we went to see Britain's Got Bangra at the Playhouse. It was brilliant and there was an excellent mix of audience members. I don't even just mean 'ethnics', there was a great mix of young and old too which made a refreshing change from our point of view. The plot was slightly pointless and predictable but the music and dancing was so captivating that it didn't matter. And it was really funny. Occasionally I felt that I missed out on the odd Punjabi in-joke but it wasn't very often. The time line was 1970s until the present day and the way that they transformed the music from traditional Indian music and moved it through the ages was really very good. So yes, it was really enjoyable. The only thing missing was the more cultural struggle aspect which I find really interesting.

Saturday was a lazy day, much needed. We watched It Happened One Night, one of only three films to win the 'big five' Oscars. I've vowed to watch more old films as there really are some good ones - like this one. It's quite simple in its premise but it's very funny and the on-screen chemistry between Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert is brilliant. Although the stories around Claudette Colbert make her seem like a diva. Apparently she was quite the star then (funnily I'd never heard of her, although I've since learned that she's in Cleopatra, but still) and demanded double her usual fee to star in film and after filming she declared it the worst film she'd ever been in. bet she didn't distance herself from those Oscars afterwards though. Film stars are so interesting aren't they. They're such big celebrities and it's a kind of celebrity that is quite old. there's nothing quite like it. TV and modern music is too young for it and arts, like theater, don't create the same kind of celebrities such as Oscar Wilde and Noel Coward.

Anyway, I digress. I finished off Monkey Island 2 at the weekend too. The new spoken version is as brilliant as ever. I've perhaps unwisely started to play Dead Space. I'm not sure my nerves can take it. I'm having to ration myself to playing it in spurts because it's doing me in. I don't think I've played a horror game since Resident Evil 4 and even that was less scary, more action. This is killing me though!

On Sunday it was the Waterfront Festival. It's much nicer than the dragon boats as it's much more family orientated. They were doing falconry and jousting at the Armouries so we went to see both. they were very impressive. I'll try and put the films up on Facebook when I get a chance. Afterward we went and met Charlotte and went round to Bev's for actual socialness. Crazy. Bev's looking after Vikki's rabbit while she's on holiday so we played with him for a bit. Bev's flat it rather nice. Big windows which let the light in. Then we went back to ours for tea and chats. I didn't realise but Bev's totally made with her new law job. She's going to be a barrister and had to get through a huge application process but now she's in she's made for life unless she fucks it up (which she won't). It sounds amazing. I'd made apricot and yogurt cookies which went down a treat too and we played Wallace and Gromit's Fleeced board game which was hilarious - "You sheep stealing bitch" may have been shouted at one point. Not by me I might add.

Oh, must add that I've finished reading 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea which I really enjoyed. It gets a bit episodic near the end but I was surprised how easy to read it was and it's generally very engaging. A very good read.

Current Mood: gloomy
Current Music: Alphabeat - The Beat Is...

We've been in London for the weekend. We'd promised ourselves that this time would be a relaxing trip but as usual, it never works out that way does it? Actually, it wasn't too bad but we did do a lot of walking. Over the years we've done all the main things so it's nice to go off the beaten path a little bit isn't it? On Friday we had the day off from work so we got to London at about half 1. We checked in at the hotel and then headed straight out again. We went along Oxford Street and saw the Xmas lights. Christmas Carol has really got a big marketing budget right?! We then headed down Regents Street and to Hamley's. It's been a while since I've been in there. It was pretty packed but I love it so much, I didn't really care. We went right up to the top and had a drink in the cafe, then we had a look around. We ran into the new Lego boardgames which are just brilliant. I'd actually earmarked one to get to James for Xmas but it was blown wide open after we'd seen them because we fell in love with them! So we bought the Minotaurus one for ourselves. We totally failed at getting presents for anyone else but we succeeded in buying presents for us. We win.

Anyway, after that we went to Piccadilly and then to the venue of the musical for the evening (more on that in a minute). We needed to get some food so we crossed over to the south bank and had a look around the Xmas market there. We didn't buy much, although we did get some cute tree decorations. We then ate in Giraffe. It's tasty but I'd have an easier time ordering if they put some chillis on the menu so I could see how spicy the food was!

After food we went back to the Palace theatre to see Les Cages Aux Folles. Mistakenly we thought that John Barrowman was in it but when we opened the programme the slip told us that we off doing Children in Need! Gutted. They could have told us when we booked it, it did when we booked Blood Brothers. It turned out ok though as we managed to convince ourselves that John Barrowman (who is now known in our house as John Barrowman Booo) wouldn't have been all that great. I actually think he'd have been better cast in the role of George. Anyway, the replacement was debuting the night we saw him and he may have taken a little time to get warmed up but it was brilliant on the whole. Not camp at all, oh no....I really liked the way that front of stage/back stage switched. Song wise, they could do with a few more uptempos at the beginning but the second half completely nails as, of course, it has 'I Am What I Am' which when you see it live just amazing. So yeah, great stuff. So great that a fight broke out in the stalls during the interval. We couldn't see what was going but we heard something, very strange.

On Saturday we took the tube to Notting Hill and went to Portobello market. It's years since I went there but I forgot how long they go on for! We didn't managed to buy anything but it was nice just for a look around really. We then went to Kensington Roof Gardens which is a pain to find. They don't advertise it. It was worth it though as it was very quiet up there. It's a garden on the roof of a department store and it was lovely exotic ducks and more excitingly, flamingoes! Strange but it's lovely to get away from the city up there. We then walked to Kensington Park, sat on a bench and had dinner and got rather cold. Then we had a wander round Kensington Gardens where I got stalked by a squirrel. It saw the carrier bag and was convinced I had food. It climb up a pole at one point and I was convinced it was going to jump at me! So I ran away and it stalked me from the bushes for a bit!

We then went back to the hotel and played Minotaurus (so good) as we were wet and cold. Then we came back out a little later on and found a lovely Thai restaurant called Patara, in Soho. I had crab salad followed by pear in coconut cream for dessert which was just lovely. I think Thai might be my favourite cuisine, it's all just so tasty. After that we went to Phoenix theatre to see Blood Brothers. I'd sort of been dragged along by James as Mel C was in it and he's a big fan. I'm so gald I went though because it's a great play. It packs so much social commentary in about class and modern history too with it been set in the 60s, 70s and 80s. And yet the move from year to year is seamless. I did wonder if the songs were necessary at all but it's because of the songs that the time moves so easily. The actors in it were great, with them having to play children through to twenty-somethings and I was quite surprised that Mel C was actually brilliant. I knew she'd be good but she was perfect for the role. We stalked her afterwards (ie, waited with about 15 others outside the stage door round the back) and met her! She signed our programme, had her picture taken with us and chatted to us all. I think people were a little star struck but she was lovely. I asked her if she was finding it hard work. She said 'yes' without hesitation, she'd done two shows that day. She was tiny as well. I'm not used to meeting celebrites, it was very strange. Good though. James was ecstatic anyway!

On Sunday we went to the Wellcome Collection on Euston Road. Unfortunately there were on the change over for exhibitions so we missed out on that. However, we saw the permanent rooms, of which there are two. One has lots of interactive stuff so we had fun playing with the touch screens, and the other if full fo Mr Wellcome's 'stuff', historical bits he'd collected from other countries over the years. So things like Japanese sex aids, models made out of teeth. y'know, the usual. It was fascinating. And I felt pretty good as I went to a medical museum and didn't faint, I faced my fear head on. Now I just hope that my head gets back to normal now. We had dinner in the lovely cafe downstairs and then wandered down to Foyles bookshop and Fopp. I got the new Phoenix album (thanks Steph!) and we finally found the new DK book, the prehistory one - the stuff of dreams. It will be mine when I can find it cheap. We have all the others. then we got a train back home and collapsed. A great weekend though. Pictures on Facebook. I would put them on here but it's such a faff that there's really no point. Boo LJ!

Current Mood: happy
Current Music: Lady Gaga - The Fame Monster

Last me and James went to the Playhouse to see Dial M for Murder. It was very good. Even with a minimalist set (one room) they were still inventive with it. It was beautifully lit, mostly with shades of red but sometimes blue too and they created great shadowing, giving it a contemporary noir feel. The music was very noirish and very effective especially the 'murder' scene. I didn't know the story beforehand which made it even better. There's quite a lot talking at the beginning but once you get past that it's really thriller-ish and just great stuff. I love the theatre I really do, it's probably my favourite of stage show. I do like dance and seeing orchestras play but I always feel like there's something missing from them, which is why I enjoy the theatre and musicals so much - they have everything great in them. Speaking of which, we're off to London next month to see Blood Brothers with Mel C in. It's James' desire to go rather than mine but I love seeing shows so I'll see anything, plus Mel C was the best Spice Girl after all. We've also just booked La Cage Aux Folles to see while we're down there as well with John Barrowman in it! I might get Lucy an autograph to bring back, ha.

