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Post by Flim Flam on Dec 25, 2020 10:32:00 GMT
Had a message from the NHS app last night, telling me to self-isolate for 4 days. Perfect timing. Holed up at home (no symptoms thankfully) with a mountain of food and banned from going on that healthy Christmas walk! I would be tempted to apply for that isolation financial grant, but I don't think I would be able to keep a straight face whilst applying..
Have a lovely Christmas everyone and let's hope we all get back to the theatre next year!
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Post by Flim Flam on Nov 8, 2019 11:20:33 GMT
Bit scary isn't it, and nobody wants to be worrying about their safety whilst watching a show. I have to keep saying to myself things like this don't happen all the time. Because I get very anxious going to shows esp after the Apollo one. I do however remember going to see Rocky Horror at the Playhouse and I was in the top tier I assume upper circle. During Time Warp everyone stood up and did the Time Warp. It felt like the level moved. I felt the same during Rocky Horror at the Playhouse. I was up in the top tier too and remember looking around thinking that maybe it wasn't such a good idea for a full house of people to be jumping up and down in such an old building! Didn't feel any actual movement though. But definitely gave me pause for thought!
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Post by Flim Flam on May 27, 2019 13:33:40 GMT
Peter Brook's Midsummer Night's Dream. Original cast Les Mis. Yes please. Oh and Philip Quast's Javert, which I sadly missed.
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Post by Flim Flam on Nov 27, 2018 15:23:32 GMT
Well this morning it was tea with jam and bread. Even though I cannot sing to save my life.
Usually something like porridge with maple syrup and sliced bananas. I know how to live!
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Post by Flim Flam on Jul 6, 2018 21:52:07 GMT
The cage crinoline is actually quite lightweight and airy. After visiting the Theatre galleries at the V & A, you can all pop into the British galleries and try on a crinoline for yourselves (on Level 4, next to the Great Exhibition display). The American dress reformer, Amelia Bloomer, had been wearing her pantaloon suits as a protest against the restrictive, and very heavy, multiple layers of petticoats that women were required to wear to fill out their skirts in the mid 19th C to the desired volume. When the cage crinoline (at first reinforced with willow, and then sprung steel)came into fashion, it was no longer necessary to have so many petticoats, and so Amelia gave up her trousers (in 1859), in favour of wearing crinolines, as she stated that this new style of clothing was comfortable enough to allow her to go back to wearing mainstream fashions. But crinolines were indeed death traps, with many, many women dying due to catching fire after brushing against naked flames (candles, fireplaces etc) or being swept into the path of carriages by strong winds, or getting caught in their wheels. Even Oscar Wilde lost relatives to this. www.irishidentity.com/extras/gaels/stories/wilde.htm And Longfellow's wife also died due to this cause. And there was also a fire in a church in Chile, with huge loss of life, where women were blamed for blocking the exits with their hoop skirts. However, on a brighter note, they do have their advantages, if you are thinking of throwing yourself off a suspension bridge- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarah_Ann_Henley
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Post by Flim Flam on Mar 27, 2018 13:21:24 GMT
I was also going to say 'curated' but you have all beaten me to it. Drives me up the wall.
A few years ago it was all 'tailor-made' solutions. Now they have all gone mad curating things.
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Post by Flim Flam on Dec 25, 2017 22:47:53 GMT
Does chocolate count? Asking for a friend. Only if overpriced, extremely noisy to open and if eaten during the film/TV programme is accompanied by hard stares by your family. Consider it done...
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Post by Flim Flam on Dec 25, 2017 17:16:41 GMT
Does chocolate count? Asking for a friend.
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Post by Flim Flam on Dec 24, 2017 21:41:35 GMT
Merry Christmas to everyone. You all enrich my theatre-going experience no end. Wishing you all an amazing 5 ***** New Year.
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Post by Flim Flam on Dec 19, 2017 18:51:19 GMT
I usually wrap my pressies to the sounds of these West End lovelies.
And as my own little Christmas present to myself, I listen to this one...
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Post by Flim Flam on Nov 29, 2017 11:29:48 GMT
"incredibly knowledgeable and beautifully bitchy" i am definitely stealing this for my epitaph.
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Post by Flim Flam on Nov 11, 2017 22:28:05 GMT
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Post by Flim Flam on Oct 22, 2017 19:38:16 GMT
OOh well done, especially to the administrators for all your marvellous work. I assume we are now going to be billed as the 'Award-Winning TheatreBoard' from now on?
