There is a two year full time master's degree in theatre directing (MFA) developed by Birkbeck College and NCDT, ACE, Equity and TMA. There are ten places each year and November sees applications begin for September 2008. www.bbk.ac.uk
The Actor's Yearbook 2008 ISBN 9780713684711 Paperback £14.99 edited by Andrew Piper and Simon Dunmore is published by A&C Black next week, August 31st.
Friday, August 24, 2007
Name dropping
The Best Beloved and I celebrated thirty two years of married life yesterday.
I spent the morning with friend Jasper having a coffee, collecting three garden chairs left there after a recent garden party and behaving like two grumpy old men. We would have Chief Constables in publicly elected posts for a start. I suggested elected Mayors as well but Jasper wondered what powers mayors would have so I must investigate this aspect.
Meanwhile Best Beloved was in Petersfield being interviewed by the Registrar there. She will hear next week whether she has a part time job as a Support Officer. It will keep her occupied and keep me in the circumstances to which I have become accustomed.
When we were reunited we went for a meal at Woodies next to the New Place Cinema in Chichester. We thoroughly enjoyed the meal and afterwards decided to go to the cinema instead of our planned boat trip. The weather was more cinema than open boat. We bought tickets for the Simpson Movie. We waited in the cafe for the auditorium to open as the eight people congregated to see the performance. Amongst the people waiting was James Bolam and Susan Jameson. Luckily they were there. They sat just behind us and I was grateful otherwise it would just have been me in there laughing like a drain. I have been told off on previous occasions for laughing too loud in a theatre by other patrons. Anyway James and I laughed at virtually all the same gags and the film is certainly replete with those. As we left the cinema, both couples having sat through to the every end of the credits as was obligatory with such a film, we congratulated each other on being there and sharing the laughter load so equitably.
Feeling very satisfied with our encounter with the world of celebrity, we set off for the town centre and Waterstones with its cafe. We were in Chichester to see the opening of I am Shakespeare at the Minerva. However the cafe was closed so we set off in the general direction of the Festival Theatre to call in at the George and Dragon for a pot of tea. Nearly there, Roger Allam passed us going in the other direction towards the Market Cross. He saw that we recognised him but continued on his way hurriedly before I could call out how much I had enjoyed his performance in Blackbird and in the Old Vic panto.
Eventually we arrived at the Minerva a little earlier than we would normally have liked so had to seat reading the programme in the downstairs foyer. While we were there. Patrick Stewart came down the stairs from the theatre and crossed over to the main theatre. Alan Finch, the joint director, came in to meet up with Matthew Warchus, the director of I am Shakespeare. I said hello to Alan and he very nicely said hello back and asked if I was okay. Obviously not an actor or he would have developed the loook away stare and the blanked expression.
Anyway we were still sat there waiting for the auditorium to open, when in came Jenny Seagrove and Michael Barrymore, who were obviously coming in to see the play.
I am Shakespeare was written and devised by Mark Rylance and is an intelligent and humourous investigation into the authorship of Shakespeare's plays. Mark Rylance's character, Frank Charlton, is visited, thanks to circumstances beyond his control (marvellous set), by William Shakspar, Francis Bacon, Edward de Vere and Mary Sidney - all claimants to the authorship question. Sean Foley is there (The Play What I Wrote fame) to help or rather hinder. There is a great deal of audience participation and a police sergeant and his twin brother! It is a good evening if a little long at three hours. There are some longeurs which are mainly counteracted by some frantic action in the second half. It would have been difficult to maintain the pace of the first half. I learned a lot about Shakespeare and his works in a light hearted manner. Recommended viewing for everyone but especially those with an interest in the theatre.
So we had a lovely day to celebrate our thirty two years together but this is a game of two halves so here's to the next thirty two years!
I spent the morning with friend Jasper having a coffee, collecting three garden chairs left there after a recent garden party and behaving like two grumpy old men. We would have Chief Constables in publicly elected posts for a start. I suggested elected Mayors as well but Jasper wondered what powers mayors would have so I must investigate this aspect.
Meanwhile Best Beloved was in Petersfield being interviewed by the Registrar there. She will hear next week whether she has a part time job as a Support Officer. It will keep her occupied and keep me in the circumstances to which I have become accustomed.
When we were reunited we went for a meal at Woodies next to the New Place Cinema in Chichester. We thoroughly enjoyed the meal and afterwards decided to go to the cinema instead of our planned boat trip. The weather was more cinema than open boat. We bought tickets for the Simpson Movie. We waited in the cafe for the auditorium to open as the eight people congregated to see the performance. Amongst the people waiting was James Bolam and Susan Jameson. Luckily they were there. They sat just behind us and I was grateful otherwise it would just have been me in there laughing like a drain. I have been told off on previous occasions for laughing too loud in a theatre by other patrons. Anyway James and I laughed at virtually all the same gags and the film is certainly replete with those. As we left the cinema, both couples having sat through to the every end of the credits as was obligatory with such a film, we congratulated each other on being there and sharing the laughter load so equitably.
Feeling very satisfied with our encounter with the world of celebrity, we set off for the town centre and Waterstones with its cafe. We were in Chichester to see the opening of I am Shakespeare at the Minerva. However the cafe was closed so we set off in the general direction of the Festival Theatre to call in at the George and Dragon for a pot of tea. Nearly there, Roger Allam passed us going in the other direction towards the Market Cross. He saw that we recognised him but continued on his way hurriedly before I could call out how much I had enjoyed his performance in Blackbird and in the Old Vic panto.