We've been getting back into our Bond films again so we're working our way through them slowly but surely. Over the week we've watched You Only Live Twice and then Never Say Never Again. The former is pretty good, I've seen it before. There's something lacking though, I'm not quite sure what. The latter was really good. After first watching it I wasn't convinced but after james arguing that it's one of the best I can see where he's coming from. It's not really a Bond film per se but it has good stuff going for it, especially the brave ending. It's all good stuff though.

I don't really have that much to update otherwise. I've mostly been spending the time listening to Strawberry Switchblade and playing the new Professor Layton game. Tonight I'm off out with James workmates/friends which should be good. I kind want to go dancing but only if somewhere plays Shakira's 'She-Wolf'. Trouble is, everywhere will be full of freshers right now!

I caught Alexandra Burke's new video the other day, and while i prefer the song much more than anything that Leona's released I can't help but feel that it's ten times more cynical. It's almost as if Syco thought, hmmm, she's British but there's not much money to be made here, and we did so well with Leona - let's go for the most American sounding song ever. Kerching. It just really grates with me.

It's funny, I seem to be importing a lot of music recently. I don't think it's for any other reason than it's not available in the UK but I'm waiting for Dragonette's album fro Canada, Venus Hum's from America and Natalie Imbruglia's from Australia (and if it's not released there I will hunt her down! How dare she pull the release until February for everywhere else?! Clearly the new Annie :( ). Good stuff!

Current Mood: bouncy

I've been a bit up-and-down this week. I do feel a little out of control, not in the sense that I'm going to snap at any moment, more that I just don't feel like I'm in control of anything. My job, home stuff, there's always stuff to do and the only stuff I do seem to have control is really boring stuff. Maybe it's because I don't have much to do. I've found a volunteering job that I could do though. It's with the West Yorkshire Playhouse so I'm a little wary because the last time I volunteered with the theatre I was there every night! However, this seems like it might just be one day a weekm and it's in the costume hire centre which sounds great. I'll have to enquire about it. There also might be sme news on the job front too. There's a reference library assistant post going in Halifax. Commuting again but right now I'm desperate. My job is killing me it's so boring and it sounds like a good chance to get into public libraries. We'll see!

Last night we went to see Alan Ayckborn's 'Bedroom Farce' at the West Yorkshire Playhouse. Having been stung by the goddamn awful 'An Inspector Calls' it was nice to have our faith in theatre restored because it was absolutely wonderful. The stage was amazing, really deep and very well set up considering the play is only on for a week. And for a play that has farce in the title it was surprisingly deep and all eight characters were very well developed as well their relationships with each other. I'm still thinking about it today because there was a lot of stuff about hopes and fears among couples which was very interesting. Plus it was hilarious, was amazingly acted and had Denise Black in it. Everyone really was a winner.

Last week we went to see Star Trek which was, again, brilliant. I was really sucked in by the whole thing and I couldn't really fault it to be honest. It was funny (and had a sense of fun unlike Wolverine), had great characters and was a joy to watch really. During the week we also watched 'Night At The Museum' which I didn't have high hopes for as it's a Ben Stiller film. And I was proved right. Mind you it wasn't because of him really. It was because for a film that has animals running around it had no sense of fun. A very weak script plus an appalling 'message' made for a bit of dull film, and it shouldn't have been, it had a dinosaur in it!

Tonight we're having a housewarming party. I was a bit put out by it really because it's not been of my doing at all. It's James' friends from work which is fine, but I don't feel like I've had much control over the whole thing (contributing to the initial comment in this post) but it'll be fine I'm sure. There will be dancing tonight as well as we're going out in Leeds. I haven't been out dancing for ages so it'll be good. Trouble is that when I haven't been out for a long time I get quite self-conscious about the whole thing but wine will sort that out I'm sure. God help them if they play 'Single Ladies'.

PS - The Little Boots album is very very good.

Current Mood: Friday!

I've been wanting to update this all week but I haven't because I wanted to add photos and couldn't because all three USB ports on my laptop have now died. I can't really afford a new one so it really needs performing, especially as the keyboard is on its last legs too. Obviously I need a new one but aside from not being to afford I am not going to the darkside and joining the shitty Vista league. How would I play all of my ten year old computer games then?! Case in point - I am currently most of the way through Grim Fandago which is turning out to be wonderful. It's a bit object/puzzle light I have to say but I'm actually turning out to be pretty crap at solving the puzzles so maybe it's for the best. When I was 10 I used to be so good at these games! Manny is voiced by Ugly Betty's Dad which pleases me. After I found that out I started to look up the other voices on IMDB and when I said to James that I expected to find more of the cast of Ugly Betty among the voices he accused me of being a big ol' racist!

Speaking of computer games, I really need to find an online forum or community that likes games in the same way that I do. Popjustice serves my music community needs but there doesn't seem to be a computer game equivolant. I need a place that likes the history as well as the evolution of gaming as opposed to blowing things up. Gamespot has some nice bits but the forums themselves are a bit low brow in a way, plus the spelling is really bad. I feel like a marginalised gamer!

So what's been going on lately? Well last week we went to see An Inspector Calls at Leeds Grand and you know what? It was utter shit. I tried to look on the bright side but James was on the verge of walking out. The Grand isn't doing well with us lately as every play we've seen there hasn't been great (only two granted). I liked the play itself but the production was terrible. The acting was mostly very bad and it was played too seriously. The set was nice but seemed to overwhelm everything. There also seemed to be a kids/WW!! thing going on which bared no relation to the setting of the play. It was directed by Stephen Daldry too, the director of the Billy Elliot film so it's not like he's incompetent. 2 Million deluded people then? Or maybe just disappointed. And blimey I've just found this piece about it:

"Following its initial success at the National Theatre, Stephen Daldry’s production of An Inspector Calls transferred to the West End for two years, prior to a world tour. In 1993 the production opened on Broadway, winning an unprecedented string of awards including four Tony Awards. Winning a total of 19 major awards since it first opened, this landmark production has played in Australia, the United States, Japan and Europe, and as well as its first West End run, has completed six major UK tours and a return visit to the West End which lasted for over eight years. Well in excess of 2 million theatergoers have watched the production at nearly 5000 performances."

The day after we'd had a think about it and James said how angry he was about it as it should have been good. I agree.

Anyway, better things now. Last weekend we went to see Wolverine and I was pleased to say that I liked it. I don't really get all the negative criticism about it to be honest. It's not a strong as when X-Men is at its best but it's enjoyable none the less. There are time plot holes if you want to look closely at it but it doesn't matter too much. And it's definitely better when there are a few mutants in the picture as one mutant alone doesn't really work for me. Gambit was brilliant though if a little sparsely used. I really want to see the cartoons again actually. I never watched that many cartoons when I was kid but I remember really liking the X-Men ones. Star Trek this afternoon which I'm excited about!

Other films we've watched this week include Babe and Stranger Than Fiction. I'd never seen Babe and it's so cute! It's quite a nice simple story at its heart but it's quite nicely done. How can you not like a duck that acts like a rooster right? Stranger Than Fiction was very very good. I didn't expect to like it as much as I did really as I thought it might have either gone really silly or ultra quirky. Thankfully it's neither of these things. There's a romance element that isn't laboured too hard and it's very bizarre without feeling too divorced from reality in a strange kind of way! So yeah, I loved it. Will Ferrell is one of those types that you can lump in with a load of other actors when it comes to silly films and whereas I don't like other actors or films of his type he seems to be the exception to the rule really.

This week we've mostly been watching Father Ted. For some reason I never watched it the first time round and I've really been missing out. It's so funny and every time the theme music comes on I have to question why I don't own any Divine Comedy stuff as I really like them. I might wait until a music lull happens as I've bought tonnes lately.

"What do you say to a cup of tea Father?"
"Feck off cup!"

Hehe, gets me every time. On the other hand, do you know who isn't funny? Michael Mcintyre, that's who. Yet everyone seems to love him. He's on TV now. Maybe I hate him because he's so southern? Nah, I think it's because he's not that funny. There aren't many comedians I don't like actually come to think of it.

