Starting to Rain Now

But it held off last night for the Halle open air concert at Tatton Park. For once. It was glorious, marred only by the usual chavs in the audience talking through the music and the chav on stage (Lesley Garrett) warbling like some demented pub singer. She has a voice that hovers between being perfect for opera and great for musicals but doesn't quite hit the note for either. I'm not a fan.

But the food was good, the drink was good and the company was, as ever, superb. I really should go out with Jane & Bill more because they're really nice people (even if Jane and I will never agree on anything work related). Maybe I should take their advice and sign up for the Royal Exchange season ticket each year. One to think about...

Work... I can't even begin to tell you. No really, I can't. Karen will shout at me.

Last week at Paul & Maggie's was great. The food was divine (thank you Paul) and I met a whole load of new people and had a fun night. Paul & Maggie are lovely people too. In fact my life is full of lovely people for which I am eternally grateful.

Ma & Pa (also lovely people) are OK. Father goes into hospital on 16/08 for a cataract operation so I'll go home for a few days to help out. Mother sees her specialist on 17/08 so I'll wait around for that too. That's all. Oh apart from I have some am dram to go to tonight (yes, its Jim) which could be good.... That really is all. J x

A Week On

Time to reflect therefore on MIF 2011. I had a fantastic time. I love culture and stuff like that. The only real disappointment was Johnny Vegas. Nice idea but really badly written and poor execution. The highlights were Maria Abramovich - just incredible and indescribable and Damon Albarn - beautiful to look at and to listen to. Surprise hit was Macbeth. In a cave. With an Irish accent.

The week back in work has been the usual bollocks from the usual suspects. I started the week with 135 unread e-mails and ended the week with 97 unread e-mails. And I read about a thousand during the week (maybe a little exaggeration there but not much!). Did 2 helpline shifts making some new friends along the way, had dinner with the lovely Sarah from Leeds at Felicinis - its been so long! - and did a course on public speaking in Leeds. Which was fun.

Off to the lovely Paul & Maggie's tonight for a meal. They're always good fun (albeit that they live in Flixton - sorry Maggie). I have to take my own martini although they do supply vodka...

DD was round in the week to watch The Apprentice final which was fun. Poor Helen although she only had herself to blame. Was reviewing twitter whilst it was on and when it came to the boardroom and she changed her business plan before our very eyes, someone tweeted "Bollocks. I'll make biscuits then. Whatever" which really made me laugh. Perhaps it only works if you read it at the time though. Didn't think Torchwood lived up to the standard of the opening episode this week. Although the gay steward joke was quite good. That's all. J x

MIF 7 (ish)

Not really part of MIF but went to see Tree of Life by Terrence Malick with DD at The Cornerhouse yesterday evening. After a bit of a mix up over times and dates we picked up our tickets and took our seats for 2 and a half hours of utter nonsense. Brad Pitt looked dead cute though and the child actors were excellent. But the dinosaurs? And as we remarked afterwards you can't beat some good shots of molten lava in a film about family life...

*Apprentice Spoiler Alert* Then back to my place to watch the final of The Apprentice. I only mention this because it allows me to share a tweet from someone during Helen's volte face on Business Plans. They suggested she was saying "Bollocks. I'll make biscuits then. Whatever". It made us laugh. Back to work today (sort of) with a training course in Leeds. That's all. J x

MIF 6

2 days and what a Wagner-fest it turned out to be. Friday kick-off at 1930 (after a meal at new restaurant Grill on New York Street - we'll definitely be going back there) started with a "play" explaining the background to Die Walkure. At least that was what we thought it would be and as the director was Neil Bartlett, expectations were high. However, it was really disappointing. Essentially it was 3 actors reading extracts from Wagner's diaries and contemporary accounts of his work. Interesting as an academic exercise (no doubt) but not what we were hoping for. Luckily the synopses in the programme told us all we needed to know. Act 1 followed the interval and gosh, what a twisted, mixed-up world old Norse mythology was. Turns out the "hero" in this part falls in love with and marries his twin sister. Turns out later that their father was actually King of the Gods (Wotan) and so it was therefore probably OK.

