The Best of Times Are Now

Saturday 31st October, La Cage Aux Folles (starring John Barrowman)

I am not sure I have enough superlatives to describe how wonderful this production was, in the man's own words, fantastic fantastic fantastic. In years to come I will be remembering this show and JB's performance, it was all truly magnificent. Quite simply John Barrowman was born to play the part of Albin and boy did he have fun playing it, and we had fun watching him.

We had managed to secure ourselves 2nd row seats for this one and it was so worth the cost. We headed off to London and had planned to park at Stanmore, which is one of our usual stopping places for getting into London, about 45 minutes to drive to Stanmore from home and then about the same on the tube into central London and it works out so much cheaper too. We had a minor hitch in that there were no tubes running from Stanmore, so we headed out of the car park, spotted a sign for Harrow and Wealdstone and followed that, less than 10 minutes later we were parked up at H&W tube station and were on a direct tube line to Charing Cross where we were planning to stop to find a restaurant on The Strand - so we hadn't lost out at all and now have another way to get into London too.

As it was late Saturday afternoon we decided not to mess about too much and headed to Pizza Express, where you can't go wrong really and suprisingly we were seated within 5 minutes. Jamie had dough balls (what else?), I tried the Formaggio Bread, which was yummy and Mike had Bruschetta con Funghi, which was also lovely - Mike and I tend to swap bits and pieces whenever we go out. We also got some cheesy garlic bread, which Jamie also demolished. For mains Jamie had the American (Pepperoni), Mike the Sloppy Giuseppi and I had Lasagne - all of which were good. For pud Mike and I had Tiramasu (what else could you have) and Jamie had the Fudge Cake. Where Jamie puts it all I don't know, but he is going to cost a fortune to feed when he is about 14 (ha ha!!!!!). I had my Pinot Grigio Blush (my usual at PE) and Mike the Perroni, Jamie had apple juice. Considering it was tea-time Saturday the service was excellent our waiter totally charming and we had a lovely enjoyable meal. Plus from PE it was less than 5 minutes walk to the theatre, what more could we have asked for.

The Playhouse Theatre is just near the River Thames, so it was already a pretty magical place, and the theatre itself was lovely, old, opened in 1882 and wonderfully decorated, small and intimate with fantastic views from almost every angle I could see. I love going to a new theatre, especially in London as they have such a wonderful history attached to them and The Playhouse is no different. Sir Alec Guiness made his professional debut there, it played home to the Old Vic Company after WWII when their theatre had been bombed, many of the greats of English theatre have played there Sir Peter Ustinov, Sir Michael Redgrave, Dame Thora Hird amongst many others. In 1950 the BBC took the theatre over and it became a studio for Radio Shows such as Hancock's Half House and The Goon Show and The Beatles and Rolling Stones also performed for radio from there.

After laying dormant for 10 years it reopened in 1985 and as well as playing home to The Peter Hall Company, as well as productions starring Leo McKern, Sir Ian McKellen, Liam Neeson, Juliette Binoche, Jackie Mason and Al Murray, a diverse group indeed. More recently it has seen Kristin Scott Thomas, Val Kilmer, Bob Hoskins and Ian Richardson walk its boards and now its La Cage Aux Folles. So a lovely theatre with an extensive theatrical history.

The story of La Cage Aux Folles, which is set in the south of France, is the story of an unusual but very loving family. Georges and Albin have been a long time partnership and they run a club together where Albin performs as Zaza. Together they have brought up Georges' son Jean-Michel with Albin being his mother in everything but name. But Jean-Michel has fallen in love with the daughter of the bigoted local politician whose aim is to close down all the 'disreputable' clubs of which La Cage is one. Fearing that his unusual upbringing may frighten off his lover Anne and bring the wrath of her father down on them, Jean-Michel asks for Georges to abandon Albin, if only for the duration of the in-laws to visit. Thus the story is set for both the pathos and comedy of the situation.

Yes John Barrowman is an entertainer with a capital E, yes he was born to play this part but more than that, he has something very very special and you cannot take your eyes off him when he is on stage. He filled the stage with real charisma, passion, star quality, x-factor, whatever it is he has it in bucket loads, lorry loads. I am so glad I had the opportunity to see him in this production as it was something very very special, magical.

Albin, is tempremental and very high maintenance and does not take kindly to being cast aside, he does after all love Jean-Michel just as a mother would. He cannot understand and fears the changes and worries about the commitment of his long time partner and their child. But he is also who he is and cannot change that, and that brings on the highlight of the first half, a song which John Barrowman has claimed as his own, "I Am What I Am". I have heard him sing this song many times, several live and yet this time he imbued it with a whole extra layer of pain and passion.

