Monday, 5 November 2012
Sunday, 4 November 2012
Jordan
We've been away. A long way away...but before we went away, we were in Brighton for a couple of days and got to see Bond on the opening night. It's a long time since I've seen such long queues for an film, and I know that around the country it was brilliant to see so many people dress up for it. We loved the film, and I should get to see it again next week as The Boy was yomping around Snowdonia for his Gold DofE and I am looking forward to taking him on a boys night out.
So against the dire warnings of Grandma in Cyprus, we had headed for the middle east for a week of Indiana Jones style-adventure in Jordan. Although the political situation across the middle east is poor, Jordan has by and large remained quite peaceful...a few protests, but who knows whether they will grow into any thing else, and we thought that if we didn't go now, things may just get less stable in the future. At all times we felt perfectly safe, and the people very friendly. Unlike other countries in the region, hawkers knew when to stop, and were always perfectly polite. It was with sadness that as I gazed out of the window of our flight I spied Cyprus, and felt a tinge of regret that we weren't dropping in to say hello to Grandma in Cyprus.
For me, the interesting thing about the region is that you can see examples of almost age of human development and civilisation. The capital of Jordan is Amman and it's a little tricky to say what time we arrived there. The day before, the Prime Minister decided that Summer Time wouldn't end, so our watches said one time, our mobile phones said another and the guides a different time again. We suspect we got to bed at 2.00 a.m. which was harsh as we needed to be up early for our first trip.
We noticed that Amman doesn't have the wealth or hustle bustle of Beirut as we travelled north to Jerash, a city that has seen human occupation for 8000 years. Like many things in Jordan, what we saw was a startling surprise....the Roman ruins go on for miles and miles, and some parts are in incredibly good condition. It is not hard at all to imagine the splendour of the place at its height...even now everyone is pretty awe-struck. we then travelled back to Amman to visit the Citadel and our fourth amphitheatre of the day. There is so much to take in....perhaps we should have had a ride on the (pretty naff) chariot and pretended to be Ben Hur.
We travelled to Madaba to see the world's oldest map - a mosaic on the church floor, which must have been quite inconvenient to fold up and put in your pocket as a traveller...the creators also had no concept of scale, so it was quite useless...except that at some recent stage it was used to prove that some areas belonged to Egypt rather than Israel. Mosaics were the theme of the second day, including a secret one not generally visited by tourists. but shown to us by a Bedouin with whom we shared a drink of tea, as we were told this was the most likely burial site of Moses, rather than the one most widely venerated as such.
We saw Jordan's equivalent of the Grand Canyon...a 'mere' thousand metres deep, but remarkable in its beauty before moving on to Kerak Castle...one of those crusader castles which fell to Saladin. If you've seen Kingdom of Heaven, you'll know that most crusaders were bigots, and the Muslims they fought a much more balanced lot.
Everyone knows of the Treasury at Petra, but what few realise (us included) is that there was a city of 50,000 and the ruins are extensive. It is impossible to explain the scale of the place...in better condition than the Treasury in the Monastery - a further 40 minute climb for The Boy and I whilst the girls rode a donkey home. We were there for a full day visit...we could easily have spent another three or four and still not seen everything. No wonder it is counted as a wonder of the world.
We ventured out into the Jordanian desert...and were fortunate to see an eagle, as well as some 4000 year old drawings of camels on the rocks. Our last couple of days were spent at the Dead Sea. One shocking thing we learned was that the Israelis have diverted the River Jordan, so the Sea is indeed dying...its' level is dropping by a meter a year, and it will disappear completely within fifty years. A remarkable fact I learnt was that my Grandmother, who was scared of lifting her feet up in British waters, actually learnt to swim in the Dead Sea!
Apart from the lovely people we met, I can't help but mention the litter. There was rubbish everywhere...fields and fields of it across the countryside...plastic bags, paper, crushed cans everywhere. There's a fortune to be made by someone.
