1,912 posts
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Brexit
Mar 18, 2019 17:25:34 GMT
Post by sf on Mar 18, 2019 17:25:34 GMT
And the government was given no advance warning of the ruling, which means Tessie No-Mates learned about it at the same time as the rest of us.
Thoughts and prayers, Mrs. May. Thoughts and prayers.
Surely they knew this was likely, though. The convention of not voting on the same thing again hasn't exactly been hidden out of sight in recent weeks. Simply put, it is the same motion that has already been defeated heavily, if they want another vote then they have to present something different to parliament.
You might think they'd know this was likely. I might think they'd know this was likely. One of this government's defining characteristics is that in matters related to Brexit they have never quite seemed to be entirely in touch with reality.
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Post by sf on Mar 18, 2019 17:22:05 GMT
Things can be done very quickly where necessary. And by saying they were doing this 'as a matter of priority' - they were giving the impression of seeking to act very swiftly. They could have used a different form of words that would have bought them more time - but they didn't. This should have been resolved by now. It is not that complicated.
If they want the situation to be resolved in a way that won't come back to bite them later, perhaps it is that complicated. Even if there's some kind of clause in Ms. Omooba's contract about bringing the production or the theatres into disrepute, the way this came to light complicates the situation. It's not like she said this stuff this week in an interview with the Leicester Mercury. The controversy is based on a social media post that's a few years old, that another actor - who is not working on this production - chose to make public. Her public response, so far, has been silence. I'm not defending any of the opinions she expressed in that post, but I imagine the producers need legal advice before they take definitive action, and good legal advice doesn't always arrive instantly. A knee-jerk response from the producers could easily open the door to legal action later: it's not difficult to see scenarios in which this could lead to her suing for wrongful/constructive dismissal.
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1,912 posts
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Brexit
Mar 18, 2019 16:22:59 GMT
Post by sf on Mar 18, 2019 16:22:59 GMT
Bercow has said no to MV3 if the motion remains substantially the same, in line with parliamentary convention.
And the government was given no advance warning of the ruling, which means Tessie No-Mates learned about it at the same time as the rest of us.
Thoughts and prayers, Mrs. May. Thoughts and prayers.
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Post by sf on Mar 18, 2019 16:07:05 GMT
For his sake, I hope Mr Tibs is away at a conference this week. I have to admit I know next to nothing about Nespresso, but isn't it just instant coffee in liquid form, like Camp coffee, but in an overpriced capsule?
Camp coffee has one use, and one use only: it is better than anything else for putting coffee flavour into a coffee cake.
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Post by sf on Mar 18, 2019 12:37:44 GMT
So is this is a case of someone's privately-expressed views being made public? Because, as a point of principle, I just don't think you can fire someone for privately expressed views being made public, in the absence of evidence that those views have affected professional behaviour. It's exactly that. It's a five-year-old Facebook post that another actor has made public, and the privacy settings on her Facebook page appear to be fairly tightly locked down - although I don't know whether that was true before this weekend. The fact that another actor made a public issue of it, though, does suggest that she's brought these beliefs into the workplace in ways that have not endeared her to her colleagues. There's a problem here, and it isn't going to go away, but the producers are going to have to tread very carefully indeed, because there are potential scenarios here which could easily end with her winning a wrongful dismissal case.
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Post by sf on Mar 18, 2019 1:57:13 GMT
I'm going to play Devil's Advocate here, and ask if there is any chance this young woman has no idea that the story has a gay storyline? I know, I know, everyone here thinks it's obvious, but I took a quick poll around my office and the few who actually had seen the film had no idea. And that's because Spielberg later admitted he took out 99% of the lesbian story so he could get it past the censors at the time. I think all you really see is a kiss. Not excusing her words, but maybe she really is clueless?
She played Nettie in a concert production of the show in 2017, so one would hope the penny has already dropped about that aspect of the plot.
