It has to be said that at the moment the issue of 'planning ahead' is feeling rather raw. We're in October and it seems like no time since February when the frantic ticket booking for Richard II. Now that's patently 'planning ahead' on a somewhat ludicrous basis.
At the other extreme, a new policy (semi-predicted in advance but not 'formalised' or notified beyond direct circle) was decided on the Thursday 19th before implementation on the Monday 23rd (and which has since already been 'clarified' - aka changed - twice).
Now these are clearly extremes, but my instinct leans to the former for clarity over the latter. I would sooner know stupid time in advance than at the last minute. I'm not anti-spontaneity, but time and place and sensible predictions people are likely to smooth my responses.
So I do get rather irritable at the tendency of others (I hasten, not anyone I know online but rather IRL friends and contacts) who will persist in last-minute invitations. You know what, we usually have a good time if we can go at short notice, but by lordy it gives me the cranky to know you clearly knew about and/or had been planning for an event for weeks and only thought to invite us the day before.
I can get myself in the mood, gear myself up for social interaction, if I know about it in advance. I can manage my workload ahead of the event so I'm not trashed before going. But if I'm just landed on with an invitation my instinct is going to go into hyper-crank mode ranting about the lack of notice. There's transport to sort and crucially FOOD. And a cranky HUNGRY Lisa is not a socially pleasant Lisa to have around you.
I'm just saying.
Thursday, October 03, 2013
Monday, September 30, 2013
On running
My sister-in-law is a serious runner ---- she has won the New Zealand 800m National Women's Masters competition, and on Sunday 29th September 2013 came 3rd in an extraordinarily hilly and demanding 10k run in Kinver for Action Heart. She runs pretty much all the time and is incredibly fit.
This is the amazing Sarah doing the 800m Dunedin Masters games in 2012.
This is the amazing Sarah doing the 800m Dunedin Masters games in 2012.
Anyway, today she and brother-in-law completed the VERY HARD Kinver 10k. Just to give you a sense of the route, there's a MapMyRun view. It's a pretty challenging set of hills that the race includes, and I really won't be doing it anytime soon.
It's pretty amazing that she came in at a time of just over 45 mins, with Mark coming in at just over 60 mins. That rather puts into a cocked hat mine and Neil's achievements at doing a 2k 'family fun run' (alongside 3-8 year olds, with various parents and few pre-teens) and covering the distance in a mostly-run, and a little bit walked 13-14 mins. Pah.
Still - Mark and Sarah did great.
Neil and Lisa post-race (note my "UN-healthy U" t-shirt from Nottingham Uni!)
Mark and Sarah post-race
Sarah and Mark pre-race
Next spring I seem to have signed myself up for doing Race for Life - that's 5k (I keep telling myself 3k just to not scare myself witless). I'll be part of the Art History team from Nottingham Uni (honorary associate member) and I'll be running alongside awesome Gaby Neher who promises we will have Haribo as rewards during training and certainly post-race.
Believe me, Haribo crocs are a REAL incentive, especially when they're the make of Haribo crocs generally only sold in France which are FAR superior to versions sold in the UK!
Friday, September 27, 2013
In praise of Thursday night telly
Peaky Blinders
Educating Yorkshire (though it ain't a patch on Educating Essex, the original and the best)
The Sound of Cinema: the Music that made the Movies
It's almost like they WANT to make it clear this is the digital catch-up age: three excellent programmes all scheduled for 9pm on a Thursday (we missed the potential of The Guilty starring lovely Tamsin Greig, but it seems it wasn't worth the effort - that TOO was on Thursday 9pm).
BBC1 Peaky Blinders
Peaky Blinders is ludicrously stylised and heavily anachronistic in parts (although we're especially enjoying the soundtrack: you can't hate a programme that uses Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds' "Red Right hand" as its intro music).
The storyline is barking, the politics no doubt flawed and yet....
It is pretty irresistible Murphy first came to my attention as The Scarecrow in the Batman Begins movie, and he's since cut quite a role for himself as mesmeric anti-hero types.
