Jan's Writing Journal

"2012 Appears Through Coniston mist..".

2012-01-01T22:30:00.007Z

Just spent New Year in one of the loveliest of places... and with our Friends From The North.
Here's Coniston Lake 1st thing this morning... viewed from their deck.....see the lake to the distant left of Hag Wood..dark solemn skeletal trees.... and NB the sodden green fields stretching to the water.
Across the lake, almost opposite, is Brantwood, the wonderful home of John Ruskin.
AND NB too: our Friends' super new boules pitch, ready for rolling balls in Coniston!
AND Happy Healthy New Year to any folk reading this. I haven't visited any blogs for ages... BUT will hopefully make amends shortly...

"Varied Viewings...."

2011-12-01T08:46:00.030Z

Some viewing last week:
First I saw "The Help", film of much lauded novel by Kathryn Stockett. I wondered what to expect....thought it might be sugary, even sloppy....but my friend and I discovered this moving and important story imported to film superbly.
I'm sure everyone knows it:....." The Help" is set in the 60's South.... when the world spun with change...even in L'pool where I was a student....
AND in " The Help" we see remarkable women.....Aibileen, Minny, Skeeter, Hilly...vastly different women...vivid unforgettable characters...we feel the bonds between them ( and the non-bonds, eg. ludicrous Hilly!!)...their loyalties, secret writings that dare to challenge and yearn to be told.........and we see the essential recognition that times should change...that everyone deserves hope and love, respect and the human right to exist as truly themselves.

On Thursday, M/Chester Opera House for the ultimate traditional Christmas ballet: " The Nutcracker" by Northern Ballet.
Gorgeous ( music, setting, costumes) ....like scoffing a box of the best Belgian chocolates....BUT with just the delights and not the sickliness(!)....
Sometime I shall treat my tiny granddaughters....not to the chocs ( though tempting!) but to the joys of Clara, Frederick, the nutcracking soldier, Uncle Drosselmyer, the Mouse King and his whiskery mates, the agile turban-ed wide-breeched Cossacks.... and of course delicious Miss Sugar Plum Fairy herself ...

And so to last Saturday. Theatr Clwyd on a comfortable Saturday afternoon. Us, safe/warm in this small intimate friendly cinema.
BUT then there was KEVIN (The " We Need To Talk About Kevin" Kevin) AND Words almost fail.
I found Shriver's 2003 book traumatic, horrifying, beautifully written. Hideous. Totally gripping...evil amidst normal homely situations.......And this film was its equal. Tilda Swinton, a triumphant portrayal. Kevin the elder, beautiful in his loose flowing white shirts, his poise, mesmeric eyes..but so utterly cruel, crazy, a teenager taking horror to extremes...

Some folk, having read the book, won't go to see it. It threatens our norm, hurls us over horizons we could never imagine. It chilled so badly, because it made the unbelievable distinctly believable.
Like Shriver's novel, Lynne Ramsay's film was shattering. But I wouldn't have missed it.

Large As Life: Cast From " Turn Of The Screw"

2011-11-20T16:21:00.020Z

Here's the cast from Chester Theatre Club's ( http://www.chestertheatreclub.co.uk/) latest production.
This was " Turn of the screw" by Ken Whitmore, from the 1898 story by Henry James.
There are lots of contrasting interpretations about this play. There are lots of differing opinions as to " what it's REALLY about"....as the story weaves itself around characters who inhabit ( or visit or HAUNT) a country house called Bly.......
AND the audience are left wondering......drawing their own conclusions........left to go home to ponder on whether they've watched an ethereal ghost story.... or a psychological thriller on the nature of evil.........or a tale of the mind's darkest of trickeries.
My personal jury hasn't come out on this...so I'll read the story again...on a dark icy wintery night ( with a glass of whisky to hand?) ......with my cat close by... so I can clutch her fur and hear her comfortable friendly purr..
AND most important: Children Julian Hornbrook ( Miles) and Rebekah Bentley ( Flora) deserve particular mention for their talent and enthusiasm.
They'll be haunting other stages before we know it......

King Porter Stomp: Come Back To Chester!

2011-11-15T18:34:00.008Z

Complete contrast: I was in Chester last week and several buskers had hit the street, principally in Eastgate. And I was stunned... by a superb band: King Porters Stomp. They were playing at Telfords Warehouse that night. Id've gone if I could...they were great.
http://kingporterstomp.co.uk/

" A Perfect Absolute Silence...."

2011-11-15T09:30:00.029Z

We were surrounded by lanky teenage boys in black blazers with wilting red poppies stuck in crumpled lapels. They slicked up their hair, scoffed crisps, chewed gum and slugged drinks....they giggled and burped and cracked jokes in croaky half broken voices...... and sometimes they threw the odd Malteser at the odd passing nose-in-the-air mini-skirted hair-swirling girl...

BUT when the curtain rose, there was ABSOUTE SILENCE ( the PERFECT sort of silence that teachers demand...but rarely get) and so last Thursday... at The Lowry Theatre, M/Ch....when peace prevailed at the rising of a curtain, we breathed a sigh of relief.

The play was RC Sheriff's " Journey's End", directed by David Grindley. It was set in the trenches near St Quentin in 1918 and first produced in 1928...with a little-known actor called Laurence Olivier as Capt Stanhope. ( I'm afraid I couldn't get " Black Adder" out of my mind for the first 5 mins...I suppose because I'd seen super Tony Robinson present the Cheshire Prize for Literature Awards at University of Chester the previous week:.....BUT this feeling swiftly passed.... and I settled along with the ambience of a remarkable play....)

OF COURSE our Lowry visit was apt, being so close to Remembrance Sunday....with its memories, its music, its prayers......And as my father said donkey's years ago: the older one gets, the more it reaches you and touches you and slithers within you......... and this production with its fine dialogue "of its time".....with its intimate portrayals/well drawn characters (especially Graham Butler as very young/newly arrived 2nd Lt. Raleigh).... plus its sprinkling of humour ( e.g. Christian Patterson as 2nd Lt Trotter) contrasted with the drama of epic proportions which was happening tragically beyond the almost-cosy dugout.

And when the curtain fell, those schoolboys: those 15, 16, 17 year olds all around the theatre...( not much younger in fact than Raleigh, with his clipped tones, his optimism, his wonderful youth) were speechless, they were proud and they sat silent with their thoughts....

"A Saturday Matinee In The Potteries..."

2011-11-14T13:29:00.032Z

Last Saturday afternoon, I saw a Northern Broadsides production at The New Vic Theatre , Newcastle-under-Lyme...in The Potteries...land of Arnold Bennett.... and all those towns, whose names I learned for geography O level... and strangely, have never forgotten........
AND what a surprise this wonderful theatre was...and WHY I've never been before I really can't think...

For a start this theatre was BUZZING....arty young folk, pleasant middleaged, and some very elderly, often rather elegant folk....NONE of whom fell asleep ( well, not for long!) while watching the performance...which quite frankly is usually the case...especially when theatre goers have scoffed a delicious lunch before staggering to their ( comfy) seats.
AND Yes, The New Vic has an excellent restaurant and cafe...jampacked last Saturday lunchtime .....but once my friends appeared with their plate of gorgeous cakes, I could certainly see its tasty appeal!

The New Vic opened in 1962. It was Europe's 1st purpose-built "theatre-in-the-round". Peter Cheeseman was its 1st director, who stayed for 38 years which, to me, underlines the fact that this must be a happy place in which to work. All kinds of drama takes place, concerts, exhibitions whatever. See the website for all the details : http://www.newvictheatre.org.uk/

Saturday's play was Blake Morrison's " We Are Three Sisters" . It weaves the story of Charlotte, Emily and Anne Bronte, echoing Chekov's " Three Sisters" with its essentially moving themes: women's work, their education, attitudes to marriage, and so much more....

It was directed by Barrie Rutter and designed by Jessica Worrall and I enjoyed it hugely: the emotional intensity of the lives of the Brontes was powerfully shown...as was the claustrophobia of the Parsonage....the sisters talents, their hopes and their frustrations.
BUT there was also humour, deliberate and warm and usually gentle.......and each sister was a fascinating individual, skilfully created by both Morrison and the three young actresses. They were: Catherine Kinsella, Rebecca Hutchinson and Sophia Di Martino.
ALSO must mention brother Branwell ( boozy, swearing, lustful) ...brilliantly played by Gareth Cassidy, who I last saw strutting his stuff in " Hard Times" for the M/Ch Library Theatre in the Spring...although I don't think his hair was quite so red on that occassion......

"Celebrating Fabulous Stories...."

2011-11-01T12:08:00.007Z

AND all very different, but that's the beauty of a Literature Festival: here we had stories to suit everyone, whatever their taste or their moods....
Claire Tomalin, discussing her latest book:"Charles Dickens: A Life".... talked of the life, times and works of Dickens, bringing these things into sharp clear focus. Hugh Lupton and Daniel Morden told us stories from " The Iliad", making a packed house absolutely spellbound, and on the last day of LitFest, we celebrated Jane Austen in Words and Music, with actors Robert Powell and Elizabeth Garvie, who led us in dignified fashion through Austen's life and, of course, her novels: from her first, " Sense and Sensibility" to her last uncompleted novel, "Sanditon".
All these events gave us stories to learn from, to wallow in and most of all to enjoy....

"400 Years Ago..."

2011-10-31T15:33:00.012Z

In 1611 the King James Bible was published.
And for 400 years, its words have had a massive impact on our English language and in fact, on all of us....often without us realising just HOW much......

WE UTTER those words, those phrases, so casually, so flippantly....phrases like: " That's off the top of m'head!"..... OR " By gum, there's nothing new under the sun!...." OR " What a fly in the ointment that was!"..... OR " She's the salt of the Earth!"..... OR ( damningly!) " HE'S the leopard who can't change his spots!"

AND Essar Oil Chester LitFest organised a mammoth celebration for this 400th Birthday. Over 2 weeks, 0ver 250 folk volunteered to read a fraction of the Bible, mainly in St Anselm's Chapel ( Chester Cathedral) but also in Stanley Palace. AND THUS: IN OVER 80 HOURS, ALL THE BIBLE WAS READ.

On Friday I was " understudying" ( ie listening to others read chapters... and being available to step in if there was a "no show") .....I must admit that I expected a gentle morning merely "listening"....but one reader failed to show...so I read the wonderful Mathew 26....and can frankly say that reading those words ALOUD ( and in Stanley Palace: black/white/Tudor/ beautiful)...... it was a pretty magical experience....

Essar Oil Chester Lit Fest worked hard to direct /produce this undertaking and I was pleased to be part of it...
MORE re LitFest but am off to have another squint at my lovely new granddaughter....

" Yarns In The Afternoon...."

2011-10-31T08:20:00.007Z

Essar Oil Chester Literature Festival, in partnership with Upton History Society, held an entertaining afternoon indulging in the telling of YARNS!

AND what wonderful yarns they were!!

Here's the "panel", along with Lynne, Chair of LitFest Friends ( on far left) : m'self, who had a jolly time chairing ( betwixt coughing!) plus 6 lovely very dignified, very elderly folk, all well over 80, and 3 in fact galloping along ( very proudly!) in their venerable 90's!

They were: Arthur Cooper, Frank Whaley, Gladys Wooton, June Williams ( daughter of George Mottershead, who founded Chester Zoo) Vera McCleod and Joyce Cook.

It'd be true to say I went home royally entertained....but also very moved by the stories and the characters who told them....

James Corden: One Man, Two Guvnors, BIG STAR!"

2011-10-16T16:20:00.011+01:00

We took a trip to Salford, M/Chester, on Thursday evening to see the much acclaimed " One Man, Two Guvnors" at The Lowry. This was written by Richard Bean and based on " The servant of Two Masters" by Carlo Goldoni.

AS fans of James Corden and his comedy, we knew we were in f0r a treat.... BUT our expectations were surpassed..... Corden (along with talented others making up National Theatre On Tour) gave us a superb evening... acting, singing ( some voice!) dancing, doing gymnastics, ad libbing, cavorting, gavotting....well, slight exagerration, but he could, I'm sure!......
Corden also cracks jokes totally and very swiftly off the cuff.....portrays characters, both hilariously AND tenderly... PLUS.... ( BEWARE if you're planning to go!) he pulls out unsuspecting audience members onto the stage.......BUT in the nicest way possible, I hasten to add....
AND YES....great to write again about yet another standing ovation....see my post re the Pitmen Painters, also National Theatre.... but Thursday's was also very well deserved.......

This remarkable play showcasing this guy's burgeoning and remarkable talent is at the Adelphi, London's West End, from November 8th.
Catch Mr Corden If You Can!

" Shoes! Glorious Shoes.....!!."

2011-10-06T08:21:00.025+01:00

Andy Warhol painted these shoes. Are they the shoes of his muse, Edie Sedgwick??

I love comfy shoes. But I also love fabulous
colourful ones, even occassionally HIGH HEELED SPINDLY ones...BUT my favourites are my 4 prs of El Natura Lista clogs...bought over 4 years, I hasten to add .....all different colours..all extra good friends to my feet.

ALSO there's my ancient 12 year old Moshulu boots, bought in St Ives one windy autumn...I hope they'll last forever.....and there's a pair of red lace-ups from a shop in Aix en Provence....where there was also a green pair, which I've always regretted not buying too!....and I've a pair of black shoes made by an Israeli company called Naot .. tiny delicate/clompy heels...contradictory, but if you saw them you'd know what I mean...they've got straps with little bows...sound naffff... BUT they're REALLY gorgeous....bought from a classic oldeworlde shoeshop in Llandudno...always visited on every trip we make there because it's full of surprises!

AND to continue: I've a green pair of heels from Next....brighter than those in the picture Mr Warhol painted.......my cat has been seen purrrring at them ....honestly!.....BUT I ALSO have a pair of red/browny Italian wedgies........ spotted in a Sale in lovely shop in Ilkley.....they're hard to walk in, but great to look at (!) and they make me taller ( NB: NOT "tall", just "taller" by three welcome inches...

BUT ENOUGH: The point of this post was to mention a writing workshop I attended last week...in celebration of National Poetry Day. The workshop ( taking SHOES as topic) was led by Gill McEvoy and Judy Ugonna, two spirited and talented poets who set up Poem Catchers" ( based Chester/Wirral areas) . They lead workshops and will mentor/support other writers, among other things. See http://www.poemcatchers.com/ for full details.
AND I think it's fair to say we came home viewing our shoes in a different light and full of creative ideas.....

" Fine Men Who Were Fine Painters"

2011-10-02T13:44:00.015+01:00

Yesterday afternoon ( hottest October day for ages) we watched a fabulous play at Theatr Clwyd. We fanned ourselves with our programmes and sipped our Volvic thirstily. In the interval, we gorged icecream. And at the end of the play, there was great applause and a standing ovation for a Company that excelled.

This was Live Theatre Newcastle/National Theatre's co-production of "The Pitmen Painters". The play was written by Lee Hall, inspired by a book by William Feaver, telling the inspiring true story of The Ashington Group, a gang of North Eastern miners... who discovered within themselves a wonderful passion for painting and a creativity they never knew existed.

This play was both moving and enthralling. There was politics and social history, lessons in art appreciation and there was lots of comedy......including swift oneliners which had the audience in stitches.

BUT most of all, we loved the characters: their differences, their strengths, their weaknesses, their pains and their delights. And of course their fantastic story: how they worked in the pits by day, painted by night...and ultimately achieved recognition and the applause of the greats.

As a friend of mine said today, THIS is a play that should tour for ever...!

PS: Happy Birthday BLOG! Six years old yesterday...!

" Mr McGregor And The Bell Jar, Plus Master Peter Rabbit"

2011-09-30T16:40:00.021+01:00

Here's Jo Bell and Sam Youd.