His co-star Australian actor Simon Burke complemented him beautifully and they had a strong rapport on stage, which kept the whole performance this side of pantomime, yet at times, you could see the devilment in Barrowman's eyes. Burke too was superb and had just the touch of sophistication and gentility, the perfect foil for Barrowman as Georges is the perfect foil for Albin.


In the second half Albin pretends to be Jean-Michel's uncle, until Jean-Michel's fickle birth mother lets him down yet again and fails to turn up to meet his fiancee and future in-laws. Albin comes to the rescue and dons his dress again this time to play the perfect mother, in Chanel suit and pearls. Building up to the highlight of the second half with the rousing "The Best of Times", I was singing that song all the way home!! It was truly joyous. I won't spoil the ending but it is of course funny and loving.

The singing and dancing was all brilliant, out of the La Cagelles a mentioned must go to Kristopher Mitchell (I think) who played Mercedes (orange dress) I hope, and the boredom of his character he portrayed brilliantly, also Syrus Lowe Albin's butler/maid who milked his character for all it was worth and everyone else who were wonderful. The ensemble cast was excellent and at times a little naughty. A couple of times I thought has this gone just a bit too far for Jamie, but he loved it all, Mike loved it too so it was a winner all round for the O'Connors. Oh and a bit of gossip, when I went to the loo in the interval I saw Scott who is JB's partner, who is as equally handsome as Barrowman himself. John Barrowman's parents were there too, they have been at a couple of other shows we have seen him in too, what wonderful supportive parents, you can see how proud they are of him.

This show was a truly magical experience and in my top 2 of all time musicals I have seen.

We were on such a high after the show that we had a wander onto the Millenium Bridge and looking out onto the Thames at 10.45 on a Saturday night is wonderful too. The London Eye, the old GLC building and the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben were all light up and looked magnificent. Below is Jamie and I on the bridge ......

Mike and Jamie, Mike doing what every good husband should, holding my coat .....

a look down the length of the bridge, with Mike and Jamie in the foreground, I think this is the bridge which was featured at the very start of Ashes to Ashes. And then we headed for the tube, where I was still singing!!


It was a magical evening and one we will remember for a very long time.

Ciao

Sue

XX

Reading challenge 9/16 - currently reading Lovers and Players by Jackie Collins

The Hills Are Alive - The Sound of Music - Milton Keynes Theatre

On Tuesday evening, we all went to see the Sound of Music starring Connie Fisher and Michael Praed (from Dynasty!). It was very enjoyable indeed. All the performances were incredibly good and even Mike enjoyed it - he has a habit of falling asleep at the theatre!









Of course all the songs were there Climb Ev'ry Mountain, My Favourite Things, Do-Re-Mi (which Jamie and I sing in the car quite often!) and my favourite Edelweiss.







I was very impressed with the way they portrayed the political events in the story and brought a sense of menace from the Nazi's, and the way the audience became the audience at the music festival. The set worked well and the costumes were colourful and looked spot on.








It was interesting to see Michael Praed, Prince Michael of Moldova from Dynasty (I used to love it!!!!) and I was impressed by his singing , I always used to love him in Robin Hood too. Connie Fisher, well she was good, but not for me outstanding, a very solid and workmanlike performance, but for me she appeared to lack charisma.








The children on the other hand were absolutely wonderful, the stage really did light up when they came on, they were funny, brilliant at their roles and sang wonderfully. For me they were totally magical and were the highlight of the show.

Overall a very enjoyable evening.

Ciao

Sue

XX

Reading challenge 9/16 - currently reading Lovers and Players by Jackie Collins

Spandex Waistcoats or Spandau Ballet

Spandau Ballet at the LG Arena (NEC as was), Birmingham - Sunday25th October

This was our first visit to the NEC since Metallica in March and our first look at the revamped arena, and we were suitably impressed with the arena itself. It has an airport lounge like entrance hall, very spacious and a range of food and drink vendors with everything from fish and chips and pie and mash to champagne, wine and cheese, and almost everything in between, so everyone is catered for. The jacket potatoes at the NEC were always pretty good and I can confirm they are still as good, Mike had a burger which seemed pretty substantial too. Whilst the prices were more than the high street they were not exhorbitant as both came with a drink and we had change from a tenner.