So against the dire warnings of Grandma in Cyprus, we had headed for the middle east for a week of Indiana Jones style-adventure in Jordan. Although the political situation across the middle east is poor, Jordan has by and large remained quite peaceful...a few protests, but who knows whether they will grow into any thing else, and we thought that if we didn't go now, things may just get less stable in the future. At all times we felt perfectly safe, and the people very friendly. Unlike other countries in the region, hawkers knew when to stop, and were always perfectly polite. It was with sadness that as I gazed out of the window of our flight I spied Cyprus, and felt a tinge of regret that we weren't dropping in to say hello to Grandma in Cyprus.
For me, the interesting thing about the region is that you can see examples of almost age of human development and civilisation. The capital of Jordan is Amman and it's a little tricky to say what time we arrived there. The day before, the Prime Minister decided that Summer Time wouldn't end, so our watches said one time, our mobile phones said another and the guides a different time again. We suspect we got to bed at 2.00 a.m. which was harsh as we needed to be up early for our first trip.
We noticed that Amman doesn't have the wealth or hustle bustle of Beirut as we travelled north to Jerash, a city that has seen human occupation for 8000 years. Like many things in Jordan, what we saw was a startling surprise....the Roman ruins go on for miles and miles, and some parts are in incredibly good condition. It is not hard at all to imagine the splendour of the place at its height...even now everyone is pretty awe-struck. we then travelled back to Amman to visit the Citadel and our fourth amphitheatre of the day. There is so much to take in....perhaps we should have had a ride on the (pretty naff) chariot and pretended to be Ben Hur.
We travelled to Madaba to see the world's oldest map - a mosaic on the church floor, which must have been quite inconvenient to fold up and put in your pocket as a traveller...the creators also had no concept of scale, so it was quite useless...except that at some recent stage it was used to prove that some areas belonged to Egypt rather than Israel. Mosaics were the theme of the second day, including a secret one not generally visited by tourists. but shown to us by a Bedouin with whom we shared a drink of tea, as we were told this was the most likely burial site of Moses, rather than the one most widely venerated as such.
We saw Jordan's equivalent of the Grand Canyon...a 'mere' thousand metres deep, but remarkable in its beauty before moving on to Kerak Castle...one of those crusader castles which fell to Saladin. If you've seen Kingdom of Heaven, you'll know that most crusaders were bigots, and the Muslims they fought a much more balanced lot.
Everyone knows of the Treasury at Petra, but what few realise (us included) is that there was a city of 50,000 and the ruins are extensive. It is impossible to explain the scale of the place...in better condition than the Treasury in the Monastery - a further 40 minute climb for The Boy and I whilst the girls rode a donkey home. We were there for a full day visit...we could easily have spent another three or four and still not seen everything. No wonder it is counted as a wonder of the world.
We ventured out into the Jordanian desert...and were fortunate to see an eagle, as well as some 4000 year old drawings of camels on the rocks. Our last couple of days were spent at the Dead Sea. One shocking thing we learned was that the Israelis have diverted the River Jordan, so the Sea is indeed dying...its' level is dropping by a meter a year, and it will disappear completely within fifty years. A remarkable fact I learnt was that my Grandmother, who was scared of lifting her feet up in British waters, actually learnt to swim in the Dead Sea!
Apart from the lovely people we met, I can't help but mention the litter. There was rubbish everywhere...fields and fields of it across the countryside...plastic bags, paper, crushed cans everywhere. There's a fortune to be made by someone.
Wednesday, 24 October 2012
A chorus of disapproval
It's hardly surprising to learn that Starbucks is avoiding paying tax in the UK
On a serious note, this is a corporation that has invested a good deal of money in corporate communications to prove that it is an ethical business. It pays farmers a fair sum for their efforts and has a strong CSR (corporate social responsibility) policy. But really it's just corporate wank isn't it?