This week, they entertained Chester LitFest Friends at Oddfellows......reading their own work (and other folks too) and telling us tales which were equally thought provoking AND amusing...
Jo is a Cheshire Poet Laureate and Sam is Head Gardener at Tatton Park, one of Cheshire's most beautiful estates. They're both talented and highly energetic people: Jo performs, writes poetry and plays, and is Director of National Poetry Day ( Oct 6th) and has also been Poet in Residence at Glastonbury. She also visited my writing group ( Hoole-igans) last December when we had a super morning. ( See Posting May 2011)
Sam has been Head Gardener at Tatton for well over 30 years: He's recreated gardens there and made Tatton's Japanese Garden the most renowned in Europe. He's travelled extensively for his work, lecturing and viewing the gardens of the world...
This stuff is only a taste of their talents and their work...giving mere glimmers of their immense creative energy.....

This was a happy combination: a fine poet/ firstclass gardener ( who also writes...indeed he told me he'd been up at 2:30am to write that morning....before putting in a day's work at Tatton and then visiting us!) ..........
Hopefully Chester will welcome Jo and Sam ( plus Peter Rabbit, of course) again soon...

They Didn't Stoop, They Conquered..."

2011-09-26T16:47:00.028+01:00

THIS was HEAVEN.
This classroom....smelling of beeswax polish and new leather shoes and freshly washed hair, of Quink ink and of secretly sucked fruitgums .....HERE was the place I wanted to be.
September sunshine fiddled through leaded light windows. Books lined shelves: history, science, bibles, hymn books stacked into towers....Ancient and Modern....The Approach To Latin ( later I altered mine to " The Approach To Eating".....just a few strokes of m'pen) .......Pens and pencils stood prim in jars, freshly sharpened crayons and chalks the colour of sherbert glittered in tiny earthenware pots. And desk lids creaked as we opened them to retrieve our shiny bulging new pencil cases ( rubbers, sharpeners, protractor, compass) and girls whispered across narrow aisles....Rosemary and Linda and Gwyneth, Elizabeth, Heather, Janet and Marigold..and new friends ( some became lifelong) were made in the blink of an eye, in the glimpse of a smile.......And the afternoon was golden and I wanted to hold it in my hands for ever.
Somewhere along a corridor girls trilled descants. I didn't know then that they were called descants, but oh yes, they were. Someone laughed in the courtyard below our window....a laugh that shimmered... and then that someone's heels clicked away, busy and elegant.....impressively important.
THIS was all marvellous. I was 11 and two days into " senior school". BUT this was my very first English lesson EVER.... and the classroom quietened... as thirty girls in brand new uniforms sat at thirty desks, watchful and waiting.

Our tweed-clad English teacher sat erect in her chair, with her glasses....( "loignettes" said a clever girl called Muriel) .....perched on the tip of her well bred nose. And for one scary minute, we thought Miss had lost The Power Of Speech.
THEN Miss X breathed heavily....like my mother when she brought in the coal. Miss stared at us...like an angry Queen of Hearts as we sat at our desks in our spotless blazers , well polished shoes, our hair combed and brushed into plaits and bunches and immaculate fringes...
THEN Miss X spoke. She held up a book for all to see: " Our first assignment: Oliver Goldsmith's She Stoops To Conquer. You will remember reading this here... and now.. for the rest of your lives." She paused, gauging reactions. Then she stared straight at me: " Now WHO will be Mr Tony Lumpkin?"
SO I was Tony Lumpkin. And Miss X was quite right. I never DID forget it....!

Last week, Chester Theatre Club produced "She Stoops To Conquer" under Jane Barth's astute direction, which brought out many Goldsmith delights. The play was first performed in 1773, but it brims with timeless situations, emotions and humour. There's secret romance, mistaken identity, practical jokes, PLUS witty but thoughtful dialogue, as relevant today as it was centuries ago....OR indeed decades ago....
The cast included newcomers and also actors who have long trod Little Theatre boards.
Tony Kemp ( glorioudsly bewigged) played country squire Hardcastle to the hilt with Mary Premble a fine foil as his snobbish greedy spouse. Zoe Lambrakis was stunning as Kate Hardcastle, bringing both beauty AND exquisitely timed comedy.....delivered in her wonderful tones......and also in perfect Yorkshire accent. Owen Monie ( Tony Lumpkin!) romped througfh the play, causing havoc and boozing with colourful locals: Peter Speirs, Richard McCrossan. Tony O'Byrne and Kat Holmes. AND Josie Herd was a scheming heiress, mischievous and beguiling in equal measure with Eloit Stead as Marlow ( playing both a confident rogue AND a tonguetied admirer) ......while Tim Maragon ( Hastings) plotted and pontificated to amuse us all...
THIS WAS a talented cast giving a most entertaining evening....and bringing back memories of longago classrooms....I suspect for quite a few people...

" Fancy A Writing Workshop? Consider These!"

2011-09-16T12:06:00.015+01:00

My Blog break was short but sweet..
Here's something special. Chester LitFest's Performance Saturdays October 22nd/29th.
THE FIRST SATURDAY features 4 WRITING WORKSHOPS led by 4 talented writers.
They're crime writer Margaret Murphy, poet Gill McEvoy with fellow writer Judy Ugonna, plus northern poet Clare Shaw and there's also Mike Garry ( from "Apples and Snakes")

Each workshop will be a creative session with lots of enjoyment promised ....whether you're in your glittering prime OR long past it.......IT REALLY TAKES ALL SORTS....of people, just as much as events.......TO MAKE A FESTIVAL!

For full details of workshops, the whole Festival, and also the 2nd Performance Saturday ( Open Mic, Rina Tillinger/Di Hanning-Lee, Chester Poets, young Crime Writers...and the final event: Chester Debating Society:" The Book Is Dead!") .......SEE http://www.chesterfestivals.co.uk/

PS: Saw the new film "Jane Eyre" this week. Fabulous. Perfect casting/settings/even Mr Rochester exactly as my teenage imaginings when I first read the book........

Blog Break Beckons...

2011-09-04T17:40:00.004+01:00

Blog Break now for a little while. Shall return early next month...

"One Day, The Film..."

2011-08-26T10:26:00.027+01:00

We expected a cinema full of David Nicholls fans. But yesterday afternoon, on the day the film of his best-seller ONE DAY was released, you could count the folk in the cinema on the fingers of your (...OK, both hands....And yes, probably the toes on your feet too)...BUT outside, it was a bright sunny day and summer's fading...so perhaps a sunbed in the garden had been the option for some... I just hope some of the adverse comments by critics haven't put people off.

A few months back, I couldn't put the book down. It's an easy read. It's beautifully written. There are bits that haunt. There are bits you recognise, with which you empathise. And it also documents a slice of British society over 22 hectic years... and it does all this with perception.
The main characters, Emma and Dex, are vibrantly real. There are others who are also beautifully drawn. You could say the "plot" is simple, ordinary...but it holds your interest hugely.... and the " Will they? Won't they?" of the story lassoes you....along with the fact that Emma and Dex meet on St Swithins Day ( 1988) .....then decide to meet annually.....so that their relationship flays/ falters/flirts and fights......AND I enjoyed all this, in Nicholls' readable very canny prose.

THE FILM is Absolutely Not The Book. BUT....Take It On Its Own. Don't think about the book. The film is gentle-easy-Friday-evening-watching. OK, Hmm: Hathaway's accent consists of a sudden flat "supposed-to-be Yorkshire" vowel lurching betwixt Heaven Knows What....BUT the film is merely a RomCom, it's light as sugar, it's sad and touching, it's good-looking with some lovely moments...BUT BEST OF ALL: it has great cameos. Rafe Spall is a brilliant Ian. Ken Stott as Dex's Dad shines. Patricia Clarkson is a star as Dex's mother; as parents of Dex, they couldn't be bettered.

BUT Hathaway doesn't hit the spot. She's a beautiful American actress..... as unlike working class socialist clever-plain Emma as it's probably possible to be. In the book, it was EMMA I watched and Emma I crossed my fingers for. BUT yesterday afternoon, I rooted for Dexter. Jim Sturgess's brown eyes beguiled..the flaws in his character melted and moved ... and his ageing process over the years was impeccable. Sturgess was accurate sensible casting.

SO YES: The book was sheer delight from start to finish: an analysis of so many things...The film, by contrast, is merely an afternoon's enjoyment....a pleasant view into a love affair.

They're separate beings, this book and this film. Each should be appreciated for what it is.
They shouldn't be compared with t'other. ( To be said in your best Yorkshire accent, of course?)

" Farcical Frolickings By The Lake..."

2011-08-23T16:07:00.026+01:00

Yes, it's corny....Farce IS corny...all that stripping off... the running in and out of open and closed doors....silly phone calls....the constant losing of trousers....people tumbling downstairs....people falling over...people falling in love....all those ridiculous predictable mix-ups!

On Friday we saw Michael Frayn's " Noises Off!" at Theatre By The Lake, Keswick, Cumbria ( see http://www.theatrebythelake.co.uk/ ) It's a gorgeous spot for a theatre, set in the heart of the Lakes... by Derwentwater ...and we've had many visits now over several years.

AND T.B.T.L really is the most laidback of places. To quote my friend, some folk look as though they're straight off the fells ( meant as a compliment!) and others dress in their own elegant Best. In fact, you could say Everyone comes as Themself. And that suits the ambience of this place. And as you arrive, you're made welcome and you're all set for a happy evening.....

BUT I didn't know what to expect from this play. AND by expressions on other folk's faces as the curtain rose, I reckon others felt the same.
BECAUSE Farce is predicable....it's wellworn....its jokes can be yawnable....and I think we were wondering........BUT altho all 3 Acts were packed with Classic ("what-you-expect Farce").... we laughed.....and we laughed..and we laughed.... because this was actually CLASSY Farce......with a clever script based on a play-within-a-play ( OR rather a " farce-within-a-farce) .......AND the 2nd Act "sort-of" brilliantly repeated the 1st.....( anymore info would be telling)..........And there was an amazing set ( built by Topshow Scenic Construction: both front/back of a stage set).... and there were fine characatures, including Ben Ingles ( clearly a dancer in another life) as Gary Lejeune ( I couldn't help thinking of PM Cameron as he strode about in immaculate suit !?) ....ALSO Heather Saunders as seductively dippy Brooke Ashton, did much to steal the show...The play was slightly too long...but that's only a tiny criticism..

SO: If you're in northern parts, "Noises Off!" plays until November, along with 5 other plays in rotation, using same company of actors.
****And talking of other Happenings: Michael Frayne's writer wife, Claire Tomalin, comes to Chester LitFest on October 19th to talk about her latest book: " Charles Dickens: A Life". See http://www.chesterfestivals.co.uk/ for full details....
AND P.S: Michael Frayn's novel " Spies" is one of the best books I've read in recent years. And when my brother borrowed my copy, he started it one evening and couldn't put it down. He finally finished in the Early Hours.

" Three Special Men"

2011-08-18T08:57:00.005+01:00

It's a bit of a joke with one of my friends.
She once said: "I bet you like reading Obituaries!" and yes, she was right.
It's not the Deaths....it's the Lives I like to know about...complete stories in themselves.... and today there are three main Obits in the Times: the guy who introduced black/white stripes to pedestrian crossings, a Lt-Col who gained the Military Cross, and a chest specialist who tackled TB in the East End and helped homeless alcoholics.
Their stories are the stuff of the best of novels. All had brave and very long lives.
And wonderfully, all were 94, all three of them.
It was a privelege to read about them.

" Magritte: Surrealism By The Mersey"

2011-08-12T17:40:00.022+01:00

The colour of the Mersey was absolutely right for the occassion last Wednesday: almost black at times, as grey as the darkest of doves.
And it churned with a desperate kind of anger.... its waves repeating...and repeating.....and repeating ( like the very work of Magritte himself ) ...repeating its woes, its triumphs, its stories.... and all this beneath a deep navy sky.... echoing with sombre slowmoving dreamlike clouds....drifting like porpoises in sullen gathering darkness...... surreal weather for an August day.

AND they were there in the water and sky: the colours Magritte would choose...the images he'd make, glimpsed through each window we passed as we viewed this exhibition in Liverpool's Tate. The setting could not have been more perfect...

The exhibition is called The Pleasure Principle*. I'm not sure about this. Pleasure seems far from Magritte. The title must have its tongue in its cheek??( WHAT would he do with THAT image??) Maybe we missed the point.

Magritte's figures are silent, solitary ones. His objects are frequently cut to their quick ....(and they're like the waves, repeating+repeating+repeating) ..but there's a humour, a weird quite unhealthy one..that shakes and rattles and rolls, that makes your spine shivery, your thoughts silent.....
AND yes, there's seduction and there's depravity behind curtains...literally: you'll see if you go....and many terrors of a brutal human night are turned into a human comedy...

THIS EXHIBITION: Comedian Noel Fielding (The Mighty Boosh) says its full of one liners...I suppose with its apples, bowler hats, with the sudden staccato shock of a lush pink rose...Fielding says it's a source for a surreal comedy show. And he's right.
And Terry Gilliam ( wonderful ex Python!) says people walked round in a religious state of awe...but HE got the joke..and he walked round, laughing uncontrollably...

BUT I'm not sure. It was unsettling. Its humour was mirthless...if that can be said. BUT I stared at my favourite ( "The Night Owl" ) and I saw not only the humour in the lamppost (planted solemnly in the livingroom) ....but also the strangeness in encroaching darkness, and most of all, the pain of this guy's awful human universal loneliness..

BUT I'm not sure. But go. It's at L'pool Tate until Oct 16th. http://www.tate.org.uk/liverpool
* Freudian term, I believe.

" Seven (Biscuits) Go To The Chinese..."

2011-08-08T09:38:00.019+01:00

Our every-few-weeks writing group " Words And Biscuits" ( we spout the words/scoff the biscuits) thrives.
I set it up 11 years ago as celebration of the new century......and much water ( like our words) has flowed under many bridges since.
Recently one of us celebrated a milestone birthday and generously treated us all to dinner at a local Chinese. Delicious food/good fun in great company.
Our ages span several decades...( and we're all very different, yet much the same, if you follow my drift...)
We come together regularly with our writing/our chat and it's a much cherished session each time for all of us ..
Here we are ( 3 Biscuits were away in other tins unfortunately...) BUT we're grinning cheesily while sampling gorgeous dishes in tasty succession...
A happy session indeed....AND Long May We Chomp On Our Biscuits!!

" Wandering The Gardens Of Warwick...plus a Friendly Re-Union! "

2011-08-07T08:55:00.027+01:00

A visit to brother/sisterinlaw who live in a Warwickshire village.

INTRIGUING : thro casual chat, they'd discovered someone in their village who'd been at school with me in my small city...in same "gang" of girls ( long before dreaded Girl Power took off! ) ANYHOW we hadn't set eyes on each other since aged 15...Suffice to say, that's A FAIR FEW YRS........HOWEVER we had a lovely time with C and husband T... and suffice to say ( again) my brother's bottle bin was rattling yesterday morning...

Friends are valuable folk...obvious statement....both new ones and old.....and this week, I had a kaleidoscopic glimpse into my past and Carol's.....shimmering and spinning over decades... from the time we'd been bashing our satchels together and meeting our very 1st boyfriends beneath the Abbey Gateway... to Friday, sitting lazily in a summery garden SO MANY years on.

WE ALSO visited some of the wonderful Gardens of Warwick. My snap shows The Mill Garden, created by Arthur Measures beneath the walls of Warwick Castle, beside the Avon. It's a delight: delicious plants/shrubs, plus views of castle, mill and river.

And it appears there are lots of gardens open to the public in Warwick.....varied in content and care. There are cottagey ones where you feel miles from the town and cool calm ones:grassy spaces canopied by darkly dramatic trees. And ornate rose-bedded ones... with benches where elderly ladies sit together, talking in fluting well polished voices...