The main problem we found was that as you always expect at the NEC you have to park somewhere over near Coventry and get the bus service to the arena, and pay £8.00 for the priveledge too. The buses used to drop you right outside the arena but now they drop you well away from the arena itself and now you access the arena from the new entrance which is a 10 plus minute walk to and from where the buses drop you. Plus we were not told where the buses would pick us up so after the concert lots of people were looking for the buses. We found this strange as a road runs alongside the arena but that seemed to be solely for taxi's and a new corporate area.

So overall great new entrance and catering, but serious issues with the parking.

Now for the concert, some pictures and the set list below. I have always liked what Spandau did in the 80's so I'm loathed to say really that it didn't travel. It was for me just a little bit too much style over substance, I guess it always was, but these days I am looking for a little more from music and especially live peformances. Tony Hadley sang well, Gary Kemp appeared to have rediscovered his London accent, Steve Norman looked amazing and Martin Kemp was the crowd favourite, probably a few of the many many ladies in the audience were Eastenders fans! I have seen a lot of 80's music this year and this concert was not up with the best of them, but I am pleased to say I have seen Spandau Ballet. Sad but true, so true ....!!

The Photos (pleased with some of these)

Great to hear those early ones from the New Romantic days, like the new single too, bit dull mid set, picked up again with Through the Barricades. Would have liked to have known the DJ pre their set was Rusty Egan before the end of the show!

The Setlist

To Cut A Long Story Short

The Freeze

Highly Strung

Only When You Leave

I'll Fly For You

How Many Lies

Virgin

She Loved Like Diamond

Once More

Round and Round

Man in Chains

With the Pride

Through the Barricades

Instinction

Communication

Lifeline

Paint Me Down

Chant No1

True

Fight for Ourselves

Gold

Ciao

Sue

XX

Reading challenge 9/16 - currently reading Lovers and Players by Jackie Collins
Jamie's Reading challenge 10/12 - currently reading Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull by James Luceno
SLYMI - 1/52

Friars Again - Stiff Little Fingers, Penetration and The Disco Students

Mostly photos* again for this one - it's Friars time again. For a detailed review of the gig and loads and loads of photos check out the Friars website at http://aylesburyfriars.co.uk/slfoctober2009.html

It was back into Friars mode again today as it was the second gig in the Friars comeback. Still feeling a little yucky I wasn't looking forward to it, but as it turned out I had a good time even if I didn't get to see too much of the bands!

The souvenir edition of The New Roxette for the event ... well worth checking out their website too at http://www.thenewroxette.co.uk/

Mike headed over in the afternoon to catch up with some friends and get some shots for the website. The guest list organisation was so much better this time with our Access All Areas passes ready and waiting for us - sorry, but I still love wearing them. What does it get you - well for Mike who needs to be here there and everywhere it does help. But this time the best thing it did was missing the loo queue and getting onto the balcony, sadly it didn't help with the queue at the bar!!

Almost ready to go ...

We caught up with all of the brilliant people Mike has met through Friars and heard about some of the aggro from the afternoon, which was just starting as Mike left. Punks will be punks - well no as there were some very punk looking people who were shall we say middle aged and who were very friendly.

Again the best aspect of the whole event was the atmosphere and the reunions. To say it is moving when you see people who haven't seen each other in 20 plus years, who have been brought together by music, is an understatement. It is hard to explain how much joy, enthusiasm, camaraderie, fun, pleasure there was and people were just having a cracking good time. Check out BucksTV as they have a feature on it too, the way people talk about Friars it almost brings a tear to the eyes - http://www.buckstv.co.uk/buckstv/music.html

Some well known punks, back in the day!!

Mike and I were busy on the Membership desk with another Sue and her brother and there were even more people joining this time, largely because the event was sold out. I had my photo taken by 2 young chaps who thought it was a bit of an event getting their Friars membership cards, I guess that encapsulates it all really enthusiasm for live music and a fantastic atmosphere to watch the music.

Sadly I missed The Disco Students set entirely being on the Membership Desk, but Mike said it went down very well and Simon Cheetham was pleased to receive his Friars Award. They also have a single out at the moment "I Met My Girlfriend At a Friars Gig" with David Stopps doing his intro! check them out at http://www.discostudents.com/ - you may spot a resemblance to some of the Friars artwork too.

Penetration were next....

singer Pauline Murray, one of the leading ladies of punk ....

Mike presenting Penetration with their Friars Award - Pauline was totally bowled over by it ....

Here she is with it in the dressing room

Oh NO! They've let him loose with the microphone again!!

