| Thursday, May 24th, 2012 |
| 4:24 pm |
The Skatalites
On Tuesday I was finally able to give my friend Rita her birthday present. I had cunningly bought her tickets to see the Skatalites at Islington Assembly Hall - with an extra ticket for me so that I could share the fun! As expected they played a blinding gig - old school ska is such an infectious joy. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O9HyXc4e7QcThis week I have been mostly reading: Anacaona - The Amazing Adventures Of Cuba's First All Girl Dance Band by Alicia Castro Current Mood:  hot |
| Wednesday, May 16th, 2012 |
| 2:46 pm |
Brains!
...And hardly a zombie in sight on this one! 'Brains' is the latest exhibition by the Wellcome trust and looks at most aspects of the brain. Measuring, quantifying, defining, storing, transplnting (or not) and all sorts of other themes all get a look in. As usual for the Wellcome this is a pretty interesting exhibition and judging by the crowds that were there late on a Tuesday afternoon one of the most popular for a while. They even had staff handing out leaflets to people as they entered warning people of a 'sensitive disposition' that the Brains exhibition may contain Brains! (actual brains as well as photo & video installations). Probably my favourite exhibit was a series of real time images from an MRI scan of a brain as it listened (and reacted) to Stavinski's 'The Rite Of Spring.' I found this both entertaining and fascinating. The music: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGFRwKQqbk4The Exhibition: http://www.wellcomecollection.org/whats-on/exhibitions/brains.aspxThis week I have been mostly reading: London Surprises by Adrian Marston & John Blandy Current Mood:  impressed |
| Sunday, May 13th, 2012 |
| 7:03 pm |
8th International Mini Print Exhibition.
I must admit that the first 7 of these passed me by. The London Print Studio (a gallery near my work place) is currently hosting this exhibition and its a bit tricky to explain. There are hundreds of entries (all to a specific maximum size) but varying wildly in terms of composition, style and even type of printing though this last distinction is totally lost on me. Its free and reasonably interesting to take in if you are passing (which I was). This week I have been mostly reading: Lord Malquist & Mr Moon by Tom Stoppard Current Mood:  blank |
| Friday, May 4th, 2012 |
| 10:18 pm |
Shrek The Musical
Last night I took one of my service users to see Shrek The Musical at the Theatre Royal in Drury Lane. Luckily we managed to find a night where Richard Blackwood wasnt playing Donkey (but a fairly annonymous understudy. Most of the first act fell fairly flat. Despite the really high quality of the sets, props, costumes and make up the plot stuck rigidly to that of the film but the pace and humour of the original script broken to pieces by the urge to crowbar in some very average songs every few minutes. The climax of the first act contained one major saving grace - the introduction of the dragon - in this case a four man puppet version - which was especially good. The second act was a little bit more lively. The songs were better, the plot diverted slightly from the film, the jokes seemed to find a better hit rate and there was a few really good dance numbers - an especially enjoyable one featuring the pied piper. Its a reasonably good show for younger kids and fans of the films but not the electrifying night of theatre it might have been. This week I have been mostly reading: Striking A Light - The Bryant & May Matchwomen And Their Place In History by Louise Raw Current Mood:  blah |
| Tuesday, May 1st, 2012 |
| 1:01 pm |
Wales Again
I finally managed to drag my butt to Wales. I could have gone in March but was feeling a bit ill so I postponed it so that I could rest. I still felt ill this time but felt that I couldnt really put it off again. Im paying the price for that as Im feeling properly ill now! I managed to catch up with most of my family (some of them very briefly - woth others we did Margarittas!) abd I still found time to wade into some ongoing family arguemnts. I didnt do so well with my friends this time. I spent some time with Ian in the pub which was groovy (Happy birthday Ian, by the way!) but Lee couldnt make it because of childcare issues and by the time I caught up with Rachel for lunch on Monday I was feeling pretty damn rotten so I wasnt a great deal of fun. I did manage to squeeze in a visit to Tredegar House on Saturday (on the way tomy brothers house who lives nearby). This used to be a regular place to go when I lived in Newport. Ive never gone inside the house but the grounds are lovely. I remember watching a production of 'The Crucible' that was held in the buildings stables and the last time I was there was 1998 (I think) for a massive Radiohead gig. The building is now run and maintained by the National Trust which means that certain bits that used to be open to the public you now have to pay to see, which is a shame. The grounds are still lovely though (and still mostly free). I did promise some other friends that I would try to make my next visit to Wales slightly longer so that I could make time to meet with them but that didnt work out this time. I will try harder on that front! This week I have been mostly re-Reading: The Catcher In The Rye by J.D. Salinger Current Mood: blah |