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Post by sf on Mar 18, 2019 0:18:10 GMT
😂😂😂😂 we all thought this was just gonna be a nice small production, would come and go, and do it's thing. And here we are. She’s an actress, her job is to act out a character NOT be a spokesperson for a community. If she holds those views ( I don’t agree with them ) she can as long as she doesn’t incite hate or violence! She has an opinion, get over it.
She has an opinion, and she's entitled to hold whatever opinion she chooses, but the way this has come to light suggests she's brought that opinion into her workplace(s), probably more than once, in ways that made people feel uncomfortable.
And beyond that - I saw Ragtime, and she was the most memorable thing in it. She is phenomenally talented, but phenomenal talent is not always accompanied by intelligence or grace or kindness, and it's very, very easy these days for people to dig a great big pit for themselves on social media.
Her father sounds like a real piece of work.
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Post by sf on Mar 17, 2019 18:44:04 GMT
The Grange Arts Centre is still there. It's part of Oldham College, but they hire the venue out to other productions too.
I must have seen Raving Beauties but I have no memory of it. Somewhere in the house there's a copy of They Started Here, but I've no idea where it is.
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Post by sf on Mar 17, 2019 17:30:48 GMT
Remember a musical called 70 Girls 70 about a group of OAP fur-thieves who are trying to raise funds to buy out their retirement home(yes,really),which I saw at the Oldham Coliseum originally.I believe it transferred to the Vaudeville with Dora Bryan but only ran for a few months.I particularly remember a lovely song from it called ‘Well-Laid Plans’.The director was the wonderful Paul Kerryson.
Directed by Paul Kerryson, but at Chichester rather than the Oldham Coliseum. It played at the Opera House in Manchester, I think between Chichester and the West End, and that's where I saw it. Charming show, and Dora Bryan was terrific in it.
(I'm from Oldham. I was in the sixth form at the time, and I saw everything at the Coliseum. In 1990-91, their musicals - also directed by Paul Kerryson, who was their artistic director at the time - were revivals of Company and Sweeney Todd and Kerryson's 60s and 70s jukebox musicals, Hold Tight it's 60s Night and Hot Stuff.)
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Post by sf on Mar 17, 2019 16:00:21 GMT
I know it would have the same issues of being updated that the screens have but my solution would be, in addition to the screen, a machine where you can press a button and get today's list printed for you instantly, on a receipt style printer. The cost wouldn't be too high and less environmentally damaging as only those who want one would get one (and they could be pre-inserted into programmes) Or - simpler - if you could go to the show's website and download that day's cast list to your phone.
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Post by sf on Mar 17, 2019 15:19:32 GMT
Kelsey Grammar was on Andrew Marr this morning from about 10.35am. The clips of him rehearsing Impossible Dream were not inspiring. I expect a clip will appear here before long: www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0080bbs/clips
"Not inspiring" is kind (and I liked him a lot in Big Fish). I can't wait to not see him in this.
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Post by sf on Mar 16, 2019 21:42:35 GMT
Oh and I once exited Waterloo Station via the wrong exit and got lost and took me ages to find the Old Vic 😂
I did exactly this the first time I went to the Old Vic (which was rather a long time ago now).
I did it the first time I went to the Young Vic too.
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Post by sf on Mar 16, 2019 16:33:31 GMT
Question: is the running time listed on the website (2 hours 30 minutes plus a 20-minute interval) accurate? Seeing it Wednesday afternoon, and it would be helpful to know roughly what time I'll be out of there. Yes, more or less. My matinee was about 2 hours 55 minutes, but it started slightly late cos of a late arriving school party. Thank you!
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Post by sf on Mar 16, 2019 16:25:05 GMT
Question: is the running time listed on the website (2 hours 30 minutes plus a 20-minute interval) accurate? Seeing it Wednesday afternoon, and it would be helpful to know roughly what time I'll be out of there.
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Post by sf on Mar 16, 2019 16:20:49 GMT
I seem to remember a rumour before it was announced that Grammer would indeed play Sancho, with Bryn Terfel as Don Quixote. I heard the same. And it would have made artistic and commercial sense. Doesn't stop it from being a bad show choice from the outset
Yep. Terrible choice of show, for all the reasons you listed further up this thread.