David Stopps surprised Mike with a Lifetime Achievement Award for his work on the website, well deserved too, if I may say so. He is in very good company artists such as Genesis have also been awarded this, there are not too many of them around!

Jake Burns cutting the cake with Sarah Woods it's baker - doesn't it look fab ....

mmm ... and tasted good too!

Ally McMordie from SLF ....



Jake Burns, looking slightly different to my memory, but still sounding exactly the same, well apart from his bad cold, chest, flu type thing which caused them to have to pull a couple of gig either side of Friars, but I suspect it would have taken a lot for them to miss that one, it plays an important part in SLF history. Hanx for the memory!

What else can I say, well perhaps only what I overheard a punter saying, "It's just like the old days" and everybody loved it. So what now, only a few weeks to recover and then its Kid Creole and the Coconuts and China Crisis - we are moving into the 80's for that one!

Ciao

Sue

XX

Reading challenge 9/16 - currently reading Lovers and Players by Jackie Collins
Jamie's Reading challenge 10/12 - currently reading Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull by James Luceno
SLYMI - 1/52

* some are mine, some courtesy of him indoors website - don't forget to check the website out at www.aylesburyfriars.co.uk

College Week 5 - This Week was Good!

The best week at college so far .....

Monday

Here is my hand tied which I hate, although the wrapping is good, everything looks to be in the wrong place for me and I seem to have a line of foliage through the arrangement. Not happy with that one. Taking photos of the work and then looking back at them is a wonderful way to assess the design as so often you can pick up on something with the camera lens that you cannot with your eye, so I find it a great learning tool.

Student Council

On Monday I attended the Student Council, along with D, one of the younger students on the course. I felt being on the Council would be a good way to get some of the issues which we are finding a bit of a pain aired, and it was. I can't believe how much I have changed over the past couple of years. Going to a meeting and speaking out in front of 40+ people would have crippled me but now, hey I go say my piece and that is that. I aired the issues that were bugging some of us oldies in the class, such as parking, council tax letters, lack of mature student provision or activities amongst others. So now I am waiting for the next meeting , next half term to get feedback on the points which I raised. It was an interesting experience.

Tuesday

By Tuesday I was not feeling too well and was struggling with the cold that Mike has had for a couple of weeks, well until it developed into swollen glands, chest infection and other bits, he is still not too well now. I haven't been anywhere near as ill as Mike and ensured I got into college, even if I wasn't firing on all cylinders, so to speak! I am pretty disappointed with my symmetrical arrangements too, not a good one, didn't flow at all so think it is really pants. I will have to try a lot harder with the next one! It even looks worse in the photo than it did in reality!! Poor shape, uneven colour mixture, dominant foliage etc etc, I won't go on.

Wednesday

Very pleased with this one though and think it looks pretty good, a couple of things to improve on but it was a first attempt and signed off at first attempt too. I would want more colour contrast if possible, and I would put the main flowers in with some string to guide me to keep a straight line, which I think may make the arrangement look just that little bit better. None of us were very happy with the size of the Akito roses this week. They looked beautiful but were just too small and didn't have the impact that they should have done, they were not powerful enough to be the focal point.

Managed to drag Jamie away from a computer long enough for him to do a jigsaw, hooray!

Ciao

Sue

XX

Reading challenge 9/16 - currently reading Lovers and Players by Jackie Collins
Jamie's Reading challenge 10/12 - currently reading Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull by James Luceno
SLYMI - 1/52

Saturday and Sunday - Cricket and Funerals and Flowers

After all of the usual stuff, the weekend was taken up watching some cricket and working on the funeral unit of my Floristry Course.


I had thought I may not like that aspect of the course, but actually I am really enjoying it and finding the work involved in the funeral tributes very therapeutic, relaxing or whatever word is appropriate. There are two styles to funeral work the loose style and the based style. Once you have grasped the style of the design and the technique to put it together then you just have to change the size or shape of tribute and the rest is concentration and hoping the design flows. I often feel that once you start a design, it just comes together, it all flows very naturally and then sometimes, less often thankfully it just doesn't and no matter where you place a flower or bit of foliage it just never seems right. The designs which flow are brilliant and fun and those which don't, well you just have to work that bit harder to get them right.



The loose styles are the single and double ended spray, open wreath, loose posy pad and cross which we have done so far and I particularly like the sprays and crosses, as someone said in class you get into the zone and just put the thing together. So this weekend I typed up a lot of my class notes and put together some information for the assignment I will have to complete on this unit later in the year. I am pleased with the progress made on this unit now and I suspect a lot of the techniques used will move onto the wedding unit too. At college we made the double ended spray and I brought it home and put it in the bay window, but a funeral double ended spray is the same design as a wedding top table arrangement.



