Anything Goes @ Barbican Theatre...

The other week Stuart and I went to see Anything Goes at the Barbican Theatre in London's glitzy Barbican Centre.

Featuring music and lyrics by Cole Porter and a book by Guy Bolton and PG Wodehouse, Anything Goes is set aboard an ocean liner crossing the Atlantic from New York to London. Much nonsense happens aboard but it's not the plot we were there to see; it was the breath-taking musical numbers.

If you like your musical theatre pre-Golden Age (and we do) then this is the show for you. It was a toe-tapping, jazz-handed, tap dancing tour de force. We laughed, we clapped, we sung along.

The 15-minute end of act one finale with the whole cast tap-dancing like crazy to Anything Goes is one of the most wonderful things I have seen on stage in many a year. Wow! Just 'wow'!

Director-cum-choreographer Kathleen Marshall delivers big time.

But the night doesn't just go to Ms Marshall, but also to Sutton Foster, who reprises her Broadway role as nightclub singer Reno Sweeney 10 years after winning the Leading Actress in a Musical Tony for her performance. We were on our feet.

Go see.

60+ Oyster Photocard…

One small benefit of turning 60 later this coming weekend is the 60+ Oyster Photocard*. Whatsmore I got mine a few days early. So that's free travel on public transport in London until I get the Freedom Pass in 7 years time. Yay! 60 is the new 59!

 

"If you're 60 or over and live in a London borough, you can get free travel on our transport services with an Oyster photocard.

Free travel on bus, Tube, tram, DLR, London Overground, TfL Rail and most National Rail services in London afrev 9:30am. You can travel free on TfL services from 09:00 weekdays and anytime at weekends and on bank holidays."

https://tfl.gov.uk/fares/free-and-discounted-travel/60-plus-oyster-photocard

 

*The 60+ Oyster Photocard was first created in late 2012 by Boris Johnson when he was London mayor to keep his grey vote onside.

 

Indecent @ Menier Chocolate Factory...

Last Friday night Stuart and I went to see Paula Vogel’s queer play Indecent at the Menier Chocolate Factory in London's glitzy London Bridge Quarter.

Deftly directed by Rebecca Taichman, Indecent is a heady mix of theatre, music (a small live klezmer band), and singing and an eloquent yet poignant love letter to Yiddish Theatre in general. It explores censorship, sexuality, and a divided community surrounding Sholem Asch's (in)famous play 'God of Vengeance'.

The crux of the early part of Indecent is censorship and how Jews might criticise themselves without ‘fuelling the fire of anti-Semitism’. Of course, the holocaust looms large over the play, but how could it not when making a play about Jewish lesbians in Poland in the nineteen twenties and thirties.

Indecent follows the story of the debut performance of ‘God of Vengeance’ and the theatre troupe’s travels across Europe and then to America. Controversy is never far away, which when produced on Broadway in 1923 caused the cast of the original production to be arrested on the grounds of obscenity. Is it a seminal work of Jewish culture or an act of traitorous libel?

Whatever your view of ‘God of Vengeance’, Indecent is a beautiful play, about a play, and it certainly resonates for now.

Rockets and Blue Lights @ Dorfman Theatre...

Last week Stuart and I went to see Winsome Pinnock’s play Rockets and Blue Lights at the Dorfman Theatre on London's glitzy South Bank.

Directed by Miranda Cromwell, a radical retelling of the horrors of black British history, the play is packed with stories jumping as it does from the present day to the past and back again.

The present-day features actors rehearsing a film called The Ghost Ship about the Zong massacre of enslaved Africans in 1781. The past revolves around a family that has lived through slavery into abolition.

Back in the past again we see JMW Turner paint his The Slave Ship as well has a present meditation on that very painting - an atrocity hidden in plain sight.

There is an avalanche of plotlines, and ideas; detailed stories, and stories about stories. The slave trade, its abolition, debates on the politics of storytelling, the injustice of underrepresentation, Turner’s life, his politics, and remembering – or sometimes forgetting – black trauma in the present day.

It's a swirling haunting play made all the more important by the Black creatives who tell their own stories without deferring to a white gaze.

We loved it.