Eventually we arrived at the Minerva a little earlier than we would normally have liked so had to seat reading the programme in the downstairs foyer. While we were there. Patrick Stewart came down the stairs from the theatre and crossed over to the main theatre. Alan Finch, the joint director, came in to meet up with Matthew Warchus, the director of I am Shakespeare. I said hello to Alan and he very nicely said hello back and asked if I was okay. Obviously not an actor or he would have developed the loook away stare and the blanked expression.
Anyway we were still sat there waiting for the auditorium to open, when in came Jenny Seagrove and Michael Barrymore, who were obviously coming in to see the play.
I am Shakespeare was written and devised by Mark Rylance and is an intelligent and humourous investigation into the authorship of Shakespeare's plays. Mark Rylance's character, Frank Charlton, is visited, thanks to circumstances beyond his control (marvellous set), by William Shakspar, Francis Bacon, Edward de Vere and Mary Sidney - all claimants to the authorship question. Sean Foley is there (The Play What I Wrote fame) to help or rather hinder. There is a great deal of audience participation and a police sergeant and his twin brother! It is a good evening if a little long at three hours. There are some longeurs which are mainly counteracted by some frantic action in the second half. It would have been difficult to maintain the pace of the first half. I learned a lot about Shakespeare and his works in a light hearted manner. Recommended viewing for everyone but especially those with an interest in the theatre.
So we had a lovely day to celebrate our thirty two years together but this is a game of two halves so here's to the next thirty two years!
Thursday, August 23, 2007
32 today
It is the 32nd wedding anniversary of Best Beloved and I this very day.
I am reassured by something she said when we were working together on my newly revamped study/bedroom. It was my study but is now a study/bedroom - the bed arrives tomorrow and my brother arrives on Sunday to inaugurate the study/bedroom.
She said, "I don't like leaving a job unfinished." As she has spent 32 years trying to smooth my rough edges and hasn't succeeded yet, I am taking that as a commitment to another 32 years.
Another aspect of the Saturday Guardian I love (see previous postings) is "Wyse Words" by Pascal Wyse, in which strange definitions are applied to strange words. The following was gleefully brought to my attention by the Best Beloved. I will leave you to draw your own conclusions as to why she thought it was hilarious, or of pertinence to yours truly.
Saturday Guardian August 18 2007
"Nerrwinnies: People who believe that, when faced with a point in an argument that completely destroys their position and drowns them in a vat of their own wrongness, they somehow still come out victorious if they just repeat the clinching idea back to their opponent in a silly voice, waggling their head."
My favourite response to clever arguments is "SHUT IT."
I am reassured by something she said when we were working together on my newly revamped study/bedroom. It was my study but is now a study/bedroom - the bed arrives tomorrow and my brother arrives on Sunday to inaugurate the study/bedroom.
She said, "I don't like leaving a job unfinished." As she has spent 32 years trying to smooth my rough edges and hasn't succeeded yet, I am taking that as a commitment to another 32 years.
Another aspect of the Saturday Guardian I love (see previous postings) is "Wyse Words" by Pascal Wyse, in which strange definitions are applied to strange words. The following was gleefully brought to my attention by the Best Beloved. I will leave you to draw your own conclusions as to why she thought it was hilarious, or of pertinence to yours truly.
Saturday Guardian August 18 2007
"Nerrwinnies: People who believe that, when faced with a point in an argument that completely destroys their position and drowns them in a vat of their own wrongness, they somehow still come out victorious if they just repeat the clinching idea back to their opponent in a silly voice, waggling their head."
My favourite response to clever arguments is "SHUT IT."
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Film Extra Agent
I have been signed up by an agency, www.elliottagency.co.uk, as a film extra. You go to home page and click on "artistes by name" and then on [C] before you see my name in an alphabetical list. The photographs are courtesy of Penny Plimmer but the physical details are all mine.
I am quite excited and want to thank Amanda Holden for taking a punt on me. I now await a first job and hope it doesn't clash with the Spanish holiday - which would be my sort of luck!
I am told a shooting day usually lasts 10 hours with an additional hour for lunch and usually starts very early! I am OK at waiting around and will obviously take play scripts with me to read!
Ah stop Peter - running before you have started to walk!
I am quite excited and want to thank Amanda Holden for taking a punt on me. I now await a first job and hope it doesn't clash with the Spanish holiday - which would be my sort of luck!
I am told a shooting day usually lasts 10 hours with an additional hour for lunch and usually starts very early! I am OK at waiting around and will obviously take play scripts with me to read!
Ah stop Peter - running before you have started to walk!
Boanerges
This is Greek for "loud voiced orator", which I thought was pretty apt for yours truly. I came across it in my divinity diploma and I wonder how many people know I possess one of those. The trouble with Boanerges in blogging circles is that it is a fairly common nom-de-plume and not as distinctive as I would have hoped.
Readthrough of "The Neighbour" by Roger Goldsmith, one of the contributors to Supernova 2007, is tonight and should signal a little flurry of theatrical activity from now to the middle of September. I have but five lines in the play and appear at the very end. I get to watch David and Ingrid at work so that is some consolation. I quite like the play for it's Pinteresque aspirations. One of the very first plays I ever appeared in some 42 years ago now was "The Room" by Harold Pinter and Roger Goldsmith's piece owes a debt to the early Pinter.
Readthrough of "The Wild Duck" is next Wednesday and then rehearsals for that should take us neatly through to November. Muleboy and Kitten have separated as a couple (see Alice in Blogland link) but are still co-directing the production together. Kitten feels that Muleboy's approach complements her own and fills some of the gaps such as rehearsal scheduling and keeping to deadlines. Kitten is creative and Muleboy is technical. I am involved as Old Ekdahl and, hopefully, my debut as movement director.
