Priscilla Queen of the Desert

This show was spectacular.  Our cheap Theatre for a Tenner tickets backfired a little when we found ourselves in the top balcony with practically a birds-eye view of the stage. Not ideal. We quickly realised why they were pushing the Upgrade Tickets for a Tenner so hard, and took advantage of it. From that somewhat grumpy start (on my part), our aspect vastly improved.

Men with smoother, sexier legs than me rocked the stage with their dancing, singing and general cavorting, through multiple costume changes. The larger-than-life characters were right at home on the
stage, (perhaps not surprisingly), and the smart as a whip one-liners seemed to be funnier than when said in the film. The costumes were all-out in size, cheek, and glitter. The wigs alone were works of art that looked terribly heavy to wear and a little unstable to dance in. The whole composition was a visual delight, making it the show I have most wanted to photograph. Perhaps others have felt the same - which is why they were checking bags at the door.

We laughed our way through the first half - particularly the scene in Broken Hill. A cheer went up when Ray Meagher who played Alf Stewart in Home and Away came on with the line "Stone the flamin' crows, what the hell's going on here" - or something to that effect - to close the first half.

The second half was marginally subdued as more of the personal aspects of the plot were explored, but continued to deliver the laughs and costume changes. At the end of the show, it appeared to be a full
standing ovation from the audience.

If you enjoyed the movie, then I believe you will enjoy the stage show more. If you enjoy a show with spectacle, visual and audio delights, and a good laugh - this will suit you down to the ground.

Nice Bristol

We spent a really enjoyable weekend with Dave (who Lee had played with on Chilly) and Laura (his new wife), in Bristol. A pair of very easy-going hosts, they picked us up from the train station Saturday morning, and we spent a couple of hours cleaning the front of their house, demolishing a rickety lean-to out the back and scraping old paint off the window-sill. The time it took to demolish was faster than the paint off the window-sill, but made the greatest difference.  They seemed really pleased with how much we were all able to do in a short time and after a tasty deli lunch, we made the most of the sunny
weather and went exploring Bristol.

We walked down the street, through the park, saw the lock that enabled the floating dock and a swinging bridge that allowed the boats through, the river at low tide, the spanning suspension bridge, the tower, picked up some patisserie treats for 'pudding', stopped for a hot drink, and wandered home along the river, which was running a bit higher.  We stuffed ourselves on home-grown pumpkin curry and our patisserie treats before being treated to large-screen David Attenborough.

This morning we had a little sleep-in before heading down to the riverside for a breakfast sandwich and to explore a little of M shed - a dockside shed filled with the people and places that make up the history of Bristol. The morning quickly disappeared and it was time to go, pack and board our train before we knew it.

I left feeling relaxed and rejuvenated (only a little bit sore) with a couple of winning photos to share (although, mostly taken by Lee - I told him he wasn't allowed to get better than me..). All in all, a comfortable weekend filled with easy conversation with Good People.

Million Dollar Quartet

We took our seats to the sound of the new fangled rock 'n' roll music of the time and watched the ushers dancing along and the audience peering at their tickets short-sightedly to work out where they were
sitting.

The story was of one night at Sun Records, where the owner, Sam Phillips, brought together 4 stars that he had discovered: Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Elvis Presley. In the first half, characters were introduced bit by bit, with the backstory of how they had introduced themselves to Sam Phillips and what he had seen in them. I found myself unconsciously tapping my foot in time to the
music or dancing in my seat.

The premise for the show was a bit thin, but it was an excellent way to hear the hits from the four stars. The actors appeared to struggle with the accent and Elvis, in particular, had a tough gig, turning on and off the showmanship. Jerry Lee Lewis, on the other hand, was set to On the whole time - it was entertaining to watch his larger-than-life performance as he instructed the other stars about hits (before he even had one).

I would recommend this show to people who wanted to see a performance of the music from these stars. I came out singing, "I keep a close watch on this heart of mine.." (I walk the line - Johnny Cash).

The Cast
Carl Perkins - Steven bor
Johnny Cash - derek hagen
Jerry Lee Lewis - ben goddard
Elvis Presley - Kevin mains
Jay Perkins (bass) - phil bloomberg
Fluke (drummer) - Adam Riley
Sam Phillips - Bill Ward
Dyanne - Francesca Jackson

Seen or heard anything strange?

Last night the doorbell rang at 12:15. It was the police. They had found a man 20m from our front door and were wondering if we had heard or seen anything strange. I had no useful information for them that I could determine.

Soon after I realised what an insular life I lead, as I walked home from the station (not passing the place he was found) thinking about the cold, about training that night, thinking about what I was planning to eat for tea, and not noticing a thing around me. (All that thinking is probably generous too.)

This a reminder that the whole world does not revolve around ourselves and that life is fragile.