Cloudbusting @ Islington Assembly Hall...

Last Saturday night Dawn, Francesca, Joanna, Charlotte, Stuart and I went to see Cloudbusting at the Islington Assembly Hall.

Performing the entire Kate Bush album Never Forever (40th anniversary delayed by a year due to Covid) along with another bunch of hits, rarities and fan favourites - it was another great spine-tingling show from Cloudbusting.

Open House Architectural Tour: Estorick Collection of Modern Italian Art...

Last Sunday afternoon Stuart and I took a look around the Estorick Collection of Modern Italian Art in London's glitzy Islington.

The tour was guided and free, being part of the annual Open House Architectural series. The house was beautiful and there were some interesting pieces but perhaps not quite the must-see pull of say John Soane's.

Fever Pitch @TheHopeTheatre : Great show. Great performances. Go see! @JackTrueman14 @SorchaCorcoran1 @KennedyBloomer

Last night Elliot, Jonathan, Darce, Steve, George, and I went to see Fever Pitch at The Hope Theatre in London's glitzy Islington.

"When you’re in love nothing else matters. You become obsessed. But it can get pretty tricky if that obsessive love is directed towards eleven men wearing the same shirt and running around like idiots for ninety minutes every Saturday."

Based the Nick Hornby book of the same name the play is an exhilarating, moving and brutally funny look at that obsessive love of football that will appeal to all football fans - and all football haters - alike!

Fever Pitch charts over two decades of 'Nick' and his total and utter passion for Arsenal Football Club; what it means to be a fanatic, what that passion means for everyone in our lives who isn't, the exhilaration, the all-encompassing moments of joys, and the totally debilitating and soul-destroying lows.

Nick is played by recent graduate Jack Trueman, making his stage debut, and he exhibits moments of pure brilliance; he is funny, compelling and very, very watchable.

The rest of the cast Ashley Gerlach, Gabrielle MacPherson, and Louise Hoare are equally excellent. Transforming as they do from friend, to family member, to girlfriend, to commentator, to opposition fan, to schoolkid... the list is endless. And they do it all with such speed and utter ease. They are an ensemble that bring the show to life.

The Hope Theatre is a relatively small space and it has been transformed cleverly with fake turf on the floor, bench seating that changes from a bed to a podium with ease, and various pictures and signs from Arsenal adoring the walls. The set design by Sorcha Corcoran is fabulous. Nick Hornby writing helps the tight space too as it is intimate, funny and very strong, and adapted here by Joel Samuels, it does a great job of turning this small room into an almost immersive piece of theatre.

Standing just few feet from you, you as an audience member get lost in the passion with which these characters speak about the football club they love. It is totally infectious.

The play doesn't shy away from the problems football faces either; not least the aggression that is all too common in football fans, the sexism towards female fans, and about the racism players face that has plagued the game for decades. This adds a layer of depth to a piece that on the surface could solely be seen as a love letter to Arsenal.

The director is Kennedy Bloomer whose tenure at the Hope Theatre was interrupted by the pandemic, making this her first and last production at the venue.

Go see.

But don't just take my word for it. Fever Pitch has been nominated for three OFFIEs (Off West End Awards)

Lead Performance: Jack Trueman @JackTrueman14
Set Design: Sorcha Corcoran @SorchaCorcoran1
Director: Kennedy Bloomer @KennedyBloomer

Closes 25th Sept.

Quiz Night (Answers)...

Here are the answers to last week's quiz night.

How did you do?

In the News

1. Rapper Drake released a new album last week, Certified Lover Boy, which british artist designed the album artwork? Damien Hurst
2. Which band have announced a new album after 40 years as well as plans to perform at concerts where they will appear via avatars? Abba
3. The era of leaded petrol is officially over, but who was the last country to stop pumping? Algeria
4. The 80 million pound renovation to big ben is almost finished, the clock face has had a spruce up to which new colour? Blue
5. After a successful campaign at the paralympics how many medals did Team GB win overall? 124 (41 golds)

