I'm Sorry, I Haven't a Clue

As if a weekend which included time with a friend, AND Neil Gaiman, AND Tori Amos, AND Vikings, wasn't enough, this past weekend also included a trip into Bristol to see a performance on the live tour of 'I'm Sorry, I Haven't a Clue'  ISIHAC is one of my favourite radio shows, and I went to live recording several years ago (Long enough ago that it was presented by Humphrey Lyttleton, although I think it may have been his last series) 

When I booked my ticket for the matinee on Saturday, I didn't know about Neil's British Library event, but worked out that I'd have time to get back..which it turned out I did :-)

The show is part of a live tour, not recorded for the radio, which is fun, as it meant there were no re-takes or sound checks.

The show is hosted by Jack Dee, and the team members were Barry Cryer, Tim Brooke-Taylor, Graeme Garden and Jeremy Hardy, with Colin Sell on the piano. The Lovely Samantha, alas, was delayed and unable to attend :) 

Coming into the auditorium, the first thing which I noticed was the kazoo on each seat... (and shortly afterwards, it became clear that the initial response of people offered a free kazoo (or at least, of Radio 4 listeners offered a free kazoo) is to try to use it to play 'Colonel Bogey'!

Once the show started, it ran through all of the  different games we know and love from the radio - Uxbridge Dictionary, Just a Minim, Sound Charades, One Song to the tune of Another (during which we were scolded for laughing at Jeremy 'Music is his Life' Hardy) and, of course, Mornington Crescent. (with some particularly fine plays, I must say!)

It was lots of fun.

And now I have a 'Mornington Crescent' mug. 

Neil and Tori and Dave (Oh My)

Foyer, British Library

Back in March, I saw that the British Library was going to be having an Exhibition, Comics Unmasked, about (the clue is in the title!) comics. And, even more exciting, from my perspective, that one of the events associated with the exhibition was this one, Neil Gaiman and Tori Amos, in conversation. Followed by Amanda Palmer and guests.

How could I resist? 

Supper!

I was lucky enough to get tickets - I think I must have got in just before the rush started! So Friday morning saw me on a train heading towards London, and a truly excellent day! I t was, of course, disappointing to learn that Amanda wasn't able to be there, but the news that Neil, and Dave McKean, would both be part of the music event was excellent compensation!

After visiting the Vikings exhibition, I met up with my friend A, and we had a very civilised meal in Russell Square Gardens, before heading on the the British Library where we were issued with wrist bands for the evening event, and then we went into the conference centre.

The auditorium was starting to fill up so staff were directing people to specific seats, and we ended up in the second row, right at one end, which turned out to be pretty good seats! (and, although we didn't realise it until she went up to the stage, it turned out that the red-headed lady sitting immediately in front of us for the introductions was Tori Amos herself!)

Neil and Tori

The room seats about 250 people, which feels pretty small and intimate, and the event involved 2 of the exhibition's curators, John Harris Dunning and Paul Gravett, (Paul Gravett has known Neil for years, having been involved in getting Violent Cases published)

It felt less like an interview, and more like a conversation between friends which just happened to be taking place in front of 250 guests!

Neil had just returned from his trip to Jordan for the UNHCR , and looked rather worn out from it, and when he spoke a little about it, later in the evening, it was obvious that those experiences were still very raw. 

However, much of the conversation was much more lighthearted and free-ranging moving from how Neil and Tori met, the fact that despite having know one another for years there only seems to be one photo of them together (after Friday night, that will have changed!). They also talked about the reason Blueberry Girl was written, (with a shout out to Tash, who was in the audience)  and the reason it was finally published (Neil claimed he got fed up with photocopying it for people who asked for it at readings) .

Neil and Tori were both asked what they would try to teach, if they had an apprentice for a day, and both confirmed that they wouldn't try to teach someone to write, but to think about the creative process (Neil said he would probably take them for a walk, and try to explain what goes on in his head when he goes for a walk. I should love to take that walk!)

There was talk of how Tori and Neil  inspired one another, and Neil mentioned that one of the things he liked about Tori's songs when he heard them was the whole "Me and Neil'll be hanging out with the Dream King" - seeing him as separate from his creation, and also admitted that; "...some of Delirium's best lines were stolen from Tori".

Dave McKean

The conversation was over all too soon, and we all moved from the conference centre into the main entrance hall of the Library, for the second part of the evening: 'Late at the Library', which featured lots of music, and a reading from Neil. We started with some music from Dave McKean, some of which was accompanied by his own animations. I should like to hear, and see more (and luckily, he is appearing again at the Library on 6th and 7th June, so I should get the chance!)