| Wednesday, April 25th, 2012 |
| 12:16 pm |
Singing In The Rain
I took one of my service users to see Singing In The Rain (the stage musical) the other night - and its a show of unusual extremes. For about 95% of the show I was locked in a serious battle against bordom. Musical number followed musical number followed musical number as the paper thin plot rolled itself out with paint by numbers predictability. So far so bad. At the other extreme was the reason whay I had volunteered to take this guy to the show - the iconic musical number that gave the show its name. I wanted to see them create a scene with heavy rainfall inside a theatre - and the effect was genuinely thrilling. The technical side of making it rain isnt that hard - movie makers have been making it rain (on command to the required density) for years but the real magic must have been happening below the stage as all that water cant be left lying around on a stage - especially if your doing 10 shows a week. What I hadnt anticipated was the effect of the extremely bright stage spotlights - as they hit the diffusing rainfall the dancer was gifted his own personal halo of rainbows wherever he moved on stage. It was actually breathtaking. Following the interval (where some serious mopping of the stage took place) the show resumed its tedium and stumbled to its deeply anti-climactic ending, followed by the cast curtain call and then an unexpected encore - the rain number is repeated again this time with a team of synchronised dancers. This for me formed the second highlight of the show not only for the spectacle of the scene itself but for the additional images of the front three rows of the theatre scambling frantically for the plastic ponchos they had been issued with at the start of the show but had discarded at the end of the first act when the first rain number finished. The dancers seemed to take a great deal of delight in splashing each other and a good section of the audience in as much water as they could move about. The boring parts of the show are already starting to fade but there is some pretty amazing stuff that will stay with me for a while yet. This week I have been mostly reading: Comic Book Guy's Guide To Popular Culture. Current Mood:  awake |
| Monday, April 23rd, 2012 |
| 11:44 am |
Oedipussy
The Lyric theatre in Hammersmith has earned a special place in my affections. Apart from its lovely roof garden and friendly staff the fact that it isnt located in the West End means that shows dont cost anywhere near as much to see. The main reason why I like the Lyri is that they seem to have the knack for putting on really interesting productions. The Lyric is where I saw Sarah Kane's play, 'Blasted' (one of the most powerful plays ever), Roald Dahl's Twisted Tales and various other shows - but especially its comedies. The recent production of A Midsummer Nights Dream was a total joy as was the Spymonkey's production of Moby Dick. I write all this because they recently held a production of 'Oedipussy' (also a Spymonkey production) and I felt that was too good a show to miss. I think that was probably right overall but I still left the theatre a little dissapointed. The show was good, very funny in places and as absoltely silly as it sounded but for me it didnt quite live up to the standard of either A Midsummer Nights Dream or even Spymonkeys own Moby Dick. Failing to hit such high water marks shouldnt indicate that the show as bad (it wasnt) but for the first time I left the theatre feeling that Ive not seen anything extraordinary that I want to go back and share with my friends - and thats quite a big step down from the other plays Ive seen there. It realy was fun, I guess Ive just been a bit spoiled by the previous goodness. Current Mood: awake |
| 11:28 am |
Damien Hirst & Alighiero Boetti