World

1. Today marks 199 years of independence from Portugal for which country? Brazil
2. Which is the largest island in the Mediterranean? Sicily
3. Which Premiership football team plays its home games in Gunnersbury? Brentford
4. Which Norwegian town hosted the 1994 winter olympics? Lillehammer
5. Which US city was artist Andy Warhol born in? Pittsburgh

Food and Drink

1. What style of beer takes its names from a town in the Bohemia region of the Czech Republic? Pilsner
2. What name is given to the Italian pastry that consists of tube shaped shells of fried pastry dough filled with a sweet, creamy filling that usually consists of ricotta? Cannoli
3. GSM is an abbreviation given for the classic 3 grape blend in Southern French wine culture. Which grape variety is represented by S? Syrah
4. Which Asian seafood restaurant, located on the corner of Mayfair’s Berkeley Square houses the world’s largest Japanese whiskey collection? Sexy Fish
5. Perigord is a variety of what? Truffle

Connections

1. Name the German singer who appeared on 4 tracks of The Velvet Underground’s debut album. Nico (Rio)
2. Guano is an effective fertiliser produced from the accumulated excrement of seabirds and which other animals? Bats (Baby Driver)
3. Which word precedes the word Swing to denote a musical genre that blends vintage swing sounds with modern house music? Electro (The Amazing Spiderman 2)
4. “Georgia on my Mind” was a 1960 Billboard number one for which artist? Ray Charles (Ray)
5. Complete the title of the 1969 Lee Scratch Perry and The Upsetters sophomore album. Return Of….BLANK? Django (Django Unchained)

Movie Characters voiced or played by Jamie Foxx

Sequence Round:

1. Chelsea 0…..Everton 53…..Man Utd 28….Inter Milan 47….Chelsea BLANK - 1 (League goals scored by Romelu Lukaku at various clubs he has played for)
2. Team...Side….Scan….BLANK - Day (Or anything that can have the letter D in front) (A-Team, B-Side, C Scan, D Day).
3. N: Lagos….B: Mumbai….H: BLANK - Los Angeles (Nollywood - Lagos, Bollywood - Mumbai, Hollywood - Los Angeles) The nicknames for various film industry locations
4. 83.7 million - Addison Rae….108.9 million - Khabane Lame….123.6 million - BLANK - Charlie D’Amelio (Top 3 Tik Tok users in terms of followers)
5. Ammunition 10%....Pope 25%....Scooter 29%....Option BLANK - 33.3% (the percentage of each word made up of the letter O)

Science, Tech & Nature

1. What name is given to a male rabbit? Buck
2. What name is given to water that occurs in a natural environment with higher salt levels than freshwater but less than sea water? Brackish Water
3. A Hazmat suit gets its name from the combination of which 2 words? Hazardous Materials
4. What is the name of the stocks and shares Reddit community that played a major role in the Game Stop short squeeze earlier this year? Wall Street Bets
5. 3, S, X and Y are models of car produced by which manufacturer? Tesla

The Arts and Culture

1. In Texas hip hop culture, Purple Drank is a recreational drug consisting of which prescription medicine? Cough Syrup (Codeine also accepted)
2. Which British author released The Comfort Book earlier this year? Matt Haig
3. The Warehouse Project is a seasonal series of club nights that takes place in which UK city? Manchester
4. Pamela Anderson’s first 2 husbands were rock musicians - Can you name them? Tommy Lee / Kid Rock
5. Today marks the 91st birthday of American musician Sonny Rollins. What instrument is he best known for? Saxophone

Intro’s round

1. The Tide is High - Blondie (atomic kitten)
2. Tragedy - Steps (Bee Gees)
3. Spirit in the sky - Gareth Gates
4. Baby Come Back - Pato Banton - (Equals)
5. I’ll be missing you - Puff Daddy, Faith Evans - (The Police)

Theme: All have entered the charts more than once, from different artists - covers

Quiz Night @HighburyL Great fun. How did we do? We came fourth! And can you guess which famous historical event we recreated in Playdoh? #QuizTeam #PubQuiz

Last Tuesday night Jane, Sara, Stuart and I entered Liz's amazing monthly quiz at Highbury Library in London's glitzy Islington.

This was our first time back in a while and we were determined to not embarrass ourselves.

We changed our team name once again - this time to ABBA-tars.