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Post by sf on Mar 16, 2019 16:12:54 GMT
Grammer would - to my mind - be a far better choice for Sancho - he doesn't have the scale of voice necessary to fill the space as Don Q. I seem to remember a rumour before it was announced that Grammer would indeed play Sancho, with Bryn Terfel as Don Quixote.
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Post by sf on Mar 16, 2019 16:06:47 GMT
Meanwhile there is still not one single molecule of a smidgen of an inkling of what benefits brexit will bring us. Again, exactly how is it going to help the poorest and most vulnerable people in the UK? We've gone from "prosperity" to "don't worry, we'll manage to survive". ...and in the event of a no-deal exit, there are people who won't. Even with a deal, there are businesses up and down the country that will be significantly damaged by any outcome that pulls us away from the single market. There are people up and down the country whose livelihoods will be significantly damaged by an outcome that ends freedom of movement, which brings the right to do business across borders without significant paperwork as well as the right to seek work/live/study/retire across Europe. Those people and those businesses, by too many people, still seem to be regarded as collateral damage. The "we'll survive" argument, I'm afraid, is laughably simplistic. Eventually, sure, people will adjust - but there'll be a lot of damage done along the way, and for no good reason.
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1,912 posts
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Brexit
Mar 16, 2019 16:05:28 GMT
Post by sf on Mar 16, 2019 16:05:28 GMT
Now, maybe it’s my optimism that confuses you. My glass is always half full. I’m a remainer that supports the referendum result unquestionably and embraces leaving without a deal (if that is what we have to do). I grew up amidst the poorest parts of the country and not long after Maggie had closed the pits. But I also grew up in one of the first towns built after WWII, and know that no matter what is thrown at us, we have to just carry on the best we can and get through it. OK then. Forget medications, just-in-time supply chains, the economy, jobs, and all the rest of it. You're a glass-half-full person, you say. What's your solution to the border in Ireland? What's your solution to the border between Spain and Gibraltar?
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Post by sf on Mar 16, 2019 16:02:42 GMT
An understudy was on for one of the leads at the performance I saw of Allelujah at the Bridge last summer, and they didn't announce it. I had a back-and-forth with them on Twitter afterwards, and was distinctly unimpressed; first they told me they'd placed notices in the lobby, which they hadn't, and then they told me they didn't always have time to announce an understudy going on, which is a load of bull. The fact that they couldn't be bothered to announce the understudy's appearance shows massive disrespect for their cast, and for actors in general. He was very, very good, and he deserved proper credit.
Also, the woman who, after the second tweet, responded by email is apparently unable to spell the word 'performance', which is not impressive in someone who works for a theatre.
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Post by sf on Mar 16, 2019 1:36:37 GMT
This is as far I will read. The arrogance is uncalled for, along with the condescension. As I said, it's very easy for people who aren't on the sharp end to be glib about this mess.
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Post by sf on Mar 16, 2019 0:49:51 GMT
Despite the assurances further down the page, the key phrase on that page is in the first paragraph, right below the headline: "minimise disruption". It suggests rather strongly that some disruption is anticipated.
It's very easy - far too easy - for people who aren't on the sharp end to dismiss those concerns. It does seem clear that there's no majority in Parliament for a no-deal scenario, not least because it absolutely is not what people voted for - the Leave campaign's argument was that we would have more resources after leaving. Unless Parliament takes decisive action of some kind in the next two weeks, however, no-deal is the legal default, and bland assurances from a government that appears woefully unprepared for, well, just about everything are simply not going to cut it.