His character in Peaky Blinders, Thomas Shelby, will naturally head for a fall one feels (you want it to work, just as you want Aunt Pol, Helen McCrory, to keep slapping these useless blokes about the head), but you can't help rooting for him. A real gem, slo-mo included.
Channel 4: Educating Yorkshire
Well, it's not the glory that was Educating Essex - possibly the best advert for comprehensive UK education imaginable. In contrast, the teachers, whilst well-meaning, seem less in control and take a very different approach to interacting with students (please don't claim it's a 'northern thing' though; that's just insulting to everyone). I'd prefer ties that were properly tied, no shoes on the desks, and no swearing - even faux swearing - at students (it makes the infamous "clear off scumbags" in EE seem positively lightweight).
But the teachers and staff clearly ARE well-meaning, and managing teenagers is no mean feat for anyone to attempt.
Last night, was for me a key episode though, highlighting my personal weak points in these sort of programmes: the relationships between teenage girls. I've been there, been on the receiving end of rumours, 'friends' setting people against each other, the stress and hurt and anger that goes with it. I felt for both smart articulate Hadiqa and the academically struggling but bubbly Safiyyah - both to a certain extent victims of the malice that can be 'the other girls in the group'.
This was the first time in EY that I felt that sense of identification with the situation; something that felt much more live, more of a consistent undercurrent in EE even where events were outside my personal experience. Young people with Aspergers? I understand that one. Teenage pregnancy? Nottingham has (had) an awful reputation in that regard. Frustrated smart teenage girls? Oh yeah. Family circumstances for teenagers that would break any stone heart? Seen it around me. Boys who can't control their anger? Social media bullying? Desperately trying to teach the attentive and inattentive simultaneously? Feeling overwhelmed at what you cannot control (among both staff and students)? Pass me the hankies. It's the same production team, so does the difference, that lack of my feeling empathy for both students and teachers in EY, to do with the show or me? I felt it in every episode of EE - recognising the situations, the dramas, the reactions on both sides of the desk. With the Yorkshire show, it's like the desk is blurred and everything is more uncontained, less well-managed. It's really just to do with a different style of teaching and management, but somehow the flaws at Essex felt like things they were learning from and doing better each time they dealt with similar things. Essex set the standard with Mr Drew and Mr Goddard. I don't think Mr Mitchell or any of the year heads have yet quite measured up as yet (though Miss Uren has come close, as has Mrs Crowther).
BBC4: the Sound of Cinema series
The Sound of Cinema: The Music that made the Movies has been presented by Neil Brand who is just the right combination of nerdy and knowledgeable, passionate about film and able to communicate it to audiences. I am fascinated by the use of music in film so this series has been delightful and yet I have learnt things as well. Wonderful treat.
Educating Yorkshire (though it ain't a patch on Educating Essex, the original and the best)
The Sound of Cinema: the Music that made the Movies
It's almost like they WANT to make it clear this is the digital catch-up age: three excellent programmes all scheduled for 9pm on a Thursday (we missed the potential of The Guilty starring lovely Tamsin Greig, but it seems it wasn't worth the effort - that TOO was on Thursday 9pm).
BBC1 Peaky Blinders
Peaky Blinders is ludicrously stylised and heavily anachronistic in parts (although we're especially enjoying the soundtrack: you can't hate a programme that uses Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds' "Red Right hand" as its intro music).
The storyline is barking, the politics no doubt flawed and yet....
It is pretty irresistible Murphy first came to my attention as The Scarecrow in the Batman Begins movie, and he's since cut quite a role for himself as mesmeric anti-hero types.
His character in Peaky Blinders, Thomas Shelby, will naturally head for a fall one feels (you want it to work, just as you want Aunt Pol, Helen McCrory, to keep slapping these useless blokes about the head), but you can't help rooting for him. A real gem, slo-mo included.
Channel 4: Educating Yorkshire
Well, it's not the glory that was Educating Essex - possibly the best advert for comprehensive UK education imaginable. In contrast, the teachers, whilst well-meaning, seem less in control and take a very different approach to interacting with students (please don't claim it's a 'northern thing' though; that's just insulting to everyone). I'd prefer ties that were properly tied, no shoes on the desks, and no swearing - even faux swearing - at students (it makes the infamous "clear off scumbags" in EE seem positively lightweight).