Liz was calling out the questions as usual and Andrew back spinning the tunes. It was great fun.

There were loads of inventive rounds involving eating, making stuff and guessing the intro. We downed quite a few beers, Jane bought us some pepperoni pizza (food that didn't really do us any favours in the taste round) and had a rare old time.

But how did we do? Well, we came fourth out of ten teams! 28 points. The winners got 39 points - and the £94 jackpot. Not too shabby.

Here are the questions. See how you do? If you think you can beat us (you know you can!) - come next month! Booking essential!

Oh, and what is the weird picture to the left? There was a Playdoh round. Can you guess which historical event we recreated?

Taste Test: Pringles!
1.American Hot dog
2.Bacon mac and cheese
3.Extra hot BBQ
--------------------------------

In the News

1. Rapper Drake released a new album last week, Certified Lover Boy, which british artist designed the album artwork?

2. Which band have announced a new album after 40 years as well as plans to perform at concerts where they will appear via avatars?

3. The era of leaded petrol is officially over, but who was the last country to stop pumping?

4. The 80 million pound renovation to big ben is almost finished, the clock face has had a spruce up to which new colour?

5. After a successful campaign at the paralympics how many medals did Team GB win overall?


World

1. Today marks 199 years of independence from Portugal for which country?

2. Which is the largest island in the Mediterranean?

3. Which Premiership football team plays its home games in Gunnersbury?

4. Which Norwegian town hosted the 1994 winter olympics?

5. Which US city was artist Andy Warhol born in?


Food and Drink

1. What style of beer takes its names from a town in the Bohemia region of the Czech Republic?

2. What name is given to the Italian pastry that consists of tube shaped shells of fried pastry dough filled with a sweet, creamy filling that usually consists of ricotta?

3. GSM is an abbreviation given for the classic 3 grape blend in Southern French wine culture. Which grape variety is represented by S?

4. Which Asian seafood restaurant, located on the corner of Mayfair’s Berkeley Square houses the world’s largest Japanese whiskey collection?

5. Perigord is a variety of what?


Connections

1. Name the German singer who appeared on 4 tracks of The Velvet Underground’s debut album.

2. Guano is an effective fertiliser produced from the accumulated excrement of seabirds and which other animals?

3. Which word precedes the word Swing to denote a musical genre that blends vintage swing sounds with modern house music?

4. “Georgia on my Mind” was a 1960 Billboard number one for which artist?

5. Complete the title of the 1969 Lee Scratch Perry and The Upsetters sophomore album. Return Of….BLANK?

What is the connection to all the answers in this round?

---------------------------------

Play Doh Round - (see above)

---------------------------------


Sequence Round (fill in the BLANK:

1. Chelsea 0…..Everton 53…..Man Utd 28….Inter Milan 47….Chelsea BLANK

2. Team...Side….Scan….BLANK

3. N: Lagos….B: Mumbai….H: BLANK

4. 83.7 million - Addison Rae….108.9 million - Khabane Lame….123.6 million - BLANK

5. Ammunition 10%....Pope 25%....Scooter 29%....Option BLANK


Science, Tech & Nature

1. What name is given to a male rabbit?

2. What name is given to water that occurs in a natural environment with higher salt levels than freshwater but less than sea water?

3. A Hazmat suit gets its name from the combination of which 2 words?

4. What is the name of the stocks and shares Reddit community that played a major role in the Game Stop short squeeze earlier this year?

5. 3, S, X and Y are models of car produced by which manufacturer?


The Arts and Culture

1. In Texas hip hop culture, Purple Drank is a recreational drug consisting of which prescription medicine?

2. Which British author released The Comfort Book earlier this year?

3. The Warehouse Project is a seasonal series of club nights that takes place in which UK city?

4. Pamela Anderson’s first 2 husbands were rock musicians - Can you name them?

5. Today marks the 91st birthday of American musician Sonny Rollins. What instrument is he best known for?


Intro’s round

1. The Tide is High - Blondie

2. Tragedy - Steps

3. Spirit in the Sky - Garth Gates

4. Baby Come Back - Pato Banton

5. I’ll be Missing You - Puff Daddy, Faith Evans

What's the theme?