Jasper and I can do the first two lines of "Measure for Measure" and are now awaiting the rehearsal schedule from the director. Damon is tying that in with Supernova and Wild Duck but as a professional production he will have a greater call on midweek rehearsals during the day. His difficulty is access to Isabella is limited at the moment to Sundays.
Loved Natty Chap's latest blog about the value of friends and a social event held in their garden as a party for our Firstborn. He also pays her a great but accurate compliment. She makes socialising look easy and people do warm to her instinctively. She takes after her mother, the Best Beloved, there. The Best Beloved is a lovely warm inviting hostess and usually the one who organises our social events whilst I grudgingly take part. I enjoy them while they are happening but feel my contribution is somewhat limited and that without the Best Beloved the event wouldn't happen. It was interesting at a recent church garden party held in our garden how even the Best Beloved was at a loss to make the event go with a sparkle and verve - there was a lack of conversation makers - not a problem often encountered on Bench events.
The Best Beloved is going to use her social skills by becoming the Bench Hostess for new members attending club nights. She does this instinctively anyway so this is just a formalisation of what she would do anyway. I try to do it if they are young and pretty but my intentions are often deliberately and cruelly misunderstood by the rest of the assembled membership. The Best Beloved is even going further to help induct newcomers into the group. She will help them rehearse and then perform a small piece at a future Club Night. This is not an audition as such but a way for newcomers to break into the consciousness of the whole group and Ingrid is ideal protector of people's feelings. The only way to break into the Bench is persistence and a determination to be there. Are we clique-y? Probably but we have many friendships which are forged in the fear and terror that is sometimes theatre. I have known the Penroses for example over thirty years and my marriage approaches thirty two years this Thursday, the 23rd August. Both these facts will be explored over the next few postings. The advent of the Penroses into the Bench will form one posting which will also become a "Note from the Green Room" for the Benchpress distributed to a wider audience of Members and Backbenchers. A second posting will be a celebration of thirty two years of marriage to the Best Beloved.
Readthrough of "The Neighbour" by Roger Goldsmith, one of the contributors to Supernova 2007, is tonight and should signal a little flurry of theatrical activity from now to the middle of September. I have but five lines in the play and appear at the very end. I get to watch David and Ingrid at work so that is some consolation. I quite like the play for it's Pinteresque aspirations. One of the very first plays I ever appeared in some 42 years ago now was "The Room" by Harold Pinter and Roger Goldsmith's piece owes a debt to the early Pinter.
Readthrough of "The Wild Duck" is next Wednesday and then rehearsals for that should take us neatly through to November. Muleboy and Kitten have separated as a couple (see Alice in Blogland link) but are still co-directing the production together. Kitten feels that Muleboy's approach complements her own and fills some of the gaps such as rehearsal scheduling and keeping to deadlines. Kitten is creative and Muleboy is technical. I am involved as Old Ekdahl and, hopefully, my debut as movement director.
Jasper and I can do the first two lines of "Measure for Measure" and are now awaiting the rehearsal schedule from the director. Damon is tying that in with Supernova and Wild Duck but as a professional production he will have a greater call on midweek rehearsals during the day. His difficulty is access to Isabella is limited at the moment to Sundays.
Loved Natty Chap's latest blog about the value of friends and a social event held in their garden as a party for our Firstborn. He also pays her a great but accurate compliment. She makes socialising look easy and people do warm to her instinctively. She takes after her mother, the Best Beloved, there. The Best Beloved is a lovely warm inviting hostess and usually the one who organises our social events whilst I grudgingly take part. I enjoy them while they are happening but feel my contribution is somewhat limited and that without the Best Beloved the event wouldn't happen. It was interesting at a recent church garden party held in our garden how even the Best Beloved was at a loss to make the event go with a sparkle and verve - there was a lack of conversation makers - not a problem often encountered on Bench events.
The Best Beloved is going to use her social skills by becoming the Bench Hostess for new members attending club nights. She does this instinctively anyway so this is just a formalisation of what she would do anyway. I try to do it if they are young and pretty but my intentions are often deliberately and cruelly misunderstood by the rest of the assembled membership. The Best Beloved is even going further to help induct newcomers into the group. She will help them rehearse and then perform a small piece at a future Club Night. This is not an audition as such but a way for newcomers to break into the consciousness of the whole group and Ingrid is ideal protector of people's feelings. The only way to break into the Bench is persistence and a determination to be there. Are we clique-y? Probably but we have many friendships which are forged in the fear and terror that is sometimes theatre. I have known the Penroses for example over thirty years and my marriage approaches thirty two years this Thursday, the 23rd August. Both these facts will be explored over the next few postings. The advent of the Penroses into the Bench will form one posting which will also become a "Note from the Green Room" for the Benchpress distributed to a wider audience of Members and Backbenchers. A second posting will be a celebration of thirty two years of marriage to the Best Beloved.
Monday, August 20, 2007
The French
I read Ian Wylie in the Saturday Guardian of 11th August. The Saturday Guardian is a wonderful institution in our house. It arrives early and I break the back of the Sport Guardian and Guide before getting up. The rest of the paper and supplements are then read more slowly over the rest of the weekend. The Travel Supplement has become very important to me (see previous blog) but I do enjoy the other supplements such as Work, which is where I found the article by Ian Wylie.
His opening paragraph caught my attention:"I'm a relatively simple bloke who prefers routine and finds summer holidays a little bit unsettling. July and August are hazy days of uncertainty..."