But the teachers and staff clearly ARE well-meaning, and managing teenagers is no mean feat for anyone to attempt.
Last night, was for me a key episode though, highlighting my personal weak points in these sort of programmes: the relationships between teenage girls. I've been there, been on the receiving end of rumours, 'friends' setting people against each other, the stress and hurt and anger that goes with it. I felt for both smart articulate Hadiqa and the academically struggling but bubbly Safiyyah - both to a certain extent victims of the malice that can be 'the other girls in the group'.
This was the first time in EY that I felt that sense of identification with the situation; something that felt much more live, more of a consistent undercurrent in EE even where events were outside my personal experience. Young people with Aspergers? I understand that one. Teenage pregnancy? Nottingham has (had) an awful reputation in that regard. Frustrated smart teenage girls? Oh yeah. Family circumstances for teenagers that would break any stone heart? Seen it around me. Boys who can't control their anger? Social media bullying? Desperately trying to teach the attentive and inattentive simultaneously? Feeling overwhelmed at what you cannot control (among both staff and students)? Pass me the hankies. It's the same production team, so does the difference, that lack of my feeling empathy for both students and teachers in EY, to do with the show or me? I felt it in every episode of EE - recognising the situations, the dramas, the reactions on both sides of the desk. With the Yorkshire show, it's like the desk is blurred and everything is more uncontained, less well-managed. It's really just to do with a different style of teaching and management, but somehow the flaws at Essex felt like things they were learning from and doing better each time they dealt with similar things. Essex set the standard with Mr Drew and Mr Goddard. I don't think Mr Mitchell or any of the year heads have yet quite measured up as yet (though Miss Uren has come close, as has Mrs Crowther).
BBC4: the Sound of Cinema series
The Sound of Cinema: The Music that made the Movies has been presented by Neil Brand who is just the right combination of nerdy and knowledgeable, passionate about film and able to communicate it to audiences. I am fascinated by the use of music in film so this series has been delightful and yet I have learnt things as well. Wonderful treat.
Makes me want to listen to film scores all over again, whether orchestral scores or popular music soundtracks (did I mention I once wrote about soundtracks for 'Chick Flicks'?)
It's all gone a bit 'Socialism is back!' hasn't it? Fear and loathing in the energy market debate
One can't help feeling that all the fearful yelling about Socialism coming back (if only it were), by the likes of - most of - the national press and Peter Mandelson, is something of a indication that finally Ed MilliB may be doing something right in his proposals around fuel pricing.
If it is hacking them all off that much, getting energy companies et al to be screaming 'foul play!', it's hard to resist the notion that there may be something in the proposals being made by the Labour party.
And if the energy companies try to get around things by ramming prices up before the next election (as they have so repeatedly done regardless of whether wholesale prices are up, down or spinning around) isn't that a huge "I told you so" that would only confirm the complete lack of 'bovveredness' of said companies for the impact of their pricing policies on everyday cost of living? Wouldn't that prove how toothless the so-called regulators have been of the privatised energy industry (sorry - I mean of course 'nationalised energy industry, except they're owned by OTHER nations than the UK)? Isn't the problem of more being spent on shareholders than on investment, that said companies are merely paying lipservice to notions of weaning consumers off damaging fossil fuel practices, an indictment of how the market hasn't really worked for this provision we take for granted in the developed world?
And if AFTER any price freeze, prices did rocket again, how would that prove that the status quo of letting the companies and markets do as they please is the right option?
If it is hacking them all off that much, getting energy companies et al to be screaming 'foul play!', it's hard to resist the notion that there may be something in the proposals being made by the Labour party.