BUT probably the most fascinating was Hill Close Gardens. These are 16 individual gardens, cultivated in Victorian times by Warwick shopkeepers and tradesmen who had no gardens of their own. For long years, the gardens were left derelict but at the turn of this century, locals banded together and 4 yrs ago, the renovation of Hill Close Gardens was complete. Some have their original summerhouses, some of these buildings now " listed". They're secluded peaceful places for hardworking townsfolk.... to relax after digging their own special earth..

It was a treat to visit....as it MUST have been for the tradesman of Warwick all those yrs ago...folk such as **Mr. Chadband, Confectioner....AND Mr. R. Ivens, Auctioneer.....and his brother, Mr. J. Ivens, Master Upholsterer...

** It seems Charles Dickens visited Warwick.... and afterwards the oily Rev. Chadband ( fictitious, I hasten to add!) appeared in his " Bleak House"...

"Here Is Some News....."

2011-08-03T16:29:00.010+01:00

A swift flip through today's News:
Magician Paul Daniels was hospitalised recently after the delectably naughty teddybear puppet Sooty chucked a pizza at him......clearly Johnny Marbles has encouraged A Trend that has stretched even to puppets...

And talking about stretching ( in this case, high waisted trousers?) Simon Cowell has reportedly shed 14 lbs on a Smoothie diet. Smoothie. That figures. WILL Simon need lots of new ( slenderer?) trousers??

ALSO: Model Linda Evangelista declares she requires $46,000 monthly as maintenance for her 4 year old daughter and for her own personal grooming. She reckons she needs armed former police detectives as drivers plus a well-paid 24hr Nanny.
" I have to maintain my image" says statuesque Evangelista.
WOW! She wouldn't be happy with my wonderfully faithful Ponds Cold Cream...or my more than acceptable L'Oreal for the more mature of skins...

AND lastly: I look forward to this outcome:
writer Tony Parsons is "Writer In Residence" at Heathrow for a week. He's finding material for his short story collection:" Departures: Seven Stories From Heathrow".
I've long annoyed my family by disappearing into my own world whenever at M/Ch, Gatwick, etc....because I'm weighing up folk lounging on sofas....OR staring at quarrelling families in cafes, or gawping at passionate reunions by barriers...not to mention me wondering for days afterwards about a sobbing old man OR a shifty-eyed woman Or a sharp-suited guy with no more than his wallet....
This collection by Parsons will certainly be on my shelf.

" Illustrious Birthday Celebrations"

2011-07-27T08:08:00.028+01:00

Two Anniversaries of the births of very different ( very!) English writers: Next Feb is 200 years since Charles Dickens arrived...and last month saw the centenary of Sir Terence Rattigan's birth.

http://www.chestertheatreclub.co.uk/ have born( hmm! ) this in mind: in May, Jane Barth directed a fine version of Rattigan's " Separate Tables".
AND in this masterly production, CTC showed us the quality of Rattigan's humour/pathos....plus his superb understanding of character. And altho set in '53, much was relevant today.....

We saw characters stranded 3 X daily on their own separate islands...in the genteel diningroom of the shabby Beauregard Hotel. And these characters revealed intriguing stories through their daily chatter...which formed the basis of the play.
Everyone shone, including Hilary Egan as pompous Mrs Railton-Bell....Mary Premble as a wonderfully dizzy Lady Matheson.... and Liz Stafford, as Miss Meacham, stayed tantalisingly deep in her book on racing form!
Lots of other successes: Fiona Wheatcroft, Ian Dunne, John Mackay ( garrulus hilarious Pollock) Jane Ellis (beautiful Mrs Shankland). And talented others packed this talented cast.
A Birthday tribute without doubt!

AND SO TO DICKENS, 200 NEXT FEBRUARY......
Countless celebrations are surely hatching, but IF comparable with Manchester Library Theatre's*** " Hard Times" last month, there'll be DELIGHT through the land!!

This promenade production ( audience follows cast scene to scene) took place at Murrays Mill, Ancoats, M/Ch, and was Library Theatre's 1st site -specific work. The company hope to use other unusual/intruguing places for more works ......This philosophy is also part of Chester Festival's theme: ie. performing in special places, eg. Chester's Rows, its Walls etc)

At Murrays we felt unbelievably ( uncannily, almost) involved with story, characters, setting, throughout. As we walked around the mill, we peered into hovels at nineteenth century tragedies, gaped at the greedy Bank, watched errant pupils in the schoolroom. And we traipsed down streets with a stridently brilliant Bounderby.... and we watched pretty Louisa stepping into a magical wedding dress....THEN we finally ended up ( cast and audience together) at Mr Sleary's Horse Riding Circus...to be entertained by circus folk.... and also to hear the closing of the storty

And every so often, I found myself next to a smiling young man with familiar face...John Stape ( Graeme Hawley from " Coronation Street", much more handsome in realty than as Fizz's evil husband. )
" You're in the wrong street!" I whispered ...but on the coach home, I wondered just HOW often folk in M'ch streets have uttered those words to Graeme as he passed...
I look forward to seeing him in other parts if not returning to the cobbles.
****http://www.librarytheatre.com/
****Once again, 2 superlative theatrical evenings in the NW of England..

" Liking It Lots: In Perfect Summer Setting"

2011-07-26T08:15:00.018+01:00

WATCH OUT REGENTS PARK!!

Last week, we picnicked at Grosvenor Park Open Air Theatre, Chester, while watching a colourful performance of Shakespeare's " As You Like It".

The evening was fine and when twilight gave way to dark, fairy lights twinkled... in the tall green hedges while music played... and songs were sung...and the atmosphere ( as we sipped our wine and then our coffee) was as enthralling as the story.

This play, dating from 1600, was packed with highly talented actors...recognisable from worlds of stage/screen. It was classic comedy, presented in more or less traditional style....yet interlaced with spicy surprises......keenly executed by an attractive cast..

Set in the leafy Forest of Arden...( brilliant trees....See snap!), the cast paint us sizzling pictures of love, power, betrayal, with glimpses of much more... lingering betwixt the ongoing humour and the strong and vivid characters....

The theatre produces 2 plays this July/August, both in the park. The 2nd is " Merlin and the Woods of Time", is a new play by Glyn Maxwell. Hope to make this.

Details: www.chesterperforms.com OR contact info@chesterperforms.com

" Remembering Amy Winehouse, As So Many Will Today"

2011-07-25T11:12:00.013+01:00

Peeping through Autumn trees is a little Slovenian village. The picture was taken by our friend GAC when we visited one October. And I've blogged it because yesterday, I read that the superb Amy Winehouse once dedicated her cover of "Autumn Leaves", to her grandmother. And yesterday I listened to it and loved it.

I first heard about Amy several years ago, courtesy of my son who lived in London and knew lots about the music scene. And as everyone is saying, her fabulous voice was up with the greats: Billie Holliday, Sarah Vaughan et al. She really did sing soul from her soul.

A weird coincidence that in my last posting I mentioned how the Ukes had featured " Autumn Leaves" at Gawsworth Hall and how it's long been one of my favourites, particularly Edith Piaf's and more lately, a wonderful version by Eric Clapton. I'm very glad that yesterday I discovered Amy's version.
What amazing music she made and how incredibly sad we've lost her.

JUST PLAYED WINEHOUSE'S " WILL YOU STILL LOVE ME TOMORROW?" WOW!

" Ukes Play On In The Rain!"

2011-07-21T22:21:00.006+01:00

Had a superb BUT exceedingly wet time on Sunday evening!

The fabulous Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain appeared in driving rain ( but as you see, under cover!) at Gawsworth Hall, Cheshire ( NB. its wonderful black/white timbers) and the Ukes gave the audience over 2 hours of sheer delight.

They'd already gigged at Gawsorth 2 yrs ago BUT it was pretty clear that lots of the audience came for a repeat performance...and yes, we'll be around for their next!

The Ukes were formed in 1985 and it's true to say they're an all-singing plus all-strunmming orchestra ( 7 in all, featuring a variety of ukes) They've travelled worldwide ( USA, Japan, NZ, Europe) playing all genres : rock, jazz, "oldies" (to bring tears to your eyes...."Autimn Leaves" did this for me! ) plus film scores, classics , eg. Tchaikovsky...
And all the time, the Ukes sit in elegant chamber group format....talking with us, cracking jokes and having lots of fun.

A Superb Evening! ( It HAS to be said twice!!)

"The Most Wonderful Of Shrews...."

2011-06-18T11:42:00.003+01:00

IF they'd produced it, the RSC would've been proud of this production. Mighty proud.
And here it was 12 miles from home.
I was lucky enough to see it at Theatr Clwyd, Mold, North Wales, a couple of weeks ago.
It was one of the best, if not THE BEST, event I've seen at Theatr C. And believe me, I've made visits to Theatr Clwyd for ( ahem!) many years....

The evening was a riot of laughter and colour and superb drama. Terry Hands as Director totally excelled. AS did Designer, Composer, and everyone else. I'm not exagerrating...

The stage was constantly alive: with laughter and storytelling provided by a cast of superb actors, who wove the tale of lovely Bianca and crazy Katherina... with many touches of sheer MAGIC.

The principal stars were Aberystwyth born Hedydd Dylan as the most unforgettable of Shrews AND also of course the exceptional Steven Meo, equally unforgettable as Petruccio.

My friends and I loved it. And again, I'm not exagerrating: THIS WAS A BREATHTAKINGLY BRILLIANTLY MEMORABLE evening....

"Carnival of Giants Parades Through Chester...."

2011-06-13T18:00:00.020+01:00

Chester is now officially UK City of Giants.

And as I was once a child who gorged on Giant stories... ...Fee! Fie! Fo! Fum! I smell the blood of an Englishman...... I HAD to watch their spectacular parade through our city streets yesterday.

This parade was part of MBNA's Chestival ( see http://www.chesterfestivals.co.uk/), which tied in with a session the previous day when the 1st ever world Giant Conference met in Chester. Notting Hill Carnival organiser , Pax Nindi, talked about the fantastic part that Giants can play in both community/ international events. It's also hoped that Giants will parade the streets of East London during the Olympics next summer....

Yesterday was a visual and auditory feast! We saw 100 splendid Giants ( many produced by and representing local clubs, organisations etc...eg. Oxfam, Chester F C, Chester Zoo, Kings School, etc) and at least 5 bands, including samba, provided suitable lively music...

Lots more vivid and vivacious events are more than welcome...

" Two Special Visitors......"

2011-06-12T15:29:00.006+01:00

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge loomed rather large in Eastgate today.....

" Recognise Anyone?"

2011-06-12T14:44:00.005+01:00

Chester had some major-major VIP's in the city today. They were incredibly smiley, despite the rain. And all appeared such good friends.

More about this soon.

"Mr Morrissey's Macbeth in Merseyside"

2011-06-08T15:39:00.011+01:00

The wonderful Everyman Theatre, Liverpool, closes its doors shortly while its massive £28m revamp takes place.
The new Everyman , hopefully " A New Everyman For Everyone", will emerge in 2013. You can check out developments on http://www.everymanplayhouse.com/

And the final major performance before closure, was given to Liverpudlian David Morrissey, playing a passionate Macbeth in Gemma Bodinetz's ambitious production , now on stage at the Everyman until June 11th.

Lots of unusual touches (which I know didn't work for everyone, although most did for me) ....
AND as well as enigmatic Mr Morrissey, long time favourite, there was a strong cast, including Richard Bremmer ( fine as Duncan, Doctor, and particularly fine as Porter) plus the superb Gillian Kearney, who played a seductive witch ( who nearly drowned at one exciting point!) and a perfect Lady Macduff.

Mention must be made too of Julia Ford, who stepped in 3 weeks before the play's opening, because Jemma Redgrave left the cast. Ford was firstly a gentle and sweet, soft spoken Lady Macbeth ( almost TOO subdued in neat Jean Muir type navy dress!) but by the end, Ford produced a compellingly psychotic and very bloody Lady M which astounded us all..

An innovative production.
I'm sure Everyone looks forward to our new Everyman with much pleasure...

" Mr McGovern In Malpas: Opening Event In Up And Coming Arts Festival"

2011-05-26T11:48:00.024+01:00

Malpas is a village a few miles from Chester and last week, the 1st ever MALFEST took place there. (http://malfest.com/)
And after sampling the 1st night, I'm sure that Malfest is destined to be a colouful arts festival, moulded by a team of keen and talented locals, who all have hefty claims on the arts world.
I could attend only 2 events but next year, hopefully more....

The opening event ( in a rather sumptious marquee, complete with bar) featured superb writer Jimmy McGovern " in conversation" with award winning writer John Oakden who had generously lent his lovely house and garden. And their chat didn't disappoint, believe me...

FOR EXAMPLE: We heard lots of talk re " Cracker" ... I bet you didn't know McG envisaged Fitz as a small scrawny character....but soon he appreciated his director's choice of the well-made Robbie C (!)

We heard about "Hillsborough" ...how McGovern tirelessly ( and tactfully) talked with bereaved and grieving families, we heard about his brilliant " Accused", about the effects of his Afghanistan episode..we could have amassed so much more had time been available. This was a great opener for Malfest and clearly enjoyed by all.

AND after Irish Liverpudlian Mr McG, we were taken to Wales by a troupe of superb readers who gave us a very well rehearsed reading of Dylan Thomas's " Under Milk Wood" . Characters sprang to life, as did the story and setting.
And for the 2nd part, we drifted into John Oakden's spacious drawing room, where we were warmed by a roaring fire as well as DT's gorgeous words..

** And if you've got time, SEE my archived post AUG 10th 2009 about McG's " The Street"

** And the snap is Mr McG chatting with someone I know well (!) John Oakden is on the stage.

** And my next post will be about another super talented Liverpudlian....!

" Jon Mayhew Visits Hoole-igans...."

2011-05-22T18:07:00.010+01:00

HELLO! I go from SUBLIME to RIDICULOUS...no postings for 5 months and now 3 all at once....I suppose it's a bit like those buses...

Here is local writer Jon Mayhew ( father of 4, Advisory Teacher, Musician, Serious Runner...HOW does he do it?!)

Jon spent a morning with the Hoole-igans recently. Here he is by Clare, who is listening to his tips with rapt arrention.

Jon writes for Bloomsbury. His 1st Book was the wonderful scarily chilling " MORTLOCK" .

More about Jon and his well-deserved burgeoining career on: http://www.jonmayhew.co.uk/

" Jo Bell: Chimes In With The Hoole-igans"

2011-05-22T17:50:00.003+01:00

Jo Bell, prizewinning and well published poetess, made a welcome visit to The Hoole-igans.

It was a case of 2nd time lucky. Jo attempted to visit in December but roads were icy, snow was falling and she had to postpone. However on a breezy Spring day, we managed a replay.... when she gave us a fabulous morning, sharing her poetry and her latest work.

Jo, who lives on a 67 ft narrowboat called "Tinker" ( and was once an archaeologist ) wears lots of hats.... and she suits them all ... She writes, performs, leads workshops and one major "job" is that of Director of National Poetry Day.

Thanks Jo ( if you see this) for a great session.

"Poets Converse With The Hoole-igans"

2011-05-22T17:20:00.008+01:00

I'm catching up with stuff. It may take some time...

Here are two fine poets pictured " in conversation" when they came to my writing group ( The Hoole-igans).
They are (left) Simon Gotts and (right) Clive McWilliam.

Looking on with interest is Gill King, a keen member of our group. We had a super morning listening to stunning work and gathering up stunning tips.

Clive runs his own Landscape Architecture business and is currently working on an MA at M/Ch School of Writing. He recently appeared at M/Ch Royal Exchange reading with Carol Ann Duffy and Friends and he's won several major prizes, including a Forward Prize in 2010.

