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Post by crowblack on Oct 8, 2023 16:12:43 GMT
Btw, is it t-shirt weather in London? I've had to replan my wardrobe for a 2 day visit.
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Post by crowblack on Oct 8, 2023 11:58:50 GMT
Taking a couple of pictures to remember you were there: fine, I took a couple myself that weren’t of a quality that I think is good enough to share on social media, there was one clown who spent pretty much the whole event just taking pictures and filming bits, I wonder if he was even taking in what was being said. Some people do this to post online globally as a 'fan service' though, so I can understand why people do it, even if it is annoying. There was a woman doing it a lot in the front row of a gig I went to a couple of years ago and she had her phone flashlight on too - it was in the RX theatre, in the round, so it was shining right into the band's faces as well as ours.
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Post by crowblack on Oct 6, 2023 17:11:05 GMT
Nice, wide ranging interview with Patsy Ferran on Radio 4's Front Row this week btw.
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Post by crowblack on Oct 5, 2023 14:51:12 GMT
We used to live a more sustainable lifestyle - the environmental footprint of daily life in the 1980s was far greener than today, where people think it's some sort of human right to dress and eat like it's midsummer in December. We need a campaign to go back to that, with the more energy efficient technology of now. And cheap or free public transport to get more people off the roads. The train website I use now has a 'pay in three' option! That's where we are now - for a train journey! Electric cars are not the answer - they're heavier causing more wear on roads, more tyre debris washing into oceans, and they're a fire hazard.
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Post by crowblack on Oct 5, 2023 14:37:51 GMT
If I were in the oil industry and intent on promoting it, I would be covertly funding JSO. JSO is more successful than any lobby group in driving public opinion against support for green policies. This is why they are "tolerated" by oil firms. You've hit the nail on the head (not about funding) but about them being self-defeating in trying to persuade public opinion. I wouldn't be surprised if they turned out to be working for the oil industry, like the 'militants' in Alan Bleasdale's GBH, tarring the image of Labour for a generation and who turn out to be a bunch of posh agents provocteurs at the end . The opening of that new oil field last week passed with less mainstream protest than I'd have expected. This is such an important issue and they're turning it into some sort of middle class scout badge collection.
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Post by crowblack on Oct 4, 2023 22:12:59 GMT
am I right in remembering Gary Oldman and Cheryl Campbell in the Royal Exchange's wonderfully rude Country Wife. The letter scene still lingers as pure joy. A production which also had Alex Jennings Yes, Gary Oldman, Ian McDiarmid, Cheryl Campbell and Alex Jennings - what a treat! The RX also had a production of The Alchemist around that time too - not Restoration obviously, but great fun.
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Post by crowblack on Oct 3, 2023 21:12:02 GMT
It's a shame - I saw some very entertaining productions as a teenager when I was starting to get into theatre, including Hytner's The Country Wife with a cracking cast at the RX. It feels related to the decline in the TV sitcom too.
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Post by crowblack on Oct 3, 2023 12:27:14 GMT
I live in North Wales. Nearest venues appear to be either Harrogate or Bristol. So that’ll be a no from me too. Same here - impossible - I'm in the NW and my nearest would be Bristol or Harrogate too! How very disappointing and annoying!
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Post by crowblack on Oct 2, 2023 18:46:48 GMT
Thanks, I'll print out the email and hope I can get the discounts and whatnot with that for the time being. My new membership card finally arrived this morning, so maybe they’re making an effort to send them out following the opening of festival bookings: unfortunately, due to the train strikes on Wednesday it looks like I won’t be able to attend the screening of You Can Call Me Bill. That's a shame - hope you can get to the rest! Still no card here though our post is slow and intermittent.
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Post by crowblack on Oct 1, 2023 20:09:39 GMT
Btw, in case anyone isn't aware, the Pinter theatre production with Toby Jones and co. is still on BBC iplayer until Wednesday.
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Post by crowblack on Sept 29, 2023 17:24:45 GMT
Btw, are you allowed to bring quiet snacks in, like a banana or tangerine? I've just seen a tweet about bananas being confiscated on the way in to a music gig, so I wondered! As you can probably tell, I haven't been to the BFI Southbank in years!
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Post by crowblack on Sept 29, 2023 9:17:22 GMT
I thought for a moment there they were doing genital symbols which tbh seems like the only logical way out of the tangled mess Theatreland's love of gender ideology has got them into. They could get someone like Julian Opie to do some tastefully vague drawings of genitals and stick them on the doors - a triangle and a line maybe. If you've got these bits, this is where you go.
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Post by crowblack on Sept 28, 2023 19:40:08 GMT
a preference for trousers and comfy clothes rather than an insta-pout and spray-on leggings is now rebranded a sign a girl is 'non-binary' or wannabe-boy. This actually isn't terribly new. In 1950s/60s US, I was labeled a tomboy because I hated frilly dresses and wanted my hair short. My dad nicknamed me "Charlie" and Mom made him stop because she was worried I'd be confused if I was a boy or a girl. Me and most of my friends would have been classed as tomboys, so would my mum in her day - it was seen as a normal part of growing up: it's even used on the cover of a 1952 American period education pamphlet I have ('You're a Young Lady Now!)' and the later 60s version. The issue now is that it's being forgotten. A dislike of frocks and princess tat is taken as a sign you're not really a girl after all. I've have a friend who talks like this about a girl pupil who doesn't want to be a bridesmaid - proof she's really a boy, apparently. It's at that level. It's exasperating!
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Post by crowblack on Sept 24, 2023 19:37:25 GMT
The set design looks surprisingly dull/ugly from the photos I've seen. Is it?