Ive been meaning to post this for a while: On Thursday last week I used part of my day off to catch two of the exhibitions at Tate Modern that I havent had a chance to see yet. The Damien Hirst retrospective has recently opened and this is a real crowd puller. Hirst tends to be quite controversial as his work has not only 'tested the boundaries' of what can be considered to be art but some of his pieces are openly (deliberately) repulsive. Im all for pushing the boundaries (especially if it means offending some of the artistic elite of the day - there is a great tradition of this in art) but I find his mor shocking stuff less interesting and less subversive precisely because it is so deliberate. One exhibit in particular - a severed cows head in a sealed perspex box with the flies that are living off it - may well be great art in the grand scale of things (it does speak of both life and death and does indeed test the boundaries of what is acceptable) but the fact that it is so deliberately revolting robs it of some of its power for me. Most of Hirst's earlier works are here = the animals in formaldehyde, the reconstruction of the chemist shop, the butterflies etc (The diamond skull is exhibitted seperately and the queue was very large so I didnt bother). Some of the pieces are interesting, engaging and fun, some provoke thought and there are even some (who would have thought it?!) that are actually pleasing to look at, but unless you are prepared to let yourself be shocked then I find that his work is less powerful and important than his reputation implies. Alighiero Boetti is the other artist currently being exhibited at the Tate. I must admit that I had never heard of Boetti before visiting the Tate but sadly I didnt leave with a great impression after this exhibition. 'Game Plan' (as this exhibition is called) suffers a little in comparrison to the Hirst exhibition. Many of Hirst's works maybe questionable but there is still usually some underlying point to the work - an examination of life/death or looking at something from inside and outside at the same time, those kind of things. In Boetti's work the single biggest point seemed to be the exploration of the almost utterly pointless. His work included here included lists of rivers, a light which only illuminates for 11 seconds each year and a diverse range of obects, drawings and embroideries. There is a playfulness in his work which I sort of liked and I would normally approve of his fun for the sake of fun attitude but wandering into it straight after the Hirst exhibition left me feeling a little underwhelmed. This week I have been mostly reading: Dinner At The Homesick Restaurant by Anne Tyler Current Mood: awake |
| Sunday, April 15th, 2012 |
| 8:19 pm |
Easter Holiday Visit
Ive just received my Easter holiday visit from my god-daughters and their parents. The girls were as lovely as ever, though this is probably the last time I will see the oldest one before she becomes a teenager on her next birthday in two months time. (That ought to be fun!) We kept the entertainment fairly low key with some dvd watching and just hanging out together eating at chatting as the mood took us. On Saturday (yesterday) we went into central London to check out some of the more interesting art exhibitions that are currently running (including the Deller and the Shrigley (both at the Hayward) and the Kusama (at Tate Modern). Ive seen the three exhibitions before but each artist has a very distinctive style and a highly unusual form so they were great to introduce to impressionable young minds. \bring on the Summer when I can do more of the same! Current Mood:  sleepy |
| Friday, April 13th, 2012 |
| 1:18 am |
Missing Hugh Laurie
Hugh Laurie (who I always think off as Stephen Fry's comedy partner and Blackader stalwart despite his rise to international superstardom with 'House') is playing the Hammersmith Apollo this July. He is on tour promoting the Blues album he released last year called 'Let Them Talk' - one of my favourite albums or recent times (its very good!). I phoned earlier this week to see if any tickets were still available and had the good news that there were followed by the double-whammy bad news that they cost around £40 each and these are for standing only behind the seating in the upper balcony! Ive sat in the balcony on a couple of previous gigs and you are so far away from the stage the performers look less than an inch high. While the acoustics would be awesome and the atmosphere of a large appreciative crowd would probably make for quite a special night its not one Im prepared to pay over £40 for. I have the cd which I very much enjoy and Im sure I can find a better use for the money in the mean time. This week I have been mostly reading: The Island by Victoria Hislop Current Mood:  disappointed |
| Saturday, April 7th, 2012 |
| 1:35 am |
Chihuly
I used the last of my recent days off on Wednesday to have some fun - including checking out the Chihuly exhibition at the Halcyon Gallery on Bond Street. It was one of the most impressive small gallery exhibitions Ive seen in a long time. Chihuly (who works primarily with glass and light) creates some stunning work and there are some lovely pieces here. They dont really do the work any justice, especially regarding the scale but the photos I took are here: http://s866.photobucket.com/albums/ab222/shaved-ape/Chihuly/?start=all Current Mood: tired |