Right, picture time:

This is my knitted pea collection! Otherwise known as Pea Diddy and the Black Eyed Peas.

This is Phil the Chicken, otherwise known as our funky chicken doorstop. He does need to put on a little more weight though.

This is Sock Pig! Please note that he sitting next to the Godfather trilogy. Yes people, this pig means business. Greenwich market God bless you.

These are my new favourite thing and I have to thank bitchdontwork as ever since you had them on your journal I've coveted them! So imagine my joy when they had some on eBay the other week. Hurrah! Honestly, these kind of things are wasted on kids.

Current Mood: lazy
Current Music: Pet Shop Boys - Yes

LJ's very quiet at the moment. How dare you all get lives!

So on Saturday we went to Leeds Grand Theatre to see the Royal Shakespeare Company perform The Tempest. I had high expectations of it really but it was a little disappointing truth be told. They gave it an African theme which worked really well but they raced through it all and speeding through the beautiful language combined with the heavy accents made it quite difficult to follow. If you didn't know the story beforehand you'd have been screwed. It wasn't all bad though I have to say. The music was good and the stage was great. I did feel a bit bad saying to Liz that it wasn't that great as she'd given us the free tickets! Speaking of Liz, she finished work this week so now Eleanor is now my line manager. She's my fourth manager in two years but it'll be fine being managed by her, we get on really well. Her team is a bunch of loons though so that'll be fun. I gave Liz some Racing Royals as a leaving present as we will miss her. I might get some work done now though as we've pretty much spent the last week talking!

On Saturday after the threatre we didn't do much apart from raid Zavvi/Head for cheap CDs. I got quite a pile from there and after eyeing up the Xbox prices decided to order one when I got home. Hurrah! I've wanted one for ages.

On Sunday we had lunch at Tom Popo which is a bit like Wagamamma but tonnes better. I got 20% student discount which meant it was really cheap and damn tasty. I dare say that we'll be back there quite soon.

Monday included another theatre visit, again for free due to the Night Less Ordinary Scheme (wonderful!). This time we went to see When We Are Married at the West Yorkshire Playhouse and it was brilliant. Clever set, funny play and great acting. Bizarrely it had Les Dennis in it! It was great fun though.

And then on Tuesday afternoon I travelled to Crewe (leaving my Xbox behind which arrived an hour before I left!) which is where I am now. Yesterday I went to see all of my old colleagues at the library. I spent a lot of the time talking to Sarah and Jackie really. It sounds like the move to Crewe is going to be horrendous though and they're mucking around with hours, so it's nice to know that there are other incompetant managers around. Sarah's going to be doing a library qualification next year so I said she can have all of my old essays! Brandy the library cat no longer comes to the library anymore which is sad. He's getting on a bit and he got into a fight with another cat on campus as hasn't really been back since. No more library cat! But also no more students asking if he's real or stuffed I suppose.

This morning we went to see my Grandma who seems fairly well. She wasn't all that great last week. Other wise I'm just hanging around at home playing on the Wii and reading a lot so it's not all bad. It's funny, I read an short article not long back about how lots of pubs are shutting and I wasn't convinced it was true as Skipton's many pubs seemed to be as busy as ever. But coming back to Crewe it's apparent that this really is the case as quite a few have closed or are closing.

Well, first things first, I'd better update as I didn't get chance yesterday. There don't seem to be a lot of people online at the moment and as a result I'm feeling a little cut off from everybody.

Anyway, the weekend. On Saturday we headed off to Leeds. We had time for a little shop, although I didn't buy anything, and then time for dinner before heading off to the Grand Theatre (again), this time to watch The History Boys. We were a little taken aback by how old the crowd were at first, so many biddies and so many groups too! Anyway, the play itself was absolutely brilliant. I have to say that it's one of the best plays I've seen. I didn't know much about it beforehand and I hadn't seen the film so it was a nice surprise. I really liked the video clips we got in between scenes which averted your gaze away from the scene changing in from of you as well as the little songs that were occassionally sung. It was also brilliantly acted which helped to really suck you as well as being hilariously funny.

Funnily enough, my line manager at work went to the evening performance and had exactly the same things to say about it. David thought it raised a lot of interesting ideas about teaching, but then, he is one himself and thinking about it, I suppose it did, especially as I agree that 'education is the enemy of education'. For me though, the main thing I liked about it was the way that, as an adult audience member I could really empathise with both sides, the kids and also the teachers and I think that's what helped to suck me in the most. James took issue with the moral dubiousness of it all which I had no issue with! Ha! 'I'm small, I'm Jewish, I'm homosexual and I'm from Sheffield. I'm fucked!' Hehe.

Sunday was equally busy as James' parents took us to see his Grandma in Driffield as it's her 85th birthday this week. It's a two hour journey there and I've found out that I can't play DS in the car as it makes me feel ill :( Boring! I hate car journeys! However, we had a nice day. It was a lot less stressful this time around as last time I was there it was the Christening. This time however, it was more relaxed. We went for dinner at a really nice carvery, and I had a massive Sunday dinner. I had Yorkshire puddings for starter too which I think is fairly hardcore. For dessert I ended up with a lemon brulee which I thought was going to be hot but was actually cold. It was really nice though, even though I've never had one before. They also played 'Stars'by Dubstar in the pub! Always a pleasure!

After dinner we headed off to James cousin's for a cup of tea. Sally and Gill were both there along with accompanying young children. I'm usually a bit awkward around kids but I was a proper hit with Holly, the two year old, however, I was just hit proper by Jack the horror. I think he might be three. Either way, cousin Rand clearly has a way with children (not to be confused with having his way with children, I'm not Michael Jackson).

I also must mention the vicious rumour that seems to have got around about our supposed moving to Leeds which I don't understand because it's never been an issue. Discussions arose about it and not once did the point about me not liking Leeds as a place to live occur. Yes, we could probably save money moving now that James has a job in Leeds but I still don't like the place!

By the time we got back it was late and dark due the clocks being put back so we didn't really do much. And then, last night James was writing an essay for his OU course so I went upstairs and read for bit, listening to Soulwax remixes, before Dragon's Den. Oh, I gave my Mum a ring on Saturday night and she has managed to acquire her two DS machines as a prize from work (she's been waiting for them for weeks) and so I'm trying to persuade James to buy one off her. I want someone to play DS with! I have just started Pokemon after having my train journeys sucked away by The Settlers. Gotta catch 'em all! I really need to get the wireless thing sorted out so I can trade online. Oh yes!

I really can't be arsed with work. Although there's only another day to go before I'm at Uni on Thursday and then I'm helping with Graduation on Friday! Odd.

Current Mood: apathetic

Right, welln I haven't updated for several reasons. The first being that I went ot visit my family at the weekend so on Friday I headed off to jolly Crewe. It was good to see the family again. Nearly everyone in my family has a DS so we end up having crazy tournaments on Mario Kart, and most amusingly, Brain Training. I don't think I've met anyone who can make me laugh like my family, especially Jonathan. It was a shame that the whole weekend felt a bit rushed really but I suppose it's not long until Xmas so I'll see them a lot then. I don't know why it felt like such a rush. I suppose because I was doing a lot.

I went to see both my Grandmas. Nanna Oakes was ok considering. She still has a lot of Nanna Curzon's stuff to sort out and she said herself that she was 'up and down'. She seemed ok though. I thought that she'd only looked after Nanna Curzon for about 7 years but it's actually 10 so no wonder she's finding it difficult to re-adjust. It was good to talk to her though. We ended up talking about gay rights which was slightly bizarre. She even told me she knew I was gay before I came out - I do hate it when people say that, it's utterly embarassing. Nobody tells you how embarassing it is being a gay man sometimes.

I also went to see Nanna Connie. She's a bit fed up really but still herself. It's funny how old she looks now though, it's sad, especially because I know how much she hates being old. It doesn't help that you have to shout everything at her because she's going deaf, which causes much amusement when I'm with my Mum around her. I see a lot of myself in her though, especially the ability to laugh at most things. I'm so thankfully that an ability to laugh at life runs through my whole family, I'm so lucky that way.