I am looking forward to having a go at a chaplet in this unit, as I think they look particularly tasteful, although of course as a Florist, personal taste has to stay out of it. I still feel my work flows better if I like the design and colour scheme but I guess that is the same with any job or work, or anything really, you do the things you enjoy with more passion than the things you don't.



And just a word here about Stephen Gately, it was very sad to hear of his death as he seemed to be such a nice and talented guy. We never saw him on stage, but he seemed to have found a niche outside of his boy band persona and would have gone on to greater roles too, I suspect. Whilst never been an out and out Boyzone fan, I certainly enjoyed my fair share of their music I have found this so much more of a shock than MJ, perhaps because of his age. I also was appalled with the sections I read from the Jan Moir column and felt her comments were extremely unpleasant and to me went beyond anything which should have been written at that juncture. She is of course entitled to her opinion, although I don't share it, and there is a time and place for it, but that was not it. And the funeral was very moving as I was listening to it whilst working on some flower arrangements and the music was beautiful.







Ciao

Sue

XX

Reading challenge 9/16 - currently reading Lovers and Players by Jackie Collins
Jamie's Reading challenge 10/12 - currently reading Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull by James Luceno
SLYMI - 1/52

Firework Fiends and Foes

One of the things I truly hate about this time of year are the fireworks, well not actually the fireworks I love those and the fun they can bring - what is more fun than letting a few fireworks off or watching the organised displays which can be magnificent. The cold, the sparklers, the colours, the oohs and aahs, the hot soup and sausage sandwiches when you get back inside, that is all lovely. And I have some really fond memories of bonfires and fireworks in my childhood and hope we have managed to give Jamie a taste of that, even if we can't have bonfires anymore.



No what I hate is the irresponsible way some people behave when the shops start selling fireworks. As we are now approaching that time I know before long we are going to be bombarded. I am happy to hear them on the right occasions, as it can be such fun but do we need them night after night, and sometimes even in daylight.



My passionate hatred of the irresponsible behaviour comes from two aspects, one being an animal owner, I happily accept that on the night itself and often the Saturdays either side we are going to get the parities, so be it, we can accommodate that. Make sure the cat flap is locked and the cat is in, make sure the TV is on a little louder or there is music playing to drown out most of the noise. I'm a Jack Russell owner so I know she is going to bark and make a fuss, she sees it as her job to warn us and she is probably scared herself. But it is the night after night repetition of a couple of fireworks (and well really they are not that are they - they are either bangers or screechers for want of a better description).



And I know I am not alone as a pet owner who has to suffer their animals being distressed by the thoughtless behaviour of others. Perhaps the only time I am content that Mika and Nelson are no longer here is around Bonfire Night, as they both got highly distressed in their own way. Mika would go mad to get into the garden and bark and bark and bark, running from one side of the garden to the other because of the noise. Nelson on the other hand was utterly terrified and would be sick, wet himself with fear and the only place he could be was sat on my knee and even then he was distressed.



The other reason I hate it is our Asbo neighbour who thinks its fun to let a few fireworks off at any time day or night in the weeks leading up to BN and then on the night itself well he likes to start just as everyone else is finishing. This pattern was started by the brainless father, and continued by both Asbo sons, the mother even joins in. They are a family loathed by all who live around them and we are all waiting for the onslaught to start again, well I'm writing this blog as he has started already and we have had one pack of screechers things already.



And all of these people who cause such a nuisance to those people who live around them and the animals who share their lives, do we think they know what we are celebrating on Bonfire Night. I doubt it and perhaps I should give it its proper name Guy Fawkes Night. Perhaps the retailers and manufacturers need to think about their responsibility too. Fireworks seems to have got bigger and bigger and bigger, moving away from the colour and fun to being totally ostentatious, although maybe the credit crunch may stop the excesses we have seen locally in some years.



I am not even going to discuss Halloween! We thankfully will be well out of the way on Halloween as we have tickets to see the delicious Mr Barrowman in La Cage Aux Folles in London on that evening and we are looking forward to it very much indeed - we are currently deciding what to do in London for the rest of the day - Westminster Abbey maybe part of the plan.





Ciao

Sue

XX

Reading challenge 9/16 - currently reading Lovers and Players by Jackie Collins
Jamie's Reading challenge 10/12 - currently reading Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull by James Luceno
SLYMI - 1/52