Brush Up Your Shakespeare

Went to my school reunion for old girls in London on Tuesday night. An interesting experience which culminated in my drinking beers with Jenny Ethell (aka. the woman who 'restructured me out of existence' aka fired me) and Dot in an English pub. It was nice to catch up with Dot - she seems happy in the UK (while missing the Australian weather, but then, don't we all?)

The reunion was okay, the venue was really cute and, perhaps most importantly, I think I have acquired some useful coping skills for my 10 year reunion. It involves drinking more, stalking the food platters and hiding from Alethea, which is pretty much what I did this time around as well.

Friday night I went and saw 'Othello' at the Globe. We had 5 quid standing tickets and, of course, it rained. However, Marianne and I had got there early and were right in front of the stage which meant that we we slightly sheltered from the elements. Thankfully. However, the unfortunte by product of being so close to the action was that every time the actors came near me I thought I was going to get whacked in the head with the swords that were very loosely attached to their waists. I was ducking and weaving all night.

The play itself was awesome, and the role of Iago was played by Tim McInnery (of Blackadder fame - Percy, Capt Darling etc). It was weird to see him play the evil bad guy.

Now, I am not sure how many of you are familar with the ending of Othello, but in summary: Othello kills his wife who he believes to have been unfaithul, Iago murders his wife for dobbing him in about manipulating Othello's jealousy, and Othello kills himself out of guilt ('One that loved not wisely, but too well'). So - there are 3 characters lying dead on a bed in the middle of the stage (which I always thought was farcical, but now realise is for staging reasons).

So - after this very melodramatic final scene ('This heavy act with heavy heart relate') everyone is kind've drepressed. The acting was amazing, you really felt for Othello, the fake stage blood looked almost real. THEN the cast came back on stage and started DANCING!! Not in a sad mournful way, but in a very upbeat and perky way that was emotionally confusing.

Yesterday, I caught up with Amy Thornicroft, who we met when she was a Gap girl. We hung out at a cool Morroccan restuarant for a while and then spent some time on the South Bank. It was fanatastic to see her again and any time spent on the South Bank is time well spent if you ask me. Also - seeing a man with trained budgies who sang a song that went 'I'm the budgie man, bu-budgie man, budgie man, the bloody budgie man' and then tried to get employed as an entertainer at children's parties, was definitely a high point.

Saturday night we went to a restuarant near Tottenham Court Road where they kindly served us cocktails in jugs. THEN I went and picked up Carly at Paddington. This because my new rule states - if you can't make new English friends - import the old Australian ones! Incidentally - it seemed unfair that she looked quite as together as she did given the length of her flight and the fact she was suffering from the flu. I made her get on a night bus to get home (too much of apain to catch a cab on a Saturday night) and left her to sleep until 3pm this afternoon. I then dragged her around today to make sure she was properly equipped for London (Oyster card, A-Z, phone, flu medication) and as I write this she has fallen asleep again.

Such is the life of a new arrival in London.

The Beauty of Days Gone By

Summer is here and the weekend was beautiful!
Absolutely stunning. It was ALMOST 25 degrees and I was boiling hot. As I said to Jano, my already out of whack internal thermometer has gone completely off the rails.

Friday night I went to the Tate Modern with Marianne. She gets a lot of free tickets to things through her job, so we like to exploit that as much as possible. There is a Dali exhibiton on show at the moment which was amazing. His work has so much more depth when you look at it in real life. Despite most of his paintings being smaller than the ginormous prints that people stick on their college walls, blowing up the paintings somehow makes them LOSE detail, as well as any sense of intimacy that is evoked.

One of my favourites was called Solitude:



It was immensely sad but so minutely detailed as well.

We then went and saw Spellbound, the Hitchcock film being played at the Tate. Dali conceptualised the 3 minute dream sequence which was completely surreal (because he's a surrelaist - get it? PUN!).

It was a really lovely way to spend a Friday evening. As we walked along the SOuthbank to catch a train home, we were 'followed' by a barge on the river that was illuminated and had a massive choir on board singing to celebrate the new renovations of the Royal Festival Hall. It was a perfect London evening.

Saturday Marianne and I decided that we would brave the terrible American crowds at Stratford-Upon-Avon, about 2 hours from London. This should not be confused with Stratford without the Avon because this is a borough stuck on the end of the Northern Lin or DLR and should not be visited by anyone unless they want to part with their earthly possession.

Stratford-Upon-Avon was lovely, the Tudor houses were very cute and made me feel very tall. As you went to each site, the connection to Shakespeare became more and more tenuous and you had to just decide that you would just appreciate the 'vibe'. Couldn't find any really tacky souvenirs, because I didn't get a chance to go into the 'Shakesperience' building. No bobble headed Shakespeares to be had, I left souvenirless.

We also had to walk around in circles for a while because I am incapable of reading street signs. Thankfully, Marianne forgave me and eventually we go to Shakespeare's grave:



I'm not really sure it was worth it. The old graves outside with all the moss etc. on them were way cooler, in my humble opinion. And it cost 50p to get into the little bit where the grave actually was.

Sunday was spent eating cupcakes at Hummingbird Cafe and watching Ocean's 13. Tonight I am going to Wayne's house for dinner. He claims to be able to cook anything. We'll see.

And Rom - don't give up on your poor little car! Check to see if it can be redeemed before doing anything silly!