Anyway, the trip wasn't as depressing as I make out really, it's just circumstances that made it a bit melancholy. On Saturday night me and my Mum went to the theatre. I hadn't been to the Crewe Lyceum for many many years so it was good to finally go. It was a weird experience. Crewe theatre goers are as you expect really, but hey, we were second row so I can't complain too much. We went to see 'The Business of Murder' which only had three characters in and one of them was played by Todd Carthy. But don't let you put you off. I enjoyed it actually. It was a dark clever plot and the other two characters were good in it. Todd Carthy played himself. I'm not sure my Mum was as keen on this one as some of the others she'd seen.

Hmm, what else. Oh yes, my Mum had been to convention thing for Boots types and she came back with a suitcase full of freebies. It's great. I haven't paid for smelly stuff for years! She said that the convention was amazing and she showed me a picture of her, Doreen and a gay man behind bars with some policemen/stripper types. Honestly, you can't take her anywhere. My Dad and sister went footballing on Saturday and my sister actually won a game. Wonders will never cease.

On Sunday I left at 4 and planned to back by half 7 but because the trains were so shit I actually got home at 9.30pm. That's five and a half hours folks. Now I don't maon about the trains as much as I did because I don't do the Crewe-Skipton route so often now but I think it's awful how we all take the shitness of our trains lying down. It's fucking disgraceful.

In other news, I am ill. I fell a bit silly because it basically boils down to it being a cold but it's not your average one. I had a crappy night's sleep on Sunday night because the cold hadn't fully come out yet so I felt rough and had ear ache too. Now my sinuses hurt and I'm all snotty. Lovely. The idea of getting on a train this morning made me want ot die. Liz says that lots of people are off with it though, including Eleanor, so I'm not being a wuss!

I have spent the day productively finishing the fourth Broken Sword game and listening the the new Roisin Murphy album, very good it is too. I heard Kylie's new song '2 Hearts' last night too for the first time. It's so odd, especially witht the video. It's all a blatant Goldfrapp rip-off though. Speaking of which, they've finished their new album and apparently it's very different to Supernature. I wonder how.

James was making obscene gestures at Deborah Meaden during Dragons' Den last night. That's the last thing I need when I'm ill isn't it? Where is he anyway? He's meant to be coming home from work for dinner. Oh! I forgot to say! The man has got a new job and I'm really pleased for him. He's working for a legal place in Leeds so we'll both be communters now. I'm especially pleased for him because I know how sick he is of his current workplace and this new job sounds like an excellent opportunity.

Current Mood: sick
Current Location: Recovering at Home
Current Music: Roisin Murphy - Overpowered

I had to re-new my rail ticket this morning so I went to the little ticket-y office bit to get. Turns out that I can use my Young Person's Railcard on my early train during July and August - this saving £10 a week! Bargainous! Anyway, on my way to work I decided to listen to Gravy Train!!! Everyone needs pure filth to wake up to in my opinion. So when I bought my ticket I took headphones out. I don't have my music too loud but you could here maybe the drum machines and the singing. Usually this wouldn't be a problem but just as was paying for my ticket:

'Lick the clit! Lick the clit!'

Christ, I thought, I hope that wasn't loud enough for anyone to hear. Just keep paying for ticket pretending that nothing has happened...

'Lick the dick! LICK THAT DICK!'

Thank you ticket lady! Must dash! Apparently I have to buy my discounted tickets from the people every day. I made sure that I could just use the machine outside so I didn't have any obscene lyrics to contend with.

This weekend my Mum and my sister came to Skipton. They came on Saturday and then we went to Wetherspoons for lunch, they had a wnader round town and then later, we had tea at our house and played DS, things like that :D In the evening I was doing my last theatre show, which is the reason my Mum and sister were here anyway. Saturday nights are notorious for being a bit of an anti-climax as they're half full but apparently it was fairly full. It was a good night to end on really and I was especially proud of myself for not making one mistake the whole week we put it on :) Director Chris was especially nice and gave gifts out to all the helpers so I got a bottle of wine :) My Mum and my sister really enjoyed it too which was good to hear. Shame I couldn't stay for the little celebrations afterwards really but never mind. I do enjoy it, but I'll be glad of the time off from it for a bit I think. Next time when I do it, I think I'll probaby try and get an acting part in one but that's a long way off yet.

So the evenign was a success. Shame our neighbours insisted on playing shit music really loudly until 2am. If it happens again I'm speaking to the landlany. We share the same one so if we can stick to the rules then I don't see why they shouldn't be able to. Maybe because they're twats. I'd like some nice, friendly neighbours soon please.

My Mum and sister went at half 11 on Sunday. It was good to see them even though it had only been a few weeks. It'll be a while before I see them again I think. The rest of Sunday was spent not doing very much really. We watched 'Ocean's 12' because James wants to see 13 and I've not seen 12 yet. It wasn't bad. It was directed very nicely and looked really good. Otherwise it just wasn't very exciting. It didn't have the excitment of the first one anyway. But it was mostly enjoyable. That bit where Julia Roberts pretends to be Julia Roberts was funny although utterly ridiculous! Now I've finished with theatre we can watch more films I hope.

God, the rain's back again. It just hasn't stopped all day and I'm working around the office in my socks because my shoes haven't yet dried out. I can't believe it's nearly July and we've yet to see summer! It's ridiculous! Thankfully (so far) my train home is ok, although the Bradford one I had to get the other Friday is down, so if mine goes down I am screwed!

Current Mood: soggy

Well this week has mostly been consumed by theatre stuff as our play, 'Inspector Drake and the Perfekt Crime' is on all this week. Opening night was quite scary but it went (almost) flawlessly so I was pretty pleased about that. Last night was the third night and James and his Mum came to see. james was very impressed that The X-Files theme got a play :D Luckily, it was the best night so far. The audience were really into it as well, they were just so willing to have a good time :D Plus, my sound effects were getting laughs which was very pleasing. I think I was a bit tired though. I was getting a little irritated by people's unprofessionalism. Especially Fatty and Nazi Anne (who James had the pleasure of sitting next too) who still don't realised that people are giving up their spare time to do this play, and that they *do not* rule the roost, swanning in right at the end of the rehearsals rather being there from the start like most of us have. Nazi Anne was properly flapping about yesterday too as there was a heavy rain shower which the grid outside the door couldn't take so she came upstairs when we were having a break and was having a DRAMA moment. Martin, in his usual subtle way just said, 'why don't you climb out?' which went down like a lead balloon apart from me who was giggling away in the background.

Feedback was good from James and his Mum though. I think it's better than the last one and funny too. It is nice making people laugh. My Mum and sister are coming up to see it on Saturday too which will be good I hope. Still, the next play is October and I doubt I'll be able to do that one. I'm not sure I'd want to really. Sound and lighting is quite dull work rehearsal-wise and it's a lot of time to give (not that I don't enjoy it). Plus with my course (which I've still not heard about yet :s), the fact that I'd like my life back and the anti-socialness of it (I'm on the bridge all the time so it's not always conducive to actually talking to people) means that I don't really get enough out of it. Ideally I'd like to give maybe two nights a week at most and really meet people. Or - actually be in the play! Maybe :s

Part of me just wonders - is it me? I know I've said that before but people's observations of my behaviour is being rather telling of late. In the past few weeks I've had myself desribed as 'quiet' at work and the fact that I 'don't half get through some books', and at theatre Tom said to me that he assumed that I always had a train to catch after rehearsal as I always dash off and never go to the pub afterwards. The work situation - well anyone that really knows me that when I'm really myself I'm not that quiet a person. I mean, how many times did I get shushed while I was at the library? They couldn't shut me up! And at theatre, well it takes so much of my time and I have to go to bed quiet early due to work that I rush home just to have half an hour to myself occasionally. Things like that make me feel like I'm not making enough effort. It's circumstance I know but at the same time, do I really do myself any favours?

New lady started at work on monday and I got roped into giving her a tour which I was terrified about. Mainly because I really don't know that many people (I've been here nearly six months!). It was alright in the end though because hardly anyone was about. The worst one was the library, which I'm always bitter about when I go in anyway for obvious reasons, but I actually had to go in and say, 'sorry I don't know any of your names'! Oh well, three months until MSc (I hope! Oh why haven't I heard from them yet?! Yes, I know it's only been ten days but still!)

