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

SATC2

Better than you'd think. And some of the guys are gorgeous.... J x

Maybe its because I'm...

... a friend of DD's that I can't remember loads about yesterday! Went to London, had lovely meal in Indigo at One Aldwych followed by War Horse. Enjoyed the play and its really well staged but, as my good friend Jane warned me, you can't get away from the fact that its a kids story. And not a particularly strong kids story. I'm guessing that no-one expected it to be such a success or they might have used it more as an anti-war vehicle which they could have done by developing the darkness a bit more. But then it wouldn't have been for kids.... so you can't win, I guess. Drinks afterwards in Christopher's (Simon Callow no less sat at the other end of the bar - with some complete drunk guy) with Gill & Brian and thence home and to Barbirollis. Hangover from hell today and in this heat have done little today. We find out what £6billion in spending cuts means for HMRC tomorrow. Can hardly wait! That's all. J x

DD is back

I therefore have a hangover this morning.... J x

Lovely Lovely Lovely

Had a fantastic long weekend with young Figster. We saw Carousel (starring the lovely Jim) which was surprisingly good. Not seen it before and it has some nice songs in it. Saw A Chorus Line on Saturday which Fig actually enjoyed (having always professed to hating it previously). Not a huge audience though which was a bit disappointing. Off to Napoleaons afterwards for the usual tranny-fest. Sunday was a recovery day spent (mainly) in front of the Playstation with a brief outing to The Whitworth art gallery to see the Wallpaper exhibition - which is very good. Monday we traipsed over to the Tate in Liverpool only to discover it doesn't open on a Monday. I was really annoyed by this. A major attraction in a major city should not close on a Monday. It just smacks of old style thinking if you ask me. We live in the 21st century everybody. My taxes pay for you to be open so you owe it to me to be open. And that's all I have to say on the matter. Also some more Playstation. Fig left this morning and I've been clearing up/playing the Playstation! Not back to work until Thursday so I shall spend some time tomorrow clearing out my hall cupboard. Oh what an exciting life I lead. Its been a great break though and fantastic to spend some time with my best Southern mate. That's all. J x

Je Suis Arrivee

Have landed, voted, shopped, picked up dry cleaning and had a hair cut. Phew. I'm looking forward to Fig's visit just for the rest and relaxation... NOT! Am now settling down for a night in front of the election - keep an eye out for Fig on't telly everyone as he's at the count in Brighton counting all those Labour votes as Greens... Come on Nick! That's all. J x

We Can See Clearly Now

It seems the ash cloud has cleared and that flights are leaving Faro as normal (flightstats.com has my plane taking off 13 minutes late but landing in Manchester on time). It seems Figgy and I will get to experience the joy that is A Chorus Line after all. I bet he's wetting himself with the excitement of it all. The only disappointment in all this is that I had to miss the visit of the delightful Ms Ferguson to Manchester. Still there'll be another time I'm sure given all the important work she does... See you soon England! J x

Bloody Third World Countries

That's Portugal and Iceland by the way. Portugal because my phone doesn't work here - no idea why. And Iceland because that bloody volcano may marroon me here. Which would mean missing lovely Figgy's visit. We'll see. Fingers crossed. Weather is bloody gorgeous though... That's all. J x

Welcome Back

Well hello peeps. Sorry for the absence which is partly explained by a broken mother board (whatever that is) and the need for my laptop to spend a little time in rehab. Still, nice to see that my friends who write in characters are keeping everyone up to date.

Loads has happened but I won't bore you all with it here. Of late though... Have been watching the Leaders' debates. Very interesting. I'm a big Nick Clegg fan. Good for him for sticking to his guns on the immigration thing and not pandering to the bigots out there. Am off to Portugal on Sunday and then back on Thursday because Figgy arrives on Friday. The usual theatre, bars and debauchery are lined up.

Went to a conference on Employee Engagement at Haydock Park Racecourse yesterday. Fantastic venue and some really interesting presenters and concepts. Assuming I keep my job through this latest restructuring I will have lots of new approaches to try out on my trainees.

Now have to spend 2 days cleaning to get the flat into some sort of shape for Fig but may post again before I go. Won't be taking the computer with me but I may blog from abroad on my iPhone. That's all for now. J x

Back in Manc

Dreadful journey back. Traffic, road works and accidents. Took 6 and a half hours (normally 5 with a stop). Luckily had my new best friend, Lady Gaga, to keep me company. Just bought her 2 first albums and I simply love her music. Probably impossible to get hold of tickets for her Manchester concert now but I may try. Anyway, back home and straight to get my hair cut followed by martinis, Mad Men and catch up with DD. Then a day off Friday doing nothing and then out to see Alice in the evening followed by a meal at Barbirollis with DD, Bryn & Michelle. A good time had by all but I was rather disappointed with Alice. Mr Burton seems a little samey these days imho. Barbirollis was quiet but good all the same. However, I fear its days may be numbered. They were having problems with their card machine 2 days in a row so it was cash only. Hmmm.....

Nothing on the cards at the moment for today but lets see what the day brings.... That's all. J x

Gloucester

No road signs, no antique shops, no fun. Hey ho, one lives an learns. Bloody cold today too. Back to Manky Manc tomorrow for martinis and Mad Men (its Thursday obviously). Me and Madam also have tickets for the Manchester football derby which is tr és exciting - particularly if poor Mr Rooney is unable to play on account of being too delicate. That's all. J x

Relatively Quiet

Not much to report today. Father had a doctor's appointment and we took him there followed by a coffee/lunch at Langland Bay. Very cute waiter and father knew the owner. No discount though! Booked flights for Portugal in May in the afternoon. Spoke to Madam this morning. All fine in Manchester apparently and not raining (still raining here). She's managed to get me some tickets for the City/United derby. Fab! Off to Gloucester to look at antique shops tomorrow. That's all. J x

Rain Arrived Today

So we went shopping in John Lewis in Cardiff. Via Park & Ride. My first time ever. Good experience. They even had a telly on the bus. Very nice new John Lewis store (their largest outside London apparently). Nice chandeliers certainly. Bought a cardigan (by Joe Casely-Hayford no less) and a hat and had carrot and coriander soup for lunch (very tasty too). Mother bought a long-sleeved T shirt and a cardigan. Its now pouring with rain. Finally, I feel at home!. That's all for now. J x