Hostelling

Living out of a suitcase, sleeping on dead mattresses, hitting my head on the top bunk, the girl who lost her credit card so gets food out of dumpsters and looks like a hippy fairy, showering in tepid water in thongs, tearing thread-bare sheets, the sweet asian kid who wanted a photo with me 'cause I helped her find the shops, living off of the cheapest possible food, sharing stories about far-off lands with total strangers... yep, I'm in a hostel again.

A soggy day in Wiltshire

I went for a job interview today. It was in the sticks – and I mean, the deepest sticks. I caught a train out to Salisbury (note to self – next time you go to an interesting destination, bank some extra time to actually SEE the place!!), and then took a 40 minute bus ride through the middle of some amazing villages to get to my destination.

My first ever experience of actual English villages and wow! I mean, WOW! Ok, so they weren’t all out of picture books, but there were a couple that had my jaw on the floor of the coach not knowing where to look there was so much to see. Even the kid’s play grounds looked magical. I passed one that had a turret and arrow slits on it. So cool!

And the pub I went to! It was called the Rose and Crown in a tiny village called Tilshead and it had beautiful exposed beams and real wrought-iron chandeliers, and was so cosy and yes I’m gushing and I’ve probably seen similar pubs in London but none with that lovely relaxed and helpful atmosphere. One of the workers gave me a lift out to where I needed to be as it was a bit of a walk and I was in my heals. So friendly. Everyone smiled at me too!

Well, the interview went well and then one of the interviewers took me back into town ‘cause it was starting to rain. How cool was that? I do hope I get this job. They were such a nice bunch of people.

Zip! Zap! Zoom!

Emma and Nik visited London for a flying tackle. I met them at St. Pancras (at 3pm), took them to their hotel in Paddington, then we took a bus to Westminster and saw the Abby, Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament. We walked along the Thames and then over to Trafalgar square to see Nelson. We had coffee in the west end, walked to Piccadilly Circus then through Soho and had Lebanese for dinner (saw an amazing belly dancer!) then I sent them home. Next day, we met at Camden for breakfast at Bar Solo, Nik took off to see family and I took Emma round the Camden Markets, we met up with Richard for a cup of tea, bought stuff, saw more markets then met back up with Nik. We then went to Harrods for Lunch (15 quid a pop = OUCH!!!) and had a very successful shopping afternoon. Back to Paddington for an hour of relaxation and a very bad Tim Allen movie (DON’T watch Zoom: Academy for Superheroes – I warn you!), dinner at a small Indian restaurant, with desert at their Hotel including a whole bottle of sticky and I wound my way home. Monday, I met them at St. Pancras again for goodbyes. 48 hours without a breath, and I miss them already.

Jason and the White Lion

Jason finally caught up to me in age again. He invited all an sundry to a beer afternoon at a pub in Hampstead called The White Lion. It was really lovely to catch up with him and also to see Belinda again. A little bit of gossip, a little bit of food, a lot of walking (R, H & I walked there - ouch!), and a lot of relaxation later and a good day was had I think. Happy Birthday Humpy!

Michael Palin at the O2

On the 26th, saw Michael Palin at the Indigo O2 centre: 20 years of travelling, 40 years of jokes. I went with Jason & London Dave. It was fascinating. I’ve never been to the O2, let alone the Indigo but yet again, I forgot to take my camera, so no pictures.

The night was interesting and entertaining but also slightly uncomfortable and I had a restricted view of the stage, so it was a 70% night, not 100%.

It was a charity event supporting victims of torture and was introduced but a famous Indian guy who sported a very long-haired look and who gave us a rather chilling insight into the torture victims lives. Then Palin spent the first half of the night on happy snaps of his many world tours, all fascinating, and then the second half on stories of Monty Python.

But the evening started almost ¾ hr late due to the length of time it took to get everyone in. and they pretty much oversold the venue as where I was sitting ¼ of the screen was obscured by speakers, and many people weren’t as lucky, missing up to ¾ of the action. The second half was really just a history lesson on Python with amusing stories thrown in, but he did do some very funny readings, and had us in stitches with some anecdotes. … but I kind of wanted something more.

Michal Jackson also died, but to talk about it would only encourage the megalomania. His best hits were in the 80s and he should have stopped there I think. Although the man was a music legend, his personal life was not worthy so enough said.

So, yeah. A strange night.