Current Mood: chipper

At around 4 o’clock on Friday I had a sudden panic that I wouldn’t be able to get home from work due to the flooding scenario. I checked the websites and most lines out of Leeds were flooded so off I trotted to the station to try and get home. I got there to be told that Skipton-bound people should head to Bradford and get a train from there so that’s what I aimed to do. Trouble was that all the Bradford-bound trains from Leeds were two coaches so the first one I tried to get on was packed so tightly that they wouldn’t let anyone else on. So I had to run to the next one and wedge myself into the crowd. Great. Some semi-amusement was provided for the brief trip in the form of a woman scorned who was shouting at her cheating boyfriend over her mobile threatening him with such classic lines as, ‘I’m going to fuck your mother’. Note that this is only labelled semi-amusement because it was funny to begin with but the second time she rang him the carriage literally groaned.

I got to Bradford Interchange then had to walk to Bradford Forster Square in the rain and then hang around for a Skipton train. Considering I’ve only been to Bradford once before I thought I did quite well getting to the station. Weirdly, when I did get a train home it was quite empty. It took me two hours to get home in total!

The weekend consisted of the following:

On Saturday I had a hair cut and got my new contact lenses. Thrilling stuff folks.
We watched stuff like ‘Hustle’ and ‘Boston Legal’ (the first one anyway – very good although I keep thinking that everything William Shatner says I’ve heard on his album!). Oh, and Ellen’s stand-up. She’s a funny lady. I especially liked her doing her coming-out story through the medium of interpretive dance! It weird to think of the ho-hah behind it actually, especially since there are so many gays in our entertainment industry. Weird.
I made a chocolate blancmange. Yum yum.

On Sunday me and James went to his old house. Neither his Dad nor sister were in it was just his Mum. It’s funny. We were in James’ old room at one point and it still smells the same. It made me quite nostalgic. I especially miss looking at the cows from his bedroom window J It reminds me of the summer. James’ Mum made us lunch consisting of salmon. Yum yum. We also picked some elderflower in preparation for wine making although whether we actually do it or not remains to be seen. We don’t have enough bottles or time to do it or anything big enough to do it in. However, we have the flowers in case we get the urge. I do want to do it one day!

Sunday also featured the dress rehearsal for the play. Things have gone great for sound and lighting. I am a little worried though because the programme we’re using at the moment is a trial version and an annoying little window pops up telling you this every so often so I have to pray that it doesn’t pop up during a sound effect and it *will* do, you just know it will. For some reason I’m really nervous about this one even though things have gone better this time around.

I mostly spent the rest of the time playing Tomb Raider 2. See Lara jump! Run Lara Run! Etc.

I forgot to mention that I’ve whizzed through Kate Atkinson’s ‘Behind the Scenes at the Museum’ which I really enjoyed. It’s such a well developed character piece. I like that about her books though, her characters always seem to be very grounded in reality and fully encompass the human details of everyday life without them ever seeming boring. I love the pinches of human littered through the book too. I’m reading ‘Not The End Of The World’ now, also by her which is all short stories. There’s a Buffy reference so I’m pleased. It’s been far too long since I watched Buffy.

I've just rediscovered The Wannadies. Mmm. And I've just realised that it's five years since they last released new material! Par even wrote a song for the new Sophie Ellis-Bextor album but it didn't make it onto the CD damn it. Get to it guys!

No news on my MSc application either. Grrr.

Current Mood: okay

Theatre practice rolls on and it's going quite well actually. 'Inspector Drake and the Perfekt Murder' opens on Tuesday which is scarily close. It's good though because there are a lot more sound and light effects so it keeps me busy. As it's a comedy it'll probably be quite rewarding, providing that people actually laugh at it! It's funny though, I dunno whether it's because there's a distinct lack of young people in the play this time but I always get the sense of being there but never really feeling fully connected to it all. I always feel like I'm 'other' somehow. I mean, in the last play there was Tom and Danielle who were both my age and who I get on with great. This time I'm the youngest there. It doesn't help that I'm doing the tech stuff from a balcony, which makes me automatically detached from the play. It's my problem though really because I do get on well with most of the cast. it's just not turning out to be *as* social as I originally hoped. I'll be glad to have the summer off from it really. I don't even know if I'll be able to do it next time though, what with my course and all. It'll also be nice to actually spend some time with James. I want my life back damn it!

Before I move on though, Nazi Anne was at theatre the other day. For the second time she tried to push me into joining the operatics society. The first time was at the meal of the last play. I don't know how many times she needs telling that 'I'm tone deaf' and the fact that she tried again shows how little she knows about me. She's clearly not a person who doesn't get told 'no' very often though. I don't like her, she's a bit of a bully.

It's the same at work though. I've never really connected with the rest of the registry team as much as I connected with the library staff. I can't figure out if it's the situations I find myself in or is it just me? I certainly don't find myself volunteering information about myself when I'm in conversation with someone as much I thought I did, it's something I've really noticed of late.

Anyway, insecurities aside, there's not much else to tell. I'm off out with James and his workmates tonight which I'm looking forward to. Wow, actually socialness.

Current Mood: contemplative

Well I've had a productive day so far, and only half of it has been spent doing actual work, as opposed to pissing about on the internet/working on my career aspirations. I have just written my personal statement for my MSc application which has been hanging about for too long and really needs sending off, just so I can find out if I'm allowed on and then search for jobs rather than sitting about worrying. I shall write it on to the actual from tonight and post the darn thing.

It's a little known fact that my workplace is next to the BBC Leeds building. Naturally James was quite pleased when he first realised this and kept asking me I'd even seen the 'Look North' people, namely Christa, Harry and Paul. I never have. I was talking to Eleanor today about this and she says that she sees them all of the time! So I'm on the look-out now. Christa is a right tramp. Apparently Christa is always having a fag outside at around the time I leave for work. She also has an awful car. Well, it's a Merc so not awful, but it's usually full of rubbish and has an awful customised number plate. Yesterday though, it was full of Vivian Westwood bags apparently because she'd been shopping for a new dress for the Bollywood oscars. Hehe. If you're not northern then this will mean nothing but it amused me greatly, me and my ex-housemates just to always be amused by what they always came up with when I was in Sheffield.

Facebook rears its ugly head again. My old friend has found me! I know her because our families used to both holiday at the same place in Cornwall every year. I haven't seen her since we were were 16 because one of us wouldn't be there that year, or our family hadn't gone so she was the last person I expected to asking for a friend request! It's weird though, much like having a school friend add you. There's so much they don't know about me, it just feels weird. It's a pleasant surprise though, she's ace.

What else? We went food shopping on Monday night and spent far too much although the result is that we have some right treats in the house. :D Other than that I've been mostly rehearsing at the theatre. I do love it but I'll be glad when we have the summer off. Two plays back-to-back is probably a bit much for me, but with the MSc on the horizon I don't actually thing I'll be able to fit it in when the season starts again :s

I'm currently being amused by the fact that 15 people have had seizures after seeing the advertisments for the 2012 Olympics. maybe now they'll be forced to change it because it's HIDEOUS! A month ago I said that TopMan had a lot to answer for. Little did I know that it would influence the oylmpic logo! Note: Neon is NEVER good - the 80's haven't dated well have they? I'll draw one up for £40,000 if you like. Also, someone has been kicked out of the Big Brother house for saying 'nigger'. Would Channel 4 be so quick to react to any of the number of insults aimed at gay people, women, the disabled, or actually, any insult aimed any white person ever? No. So don't you think it's a little late, Channel 4, to try and claw back some respectability when you've already been busted for having censored horrid racism in the sake of 'entertainment'?

I have whizzed through my latest book, 'Freakonomics' which was really interesting despite the lack of any general argument. It's a good little study in pop economics, even though it's all to do with America. I was especially interested to note the section on first names and income. Apparently, the lower earners unconsciously name their children after higher earners names meaning that names shift. For example, the top ten children's names for higher earners from 1960 could eventually be found on the top ten names of lower earners children names for 1980 etc. When I told James this he immeadiately made the point about today's many 'Britney's but actually, Miss Spears is a symptom of the phenomena and not the cause. There are some names which ellude the trend though. Andrew for example has always been a high earning name :p

James isn't having a very good time at work lately. This makes me sad. It's awful seeing someone you love looking crushed, especially when I *know* he won't have done anything to warrent it.

Current Mood: irritated

I haven't updated for a few days so I feel that I should although I'm not sure I've done anything worth mentioning! Work still plods on ridiculously slowly. Oh, I went for lunch yesterday with Bex and Kate. Check out me being social with work people! James and Amy were meant to join us too but couldn't for various reasons so we've said we might do a similar thing next week. Also amusingly, was that the guy behind the bar described their cakes as 'so good you could slap your momma'! And interesting sales technique if ever there was one! While on the subject of work - it was Sarah's birthday so me and Eleanor but ridiculous cards for her because she's always laughing at the hideous ones that go round the office. Mine sang and was a bitch to write because I had to have it singing at me while I wrote it in the staff room. It didn't help that it was slightly flat but she definitely appreciated it!