Arsenal 1 -0 Norwich...

Great day at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday. 4 games, 1 goal, a much needed win! Then a few beers before, during, and afterwards with the boys.

Welwyn Sloes... foraged, washed, stalks removed, green ones set aside to ripen, black ones in boxes to freeze. #sloegin #familyfun

Went sloe foraging with the family last Sunday in glitzy Welwyn march.

8 kgs washed, stalks removed, green ones set aside to ripen, black ones in boxes to freeze. Then they get added to the gin to infuse for 3 months. Yum.

Once Upon A Time In Nazi Occupied Tunisia @ Almeida Theatre...

On Monday evening Stuart and I went to see Once Upon A Time In Nazi Occupied Tunisia at the Almeida Theatre in London's glitzy Islington.

The hum of the audience stops abruptly as the gigantic sun which hangs over the set glares unbearably bright. Then, we are plunged into complete darkness. Once the light returns, a man buried up to his neck in sand appears on the stage and begins to hum. The audience laughs, as do we, but we cannot help but feel uneasy – the man’s face is burnt raw. The premise of Once Upon a Time in Nazi Occupied Tunisia (directed by Eleanor Rhode) walks this fine line between comedy and gravity continuously; while the consistent humorous undercutting of horror sometimes grows tiring, it also serves to masterfully expose the vicious realities which lie beneath the play.

As we walk into the theatre, the set of Once Upon a Time in Nazi Occupied Tunisia (designed by Max Johns with light by Jess Bernberg) instantaneously hits us – collectively the elements resemble a desert, complete with topographical, rolling sand dunes, a cactus, and a glaring sun beating down. When deconstructed however, the individual elements are strange but beautiful; the sand is constructed of plywood blocks, placed at different levels, and the sun is held within a metal frame.

As we move throughout the play this set is used very cleverly – it is used to set up an elegant dining room, and in the second half resembles a bathing room in a Tunisian home with a gorgeous pool refracting light out onto its surroundings. The simplicity of the set and the way it is used is great, and the soundscapes that accompany it (created by David Gregory) are immersive and rich, drawing us wholly into the world of Nazi occupied Tunisia.

The overarching plotline of the play is of four close friends in two unhappy marriages - one Jewish and one Arab, and an affair. However, writer Josh Azouz twists this narrative into something entirely unique, a love story woven into a tale of violence, hatred, and displacement. The idea of what it means to be ‘at home’ is writ small and large, as the characters approach the question of home from a domestic point of view and a global one.

The four protagonists of Faiza (Laura Hanna), Loys (Yasmin Paige), Youssef (Ethan Kai) and Victor (Pierro Niel-Mee) are all written into a complex web of relationships which we only catch a glimpse of during the play. Azouz’ script is incredibly powerful and poignant, with every sentence holding importance – one line is enough to silence the audience, just as it is enough to cause us to burst into laughter. The dialogue between the characters is also incredibly fluid, which serves to paint the characters deeply and thoughtfully. Adrian Edmondson’s ‘Grandma’, a high-ranking Nazi, is extremely funny and has the potential to be an interesting addition to the play – however, for me, after two hours of unrelenting jokes and little change in tone, I find this character the most underdeveloped of them all.

A play from the point of view of the marginalised is one that is timely and desperately needed, as many people across the world right now face losing their homes forever.

Paradise @ Olivier Theatre...

Last Friday week Stuart and I went to see an all-female production of Kae Tempest's Paradise at the Olivier Theatre on London's glitzy South Bank.

Starring Lesley Sharp the play is fairly faithful to the (rather tepid) Greek tragedy of Philoctetes.

Philoctetes (Sharp) has been abandoned by his pal Odysseus (Anastasia Hille) on a remote island. Only now wily old Odysseus wants old Philoctetes to help him fight in a war so he sends Neoptolemus (Gloria Obianyo), the son of the late Achilles, to lure him back.

Interestingly enough, these three men are the least interesting thing about the play. Rather it is the chorus - a wistful, long-suffering group of largely older women - that draw us in. We are not told whence they come - refugees? natives? from the Gods? - but unusually for a chorus they are all given names and personalities. Much of the play consists of their interactions, which essentially revolves around them looking out for each other as they grow older in this harsh land. Where the men broadly act from self-interest, the women are a community.