The same is true of Facebook, which also pays significantly less tax than you or I would expect. And E-Bay too. And Google. You may see a pattern here.
Just because a company is meeting its legal obligations doesn't mean it is meeting its moral obligations. I'm guessing that Starbucks needs a road infrastructure to support its business success, so at that simple level, it is free-riding. Hopefully these multinationals, and the others that use clever accountants and lawyers to push their money, will be shamed into 'doing the right thing'. But I doubt it - look at the experience of the banks and other financial institutions who continue their arrogant strutting oblivious to the misery they've caused through their greed. I hope to hear a chorus of disapproval
It was one of those challenging days yesterday...funny how that happens.
The final straw was to read Bloggertropolis and find that Steve has decided to stop. All the bloggers I read are very dear to me, and every day I look forward to seeing what they have put their mind to....they feel like part of the family. Bloggertropolis was one of the first that I started to read, and I've always felt that Steve has such a wonderful talent that it's a crying shame he doesn't have a column in a newspaper...his writing is clever, witty and thought-provoking...so he deserves a wider audience.
Of course Steve's not the first to go, and he won't be the last...I know some of my dearer blogger friends are wavering even as I type this, so in a way it's just something you get used to...and it provides the opportunity to go and find other daily reads, but it does leave a small hole in your day...well my day. So to all those bloggers that have put there pen down over the years...thanks for all the words that added to my life.
Steve...good luck - it's been a pleasure.
I was somewhat duped buying a remote control for my camera this week from Amazon. The picture on the website was of an original, the product that arrived was a Chinese copy. Foolishly I should have twigged that when I couldn't get the thing from Sony, and the one through Amazon was immediately available and cheap, there was something not quite right. The picture on the box shows a Sony remote, the device itself is branded differently. It works, and that's the main thing, but really I disapprove of those far eastern fakes...and if it survives our holiday next week, it will have done its job. Still I do believe that Amazon should take full responsibility and shouldn't be encouraging the fake trade.
I've written before about suddenly finding out about things that at any age you can some how learn things that you should have known for years. In this case, I turned left out of Leicester Square tube and then first left again...the route I knew I had to take. Except I found myself in the middle of China Town. And that wasn't where I'd expected to find it...somehow in spite of all my years in London, I had never, ever been to this part of China Town. I was totally and completely confused. I turned to the maps on my mobile, but couldn't accept what I saw, so wandered around for quite a while. I nearly called The Cat's Mother to come and rescue me I was so confused. Eventually I found my common sense, looked again at the maps and followed the route to my destination....but not without a very high degree of bemusement as I studied all the Chinese shops, restaurants and decorations around me. How very strange indeed that I had never been down this road before given how much of my social life has been spent in and around the West End.
We walked out of a play last night...for me that was a first. This wasn't an amateur production in the local theatre...it was A Chorus of Disapproval starring the normally excellent Rob Brydon. The play was written by Alan Ayckborn in the early eighties and it hasn't aged well...did anyone really care about the goings on of a regional amateur operatic society even then? I doubt it. It would have helped if we'd been familiar with The Beggar's Opera as the characters in the one reflect the characters in the other, but really in Chorus the characters were just cardboard cut-outs - the tart with the heart, the rather over-Welsh Welshman, the loud, brash Yorkshireman, the feckless husband and so on. The acting was wooden. The four grown-ups couldn't get out of the theatre quickly enough, as we headed to the bar at half-time we were as one in our chorus of disapproval. The two teenage girls braved it until the end. So that's an education for them, and a reminder to us to appreciate a good play when we next see one.
On a serious note, this is a corporation that has invested a good deal of money in corporate communications to prove that it is an ethical business. It pays farmers a fair sum for their efforts and has a strong CSR (corporate social responsibility) policy. But really it's just corporate wank isn't it?
The same is true of Facebook, which also pays significantly less tax than you or I would expect. And E-Bay too. And Google. You may see a pattern here.