Simon, senior librarian in Flintshire, delights with his stories and poems. He's won or been placed several times in the Cheshire Prize for Literature as well as in other major competitions.

We hope to see Clive and Simon again.

BACK TO BLOGGING!

2011-05-22T16:56:00.002+01:00

Here I am and I'll be blogging ASAP but I'll answer my previous postings NOW!

GREETINGS!

2010-12-26T12:13:00.000Z

APLOPOGIES for lack of Blogs...however MERRY CHRISTMAS ( in hindsight) AND HAPPIEST OF NEW YEARS!

APLOPOGIES TO BLOG ( AGED 4!)

2010-10-03T11:54:00.004+01:00

Suddenly realised that BLOG was 4 years old 2 days ago, so A Very Happy Birthday To Blog!
Blog's been a bit neglected ( to say the least) so aplopogies to this ( can't believe it) grownup 4 yr old of mine...
Wonder what the average life span is of the average Blog??? Anyone know.....??

" Farewell To Forty Summertime Friends...."

2010-09-12T16:11:00.007+01:00

WHAT/WHO is this, you may ask?!

Well, it's a Rhino..a very colourful one...and it's been gracing ( IS that verb suited to a rhino?...I think strangely enough that it is!) the Town Hall Square these past few weeks....while many of its rhino friends have been sort-after elsewhere throughout our city...

HOWEVER this brilliant herd of rhinos disappears this week...hopefully to thunder over a merely temporary horizon. They've been great . Please return...

" Until September...."

2010-08-02T09:12:00.004+01:00

Here in the far distance is one of my favourite Cheshire tree scapes....certain trees visible from many different places.

We've just enjoyed a visit to friends living on the edge of the Sandstone Trail.

And a Blog Break now....until September. Aplopogies for not visiting other Blogs latterly but shall make amends ASAP.

"Elizabeth: Talks With Us Of Vikings"

2010-07-29T13:34:00.020+01:00

Elizabeth, Keeper of Early History at Chester's Grosvenor Museum, called in to chat with my writing group yesterday. We've " broken up" for
summer, but this was too good an opportunity to miss...

BECAUSE Liz is at present ammassing an important Exhibition about the Vikings, stemming from their arrival in Cheshire in the 10th century.

The Exhibition explores Viking history.... and of course, the startling legacy they left behind. And listening to Liz yesterday, we realised JUST how generous a legacy this was.

Viking Raiders, Traders and Settlers brought us skills, arts and crafts, government ideas and language....and much of it we still use today. AND there's certainly lots more than we imagined.

Now we have a few weeks to shape up some prose/poetry for the Exhibition...and after Liz's visit, we're bubbling with thoughts/ideas/images.....

The Viking Exhibition opens in Chester on September 11th, running for 4 months before going On Tour to other museums.

"Poems From The Plucking Shed"

2010-07-28T19:12:00.007+01:00

Last week Chester poet Gill McEvoy launched her new collection. It's called " The Plucking Shed" and it's published by Cinnamon Press.

I couldn't make the launch ( at Alexanders, where Gill and friends regularly hold their Zest! Open Mic evenings) but I called round at Gill's one evening for a cuppa, a chat and a copy of her book.

Some of her poems I knew already: from sessions at Zest!...and also from our Words/Biscuits afternoons, where Gill is one of our original Biscuits!

Her poems are crafted beautifully. Gill is a wonderful observer of detail, of memory...of the natural world, of the whole gamut of human feelings...

This is a very special collection.

"Much Ado In The Park...And Remembering A Midsummer Night's Dream"

2010-07-23T08:36:00.044+01:00

Last week, a boy (aged about seven?) cuddled on his Dad's lap while they nibbled sandwiches and sipped juice... as together they watched Shakespeare's " Much Ado About Nothing" in a striking setting in a midcity park.

The production was part of Grosvenor Park Open Air Theatre, presented by Chester Performs ( http://www.chesterperforms.com/ ).

The play runs for several weeks through July/August. This year is the Open Air Theatre's inaugural year... and going on last week's splendid performance, Cestrians will soon be hungering for more.

WHICH REMINDS ME: the boy with the sandwiches. He appeared permanently thrilled....by the play, not necessarily the sandwiches! Each time I glanced across, he was watching the action intently: Hero and Claudia, Beatrice and Benedick....and I bet those images...the sights and sounds he experienced, plus the music, the natural setting used so cleverly ( mature trees, acres of sky, England in twilight..) ...along with the fun of lots of people gathered on a darkening summer night...will be remembered by that little boy for always.

ON just such an evening years ago....my parents took me to watch a celebrated local drama company's production of " A Midsummer Nights Dream". The venue was the gardens of Eaton Hall, home of the Duke of Westminster... and the director was Peter Dornford May, well known throughout the county. This was my intro to Shakespeare ... and also to outdoor theatre... and I never forgot it.

OF COURSE that play was ideal for such a night....the theme itself...the characters: Noblemen, Ladies, Bottom, Titania, Puck, Cobweb and Mustardseed...and of course Pyramus and Thisbe (!)...and yes, there was the wonderful new-to-me language: " I know a bank wheron the wildthyme blows".... and the cracking " You spotted snakes with double tongue!" .... All of it was magical. All of it was memorable.

BUT then I WAS lucky. My parents were superb at creating "memorable occassions". My childhood is like a long necklace of beads....some beads more vivid than others....these beads are often ones my parents added: eg. a yellow seashore in very early morning...the black drama of a cruel storm at midnight...a silver-grey ancient turreted house where peacocks strutted on wide green lawns....a tiny whitewashed cottage on moors above a wild Welsh sea...the list goes on. But that visit to Eaton glitters on the necklace too and lies there in all its vivid colour...

SO I HOPE that several decades on... that the little boy in Grosvenor Park looks back on " Much Ado" ( and back on his dad) with the same grateful affection...

AND I suspect there's a chance that he will...

"Another July Treat: The Four Seasons Played On A Stradivarius Violin"

2010-07-22T09:21:00.012+01:00

I'm about to GUSH. That's the Only Thing For It.

One recent Sunday, I read for the first time of talented 22year old violinist Nicola Benedetti.

In August she appears at the BBC Proms performing Vaughan Williams' " The Lark Ascending"....and her already illustrious career is set to ascend the greatest of heights.

SO in Chester Cathedral the other Friday, it was a treat to see the darkly beautiful Benedetti, with the European Union Chamber Orchestra ... ( plus Sir Andrew Motion, reading his poems in deep-velvet tones)...perform Antonio Vivaldi's "The Four Seasons".

Clearly of Italian heritage ( but born in Scotland) Benedetti enthralled. It wouldn't be exagerating to say enraptured...or even that we were captivated. Because we WERE...I imagine every one of us.

And ( added thrill!) Benedetti played on the Earl Spencer Stradivarius ( c 1792)...thus bringing Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter deep into our hearts...where I guess her magic will delight many of her audience always.

"July Treats: Incl A Cutting Edge Production."

2010-07-21T09:25:00.035+01:00

July has been pretty varied...and not just this weather...

Last week we splashed in sunshine but last night,there were flash floods in nearby L'pool.

And some of my family are at this very minute driving to Sefton Park, L'pool...to the much praised ( 5 times daily til Aug 1st) production of " In the Night Garden"... where a treat ( including the wonderful voice of Derek Jacobi!) awaits the lovely A aged 2 ...she who ADORES the Ninky Nonk, Upsy Daisy, Makka Pacca, the Tombliboo triplets...et al. ...and who quite often, adores them all at 5 oclock in her extremely early mornings....

BUT back to MY treats: July has been yummy... including visits to St Mary's Centre (an old city church on a hill near the castle)... to hear Adam Walker and Tom Poster... playing Bach, Scubert and best of all, a superbly beautiful sonata for flute and piano by Poulenc. This was part of Chester Summer Music Festival .

Then on Sunday to St Mary's for The Sozinho Occasional Theatre Company's vivid and gripping production of Stephen Sondheim's " Sweeney Todd" directed by David Whitley. There was a fabulous cast, including Luke Howarth as Todd and Jonathan Cooke as Adolpho Pirelli, with Hiroshi Amako as the most wonderful of bowler-hatted Beadles....

We look forward to more such Sozinho productions.

More July treats reported ASAP!

"The Gentle Stateliness Of The Average Purpley Foxglove..."

2010-07-05T10:53:00.005+01:00

See you in 2 0r 3 weeks... Blog's decided to slope off into the woods and look at peaceful stuff like foxgloves......

"Artfull Collage In Cumbria...."

2010-06-30T19:23:00.018+01:00

We were in the Lakes again last w/end... visiting Our Friends From The North.

One FFTN ( above) was exhibiting her super collage pieces...this is work she's amassed over several years, keeping much of it locked away high in her attic....to be enjoyed by the odd passing mouse or a curious spider or two.....or even perhaps by a nosy visitor relegated to the attic to sleep.........until last weekend, that is..... when folk enjoyed our friend's work as part of Coniston Arts and Crafts Society's Annual Exhibition.
This was held at the Mechanics Institute. It was part of a programme of events developed in partnership with Grizedale Arts. ( See http://www.grizedale.org/)

The Institute was built in the 19th century.....primarily for the development of the " mechanical" arts. .....and in particular woodcarving and lace making.And on Saturday these traditions were alive and well and thriving in Lakeland...as was stone carving, wood bending, pottery, book binding...and more.

" Partying For A Patagonian Tale...."

2010-06-29T12:39:00.015+01:00

Last night Clare Dudman (http://www.claredudman.com/ ) held a very jolly party to celebrate the launch of her new novel " A Place of Meadows and Tall Trees" ( published by Seren)

On this sultry night in a small theatre, we listened to Clare's readings and watched her glorious film...then we drank wine, nibbled nibbles.... and scoffed cake ( rumoured to be laced with brandy??? ) and all had a very good time indeed.

Clare has strong Welsh connections.... and her lyrical book tells how a band of Welsh people colonised Patagonia in 1865. The story tells of survival and sacrifice, of loss and love....and about the making of new lives as old ones fade away. Clare's writing is always superb...and I look forward to settling down with this ASAP.

Clare's Blog is: http://www.keeperofthesnails.blogspot.com/

" A Treat At Bolesworth Castle..."

2010-06-25T07:47:00.012+01:00

Here's me at Bolesworth Castle last week.

I was lucky enough to be included in "Zoo", the anthology of 23 shortlisted short stories from The High Sheriff's Cheshire Prize for Literature, 2009.

Each of us was presented with a book by the Sheriff, Diana Barbour ( in centre of snap) who welcomed us into her fabulous castle. This is, in fact, a gorgeous home...a mix of lovely old family pieces, fabrics, carpets....set comfortably with stunning contemporary paintings...and the gardens too were at their lush June best.....( although we had no chance to explore) .... but the rhododendrons ( purple, violet, lavendar ones) fair took my breath away!!

This visit was a treat.

"A View Of Picasso..."

2010-06-24T07:22:00.014+01:00

Yesterday ( says The Times) a Blue Period portrait by Picasso ( of his friend: Angel Fernandez de Soto) sold at Christie's for 34.76 million. It appears the auctioneers expected even more...

Last week I went to this summer's Picasso exhibition at Liverpool Tate ( see poster above) and I was in for a surprise. ....

The Exhibition is a vast collection of paintings, drawings, sculpture and ceramics...Picasso's random jottings, his scribblings....petitions he signed, pamphlets he wrote..and there are also his numerous designs...for posters, scarves, so many things....

So much of this showed his feelings about war, about peace itself...also his phenomenal talent...but it was Picasso's generosity of spirit that opened wide our eyes.. because his was a generosity shown through both talent AND wealth....he gave in both ways ...to people he felt oppressed, to people with causes warranting his recognition, to people who clearly touched his heart...

AND THEN in London yesterday.... one single painting sold for 34.76 million...

BUT Here are some further thoughts: It appears that the painting was sold by Lord Andrew Lloyd-Webber's Foundation. They bought it in '95 and exhibited it in both National Gallery/Royal Academy. The Foundation now intends to use the money to support the training of talented young stars in musical theatre.

THEY will indeed be very fortunate young people...

" King Richard's Treasure At Beeston..."

2010-06-21T07:55:00.021+01:00

In March ( see my post March 4th ) Kate Riddington ( Keeper of Natural History at the Grosvenor Museum) visited my writing class....along with her countless exhibits...AND afterwards, lots of folk produced prose/poetry for her exhibition. ( SEE POSTER ABOVE )

We went to its launch in May..and enjoyed seeing results of Kate's work, plus contributions from folk throughout the area....

And here's mine....based on the Legend of King Richard's treasure. This legend has it that in 1399, King Richard 2nd hid his treasure in passageways leading off the well at Beeston Castle. This castle, now in ruins, dates from 1220...and was set in the most splendid of sites...on a high and solitary hill....with vast vistas of the Cheshire Plain.... and well beyond it.

(AND not a trace of Richard's treasure has ever been found.......

"Treasure At Beeston" :

"On a day like this, we watched buzzards soar…and waver in circles above us. Years ago.
We heard echoing calls of ravens, deep croaking from the tallest of trees. And we climbed the red sandstone cliff to stare across the Cheshire Plain.
And our gaze was long and lavish, spreading wide over eight British counties.

And while you looked for Snowdon, I found Cathedrals in Liverpool. And when you watched pheasants swoop, I smelt the sea, heard church bells from Chester (St Mary’s Within Walls, St Mary’s Without)… as they pealed across fields, sounds of delight, music across a Plain.

We were so sure, weren’t we!
You swore that the flashing of sun…through birch and rowan, through bracken and oak…was the light on that sign at the Odeon…as it flickered its glamorous wares…. So I laughed and my laughter rivalled the cackling of crows.
And I laughed again…when you said that the breeze in the trees was the Liverpool crowd…men dressed in red (seething with pride) victorious lions at Anfield.

So we stopped and we listened. We stood on this hill by a castle. Farmers worked in fields and lovers lay in hedgerows and the ruins of the castle were smug with their private personal secrets.
And at dusk when woodpeckers called, we searched for King Richard’s Treasure.

Then over years, Two Towers fell. A Wall came down. An old dark man won freedom. A Princess died. A Queen survived. And our babies grew. And had lives of their own. And the world moved on.

But now we stand on this hill again, watch buzzard soar; hear croak of ravens by a castle still gloating with secrets.
And I smell sea again … and you hear those rippling crowds at Anfield.

So we laugh again.
And I say to you: “We’ve found King Richard’s Treasure….” "

" Supper With The Reckless Sleepers..."

2010-06-20T11:38:00.007+01:00

Recently I met The Reckless Sleepers... an Anglo Belgian performance company, formed in 1988.

Their name is taken from Rene Magritte's painting... the reckless sleeper....painted in 1928...and the company delight in performing provocative drama... in surreally wonderful places.

I met them as they dined at a long table ( with wine splattered cloth of white linen)... set before an altar ...in a vast church, just within the walls of the city......where they performed their version of " The Last Supper"...a zany sampling of the "Lasts" of the Famous: their statements, their meals, their different scenarios...

This was a thoughtful and strangely haunting evening... led by three talented actors...a tribute to a stunning variety of people ( ghosts and otherwise)... who will linger long in the folds and creases of our minds...

SEE http://www.reckless-sleepers.co.uk/

" A Highly Desirable Doll's House..."

2010-06-18T17:39:00.015+01:00

WOW! Lots to catch to catch up on...

BUT firstly in May, Ibsen's " The Doll's House" ran at the Little Theatre ( Chester Theatre Club)...this was a very fine production, with a fine cast directed by Delys Rostron...including particularly starring roles from Sophie Lund ( who is certainly going places!) and the excellent and versatile Simon Price. And of course, there was Zoe Lambrakis....( just 18, whose richly resonant tones will be long remembered at the Little Theatre)...who portrayed middle aged widow Kristine with great aplomb.
Next production at CTC (George Bernard Shaw's " Devil's Disciple") ) runs from Monday June 29th to Saturday July 3rd ( inclusive)

SEE http://www.chestertheatreclub.co.uk/ for booking details.

