China (Pictures)...

Terracotta Warriors...

I love a man in a uniform - albeit a 2,500 year old terracotta one — with Stuart at the Terracotta Warriors in Xian, China.

The Great Wall of China...

We are on The Great Wall of China - and we can be seen from space!

China Dance Lesson...

Stu embraced the local culture and we showed the Chinese locals how he and I dance back home.

The Forbidden City...

It was a Forbidden City for some - we on the other hand ran riot.

Tiananmen Square...

We got stopped and questioned by the police in Tiananmen Square. I do not think our tank man impersonations went down well...

Blocked From China...

My blog www.overyourhead.co.uk is blocked from china. as is facebook, twitter and google. i guess this is a badge of honour.

So no posts for a while...

Off On Hols...

About 4pm today a little 3yr old girl & her mother spot me wheeling my suitcase down the road. 
Little girl: (to her mother) That man is going on holidays.
Mother: Yes, he is, darling. Why don't you ask him where he is going?
Little girl: (to me) Are you going to the moon?
Me: (smiling, mother smiles too) No, I'm not going to the moon. I'm going to China. Do you know where that is?
Little girl: Are there dinosaurs? (Me and the mother exchange a smile again)
Me: No, no dinosaurs in China. 
Little girl: (incredulous) Why not?
Me: They all died. (Oh, was that the wrong thing to say?)
Little girl looks upset and tugs the mother away who gives me a pained look. How was I to know she hadn't told her that D.I.N.O.S.A.U.R.S. were E.X.T.I.N.C.T! — travelling to Beijing, China with Stuart Archer from Terminal 3 London Heathrow Airport (LHR).

National Portrait Gallery...

Private Eye cartoon win. Love it.

Starbucks...

I ordered a small cappuccino in Starbucks this morning and gave the cashier a £50 note.
"Is this all you've got?" she asked.
"I'm afraid so." I replied, "Is that a problem?"
"Of course it's a problem," she said, "You're 65p short."

More Iceland Pictures...

Iceland Pictures....

Stu, Tim, Andy and I had a brilliant time in Iceland. Taking in all the sights and sites.

Iceland...

Time Machine...

Smart-boy Beers...

Così Fan Tutte...

Last night Stuart and I went to see the ENO production of Mozart's Così Fan Tutte at the London Colesium.

Così Fan Tutte – ‘women are all, and always, so’ – is Mozart and Da Ponte’s final comic masterpiece. Phelim McDermott returns to direct this classic six-hander following the recent triumphs of Philip Glass’s Satyagraha and The Perfect American.

The production was colourful, playful and fun - albeit at times a little quirky.

Sisters Fiordiligi and Dorabella are enjoying a holiday in Coney Island with their fiancés, Ferrando and Guglielmo. The two couples are enjoying the sights and sounds of the fun fair on the boardwalk, where the sideshow performers keep them entertained. However, the fairground is a place where anything can happen – and its manipulative master, Don Alfonso, has a game to play with the lovers.

The quirkiness reminded me a bit of Julie Walters's sketch in Victora Wood As Seen On TV when as the leader of the Piecrust players she says, "But I can't say this too often; it may be Hamlet but it's got to be Fun, Fun, Fun! I don't think it's too gimmicky... the tandem."

Well, instead of a tandem here we have waltzing teacups, Joe 90's spinning cage and line-dancing dwarves.

An Evening With Julie Andrews...

Last Friday night Stuart, Fay and I went to the Eventim Apollo in glitzy Hammersmith to see An Evening With Julie Andrews.

It was utterly brilliant! She was charming, funny and saucy.

The first half was Dame Julie reliving moments, showing film clips from many, many films and telling stories about early early life and career.

The second half was a Q&A with Aled Jones including more film clips.

It was the show the O2 one should have been.