Just because a company is meeting its legal obligations doesn't mean it is meeting its moral obligations. I'm guessing that Starbucks needs a road infrastructure to support its business success, so at that simple level, it is free-riding. Hopefully these multinationals, and the others that use clever accountants and lawyers to push their money, will be shamed into 'doing the right thing'. But I doubt it - look at the experience of the banks and other financial institutions who continue their arrogant strutting oblivious to the misery they've caused through their greed. I hope to hear a chorus of disapproval
It was one of those challenging days yesterday...funny how that happens.
The final straw was to read Bloggertropolis and find that Steve has decided to stop. All the bloggers I read are very dear to me, and every day I look forward to seeing what they have put their mind to....they feel like part of the family. Bloggertropolis was one of the first that I started to read, and I've always felt that Steve has such a wonderful talent that it's a crying shame he doesn't have a column in a newspaper...his writing is clever, witty and thought-provoking...so he deserves a wider audience.
Of course Steve's not the first to go, and he won't be the last...I know some of my dearer blogger friends are wavering even as I type this, so in a way it's just something you get used to...and it provides the opportunity to go and find other daily reads, but it does leave a small hole in your day...well my day. So to all those bloggers that have put there pen down over the years...thanks for all the words that added to my life.
Steve...good luck - it's been a pleasure.
I was somewhat duped buying a remote control for my camera this week from Amazon. The picture on the website was of an original, the product that arrived was a Chinese copy. Foolishly I should have twigged that when I couldn't get the thing from Sony, and the one through Amazon was immediately available and cheap, there was something not quite right. The picture on the box shows a Sony remote, the device itself is branded differently. It works, and that's the main thing, but really I disapprove of those far eastern fakes...and if it survives our holiday next week, it will have done its job. Still I do believe that Amazon should take full responsibility and shouldn't be encouraging the fake trade.
I've written before about suddenly finding out about things that at any age you can some how learn things that you should have known for years. In this case, I turned left out of Leicester Square tube and then first left again...the route I knew I had to take. Except I found myself in the middle of China Town. And that wasn't where I'd expected to find it...somehow in spite of all my years in London, I had never, ever been to this part of China Town. I was totally and completely confused. I turned to the maps on my mobile, but couldn't accept what I saw, so wandered around for quite a while. I nearly called The Cat's Mother to come and rescue me I was so confused. Eventually I found my common sense, looked again at the maps and followed the route to my destination....but not without a very high degree of bemusement as I studied all the Chinese shops, restaurants and decorations around me. How very strange indeed that I had never been down this road before given how much of my social life has been spent in and around the West End.
We walked out of a play last night...for me that was a first. This wasn't an amateur production in the local theatre...it was A Chorus of Disapproval starring the normally excellent Rob Brydon. The play was written by Alan Ayckborn in the early eighties and it hasn't aged well...did anyone really care about the goings on of a regional amateur operatic society even then? I doubt it. It would have helped if we'd been familiar with The Beggar's Opera as the characters in the one reflect the characters in the other, but really in Chorus the characters were just cardboard cut-outs - the tart with the heart, the rather over-Welsh Welshman, the loud, brash Yorkshireman, the feckless husband and so on. The acting was wooden. The four grown-ups couldn't get out of the theatre quickly enough, as we headed to the bar at half-time we were as one in our chorus of disapproval. The two teenage girls braved it until the end. So that's an education for them, and a reminder to us to appreciate a good play when we next see one.
Tuesday, 23 October 2012
Raintown
I think The Boy must be reading my mind (I doubt he's reading the blog)...because yesterday afternoon he rang me from Snowdonia, just before they start off with their trek. He didn't want anything other to say hello and let me know what he's been doing for the last couple of days. He's never done that before...I danced around the office in delight. I wished him luck.
It's rare indeed to go to a gig and not hear the band you were there to see.
But that's how it was last night.