.....

Taking A Break.

2010-05-02T13:42:00.002+01:00

I'm taking a break from blogging for a while. I've been pretty spasmodic with my postings lately.. but shall return in due course and look forward to it.

" Helen,Wendy And A Beauty Queen From Leenane"

2010-04-21T13:42:00.025+01:00

One could be forgiven for thinking I'm paid to advertise Theatr Clwyd ( http://www.clwyd-theatr-cymru.co.uk/ ) as I've had so many visits lately.

This is a super all-purpose theatre, built on the edge of Mold, a small market town on the borders of Wales/England.
Many folk in my small city wish ( fervently) that THEY had something similar , something so special... BUT that's another story...

Theatr C is a great place to catch films you missed when first released. It's actually worth waiting.....
At Theatr C, you can wallow in comfy seats amid a ( generally) peaceable audience. You can also have a drink in a bar overlooking Welsh hills ( and plenty of sky)....and/or eat in a reasonably priced cafe..
Recently, we caught "The Last Station", an enthralling film about Leo Tolstoy's final days.
The cast was strong: particularly ( gorgeous) James McAvoy as Tolstoy's secretary, Valentin, and, of course, Helen Mirren ( as always, making hope spring eternal for any older woman...) playing Sofya Tolstoy.
Christopher Plummer was an anguished Tolstoy...increasingly unsettled, increasingly religious...troubled by his conflict betwixt burgeoning thoughts for the plights of humanity...fighting perilously with his wife's delight in more earthly joys.
Superb settings too ( which I'd like to view again) and good direction from Michael Hoffman.

AND THEN a production by London Classic Theatre, celebrating 10 years as a touring company.

The play, by Martin McDonagh ( enticingly titled: " The Beauty Queen of Leenane") told the tale of sad repressed folk in working class Ireland.
It's actually a kind of middle aged love story....and hidden amidst the gloom, there are moving moments and even rather gripping desparate ones. Not a play to watch for its cheer ( OK, some humour, some sparks) ...and I can't help but feel much of it was predictable... However, Paddy Glynn gave a fine portrayal of elderly mother Mag....
And Paddy's saucy wink as she returned on stage after a problem with the lighting, is definitely worth a mention too!

Last but not least at Theatr C was Wendy Cope's visit.
She entertained a full house with a Saturday afternoon of her poetry... plus the chance to sup tea and chat and scoff cake too...
And I enjoyed hearing Wendy The Woman as much as Wendy The Poet...in her 2nd half, she talked with her audience and answered numerous juicy questions....revealing herself as a highly approachable, highly intelligent, gifted lady.
We both empathised and enjoyed. Hopefully, she'll come this direction again.

" A Double Helping Of Ayckbourn..."

2010-03-11T14:43:00.014Z

Playwright Alan Ayckbourn says that from an early age, he was " imbued with a strong female bias" ......and that he's regularly told how well he writes for women.
This past week, I've seen 2 of his plays, which bears this out.

Last Wednesday, to" My Wonderful Day" ( at Theatr Clwyd: http://www.clwyd-theatr-cymru.co.uk/ ) This is Ayckbourn's latest play, 1st to travel at once to New York after its world premiere.
The play tells of a day in the life of 9 year old Winnie ( Ayesha Antoine) ...and WHAT a day! She's off school ( ill) while her heavily pregnant mum cleans for a TV director and his wife ( and also for his secretary...Hmm, a clue to the action here!)
Antoine ( rather more than 9...) is a STAR....her girly diction is perfect... as are her facial expressions ( bored, worried, curious, disgusted: she's got the lot!) and the shrugging of her shoulders....her ( recognisable!) slopping/slouching about in school uniform...plus her childlike enthusiasm....her melancholy.....her devotion to her mum ( Petra Letang) demonstrated a talent to watch.

Then yesterday to Chester Theatre Club (http://www.chestertheatreclub.co.uk/ ) ) for Jane Barth's production of " Private Fears In Public Places" ( 2005) .... just this title would be enough to get me there...) AND it was quite superb. A strong cast, particularly the primly seductive secretive Charlotte (Jane Ellis) ......A great part, marvellously played....underlining again Ayckbourn's talent in writing for women..
2 Ayckbourns, then: and quite honestly: equally enjoyed.

*** Taking A Break. See You In April*****

"Saturday PM With Simon Armitage"

2010-03-07T08:56:00.013Z

Poetry can use language as a connective tissue... betwixt ideas....dragging images across concepts... with new and alien thoughts....

One of the ideas generated by Yorkshire poet Simon Armitage at a writing workshop yesterday:part of Flintshire ArtsFest, which is now becoming an annual treat. (see post 18:03:09)

16 writers ( some highly accomplished poets.. some, like myself, dipping their pencil in gingerly) listened to Simon's laidback Yorkshire tones, his crisp and wise advice on the art and craft of contemporary poetry ..

And by 4pm , we'd created and crafted our own pieces...be they fully formed adults ( already with lives of their own) or merely the whisper of a planned birth at some future date...

An inspiring session with a superb and masterly poet .

"Red-Legged Partridge, Black-Headed Gull...."

2010-03-04T08:42:00.017Z

This is Kate, Keeper of Natural History at the Grosvenor Museum in Chester, plus some of her many exhibits.

Yesterday Kate talked with my class about an exhibition she's mounting in the museum. It's called " Mountains and Molehills: Habitats in Cheshire" and it includes a vast selection of taxidermy, photographs, pictures, maps etc. Kate hopes that the class, having studied her varied exhibits yesterday, will ( at this very moment...) be creating short poems/prose for her exhibition.

2010 has been declared International Year Of Biodiversity ( the fantastic variety of Life on Earth) by the United Nations. It's something we should celebrate, understand and value. Hopefully, 2010 will go towards doing this...with the help of knowledgable folk like Kate at the Museum ...and ( fingers X) biodiversity will also be placed higher on any political agenda. The Year promises to be an exciting international project.

The Grosvenor Museum's Exhibition is in Gallery One, from May 22nd until August 30th.

"Tales From Two Cities"

2010-02-27T10:13:00.036Z

Over the past days, I've seen 2 films, both with urban settings: in Harlem, NY (the late '80's) AND in Liverpool, UK (PostWar-mid '60's).

"Time And The City" is a film about Liverpool by Terence Davies. It's his personal eulogy to his home city. He's speaking out: he's stressing things we've lost, he's stressing things that replaced them.
It's a tribute to L'pool's past (and clearly his own): to its buildings and streets, its working class men, women and children, its Dockers, its sailors, typists and shopkeepers....even its dogs, who pop constantly from doorways... linger often at derelict corners.

All appear in pictures to treasure...black/white, colour...against a backdrop of music, almost TOO rich(?)...popsong to folk song to Bruckner...... with poems and prose read by Davies himself, in deep chocolate-brown tones...brimming with images of a Catholicism he regretted, a sexuality he questioned, a Monarchy he derides...plus his loss of the sense of Family and Community...their precious place in the world....

ALL THOSE CHANGES, wrought in L'pool over sixty long years....And Davies, of course, reveals much of himself at every turn..

AND SO MUCH TO SEE: Elderly ladies: scrawniest of ankles..dark coated/hatted, whatever season..and always the shopping bag.... the beauty of so-slender street children playing (ragamuffins, my dad would say)...long-legged, sure-footed city kids ... and all that moving kindness exposed ( big sister "minding" little brother ) ...in tatty shops and cramped houses..everywhere a surplus of decency .... amid the constant cleaning of windows, the carrying home of The Wash...the neighbourliness on the spotless step ....the support for each other....the grief, the celebrations...
A film worth every award on the screen.

ALSO saw: "Precious" based on the novel " Push" by Saphire.
It's set in Harlem ('87) home to 16year old Precious, mother of 1 (and mothertobe )...
She's abused by her father, attacked by her mother...She wishes for "a lightskinned boyfriend with real nice hair" ....
She's dark skinned, big eyed, hefty Precious...whose moral code is strong and vibrant, wise and honest (despite all she contends with)...who has friends like crazy Joann (Xosha Roquemar) whose favourite colour is " fluorescent beige"! ...
She's Precious (who says in her eerily wonderful wisdom): " Some folks have a lot of things around them that shines for other people..."
Superb acting from Gabourey Sidibe as Precious , also by BAFTA winning Mo'Nique as her mother, the wicked pathetic Mary.
And of course, there was Mariah Carey, who purposely hadn't "scrubbed up well" ...but looked very well indeed....as Mrs Weiss, the bigeyed mousily clad social worker..

2 extra special films, leaving my thoughts in Harlem streets and Liverpool yards..

" Arts And Crafts By The Cheshire Plain"

2010-02-21T12:23:00.006Z

Mickerloo Arts, situated on The Sandstone Trail, is a superb new gallery, overlooking the Cheshire Plain.
Its position is perfect, as are its views, both from its terrace and from within the gallery itself.
Mickerloo ( www.mickerloo-arts.co.uk) specialises in contemporary arts/crafts: top quality goods, which will both delight and impress, displayed in its airy gallery. There are also workshops available for artists/crafts people. And visitors are welcome to watch these artists at work.
ALL THIS in the loveliest of surroundings, with friendly knowledgable chat from the workers : PLUS an onsite cafe called Mamagamas...where the carrot cake we tested was DELICIOUS!

"Hatching In The Spring..."

2010-02-14T13:43:00.023Z

Yesterday (as we were staying nearby with my brother and sister-in-law) we visited Stratford to see the renovation of the Royal Shakespeare Theatre.

Dame Judi Dench ( has she appeared there more than any other living actress, do you think??) says that improvements to the theatre have her full support. And Sir Christopher Bland ( Chairman) says that the best elements of the old theatre will be entwined with the new.

The theatre closed in 2007. The intention is to re-open this Spring, with an auditorium for 1000, plus a stage thrusting out into the audience. They will be seated on 3 sides ( see picture above) and this clearly brings actors/audience closer together, which will be superb for both, I imagine.

OTHER PROMISES: new theatre tower, with viewing platform ( I saw this yesterday)...a Square outside for outdoor productions, better dressing rooms, cramped backstage facilities enlarged/ improved.... also a linking Foyer to RS theatre and The Swan next door.

ALSO IMPT: Apparently many folk expressed concern re losing Art Deco elements: these, they're assured, will be retained. In fact, the fabulous Art Deco detail in the Foyer has been invisible in recent years (due to bustle of crowds) but it's promised that these will now be given prominence. And the amazing Swedish marble fountain staircase will be retained in the new.

It's an exciting project and I think we'll be back to my brother's place 'ere long!!

" A Quick Trip Back..."

2010-02-08T21:51:00.016Z

We've made some theatre /film trips since Christmas.
These included: The Liverpool Playhouse for a hilarious production of John Buchan's " The 39 Steps" ( directed by Maria Aitken, sister of The More Famous Jonathan.)

A cast of 4 made countless costume changes, scene changes....which a lively audience loved....THIS was fun and games, great for an icy winter evening....when you kept fingers X, hoping your car contained spade, rug, rations....

The show is now touring....taking in places from Cheltenham to M/Ch ( incl Theatr Clwyd locally, from 22:03 to 27:03).....and it's still running meanwhile at The Criterion in the West End.
AND The 39th Step is reached ( boom! boom!) eventually, of course... in Dublin on 05:06. AND it's worth taking the Irish Ferry to see!

ALSO saw " An Education": Nick Hornby's crisp adaptation of Lynn Barber's ( "true", she says) story of her teenage love affair with her wicked Older Man in the very early '60's .

A vastly different setting from Lennon's " Nowhere Boy" ( same era) but equally moving....a tragic/comic concoction of a time now so distant... plus superb Carey Mulligan as lovely Jenny ( academic, naive) with Cara Seymour, Alfred Molina ( awesome as Father!) and a brilliant cameo of a headmistress ( OH YES, I knew one!) played for a mere few minutes by an uptight costumed/ permed/clipped voiced Emma Thompson.

And as for The Older Man ( Peter Sarsgaard) ...it's very scary when nowadays The Older Man looks virtually the same age as One's Youngest Son.....

"Snaking Away...."

2010-01-14T17:04:00.002Z

Blog ( JUST like this gorgeous green creature I met at the Zoo last week) is having a short winter kip. Not for 100 years ( as in the best of Fairy Tales) or even for a mere 40 winks...probably til mid Feb.

See you then.

"DID Zzzzzola Have A Jacuzzzzi?!"

2010-01-11T09:13:00.028Z

Q: "How WOULD past Celebrities cope with Fame?" novelist Max Brod asked of novelist Franz Kafka...last Friday night in " Kafka's Dick" at The Forum Theatre.

A: " Zola would install a Jacuzzi....and even T.S. Elliot would have people round for drinks...."
So wrote Alan Bennett....making us Laugh....and as ever, making us Think..

BUT poor Franz Kafka. AND also poor me. What gaps I have in my literary knowledge:
I hadn't realised Kafka ( that great Czech) had suffered such dreadful crippling self-doubts, e.g:"I've added SO many words to the world, I've made it heavier..."
AND I hadn't realised Kafka had such a scathing mocking tyrant of a father, e.g: : "What's HE ( Kafka) done? ...Written a book or two?! My father could lift a sack of potatoes between his teeth.."

But this Serious Doubt of Kafka... ( plus his Very Little Secret..) was made pretty obvious on Friday...as we watched Alan Bennett's hilarious play, produced ( with much Food For Thought) by Tip Top Productions , see http://www.tiptopproductions.co.uk/ ...when we glimpsed Kafka, brought back to life with his mate Max Brod...and thus deposited ( along with his swirling thoughts on Work And Life) in the suburban sittingroom of the deliciously middleaged Linda and her cheesy husband Sidney..

THIS WAS a Veritable Friday night Treat.
I look forward to Tiptop's next "Seasons Extra" in April: Debbie Isett's: "The woman who cooked her husband" ...sounds tasty to me.
Hmm. Sorree.

" Seeing The Glint In The Ordinary..."

2010-01-09T13:49:00.016Z

The Sunday after Christmas saw us sitting in the cinema at 10:30 in the morning....along with 4 strangers, two of them noisily guzzling bacon sarnies... and two of them in throes of Loud Marital Disharmony... this Disharmony was SO absorbing I almost wanted the film to be delayed. However, the film wasn't delayed... and it was wonderful and if you've not seen it yet, do..
Directed by Sam Taylor-Wood (with Aaron Johnson a compelling Lennon) this film gave us a 97 mins window into the teenage years of a brainy, quirky, arty, rebellious Liverpudlian lad... and we loved every minute.
In long ago years (and more recent ones) I've known simliar young men...and Johnson's performance was accurate, truthful, humourous....AND it was also immensely moving.
Through Johnson, ( plus a bevy of fine, well-established actors) AND a superb script by Matthew Greenhalgh ( we enjoyed his film re Ian Curtis of Joy Division: " Control").....we saw an era that's long gone, we saw a part of Britain, with its codes and mannerisms, its speech patterns and its cosy, middle-class routines that's also long gone......and in that context, we saw the rise of a Rock Star ( Lennon: Rebel to Rocker)......but MOST OF ALL, we felt priveleged to be part of a Coming Of Age story ... (that of the amazing Lennon, whose music will last for generations) BUT also that of (perhaps) any brilliant but ordinary teenager we may unknowingly pass on any old street...on any ordinary but brilliant old day of our lives.
A far-reaching and beautiful new film.

"Chinese Lanterns In Lakeland Skies.."

2010-01-02T14:03:00.018Z

Our Friends From The North live on the shores of Lake Coniston. And here is the fabulous view across the lake from their balcony, 1st thing New Years Day.