Neil, reading

His performance was followed by a reading by Neil, who read 2 of the stories from 'A Calendar of Tales' (October and July), and 'The Day the Saucers Came'

There was more music from Marc Almond (Whose work,  I must confess, I was not previously familiar with) and the 'Comics Unmasked' exhibition was open throughout the evening.

I had been to look round earlier in the day, but we did go back in, and I have to say the exhibition, which is full of sinister mannequins wearing 'V for Vendetta' masks, as well as the comics), particularly  the 'sex tent' (the section of the exhibit containing the more graphic exhibits, unsuitable for the overly sensitive) works well late at night, with Rock music and the smell of beer and popcorn  in the background!

We didn't stay right to the end, leaving around 10, having thoroughly enjoyed ourselves, met various friends and acquaintances, and generally had a stonking good evening.

And there is something utterly wonderful about filling the British Library, of all places, with comics, rock, and partying people!

(more photos here)

(PS - I believe that the conversation, at least, was recorded, so will presumably be available online in due course)

EDITED TO ADD: the event is now on YouTube:

Vikings

Once I had the tickets for the BL event for Friday evening, I also booked for the Vikings exhibition at the British Museum, so spent some time there before meeting up with my friend, to head on to the Library. 

Roskilde 6

I was a little disappointed at the exhibition. Firstly,  the exhibition has timed tickets and limited availability, but they seem to have seriously misjudged how many people can realistically see the exhibits at any one time, with the result that it was massively overcrowded. Given that the majority of exhibits are small and intricate, this is a particular disadvantage! 

The stand-out exhibit, and the exception to this, of course, is 'Roskilde 6' the remains of a 37m long Viking ship.The ship has been dated to around 1025 AD (around 20% of the display is the original timbers) It is dramatic and awe inspiring, but the rest of the exhibition does not entirely live up to it!

That said, there are interesting exhibits - some beautifully ornamented metal work and stone carving, and lots of fascinating nuggets of information : images and grave-goods associated with sorceresses included their staffs, which in turn had decorative heads reminiscent of spindles/distaffs; the information accompanying them suggested that there were close associations between woman, magic and spinning (So it is not only the Norns who combine magic and spinning!)  There was also a fascinating map of the British Isles, showing the distribution both of placenames of Viking origin, but also of Viking DNA.

I'm glad I saw the exhibit, but do feel that the curators missed opportunities to make it more human - it seemed, for the most part, a little dry and academic, and, as I mentioned, very, very overcrowded. 

And of course, after leaving, I still had the most exciting part of the day still to come!

King Lear

Several months back, before I knew when I would be moving, I arranged with a couple of friends that we would meet up to see 'King Lear' at the National Theatre.

I don't think I would have planned to have a day trip to London 10 days after moving house, but in fact, it worked pretty well.

I got the train into London (I shall have to get used to not having a railway station within walking distance, anymore. It means you have to pay for parking) and met up with J and J on the South Bank, after an uneventful journey (unless you count meeting a Bride and Groom, in full wedding gear, getting off the tube at Waterloo, as an event!)

We enjoyed a glass of bubbly (to celebrate J and J's recent wedding, and my recent house move) and then a relaxed and enjoyable lunch, before making our way into the theatre.

We had seats up in the circle, but with an excellent view of the stage. 

King Lear is not a play that I have seen very often, although I did see a fantastic production, with Derek Jacobi in the title role, a couple of years ago, and it's perhaps inevitable that I should compare the two.

I thought that this version had some excellent moments, but I did not find it as moving as  the Jacobi production. I think partly because there was more going on - big sets, lots of extras, which detracted from the central tragedy.

Lear starts out as a Stalin-like, dictatorial figure, surrounded by soldiers, (one thing which was lost in the broadcast, which I saw with  a different friend, a little later) compared to the live performance was that  the number of  'knights' reduced during the course of the play, slipping away unobtrusively as the King crossed the stage. (There were about 25 of them to start with) 

Edmund (Sam Troughton) is suitably villainous, deeply creepy - I should be interested to see him play Iago, in future! Poor Edgar (Tom Brooke) suitably mad (and noticeably a little less naked, in the broadcast, than the live performance!) and Simon Russell Beale is excellent - an unsympathetic, but ultimately pitiable figure.