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Post by Flim Flam on Oct 8, 2017 12:12:21 GMT
Rather strict ushers at the Belgrade. I was on the end of the aisle, some phone or watched beeped once from middle of the aisle. Usher instantly leapt to her feet and came and stood so close she was almost touching me, legs akimbo and arms crossed, death glaring down the aisle as though she could prevent future aberrant noises via willpower alone. Fairly intimidating trying to watch a play with an usher evidently prepared to leap over seats and rip someone's head off at any moment right next to you. Ha ha. This reminded me of when I dropped in to see a sneaky matinee of Let the Right One In during its London run. I was sitting near the end of a row in a sparsely filled dress circle. Just as the performance was about to start all the lights were briefly turned off, whilst simultaneously the usher spotted a person further down my row, who was fiddling with her phone. The usher rushed right up beside me and loudly hissed to this woman to turn off her phone. I hadn't spotted the approach of the usher, so I jumped about a foot in the air. Mind you, the usher and I had a laugh about it during the interval, and she even suggested a better seat for me to move to for the second half, so all's well etc.
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Post by Flim Flam on Sept 22, 2017 7:51:47 GMT
Perhaps they are doing a new episode of Cruising with Jane, with Patti as a guest star. On a Thames Clipper.
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Post by Flim Flam on Sept 12, 2017 9:26:18 GMT
It was wonderful, in parts. The West End part was really beautiful and I definitely will be going again. Loved Leicester Square and Piccadilly in particular.
However, I went to the King's Cross section one evening and it was a nightmare. The displays were located in the narrow section of lanes and new buildings just to the west of the station. Even though I arrived early the crowds were too large for the space and security gradually closed off some areas, as the congestion was becoming increasingly dangerous. People trying to get back to the station area, having seen the furthest displays, were therefore forced into one alley, making that section even more congested, especially as they were fighting against the people trying to head towards those displays.
Management then seemed to switch off some of the displays (as a safety measure I suppose?), but did not make any announcement (that I heard anyway), so some of the crowd who would have viewed the displays and then left, were instead just hanging around to see if the lights would go back on, leading to even more congestion.
They then closed the tube entrance, causing the large crowds to be forced to walk along Marylebone Road when trying to disperse. Passing buses could not cope and so were not able to pick up most of the people at the bus stops and most eventually walked on to Euston etc, en masse.
So basically, I went there, got squashed in an alley with a mass of people, didn't see most of the displays, took ages to get back to the tube station, which was closed, waited for a bus, which did not stop, and then walked on to Euston. Very frustrating evening. Hopefully they will re-think this section of the event this time!
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Post by Flim Flam on Aug 26, 2017 17:28:20 GMT
It's not news that Cumberbatch was at Angels last week (or that I nearly shoved him out of the way) but my NT spies have informed me he not only managed to blag one of the last programmes but the cheeky bugger asked for a "staff discount" sweetie you last worked at the NT 6 years ago, and I think with all that Marvel money you can spring for a fiver. Or just pay on your black Amex and get money off that way. That reminds me of a story I heard years ago, about Joan Collins going antique hunting down Portobello Road (at the height of her Dynasty fame) and asking for trade discounts on her purchases.
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Post by Flim Flam on Aug 24, 2017 17:53:46 GMT
Les Mis for me too. I have always had a fancy to join in during the barricade ensemble numbers. Once i was backstage I could sneak on and do that.
Just like Judi Dench in fact Mind you, I can't carry a tune in a bucket, so maybe it's just as well I haven't been afforded the opportunity...
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Post by Flim Flam on Jul 28, 2017 12:29:44 GMT
Lots of tickets suddenly appeared for Angels on the NT site.
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Post by Flim Flam on May 21, 2017 10:45:19 GMT
As a woman, I always vote, and always think of our British Suffragettes when I do so.
Recently stumbled across a very interesting two-part documentary on Youtube, about the fight for the women's vote in America. Totally different dynamic to the British movement, but an equally fascinating story. What amazing women.
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Post by Flim Flam on May 15, 2017 17:56:28 GMT
Businessmen & women end up eating on their own in fancy restaurants all the time. No-one cares, honestly. Next time just pretend you are regional sales manager of M&S or something. And take a magazine. The only one I would feel a bit queasy about is going to a mainstream cinema on my own - could only manage that at an arty one probably. I had a job a few years ago where I found myself spending a number of days each month in a succession of small towns, staying alone in hotels and eating out by myself each evening. At first I felt a bit daunted, as I often ate quite early evening in fairly deserted restaurants or pubs. The hotels were no problem at all, but I certainly attracted attention in these small restaurants and pubs, where the staff often looked quite bemused when I turned up by myself to eat. However, when ordering food, I usually chatted to the waiter/ barman and mentioned that I was in town on business for a few days, and honestly, it seemed to magically make the staff more relaxed and friendly as soon as I did this! It was really noticeable, as if women needed a specific excuse to be in these places. Aside from this feminist insight ( ) I did realise that it also made me feel more confident when I did this. So I would highly recommend following the 'M & S sales manager' disguise if you feel so inclined. Although now I think about it, why should I worry about people judging me at all? Life is too short.