That certainly neatly sums up me as well. He goes on, though, to talk about life and holidays in France. Now the Best Beloved and I (with the two girls when they were younger) used to do annual camping pilgrimages to France. There was a time when I toyed with the idea of a holiday home or even moving to France to live - greatly encouraged by the example of our good friends, the Cattermoles. However, in the end, I decided I couldn't live without the Bench theatre, London theatre (and Chichester has much improved in recent years under Jonathan Church in particular) and the cinema. The Best Beloved said we could emigrate if we could take everyone we loved to live together in the same village.
Back to Ian Wylie's article, where he says (France has) "a civilised culture, which encourages people to work sensible hours, eat meals without haste and spend time with their families. The law forbids employees to work more than 35 hours a week. Overtime is flatly forbidden and French workers are guaranteed mandatory holidays of up to six weeks."
This "economic suicide" or resistance to globalisation is being demolished by the new president, Nicholas Sarkozy, who is much taken by the Tony Blair/George Bush look or approach.
However "a new study of working hours .........offers statistical evidence that working fewer hours makes the French happier, despite the loss of income."
It seems to me that we constantly harp on about the unhappy state of our society in this country and yet we go along with the dictats of global business which cares not a toss about the social fabric of our nation or any other. Our government(s) are weak and lily livered when it comes to action and spend too much time faffing around with the small detail rather than looking at the basic issue. Our leaders seek others to blame rather than real and lasting solutions.
Another Saturday Guardian article (this week's edition) was a plea by an IT professor for greater thought and care to be taken over the development and use of autonomous weapons or robot soldiers if you like. We are getting to the situation where these creations will be independent of a human operator. The professor says that these autonomous weapons are not bright enough to be even called stupid. I would love to have been able to use that in some of the reports I have had to write over the years - not bright enough to be called stupid. Yet these robot soldiers will be used in the not too distant future perhaps to ease the number of body bags coming out of situations like Iraq and Afghanistan - but what hearts and minds will be won in the besieged countries then?
Final thought for the moment on Afghanistan. Don't politicians or military leaders read history? The British Empire had more than one or two bloody encounters with the Afghans. The Empire was the technological heavy weight of its time but was unable to subdue that region. History proves that nothing has changed - and nothing has been learned!
His opening paragraph caught my attention:"I'm a relatively simple bloke who prefers routine and finds summer holidays a little bit unsettling. July and August are hazy days of uncertainty..."
That certainly neatly sums up me as well. He goes on, though, to talk about life and holidays in France. Now the Best Beloved and I (with the two girls when they were younger) used to do annual camping pilgrimages to France. There was a time when I toyed with the idea of a holiday home or even moving to France to live - greatly encouraged by the example of our good friends, the Cattermoles. However, in the end, I decided I couldn't live without the Bench theatre, London theatre (and Chichester has much improved in recent years under Jonathan Church in particular) and the cinema. The Best Beloved said we could emigrate if we could take everyone we loved to live together in the same village.
Back to Ian Wylie's article, where he says (France has) "a civilised culture, which encourages people to work sensible hours, eat meals without haste and spend time with their families. The law forbids employees to work more than 35 hours a week. Overtime is flatly forbidden and French workers are guaranteed mandatory holidays of up to six weeks."
This "economic suicide" or resistance to globalisation is being demolished by the new president, Nicholas Sarkozy, who is much taken by the Tony Blair/George Bush look or approach.
However "a new study of working hours .........offers statistical evidence that working fewer hours makes the French happier, despite the loss of income."
It seems to me that we constantly harp on about the unhappy state of our society in this country and yet we go along with the dictats of global business which cares not a toss about the social fabric of our nation or any other. Our government(s) are weak and lily livered when it comes to action and spend too much time faffing around with the small detail rather than looking at the basic issue. Our leaders seek others to blame rather than real and lasting solutions.
Another Saturday Guardian article (this week's edition) was a plea by an IT professor for greater thought and care to be taken over the development and use of autonomous weapons or robot soldiers if you like. We are getting to the situation where these creations will be independent of a human operator. The professor says that these autonomous weapons are not bright enough to be even called stupid. I would love to have been able to use that in some of the reports I have had to write over the years - not bright enough to be called stupid. Yet these robot soldiers will be used in the not too distant future perhaps to ease the number of body bags coming out of situations like Iraq and Afghanistan - but what hearts and minds will be won in the besieged countries then?
Final thought for the moment on Afghanistan. Don't politicians or military leaders read history? The British Empire had more than one or two bloody encounters with the Afghans. The Empire was the technological heavy weight of its time but was unable to subdue that region. History proves that nothing has changed - and nothing has been learned!
Sunday, August 19, 2007
Rostand
A man is not old as long as he is seeking something. (Jean Rostand)
I love quotes such as the one above. I seek them out and for a while they steer my thinking and actions before I forget them again or another new one comes along.
It ties in neatly with my previous post about doldrums and I have been doing some serious thinking about that. I found yesterday's Guardian most helpful in this respect especially the Travel Supplement and its Gap Year Special. (As a completely random side issue, I love the fact that one of the key characters in "The Bourne Ultimatum" is a Guardian reporter played by Paddy Consindine - brilliant film heartily recommended)
The Gap Year Special deals with a number of age groups rather than wasting all its ideas on youth and the duration is not always a year or twelve months. My eye and mind was caught by a number of items. Best Beloved has said she can't contemplate some of the longer ones at the present time because of her commitments to her elderly mother. The latter has certainly becoming more demanding of Ingrid's time and effort but without any noticeable increase in gratitude it seems to me. The old lady did suggest getting a dog was not a good idea because the responsibility for one would be a "hindrance". I feel it is all a matter of scale really.