A Little Night Music

I really liked this production. I went with Hannah, Paul and Jason. Desiree was absolutely fabulous. I love Sondheim, and ALNM is my second favourite next to Into the Woods. God, the tunes!!! I enjoyed it immensely. The sets were good, I loved how the swingers were part of the set moving and always interesting, and the costumes were fabulous.

This is the first time I’ve seen it live too. I’ve seen the film version and I know the music so well I didn’t think there would be much surprise in it for me, but it still managed to catch me. I had no idea the maid and major domo had a fling for one thing – which is why “And I Shall Marry…” is included. I always wondered where that came from. And I didn’t know that the old lady dies in the end either. Hannah cried.

The only thing I didn’t like was the Brigadier. He came off as silly and nonthreatening and unworthy, rather than the rather stupid but physically impressive and therefore actual potential rival for Desiree shown in the movie and in the music I’ve heard.

The countess was brilliant though, and so was the new wife and Frederick was great, so, yes, a fabulous production.

Gershwin at St. Martin-in-the-fields.

Just went and saw a guy called Warren Mailley-Smith play a piano in St. Martin-in-the-Fields church. Well, heard anyway. We (Hannah, Paul et Moi), were stuck behind the pulpit, but most of the time I prefer not to watch an artist at such events as it kind of detracts from the music.

It was very beautiful.

I love, love, love it when a piano is teamed with an orchestra. Some of my favourite pieces are concertos. I’m not such a fan of the lone piano – I have to be in the right mood in the right atmosphere to really enjoy that. But then, SMITF, was definitely the right atmosphere. It was sublime. He played four Chopin pieces (Nocturne in C#, Balade No 1 in G min, Waltz in E min & Souvenires de Paganini), Beethoven’s “Appassionata” in F Minor and the “Moonlight” (C# minor!) sonata’s, Rachmaninov’s Prelude in G Minor and the frontispiece – Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue. He even gave us an encore – a Liszt piece.

It was really, really lovely. And it’s the first time I’ve been inside SMITH, as last time I was here they were still patching it up. I also saw the famous egg – and totally failed to remember my camera so I didn’t get any pictures of it. Although, weirdly, I had Déjà vu on the egg. I’m more than sure I’ve seen it before.

Anyway, divine concert, literally.

True Blood Rocks

So have I got a new series for you… if you enjoy black humour, southern American accents, vampires and gratuitous sex that is.

Whilst in Stockholm, I went for a tour of Sodermalm (the southern island) and had lunch with Anna B, who is best friends with Anna K, who is the sister of Johan, who is married to Helen, if you can follow that. Anyway, we were discussing which books and TV series we enjoyed as we have similar tastes in these areas, and she suggested I try out a new TV series called True Blood.

Well, I was getting very frustrated from the lack of job opportunities recently and so decided to give myself the present of a little escapism and try the series out. At $3 an episode from ITunes, I could afford it at least.

He he he… I loved it.

Brought to you by the guy who made the series ‘Six Feet Under’ (life and love in a Funeral Parlour!), it’s about a town in southern Louisiana called Bon Temps (good times) in an alternate reality where Vampires have come out of the closet so as to become legal, acknowledged citizens and are campaigning to receive the same civil rights as humans.

It is really macabre. The total body count in the first series was 14 and I lost count of the number of bare backsides you get to see. The overall impression is dark and seedy but it has loads of light and fluffy bits too. Kind of like Fanny Flagg’s Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Café, meets an X-Rated Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Gory, gritty, real and yet totally surreal. Gratuitous sex everywhere. A perky lead, a brooding vamp, a shape shifter who goes around as a collie, a brother addicted to “V” (vampire blood) and some totally f***ed up friends, it is so bad, it’s great.

I even went so far as to look up the author of the book the series True Blood is based on, and now I am completely addicted to her too! Ms Charlaine Harris – I salute you!

A warning, though: You may just need my kind of sense of humour to appreciate it. I wouldn’t recommend it to Helen for instance. Remember, I’m the girl who left the cinema after seeing Sweeny Todd, grinning like a maniac and giggled at inappropriate moments all through it. Well, I’m grinning now.

Try it. You may just find it as cool as I did.

Star Trek and Coraline

On a cold recovery day in Stockholm, I decided not to play tourist but to play at relaxation instead. So I went to the movies. Then, as my brain was muffled nicely with drugs, I couldn’t decide between seeing Star Trek or Coraline – so I went to both. Star Trek was first.

