By The Water, For The Heat

Yes, Summer in the City has arived. And, so, it's time to cool off elsewhere. To seek refuge. By the lake...



boat, non obligé



..in the mountains, of course...



A snake came to my water-trough
On a hot, hot day, and I in pyjamas for the heat,
To drink there

Joggers on Embankment

Summer in the city, at last!



Some joggers enjoying the lunchtime sun.

Sombrero

Last night we went to Sadler's Wells to see Phillipe Decouflé’s latest work Sombrero.

...Sombrero - in which the choreographer himself dances - sees him playing with images of light and shadow, with the intense heat of the sun employed as a central theme. Decouflé creates captivating and magical images using a blend of both old-fashioned theatricality and high-tech video trickery.

Sombrero is a funny, entertaining, moving and magical experience that looks set to be a real treat for Decouflé fans and newcomers alike...

from sadlerswells.com

Technically, the dancing was competent to good, though the idea and execution was the real gem. Dancers, dancing with their shadow-sometimes other dancers, digital or video projection. So very well done that, on occasion, the viewer wasn't really sure if the shadow was genuine or false-be it dancer or digital.

There was clever use of shadow trickery. On the whole the production was fairly satisfying.

However the French actress and actor (who was the worse of the two) pigeon English, heavily accented (so that it was incomprehensible most of the time) who delivered the prologue, and some commentary throughout should have done so in French. Xfe couldn't understand their English because of the accent. That probably went for the rest of the French people in the audience.

Dinner@The Fish Shop

After the show (which finished at 9pm) we went for dinner at The Fish Shop on St John St.

That was rather disappointing. We had a lovely table in a fine loking restaurant. We were served pretty quickly. We had pre-starter platters of whelks and of marinated mussels. The whelks had been cooked some time before and left in a warm over, or under a heat lamp. Those parts exposed from the shell were dry and rubber, with the eye baked on to the end. The mussels weren't much better.

For starter we each had soup. I had the fish chowder, which I thought was going to be smoked haddock and salmon-though I might have imagined that. When it came it was more disintegrated parts of salmon than haddock, and certainly there was no smokiness about it. No corn certainly, and a watery consistency, certainly not creamy. Bland and disappointing.

My main was the monkfish in bacon. Once again, it was tough and rubbery. Overcooked, left under a heat lamp. And we had to wait about 45 minutes for our main!

The cost was £88 for the two of us which included a bottle of rose (well, it is summer, and service-12.5% optional.

Family of Null

À bientôt, Martha... Tegan Jovanka you are not!

I have categorically not been sacked

Thank heavens Martha Jones is on her way back to part-time video shop assistant. Bland, bland, bland. Ok, so initially the scripts don't work for her, but very quickly it's apparent that there's no chemistry between her and the Doctor. So, happen they be apart-make it so, writers. Give her a gap year.

Then, one year and a day later, mobile phone left behind for "Doctor on demand", mother is resplendent in the joy of Martha's turning her back to the box. Yet the family of (Jones') blood are cursing *her* failure to become anything...oh the promise!

Summer in the City

Night


and day...

Rafta, Rafta...

Last night we visited the National, and thoroughly enjoyed Nicholas Hytner's Rafta, Rafta..., based on the Naughton All in Good Time.

A time when newly married's took their spouse to live in the parental home. Close enough, for when I was newly born my parent's rented a room in her cousin's house. At 84 King Street. Except now it's remains relevant only to Asian families. The chavs, of course, are on welfare, and those who aren't aren't, and can well afford to support themselves.

Meera Syal was her solid, reliable self, as ever, but the real star was Harish Patel, the patriarch.

We say, go view.

A Midsummer's Night's Shakespeare

Continuing our weekend of culture, we took advantage of the short night (it was the day after the longest), and took in the midnight matinee of Othello at the Globe Theatre.

It started at midnight and finished at 3.30am, at which time you could have breakfast in the Swan and watch the sunrise over Bankside.


The joys of London life, indeed!

One of the remarkable things about the production is that it's the first time ever that a black actor has taken on the role of Othello at the Globe (including the original Globe theatre-it's the first Othello at the modern Globe).

That's Eamonn Walker (best known for the US prison series Oz). Whilst undoubtedly charismatic, he struggles with his diction-and is not suited to the Globe's open air accoustic.

Tim McInnery should know better! He gobbles many of his words, but managing to project. Still, he works the audience so very well! A creditable Iago.

Desdemona is not only pure in character, but pure in dialogue.



I'd certainly not rush back to the Globe. I know it tries to give as authentic an experience as possible, but I found the wondering around of the stalls-standing only audience, coming and going, just too distracting. It is hard enough to follow Shakespeare at the best of times.

Perhaps it can be put down to 3am fatigue, but there were just too many plastic beer cups crunching underfoot as they were kicked about by the milling crowd. Then, someone fainted and had a seizure (no wonder-if you choose to rest your 3.5 hour weary feet and sit, the over-efficient stewards take such joy in shooing you back on your feet).

Fortunately, we had seats...

Still, the detail of the theatre is remarkable.


Did anyone see Dr Who filmed there?

So my verdict? If you want to see the "jobsworth" retiree wives that make up the Globe's stewards, dealing with the bored tourist hoards, worth a visit!

Meltdown-John Barry

Tonight we went to the Royal Festival Hall, post £200m refurb, to see one of the Jarvis Cocker Meltdown events.

John Barry is nothing, if not prolific. He has amassed five Oscars, four Grammys, some Golden Globes and various other honours.



He has scored 11 Bond films-arranging, conducting and performing the original Bond theme (credited to Monty Norman).

Tonight the London Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Nicholas Dodd celebrated "The Music of John Barry", with special guests John Barry and Jarvis Cocker.

The great man kicked off with a slow tempo Goldfinger before Jarvis kind of strangled "We Have All The Time In The World". (Mrs Peel, we're needed).



Not quite the start the show deserved. Goldfinger should have been far more upbeat to thrill!

But, boy the wonderful tunes..Midnight Cowboy, Dances With Wolves, Born Free The Persuaders! theme (great) and umpteen Bonds-including a lush All Time High.

Who did we spot in the hall a couple of rows behind us, but erstwhile collaborator (and birthday boy) Don Black-lyricist of Diamnods Are Forever, Thunderball and Born Free (and my own personal favourite, Aspects of Love).

Summer in the City

June 1st. That means it must be summer.