Atkinson's Perfumier Old Bond Street

Opposite Tiffany's in London is the old Atkinson's perfumier shop: established in 1799 the building is memorialised for its carillion.  It was such a beautiful building, full of strange decorative details, that I couldn't resist taking several pictures!

London July 2012 - Mayfair and shopping in London's arcades (the art of NOT buying)

We found plenty of nifty arcades in London yesterday; all elegantly decorated and attracting those with wealth (and those like us just looking).

We initially saw the Arcade on Albermarle Street.

We then browsed the Burlington Arcade near the Royal Academy.

Finding Matthew Foster's there was the most wonderful - and awful - treat.  Wonderful because his art deco wares were just divine.

Awful because to have these things would break the bank (though aren't the banks already broken?  mmmm).  We've decided that if the number come up on the lottery that good, I'm just phoning Foster and buying the stock.  Everything.

There was a diamond and sapphire square ring priced at £11,500.  Well, THAT'S a sum of money everyone had down the back of their sofa...!*  The image below is of a similar ring that auctioned for around £1000 (a snip), but the Foster item has an unbroken square surround of sapphire with a square diamond in the centre.  Swoon...

*Note: if you have this sum down the back of your sofa, please send it on to me and I'll be buying a shiny ring with it. :)

London in July - part two Jenny Holzer at Spruth Magers

Neil had spotted that there was an exhibition of Jenny Holzer's work - the show is called Sophisticated Devices - at a private gallery.  I'm rather fond of Holzer's work. I came across her during my Art History studies (not Rat Hostiry as I just typed).

Holzer specialises in text-based conceptual art.  The work, the words and aphorisms are sometimes oblique, usually intentionally provocative (are we meant to agree, disagree or recoil in horror at the observation?), but always intriguing...

The overview images on the Spruth Magers site give some ideas.

Spruth Magers Berlin London are the archetypal private gallery.  It's in Mayfair (not far from Cork Street, still historically centre of the art world in London) and it's staffed by pretty girls - with MacBooks - and there's not another visiting soul in sight when we go in.  Admittedly, it's a cold and VERY wet Saturday, but even so.  Neil and I have increasingly come to the conclusion that although not discouraging, the manner of private galleries is scarcely one of "come on in".  Getting the courage to walk up to the door, let alone to buzz to be let in, is hard.  In that light, this particular artwork from the show seems very apt.

It almost makes me sad, because Holzer is foremost a PUBLIC artist.  I don't mean that she makes public artworks only (though she does) but because her works function with regard to public observation.  They are about and for people.  How and why we think.  The world of consumerism, expectations, social mores and perceptions.

Her works are public provocations to think more about ourselves and the world.

I particularly liked the granite benches included here, their solidity reinforcing the harsh statements made on them.  This one really struck me:

YOU SHOULD LIMIT THE NUMBER OF TIMES

YOU ACT AGAINST YOUR NATURE,

LIKE SLEEPING WITH PEOPLE YOU HATE.

IT'S INTERESTING TO TEST YOUR

CAPABILITIES FOR A WHILE

BUT TOO MUCH WILL CAUSE DAMAGE.

London July 2012 - start of the day

We started the day at 5.30am with an alarm to get up; the train from East Midlands parkway was at 7.39 and we arrived in plenty of time for that and sat reading the Saturday Guardian before the train arrived.

We skipped having First Class this time around and it was fine - but I'd have preferred my seat to not have been broken as it made for a somewhat slumped and uncomfy journey down.

Anyway, once arrived we kicked off with a wander through St Pancras to get the Piccadilly line tube to Leicester Square - the square is now finished but doesn't look THAT different.  Nice railings, a curvy boundary, Shakespeare is still in the middle, but nowt that special and they haven't even weeded the outer edge yet.

We headed past Notre Dame de France (visited many moons ago on Open House Day) and then around to pick up Wardour Street and on to Bar Bruno where we were greeted with joyful enthusiasm by the ever-lovely Bruno.  He may be semi-retired now, but the place is such a lovely way to start a day in London.   A great welcome - we may only go about 3-5 occasions over a year but you feel like you've come back home when they greet you.  My mum would have LOVED this place.

After breakfast it was on to the NPG for the BP Portrait Awards 2012.  Always enjoy seeing the images here, and though I preferred a different image to the winner (bold and impressive though the winner was), it was a pleasure to see portraiture continuing.