We were in Camden - if you've never had the chance to go there, I'd recommend spending a little time exploring, because its a place as alien as the surface of Mars....especially when it's foggy like it was last night. There is an over-abundance of street-food stalls, and boot shops and you can smell the 'alternative culture' the moment you leave the tube station. It's young, vibrant, colourful and positively terrifying for anyone over the age of 25. I love it...in small doses.
We pitched up with some friends at the Roundhouse to see the 25th Anniversary tour of Deacon Blue. Now I realise that they're not the trendiest of bands, but they do churn out a great pop tune and I've been a follower for just about all those twenty-five years, having seen them first in Brighton when I was still young and confident of conquering the world. I even dragged poor Auntie Gwen along to see them when they decided to just be the husband and wife team of McIntosh and Ross. I should have learnt my lesson because it was a comedy of errors as I wrote here http://bradstockboys.blogspot.co.uk/2009/11/six-degrees-of-separation.html
As the gig started I realised all was not right. Everyone carried on talking. So loud it was almost impossible to hear the music. It wasn't that it was a bad show. Indeed people were really enjoying themselves. But during the less familiar songs they carried on with their daily conversations. Odd. Really odd. And then when the 'greatest hits' were sung, I still didn't get to hear the band, because everyone knew the words and sang along . Loudly, returning to their conversations in between the hits. Bizarre. Poor Ricky Ross, totally ignored when he told his little stories as he is want to do before starting to sing.
I think they're probably as good as they've always been. So in case you've forgotten what they sound like, try this...with a bit of Dignity this time
And suitably, The Cat's Mother's favourite
It's rare indeed to go to a gig and not hear the band you were there to see.
But that's how it was last night.
We were in Camden - if you've never had the chance to go there, I'd recommend spending a little time exploring, because its a place as alien as the surface of Mars....especially when it's foggy like it was last night. There is an over-abundance of street-food stalls, and boot shops and you can smell the 'alternative culture' the moment you leave the tube station. It's young, vibrant, colourful and positively terrifying for anyone over the age of 25. I love it...in small doses.
We pitched up with some friends at the Roundhouse to see the 25th Anniversary tour of Deacon Blue. Now I realise that they're not the trendiest of bands, but they do churn out a great pop tune and I've been a follower for just about all those twenty-five years, having seen them first in Brighton when I was still young and confident of conquering the world. I even dragged poor Auntie Gwen along to see them when they decided to just be the husband and wife team of McIntosh and Ross. I should have learnt my lesson because it was a comedy of errors as I wrote here http://bradstockboys.blogspot.co.uk/2009/11/six-degrees-of-separation.html
As the gig started I realised all was not right. Everyone carried on talking. So loud it was almost impossible to hear the music. It wasn't that it was a bad show. Indeed people were really enjoying themselves. But during the less familiar songs they carried on with their daily conversations. Odd. Really odd. And then when the 'greatest hits' were sung, I still didn't get to hear the band, because everyone knew the words and sang along . Loudly, returning to their conversations in between the hits. Bizarre. Poor Ricky Ross, totally ignored when he told his little stories as he is want to do before starting to sing.
I think they're probably as good as they've always been. So in case you've forgotten what they sound like, try this...with a bit of Dignity this time
And suitably, The Cat's Mother's favourite
Monday, 22 October 2012
Why do they all come along at the same time?
It was a fine bottle of red wine I drank on Saturday night. I know it was fine because I spent most of Sunday in the bathroom. I hadn't meant to have so much of it, but The Cat's Mother ducked out after less than a glass, leaving me with the onerous task of finishing it off. "Use the Vacu-vin" I hear you say, but alas that wasn't possible because I'd had to decant it: when I'd gone to open it, the cork had crumbled. Not surprising really, because the wine was a 39 year old Barolo. It had been bought for me by a friend for my 40th birthday, and had sat waiting for a 'special occasion' for too many years. A couple of weeks ago we decided it just had to be drunk. So Saturday night it was opened. Even decanted it was cloudy, and the sediment at the bottom of the bottle could have been used to re-surface the road. It may have been past its best. But, surprisingly, it was delicious.Unfortunately by the time we started drinking - whilst watching The Thick Of It - The Cat's Mother was sleepy, so I just had to do my duty...I believe it is illegal to waste wine isn't it?