I think the movie is just called Star Trek but it probably should have an additional title as it is the 11th movie in the franchise, however, as it goes back to the beginning of the Kirk / Spock timeline, I’m not sure where it fits in. I’m not enough of a Trekkie to know, but somewhere in my back brain is the information that the Star Trek: Enterprise, series was set before the original Star Trek series, so maybe this film comes after that? I mean, I know that Star Trek: Next Generation, Star Trek: Voyager and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine are timed after the original series, and that the first six films were between the original and Next Gen… and maybe I am a Trekkie. Oh Dear.

Anyway, the movie makers have re-started the whole universe off on a tangential time line, due to an accident caused by Spock in the future, so all that has gone afterwards is now non-existent and the slate is clean. For instance, while Kirk’s father in the original series was a great influence on him, in this movie, he dies as Kirk is being born and so Kirk grows up a lot wilder. Spock’s mother is likewise killed, rendering him a lot more emotional, and Spock ends up captain for a while whilst Kirk is thrown off the ship as a lowly cadet. The love story is also nicely twisted - Uhuru was Spock’s love interest of all things.

It really was a who’s who of recent actors. Spotting the famous face became a delight. Eric Bana played a grieved baddie Klingon, which was fun and Winona Ryder, plays Amanda Greyson – Spock’s Mother. I know Uhura (Zoe Saldana) from the dance movie Centre Stage and Kirk’s father was played by the Home and Away actor Chris Hemsworth. Kirk’s mother (Jennifer Morrison) is of 'House' fame, the actor who played Bones was Eomer in Lord of the Rings (Karl Urban) and Scottie turned out to be the guy from Shaun of the Dead (Simon Pegge), very appropriately I might add. Sulu, Checkov, Spock and Kirk were really the only unknowns to me.

All in all, though it was great fun, it was just another Star Trek with the usual mix of adventure and daring-do, and I was a little disappointed that it didn’t break away from it’s progenitors as much as it could have. There were lots of explosions and fist fights, angst and moments of light levity. All ends happily. A great escape movie. Mind you, I enjoyed it for what it was and had a great ride, so all’s good.

The movie Coraline was a different matter altogether. From start to finish, I loved every minute of it. What a fabulous production! I saw it in 3D, and that made it that extra bit special.

I was terrified at first that it was going to be dubbed, being a kids movie, but it was only the opening titles that were in Swedish, and soon we were off. Dakota Fanning voiced the perfect Coraline, with Teri Hatcher (of Desperate Housewife’s fame) playing the mother(s) and a wonderfully disguised Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders playing Miss Forcible and Miss Spink respectively. The movie is all done in stop-motion animation and everything was made by hand. It was awe-inspiring. The cat was creepy, the garden amazing, the whole other world… wow. The story was tweaked a little and an extra couple of characters were added but this didn’t change the integrity of the original so all was good. It was just the right mix of fairy-tale and nightmare. Loved It!

In fact I have loved Neil Gaiman’s work for years now. I first read his graphic novels thanks to R and then fell in love with his twisty, dark mind in Neverwhere, Anasi Boys and Stardust. He is such a different story-teller to my usual favourites. His writing is like a blast of chill wind when I’m burning with fever, so refreshing yet also startling and unexpected.

So yeah. A good romp followed by a good mind-twister. Just what the doctor ordered.

Word of the Day: Manchester.

According to the English, to all intents and purposes Manchester is a city in northwestern England, located 30 miles to the east of Liverpool, in the heart of the most densely populated area of England.

So when I quoted on my inventory of items to be left in a storage facility here, that it would contain various items of Manchester, the guy behind the counter looked at me very strangely.

Try looking for a definition of Manchester on the web that does not include the words Australia or New Zealand, and you'd understand why. Only antipodeans call sheets and towels Manchester. To the rest of the world, the word generally means the home of the Soccer - sorry, I mean football (sheesh!) - team, Manchester United.

In England, what we Aussies consider Manchester, they call soft goods. I've been looking for a reason why we call it Manchester, but I can't find one on the web at least. I guess it's because some Australian factory imported soft goods from Manchester and it's another one of these instances where the name got extrapolated from the product name to come to mean the product but I can't prove it. If anyone can elucidate me, please do!

I'll just have to be more diligent in my use of words in future.