Once we'd done the exhibition we started to head to Mayfair, but then Neil offered the idea of getting some Tim Tams from the Australia Shop in Covent Garden so we headed there first!  Yum....

Stratford - Shakespeare's Church

We may have driven through torrential rain to get there but once we arrived in Stratford on Avon last week, the weather was lovely.  As we'd never made it inside previously - yes, I know, terrible - we thought we should make a pilgrimage into Shakespeare's church: Holy Trinity.

 

The large organ at Holy Trinity

Shakespeare's tomb and statue

The seats had very amazing carvings on them.

And as we came out there was the most beautiful dappled sunlight through the trees as you walked from the church.

Malt Cross bands July 2012

Neil can sometimes really help bring the happy to a week - on July 4th he spotted that three bands were doing a free gig at one of our best local pubs in Nottingham.  The glorious Malt Cross Music Hall is a real hidden treasure in Nottingham, tucked on a small side street just off the main Market Square.

The building was built in 1877 and restored a few years ago.  The glass roof is a beauty:

Anyway, on July 4th we headed there from work to meet and have food (they do decent food at the Malt Cross too), 

We were so early that the bands were in the process of setting up on the balcony and rehearsing.  The three bands on were: Red Shoe Diaries, August Actually and topping the bill, The Lobster Boat Band, essentially Howard Hughes from the band Coming Home and David Tattersall from The Wave Pictures, plus other members from these respective bands.

Watching the bands rehearse was lovely - we had some extra tracks and therefore also had chance to enjoy a bit of extra music. 

In terms of the gig(s), I wish that August Actually would release some of their new vampire/werewolf flavoured tunes, but they were a real blast to see live - a kinda Jeffrey Lewis style collection but with added fun.  Love the trumpet playing and electric violin, but mostly loved them for their quirky lyrics and tone. And Red Shoe Diaries are always good - seen at Summer Sundae a few years ago and still entertaining even as a 3-piece (the rest of the band were unavailable).  They also did a nice line in loaning a guitar when things went awry, but mostly for me me this evening was about the fabulous Tattersall, Hughes and co - everything else was a gorgeously appreciated bonus!

It was especially nice given this was a free gig in a pub that Hughes still ventured from the balcony stage down into the pit to sing a cappella, quietening the noise in a lovely way.  His elegant swing beneath the railings, using his height to make the move look effortless, was a joy to see (he'd checked it's feasibility earlier to do this maneouvre!) 

Howard Hughes getting ready to test his theory that he can elegantly clamber from balcony to ground floor...

And Hughes a cappella singing was delightful, taking to a chair, ending by singing from the stairwell to the balcony. The Malt Cross is an odd venue because the balcony stage means you are looking DOWN from a height to most of the audience, with another section of audience looking DOWN on you.  Anyway, we had a fab time and here are some pictures of the occasion.

Red Shoe Diaries watched by David Tattersall

August Actually

The Lobster Boat Band

Caesar in Africa - Julius Caesar @ Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon, Friday 6 July 2012

I'm meant to be writing book reviews (and I am, honest: I just got distracted - I'm at least a quarter-way through doing each of them...). We booked to see this new production of Julius Caesar a while ago, and we were not sure at the time when this may be shown on TV (as we knew a TV version would be produced). We ended up missing the TV version, but as it came just a couple of weeks before we were due to see it on stage, we felt it was a screening we would not miss as much as some others (I've set to record the Hollow Crown series).



Well, we saw this African-set Julius Caesar last night and it was a joy. I mean we enjoyed the version we saw at the RSC (at the Courtyard) a few years ago, but this was in another league entirely.*

Paterson Joseph as Brutus was especially amazing to watch, especially when paired with Ray Fearon as Mark Anthony (there's a lovely mini-documentary on their roles at the RSC site).  But it does seem harsh to pick out individuals as this was such a great piece of collective performance.  The 'community chorus' that has been recruited to perform are fantastic, and wonderfully supplement the official speaking parts.  The music is fantastic, not least in the opening pre-play sequence, something of a growing tradition at the RSC and one I really enjoy as the stage fills with action.

And can I just say that Adjoa Andoh as Portia** more than matches Paterson Joseph's excellence in one of the play's rare female roles (this is a VERY male play on many levels).  What the women lack in lines, they make up for in compelling commitment to speaking truth, even though both she and Calpurnia (Caesar's wife) are ultimately unsuccessful at maintaining their husbands' grip on power or wisdom.