We arrived late afternoon New Years Eve in time for their regular NY Eve party. And although I've seen this part of the world many times, it never looked lovelier....
Driving along the length of the icy lake was magical: trees, black etched sculptures, beautiful skeletons...snow,
possibly every shade of white (!)... the brooding wintery mountains...and the moon: massive, majestic, mysterious...there in the dying light...

AND the party itself was as we expected: our friends' friends, brimming with smiles and stories.....we the outsiders but made more than welcome.
AND after Midnight, several folk released huge Chinese lanterns...up into the Cumbrian skies, along the ridge of the mountains, towards the vast waters of the lake...until they drifted beyond our sight....

"Merry Christmas, Chester...And May Your New Year Be A Fine One! "

2009-12-24T16:20:00.017Z

Here's The Cross at Chester early yesterday, when I staggered in at 8:30am.... to buy the last of my presents...and also to make the usual Christmassy raid on M&S.

I live in a beautiful city, a place of which I'm inordinately proud .
After being born and bred, schooled and married here, I'm STILL thrilled by its uniqueness: its clutter of streets, its wide elegant ones...its Rows, the river, the Cathedral with its echoey cloisters, the sandstone Walls... where I toddled as a child, giggled as a teenager, strolled with my husband, ran with my children, laughed with my grandchildren......
Chester is a changing city these days....some say not for the best...but I've got faith in this lovely place...inordinate faith (!) and my hopes are high.
We all blossom sometimes in our lives, and we fail sometimes in our lives....we stumble a bit, we stumble a lot, but hopefully ( by luck or design) we recover, we move on to new things. We retain the best of the old, we welcome the best of the new...
Chester is no different.
AND Cestrians care about Chester...and Chester cares about its Cestrians.
Let us take care of this very precious place.

" Wintery Weekend Pleasures...."

2009-12-23T14:51:00.009Z

A bright icy weekend.
And second son's birthday, so a Saturday morning walk was had in the delicious, crisp and even, wintertime forest.... followed by drinks and presents and nibbley stuff in the afternoon.
Then a treat on Sunday: an evening trip to the Village Hall for Theatre in The Quarter's fabulously highly-spirited production of " Home for Christmas", with words by Helen Newell ( talented Northern playwright) and music by Matt Baker (the Quarter's equally fine Artistic Director)
Certainly this was the ultimate in "Homegrown" theatre ...brimming with stories of Cestrians in World War 2. The writing of the piece was commissioned by Chester Lit Fest, who then gathered stories throughout Chester/Cheshire....resulting ( thanks to Newell and Baker) in a superb play...with lots of great music, a choir drawn from various local communities ( I spotted novelist David Whitley, see my post Nov 25th!) as well as some highly talented professionals.
A historical period was evoked brilliantly....from its songs to its clothes..Sheer nylons AND sheer delight!

"Mikes And Oscars...."

2009-12-15T08:33:00.012Z

The usual Christmas Bashes hammer away:

1. Gill McEvoy's major success story in the NW poetry world : " ZEST!" ( open floor easy mike poetry sessions) held its party at Alexanders Jazz Theatre, its usual home ( see http://www.alexandersjazz.com/)

"ZEST!"goes from strength to strength. Much of its triumph is due to Gill and her two friends, Leah and Caroline.
"Zest!" has encouraged new poets to share their stuff with a very lively/very mixed audience....as well as providing a new floor for the seasoned performers. Lots of local folk ( and also not-so-local folk)...appreciate it hugely.

2. AND then there's Chester Theatre Club Party (www.chestertheatreclub.co.uk/ )
BEST BIT ( and worth becoming a Club Member just for this!).... is the Annual Awards Ceremony ...when "Oscars" are presented to "worthy" recipients ( sometimes with tongues hugely glued/stuck in cheeks!) by Anthony Wheatcroft ( suave in dinner suit) and Lisa Miller ( glam in "cocktail" dress) If you've seen all the recent plays ( and there's six a season) there's much to draw on...to applaud and remember all over again. ..

Next production at CTC ( January 18th-23rd) is Diane Samuels' award winning play " Kindertransport", the story of Jewish children brought to UK in 2nd World War. Samuels is Liverpudlian, born and bred. Her newest play is " 3 Sisters on Hope street", her take on Chekhov's " 3 sisters". This is set in late 40's LIverpool, as opposed to provincial Russia at the turn of the century.

" 5 Gold Stories ..."

2009-12-12T15:30:00.020Z

Forget those 5 Gold Rings, despite the fact it's Christmas and any minute now you'll be singing about Partridges and Milking Maids and those crazy ever-leaping Lords..........Think instead of 5 Gold Stories.....Because we heard 5 Gold Stories on Wednesday at the Awards Evening for Cheshire Prize for Literature, at the University of Chester.
The Judges chose 5 worthy stories, reading parts of some, and the whole of the winner...and it was a delight. The audience listened intently... and I'm sure I'm right in saying we enjoyed them all.

The winner of the £2000 1st prize was Tessa Sheridan, an ex Cestrian, now a scriptwriter in London. Tessa's " That Going To The Zoo Thing" had everyone grinning, delighting in her words, her character. Great title, great story. We loved the feelings expressed, the gentle zany humour.

2nd was Simon Gotts ( an esteemed and popular member of Chester Writers) AND a previous Cheshire winner!
And 3 writers were Highly Commended: Diane Booth, Kirsty Logan and Heather Freckleton. Heather is a talented Hoole-igan ...so that was Very Good News...and Heather ( the Lady In Red, see snap) has already promised to read her story in full when we're Hoole-igans again in January....
5 Gold stories indeed!

" Listen Very Carefully...I Will Say This Only Once..."

2009-12-06T09:38:00.025Z

"'All! Allo!" .....
Classic comedy on BBC TV: This one was always a favourite.
SO...when the stage version (Jeremy Lloyd, David Croft) was produced by Upton Dramatic Soc ( http://www.uptondrama.soc/) we wanted to go......AND it was also a great excuse to dress up! ( see snap)

The Village Hall stage was set as Rene's Cafe ( true to original TV set) as was Hall itself...with audience seated around check-clothed tables...but other smaller stages appeared in corners of the Hall: Herr Flick's Quarters, Colonel von Strohm's Office... this meant almost everyone was up-close to at least some of the action.... a fun idea, which both enhanced atmosphere/ involved audience ...
Some great cameos: Michael Fair as Rene Artois ( superb!!) Sylvia Jenkins as his "passionate" wife ( in bed, plastered in face cream/cucumbers) Ana Coelho-Neves, a strapping blonde Helga, who stripped off with aplomb ...but Listen Very Carefully: I could go on..it was GREAT!

And thinking of Comedy: this week, Maggie Jones died ( Blanche Hunt of " Corrie") a brilliant actress/natural Comedienne, who had been ill since October. Maggie made Blanche a Street Star: her withering haughty looks, her brittle one-liners will be long remembered......

WHO, for example, can forget Blanche's acid aside to daughter Deirdre : "Good looks are a curse, Deirdre. You and Kenneth should count yourself lucky" and to the hapless but pompous Kenneth, returning from his Uni Reunion (50 yrs on) : "DID you tell them you washed cups up in a caff...for a woman who used to be called Harold??"
And of course, there was Maggie's description of Liz ( glam 50-odd Landlady of The Rovers Return) : "She's skirt no bigger than a belt, too much eyeliner...and her roots as dark as her soul" ...

Maggie created a strong Northern battleaxe: in the style of Corrie predessors, women like Ena Sharples, Annie Walker....and in the same mould as some of Alan Bennett's marvellous Yorkshire women.
I, for one, will miss Maggie's superb portrayal of Blanche Hunt....Maggie, creating Blanche's unique take on life..

P.S: AND I wonder: WHEN will Blanche's jailbird granddaughter, Tracy, be released from her cell??? ( See my post Sept 20th 2007, re Kate Ford , alias Tracy Barlow, attending my son's wedding...to the sheer delight of my lovely nephew Tom!)

" Adele Geras At Bishop Lloyds Palace"

2009-12-02T16:48:00.009Z

" When a writer talks about his work, he's talking about a Love Affair"
So said American Literature critic Alfred Kazin.... and Adele Geras mirrored this yesterday, as she talked in a Palace (with its leaded lights, oak-panelled walls, ornate fireplaces) about her work and life as a highly successful writer...
Adele writes wonderful stories. Clearly, her work both absorbs and delights her. And Adele understands her readers.....exactly what they want, and also ( very essentially) she respects them, be they 5 years old OR even older than I am...
Adele joined Friends of Chester LitFest at Bishop Lloyds Palace yesterday. And yesterday, we saw both Adele the writer.... and Adele the woman.... and as with David Whitley in Hoole last week, her audience felt priveleged......to hear Adele's very OWN eloquent and vivacious story.
* see http://www.adelegeras.com/

"A Yorkshire November"

2009-11-29T14:28:00.020Z

On Friday, we stayed with friends who live near Ilkley, Yorkshire, and on Saturday, we visited the village of Linton in Craven ( see above)
Linton is particularly intersting, as it's in two distinct halves.The upper village has the very old Fountaine Hospital, designed by Sir John Vanburgh in 1721, and bequeathed as an almshouse for local folk by Richard Fountaine. He was a fascinating character, it seems....having amassed a fortune as a London undertaker during the Great Plague! He also promised the village £26 annually...to be split betwixt 6 poor and elderly men and 6 poor and elderly women each year.

Also from Linton is Angela Baker, one of the stars of the famous W.I Calendar, that eventually led to Tim Firth's film, " Calendar Girls".
In the original calendar, Angela was " Miss February" and she's since raised over £2million for Leukemia Research following the death of her husband. Her part in the film was played memorably by Julie Walters.
Just 2 totally utterly contrasting stories...I wonder what others we'd unearth should we dig deeper?

And yet again this weekend.....so many memorable images of stark and lovely November....

"You'll Remember This Man..."

2009-11-25T21:29:00.017Z

A Word to The Wise ( as "They"and my Granny would say) : "You will remember this man.... You will hear more of this man."

He's David Whitley. And I first met David in the candlelit Chapter House of Chester Cathedral ( post dated 8:10: 09)

David is young, talented and focused....with an enthusiasm for writing ( both his own and equally for that of others) that is boundless.
And today David ( aged 25 and presently creating sheer magic) visited my class.... and chatted vividly about his book " The Midnight Charter" ( published by Puffin and see http://www.davidwhitley.co.uk/ )

David talked with us about writing: his personal attitudes, his experiences, his own aspirations. And I often think how priveleged we are... when creative people like David reveal so much about both themselves and their work. It's like peeping into their wardrobe...or easing open a private drawer in their desk..

David treated us to the opening of his book. ....and we were left nothing less than spellbound, by both words and acting. His voice delighted while his writing hooked us into a world where we wanted to stay, to explore with our eyes wide open ...AND he kidnapped us.....into a story we wanted to savour..... introducing us to characters, to the glint of a plot that sashayed into our minds....while we sipped our coffee at our trestle tables, supped out tea in our cosy mugs and nibbled ( as always!) our chocolate biscuits...

SO we listened. And as " They" and my Granny would say): "You'll remember this man. He's ( as they say) Going Places...."

" Little Theatre Pulls It Off!"

2009-11-20T13:08:00.010Z

In 1873, writer-to-be Angela Brazil started her education at Miss Knowles Select Ladies School in Preston, Lancs.
Angela was 4 years old. And that morning, while sitting on the knee of Miss Knowles The Younger, cheeky Angela leaned upwards and pulled out all the teacher's hairpins...
Miss Knowles The Younger was NOT amused. And Angela was promptly removed , both from teacher's lap AND Select Ladies School. She'd lasted exactly half a day.

I heard that tale years ago from a colleague...when I was teaching in London and the Head of our school was insistent we rid library shelves of both Enid Blyton and Angela Brazil.

I grew up with Blyton's Malory Towers. Malory T held 2 massive attractions: the fun of boarding school PLUS a Cornish setting ( Cornwall being scene of my family holidays AND thus my favourite place In The Entire World)
And I also loved Angela Brazil: what was better than snuggling in bed under a flowery pink "eiderdown"(!) with a Lakeland terrier fast asleep beside me....while I gorged a bag of peardrops...and also gorged the adventures of the intrepid " Monitress Merle"???
And frankly, whatever my London Head thought about Brazil ( I'm on the fence re Ms Blyton) I think Brazil accelerated girl's fiction ( and even possibly girls images) up some notches...by showing female strengths/weaknesses, bonds, friendships etc ....and just as Harry Potter "encouraged" boy's reading more recently, so did Angela B for girls of my generation...

SO on Wednesday, I visited the Little Theatre (Chester Theatre Club, see http://www.chestertheatreclub.co.uk/) for Denise Deegan's " Daisy Pulls It Off", directed by Margaret Bennett.

AND it's a pastiche of all those other schoolstories....but it's gentle, generous and above all, it's fun. There's lots of "scrummies" " toppings" and " japes", there are gym slips, feasts in the Dorm...and there are Latin quotes and Hymns we can suddenly remember, with which we hum along (!)...AND there's a synchronised hockey match and an equally clever cliff top resue.

And as ever, there's superb characterisation: Mary Pemble ( stepping in last min as Headmistress and doing "an absolutely sterling job").... also the poisonous Doubleact: Zoe Lambrakis/Ali Cooper ( as Monica Smithers/Sybil Burlington...COULD those names be bettered?!) And of course, there's Sophie Lund...see snap above (as the wonderfully loyal Trixie Martin) and Fiona Wheatcroft, perfectly cast as Daisy, the Scholarship Girl who makes her mark and solves a Mystery...ALL Hugely enjoyable.

PS: Denise Deegan is a fairly local writer! She studied Stage Management at East 15 Acting School but now lives in Wales, is a member of NE Wales Mt Search/Rescue Team and is a Welsh Border Morris Dancer...

"Annie's Special Delivery! "

2009-11-19T14:35:00.007Z

Annie Holland ( until recently a Hoole-igan) visited our class in Hoole yesterday. Annie is celebrating the publication ( just in time for Christmas) of her children's story book:" Stella the Stork's Special Delivery" ( An Appin Press Publication. See www.stellathestork.co.uk )
It's the tale of Stella Stork, who although retired from The Express Stork Delivery Service, flaps her old wings ...and delivers a Baby to Bethlehem. It's a lovely story (illustrated by Jane Beech) and should certainly appear in several stockings I know this Christmas...

"Homage To November"

2009-11-16T09:20:00.014Z

Yesterday, with Our Friends From The North , we walked near Parkgate on the Wirral peninsula (betwixt Dee/Mersey rivers) with the coast of North Wales beyond.

And as ever ( see post 14:11:08) I delighted in the month of November...its" sheer crazy blueness!"...and again, I thought of poet Thomas Hood.

In 1844, Hood wrote that November had " No sun! No moon!.... No warmth, no cheerfulness, no healthful ease"....not forgetting "no shade, no shine, no butterflies, no bees....!"

But to me, November LIVES ...with her own colours and excitements, gentle and otherwise.....her enticing frosts (?!) her dark trees etched on purple skyline....her sudden glorious sunshine. And November's unique beauty, that beauty found in decaying things.....

And then today my son reminded me of something special: I'd told him how on Saturday, we'd enjoyed eating with O.F.F.T.N...and my son remembered a similar Saturday evening ( 20 years ago) when the same friends came to stay...and we'd all sat at the same table, toasting the marvellous news of the Fall of the Berlin Wall...

All those lovely patterns, old ones with new ones weaving in.......with friends and seasons.

It's the Stuff Of Life to me!

PS: Try the fish and chip shop at Parkgate. Generous portions....made a delicious Sunday Lunch!

SNAP: Thanks to LC.