Lots of theatre practice has been going on. I've been reading in various parts which I'm finding a lot more fun to doing the lights, which I'm back on now! I might see if I can be in the next one altough that doesn't start until September - the same as my course which could be a problem. Still, there is more interesting light and sound in this play than the last one.

Oh, some news worthy of note. Margaret has done my reference so I can get on and apply for my course! It's onyl just starting to sink in what I'm about to do but it's exciting at the same time. However, it is two years of uncertainty as far as jobs go but I'm sure I'll find something. I'm quite eager to write off to libraries begging for work! Also, Tom at the theatre does relief work for Skipton library and he leaves in August so I might ask him about stealing his job! Hehe.

I don't have much to say to be honest. Work, theatre, MSc - the eternal tags!

Current Mood: blank

On Wednesday I saw Spiderman 3 which I was really excited about, critics be damned! And, y'know, it was really good - so there. It wasn't perfect by any means but it was really good and on par with the other at least. However, it was horribly cliched, so much so that I saw a part of the ending coming a mile off and I could even anticipate lines. But then the other films have any element of that too. There was also that *hideous* part in the middle which had enough cheese in it to give me nightmares. It was that bit with the dancing. Hideous! Venom was really good I have to say, very scary although he wasn't in it for long enough. The action sequences were really impressive too, especially Sandman. So yeah, I don't care, I thought it was great.

I finally finished reading Sarah Waters 'Fingersmith' which seems to have taken me ages. I've been a poor reader lately, I go through phases I think. Anyway, I did enjoy it although it could have done with a chunk taking out of the middle. The ending is just great though, so compelling and draw out enough to keep you hooked but not overly long. Great stuff. I'm now reading Donna Tartt's 'The Secret History'. I'm quite exicted about this as I've been hearing great things about her. I bought 'The Little Friend' the other week in Virgin and the guy commented on my excellent perchase :D I thought I'd read them in order though.

What else? Not a lot really. I had a lucky escape with the theatre. That part I was in line for? Well they found someone to do it so I'm back to lights. which is fine, especially as I would have been playing a woman! Their loss I feel :p I've not been up to much else really. I'm looking forward to a relaxing weekend though.

Current Mood: exhausted

Right, time for a proper update rather than the anger of earlier. It's been a while since I updated properly and I have to start with one thing - Eurovision! And boy was it good this year. Me and James had a mini-party and got slightly drunk on lots of wine. Now I'm not sure if I'm gayer (likely) or just getting older (very likely) but there were a fair few songs I actually liked! I really liked Georgia's song actually. James voted for Hungary but I dare say he would have gone with Scooch if allowed. I had to contest with him doing the 'Flying the Flag' dance around the house all evening. My personal favourite was obviously the Timmy Mallett/Christopher Biggins Ukrainian tranny wrapped in tin foil. Sooo good. Much fun was had texting various people throughout and I must say, that the Serbian lesbian winner's song was boring!

Terry was on form too and I was really disappointed that we did so badly. I was worried that we'd get nil points so was really happy when Malta gave us 12. Hurrah! I can't make my mind up about the UK entry though. Part of me thinks that, hell why not have a cynical laugh with it, but Scooch's genuine seriousness about wanting to win with it makes me think that people's attitude to pop in this country needs changing. People bemoan the lack of pop in the charts but it's there! It just doesn't sound like it did 7 years ago! Mind you, Ukraine came second so maybe politics is part of it. It's probably both really if you consider that in 2002 we came third.

Right, enough about that. I saw 'Raising Arizona' on Sunday (I think) which was great. It was a bit like 'My Name Is Earl' the movie and kept us entertained so that was good.

I'm theatre bound again too. There may be exciting news afoot because I might actually be in it! Playing a character that may surprise you (probably not). I was filling in last night because we're having trouble getting someone to play the part. If we get someone, I'm saved. If not then I've fallen into a worrying way to break out into acting. more news either on Friday or Sunday.

A couple of news things that stick in mind to mention. First - Russia again. A month or two back I said how scary I thought it was that Russia could cripple Georgia by using oil and gas as a political weapon. Now they're at it again, but with with Estonia and it's disgusting. Secondly, the all-to-frequent media wonder that is a child going missing. Is it Madeline? I'm not sure. Anyway, I'm a little more sympatetic about it than James has been, because it's a terrible thing to go through as a parent but he has a point when he says that leaving a three-year-old home alone with two two-year-olds is asking for trouble. My beef is with people in her hometown tying yellow ribbons to everything. This won't get her back you fools, looking for her will! Put your energy into something that'll work. It'd also be nice if people put the same effort into, oh I dunno, AIDS campaign or a million and one other things.

I forgot to mention about the music I've been listening to lately. I got Bjork's 'Volta' and I have to say that it's the best thing she's done for ten years I'm glad to say. Feist's 'The Reminder' is also a treat although it's a grower really. I'd love to say how much I'm adoring Rufus' new album (apparently about to enter the charts at 3! The British Public are sloooow to catch on sometimes) but Play fucking up means that I don't have it yet! I pre-ordered it a month ago and somehow this means that I'm last on the list to get it when it comes out so they were 'out of stock'. So I've ordered it from Amazon instead but it's not due to arrive until at least Saturday *cries*. I'm also very excited at finally tracking down 'The Sound of Girls Aloud' on special edition. Yes I imported it. No I'm not ashamed of this. Yes I'm loving it.

Which reminds me. I did some nice cooking at the weekend. I made a prawn stir-fry and a black cherry crumble. Yum yum. The latter was made while dancing around to Girls Aloud. I love dancing about while cooking!

Oh my God, Eleanor has just been telling me about Googleplex! They have ball pools and scooters! There's no dress code! They have barbecues in summer. I need a new job damnit!

Current Mood: cheerful

Monday 7^th May 2007

But wait! There’s more! Now I’m going to talk about the last week, which has all been wonderful and London based. Me and James headed to London on a stupidly early train on Monday morning. So early in fact, that we got there at around 12pm. This was good though, as at least we could do stuff on our first day. We headed straight to the hotel, the same on as last year and dumped our stuff. Unfortunately we weren’t in the same room as last year, we were in room 1 which as on the ground floor so we could hear the underground trains go past! And they were doing building work which was a little annoying.

After unpacking we headed out towards the National Gallery. Although the weather I general wasn’t too bad, it was nowhere near as good as last year and there were a few showers. Monday was a bit miserable and we got a bit soggy walking there and then when we did get there we had to wait ages at the café just to be seated so I think we were both a bit grumpy. But the food there turned out the really nice anyway so it wasn’t all bad. The gallery itself was good although neither of us are particularly into ‘old’ art, there was still lots to be gained from it. There were certainly some very impressive portraits and I was glad that I got to see some Monet which I like, and Van Gogh. Mostly though James was spot on when he said, ‘it’s like looking at someone else’s photographs’. Hehe.

After that we had a little wander around Trafalgar Square. We’d not really been around there before and it turns out that it’s a really good spot for bitching about people’s dress sense! Skinny jeans just make your legs look thin! And I have no idea what some of this emo hair is meant to be doing and I’m really not one to talk about gravity-defying hair-dos but really, you’d think if someone looked like a bird had flown into their head then one of their friends would tell them right? And I don’t get these hideous patterned dresses that women seems to like at the moment. Well, it turns out that karma got the better of us after a bit because me sat on the fountains, the wind changed…and we got soaked. Served us right. Later in the holiday though we found out where most of these fashion abortions had come from. Top Man! And all its hideous day-glo glory!

Anyway, that enough of that. Afterwards we wandered back to the hotel for a bit of a rest, the off out to the Pizza Express around the corner. There was only one group in there and after that we were the only ones in there! Very weird but that did mean that the service was really quick! Tasty stuff.

Tuesday 8^th May 2007

After breakfast we set off early, my zoo radar set. Even though we’d been to London Zoo before I was still really excited :D Rather than take the really long way round as we did last year, this time we went straight though Regents Park which is really pretty. Hyde Park is just grass really but Regent’s park has some really nice flowers and fountains. We were lucky too because it was one of the only completely dry days we had. I even saw a pretty bird in the flowers. I don’t know what it was but had bright light blue and white stripes on it’s wings and was a nice brown colour. I think it might have been a jay.

