Earnest

Went to see The Importance of Being Earnest at the Library Theatre last night. As I'm sure you all know this is the theatre's last production and the theatre company will be sharing facilities at The Lowry before moving to a new permanent home at, hopefully, the Theatre Royal. Its such a shame because I love this little theatre and have seen some brilliant stuff here (Oliver Twist) as well as some rubbish (Rosencrantz & Gulderstern anyone?). Anyway, TIOBE was also their first production here as well as their last and what a fantastic production this was. Lady B was played by a man (hardly original) but it worked really well. A complete surprise when the "a handbag?" comment was delivered as a whisper. The audience virtually gasped - but it works better as an incredulous whisper rather than an over the top declamation. The cast, Algernon apart, were excellent and I laughed like a drain. Really enjoyed it. That's all. J x

Fantastic Day

Great to see Sarah. I miss her old hair though. But she looked lovely and summery in her blue polka-dot dress. And God was it hot. Thanks God for high end shopping and its air conditioning. The Louis Vuitton store was a little disappointing. Given that we've waited for about 2 years whilst they were refurbishing it I'd expected a little more. Some of the mechanised displays were cute though. Did manage to squeeze some shopping in - phew - Gucci, Miyake and Tiffany. And then off to the RA Summer Exhibition which just totally blew me away. What an absolutely brilliant, brilliant show. The hanging was just excellent and the quality of the art was just stupendous. It was my first time and I'm just really annoyed I haven't been before. But will definitely be going next year and every year from now on. The gorilla made out of wire coat hangers was a stand out piece as was the cat in a hat picture and, oooh, just too many others to mention. A nice touch was that the chap who lives opposite my Mum had his picture accepted and I saw it hanging. He'd sketched his idea on an envelope for my Mum so she now owns a valuable piece of original art - which she's very excited about. We had lunch at Dover Street Market (which is the world's trendiest shop) but the broccoli & stilton soup was just a little thick for me. We got kicked out of Vivienne Westwood because I was drinking water. And we sat in the sun in Green Park for half an hour or so. Got home exhausted but satisfied at a day well spent.

Have woken up this morning with no power - for some reason my underfloor heating in the bathroom is causing my trip switch to trip (discovered after hours of turning things on and off and seeing what happened) so now I need to find a bloody electrician.

Football today. DD is going to Barbirollis to watch. Might join her just for the experience - I'm no longer torn as to which country I want to win (I had Slovenia in the office sweep).. That's all. J x

Hot Hot Hot

Have arrived in London and am sat in Caffe Nero on the edge if heaven (Bond Street) awaiting my shopping copine who is running late with a hangover. No such problems chez moi as I am still not drinking. It's the new going out! But God it's hot down here. Let's hope the new Louis Vuitton air conditioning is working... Updates later. That's all for now. J x

And So To London...

Maria was fabulous. An opera with 2 sopranos (one playing Mary Queen of Scots, the other Elizabeth I) who have a terrific fight at the end of the first half (even though they never actually met in real life). Mary refers to Elizabeth as "that bastard child of Anne Boleyn". Apparently the 2 divas in the first ever production got so into the roles that they ended up fighting on the stage. Terrific. Unfortunately in this production, Elizabeth lost her voice and so was absent for the second half. Mary going to her execution was a fabulous aria though.

Off to London to see Sarah tomorrow for the day. We're doing Bond Street in the morning (there's a new Louis Vuitton store just opened - they've spent 2 years refurbishing it) and then off to the Summer Exhibition at The Royal Academy - there's a gorilla made entirely out of wire coat hangers! How crazy is that?

Travelling First Class, natch, now that HMRC can no longer pay for me to do it. That's all. J x

L'Opera

Off to the opera tonight. Maria Stuarda by Donizetti. No idea what it'll be like but I do like old Donizetti so am hoping to enjoy it. Spent the afternoon mentoring training at the Help Line which was good. Saw Lip Service in the week with Jim (v good). Manchester Day Parade with DD tomorrow. London next Saturday for a spot of shopping (Louis Vuitton has a new store on Bond Street). How did life get so hectic? That's all. J x

Hanging on the Line

So, its time to renew my car insurance. Direct Line very handily send you out a renewal notice that says you doesn't need to do anything to renew, they'll just charge your credit card anyway. Very handy you may think until you notice how much they want to charge you and how its about £300 more than anyone else. So you have to telephone them to tell them not to take the money from your card - and this is where the genius comes in - they keep you hanging on the telephone until you've spent about £300 anyway. Brilliant marketing ploy. Bastards. So here I am listening to the music. Its not even Vivaldi's Four Seasons (which I like) but some weird electronic stuff that's driving me up the wall. I won't be insuring with them again in a hurry... That's all. J x

Not a Lot

Have given up drinking for June. No particular reason but I'm putting on some weight and I had a letter from my liver asking for a rest! Not to be deterred by this handicap I nevertheless attended a wine tasting evening on Friday. Needless to say I tasted some wine (along with a couple of martinis) and so I have given up drinking for "the rest of June" instead... Day 2 and I'm off to a barbecue at DD's place this afternoon. This will be my first test so I'll let you know how it goes.

Absolutely nothing else to report. Although I see that there is a production of Into The Woods taking place at the Regent's Park Open Air Theatre so I'll be checking my mate Fig's schedule for that. That's all. J x

Nice Bank Holiday

Following my trip to SATC2 I joined DD to see Four Lions last night. A difficult film in many ways. You found yourself laughing at the jokes but wondering whether you should be laughing or not. Just like a lot of Chris Morris's stuff in fact. Undoubtedly he goes too far sometimes but its difficult to know when that is whilst you're actually watching something. But there's no denying that he's not afraid to tackle difficult subjects...

A somewhat more traditional bank holiday activity today (even though its no longer bank holiday it still is for civil servants as we get an extra day off for the Queen's Birthday - I wonder how long that will last!). Went to a couple of garden centres with Madam and bought plants. Planted them up this afternoon and now awaiting the rain to make them grow. Not rained much at all here today despite the forecast. Back to work tomorrow but at least it will be a short week.

Oh, and I've decided to give up drinking for June. Apart from the one night I'm at a wine tasting obviously. Just want to show myself I can do it (and consume a few less calories too hopefully). That's all. J x