Day 2 was more of a challenge. Kick-off happened at 1530 with an announcement by Sir Mark Elder (our conductor) that Wotan's voice wasn't performing too well. Luckily, he told us, "we have a Wotan in a car heading up the M6 so if it gives out the performance can still go on"! As it turned out, Wotan managed to make it through. Act 2 is really complicated stuff (our hero ends up dead, betrayed by his father whose wife insists that he betray him - not because the brother and sister have married and conceived a child but because the sister left her husband to do this - apparently the more heinous sin). Anyway, Act 2 is about 2 hours long and much the best of the three I felt.

Then it was a 75 minute interval so back to DD's for cocktails and canapes - this worked really well I thought. Act 3 includes that very famous (and stirring) Ride of the Valkyries music. However, looking at the surtitles for this bit, they're not actually riding off to war as the stirring music might suggest but rather just chatting about their horses - a sort of Norse Pony Club gathering. Quite incongruous. However, during this bit Wotan disowns his daughter (Brunhilde - who in this production was magnificent) and condemns her to sleep on a rock until she gets married. Bizarre stuff. This Act goes on a bit as it takes ages for Wotan to put her to sleep so there's not much story happening. Then off to Rain Bar for drinks. Great fun.

I thought the Wagner was enjoyable and interesting and I'd really like to see it "staged" properly by a good opera company - maybe the Royal Opera.

That's all. J x Apart from to say thank you to Andrea for the lovely card.

MIF 5

Well, Victoria Wood was Victoria Wood. All the classic signs and trademarks were there although if I'm honest, it felt a little like unfinished business. Great idea - drawing parallels between kids expressing themselves through music and them doing the same when they were middle-aged because they couldn't say what they wanted to in 60s Britain. Highlights included a song about dining out at a Berni Inn (we journey into / our Berni Inn to / have a lovely meal...) and one about sexual frustration (I have a box of sex tricks / that make me hum like a Scalextrix ...) but not a lot else. The fat girl was good though. And Ms Wood was 4 rows in front of us in the audience so it would have been rude to boo.

It was very much a local crowd unlike a lot of the other stuff in the Festival and I think that was pretty much the point of it. I expect to see it developed further and then re-done as TV show and it will be all the better for the extra time spent on it. Out to Alchemist afterwards for drinks which is always good fun. Wagner tonight (plays Darth Vader music in head as can't hum any Wagner. Yet). That's all. J x

MIF 4

OMG. What an utterly utterly fabulous experience. The Life and Death of Marina Abramovich will be one of my most memorable theatre experiences. Ever. Its like nothing I have ever seen before. Part theatre, part musical, part performance art. It just defies description. At one point I almost cried and it takes a lot to get me to that stage in a theatre (it tends to happen more often at films). It was breathtaking, heart-breaking, stimulating, thought-provoking, mesmerising theatre. As I said I've seen nothing like it before. Loved it.

Lesley was less sure...

That's all. Victoria Wood tonight. J x

MIF 3

Well, Macbeth was fantastic. As I said, it was performed in a cave and "in promenade". The cave was bloody freezing (but we had been warned about this and therefore taken along warm clothes). But the play was spectacular. Witches work particularly well in a cave! They had cut the play down so that it only lasted an hour but all the essential bits were there. The cast were unknown but very good once you got used to a Macbeth with an Irish accent.

But they all appeared all over the cave and also in and amongst the audience (about 25 of us). Macbeth was stood right in front of me looking into my eyes whilst he was saying that he was about to slaughter the wife and kids of Macduff. Honestly, a chill ran down my spine. It just made it all seem more real then when it happens at a distance on the stage. Really good. And the acoustics were excellent.

And what a revelation Buxton is. Really pretty little town an hour's train journey away. It has an Opera House that puts on real opera (as well as loads of Gilbert & Sullivan) and a brilliant little cocktail bar called Monk which makes a mean vodka martini and has a cute manager called Mike. I suspect we'll be back.

Marina Abramovich tonight at The Lowry which will, I expect, be a whole other kettle of fish. The Times loved it though. Incidentally am thinking of stopping reading The Times and switching to the Independent stable of papers. Surely they can't all be corrupt? Anyway, that's all. J x

MIF 2

So last night was Johnny Vegas in a "home shopping" play type thing which, at one stage, was actually broadcast live over a home shopping network. Great idea which lacked a little in the execution I felt. The 2 supporting actors were very good but Vegas himself was disappointing and the writing could have been better - although there were some laugh out loud one-liners. And never has the word "Leeds" raised such a laugh before.