Idea #1 A three month stay with MondoChallenge (www.mondochallenge.org) costs £1200. One 66 year old participant spent her three months working as a volunteer English teacher in a primary school in a village just outside Darjeeling in India. She stayed with the headmaster. She is considering going back to do another project in India but may also head to Romania. "The best advice (she) could give is don't think about it, just do it. (She) didn't want to reach 75, look back and wish (she)'d done more with (her) life."
Don't think about it, just do it!
That sounds good advice to me as I regularly talk myself out of projects that my heart yearns to do because I listen to the good sense of other people or my protestant upbringing determine the idea is fanciful and self indulgent or I am daft enough to allow my gut reaction to be over ruled because others know "better" than I do.
Idea#2 (Best Beloved is keen on this idea as well as she thinks she can get away for the fortnight required) is Learn a Language. A two week course costs £321 (www.applelanguages.com). The example quoted is the company's Spanish language school in Malaga. A full programme of social and cultural activities is provided: Spanish cookery lessons, visits to the botanical gardens, the central market, and the Alcazaba fortress and lunch with teachers. Accommodation can be arranged with host families or on campus.
Idea#3 is similar to #2. You enjoy a weekend in the Spanish countryside while helping Spanish professionals to master conversational English. A deserted village is stocked with native English speakers who through games and activities help Spanish participants to speak English with confidence. Private rooms are provided free of charge in a four star hotel with views. Programmes run all year round (www.vaughntown.com) Make your own way to Madrid and all other costs are covered.
Idea#4 is Raleigh International (www.raleighinternational.org). I nearly joined Raleigh when I was at college in the late 60's but decided to apply for a teaching job in Hampshire instead (the rest is history as they say). However this project is to be a volunteer manager such as running a school in a remote village with a team of young people under my wing. There are other projects such as transforming a former prison island into a wildlife refuge, scuba diving or mountain climbing. The school idea would tie more neatly into the skills i have acquired - although those same skills might also work on prison island into wildlife refuge (only kidding!).
There are a couple of more ideas which could be possibles rather than probables. One is a two week panda conservation excursion (www.i-to-i.com) costing £1195 plus £300 for each additional week. The example quoted is of a 58 year old woman volunteer who worked in the Qinling Mountains about an hour from Xi'an. She worked with two pandas in a reserve there and also taught the keepers, their wives and children how to speak English. She was provided with a house shared with other volunteers in Xi'an. In her spare time she visited museums and pagodas. The second possible rather than probable idea is working on the island of San Cristobal in the Galapagos helping to preserve the natural habitat and introduce organic farming methods. You plant crops, assist with light building activities, or help to maintain trails around the island. Those who know my practical abilities or rather limitations may scoff at my ability to help with such activities. Local staff lead hikes to lagoons, forest, beaches and villages. Two to ten week placements are available from £1025 (www.i-to-i.com).
I love the idea of doing something practical and worthwhile instead of just being a tourist to these places.
Roses - cut back dead or fading flowers to prominent bud or new shoot; usually about four leaves down. This will stimulate more growth and provide flowers later in the year. Continue to check roses for the presence of suckers and cut or pull off from the point of origin on the rootstock.
The roses item and the following words of wisdom come from the "happy heart" newsletter from the Phase IV cardiac rehab programme run by Debbie Hobbs (newsletter editor is Liz Marriott).
Under no circumstances take a laxative and a sleeping pill on the same night.
I love quotes such as the one above. I seek them out and for a while they steer my thinking and actions before I forget them again or another new one comes along.
It ties in neatly with my previous post about doldrums and I have been doing some serious thinking about that. I found yesterday's Guardian most helpful in this respect especially the Travel Supplement and its Gap Year Special. (As a completely random side issue, I love the fact that one of the key characters in "The Bourne Ultimatum" is a Guardian reporter played by Paddy Consindine - brilliant film heartily recommended)
The Gap Year Special deals with a number of age groups rather than wasting all its ideas on youth and the duration is not always a year or twelve months. My eye and mind was caught by a number of items. Best Beloved has said she can't contemplate some of the longer ones at the present time because of her commitments to her elderly mother. The latter has certainly becoming more demanding of Ingrid's time and effort but without any noticeable increase in gratitude it seems to me. The old lady did suggest getting a dog was not a good idea because the responsibility for one would be a "hindrance". I feel it is all a matter of scale really.
Idea #1 A three month stay with MondoChallenge (www.mondochallenge.org) costs £1200. One 66 year old participant spent her three months working as a volunteer English teacher in a primary school in a village just outside Darjeeling in India. She stayed with the headmaster. She is considering going back to do another project in India but may also head to Romania. "The best advice (she) could give is don't think about it, just do it. (She) didn't want to reach 75, look back and wish (she)'d done more with (her) life."
Don't think about it, just do it!
That sounds good advice to me as I regularly talk myself out of projects that my heart yearns to do because I listen to the good sense of other people or my protestant upbringing determine the idea is fanciful and self indulgent or I am daft enough to allow my gut reaction to be over ruled because others know "better" than I do.
Idea#2 (Best Beloved is keen on this idea as well as she thinks she can get away for the fortnight required) is Learn a Language. A two week course costs £321 (www.applelanguages.com). The example quoted is the company's Spanish language school in Malaga. A full programme of social and cultural activities is provided: Spanish cookery lessons, visits to the botanical gardens, the central market, and the Alcazaba fortress and lunch with teachers. Accommodation can be arranged with host families or on campus.
Idea#3 is similar to #2. You enjoy a weekend in the Spanish countryside while helping Spanish professionals to master conversational English. A deserted village is stocked with native English speakers who through games and activities help Spanish participants to speak English with confidence. Private rooms are provided free of charge in a four star hotel with views. Programmes run all year round (www.vaughntown.com) Make your own way to Madrid and all other costs are covered.
