Godless trip part 2

Monday we got on a boat and went for a trip down the Thames.

I love the view you get of London landmarks from the Thames, and of course, many you can't see any other way.

We stopped off at North Greenwich and had a look round the O2 Arena Square which is looking really good

and then got back on the boat to Greenwich where we went round the Cutty Sark.

I
t's had a huge restoration programme, and has been lifted up 3m to create a hall under the hull which is very impressive.

From there we walked to the Royal Maritime Museum which was hosting an Ansel Adams exhibition.

Ansel Adams took beautiful black and white photographs, and this was a stunning display of landscapes from the mountains and the sea. Then it was a steep wall up the ill to the Royal Observatory, and I couldn't understand why the parkland in front of the Naval College was all being reseeded, until I was reminded that it had hosted all of the equestrian events during the Olympics.
The view over London from the Observatory is stunning, and you can just see the reseeding in the bottom of the picture

Of course, you have to take the obligatory picture of the Prime Meridian, which I am reliably informed also runs through Cleethorpes. Lots of tourists having their picture taken standing on it, but I've not seen that happen in Cleethorpes.

Then it was back on our boat, back to the Embankment, and a quick tube journey back to the hotel.

We were off to the theatre again, so grabbed a meal in the Massala Club - a thali of mixed curries, very nice. Then off to the Theatre Royal to see One Man, Two Guvnors. A comedy set in the early sixties, but based on a Commedia Dell'arte play from 1743. It was hilarious. One of those plays where you are desperate for the interval so you can stop laughing. Well worth seeing.

Tuesday morning we went to the Museum of London, which we'd not done before. Lots of really interesting stuff about the History of London, including the plague, the great fire, the Blitz and how the city has developed. well worth a visit.

Then we checked out of the hotel walked to St Pancras where we took advantage of the shops to do a bit more Christmas shopping, and a very relaxing journey home

Les Mis

One of the worst things about early morning starts to conferences is that I have to travel the night before, and really I'd rather be in my own house and bed. But, if I'm going to be away from home, I try and find something to do that doesn't involve just sitting in a hotel room. In London it's easy, go to a show. Tonight I went to see this:



Les Mis. Can't believe it's been on for 27 years and I've never seen it. I had a good 30 minute walk from my hotel through Westminster, along Whitehall, Trafalgar Square, Piccadilly to the theatre in lovely evening sun. I had all the wrong things to eat - butter on my bread and chips with my steak - before the show. Then settled down to watch. The imagery is very evocative, even on the safety curtain



And I can sort of see why when it first came out it was called The Glums. It's not exactly a bundle of laughs, but there are some very funny bits in it from the Inn keeper and his wife, the Thenardiers.

I thoroughly enjoyed it. The set was amazing, based on a revolve. I've worked with revolves, and they're bloody difficult, but this was seamless. There was no normal flying in of flats, it was all built on the stage, and when the barricades were formed, all of the audience gasped. I was sitting right at the front, and as usual watched the stagecraft carefully. The stage was very dark most of the time, and I particularly liked the green and red lights that lit up in the wings to guide the actors off.

The cast were great, and the leading character, Jean Valjean, was played by an understudy. I can't imagine anyone playing it better than he did. The songs were fantastic, especially Do You Hear the People Sing, and I spent most of the Second Act with tears steaming down my face. I did think it was a bit off to loudly applaud a suicide though :-).

It was a fantastic night, and at the end, Alexandra Burke came on and sang Eponine's song, On My Own. Apparently it was being filmed for Children in Need. Will watch out for it. If you haven't seen it yet. Go.





- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Diary of an Easter Weekend in London

Friday.
Get up, slightly later than normal :-) Tram to station. First class train to London (advance tickets, very cheap). Walk to hotel, via a lovely little sandwich shop called Chive - I had chicken, smoky bacon and leek, very nice.
Check in at hotel, and get warm chocolate cookie each, yummy.
Tube to Pimlico, and short walk to Tate Britain. Not been here for ages, but loved it, especially the pre-raphaelite stuff. I had Ophelia and the Lady of Shallott on every student room I ever lived in.

Walk back down Thames via Westminster, Big Ben etc, and back to hotel.

Quick G and T, relax, and back out again for walk to Covent Garden.
Dinner in Dishoom, a Mumbay cafe style restaurant. sort of Indian Tapas. We had about 6 dishes - lamb biriyani, chicken curry, black dhaal, spiced fish fingers, minced lamb on hot toast and garlic naan. and beer - of course.

Cambridge Theater for Matilda the Musical. Bit of a shock when charged £32 for 4 glasses of white wine. But, show fantastic. Can't find enough superlatives. The music (by the wonderful Tim Minchin), the set, the songs, the children and the choreography, are to die for. Can't help but smile all the way through.

Back to hotel for  nightcap and a film.think it was Minority Report but I nodded off...

Saturday
Nice breakfast - lots of fruit, yoghurt etc
Tube to South Kensington and off to V and A where we'd booked tickets for the special exhibition, Great British design from 1948 to now. Excellent stuff. Lots of great things.

Ecxited to see Keith's spoon in Silver gallery.