Sharp's performance was very broad - almost Cockney - which jarred a bit. And while Obianyo plays Neoptolemus as a calm, collected, but underneath it all scared young man, Hille’s gravelly-voiced Odysseus is pure cartoon villain.

An OK show, but not really a winner.

Bach and Sons @ Bridge Theatre...

Last week Stuart and I went to see Bach and Sons at the Bridge Theatre in London's glitzy London Bridge Quarter.

Starring Simon Russell Beale as the great eighteenth-century German composer Johann Sebastian Bach, Nina Raine’s play concerns the complicated father and his equally complicated family.

Bach Snr is a perfectionist. He prefers one son to the other. And his two wives are seemingly defined by their ability to childbear; they had 20 children between them - half of whom died in infancy.

Nicholas Hytner’s production is entertaining enough. The family quarrels are perhaps all too familiar. But it's perhaps all a little too cosy. 'Amadeus' it is not.

For me the highlight was Pravessh Rana playing a really weirdly and fiercely camp Frederick the Great.

Dad Memorial...

 We had a lovely family celebration for Dad on Saturday. Family, friends and a lot of love.

Dad Burial @ Welwyn Cemetery..

It was a peaceful laying to rest of Dad’s ashes today. A lovely spot in the local cemetery, by a little tree with a little birdhouse, by a bench, on a grassy hill, all overlooking lovely Welwyn village; a place my Dad did so much for. His gravestone will be placed once the earth settles. 

Tomorrow we are having a celebration party for him at the house. A bit of a shindig. Booze might be consumed. In some quantity. It’s what he would have wanted.

Margaret Thatcher: Queen of Soho @ Garrick Theatre...

Last week Stuart and I went to see Margaret Thatcher: Queen of Soho at the Garrick Theatre in London's glitzy West End.

We had seen the show before but here it had been expanded and extended and it was a God-damned riot! We laughed our socks off from start to finish.

The fourth wall is demolished in the opening scene and remains abolished. Rather like the GLC.

Matt Tedford plays Margaret Thatcher who stumbles into Soho on the eve of the vote for Section 28 and becomes an over-night all-singing, all dancing cabaret star. There starts a big gay odyssey about gay rights, the 80’s and disco.

As the Iron Lady herself might say, "Where there are discos, may we bring harmonies."

Tedford is as caustic as Dame Edna Everage, twice as camp and packs a mighty political punch. His side-kicks Sam Donnelly and Danny Stokes get to play everyone else in the piece - from 1980s Tory cabinet members, Churchill’s portrait, arch-enemy Jill Knight, Sex-God and punk Peter Tatchell, Jenny Lives with Eric and Martin, sleazy MPs, sleazier yuppies, Grange Hill kids, the list goes on.

Great show.

One thing I did notice though - Tedford's Thatcher did look uncannily like Martin Gore of Depeche Mode!

My Night With Reg @ Turbine Theatre...

Last week Stuart and I went to see My Night With Reg at the Turbine Theatre at London's glitzy Battersea Power Station.

Written by Kevin Elyot the play tells the story of seven gay men during, and following the effects of, the AIDS crisis. Although the crisis is not exactly what play is all about. It's a comedy - very much in the vain of Boys In The Band - the gays don't exactly hate themselves but they have a lot of shit to sort out. A lifetime of being told you're not good enough takes quite a bit of unpacking.

As a side note, the characters names are all have Elton John related names; Daniel, John, Benny, Guy, Bernie, and Reg. (Eric apparently refers to Eric Clapton.)

The elephant in the room, Reg, who most of the characters have slept with, never appears on stage. Reg is a metaphor for AIDS. A silent unseen killer. But Reg is a good shag. And had a winning smile. And flattery got him everywhere.

The play is also about longing. About unrequited love. And about disappointment. Which makes the play sound depressing which it's not; it's very funny. Oh, and there is plenty of gratuitous nudity. We laughed like drains.