When we saw there play, there was a slight hiccough as there was a problem with the scenery, which led to an unplanned hiatus while it was fixed. It came just after Edgar fled from the unjust allegations made against him, which seemed like a natural break point, so it did not detract from the play at all!

I enjoyed seeing the play a second time as a broadcast - it allowed me to consider some of the nuances, and interestingly, the habit of the film directors to zoom in in major scenes made it, to mind, more intense - there was some loss, in the lack of background characters, but it focussed the lay more closely on the main characters, adding to the intensity. Very interesting. I'm glad I saw it in both formats!

Richard II (Again)

Some of you may remember that back in November, I went to Stratford Upon Avon with some friends, to see the RSC's production of Richard II. I enjoyed it a lot, and decided that I'd like to see it again, when it was broadcast to cinemas as part of the NTLive programme. I actually booked it on two separate dates, and failed to see it due to illness and house-selling issues, but I finally made it on Wednesday evening (fitting, perhaps, as Wednesday was Shakespeare's 450th Birthday!)

I went to Wells, where the cinema is very small, and lives in what used to be a scout hut, but it is very nice for all that, being independently run, with very friendly staff.

I enjoyed the production - seeing the screening meant being able to see more of the staging and scenery (mainly created by projections onto 'curtains' of very fine metal chain) 

As with other NTLive productions I've seen, I did have moments of wishing that the damn camera operators would just stay still, look at the stage , and stop zooming in and out. 

It's still an excellent production, and I still loved Nigel Lindsay's blunt, pragmatic Henry Bolingbroke, a man pushed to his limited and usurping the king almost out of sheer frustration!

I've booked to see this year's RSC broadcasts of Henry IV (parts I and II) there, too, which I'm looking forward to. 

Have I mentioned before what a splendid idea I think the NT Live broadcasts are?

Incidentally, for anyone who hasn't seen it, or who fancies seeing it again, Richard II is now available on DVD from the RSC shop.(and yes, I have ordered mine!)

A Bank Holiday Weekend

Last weekend was Easter weekend, so we got two Bank Holidays, and thus a four day weekend.Which is nice.

I am finding that I am still very tired - I think that months of low-grade stress about moving house have now stated to catch up with me. And so I have, this weekend, been combining short-ish bursts of unpacking and organising, and longer bursts of being lazy. 

One of my radiators started leaking on the Thursday (fortunately it is by the back door, on a tiled floor, so easy to mop up. I think my error was in trying to turn up the heat on a radiator which (I suspect) has not been turned up, or down, for a very long time, and broke part of the valve. So I called a plumber, and he came on Saturday, and temporarily fixed the radiator (I am not currently allowed to to turn it on, or up, but it is no longer leaking). 

While he was here, we had a conversation about what will be needed to replace the boiler and update the heating system, which is at the top of my list of Stuff Which Needs Doing to the House. (Not least because I can't redecorate the living room until the boiler has been moved). 

I have another plumber coming on Tuesday so I can compare quotes, and will also have a chat with my new neighbour to see whether he knows anything to the credit (or dishonour) of either plumber, before I decide which to use!

Sunday was very cold, grey, and wet, so I stayed indoors, unpacked a few more boxes and sorted out some paperwork to send to my accountant to do my tax return (excitement or what!)

Monday, however, was a different story - it was beautifully sunny, so after pottering abut for a bit, I decided to go for a walk. I didn't go far - along to the end f the road, from where there is a gorgeous view out across the valley, then back through the woods, (along by a stream, then up a muddy hill, before swinging back along the lane to my house)

The hedgerows and the wood were full of wild garlic, all of which is coining into flower and adding a certain pungency to the atmosphere. 

There are a few bluebells - I think there will be a lot more in another week or so. I also found a small number of wild violets, lots of celandines, and what I think were probably wood anemones (my flower-identification skills are not great!) 

I also saw a fair few birds, and heard a lot more. My bird-identification skills are even less impressive than my flower-identification skills, but I saw what I think (having looks at the mug shots on the RSPB's site) was probably a Grey Wagtail (which, despite it's name, was actually yellow in many places) a Coal Tit (or possibly a Willow Tit, but Coal Tits are much more common, so I it seems more likely that's what it was) as well as lots of pheasants, and a buzzard.

It's nice to be able to go for a walk in the country without having to drive anywhere first, and having lived in towns since I left home, I hadn't really realised quite how much I've missed this.

Settling In

It's been a week since I  moved in. I am still surrounded by boxes. 

Which, to be fair, is probably a good thing, as they hide quite a lot of the wallpaper and carpet.