What's my stake in this? My mother has had a series of serious health problems over the last three years, she relies on prescription medications which are not sourced from within this country, she has recently been diagnosed with a very unpleasant and quite unusual but - fingers crossed - treatable form of cancer for which a treatment plan is not yet set in stone, and that treatment plan is not going to be finalised before the exit date. I am her primary caregiver, and right now, while there is absolutely nothing wrong with her mind, she is housebound and is not capable of living independently. The doctors are very positive, and say that after an operation and further treatment - almost certainly radiotherapy - she should regain her independence. I'm hopeful, but over the next few months we're in for a very bumpy ride. It's not going to be much fun for her; as the person responsible for her day-to-day wellbeing, it's not going to be a barrel of laughs for me either. Fortunately I live with her, and work from home; if I leave the house for more than about three hours at the moment, I have to make arrangements for somebody else to check in on her, and my closest relatives are twenty miles away, which means my main support system is her friends - ladies in their 70s, some of whom also have significant medical issues of their own to deal with.
In a no-deal scenario, if there's any disruption to the supply of medications, we're going to have a problem. If the supply of any of her regular medications is disrupted, it may potentially affect her readiness for surgery. At the very least, it could lead to her being admitted to hospital to receive medication there rather than at home in order to keep her stabilised for surgery - better than the alternative, but not optimal for her, because she's far happier at home than in hospital (she spent about a quarter of 2016 in hospital). If - God forbid - the supply of isotopes for radiotherapy is disrupted, her age and medical history mean she's unlikely to be placed at the head of the queue if the consultants have to start ranking cases.
I don't think this is a likely scenario. I have to hope that Parliament will take whatever steps are necessary to pull the country back from the precipice. As I said, it does seem clear that there's no majority in Parliament for crashing out without a deal, and there are people pushing very, very hard indeed to make sure it doesn't happen - but right now it is the legal default, and I'm going to be on edge until definitive, concrete, ironclad steps are taken to make sure it doesn't happen. The situation I'm in right now is stressful and upsetting, and keeping a smile on my face is exhausting. The threat, however remote, of a no-deal exit is additional stress that I just. don't. need. If we go over the cliff, people will be harmed. People will be harmed unneccessarily. That is unacceptable, and I'm afraid I find those politicians who are - still - airlily touting a no-deal scenario as the optimal outcome of this mess beneath contempt.
And yes, sure, that government update suggests arrangements are being made to "minimise disruption". I'm afraid this government has proved over and over again that they simply cannot be trusted, particularly with regard to the well-being of anybody who might be considered vulnerable. My mother, right now, is very, very vulnerable, and I am beyond furious that our politicians - just about all of them - have led us to a point where I have to worry about whether a bright, sharp, clever 75-year-old lady with a lot of life left in her and children and grandchildren who love her very much is going to get access to potentially life-saving medical treatment.
I've got somebody to cover for me, and I'm going to be marching on the 23rd. Whatever people voted for, this is not it; at the very least, the situation I'm in right now means I have to stand up - as I did last October, and as I did in Manchester 18 months ago - and show the rest of the world that despite the ridiculous "will of the people" mantra from the liars and charlatans who got us into this mess, there are plenty of us who didn't fall for a pack of lies wrapped up in dog-whistle racism, and who wholeheartedly loathe what this is doing to our country. I find the apathy, naivety, and downright ignorance and stupidity of people who dismiss these concerns as "project fear" absolutely enraging; as I said, it's very easy to be glib if you're lucky enough not to be at the sharp end. Many of us do not have that luxury.
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Post by sf on Mar 14, 2019 20:23:36 GMT
Apparenty there was going to be a live rabbit in the show BUT after receiving several complaints from the Rabbit Welfare Association and its supporters, they decided the rabbit would no longer be included in the show. Who knew there was a RWA!?!
"Don't Be the Bunny."
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Post by sf on Mar 14, 2019 20:21:04 GMT
Having a twice defeated motion of historical proportions be voted on again in lieu of one falling short by two votes and which commands vastly more support makes no sense to anyone with a brain. I'm pretty sure Tessie No-Mates is going for a record: she's aiming to make it so that Meaningful Votes on her withdrawal agreement will eventually outnumber Police Academy films.