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Post by crowblack on Sept 21, 2023 22:05:26 GMT
I’ve been a BFI member since 2012: every year they’ve told me in advance they will be taking payment of the renewal of the membership fee and a new card has arrived before the expiry date, but this year the date on the card shows it expired at the end of August but no new card has arrived, I’ve mentioned this to a couple of members of staff at BFI Southbank and they had no idea why new cards hadn’t been sent out (I’ve still had members discounts in the shop and the bar but it’s shoddy all the same) Thanks, I'll print out the email and hope I can get the discounts and whatnot with that for the time being.
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Post by crowblack on Sept 21, 2023 16:20:38 GMT
Another query (sorry!), but how long does it take to receive a new BFI membership card? I took out membership at the start of the month but nothing in the (admittedly very erratic) post so far!
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Post by crowblack on Sept 12, 2023 9:40:01 GMT
In previous years, if there’s been any guests like directors or actors, they will be introduced on stage before the film and say a few words, usually takes five to ten minutes at most but I’m not sure if there will be any of that this year due to the ongoing SAG strike (although I saw both Jessica Chastain and Peter Sarsgaard made appearances at the Venice Film Festival last week, so don’t know how that happened) I think British, Irish, European and indie films are likely to be there - taking the opportunity to enjoy more sunlight with the US away. Some US indies and the like have been given the green light to go on filming during the strikes so they may show up too.
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Post by crowblack on Sept 11, 2023 22:19:28 GMT
Is it the film itself that starts at the stated time, so any introduction would be before that?
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Post by crowblack on Sept 11, 2023 11:29:27 GMT
The idea they were a flop was the very clear narrative that was pushed when they cancelled Sundays, but that was never the evidence I saw with my own eyes. The shows I went to on a Sunday at the NT, and others in the West End, were always very busy and as difficult to get tickets for as Saturdays, if not harder. Were employees paid more for Sundays than Saturdays and that forced the economics not to work? Interesting. I seem to recall there were union problems for the Sunday performances so I assume they ended up costing more. As a National Theatre, for those of us outside London (who nevertheless help pay its funding), weekends visits are the main option, so Sunday afternoons would be great - assuming there aren't track works, you could make a day trip of it.
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Post by crowblack on Sept 9, 2023 22:21:51 GMT
He's 51 though - surely not playing the Dane?
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Post by crowblack on Sept 9, 2023 7:43:36 GMT
We've had such an appalling summer in the NW - rain, cold, heating on, wettest July on record, everything mildewy and mouldy - I'm actually enjoying this (mostly): the hazy light is very 70s nostalgic and I'm getting on with some very belated Spring cleaning.
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Post by crowblack on Sept 7, 2023 19:38:28 GMT
I bought one of those mini hand fans (Funme) and it's very effective, though not quiet. Until this week, there has only been one day when I needed to use it (social event as a thunderstorm was about to break) and I forgot to bring it. Btw, do you have Sahara dust on everything today? We do here in the NW, and odd opal skies, very still, birdsong sounding really loud this evening.
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Post by crowblack on Sept 7, 2023 18:23:51 GMT
Btw, is the Bfi Riverfront restaurant as poor as the tripadvisor reviews suggest? I've never eaten there. I ate there a few years ago (when Oslo was on at the National) and it was noticeably poor. Nothing pleasant that you want from food (taste, texture, appearance) except it filled you up. The new tapas place La Gamba nearby is good. Thanks, I'll have a look - I used to just go to Byron burger on The Cut before a NT/OV/YV show because it was reliably fast, filling & tasty, but it's closed down. I might just bring a packed dinner!
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Post by crowblack on Sept 7, 2023 10:57:35 GMT
Btw, is the Bfi Riverfront restaurant as poor as the tripadvisor reviews suggest? I've never eaten there.
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Post by crowblack on Sept 6, 2023 20:21:48 GMT
Btw, I saw a couple of people on Twitter say they logged in at 8.55, didn't get put in the queue but were able to buy tickets straight away at 10! No way to verify these tweets, but kicking myself because my 2 pages on my desktop didn't flip to the queue at 9 as expected either, so I kept refreshing till they did - it might have been better to leave one unrefreshed as a test! I eventually got in at 11 and managed to snap up the last 'stalls' seat for Hoard, which is nearly sold out, so I'm delighted with that. The trains are an expensive mess at weekends so I'll wait for the other things I want to see to go on general release up north.
(The other page I had open, which was on my ipad - a lot more modern than the desktop - flipped immediately at 9 and that was the one I got through first on. Anyway, I might test it out on my desktop next time there's a queue-it booking)
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Post by crowblack on Sept 6, 2023 9:07:10 GMT
Logged in on one device at 9.01 and the other 9.05 cos it kept showing the regular page not the queue (I was logged in - it didn't show until my log in timed out, it seems)- both have given me a queue number in the upper 5000s.
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Post by crowblack on Sept 5, 2023 17:55:19 GMT
If a film isn't billed as a 'gala', does that mean it's just an ordinary screening, no directors, cast, talk? No, sometimes they still show up. The 11am opening gala "reprise" the following day used to be fun spotting which of the guests had the biggest hangovers... And sometimes at galas the guests may be underwhelming (and the writers strike might make them even more sparse this year). There are no guarantees. Thanks! The stars that do turn up, if they can do so 'ethically', will get more attention though!
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Post by crowblack on Sept 5, 2023 14:19:04 GMT
If a film isn't billed as a 'gala', does that mean it's just an ordinary screening, no directors, cast, talk?
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Post by crowblack on Sept 5, 2023 9:44:14 GMT
Does it make any difference to your eventual place in the queue if you open the website with the countdown at 8am or whatever, or is it just random? Or having two tabs open?
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Post by crowblack on Aug 27, 2023 20:08:31 GMT
I wonder how this will play with the upcoming elections? Less celebrity news and events, more airtime for the Trump show?
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