"The Times We Live In" ( Part 3:14 Months Later)

2009-11-11T17:09:00.019Z

I did it before.....( 8: 8:08, 19:6:07) And my second Son enjoyed it because he said so.
Twice before, I paddled through waves of words in The Times.... then splashed a trickle of them here on Blog. And today I thought I'd have another go...although this go IS very short......Because I was a bit stunned.
I read something. And it surprised me. I couldn't believe it at 1st. But then I realised it's " in keeping" with today's world. But I'm actually not sure about it. ...It leaves me uneasy. And I'm not sure why. Perhaps the fault lies with me.
At the end of November, Pope Benedict xv111 releases a CD. It is called " Music from The Vatican: Alma Mater". It features him reciting and singing Prayers and it was recorded by Vatican Radio, while He was on His Marian Pilgrimages. His Holiness is quoted as saying music " brings together all people of good will on Earth" . That's right. Absolutely. Music is a wonderful timeless ageless universal language.
But this has surprised me. The making of a CD , featuring Pope Benedict has surprised me. It leaves me uneasy. It leaves me wondering.But it's in keeping with today's world: with its joys, sadnesses, hopes, fears....But it leaves me uneasy and I'm not sure why...

"Behind The Scenes At The Queens School Chester..."

2009-10-17T08:33:00.044+01:00

It's not often I fall back into the arms of my Alma Mater. But I did yesterday.

I nestled in my A.M's arms whilst Kate Atkinson ( http://www.kateatkinson.co.uk/ ) talked with us about her writing. The event was sponsored for LitFest ( http://www.chesterfestivals.co.uk/ ) by LitFest Friends.

Kate's prizewinning 1st novel " Behind the scenes at the Museum" has long been a favourite of mine. And yesterday we learned about Kate's work: her inspirations, how she tackles her craft, and about the delight her writing clearly gives her.

BUT for reasons that'll become clear, I sometimes think I should go back to my A.M in disguise....a friendly nun perhaps.... a tweed-clad octogenarian leaning on an elegant walking-stick.... or maybe I should back-comb my hair in a beehive, stick on Bet Lynch earrings, totter in on strappy white stilettos...but then a Bag Lady would be best option....because I can do Bag Lady perfectly, no prob.
HOWEVER I DIDN'T disguise myself yesterday. I sat on the balcony in my old School Hall in my normal clothes ( well, a few steps up from my jeans) and I remembered.

I remembered a morning decades ago, when I got to school early.... and as a Dare, I hid under the floorboards during Assembly....while the whole school trilled/boomed " Praise My Soul The King Of Heaven"....while The Headmistress ( with her long grey platt coiled around her head, like an ancient version of Heidi) extolled The Prefects, extolled The Caretaker, extolled The Lacrosse team, extolled The Orchestra...AND particularly extolled The Newly Donated School Benches on which one could only perch in one's sandals ....and I hid under the floorboards while a stuttering Remove ( with its skirt caught up in its knickers) read a Bible Story....AND then the Senior Choir descanted/fluted their way through "The Magnificat" and a haunting rendition of " Nunc Dimitus" ...

BUT it WAS good to be back yesterday .
It was good to be back, me a grandmother of 3... sitting sedately above floorboards.

AND
PS: T'was cobwebs (fluttering in my hair) that eventually got me in trouble by breaktime...

"Alison Leonard Meets Hoole-igans"

2009-10-16T08:38:00.010+01:00

This week,The Hoole-igans had a visit from local writer Alison Leonard.
The Hoole-igans are members of my writing workshop, who meet in a place called Hoole...hence their affectionate name!
We have a bustling class of 21; it's lively and hopefully FUN...and it includes both experienced writers and those starting out. It's very MUCH a workshop... with lots of off the cuff writing, often stimulated by a piece of modern fiction or poetry, based on looking at character, dialogue, monologue, settings, etc etc. All this results in a wide variety of styles, comments, discussion, enjoyment...
AND we were delighted to welcome Alison this week. She's enthusiastic and informative and we listened to her intently and questioned her eagerly. Alison's 's published a mass of work, including stories, books, plays and poetry. She writes for children, teenagers and adults. Her website is at: http://www.alisonleonard.co.uk / The Hoole-igans hope she keeps in touch!
* See Alison in centre of photo, in blue, below the mantlepiece.

" Scrumptious Snacks At Oddfellows"

2009-10-11T11:26:00.019+01:00

Several lunchtimes (1pm) Chester LitFest ( http://www.chesterfestivals.co.uk/ ) hosts new writers who will talk about their work at Oddfellows**.
Still to come are: Caroline Rance ( Mon 12th) John Sam Jones ( Tues 12th) Caroline Smailes ( Tues 13th. See my post Fri Feb 20th: Caroline paid a lively visit to my writing group ) and Jayne Joso ( Fri 16th)
Also at Oddfellows is Dr Graham Atkin ( Chester University) who reads poems re God, the Devil, Heaven and Hell (Thurs 15th.)

** ODDFELLOWS is a great place.....whether listening to writers OR out on the town. Great that LitFest are using it. See http://www.oddfellows.biz/
also The Guardian ( 10:05:08) www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2008/may/10/hotels.chester

PS: I'm constantly drawn to paintings, photographs, pictures in general of people (walking, sitting, working, chilling out, just "being") on city streets ....characters who deserve a story woven around them, people who provoke questions when glimpsed ......eg. WHO are they?... WHERE do they go/where've they been? ...HOW do they feel?... WHY are their clothes SO yummy/scruffy/stylish .....and WHAT has made their faces all those things faces become...so utterly beautiful, so sad, so tranquil, so world-weary, so vivid with life...?
I've recently discovered http://www.thesartorialist.blogspot.com/ . Brilliant! ( Look beyond the Chanel etc...eg. Scenes of New York life etc...and some wonderful Parisian snaps)

"David Whitley At Chester Cathedral"

2009-10-08T11:08:00.018+01:00

David Whitley is a bright and engaging Cestrian. He has a generous smile, a shock of titian coloured hair and he's passionate about his writing. We'll hear much of David in future. Of this I'm sure.
LitFest welcomes writers/celebrities from many places. But it's very special to welcome someone born and schooled.... and STILL living in, and writing in Chester. David is just such a writer. And on Tuesday, he talked with us about his much-lauded children's novel " The Midnight Charter".
We met in the Cathedral Chapter House. This was a perfect place to learn about David's enigmatic book. The evening outside darkened as lights within the cathedral flickered against stained glass and thick sandstone walls, and we sat enjoying the magic of such a place.
David was born in1984. He attended King's School, then Oxford, gaining a Double 1st. In 2005, he appeared in the winning Corpus Christie team on University Challenge. Folk, he says, STILL accost him in the street offering Starters for 10!
At 17, David was shortlisted for a Kathleen Fidler Award and at 20, won Cheshire Prize for Literature, for a children's story. He took a Gap Year after Uni, to write fulltime. BUT Fate intervened...in guise of a literary agent called Charlie Viney...and David's plans were suddenly changed.

IT HAPPENED FAST! In a flash, rights to " The Midnight Charter" were simultaneously auctioned worldwide. Puffin secured UK/Commonwealth rights and the book was published in 20 countries, 5 continents and translated into 13 languages.

David's work is gripping, beautifully written and immaculately planned. It's also a learning experience but best of all, it's highly enjoyable... He's created the city state of Agora, where ANYTHING ( be it goods, people, thoughts, EVEN emotions) can be bought and sold. And the book opens when this incredible city reaches its Golden Age, when secret prophecies of The Midnight Charter are about to be revealed...
Clive James says: " The Art of the writer is to turn a phrase till it catches the light"
David does this. " The Midnight Charter" catches the light superbly...
See http://www.amazon.co.uk/

"Carol Ann Duffy At University Of Chester"

2009-10-07T08:33:00.020+01:00

On Monday, Carol Ann Duffy, Poet Laureate, read her poetry at the University of Chester, as part of LitFest.
A large audience shared Duffy's words, feelings, ideas and her memories. They found comfort and pleasure. They probably found many things.
A large audience empathised with and lauded the skill of Duffy....her powers as wordsmith...then, ( I imagine!) they went home and ransacked their bookshelves and sat up in bed till after midnight....re-reading Duffy's words, before falling asleep with those words dangling and ringing and singing in their ears.

Duffy read from her anthologies, incl " The World's Wife" ( poetry monologues, spoken by women gracing history, legend, the Bible. ) She read poems chronicling a love affair ...from start to finish, from her collection: "Rapture".

BUT my favourite is the simply-named : " Prayer" . Duffy read this as her penultimate poem on Monday.
Every time I read it, I'm in my 1st week as a student. Its dusk in a town I don't know and lectures are over and I walk with friends I don't know (who are not yet my friends)....and we wander along a tree-lined drive to a place I don't know.....and on Monday, like then, I was in that drive again....picturing my mother at home ( without me).... sipping tea in a tea-time kitchen( without me)... and she's missing me and I'm certainly missing her.. ...
Lines in that poem stab with their beauty, their recognition....

" Jonathan Pryce At Liverpool Everyman"

2009-10-04T10:05:00.023+01:00

This is a picture hanging in the foyer of Liverpool's Everyman Theatre.
This year the Theatre celebrates its 45th Birthday and the photo features many actors who were there at the beginning. Stare into these faces. You'll recognise many.

Jonathan Pryce ( fresh from RADA) joined Everyman Company in 1972. And I've long been interested in his career . I knew him years back, when he was John Price from Holywell in Wales...a tall, dark student in Liverpool......when even then, he'd revealed the charisma the world of theatre now knows so well.

Yesterday I visited The Everyman and saw Pryce as Davies the tramp in Harold Pinter's " The Caretaker".

And Pryce (in 1980, he played Mick to Kenneth Cranham's Aston and Warren Mitchell's Davies with the National Theatre) made the part of Davies his very own.

Pryce's Davies was old and Welsh. And he was many other things too...... Pryce's Davies was sly but gentle, witty but sad, forthright but complex....he was resigned and grateful, fiercely angry..... And Pryce's Davies was both bewildered AND bewildering.

Pinter ( before he died last Christmas) knew this production was planned. He'd hoped to see it. Had he done so, he'd have seen how very much this Liverpool audience celebrated Jonathan Pryce's return to his roots... but also how they thrilled to a superb production of one of the most important plays in British theatre.

"The Caretaker" runs at L'pool EverymanTheatre until Saturday October 31st. See http://www.everymanplayhouse.com/

And P.S: Blog was 3 years old on Oct 1st. Time's flown.

"Crack The Code Next Year!"

2009-09-29T15:34:00.013+01:00

On Saturday, Friends of Lit Fest held a bustling Book Swap at Town Hall Square. This is an annual event, when money is raised for Book Aid International ...while at the same time, passers-by and Saturday shoppers learn plenty about the coming Festival. This year was chilly but dry; we had lots of visitors, lots of interest, lots of chat... and some of us now have a pile of extra books tottering beningly besides our beds.

And ALL kinds of books tumbled in on Saturday....ranging from academic literary criticism to cook books, art books, poetry books, hobby books galore....to Best Seller Chart Toppers and literary paperbacks...to childrens picture books and children's comic strips...but Dan Brown's " Da Vinci Code" appeared most often....it seems 8 copies were spotted ( lingering mysteriously on our stall) all at one time...

Come Next Year!

" Enjoying Autumn Highlights..."

2009-09-21T16:36:00.014+01:00

Leaves are turning...and pages will be turning.....

Autumn appears to be quite the Lit Fest Season in the UK.

There's Ilkley, Cheltenham, Knutsford.......AND of course, there's Chester Lit Fest ( http://www.chesterfestivals.co.uk/ ) which features leading lights in a variety of worlds...eg. CarolAnn Duffy, Sir Richard Eyre, Michael Mansfield QC, Kate Atkinson, Paddy Ashdown, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall .....plus a host of NEW FACES...talented writers we expect to hear more of....incl. Jayne Joso, Paul Dowswell, John Sam Jones, along with local poets and writers, with workshops and readings to suit everyone.

Have a look at the website but best of all, visit the Festival from 3rd until 18th October. Help Chester Lit Fest celebrate its 21st Birthday in style.

SNAP: Autumn in Slovenia ( Oct 2006)

"Magical Mr Malone!"

2009-09-02T10:39:00.016+01:00

Gareth Malone is going places. He really is.

At birth, Gareth Malone received Charisma in excess. His fairy godmother clearly upped his dosage.....and NOW I bet she's fluttering her wings with glee!

Choirmaster Malone is 34 but looks about 17. Recently he's been in South Oxhey ( a housing estate outside London) starting a fantastic Community Choir with over 200 singers, all local folk, including lots who had only ever sung in their showers.....

The choir's 1st performance last November took place on a dreary Saturday in the local shopping centre....in front of hundreds of people who, in a matter of moments, became gob-smacked with delight.
This crowd saw their neighbours singing starry-eyed. This crowd saw their mums/uncles/sisters/grandads singing with a confidence they could scarcely believe.
AND this crowd also heard and saw both rhythm and harmony... in BOTH the music and in the community feeling Malone has so brilliantly created.....

***AND afterwards, I wondered: WAS Sarah, Duchess of York, watching this wonderful programme??! ***

" The Choir: Unsung Town" is on BBC 2 again next Tuesday at 9pm.

"When The Horses Went North"

2009-08-11T23:08:00.023+01:00

Another P.S. before m'Break!:
Do you remember the summer when Royal Ascot had to canter over the Pennines to York Race course??
When Southerners ventured North and more Northerners than ever before hit this emergency "Ascot" ......and the Queen (as always) adjusted her hat, smiled benignly at the antics of the world and calmly giddy-upped her horses???

Real Royal Ascot was having major improvements so York became host to one of the UK's major summer events....

AND THIS clearly inspired playwright Amanda Whittingham to write her comedy "Ladies Day"....featured a few wks ago at Chester Theatre Club....AND I'm not alone in thinking this was one of The Little Theatre's Very Bests....

The play tells the tale of 4 women fishpackers from the NE who, on a whim, dress in their best and head for York...so unleashing stories and memories, situations and characters...plus comedy and pathos in equal measure.

This play was a delight... thanks to both writer AND actors... and hopefully there'll be more Amanda Whittingham ( and more of these actors!) before long.

SEE CTC website ( http://www.chestertheatreclub.co.uk/contact.htm ) for joining details AND info re 2009/10 Season.

"The Finest Of Streets"

2009-08-10T22:22:00.020+01:00

OK, I'm having a blogbreak...but I've just watched another episode of Jimmy McGovern's drama "The Street". And I was enthralled again.
BECAUSE:
the story, dialogue, settings, acting, the filming....were moving (VERY), were strong (VERY), .... and quite often, they were utterly gorgeously beautiful.

McGovern (who views his world with his clearest of eyes ) conveys a struggling humanity with a 21st century realism. His words can be brutal, his stories can terrify...but his words can reflect love in the loveliest of ways.

McGovern's straight-talking dramas tell harsh stories... but his words light sparks in our thoughts as we listen....and some episodes have shimmered with an almost-poetry ....so that while lazing on our comfy sofas, we look once... look twice.... look three times again... at some gruff guy in a cobbled M/Chester street, at some woman whose got faith in a seemingly hopeless man...

AND SO as we stare from our sofas, we realise we're seeing people at their best and people at their bravest...as well as people at their worst and people at their saddes...
AND we're also being priveleged to watch modern drama at its very best.

SO PLEASE BBC TV please can we have more??

"An august August Interlude..."

2009-08-09T20:17:00.008+01:00

A Blog Break beckons. See you in September. May everyone have sunshine and I look forward to hearing from you soon...
AND NB to "Sahara"' ( alias Sophie's) Mum: I haven't forgotten the brilliant play at the end of June...and am just waiting for snaps!! I was pleased you liked the blog!