I am making a lot of lists, to work out what order to do stuff in, and what I can afford. I need to start to get various workmen round to quote for the jobs I need to have done - replastering, some building works, total redecoration . . .

I have however unpacked some of the  most important books, and all of the stuff for the kitchen. I now have  a landline in place (there is very little mobile signal here, which was a bit frustrating when we were sitting outside with a removal van filled with all my worldly goods, waiting for a phone call to say we'd completed!) and internet access (And TV, once the electrician has time to come and put a new ariel cable up)

My  parents came to visit for a couple of days last week, as they were attending a funeral locally, and took the opportunity to come to see me and the new house, and to have somewhere local to stay. Which was nice.

I was away in London for the day on Saturday, and today (which has been a lovely sunny day) I had a lazy morning, then went out and bought a lawnmower (I have a lawn now!) and a clothes line, and did laundry and lawn mowing, and planted out some tomato and pea plants.

I don't have much in the way of garden beds, so at present this is all (except the lawn, obviously) container gardening, but it is a step in the right direction. And I suppose that growing things in containers may mean the plants have a better chance of growing without the strong ones crowding out the others!

Of course, the fact that I spent the afternoon in the garden does mean that I have not done any more unpacking today, but you can't have everything, and it has been a beautiful day - shame to waste it indoors!

I hope that next weekend (which is a 4 day weekend due to Easter) will prove equally nice.

Moving!

As some of you know, I've been wanting to move for a while - to have more space for my books, and for guests, and a bit more garden, and more space generally. 

So, in September, I put the house on the market. It's been a rocky ride since then. I found a buyer, found a house I liked, got surveys and such and was hoping to move, if not quite in time for Christmas, at least shortly after that. Then my seller pulled out, for no apparent reason. 

I started looking again, found another house just before Christmas and had an offer accepted, paid for more surveys and so on, and was hoping to be able to move in by the end of February. Then my buyer went on an idiotic spending spree and, as a result, got his mortgage offer withdrawn. So I had to put my house back on the market. I did find another buyer, but obviously it was very stressful. I can cope just fine with change, but I don't do so well with uncertainty. 

And with all that uncertainty, and so many setbacks, I've been reluctant to talk too much about it in case it all goes Horribly Wrong, and despite that, things did go a little bit wrong what with my oven packing up on Monday, (I wish I'd decided against using up the stuff in the freezer, and had simply cooked something on the hob. That way, the oven would have gone bang after the house belonged to the new people, and it would have been Someone Else's problem, but such is life.

The New House is bigger than the old one, but more importantly has a real garden (and as quite a bit of the garden is currently patio / asphalt for parking,  it should be possible to turn more of it into garden, over time) and fewer neighbours, and more space to put bookshelves.
Of course, it also currently has the Decor the 80s forgot, (yummy peach and yellow stripes, with coordinating borders, in the living room!), but again, it should be possible to change that.

Some of the books are boxed up

And there will be a whole lot of unpacking to do. The removal guys have packed everything, but I have to unpack stuff for myself. I'm looking forward to seeing all the books I put in boxes to declutter when I started to market the house!

Hopefully, by the time you read this, I shall be in the new house, (probably in the middle of a vast stack of boxes, with a glass if wine in one hand..)

(Oh, and it'll be about a week before I have the internet in the new house, so it may go a bit quiet around here for a while)

Pygmalion

I have not booked for many of the Bath Theatre Royal's current season, but one I did book was 'Pygmalion'

Alistair McGowan as Henry Higgins
 (photo Manuel Harlan)

I don't think I have ever seen the play before, although of course I've seen 'My Fair Lady' many times.

The evening didn't start well, as there was a road closure which meant I was late getting to the theatre, but once I was in, it was very entertaining.

This production starred Alistair McGowan as Henry Higgins, Rula Lenska as his mother, and Rachel Barry as Eliza.

It was a very good production - Rachel Barry did an excellent job of showing not only Eliza's determination and strength, but also her vulnerability.

Jamie Foreman and Rachel Barry

I felt that McGowan's Professor Higgins was a little overdone - the character is obviously supposed to be gauche and irritating, but I think a little more restraint would have improved the production.

Despite this, the production is over all excellent - witty and entertaining, but not obscuring the underlying points which Bernard Shaw was making about class and inequality, and Eliza's determination to better herself and to become independent. It's a little sad that, in the play's centenary year, the issues of inequality still resonate..