The African setting is exceptionally potent, and the linguistic rhythms of Shakespeare lend themselves well to these accents delivering the dialogue: there's plenty of guns and gunfire, but blades remain to the fore and there is a particularly disconcerting scene where Cinna the poet is mistook for Cinna the conspirator with deadly consequences echoing the internecine violence of arpartheid South Africa.

If you get chance to see this on tour, in London or elsewhere, then take the chance.  It's a stunning production and worth seeing on stage and not just on screen,


* I'd like to note that final line in my previous review about the monsoon we drove through to get to Stratford. What is it about Stratfordian monsoon rainfall and Julius Caesar?! It was pretty biblical driving from Nottingham to Stratford yesterday!

** Andoh is also stunningly beautiful, but Ann Ogbomo just shades it in terms of how she is costumed

Lost weekend... interrupted

Hey ho: ain't it the truth that life and death get in the way of things.

Never mind - we still had a good run at things this weekend.

Thursday night:

Fright Night (2011) - see a neat interview here with writer Marti Noxon, and another with David Tennant who plays Peter Vincent in the film
The Decoy Bride
- selected scenes from Harry Potter 4 (The Goblet of Fire)

Friday:

French Film
If Only
- the shoot-out scene from The International (in the Guggenheim New York)



- the opening sequence from the Sherlock episode 'The Reichenbach Falls, and the end (*sob*)
Do You Remember The First Time? - Doctor Who Confidential for Blink
Primeval Season Two finale
Primeval Season 3, episode 3 (Dougie's final episode)
- selected scenes from Orphans

- listened to The Now Show

Hamlet (this took longer than the 3 hours to watch as we got distracted by Tennant's midriff and appendectomy scar - in no defense at all we had been drinking)

Saturday:

Learners
- the second half of A Good Year
- Tim's Story from Lawless Heart
- selected poems from 'Essential Poems to Fall in Love With'
- final 'year' sequence from This Year's Love (including the supermarket scene)
Final episode of Blackpool
- LA Confidential from when Exley asks Vincennes why he joined the police, and the story of Rollo Tomasi
- odds and ends (very short scenes from stuff)
- start of Anna Karenina episode one
Einstein and Eddington

.... and there proceedings were brought to a stop for this year.  It was good whilst it lasted and if H and I can get a day off together then who knows, we may yet get our annual pilgrimage to Venice and Casanova...

Normblog's Hitchcock poll

Norm is polling again: this time it's the Normblog Hitchcock poll.

I have to confess that Norm's initial listing is pretty appealing:

My top four Hitchcock movies in rank order: (1) Psycho (2) Vertigo (3) North By Northwest (4) The Birds.


Bubbling unders: Marnie; Shadow of a Doubt; Strangers on a Train.

For me though, I'm not quite convinced that I would rate Psycho in the top listing (it's powerful but it's not a favourite) and nor am I quite in line with the fandom for Marnie (which garnered a lot of positive feedback on the FB comments).

My list would probably be as follows:

1) North by Northwest - still adorable, totally enjoyable and with Cary Grant and Eve Marie-Saint.  Brilliant
2) Vertigo - disturbing, but delightfully intriguing - and with Jimmy Stewart and Kim Novak (even if she did get her knickers in a twist about music)
3) The Birds - far, FAR freakier than Psycho, totally disturbed me.  The colours when you see the farmer's eyes... *shudder*
4) Shadow of a Doubt - for Joseph Cotten
5) The 39 Steps - because it's just such a great romp

Lowdham Food Fiesta 24 June 2012

This year, for a number of reasons, I won't be at the final day events of Lowdham Book Festival. Firstly, they've not got the major books fair they usually have on the final Saturday. *sad face* There are still talks and events going on next Saturday, but not the book fair. Secondly, it clashes with the 'lost Weekend' of DVD watching, so even if the event WAS scheduled as usual I'd probably not be going.

To compensate, we decided to go along to the Food Fiesta day they were having on the penultimate Sunday (24 June 2012) just across the road from Lowdham at Caythorpe Cricket Club. It helped that the lovely Kris and Dan (from Kris in Notts blog) were going along, and this would give us a chance to meet their son Sam who wasn't even beyond the womb when we last met up with Kris!

We arrived around lunchtime and were soon nosing around the goodies available - Neil got some Mr Trotter’s Great British Pork Crackling to kick things off (HIGH, high high in salt, but it's not as if he eats it regularly - once every two or three years?!)