| 1:28 am |
Egg Project
The Egg project Ive been working on recently (following the charity Faberge Easter Egg Hunt) has drawn to a conclusion as the eggs which were scattered around many London locations have been gathered together for display and auction in Covent Garden. It was good to see so many of the eggs together and it was a nice bit of symmetry for me to end the event in Covent Garden as this is where I spotted my first eggs when this event started a few weeks ago. Its a shame that it couldnt have gone on for longer though as there was some fun to be had in finding the eggs in their various locations. While many of the eggs in the final display were fuly accessible to the public others were not (either because they were locked inside shops or were suspended from high ceilings) and there were a few that I couldnt quite identify and a few I couldnt even find. Its all over now though and the photos are here: http://s866.photobucket.com/albums/ab222/shaved-ape/Elephants/Eggs/?start=allThis week I have been mostly reading: Anarchism: A Marxist Criticism by John Molyneux Current Mood:  geeky |
| 1:16 am |
Monopoly Project - Half Way
I took a few more shots for my Monopoly project this week, taking me halfway around the board to the 'Free Parking' square. The Photos are here: http://s866.photobucket.com/albums/ab222/shaved-ape/London/Monopoly%20Project/?start=allThings Ive learned from doing the project this week include: Vine Street is the most pointless street Ive seen so far. It may be seriously central and close to Piccadilly Circus but its a short street that ends in a dead end and consists entirely of the backs of a few buildings. Not very interesting. 'Marlborough Street' (as it appears on the board) probably should actually be 'Great Marlborough Street'. There are a few 'Marlborogh streets in London but most of them are pretty far out from the centre of town and the colours (in this case the orange ones) are usually grouped quite closely together. Either Ive got entirely the wrong street and one of the outlying street was the intention or this square should actually read, 'Great Marlborough Street'. Excessive geekiness now ends. Current Mood: geeky |
| Saturday, March 31st, 2012 |
| 1:51 am |
Turner Inspired
In The Light Of Claude is the brilliant new exhibition at the National Gallery. The collection looks at how Turner (one of the most famous and celebrated landscape artists ever) was inspired and influenced by Claude, the innovative landscape genius of his day. In his own day Turner remained somewhat in the shadow of Claude but has gone on to almost entirely eclipse him in most peoples consciousness. http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/I must admit being particularly partial to some of Turner's seascapes so there wee a few treats here for me today. Current Mood:  artistic |
| 1:38 am |
Art At Somerset House
I popped across town today on my way home from work and ended up getting something of an artistic bargain. I had intended to visit Somerset House for the Fernando Casasempere installation. The Chilean artist has installed in the giant courtyard (usually occupied by fountains in the Summer and an ice skating rink in the Winter) an artificial meadow and 10,000 large porcelain plants. As a spectacle and as a celebration of Spring this didnt disappoint. While I was there I also found myself drawn into the 'Kokoro' exhibition. 'Kokoro' (meaning 'heart') looks at the work of an amazing Japanese tattoo artist, Horiyoshi but here his work is displayed on a series of exquisite silk paintings. http://www.somersethouse.org.uk/I often like to buy the books of the exhibitions I visit but the Kokoro was a staggering £150 - a price I have never yet paid for a single book and have no intention of doing so anytime soon. It was a thing of beauty though. I consoled myself with a few (genuine) bargains I found in the gallery shop instead. This week I have been mostly reading: Whats Going On by Mark Steel Current Mood: artistic |
| Saturday, March 24th, 2012 |
| 12:36 am |
Secondment
Ive been offered a new job, (kind of). Its from within my current organisation so the pay and conditions are pretty much identical. The things that improve if I take the job are that my hours will become a little less anti-social and I wont have to do sleep-ins. The work will be working with guys who live independently in the community supporting them to access medical, leisure facilities etc and organising social groups of service users with shared interests. All of this is good. The bit thats bad is that it would mean leaving my existing team behind including some good mates and one very good friend. It also means changing managers from one guy who seems to be pretty good to one who seems less reliable. The loss of sleep-ins would mean another slight drop in pay. The decision that I made today was that I would accept the offer but only on a trial basis of six months - so I can choose to stay i the new job (if it works out) or return to my current scheme if I prefer. They are calling this trial period a 'six month secondment' and I could be starting in a couple of weeks, subject to the approval of the senior managers. Watch this space, I guess. Current Mood:  contemplative |