" A Star Spa: Discovering Ilkley"

2009-08-08T15:08:00.025+01:00

WHAT have the following folk in common: Jilly Cooper, Charles Darwin, Colin Montgomerie, Alan Titchmarsh, Richard Whiteley and Ricky Wilson??

(I've seen one of them in the flesh....Ricky, of Kaiser Chiefs fame, when playing L'pool McCartney gig last year...)

DO you give up?? They're a motley( but talented) crew, are they not??

But the answer is: all have been resident some point in their life in Ilkley, Yorkshire....a lovely Spa town in Wharfedale on the southern edge of the Dales, which I visited for the 1st time ever yesterday. Friends are moving there ....so we went to inspect this new territory. And the verdict was wholehearted approval!

AND NOW I'm remembering: Until she married, my mother lived on the borders of Yorks/ Lancs. And she often talked about trips to Ilkley with its wide streets (almost "promenades") its Victorian architecture......and my mother described her walks on the moors, the delight of rather juicy shops, even Ilkley's famous teashop: "Betty's", ( there for decades!) .......

AND BELIEVE ME, IF you've never scoffed a Fat Rascal from "Betty's" ( when it's slathered in butter, jam AND cream!)....THEN YOU'VE SERIOUSLY MISSED OUT....

THE SNAP: A Bandstand ( beyond the flower market) where yesterday South American musicians played fabulous music from the Andes....while we sipped Polish beer and chattered in the sun..

"Suffolk Nuptials"

2009-08-05T10:59:00.017+01:00

On Friday we went down to Suffolk for the wedding of J, elder son of Our Friends From The North.
This part of the world was new to us so the w/end proved particularly interesting.

In the snap, our said friends await the arrival in church of E, J's glamorous bride.....and as you see, they're using the time by turning round to check out the congregation!

The service was held at the six century old church of St James in the village of Nayland. This village was built originally in a loop of the river Stour, close to the Essex borders and the name comes from the Saxon "Eilanda" meaning island.

Nayland was a former wool town, made rich in mid 16th Century by Flemish weavers. And amongst a variety of lovely buildings spanning many centuries (including elegant stone, tall Georgian, tiny pastel-painted houses, black and white timber cottages) there are buildings which echo this story...

BUT I SO WISH that the lady vicar had explained more to the visiting congregation about the contents of this very special church!

On entering, we saw its lofty heights, the glitter of its stained glass, its carvings, its numerous statues. And yes, we felt its dignity, saw its ultimate beauty... and we also recognised lots of its timeless history.
BUT not until we left, did we realise how Nayland and its church are central to the paintings of John Constable:

WE didn't realise that over the altar was his 1809 painting: " Christ Blessing The Elements" (one of his only 3 religious paintings.) This was commisioned by Constable's aunt (who lived in Nayland) and his brother, Golding, ...what a great name!....was Constable's model for Christ.

BUT NEEEDLESS TO SAY: the whole wedding day and the fun in the evening was SHEER delight.....the marriage of J, a handsome Northern guy with E, a pretty Southern lady!

A Handsome Warwickshire Windmill"

2009-07-30T17:21:00.015+01:00

Windmills are the stuff of stories!

I once wrote a story about a family who lived in a windmill. There were 4 children in this family and one night they climbed out of the windows of their windmill and sped round very fast on the sails, each child on their own sail. Eventually the 4 children floated away, each of them landing on a different cloud... and they all had different adventures. I can't remember if the children returned to the windmill.......but I can see it in my mind's eye ( I love that expression!) ....exactly as I imagined it years ago. I was about 8 and the story's long been lost...but my fascination with windmills remains.

And last week, we visited my brother/sisterinlaw in Warwickshire. They live in a pretty village called Harbury, 5 miles from Leamington Spa. Fairly near is Chesterton Windmill, which can be seen from several miles distant. It was built in 1632 for Sir Edward Peyto of Chesterton Manor.... and was used until 1910.

AND I'd love to hear and see those massive sails in movement.......there is something strong and solid and yet graceful about them....and in this changing world of ours, seeing them move on that hill in Warwickshire, would be a timeless and reliable and very soothing a sight!

" In High Spanish Mountains..."

2009-07-26T18:12:00.012+01:00

Last week, we stayed in a house up in the Sierra de Tejeda, from where we watched a helicopter transport water, then spray a fire in our near-distance. Now we hear that forest fires in Almeria are causing havoc. Hopefully all will soon be well.

See my picture en route through winding unsurfaced mountain roads.... to a whitewashed village called Frigiliana ( also pictured). The route was wild and beautiful and every twisting corner afforded a more spectacular view.

And Frigiliana itself is a delight. It's origins are Moorish and there's a medieval quarter where tiles on various houses tell the story of the village. We had 2 long lazy lunches on a terrace in a restaurant in the square.... plus a morning spent at one of the best street markets we've ever visited.

A relaxing week in a superb part of the planet!

" Andalusian Evenings....And Remembering Cornish Ones"

2009-07-23T16:24:00.035+01:00

Here I am on holiday in Andalusia Southern Spain last week.

It's about 8 pm and the sun is still warm...but it's calm at this time and it's golden now and ( I think) at its most beautiful... AND I've long enjoyed lulling in early evening sunshine: sunshine when it's fading, when it's softening, when it's still lovely but no longer Full On...

This delight goes back YEARS:

As child/teenager, we had family holidays in St Ives, Cornwall. And each evening, I was always last to leave Porthminster beach.

This was the best part of my day. I'd hide away, waiting and staring and watching everyone depart...( loaded with their hampers, windbreaks, cricket bats, soggy swimsuits) and THEN ( only then) I'd lie in the sand to read in the day's final sunshine.......savouring characters and settings and plots... and ONLY after this, would I amble home (always by myself).......through the tangle of magical higgledypiggedy St Ives streets, taking ages on my travels....because I'd stop to peer at THIS ( fishing nets, the lifeboat station, a whole family rowing, an entire family laughing ) and I'd stop to gawp at THAT ( some pretty bracelet in a shop, a painting in some gallery, a lost dog, a very old lady sitting quitly alone )

And sometimes I'd bump into my father...He was like me: he loved "wandering", being a solo explorer, taking stuff in......so sometimes on my way home, I'd glimpse him chatting to an artist in a studio on Downalong.... or sometimes he'd be found sitting on the harbour wall outside The Sloop, supping a beer while staring out to some distant horizon...AND I can see him now, my suntanned Dad with his amazing white hair ( white at 40).... and most of all, I see his bright very blue eyes.

We usually stayed with family friends in a house called Santa Lucia on Clodgy View.

This house overlooked Porthmeor Beach. The house was white, in style of small Italian villa; it was fetchingly scruffy with blue painted balcony smiling down at the sea.

In recent years, Santa Lucia has been been pulled apart then put together again ( renovated!) and it's no doubt quite something inside ....but I remember its huge sunny room overlooking sea and sky, its white walls, its vivid abstract paintings, its long squashy sofas ( where shells and sand and ice-lollysticks always lurked behind cushions) ....and I remember its tiny cobbled courtyard, the path where flowers and weeds tumbled together...and the long dark galley kitchen with its fabulous mural covering an entire wall...And I remember coming home at the end of the day, into the kitchen, where everyone would be drinking tea and unloading their beach bags and wringing out swim suits.... and there'd be sand on the floor and empty pop bottles on chairs and water wings on the table and everyone would be talking at once and our dog would be barking and a huge red beach ball would slither and roll against everyone's legs.....til someone would kick it HARD against the high courtyard wall...

But that almost-evening time on the beach WAS special. ( Cue for violins?)......... And I still appreciate this time of day when I'm away. In fact I appreciate it so much that I got through 4 books last week ( and started a fifth)...... admittedly at OTHER times too, such as on the plane and last thing at night...

1st book off was nicked from my son's bookcase:

Hanif Kureish's portrait of the end of a relationship in " Intimacy" ( I'd meant to nick it for years) which brimmed with memorable thoughts......then Elizabeth Berg's beautifully written " The year of pleasures" ( slight resemblance to Jane Juska's " A round-heeled woman"??) also Patrick Gale's new book" The whole day through" ( the happenings of a single day) and also Anita Shreve's " Testimony", about the effects of a scandal at a New England boarding school on the lives of those involved. I've read only one other Anita Shreve ( " The last time they met" with its stunning ending) but after reading " Testimony" I want more.

And the superb book I've yet to finish is a collection of short stories: " The People on Privelege Hill" by Yorkshire writer Jane Gardam. Her stories really are priceless; sensuous, comic, moving. They've got the lot...

"Around Round Tables"

2009-07-22T13:50:00.016+01:00

I'm making a habit of sitting around round tables!

Last night I helped a very special lady called Dilys celebrate a very special Birthday. We dined lavishly with lots of laughter at an excellent Chinese restaurant.
And as we chatted , we all agreed that round tables have the edge (?) on square or oblong...

And as you see, Dilys wore a rather fetching hat for part of the evening! She (like all of us, see top picture) is a member of Words/Biscuits, a writing group I started in January 2000, never dreaming we'd still be meeting regularly 9 years on.....

And I also enclose a snap taken earlier today ( see last snap) :

My W.E.A. writing group have enjoyed unofficial sessions this summer, courtesy of a pleasant pub in a nearby village. We meet in a curtained-off part of the pub....The King Arthur's Room....where there are tapestries and paintings and statues, all on an Arthurian theme.

And we sit around ANOTHER huge round table, each chair and place-setting labelled for an Arthurian character.

Needless to say, everyone's writing has been inspired in such illustrious a setting...and the fresh coffees have been appreciated too!

(AS has the sociable easiness of The Round Table...)

" An Image To Recall In Depth Of Winter, A Launch In A Long Room And The Watching Of Four Tiny Water Babies..." ...."

2009-07-09T14:41:00.036+01:00

I drove through the splendid gates of Eaton Hall (home of Gerald, Duke of Westminster) one balmy evening recently.
Not something I do often, I hasten to add.....But a friend and I swanned up the drive, meandering past ancient trees, lush lawns, a distant cricket pavilion....AND I SO wish I'd had my camera handy...
OF COURSE everything mentioned was worth a snap. But just as the Hall itself came into magnificent view, twenty or thirty deer cantered together across our path....
And this sight was MAGIC....the close of a sultry day, sun lowering, and before us, the dignity of a beautiful building...and then a herd of deer, frolicking together amongst it all. Mmm.

Shell Chester Literature Festival ( see www.chesterfestivals.co.uk/) was at Eaton to launch its October Lit Fest ( 5th-18th) combined with its Performance Weekend .
This is called "Chester Oyez!", partly because we have an active Town Crier, who stands at The Cross, midst of city...imparting his news and echoing "Oyez! Oyez!" to Cestrians and tourists at intervals daily.....

AND Eaton was a lovely place for this Launch.
Eaton Hall is a modern building, built in style of a French chateau, replacing a Gothic Revival Hall which was ( thankfully) demolished in the 60's .
We met in The Long Room. This is furnished as country house drawingroom, with sofas and paintings, antiques and rugs. We ate canapes in the Saddle Room ( diningroom) and we listened to 3 Performers (who will appear at Oyez! ) in the Carriage Room, also known as The Wolf Room, after painter J Wolf.

And before eating, we heard about some of the October visitors to LitFest:these include POet Laureate CarolAnn Duffy, writer David Peace ( Red Riding series) , Richard Eyres ( former National Theatre Director) barrister Michael Mansfield, Chris Packham of SpringWatch...and of course local writers, poets, including local born David Whiteley, who recently published his fantasy children's book.

But back to the Saddle Room: 1st Performer was N.W poet Jan Dean, descibing herself as an " itinerant poet". She writes mainly for children , appearing in schools and running poetry workshops.
2nd was gorgeous-voiced Shonaleigh Cumbers***. She's a Yiddish storyteller, who gleaned her art from her Jewish grandmother, a woman who survived the Holocaust. Shonaleigh learned from her how to memorise a story... and how to visualise it from different viewpoints. Shonaleigh is shortlisted for an Arts Foundation prize for her storytelling.
3rd was poet David Bateman, originally a Southerner, now based in NW. He says he's got a knack for being silly/serious at same time...and this trait was echoed in some of his work. We'll see them all again in October.

ALTOGETHER a fruitful taste of Autumnal treats......AND although no deer cantered or indeed galloped across our howeward path....I shall retain that lovely image within my cobwebs for quite a while....

NOW totally out of context: this week I visited a session of Waterbabies... watching 6 month old grandson "swimming".....and what fun! Like Baby Sensory last week, it's structured BUT fun...and the babes thrive.They float, catch balls, play games, disappear under water ( and come up grinning every time !) They're learning to enjoy water and to become confidently at ease with it. Great. Have a look at http://www.waterbabies.co.uk/ for details.
*** NB to Shonaleigh ( IF she reads Blogs!) : Please SING in October as well as tell your stories! We loved the tiny bit we heard...

"Mulling Over Monologues"

2009-07-08T14:30:00.010+01:00

The best Monologues use character to entice us into a new world. Opening words hook us into their thoughts and their actions. We get the "gist" of a character swiftly in a great Monologue....and probably his/her "problems" too, plus what's happening at the moment..... because the writing is efficient, it's authentic and it fascinates.

Dialogue flows. There are changes of pace and there's a rhythm....sometimes it's almost musical ( as with the best of any writing) and a story is told as a world is revealed....

Friends of LitFest recently enjoyed a monologue writing workshop with local writer Paul Kelly. He's a highly encouraging guy to work with ( talented playwright too) and all enjoyed this hugely. We met in a massive mirrored room at the top of a citycentre pub... at the end of a very hot day...but all worked hard "creating" work ( with useful suggestions from Paul) and we also welcomed 2 actors who brought some of our previously written monologues very much "to life".

We must thank Manchester actor John Howarth and local actress Barbara Jemmett ( often seen on stage at Chester Theatre Club) who gave up an evening to join is. We hope too tht Paul will appear again soon!

Picture: John, Barbara and Paul, taking a break from the action.

"A Swift Return To The Fold...."

2009-06-30T17:36:00.017+01:00

I'm writing this on Wednesday July 8th!
I've no idea WHY it's June, according to the date of this posting...!

ANYHOW, folks:
Wimbledon was hot and Glastonbury was hot and my garden was hot...and it was GREAT, so I hope this rain flutters away ...and allows gorgeous sultry Summer to flounce back again.
I wasn't at Wimbledon OR Glastonbury, but watched both on TV, particularly enjoying Neil Young and Roger Federer.....(who weren't either singing together or playing tennis together)...but Federers outfits and his tennis were a treat...as was Mr Y's music.

Lots to catch up on (blog been asleep) and back soon but I MUST record a trip to Lowry Theatre (M/Chester) for Nederlands Dans Theatr ( http://www.ndt.nl/ )...

They were founded in Holland in 1959. Their main aim then was to focus on new ideas, new forms in dance... and to experiment on technique.......And 50 yrs on, this part of the company ( aged 17-23) left me spellbound.
There were 3 pieces: the beautiful "Offspring" choreographed by former dancer Lukas Timmlak after the birth of his 1st child. There was " Gods and Dogs", performed to Beethoven String Quartet Opus 18 and lastly, there was Ohad Naharin's " Minus 16": a fabulous lively piece, using chacha, mambo and traditional Israeli music....and amazingly, dancers marched off stage in pantomime-fashion ( great coz we CLEARLY saw their faces!) ...dragging various consenting members of audience back onto stage... to take part in more dancing....... This evening was a TREAT.

And in complete contrast: 2 of my grandchildren attend same "Baby Sensory" class ( see http://www.babysensory.com/ for details) so I went last week. It's a lively class : lots of sensory activities designed to run alongside baby's sensory development. There's lights, music, touchy-feely objects, songs, toys, games, loads of colour...and if the babes' enthralled faces were anything to go by, they hugely enjoyed it.
Back very soon.