Coffee in the garden, then  Camden market.
Never been before. couldn't believe how big it was. Great designs on shops on Camden High Street.

Lunch in Camden Lock market sitting on chairs made from scooters. Think we could have just walked round trying free stuff.

Underground market in horse tunnel very impressive.

Back to hotel. Bath to relax aching legs. Quick drink and out again for tea. Couldn't get in Cabana, the Brazilian restaurant we wanted to eat in, so had nice meal in Zizzis instead.
Rock of Ages. Fantastic. Plastic lighters to wave. Great rock songs. Lots of clapping, standing up, singing, fireworks, gold glitter bombs, tinsel bombs. Real feel good night.

Sunday
Realised it was Easter Saturday, so couldn't do shopping day we'd intended, but walked to Covent Garden anyway.Craft stalls open, and lots of eggs around.

 Walked to Trafalgar Square via Leicester Square and went in National Gallery so Stu could see Madonna of the Rocks.
Then to National Portrait Gallery. Contemporary portraits,  Portraits of unknown people.

Back to hotel. Pack. Walk to St Pancras,. Lunch in Betjenman Arms.
I had a Sunday Roast sandwich,
Ace idea!

Train back, nap, angry birds, and back to Sheffield in time for curry in Saffron Club. Closing in a couple of days so our last night with Naz, Nash and the lads. very sad, but great end to great weekend.

Birthday Week

This week is busy for birthdays in my family. Between the 22 and 28  January we have 6 birthdays including me, my brother, both of my sons and 2 grandchildren. Fairly expensive so close to Christmas! My birthday was a little low key last Monday - working all day, some lovely pressies, and a great meal out at the Wig and Pen. Yesterday was Dan's birthday, and his present was a trip to London. Of course, it was a great day out for me, as I had to go with him....

So, started with a train journey to London - first class of course, and if you buy an advance ticket, it costs about 25quid!  Then a quick dash across London to Olympia for the Dr Who experience. Fab couple of hours. A 30 minute "experience" which involved rescuing the Doctor, being exterminated by Daleks, fighting Cybermen in 3D, and driving the Tardis.  Then a great exhibition including the costumes of all the Doctors, monsters, companions, sets, props, costumes, sound effects and special effects.

Back to Covent Garden and a meal in Cabana   - a Brazilian restaurant where you get served from skewers of different meats and veg, followed by frozen yoghurt. They even had a card system on the table where if you had it on green they brought you more, and red if you needed a rest.

Finally we went to see Rock of Ages - a musical based on 80s rock hits at the Shaftesbury Theatre. You could tell what sort of show it was going to be when they gave you plastic lighters which lit up so you could wave them during the slow stuff!  It was fab. I'm a sucker for musicals, but this was really good!  Standing up singing and clapping sort of good.

There's lots more pictures of the day here.

The 39 Steps

In London at the moment for two conferences, and luckily had a free night last night. When that happens I like to treat myself to a night out on my own, usually a meal and a show. Last night I walked from my hotel in Lancaster Gate to Piccadilly Circus, which entailed walking almost the full length of both Oxford Street and Regent Street. So many shops, so little time! I was on my way to The Criterion Theatre to see The 39 Steps, on a recommendation from a friend and my son.

The theatre was lovely, very old and originally a Music Hall, the corridors lined with original tiles. The play was, well different. Definitely following the story of John Buchan's famous novel, but in the form of a comedy. Only 4 actors, one playing Richard Hannay, one the 3 female parts, and the other two playing, well everything else. Policemen, farmers, hotel staff... You name it. Hilariously funny and well worth seeing.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

We Will Rock You

Staying in London tonight for a Gartner Summit tomorrow. One advantage of being in London on your own is being able to get tickets for shows - single tickets are dead easy to get. I decided I wanted to see We Will rock You - the musical written by Ben Elton and based on Queen songs, and bought one last night and was on the 4th row in the stalls. Great view - could practically touch the cast!

Because I've worked backstage at theatres including The Lyceum and The Crucible as well as our own Drama Studio (albeit with amateur companies), I have a habit of watching the technology, from the guys who climb the ladders on the rigging to operate the spotlights, to the trapdoors in the stage, the scene changes and the musical director conducting the cast from the TVs fixed to the circle. Sometimes I have to force myself to watch the show. Not that it was difficult with this one.

This was a fantastic show, if you love Queen. Set in the future when live music has been banned and the only radio station plays synthesised music - Radio Gaga - it tells the story of Galileo and Scaramouche (aka Scary Bush) trying to find rock and roll and real instruments. The libretto was panned by the critics, but I loved it, probably because I've always liked Ben Elton's sense of humour. The cast were great, and made good use of a huge stage and a very minimal set. The choreography was by Arlene Phillips and was definitely reminiscent of Hot Gossip.  As a lifelong Coronation Street fan it was great to see Curly (Kevin Kennedy) playing Pop - I hadn't realised what a good singer he was. Don't remember him crooning to Raquel! I thought the women were particularly good.  Sarah French's (Scaramouche) performance of Somebody to Love was nearly as good as Freddie. By the end we were all on our feet.

I'm a real sucker for musicals, and this was a great night!