The audience was interesting - Victoria Wood and 2 of the dragons from Dragons Den and any number of pretentious media types. Overheard leaving the venue: "Oh I didn't go to the play, but I did go to the after-show party. That was good". Don't you just love them? Oh, Paul Morley was there too as he had been doing something earlier. Not sure what it is he does actually.

Tonight is Macbeth in a cave in Buxton. Not strictly part of MIF but will hopefully be fun. That's all. J x

Who Knew?

Tonight, Neptune will have travelled around the sun once since it was discovered by us 165 years ago. How fascinating is that? That's all. J x

MIF 1

So, it was Dr Dee on Saturday. The new Damon Albarn opera. Got dressed up in all my best togs - yes, including the Comme des Garcons white shirt with the random bits of tartan stitched to it. I adore that shirt but limit myself to wearing it just a few times a year so it always feels fresh. Also my new(ish) Gievenchy tux jacket. We had seats in the circle which, in retrospect, probably wasn't the best idea since the legroom is quite restricted. But thinking back, when I booked there may not have been any good seats left in the stalls. Anyway, the opera is a triumph. The music is fantastic, the subject matter very interesting and the staging out of this world. We all really really enjoyed it as did the crowd on the night - a rapturous standing ovation. Damon seemed quite chuffed.

To The Palace hotel bar for a drink afterwards (and to see if DD could stalk Damon again like 4 years ago). However, it seems like Damon had learned his lesson and steered well clear! Many VMs were drunk though and then it was off to the Molly House off Canal Street for some more. There we met up with David and Nick and then back to theirs for more vodka! Honestly, my poor liver. Have vowed to stick to beer for the rest of the week. No idea how or when I got home.

Yesterday was recovery and tonight its off to Johnny Vegas and his home shopping thing. No idea what that will be like but I'll be dressing down...! That's all. J x

Good News

So thank you one and all for your good wishes and sorry if I haven't got back to you yet. I will do.

The God that is Sean has pronounced me to be "signed off" at the 5 year point. I am immensely grateful to him, to the NHS (well, some of them), my friends, HMRC and especially my family and special friends for all that has been done for me over the last 5 years. You have all been fucking brilliant. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

However, it seems I shall be attending the Christie now on an annual basis. For this I have my father to thank. He refuses to believe that it won't come back. Thanks Dad! To be fair I do draw some comfort from the fact that will be going back once a year. And hello, by the way, to the lovely Debbie who, despite not being able to get up in time to see me in the hospital, did give me a ring when she had crawled out of bed at about midday...!

Was treated to a lovely meal at The Alchemist tonight by my chums DD, Lesley and Gill (thank you guys, I had a lovely time). Did get a discount but not on drinks. And frankly, 20% on our food bill is almost not worth having whereas 20% on the drinks bill would be a substantial amount of money. My thanks go to Steph for sorting this out though.

And that's all for now. I'm happy. Bloody hell for the NOTW stuff. Goodnight. J x

Who Knew?

That Kent could be such fun? Just got back from a long weekend in Ramsgate. Me, DD, Bryn & Michelle got a great deal on a house on the seafront in Ramsgate so off we went. Whilst there we went to Margate - the new Turner Contemporary gallery, absolutely fantastic as was the new artist's quarter with its little studios and bars and cafes. I bought some original art and DD managed to blag two rather fancy champagne glasses out of one of the barmen. We also went to Sandwich (very pretty) and Deal (impossible to park and really only saw the inside of a pub - the pier is shite too). On the way down we'd called into Leeds Castle - really nice, the maze is fantastic as are the grounds and the peacocks (no lie). The weather was absolutely gorgeous the whole time and we had some great (and one not so great) meals. The house was 5 storeys (you should see my thighs) and we all had separate bedrooms. The living room had a nice terrace that looked out over the sea and the Royal Harbour. And then it was back to work which is rubbish at the moment. But I'm off all next week sampling the delights of the Manchester International Festival. Really looking forward to it as there's some great stuff on. Expect regular reports as I'll be of work - but may be hungover!

Today is my last ever (touches wood) appointment at Christies. Yes folks, its been 5 years since the end of my cancer treatment and hopefully I'll get sign off as fully cured this morning. I'll obviously blog later and let you know. Who knew that from that first blog entry from my hospital bed this whole blog thing would grow? Might be time for a reevaluation of the purpose/worth of this blog now. Rest assured I'l let you know what's happening as soon as I do. That's all. J x