After a famine of films this year...I think the last one we saw was Prometheus, and that's already out on DVD, there seems to be a glut to be watched. Amongst those I include:
Argo
Beasts of the Southern Wild
Looper
Rust and Bone
and, of course, Skyfall.
One that wasn't on my list was Taken 2 which The Boy and I went to see last week. It's a nonsense film follow up to Taken (oh how did they come up with the follow up title) starring Liam Neeson. This time it's set in Istanbul and there's lots of chasing round narrow streets and over roofs...so you get to see the best of a very beautiful city. As for those dastardly Albanians....We thoroughly enjoyed it...it's one of those 'don't think too hard' films that delivers a lot of action for your money. There's always a place for films like that....but it'll never win any award.
It was certainly a good bonding movie just before The Boy set off to Snowdonia to do his Gold DofE. The weather forecast says it's a lot nicer then than it is here...which is good, because hiking up and down those mountains is hard enough when the weather is good, let alone when its raining cats and dogs. Oddly I miss him more than usual...I'm sure all will be well...but I am becoming acutely conscious that I can tangibly measure the weeks until he leaves home.
The afternoon before the bottle of wine incident, The Cat's Mother and I went off to see Ruby Sparks. This is a truly wonderful film about what happens when an author writes about a girl, and she comes alive and all the challenges that come with that. I will say no more, other than really it's a lovely film which really quite un-American, but maybe a little Woody Allen. We've not stopped talking about it since, and are quite tempted to go and see it again
After a famine of films this year...I think the last one we saw was Prometheus, and that's already out on DVD, there seems to be a glut to be watched. Amongst those I include:
Argo
Beasts of the Southern Wild
Looper
Rust and Bone
and, of course, Skyfall.
One that wasn't on my list was Taken 2 which The Boy and I went to see last week. It's a nonsense film follow up to Taken (oh how did they come up with the follow up title) starring Liam Neeson. This time it's set in Istanbul and there's lots of chasing round narrow streets and over roofs...so you get to see the best of a very beautiful city. As for those dastardly Albanians....We thoroughly enjoyed it...it's one of those 'don't think too hard' films that delivers a lot of action for your money. There's always a place for films like that....but it'll never win any award.
It was certainly a good bonding movie just before The Boy set off to Snowdonia to do his Gold DofE. The weather forecast says it's a lot nicer then than it is here...which is good, because hiking up and down those mountains is hard enough when the weather is good, let alone when its raining cats and dogs. Oddly I miss him more than usual...I'm sure all will be well...but I am becoming acutely conscious that I can tangibly measure the weeks until he leaves home.
The afternoon before the bottle of wine incident, The Cat's Mother and I went off to see Ruby Sparks. This is a truly wonderful film about what happens when an author writes about a girl, and she comes alive and all the challenges that come with that. I will say no more, other than really it's a lovely film which really quite un-American, but maybe a little Woody Allen. We've not stopped talking about it since, and are quite tempted to go and see it again
Friday, 19 October 2012
Oh dear
It's been a bit of a busy week, especially at work, so I've either been doing stuff or collapsed in bed...my word that's a good way to be!
The Cat's Mother was gallivanting on an away day on board the Orient Express with her girly friends somewhere in the Cotswolds...or was it the Chilterns? You could tell it was a party of girls because when The Boy and I asked whether it was a steam engine pulling the carriages, we got a blank look back.