So, London Zoo then! It was excellent as always and we even got to see some of the animals that were hiding last year. Like the tapirs and anteaters. We were even privy to an escape drill which was rather exciting. We were told to go into the tapir viewing building and ended up waiting for ten minutes so although it was a drill we actually think that one of the penguins had escaped and was on a rampage through the zoo. Luckily there was a tapir to look at and he quickly became my favourite. He came really close up to us. They remind us of short squat cows. They seems so docile and oblivious to everything. I wanted to see him swim but he mostly just stood about eating.

The otters weren’t as playful this time, they were sleepy though so we saw yawning otters. So cute. And we saw them being fed. Also of note were the large amount of herons in the pelican/flamingo enclosure which was odd! There’s also a new gorilla enclosure which is excellent. Huge for three animals but they come quite close to you. The big male came straight for us. Glass or no glass it was really scary :s It was a wonderful day, made all the more special by the fact that James bought a cuddly tapir, a shaky penguin *and* a cuddly tortoise, which I didn’t know about until I found it in my bed later that night :D

We spent all day at the zoo so went back to the hotel and then back out for food at Garfunkels near Leicester Square which was really tasty and the on to Avenue Q at the perfectly named Noel Coward theatre. I don’t usually buy merchandise at shows but I had to for this. I got a badge, programme and mug while James got the badges. As an added joy we also got upgraded tickets! We were in the gods but they were closed so we actually got seats in the stalls for no extra cost! They were really excellent. Much like the show itself! God, it was soooo darn funny. Considering it’s nearly a week since we saw it it says a lot that I keep thinking of bits of it throughout the day and giggling to myself. Although I knew the songs they were so much better live and I didn’t know about the screens that sometimes come down from the side. I also thought it was really inventive with the use of the stage. There were no scene changes as such so to keep it interesting with the same background all the time was quite an achievement.

The puppetry was also excellent. Some of the puppets required two people and also, there were only seven people to operate them all so there was a lot of doubling up on voices which required people to change puppets mid-scene and it was great the way that you never saw the change. What was also weird was the fact that the puppets didn’t have a body so the person operating the puppet was in plain view. Not that this mattered at all. But it was odd the way you ended up looking at the puppeteer for the expression and the puppet for the voice, but it worked really well. So yes, excellent overall and I’m really glad it lived up to my expectation. I’m glad that James liked it more than he thought he would too and the audience were really into it too. Of course, there are always going to be those *really* irritating people who don’t seem to be enjoying but they were few and far between thankfully. Still, cute actors go a fair way to address this balance ;)

Wednesday 9^th May 2007

There wasn’t anything planned for today really so we had a general shop on Charing Cross Road, mostly in Borders and Fopp. I spent the birthday voucher I got in Borders very wisely, picking up Germaine Greer’s ‘The Female Eunuch’, Donna Tartt’s ‘Secret History’ and High School Musical Top Trumps, naturally. I didn’t end up buying much from Fopp really. Just Word magazine I think, which I had to get just because it had Rufus Wainwright on the cover. It turns out that it’s a very good read although it’s quite pricey so I doubt I’ll be getting it every month.

We ended up in Leicester Square with the intention of getting cheap tickets for a show that night. James had his heart set on the Blue Men Group so he got a bit grumpy when we couldn’t get tickets for them. To think it over we went and had dinner at Chiquito on Leicester Square which was very nice and we finally decided to go for Chicago, so I bought grumpy man tickets for that. Excellent price too. We ended up being on the second row in the stalls for half the price of a top-price ticket. Bargain.

More on that later. After dinner we went on a ridiculously long hour and a half walk to the Houses of Parliament, then along the Thames, past Cleopatra’s Needle, right up to the Millennium Bridge. It was nice actually because we’d not done that walk before although it started to rain and I was knackered so I probably didn’t enjoy it as much as I could have. We ended up at the Tate Modern. Now I’m sure I enjoyed it more when I last went a good few years ago, I dunno if it’s because I was tired or because there was less there this time (the main hall was empty for example) but I remember it being better! There just seemed to be a fair bit of rubbish modern art. That’s not to say there wasn’t stuff to be enjoyed. I love the Lichenstein stuff they have, and there was some really good African art and the Pollock stuff I like too. There were some good videos. One piece was littered about the gallery on different screen, showing the same incident on different screens which I liked. There was also a really good video of ants collecting coloured confetti (real ants I have to add). First it started off focusing on one ant, building up until, at the end, the view was of lots of little ants collecting lots of coloured confetti :D They were still taking the Gilbert and George exhibition down too so it was interesting to see them storing it away, much better than seeing the exhibition itself :p Not really liking a lot of it really did make me wonder what exactly do I like? I don’t like rubbish modern stuff and I don’t like old stuff either! I guess I just know what I like.

We were so tired after walking around the Tate (and we nearly gave up on that) that we walked up to St Paul’s Cathedral, got a sandwich from Apostrophe and got the tube back to the hotel! This gave us a fair bit of time to recover before going to see Chicago. It was novel being on the second row, I’ve never been that close before but it was really worthwhile to see everything close up, including the mega-buff male dancers, in fact, even the female dancers were worth a look (which is worrying). I love the whole look of Chicago though, all dark and 1930’s, and the songs were excellent too, performed with some proper WOW-type singing. Much like Avenue Q, there were no scene changes as such, the background being to orchestra on a stepped, errr, thing, but they had lifts from this orchestra bit and ladders at the side which kept it interesting, due to inventive usage! There were only minor niggles really, The first song needed more oomph, Billy Flynn and Mama needed a little more charisma when singing, it was just tiny stuff really, mostly glossed over on account of the dancing and leading ladies being astounding. So yeah, I really enjoyed it :D Cell Block Tango is always a favourite.

Thursday 10^th May 2007

Oxford Street was the main attraction on Thursday and I managed to get quite a lot really. Lots of CD’s/DVD including a Prince 3CD set Best-Of and Soft Cell album, ‘Goodbye Lenin’ and ‘Napoleon Dynamite 2DVD set’ for surprisingly cheap. I’m sure I got something else but I can’t remember what :s I got a T-shirt from, err, somewhere and a new wallet! My first in ten years! Trust me, it was the only thing I was going to buy from Top Man. The day-glo hideousness is still burned into my retinas. Yuck.

We then wandered down Regent Street to Hamley’s and spent ages in there! I didn’t even get anything but it’s always good to have a look around there. There was a proper mental member of staff controlling a flying UFO thing so we avoided him. We did get bubbles blown at us when we went in though, which was nice! After that we decided that a rest was in order so we got some dinner and went back to the hotel for a while.

Emma arrived into Euston station at 4pm so we went to collect her. It really didn’t seem like a year since I’d seen her and it’s odd that she’s moved back to Hinckley and isn’t in London any more. It was great to see her though and we quickly headed off to Archway for a drink and a good chat. We were there for nearly three hours until Gemma picked us up! Emma’s going back to uni in September to do an MA in Social Work but until then she’s got a job looking after criminal kids.there’s only too at the house she works at but it sounds like the scariest job ever! Mostly because there’s no precautions taken to ensure that you don’t get murdered :s She kept on telling us stories throughout the evening that none of us could believe, and she’s only been there for three days! Still, she’s good otherwise!

Gemma took us back to hers for tea and homemade cake! Hurrah! We chatted some more. Gemma and Emma are very funny together, it has to be said and I had a good time. It makes me pine for a social life! We headed to a lovely Greek restaurant at about 9. Chris had messaged to say that he was going to be late so he arrived at the restaurant (I can’t remember its name! Arch-something) so it was good to see him too. He’s applying for jobs at the moment, to try and venture away from the eating disorders clinic. I think he’s veering towards nursing work which he’d be very good at I think. A jolly time was had by all and the food was really nice too. I had sauté prawns for starter and meatballs for main. Yum yum. I’d not had greek before but I would again.

Friday 11^th May 2007

Arrangements were made to meet Chris and Emma at the V+A in order to look at Kylie’s Pants, or to give it it’s proper name, the Kylie Exhibition. Gemma had said that it had been booked up before but me and James got there early and got tickets for all of us easily. We had a quick wander round first though. I’d really wanted to see the ‘glass’ area but never got the chance so I did it this time and I really enjoyed it. Emma took a special liking to a seat with lights in it which appeared to not be wired up to anything. We had a quick drink outside and then headed to the exhibition.