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Post by Flim Flam on May 11, 2017 18:28:07 GMT
a food fight went a bit off course & covered a lady in the front row with what looked like custard!... I could see FOH scurrying to her side once the lights went up presumably to offer some sort of compensation. Probably a pudding to put under the custard, I'd guess. That's what I would have offered. Which is why I don't work in customer-facing jobs any more. Just as well, you can't trifle with a customer in that situation...
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Post by Flim Flam on May 4, 2017 7:54:48 GMT
I'm also thinking the semi-retirement scenario. Or full retirement, giving up all royal duties maybe. But not abdication.
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Post by Flim Flam on Apr 27, 2017 15:39:57 GMT
Just got interested in some of your excellent recommendations for books and thought I would check online with my local library to see if they had any of them.
Only to discover that my nearest public library ( a large library, much used by local people) will be totally shut from now until mid September, so that they can permanently close whole sections of the library, remove the cafe and make it more self-service. All to save money due to cutbacks. That wouldn't be such a joke if they had not (and not many years ago either) closed it totally for 15 months in order to modernise it (change the room functions, remove lots of books and add more dvds) and add a cafe. Honestly, if they remove any more books they might as well not bother. I understand cutbacks are necessary, but honestly the peanuts they will save by cutting back on a couple of staff members will take years to be felt, balanced against all the costs of these endless building works.
Oh well, off to Amazon.
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Post by Flim Flam on Apr 22, 2017 8:35:59 GMT
That's interesting.
I only wondered, as I was delivering some retail training to a group of young people in Witney a few years ago. Bearing in mind that Witney's main claims to fame is its famous blanket industry (an industry that dominated the town for hundreds of years in fact) I casually mentioned the blankets to them during a coffee break. Several of them looked blankly at me. I even asked them if they had grown up and gone to school locally and they all said yes. So I no longer take anything like this for granted...
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Post by Flim Flam on Apr 22, 2017 8:12:18 GMT
Southampton would be somewhat appropriate don't you think? Give that the actual Titanic left from there on its maiden voyage. Actually, Southampton had a very strong connection with the Titanic. The vast majority of the crew came from Southampton and t here were famous photographs at the time, of the crowds gathered daily outside the White Star offices in Southampton to see if their relatives names appeared on the updated lists of survivors. Many, many families lost their main breadwinner in the disaster. My elderly dad grew up in Southampton in the decades following, and he always told me that the disaster cast a long shadow in the town. Mind you, I loved the musical personally. Times move on and I wonder how many people who attend in Southampton will know anything about this connection?
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Post by Flim Flam on Apr 20, 2017 14:36:16 GMT
I'm just delighted to hear we're talking about the play not the PM's latest announcement... Me too. I double checked to make sure it wasn't in the 'general chat' section...
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Post by Flim Flam on Apr 13, 2017 15:29:34 GMT
What is that artisan gelato? Is that the tri-coloured ice cream; Strawberry, Chocolate and Vanilla sandwiched in one of those cheap wafers. Yes, you need the artisan (she's a retired plasterer) to sandwich the layers together. Its probably also specially 'curated' gelato. Have you noticed how everything is curated these days? I don't know how we got along in the past without curating things. Well, except for my local museum, that always had a very nice chap who was the curator.
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Post by Flim Flam on Apr 13, 2017 14:52:00 GMT
That does not surprise me in the slightest. Went to this when it was playing in London (got offered very cheap tickets) and it was genuinely one of the scariest audiences I have ever seen. We sat in the centre stalls surrounded by lots of semi-inebriated, mad-keen Flatley fans who enthusiastically yelled and stomped their feet at everything that moved. And waved things too, banners, roses and suchlike. What made it worse was that we were not Flatley fans and only went along to see what we imagined would be some tasteful Irish dancing. What a shocker! Weird multi-coloured backdrops, canned music, Star Wars stormtroopers and not a glimpse of Flatley until right at the end when he smugly turned up to receive the adulation of the audience, for dancing a few steps with the chorus line. Oh, apart from when he appeared as a hologram of course. The hardest thing was desperately trying not to laugh during the performance, as we thought we would be lynched by the other audience members. Certainly a memorable night... and it definitely lived up to its 'Dangerous Games' title.
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Post by Flim Flam on Apr 12, 2017 11:36:55 GMT
Ha ha. Yes, makes the blood boil. Don't see what the point of the article is exactly.
Its not as if you are telling people how to do something constructive if the only way to achieve that is with a lucky combination of relatives you can stay with/ cheap property prices/ good rental returns/ parents offering you jobs etc. Only applies to a tiny subset of the population...and unfortunately to a subset with no self-awareness.
Mind you, it somehow reminds me of the type of entitlement expressed by people on those property shows, who turn up at a house and say (about a perfectly clean and reasonable kitchen)- 'Oh, I couldn't live with that kitchen. I am not interested in the property.'
It's a kitchen for goodness sake. Live with it until you can afford to update it. What is the matter with people!
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