I, on the other hand, spent an evening on an 'architectural photographic walk'. I'd booked it to try and pick up some tips and hints. Our guide was a Michael Palin look alike, so perhaps it was surprising that nearly half way through the rainy trek, he managed to lose three of us. Oh dear. We never found them again, even though we had the route map, and followed it exactly. Anyway, we took some photos, and with a good deal of irony the ones that I took before the start of the walk and after we were abandoned turned out best...
The Cat's Mother was gallivanting on an away day on board the Orient Express with her girly friends somewhere in the Cotswolds...or was it the Chilterns? You could tell it was a party of girls because when The Boy and I asked whether it was a steam engine pulling the carriages, we got a blank look back.
I, on the other hand, spent an evening on an 'architectural photographic walk'. I'd booked it to try and pick up some tips and hints. Our guide was a Michael Palin look alike, so perhaps it was surprising that nearly half way through the rainy trek, he managed to lose three of us. Oh dear. We never found them again, even though we had the route map, and followed it exactly. Anyway, we took some photos, and with a good deal of irony the ones that I took before the start of the walk and after we were abandoned turned out best...
Tuesday, 16 October 2012
A long way to fall
Do you remember the moon landings? The first one. The whole world stayed up late/got up early just to watch Neil Armstrong (God Rest His Soul) take a shakey first step on to the gravely surface of the moon (or the local film studio if you're a conspiracy theory subscriber). We were all mighty impressed...it was mankind's greatest achievement. No one was disappointed.
However, I suspect there must be an awful lot of extremely disappointed people out there today. A man, called Felix Baumgarten has jumped out of a capsule to achieve the highest free-fall by man (or woman). The result was filmed and achieved the highest rankings on YouTube ever recorded. A double first is never to be sniffed at. But have you actually looked at the footage? Yep, pretty damned impressive to start with. But, but, but...it then switches to a view, presumably from the ground, of a small white dot sometimes in shot, sometimes not, which frankly could be anything. I suspect someone just lobbed a sugar cube in the air. Where was the headcam to give us the man's view as he hurtled to earth at 833miles per hour facing almost certain vaporisation as he reached ground zero?
I'm sorry, and call me a kill-joy if you want, but I was disappointed. And that's why I'm delighted that someone has taken it upon themselves to make a much more convincing version.
He was not the only one to fall a long way this year. Yesterday Lt General Sir John Kiszely resigned as President of the Royal British Legion after allegations of taking money for lobbying the Government on behalf of armament firms. What a sad end for him, and another nail in the coffin of the pillars of society I think.
Anyway, we will be buying our poppies this year, and probably putting in a few extra coins to the collecting tin as well. Every year, the British Legion holds a Festival of Remembrance:
"This annual Festival, held at the Royal Albert Hall, commemorates and honours all those who have lost their lives in conflicts, and is both a moving and enjoyable evening. There is a matinee (2pm) and an evening performance - both are exactly the same except that the Royal Family attend only the evening performance."
I am particularly proud that The Boy has been chosen to represent Cadets from across the country. If you tune in, you will see him march and play a key part in the Festival. This is a great honour for him, and us. Obviously we wanted to get tickets, but they're as rare as hen's teeth so we'll be watching at home on the Box. Of course we will not be forgetting that this is about the men and women who have fallen on the fields of battle this country has fought in recent times.
Monday, 15 October 2012
Going over the top
There was a bit of a nuclear conflict in our house last Thursday between the teenagers. It's been coming for a while as they have both developed in quite different ways over the last few years...there is a real clash of personalities and world outlook. The fall out was still settling over the weekend, and will carry on for a while....which may be a challenge as we're all off on holiday in a couple of weeks. Hopefully I've made it clear to both of them that they are old enough that they need to sort it out between themselves, rather than indulge in tit-for-tat 'they started it' tantrums. But I have a feeling that it's going to be a real challenge unless one of them wants to show that they are big enough to make the first step to putting everything back in order. I'm not sure that parental intervention at the moment would be the right thing.