Idea#4 is Raleigh International (www.raleighinternational.org). I nearly joined Raleigh when I was at college in the late 60's but decided to apply for a teaching job in Hampshire instead (the rest is history as they say). However this project is to be a volunteer manager such as running a school in a remote village with a team of young people under my wing. There are other projects such as transforming a former prison island into a wildlife refuge, scuba diving or mountain climbing. The school idea would tie more neatly into the skills i have acquired - although those same skills might also work on prison island into wildlife refuge (only kidding!).
There are a couple of more ideas which could be possibles rather than probables. One is a two week panda conservation excursion (www.i-to-i.com) costing £1195 plus £300 for each additional week. The example quoted is of a 58 year old woman volunteer who worked in the Qinling Mountains about an hour from Xi'an. She worked with two pandas in a reserve there and also taught the keepers, their wives and children how to speak English. She was provided with a house shared with other volunteers in Xi'an. In her spare time she visited museums and pagodas. The second possible rather than probable idea is working on the island of San Cristobal in the Galapagos helping to preserve the natural habitat and introduce organic farming methods. You plant crops, assist with light building activities, or help to maintain trails around the island. Those who know my practical abilities or rather limitations may scoff at my ability to help with such activities. Local staff lead hikes to lagoons, forest, beaches and villages. Two to ten week placements are available from £1025 (www.i-to-i.com).
I love the idea of doing something practical and worthwhile instead of just being a tourist to these places.
Roses - cut back dead or fading flowers to prominent bud or new shoot; usually about four leaves down. This will stimulate more growth and provide flowers later in the year. Continue to check roses for the presence of suckers and cut or pull off from the point of origin on the rootstock.
The roses item and the following words of wisdom come from the "happy heart" newsletter from the Phase IV cardiac rehab programme run by Debbie Hobbs (newsletter editor is Liz Marriott).
Under no circumstances take a laxative and a sleeping pill on the same night.
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Doldrums
This is a very bitty post as I am in a period of doldrums. These come on me every now and then but especially during August. It may be a direct result of all those years of teaching. It isn't helped at the moment by the rain and bad weather. I can usually survive August because in the past we went away on holiday - usually camping in France. It also helps if the weather is very hot and it is impracticable to do a great deal other than sit sweltering in the shade. Most of the time in the shade is spent reading. DVDs are mainly kept for indoors in the inclement weather of autumn/winter.
I know a great deal of this year's doldrums are heightened by what happened earlier in the year but knowing is not quite the same as combating the feeling.
I am always impressed by the way the Best Beloved manages to read while having and tackling dozens of other projects. She has resurrected our garden shed from its extended period of neglect and disuse. When the weather permits she tackles the garden. I love a rose and would willingly gaze at it for a long time, just drinking in its look and scent. I have toyed with the idea of rose cultivation and am certain I and the rose would get a great deal out of it. However this is just another area where the doldrums sit heavily upon me and I need to find a way of breaking out.
Returning to reading, the Best Beloved can pick up a book and read it in sections. She can even read a bit at bedtime, in the night and in the early hours of the morning. This means reading a book extends over days, weeks and even months. She is also able to retain great deal of the plot and feeling for the book. It must be something to do with memory and retention as this approach most definitely doesn't work for me. I read Archimedes' blog (see links) with great pleasure daily as he is a very clever cat and his two human acolytes are interesting contributors as well. A recent post had Robin talking about reading and I found myself in such agreement with her viewpoint that it prompted this rambling response. I am best if I can begin reading in the morning and continue through until the book is finished some time that day or next day. This used to be impossible in workdays but you would think should be more possible in these halcyon days of retirement. I do manage it occasionally with playscripts as I do like to read these through in one go and it is usually possible to do so. However reading fiction in this way runs into two obstacles. When reading, I am oblivious to everything - I certainly cannot multitask in any way. Other people, the Best Beloved in particular, sometimes find this alienating and her strong protestant work ethic finds it indulgent in the extreme and makes it difficult for her to understand. (I am putting words into her mouth but she will intervene when I am reading and doesn't react well when greeted with a grunt or inaction to a request to do something simple or domestic). Like Robin, I find non-fiction easier to tackle in digestible bites because I need to think over bits and sections, especially if the concept challenges my present thinking or small brain.
I know a great deal of this year's doldrums are heightened by what happened earlier in the year but knowing is not quite the same as combating the feeling.
I am always impressed by the way the Best Beloved manages to read while having and tackling dozens of other projects. She has resurrected our garden shed from its extended period of neglect and disuse. When the weather permits she tackles the garden. I love a rose and would willingly gaze at it for a long time, just drinking in its look and scent. I have toyed with the idea of rose cultivation and am certain I and the rose would get a great deal out of it. However this is just another area where the doldrums sit heavily upon me and I need to find a way of breaking out.
Returning to reading, the Best Beloved can pick up a book and read it in sections. She can even read a bit at bedtime, in the night and in the early hours of the morning. This means reading a book extends over days, weeks and even months. She is also able to retain great deal of the plot and feeling for the book. It must be something to do with memory and retention as this approach most definitely doesn't work for me. I read Archimedes' blog (see links) with great pleasure daily as he is a very clever cat and his two human acolytes are interesting contributors as well. A recent post had Robin talking about reading and I found myself in such agreement with her viewpoint that it prompted this rambling response. I am best if I can begin reading in the morning and continue through until the book is finished some time that day or next day. This used to be impossible in workdays but you would think should be more possible in these halcyon days of retirement. I do manage it occasionally with playscripts as I do like to read these through in one go and it is usually possible to do so. However reading fiction in this way runs into two obstacles. When reading, I am oblivious to everything - I certainly cannot multitask in any way. Other people, the Best Beloved in particular, sometimes find this alienating and her strong protestant work ethic finds it indulgent in the extreme and makes it difficult for her to understand. (I am putting words into her mouth but she will intervene when I am reading and doesn't react well when greeted with a grunt or inaction to a request to do something simple or domestic). Like Robin, I find non-fiction easier to tackle in digestible bites because I need to think over bits and sections, especially if the concept challenges my present thinking or small brain.