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Brexit
Mar 14, 2019 20:19:21 GMT
Post by sf on Mar 14, 2019 20:19:21 GMT
One thing is clear, everyone involved in enabling this will be ruined politically for the rest of their lives. Whether that is May and her hapless government or Corbyn and his intransigent ideologues enabling that government. That's the bright side.
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Post by sf on Mar 14, 2019 16:57:51 GMT
I’m not sure the people of Normanton and Pontefract will see it in quite the same light.
I imagine she understands that better than anybody. She has a large majority, and large majorities can be toppled, and she's chosen to pursue the course that she feels will cause the least economic damage to her constituents, even though it's not what they voted for. That's brave. It shows a strength of character that is, frankly, absolutely lacking in many of her colleagues, including nearly the entire Labour front bench.
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Post by sf on Mar 14, 2019 16:16:11 GMT
I think it is just a means of allowing some lucky folk cheap stalls, in the same way the Grandage Season does at the Noel Coward, for example.
Right. I assume it's just the same thing as the small number of rear-stalls seats ATG are selling for £16 for The King and I and Book of Mormon in Manchester. I'll find out in May, but there's no pillar or restriction on the seat plan, and I bought the ticket in person from the Playhouse box office so I assume if it was being sold as restricted view it would have been pointed out to me.
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Post by sf on Mar 14, 2019 16:07:54 GMT
One person who has come out of this well IMO is Ken Clarke, a dedicated European who was prepared to compromise and vote for the deal rather than risk no deal. But they will never have him as Tory leader.
Also, Yvette Cooper has come out of it well.
That would be Yvette Cooper whose constituency voted leave by 70% to 30%? She’ll be lucky to get re-elected.
...which makes it all the more impressive that she's doing what she thinks is right for the country and for her constituents rather than what she thinks will get her re-elected. We live in a representative democracy; MPs are in the Commons to act in their constituents' best interests, not to take dictation from them.
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Brexit
Mar 14, 2019 15:28:45 GMT
Post by sf on Mar 14, 2019 15:28:45 GMT
Not completely fair. There are a few - a very few - MPs who have consistently acted with integrity since the referendum, and a couple of them are people I rather strongly disliked pre-2016. Anna Soubry, for one. Whatever you think of her, she is at least acting out of conviction rather than hiding behind dismal platitudes about the "will of the people" or, worse, trying to push the country down a road that would cause enormous damage so that their investment firm can profit from short-selling the pound.
Oh I really do hate it when someone comes back with a reasonable argument when I just want to make a sweeping statement.
...and you've just prompted me to distract myself from the news for 30 seconds by ordering a copy of Easy A on DVD.
For some reason, I am now imagining Esther "pants on fire" McVey in the Lisa Kudrow role. Oh, the horror. The horror.
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Brexit
Mar 14, 2019 15:14:52 GMT
Post by sf on Mar 14, 2019 15:14:52 GMT
None of them are coming out of this fiasco well, no matter which party they're in! One person who has come out of this well IMO is Ken Clarke, a dedicated European who was prepared to compromise and vote for the deal rather than risk no deal. But they will never have him as Tory leader.
Also, Yvette Cooper has come out of it well.
And a few more: Dominic Grieve, Sarah Wollaston, David Lammy.
I've been impressed by Jess Phillips over the last few weeks as well.
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Brexit
Mar 14, 2019 15:12:58 GMT
Post by sf on Mar 14, 2019 15:12:58 GMT
I don't think it will be JRM who takes over from May. I don't feel he's coming out of this fiasco well. None of them are coming out of this fiasco well, no matter which party they're in!
Not completely fair. There are a few - a very few - MPs who have consistently acted with integrity since the referendum, and a couple of them are people I rather strongly disliked pre-2016. Anna Soubry, for one. Whatever you think of her, she is at least acting out of conviction rather than hiding behind dismal platitudes about the "will of the people" or, worse, trying to push the country down a road that would cause enormous damage so that their investment firm can profit from short-selling the pound.
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