There was a bit of a diary cock up some months ago, with the result that our Sunday was absurdly over-full. We knew it was coming, but couldn't find a solution that would sensibly work.
So in the afternoon we were at The Globe to watch a much praised performance of Twelfth Night - a production that has been very widely praised indeed. So it came as a surprise that the first five minutes were dreadful, and the performance struggled to recover from that thereafter. Lines were tripped over, and the pace was...well not what it should have been, certainly in the first half. The costumes were noticeably amazing. I was completely spooked by the way Maria and Olivia moved around the stage, and their somewhat mad-making make-up...I can't quite put my finger on it, but I know that sooner or later they will feature in one of my nightmares...even on Monday morning I'm somewhat unsettled by the memory. There was a stand out performance from Stephen Fry and another from Mark Rylance...but the person who excelled above them all was Paul Chahidi as the scurrilous Maria...you felt it was a part that he'd wanted to play all his life and was just overjoyed to be performing. Brilliant. Of course, my perceptions may have been dimmed by restless Friday and Saturday nights, the fact that sitting watching Shakespeare outside in October is a chilling experience, and I was clock-watching.
As it wrapped up, we had to make a mad dash across town to get to George Michael who was playing at Earls Court. I knew from attending a previous George Michael event that he starts early, and was pretty sure we were going to miss the beginning. I wasn't that bothered because I remembered the last performance I'd seen was quite clinical and so there wasn't a high level of anticipation on my part. But it's funny how things work. We got there in plenty of time, and it was fabulous, fabulous performance...it was a real show, and he really made the audience feel that he was pleased to be there, pleased to have them there and was loving singing to us. There were blinding versions of some of his classics from across the decades, and a remarkable version of The Police's Roxanne. He was supported by an orchestra and the production was truly terrific - instead of the usual light show, there were hi-def visuals screened on to an enormous backdrop which were so realistic that you couldn't help feel that a flaming cross might at any moment drop down and burn us all. A wonderful end to a long weekend.
There was a bit of a diary cock up some months ago, with the result that our Sunday was absurdly over-full. We knew it was coming, but couldn't find a solution that would sensibly work.
So in the afternoon we were at The Globe to watch a much praised performance of Twelfth Night - a production that has been very widely praised indeed. So it came as a surprise that the first five minutes were dreadful, and the performance struggled to recover from that thereafter. Lines were tripped over, and the pace was...well not what it should have been, certainly in the first half. The costumes were noticeably amazing. I was completely spooked by the way Maria and Olivia moved around the stage, and their somewhat mad-making make-up...I can't quite put my finger on it, but I know that sooner or later they will feature in one of my nightmares...even on Monday morning I'm somewhat unsettled by the memory. There was a stand out performance from Stephen Fry and another from Mark Rylance...but the person who excelled above them all was Paul Chahidi as the scurrilous Maria...you felt it was a part that he'd wanted to play all his life and was just overjoyed to be performing. Brilliant. Of course, my perceptions may have been dimmed by restless Friday and Saturday nights, the fact that sitting watching Shakespeare outside in October is a chilling experience, and I was clock-watching.
As it wrapped up, we had to make a mad dash across town to get to George Michael who was playing at Earls Court. I knew from attending a previous George Michael event that he starts early, and was pretty sure we were going to miss the beginning. I wasn't that bothered because I remembered the last performance I'd seen was quite clinical and so there wasn't a high level of anticipation on my part. But it's funny how things work. We got there in plenty of time, and it was fabulous, fabulous performance...it was a real show, and he really made the audience feel that he was pleased to be there, pleased to have them there and was loving singing to us. There were blinding versions of some of his classics from across the decades, and a remarkable version of The Police's Roxanne. He was supported by an orchestra and the production was truly terrific - instead of the usual light show, there were hi-def visuals screened on to an enormous backdrop which were so realistic that you couldn't help feel that a flaming cross might at any moment drop down and burn us all. A wonderful end to a long weekend.
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