I also picked up a couple of very fruity sticky teacakes from Hambleton Bakery - worth every penny spent on them for how delicious they were later that day at home with a cuppa tea. From the Gonalston Farm Shop stall, we got some super-fresh strawberries (had some last night, more on that in a mo), and Neil was tempted into some Bramley Apple compote which was sooooo charmingly sold to us by a local farmer that we couldn't resist. They also provided goats cheese (for me) and Shropshire Blue (for Neil) and we could have bought so much more as well... And because we endlessly find jars of harisa paste are too big to be eaten before going off, we picked up a tub from Taste - Gourmet Spice Company of harisa spices. We can add to tomato paste and make what we need as we need it!

We had a lovely time hanging out with Kris et al, and their friends (and their twin boys) whom we'd met at Kris and Dan's flat warming party back before they all had their children. It was a great atmosphere despite the floor of the marquee being squelchy wet in places from the torrential downpours of rain we've had in the UK. There is something fun about watching everyone chuckling over yogurt-smeared faced young toddlers!

In terms of reading matter, I picked up a copy of Nottinghamshire Flavours (local foodie mag) and Neil bought a book on baking so we may even get to more baking products over the summer. Well, we couldn't leave without something to read!

We did however resist the lure of the 'Jamie at Homeware' stand, having decided that Grayson Perry had been incisive enough about this tupperware party habit de nos jours.

To finish the day, Neil joined Dan and Kris at the Stilton and Port tasting event. It went on a bit longer than planned so I know Kris got a bit zoned out on the label reading analysis of Port types, but Neil enjoyed the cheese and learnt a fair bit more about Port and the different types you can get. I think he was glad to go to it!

Whilst we were sat in conversation, my view was blocked so I needed to be reminded about the cheesecake stall from Yummy Cheesecakes. Had to remedy that! Taking a taste, I immediately got a box of 6 small cheesecakes - milk chocolate, dark chocolate, two lemon and two blueberry. Neil and I had one each last night - he zingy lemon with a side helping of fresh strawberries, and me the dark chocolate one with strawberries on the side.

YUMMY indeed.

A very nice day and lovely to meet some nice people (Pippa of Five Leaves Press) and catch up with Kris and Dan and young Sam. And it was nice weather too!  I'll try and add some pics later but my camera battery is dedded at the mo so need to charge it so I can upload pics!

A new cafe in Nottingham - Thea Caffea

Thanks to a tip-off from the lovely Joe at Joe's Store in Nottingham, we found a fab new cafe in Nottingham.  Thea Caffea is great. Very swish and a lovely atmosphere!

Buffy overdosing

Man - there really is nothing like coming back to something cool when you've just lived on (very detailed) memories for a long time.

Apart from the odd episode, I haven't watched Buffy the Vampire Slayer since the grand watching with George that culminated in us watching 'Chosen' (final ep, number 144) back in summer 2004.

That is a LONG time ago.  So, on the back of reading Keith Topping's "The Complete Slayer" episode guide tome for like the fifth time - at least - I felt I wanted to go back and really watch properly.  I'm not taking notes or anything, but I'm launching through a SERIOUS re-watch period.

So far, since 9 June I've munched my way through to Season 2 and episode 6 "Halloween".  We've had some great episodes even this far, and there are a lot of VERY good lines.

And against the run of fandom play, I'm still in love with 'When She Was Bad', the opener to season 2. Yes, Buffy is a complete BITCA, but I *heart* with a fearsome passion the following scene, and especially this line:

Xander - "Well, we could grind our enemies into talcum powder with a sledgehammer, but, gosh, we did that LAST night"
(and cue the most cheesy teethy smile from Willow ever)

*Sigh*

And to confirm that doing a big rewatch was JUST the right thing to get me through the summer, I found out that Nikki Stafford, a long-established writer on the Buffyverse, was nominated for a Mr Pointy award by the Whedon Studies Association (publishers of Slayage).

Okay, so they did their big rewatch last year (ahem: I missed it okay, I was busy) but hey, I'm never one for a schedule right?

Anyway - you can expect an intermittent bunch of posts about Buffy for the next few months.  Hey - I need to get back into blogging and this may be the way...

I want to be the Slayer - and here's the kit for it!

This Vampire Slaying kit is up for auction.

Anyone wishing to buy it for me should not be deterred from their endeavours.

Yes: I have been re-reading a lot of 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' books lately.

NEA Big Read: Meet Ray Bradbury - in honour of the late Ray Bradbury

David Tennant reading sonnet 18