Starring Stephen K Amos, Paul Keating, and a rather buff Edward M Corrie our Islingtonian neighbours Mark Gatiss was there with his husband Ian. They nodded a warm hello.

Duke of Welly…

A lovely afternoon yesterday in the Welly bumping into friends old (and young). 

Manning’s 1st Birthday Party…

Last Saturday Stu and I attended the a mazing 1st birthday party for my darling grand-nephew Manning. Held by proud parents Charlotte and Jos.

GayGooners - Pink Plaque - Islington Tribune…

Nice piece in today’s Islington Tribune about GGs and our pink plaque.

http://islingtontribune.com/article/pride-in-plaque-for-gay-gooners

Latest Later Flow Tests from NHS…

The latest Lateral Flow Test from NHS are nasal only (not throat).  Wonder how good they are?

https://www.gov.uk/order-coronavirus-rapid-lateral-flow-tests

Carousel @ Regents Park Open Air Theatre ...

Last week Andy, Kev, Stuart and I went to see Carousel at London's glitzy Regents Park Open Air Theatre. 

Suffice to repeat what I thought about the show when we saw a production of it at the National Theatre back in 2012. It all still holds true. 

"The singing was excellent, the dancing very good, the acting good, the staging not so good, the plot vile. It's hard to really like a story of a no-good wife beater who knocks up his missus, comes a cropper robbing someone, and then comes back from the afterlife and strikes his teenage child. Standout song was the joyous June is Busting' Out All Over. Sadly the sad You'll Never Walk Alone can't quite shake the Liverpool football club stigma however. 

We enjoyed it - just - but also agree with most critics. 3 stars."

Sunday 4:27pm. Oh, that beautiful optimism we had! @Arsenal #ByFarTheGreatest

 

Back at the Emirates…

The club’s Covid-19 advice for the behaviour of returning supporters to the Emirates Stadium yesterday was, I’m sure, well thought out and sensible. It did however rather remind me of the advice my dear old mother gave me when I was younger, “Don’t talk to any strange men.”

Arsenal’s advice was: “…avoiding excessive shouting/singing/celebrations... You should avoid hugs, high-fives and any unnecessary close contact with people who are not known to you.”

Talking to strange men and having close contact with people who are not known to me was pretty much my modus operandi of my 20s and 30s!

And such close contact behaviour, albeit it in non-sexual way, had until more recently made a welcome return to my life at the Emirates Stadium. We hug a lot in Block 6. Or, we used to.

Oh well, it was back to nodding hellos and nodding goodbyes it is then.

Stay safe folks. And don’t talk to any strange men!

New Arsenal Shirt “Smith Rowe 10”…

Those nice people at the Arsenal shop sold me (a rather pricey) new Arsenal Shirt “Smith Rowe 10” today. Printed  to order. I asked the printer if he would misspell it for me for fun. He couldn’t bring himself. 

Westminster Abbey…

Last Saturday afternoon Stuart and I wandered down to Westminster Abbey in London's glitzy Parliament Square to take a look around, take in their 'hidden' tour, and go up to the gallery.

Oh my word. It is amazing.

I'd not been to the Abbey since I was knee high to a grape fly (50 years ago?) and although I suspect not much has changed there, my perceptive certainly has. It was simply jaw-dropping. Going into one section with all the gold and flags and ornate trappings my jaw actually fell open. It took my breath away. The guide on the door to that section saw me clutch my pearls and said, "I know! We get a lot of that."

Ok, ok, the hidden tour was great; freshly dug up skulls, plentiful human remains, hidden rooms, private courtyards, concealed staircases, a secret library - all very Da Vinci Code.

Yes, yes, the gallery was fantastic; awe inspiring views of the Abbey floor below, death masks of various kings and queens, glorious robes, shining armour, dazzling jewellery and funny statues - oh and a Roman sarcophagus from before the Abbey was founded by Edward the Confessor.

But it was the Abbey itself that floored us; the sheer majesty of it all - the views, the huge arches, Poet's Corner, the stained-glass windows (David Hockney's looking pretty cool), great coffins of all those kings and queens, beautiful sleeping statues, all that gold, all that history. It was all so damned exciting.

Definitely worth a visit. Treat yourself.