" A Sunny Sunday Afternoon!"

 

Here are two Very,Very,VERY Best Friends.... ( as A tells me often!) ...at Chester's Northgate Festival last Sunday....my granddaughter, A, is on the left, with  friend, K. Both soon to be 5.

They're enjoying the sunshine, their shades and their Yummy Ice Lollies....AND most of all, they're enjoying A's Daddy's Band, " The Daymons"!

AND A kindly showed her great appreciation with some fabulous ballet moves in front of the stage!! ...

" Make A Date With The Daymons"

 

HERE are The Daymons.
This includes my elder son and Friends, all talented musicians.
The Band appears during Chester's Northgate Fesival next week. You can catch them on the main stage at Alexander's Jazz Theatre, Chester, on Sunday May 26th, PM.
Hopefully it'll be a sunny Sunday...with lazy lollings to some mellow moody music...
SEE: https://www.facebook.com/thedaymons
For lots of details.

" This Blogger Well Liked THIS HOUSE!"

 

Another National Theatre Live performance last Thursday at a local cinema.
And this time we had a " delightfully nimble-footed look" at Parliament ( says "The Evening Standard")  and I couldn't agree more.
In fact, THIS play was one of the most entertaining AND informative I've enjoyed.
Set in 1974 (when politics were particularly embittered) we seized onto a gripping storyline.... based ( and inspired) by actual events...and of course, on actual people .
AND yes, we searched for the Look-Alikes, e.g. Hesseltine ( glorious mane majestically flapping as he wielded The Ceremonial Mace) ....and that rather brooding hooded-eyed ( my mother's description all those yrs. ago) John Stonehouse....... ("drowning" on stage in a rippling sea in merely his underpants...)
Fascinating characters created, certainly a very heady mix  ( mainly menfolk, BUT the odd female was chucked in..coz .Mrs T would soon be seizing the day in her pussycat bows and ladylike lippie..... Mrs T, a Boadicea, teetering on the horizon....)

The play was written by James Graham, who was still a twinkle in Pop Graham's eye in 1974.
Graham has much to be congratulated upon. We will hear more. LOTS.**
facebook.com/ntlive

" Past Times For Future Generations...."

Last week, the landmark Exhibition at Chester's Grosvenor Museum opened ( see snap) and as my writing group ( "lovingly" known as the Hoole-igans....coz we meet in a place called Hoole) were involved, we were invited to the Launch.

This was a fabulous session. We examined many of the exhibits... ( although we definitely need another trip!) ....and we also heard presentations from the main organisers of the entire exhibition.

It was also a delight(!?!) to see some of us on videolink reading our work as part of the exhibition....and also some of the group had their work decorated by a very talented group of local calligraphers.

AND I hope we can be involved with the Grosvenor Museum again soon....
LOTS more re Exhibition on:
www.grosvenormuseum.co.uk
http://discover.medievalchester.ac.uk

" Monty Don Mooches Down To Malpas"

Monty Don....a guy much appreciated by several of my friends....AND probably not JUST because he's a fascinating gardener...visited Malpas on Friday as part of the Malpas Art and Literary Festival. ( www.malfest.com )

This Festival is now in its very successful 3rd year....fast becoming an annual  juicy staple of life in the Cheshire countryside.

AND in a packed ( standing room only for some..) marquee, Monty conversed with Diana Mather ( writer, TV producer, also an instigator of MalFest)......AND it'd be true to say you could've heard a pin drop...or should I say "a small trowel drop"?

 SO Monty talked about his life,  his gardening, his writing and his work in general....and the enormous audience loved it...and I imagine a return visit would bring back the hordes!

After all, his lovely home in Herefordshire is not ALL that far away, is it....!??!

" Hedda At Little Theatre"

Chester Theatre Club have produced a late 1950's version of Ibsen's 1890 play " Hedda Gabler" this month.
In a nutshell, it's the provocative story of a woman ahead of her time, which Laura Smith well portrayed,  along with an able cast, including newcomer Pat Cameron, giving a suitably warm depiction of Aunt Juliana, Bill Smith as Hedda's somewhat bewildered husband, George, and Tony Kemp, as Judge Brack, splendid with muchly-darkened hair, manly moustache and dignified dutiful demeanour.
The play was directed by Tony O'Byrne, with co directing by Jenny Shryne, who has developed a very successful Youth Group at the theatre.

ALSO RECENTLY:
A batch of new plays by North West writers were read carefully by several Theatre Club directors over the last few months ....and two of them were premiered with rehearsed readings in the theatre's newly vamped Club room, now the Salisbury Studio. 

Pat Sumner's " Beyond Reach" and Sian Williams' " The Writers Group " were the lucky plays chosen , read superbly by a clutch of actors who clearly enjoyed the sessions. Sian hope to take her play to the Edinburgh Festival and Pat looks forward to seeing hers on stage too.
 This was a 1st for the Club and hopefully more plays will follow suit.

** NEXT: " Lettice and Lovage" ( Peter Shaffer) Sat June 30th and Mon July 1st to Sat 6th ( inclusive)**
                                      CONTACT :   www.chestertheatreclub.co.uk

" Fay Weldon Warms Up Marquee With Her Wonderful Crinkly- Face Smiles!"

ON FRIDAY, a longtime favourite writer, Fay Weldon, CBE.....(over 80 years old and as effervescent as ever).....came to Malpas Arts And Literary Festival (www.malfest.com) to talk with us about her writing and her life....

AND WOW!.....Ms. Weldon's is a packed life....AND as she recounted her adventures, it burst at the seams with her wonderful joie de vivre.....
And as she talked, her face-crinkly smiles warmed the room....sorry, warmed the marquee....T'WAS a little chilly....but the marquee was an ultra glam one ( frills an'all!) which sort-of madeup for the chillinesss...!!
AND we listened, we exclaimed, we clapped.... and we laughed as Ms Weldon entertained her vast audience with her witticisms, her wisdom.... and her well-practiced words about writing.

AND.... ( another WOW!)..... I was lucky enough to have lunch with Ms Weldon, probably over a decade ago...and believe me, her charm has diminished not a jot.  She is still very much a People- Person ....which is , I imagine, one of the secret ingredients of her writing recipes...
AND let me add: I'm NOT a Lady Who Lunches Prolifically ( I slurp the odd Hot Choc in Carluccio, Chester.....) BUT that particular day at least 10 yrs ago, I was introduced to Ms Weldon. ....and it was a pleasure to meet her....before she entertained the audience at Chester Literature Festival.

Friday was a super session. I hope she returns to Cheshire soon,....well before another decade passes...!

** Ms Weldon has written 3 novels in 2yrs. Her latest one is " Long live the king", the 2nd in her " Love and Inheritance" trilogy.

" IS THERE ANYBODY THERE???????"

Here they are, the Condomines and the Bradmans....about to start their seance with the crazy amazing Madame Arcati ..... who aims to link them up to many a Blithe Spirit.....
AND last evening I witnessed the whole creepy spine-tingling performance at Tiptop, The Forum Studios, Chester.....where Noel Coward's play will run until next Saturday ( May 24th)
The play is produced by Mark Newman and you can glimpse it on:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-YQfvSaiE&list
...I guarantee you'll enjoy this lively and hilarious version of a Noel Coward classic.
From L: with hands shiveringly flat on table: Bill Robertson, Jane Chance, Pat Pearce and Ray Bengree, awaiting blithe spirits.....    SEE: www.tiptopproductions.co.uk/