Friday, August 10, 2007
Elling
I saw "Elling" at the Trafalgar Studios on Wednesday during my solo trip up to London. It was excellent. Besides being very funny, I thought it was quite insightful into modern living. John Simms is all the rage at the moment but he is deservedly so on the evidence of his stage work in "Elling". He plays the eponymous character who we first meet sharing a room with another inmate in a Norwegian asylum. Elling is a "mother's boy", who was placed in the asylum shortly after his mother died and it is soon obvious how much he relied upon her for everything - especially contact with the outside world. With his man mountain side kick he is relocated to an apartment in Oslo by the social services. Under the supervision of Frank, their care worker, they have to prove they can cope or else be shipped back to the asylum. We watch their efforts to do so with amusement at first and then growing empathy as we will them to succeed. The play takes place on a single set with two beds, a wardrobe and a table with three chairs. Clever lighting is used to suggest a multitude of other places outside of the apartment but the apartment is as important a character as the odd couple who inhabit it. All the other characters are played by three actors and yet we get a good account of Oslo as they are all kept busy. As usual, I think this play is well within the compass of the Bench Theatre and I will get hold of a script as soon as possible. However it would take an extraordinary actor to match the performance of John Simms.
I signed a petition and emailed my M.P. yesterday. I did so on behalf of the Iraqi translators who have risked their lives and those of their families to help the British Armed Forces in that unhappy country. It is obvious that the British have retreated to their main base in Basra somewhat prematurely as the area surrounding the base is not fully under their control or that of the fledgling Iraqi army. This means the insurgents can lay ambushes and roadside bombs at leisure. Anyway the retreat in Basra marks the start of a full scale withdrawal in the New Year. There is some discussion as to whether the 91 Iraqi translators and their families should be given British status and allowed to emigrate to the U.K. I strongly feel that there should be no debate these people have risked all for us and we are indebted to them. It would be a betrayal and dishonour to abandon them to what would be a dreadful fate once we have left.
I enjoy CSI programmes and watch unflinchingly as they investigate the human body. Last night though I was watching "House", a medical drama. I was taken aback as I realised I was watching open heart surgery on a young man. Except for the youth of the patient, I realised I could be watching a copy of the experience I underwent on February 2nd (six months anniversary just passed) and it made me pause for thought.
Yesterday I paid for the 10 days in Andalucia Tour organised for me by Debbie at European Rail. The Best Beloved and I depart the last week in September and travel on the way down to southern Spain (and hopefully back) by train. I now need to book the train from Havant to Waterloo and a return 10 days later without Debbie's help.
The holiday comes in the middle of rehearsals for Measure for Measure and The Wild Duck. I have parts in both productions. The former is a professional production by the Bare Bards and the latter is being directed by my Kitten for the Bench Theatre. The end of the year is looking more cheerful theatrically after a barren one generally in theatrical terms.
I signed a petition and emailed my M.P. yesterday. I did so on behalf of the Iraqi translators who have risked their lives and those of their families to help the British Armed Forces in that unhappy country. It is obvious that the British have retreated to their main base in Basra somewhat prematurely as the area surrounding the base is not fully under their control or that of the fledgling Iraqi army. This means the insurgents can lay ambushes and roadside bombs at leisure. Anyway the retreat in Basra marks the start of a full scale withdrawal in the New Year. There is some discussion as to whether the 91 Iraqi translators and their families should be given British status and allowed to emigrate to the U.K. I strongly feel that there should be no debate these people have risked all for us and we are indebted to them. It would be a betrayal and dishonour to abandon them to what would be a dreadful fate once we have left.
I enjoy CSI programmes and watch unflinchingly as they investigate the human body. Last night though I was watching "House", a medical drama. I was taken aback as I realised I was watching open heart surgery on a young man. Except for the youth of the patient, I realised I could be watching a copy of the experience I underwent on February 2nd (six months anniversary just passed) and it made me pause for thought.
Yesterday I paid for the 10 days in Andalucia Tour organised for me by Debbie at European Rail. The Best Beloved and I depart the last week in September and travel on the way down to southern Spain (and hopefully back) by train. I now need to book the train from Havant to Waterloo and a return 10 days later without Debbie's help.
The holiday comes in the middle of rehearsals for Measure for Measure and The Wild Duck. I have parts in both productions. The former is a professional production by the Bare Bards and the latter is being directed by my Kitten for the Bench Theatre. The end of the year is looking more cheerful theatrically after a barren one generally in theatrical terms.
Wednesday, August 08, 2007
Hendiadys
I finished "1599: A Year in the Life of William Shakespeare" by James Shapiro and published by Faber (2005) yesterday. It has taken me some time to read but I have enjoyed a great deal of it. I especially enjoyed the chapters concerning Hamlet, which Shakespeare wrote in 1599. Hamlet is a production long in mental preparation for the Bench Theatre. For 2008 I am torn between offering Hamlet or Love and Money by Dennis Kelly. The latter appeals because after the two plays scheduled for February and April 2008, which are very much ensemble plays, the Dennis Kelly play definitely isn't an ensemble piece.