Hampton Court Palace and Bushy Park

Today I enjoyed a relaxing and informative day at Hampton Court, one of the entertaining palaces of Henry VIII. I was joined by one of my Iceni friends, Caroline.

Together we explored the Tudor kitchens and great hall, the history of Henry's wives in his quest for a son and then the Baroque half of the castle, updated by George and ??  Before they ran out of money.

From there we went outside to explore some of the gardens and the maze. There were several sections of formal gardens as well as Woodland parks. I really enjoyed the woodland parks with the exciting array autumn colours. Another highlight of the garden was a small, but as always, exciting, maze.

From there we had some lunch in the cafe - not surprisingly a pie - after all the ones we had seen in the kitchens, and then stretched our legs in Bushy Park.

Bushy Park
The feel of cold, misty rain against my face, the drag of camera bag on my shoulder.
The smell of woodsmoke and damp earth.
The bellows of horny stags sound over the top of the crunching of autumn leaves under my feet and the constant drone of traffic.
The darkening twilight, turning vivid reds and oranges to murky browns on the trees, the ground and the expansive, ground-covering ferns. The deer blend into the environment, until they startle, splash across an otherwise still stream. One stag has stolen two doe, while the alpha is chasing others. A lonesome stag returns the bellow, head tipping back, antlers along its back to release a deep, guttural mourning.
The lights of distant cars and houses seem nothing to do with this existence.

Bournville and Birmingham - Cadbury Factory!

Attempting to make the most of our few remaining weekends in London, today I headed to Bournville and Cadbury World.
Perhaps it was because I was on my own that I took a pessimistic view of the place. Each of the exhibits has been added piecemeal as the demands of the audiences over time changed. As a result, the whole experience is repetitive and non-cohesive. The exhibits:

• Trace the history of chocolate and Cadbury (mix of models and hologram video) 
• Takes you through the process of how chocolate is made at Cadbury (animation);
• Takes you through the process of how particular chocolates are made (creme egg, buttons, orange cream, nut chocolate bar; video);
• Get your picture taken with Cadbury images (against a green screen);
• How chocolate is made at Cadbury (video);
• View of the wrapping and packing machines (real life);
• A history of Cadbury's television ads (while queuing for);
• A small world mini train ride through mechanised cocoa bean characters (who helped with the discovery of dairy milk chocolate);
• Demonstrations of the techniques of hand-made chocolate (real people) and a shot of liquid chocolate;
• Advertisement avenue (a fact-learning exercise with the history of advertisements followed by some fun, interactive, movement games. Eg squash the chocolate by jumping on it);
• Out through the shop and outside past the playground to Essence where you learnt about the 'magic' discovery of Cadbury Dairy milk chocolate and are then treated to a cup of liquid chocolate from the tubes with your choice of additives (I had wine gums).

It is recommended to set aside 3h for a visit. My visit was close to that and I was left with the impression that it was one long queue while they kept you occupied by feeding you information in lead up to the good bit.. Which never really came.

Please take this review with a grain of salt:

1. I was on my own
2. Lee wasn't there
3. It is a working factory that just happens to make chocolate

After over-purchasing at the factory shop I explored some of the well-kept village that the Cadbury family had created for their factory workers - a factory in a garden. My favourite was the Ladies
Garden (the Gents were using theirs for football).

After that, I caught the train back into Birmingham for a look around.  All the things I had heard about it were true: industrial and grimy, that they are trying to clean up. The entire centre of the city
appeared to be shops, and plenty of them.  While this in itself provides an interesting photographic subject, I struggled to see it after the factory in a garden and a week of travelling the French countryside with Mum and Dad.  I'm sure if I had more time to adjust and explore (when it wasn't getting dark), I could have found the gems in Birmingham that I was looking for.

Sent while mobile

Blood Brothers

As an ongoing aim to see as much while we're in London as we can, I have bought tickets to multiple theatre shows, the first of which was tonight - Blood Brothers.  (Spoiler alert.)

As the musicians played the first few notes I heard the conversation of the young couple behind me,
"..well, it's a musical"
"Why did we come to a musical? 
"Did you know it was a musical? 
"I wouldn't have come if I'd known it was a musical."
Teehee!


It is a story of twin brothers split at birth and brought up by two very different families in and around Liverpool.  It was a funny show for the first half, particularly when one of the main characters farted at a particularly opportune moment, and the others on stage couldn't recover.   

The end however was teary for me and I could only imagine what it would be like for a mother to be in those shoes.

A cast of 13 did a great job, in particular the Mother, Mrs Johnstone (Amy Robbins) and the son Mickey (Stephen Palfreman), although Edward (?) did well too.  The Narrator (Philip Stewart) had an excellent voice, but unfortunately was drowned out a bit by the instrumentals that were a little too loud.

I would recommend the show to most people.