Now, I know it’s Kylie but there was a surprising lack of gay men about (well, ignoring the three out of four in our little group! There were just loads of old biddies! Ph, and lots of fashion students. It was a really well put together thing though. The main room had loads of costumes and the Best-Of DVD playing on a huge screen. It was a lot like a disco. They had a lot of photographs on the wall which were all really interesting. Sod the vacuous ‘dumbing down’ argument. There’s a lot of artistry that goes into the fashion and photos. They also had all of her releases in chronological order on the wall, awards she’d won and lots of other interesting stuff including sketches and scripts for music videos and set lists and dancer descriptions. So yeah, we had a good time in there!

After that we went and got a sandwich and sat outside the Natural History Museum which was lovely, especially because we’d been getting some sun. This didn’t last long though and we set off back to the V+A so that me and James could collect our bags. We sat inside for a bit, discussing nudity in museums, as you do, and then we headed off tube-bound. Me and James for the station and Emma and Chris for shopping!

The train journey home went without a hitch and we were back fairly early. I’ll write about the weekend another time and I was glad we came back when we did, I was so tired! Friday night didn’t involve much really. Just unpacking and watching stuff we’d taped. Great holiday though :D

Current Mood: happy

So OfSTED week arrives to ruin my birthday. Bah to it. I just have to get through this week and then I can enjoy London fun. I’m mostly excited about going to the zoo again really. The main work news is that I am wearing a tie for the week. This is a slightly terrifying prospect and those of you that know me at all will know that I’m hardly the most formal person ever so this is a clear indication of how important this week is. I’m quite scared. But, I have faith and mine and Sarah’s transformation of the Base Room into a proper busy office into a decorated temporary room for the Inspectors has been appreciated by all. Thursday and Friday were hell as far as chasing documents down and putting them in many many files but a lot of staff were coming in and out to see what it looked like and there was a real sense of teamwork and general achievement which felt really good. We have to pass though, we really do :s

‘Blithe Spirit’ finished on Saturday and the run was very well received. James and his Mum enjoyed it a lot which I was pleased with. James’ Mum was sat next to a guide dog who slept through the first half until I played the ‘cuckoo’ noise, at which point he woke up looking for a bird. He then watched the second half and apparently seemed to enjoy it. So it’s nice to know my handy work is appealing to the larger audience. James’ only criticism was of Danielle’s costumes which were hideous, granted! We sold out most nights apart from the first which was two-thirds full and the last which was only half full. This was disappointing really, especially for the last night. Still, we weren’t downhearted and went out for a lovely meal afterwards. I got given thank you cards from Phil and Roxy/female cast which was really nice, especially since the audience don’t really get to appreciate me because they don’t see me!

I’m doing the next play but I won’t be really needed for a good while so I can have my life back for a bit. At the meal, scarily, I got stuck next to Nazi Ann who tried to rope me into the Operatic Society. Now anyone who’s heard me sing will know how funny this is and when I told her I couldn’t sing she looked at me liked I’d killed her cat. That woman’s done nothing to endear herself to me at all and the fact that she clearly doesn’t know how much time I dedicated to the theatre shows how little she knows me. Plus she told me off for cue the curtain opening too soon during a scene change meaning that she couldn’t a plate of sandwiches off stage (the polite answer to that is – be quicker?) when she hardly knows me so she had no right to do that at all, means that I kinda detest her. I’m really hate being under-appreciated and made to feel so irritated, especially since it’s on my time.

The weekend’s been great since I’ve actually had some time off. Me and James went for a wander around town, and nipped back on Sunday to get some presents for James. I’ll probably buy him tickets for something in London but I thought it’d be nice to give him something to open J Otherwise we’ve just watched West Wing and Ugly Betty, played DS, read, the usual I guess. It’s just been nice to spend some time together since I’ve barely seen the poor guy for weeks!

I'm going to try and put some photos up tonight but we'll see how that goes. The scanner's been problematic I think :s

Current Mood: scared

Busy busy busy. Tuesday night was opening night for ‘Blithe Spirit’, the play that I’m doing lights, sound and curtain for at Skipton Little Theatre. It was by no means perfect. I even managed to cut a page of script out by starting the music too soon causing all of the actors to look nervously at one another before figuring out where to go from. Excellent. Me and Tom (other guy who’s helping with lighting and stuff) also got a telling off by one of the Nazi theatre members who was helping with props. Everyone had left the stage so we put the curtain up only for Anne to come up to the bridge (ffs) and tell us that she ‘hadn’t had time’ to take the plate of food off-stage. Fuck off bitch. Honestly, I *hate* her. She doesn’t even know me so she has no right to tell me off at all, whether I’d done something wrong or not. She seems to forget that we’re all volunteers who have put a damn sight more time into this than she has. Grrr. Danielle tells me that she used to be a teacher and hit the children. I’m not surprised. Still, it went ok and we celebrated backstage afterwards which was nice. Yesterday however, it was spot-on. The audience were great, really into the humour and stuff and everyone was perfect. She I felt really good after it. I really hope it’s as good tonight because James and his Mum are coming to see it.

Apart from that, I’ve just been at work I guess. Once the play is out of the way then I’ll actually have some time to do other stuff. Honestly, I have no free time at the moment. I go to work, come home for half an hour, do the play, come home and go to bed. So I’m feeling a little guilty for neglecting James. Not long to go though. As for work, well OfSTED re-inspection is next week so we’ve been having a mad time of it trying to get all the documents together. Unfortunately, it’s mostly a waiting game until people send stuff through so me and Sarah have been in the Base Room sticking posters up and organising stuff, while listening to Kylie! It’s not often you get paid for listening to Kylie is it?

Birthday is imminent and OfSTED may have killed any fun I will be having on the actual day but me and James have booked a trip for London the week after, pretty much like last year. We’re even staying in the same hotel. However, this year we’re just going to take it easy rather than rush round and do *everything*. I’m really excited about going to the zoo again. I hope there will be ducklings in the tapir moat again! Plus there’s a new gorilla exhibit and the hilarious otters too! And I really want to properly do the V+A (and also look at Kylie’s pants!). We’ve got tickets to go and see Avenue Q as a present for my birthday and we’ll probably see something that James wants to too because I don’t know what to get him for his birthday otherwise. So yes, that’s to look forward too.

On a different note, there seems to be an awful lot of stuff about bullying about lately. Just in people’s interviews and things like that. I’ve just read an interview with Mika actually. When stated to him that, ‘If you think about it I’ll still despise those people for the way they treated me and I’ll never forgive them and it’s true! You really never get over it and it really irritates me that schools have such a lack of understanding about the whole thing.

Current Mood: busy

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A decent way to spend a dinner hour...
"You sheep stealing bitch!"
'I'll run to you now from somewhere you won't find me. A different place, a different time. '
Dial W for Weekend
'If S.E.X ever rears its ugly close your eyes before you see the rest of it'
Did You See Me Coming?
Annual Easter Crewe visit
Travelling far and wide (can I have a day off please?)
You Know Me Better
Don't Let The Rain Come Down
'Is that your wife sir?' 'No, it's a photograph of her, she actually much bigger than that'
'Monday's no fun, Tuesday's the same....'
'Ever wonder why I never really truly connect, even though my eyes are open?'
What's in a name?
'You wanna rumble in my jungle? I'll take you on'
'Lock up your brain cos I'm here again'
Something Kinda Ooooh!
Post-birthday celebrations (part 2)
Get Me Through The Week
No Business Like Show Business

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The Secret Life of Andrew

Entries tagged with theatre

A decent way to spend a dinner hour...

"You sheep stealing bitch!"

'I'll run to you now from somewhere you won't find me. A different place, a different time. '

Dial W for Weekend

'If S.E.X ever rears its ugly close your eyes before you see the rest of it'

Did You See Me Coming?

Annual Easter Crewe visit

Travelling far and wide (can I have a day off please?)

You Know Me Better

Don't Let The Rain Come Down

'Is that your wife sir?' 'No, it's a photograph of her, she actually much bigger than that'

'Monday's no fun, Tuesday's the same....'

'Ever wonder why I never really truly connect, even though my eyes are open?'

What's in a name?

'You wanna rumble in my jungle? I'll take you on'

'Lock up your brain cos I'm here again'

Something Kinda Ooooh!

Post-birthday celebrations (part 2)

Get Me Through The Week

No Business Like Show Business