Jamie Foreman made an excellent Albert Doolittle, self-proclaimed member of the Undeserving  Poor, and later victim or unwanted wealth!

I hadn't appreciated how much of the dialogue of 'My Fair Lady' was taken directly from the original play, which gives it a feeling of familiarity, but (in this production at least) you don't miss the songs.

Special mention should also go to Rula Lenska, as Higgins' clear sighted and long-suffering mother.

The production is touring until June. If you're in the right place, it is well worth seeing.

Birthday Party

OOoops. Friday again, and I haven't got around to blogging about last weekend, yet!

It was fun. Both of my sisters have birthdays in March, and E had a party which all of us (siblings) were invited to, together with a bunch of her friends - we all went out for a very long pub lunch, including some splendid puddings (the accurately named 'giant eclair', and the less accurate 'ultimate chocolate tower', among them)

And then we went back to E's house for the rest of the day, an had an evening which included Wii dancing, and Jack Daniels Pizza. 

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Sunday was then a quiet day, spending time with extended family and eating lots of home cooked food. 

Did I mention it was fun? and really nice to catch up with all of my siblings at once - it doesn't often happen.

In which there is a wedding!

I spent this weekend enjoying the company of friends and family, in beautiful surroundings.

My oldest and best friend got married on Saturday, to a lovely bloke. I've know J for over 20 years, and her shiny new husband for nearly 10, and couldn't be happier that they they have now married.

I travelled up to Derbyshire on Friday - it was a lovely day, bright sunshine, getting nicer and nicer as I went north!

After arriving, and settling into my luxurious hotel room (in this beautiful hotel, originally built in 1652, and which has been an inn for at least 200 years), I met up with my friends, and J's parents, all of whom were staying in the hotel on the Friday night, and we spent the afternoon catching up, running errands, and all had dinner together.

On Saturday, I had some spare time while those in the wedding party were doing hair and nails and the like, so went for a walk around the village - it was not quite such a beautiful day as Friday, but the landscape is absolutely stunning (Chatsworth and Haddon Hall are both just up the road..)

And then of course the main event. I met up with other friends  at the wedding venue, (another very nice hotel).

Everything went smoothly - there was a ceremony, and photographs, and laughter, and food, and dancing, and laughter, and more food, and time with friends, and a very happy married couple.

It was a lot of fun.

On Sunday (Another gloriously sunny day) I drove to Manchester to see my Brother and his girlfriend, and catch up with them (and eat out at a superb tea room!) all of which was delightful.

Jennifer Saunders at the Bath Lit. Fest.

One of the things  enjoy about living here is the proximity to Bath, and the chance to enjoy the Bath festival of Literature every March, and the Bath Festival of Children's Literature every September.

This years BathLitFest started on Friday, and Saturday morning saw me heading into the city to see Jennifer Saunders, talking about her autobiography, 'Bonkers'.

As might be expected of a comedian, she was a very funny and entertaining speaker. She talked about her background, growing up as an air-force child, moving around the country, and of her childhood ambitions to become a three-day eventer.

She dismissed the suggestion that she and Dawn French didn't initially get on, commenting that they simply didn't know one another to start with, when they first met at college.

She spoke a good deal about her habit of procrastinating, describing the increasingly implausible excuses she and Ruby Wax sent to Goldie Hawn when they were supposed to be writing a film script for her - Saunders described how she was, eventually, flown to New York to finish the script, and planned to write on the lane, except, as she explains, one of the effects of having been in Absolutely Fabulous is that flight attendants all assume that she wants to be drunk on champagne all the time, and appear with glasses of champagne on every flight (and of course, she commented, they're right..!), so she arrived with the script still unwritten..

She claimed to have been effectively locked into Hawn's apartment to finish writing, and then to have been taken to see The Lion King afterwards "like a good child".

In response to questions from the audience, Saunders confirmed that she would like to do some panel shows "They have to have women on them now, it's the law!" and that she was less scared as she got older "Once you're past the menopause, you don't care. You just see them all as little boys" And that she will be hosting 'Have I Got News for You'. I shall look forward to that!

She also confirmed that she'd like to be involved in writing another musical, except for the music parts, which are tricky, that there is to be ab Fab movie, and that she feels lucky to have worked with so many friends, and to have become friends with so many people she's worked with.

It was a highly entertaining hour, (and at the end, Jennifer's whippet, Olive, came on stage with her while she signed copies of her book)

I'm not in a position to attend any other Bath Lit Fest events this year, but if I could only see one, I'm glad it was this one!