Anyway, returning to Professor James Shapiro, who teaches at Columbia University in New York (how confusing is that?), he identifies an old verbal trick used by Shakespeare. This trick is called "hendiadys" - I can't work out why it isn't called hendiadies as it is plural. It means "one by means of two", a single idea conveyed through a pairing of nouns linked by "and". For those who know my literary style, verbose and longwinded, I am prone to using hendiadys although up until now I didn't know that was what they were.
The following examples come from Hamlet:
"Angels and ministers of grace defend us" (I,iv,39);
"the book and volume of my brain" (I, v, 103)
"a fantasy and trick of fame" (IV, iv, 61)
I love Shapiro's conclusion: (page 322) "The destabilizing effect of how these words play off each other is slightly and temporarily unnerving. It's only on reflection - which is, of course, Hamlet's problem - that we trip."
I recommend Shapiro's book to any interested in theatre and Shakespeare and especially my son in law, the Natty Chap.
I will return to Hamlet and a possible production idea in this blog.
Anyway, returning to Professor James Shapiro, who teaches at Columbia University in New York (how confusing is that?), he identifies an old verbal trick used by Shakespeare. This trick is called "hendiadys" - I can't work out why it isn't called hendiadies as it is plural. It means "one by means of two", a single idea conveyed through a pairing of nouns linked by "and". For those who know my literary style, verbose and longwinded, I am prone to using hendiadys although up until now I didn't know that was what they were.
The following examples come from Hamlet:
"Angels and ministers of grace defend us" (I,iv,39);
"the book and volume of my brain" (I, v, 103)
"a fantasy and trick of fame" (IV, iv, 61)
I love Shapiro's conclusion: (page 322) "The destabilizing effect of how these words play off each other is slightly and temporarily unnerving. It's only on reflection - which is, of course, Hamlet's problem - that we trip."
I recommend Shapiro's book to any interested in theatre and Shakespeare and especially my son in law, the Natty Chap.
I will return to Hamlet and a possible production idea in this blog.
Wednesday, August 01, 2007
Iraqi Partition
I keep thinking about this problem and would like to share my thoughts.
Apparently when a survey was held of the Iraqi people in 2005, I think, the verdict was in favour of federalism. The coalition decided to go ahead against this opinion and build a new united democratic Iraq.
Now I realise my ideas are simplistic and don't take into account viability of statehood and the odd political clashes with neighbouring states but anyway here they are for what they are worth.
There are 5 million Kurds in Iraq and there are 3 Kurd provinces which form an autonomous region in northern Iraq. Why not form a new state of Kurdistan? The Kurds are Sunni Muslims in the main. The difficulty is that there are 15 million Kurds in Turkey, 6 million in Iran and 1.5 million in Syria. There are also nearly a million in Europe and about 10.000 in the USA. I am not sure whether the three provinces could cope with an enormous influx or whether Turkey would be prepared to have a new state on its southern border or whether indeed Turkey would let some of its southern territory become part of the new Kurdistan for the same reason. However there would seem to be some mileage in the formation of a new state called Kurdistan despite the historical and geopolitical baggage associated with such an idea.
There are 9 Shia provinces in the south of Iraq and the majority of the population are Shia muslims. Why aren't these provinces acceded to Shia Iran and become part of that nation's territory and responsibility?
This would leave 6 Sunni Muslim provinces probably in the west and south west of the present Iraq. These would have a political and religious connection to Turkey through the historical Sunni Ottoman empire since the 1500s. Perhaps this territory should form the new Iraq with a new name even. The coalition's first duty would be to protect its borders while internal security and form of government was left to the Sunni Muslims. The idea of a secular Western supportive state may have to be shelved if that is not the wish of the inhabitants.
I have wandered away from federalism and into three different states. I think this is a pragmatic recognition of the forces on the ground. It seems to me the coalition is in for a sustained round of head banging if it attempts to hold the dissenting and antagonistic forces together.
Apparently when a survey was held of the Iraqi people in 2005, I think, the verdict was in favour of federalism. The coalition decided to go ahead against this opinion and build a new united democratic Iraq.
Now I realise my ideas are simplistic and don't take into account viability of statehood and the odd political clashes with neighbouring states but anyway here they are for what they are worth.
There are 5 million Kurds in Iraq and there are 3 Kurd provinces which form an autonomous region in northern Iraq. Why not form a new state of Kurdistan? The Kurds are Sunni Muslims in the main. The difficulty is that there are 15 million Kurds in Turkey, 6 million in Iran and 1.5 million in Syria. There are also nearly a million in Europe and about 10.000 in the USA. I am not sure whether the three provinces could cope with an enormous influx or whether Turkey would be prepared to have a new state on its southern border or whether indeed Turkey would let some of its southern territory become part of the new Kurdistan for the same reason. However there would seem to be some mileage in the formation of a new state called Kurdistan despite the historical and geopolitical baggage associated with such an idea.
There are 9 Shia provinces in the south of Iraq and the majority of the population are Shia muslims. Why aren't these provinces acceded to Shia Iran and become part of that nation's territory and responsibility?
This would leave 6 Sunni Muslim provinces probably in the west and south west of the present Iraq. These would have a political and religious connection to Turkey through the historical Sunni Ottoman empire since the 1500s. Perhaps this territory should form the new Iraq with a new name even. The coalition's first duty would be to protect its borders while internal security and form of government was left to the Sunni Muslims. The idea of a secular Western supportive state may have to be shelved if that is not the wish of the inhabitants.
I have wandered away from federalism and into three different states. I think this is a pragmatic recognition of the forces on the ground. It seems to me the coalition is in for a sustained round of head banging if it attempts to hold the dissenting and antagonistic forces together.
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