| Thursday, March 22nd, 2012 |
| 2:18 am |
Matilda
The Royal Shakespeare Company may have pulled off one of the happiest cultural marriages Ive seen in a while. They are responsible (it would seem) for adapting Roald Dahl's book, 'Matilda' into a musical soundtracked by Tim Minchin. Both Dahl and Minchin are usually choch full of gleefully dark and twisted humour and use language in their respective mediums to cutting effect - and bringing them together like this has created something very cool indeed. Especialy worthy of note in tonights cast were Paul Kay (maybe best known as Dennis Pennis) who put in a fine comic turn as Matilda's father and Bertie Carvel who totally stole the show as Mrs Trunchbull - a performance that would need to be seen to be believed. Current Mood: impressed |
| Monday, March 19th, 2012 |
| 9:43 pm |
Charles Dickens
I met my friend and former flat mate Debs today for a trip to the Dickens exhibition at the Museum Of London. The exhibition, (set up to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Dickens) looks at the London of the period as much as the life of the writer himself. http://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/London-Wall/Whats-on/Exhibitions-Displays/Dickens-London/Default.htmIt was mostly pretty basic stuff with few surprises but it remained fairly entertaining and provided a few jumping off points for discussion. Not a bad way to spend an afternnon. This week I have been mostly reading: The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky Current Mood: tired |
| Saturday, March 17th, 2012 |
| 1:07 am |
Yayoi Kusama At Tate Modern
After I finished my sleep-in shift today I crossed town to see the Yayoi Kusama exhibition at Tate Modern. I fell in love with Kusama's work when she was included in the 'Walking Through My Mind' exhibition a few years ago as her work (although simple and sometimes repetitive) is engaging, accessable and packed with an infectious joy. The collection currently at the Tate is much more of a retrospctive of her work and so includes a lot of her earlier work which explored themes more desolate than cheery - a reflection of both the issues she had with her father and of the war ravaged Japan of her youth. http://www.tate.org.uk/modern/exhibitions/yayoikusama/default.shtmThere was still plenty of the fun stuff to be had and the contrast with the earlier work (and the context that it enabled) if anything gave it more power. My favourite piece by far was the 'Infinity Room' which used a fairly simple technique with mirrors and lights to create the illusion of an almost infinite space in quite a small room. Ive seen this ilusion performed before but the space has never felt as warm or comforting as this - and that was a real accomplishment. Current Mood: impressed |
| 12:51 am |
Jeremy Deller & David Shrigley
The internet has been broken for most of this week (or at least my modem has) but it seems to have spontaneously fixed itself so I can finally post again. Earlier this week I used my day off to visit The Hayward Gallery with my Swiss friend and colleague, Claudia. As usual with the Hayward they have two large exhibitions that run side by side and buying entry for one gives you entry to the other one too. Jeremy Deller's 'Joy In People' was the first exhibition and Joy would pretty much be the right word. Its difficult to gather Deller's work into a gallery space as much of the work he has created is more about actions and interactions than physical objects, paintings and suchlike. This if anything made the exhibition more inspiring than I had expected as it showed that you dont need lots of technical skills to necessarily create beautiful objects (merely for the sake of admiration of few or many) but with a little thought you can challenge ideas and spark debate in really positive ways. The Shrigley exhibition ('Brain Activity) was lighter in tone and was shot through with a great deal of humour but also showed that you dont need to necessarily have great technical/artistic skills to create engaging work that will make people think and in this case (quite often) laugh. This was an afternoon very well spent. http://ticketing.southbankcentre.co.uk/find/hayward-gallery-visual-artsThis week I have been mostly reading: The White Room by Martyn Waites Current Mood: impressed |