And if the energy companies try to get around things by ramming prices up before the next election (as they have so repeatedly done regardless of whether wholesale prices are up, down or spinning around) isn't that a huge "I told you so" that would only confirm the complete lack of 'bovveredness' of said companies for the impact of their pricing policies on everyday cost of living? Wouldn't that prove how toothless the so-called regulators have been of the privatised energy industry (sorry - I mean of course 'nationalised energy industry, except they're owned by OTHER nations than the UK)? Isn't the problem of more being spent on shareholders than on investment, that said companies are merely paying lipservice to notions of weaning consumers off damaging fossil fuel practices, an indictment of how the market hasn't really worked for this provision we take for granted in the developed world?
And if AFTER any price freeze, prices did rocket again, how would that prove that the status quo of letting the companies and markets do as they please is the right option?
Rubbish at this malarky
It's near ridiculous to think of a lack of blogging as being 'tragic' but I feel so bad about my inability to get online and write.
The ease with which I have shifted to the dread FB - and my ineptitude at finding solutions to cross-post (I should probably just move the blog elsewhere where cross-posting is easier) - do instill in me feelings of remorse for sure.
Does anyone foolish enough to still believe this site is alive have ideas how to get around this?
One of the reasons I have resisted so far in moving to WordPress is not just that I have no aptitude for the task but also that generally moving sites seems to lose all the comments on existing posts (and it is there that I have most fun reminding myself how good I used to be at this lark).
*sigh*
The ease with which I have shifted to the dread FB - and my ineptitude at finding solutions to cross-post (I should probably just move the blog elsewhere where cross-posting is easier) - do instill in me feelings of remorse for sure.
Does anyone foolish enough to still believe this site is alive have ideas how to get around this?
One of the reasons I have resisted so far in moving to WordPress is not just that I have no aptitude for the task but also that generally moving sites seems to lose all the comments on existing posts (and it is there that I have most fun reminding myself how good I used to be at this lark).
*sigh*
Sunday, September 08, 2013
Books, books, books: in praise of libraries
Within an eight day period, I've been inside six great libraries, to varying degrees. Sometimes just to see an exhibition (and not visit the library per se) and others to just glory in the building and its book contents.
London
The British Library
We kicked things off with the British Library - the building is hardly loved, but the contents are spectacular, and it has very good exhibitions. The BL suffered from a protracted development of a new site, and the leaving behind of the old Reading Room at the British Museum where it had been housed for so long. The BM has hardly known what to do with the room since the BL moved out, which is a real shame. The temporary exhibitions seem to have come to stop. At least at the new BL site, the temporary exhibitions are cracking opportunities to see the breadth of the collections.
We went to see Power and Persuasion, which closes soon: a very good exhibition material as diverse as war propaganda (from all sides), films promoting health (an incredible short on combating venereal disease) and the London Olympics. With posters, films, printed tracts and books, it shows the diversity of the materials held by the BL and also the slippery nature of the term propaganda which is taken here to include all information designed with the intention to change/inform behaviour and attitudes.
Manchester
Chetham's Library
The library at the famed School of Music at Manchester is a beautiful collection and feels how an old established library should feel.
The John Ryland's Library
or should that be the Enriqueta Augustina Ryland's Library
It's hard to resist a place so gothically beautiful as the magnificent JRL, but it highlights how women are often lost from history. I came away wanting to know more about the woman who powered the construction and collection of the library far more than about her husband in whose name she developed it.
The Portico Library and Gallery
On his preparations for the trip, Neil had found The Portico was a fellow library of the same group that Bromley House belongs to (our own local subscription library in Nottingham: see below). The photos on the website don't do it justice though and hidden as the location is at the side of its original entrance (the downstairs is now a pub), many would walk past without realising.
I would heartily yell that Portico should NOT be missed. It is beautiful (as are the other libraries we saw in Manchester) but the welcome was by far the best.
This was in no small thanks to two factors: first, that we are members of Bromley House (this gave us the right to look at the whole place, and not just the public exhibition space), and second, that we ran into a long-not-seen friend who is closely involved and indeed was attending a meeting of the library trustees. This meant we had a lovely long visit AND had lunch together in the reading room at the back (a proper treat!)
Nottingham
Bromley House Library
Having had such a warm welcome thanks to our BH membership, I thought it only fit that I pass on the hellos from Emma, Taylor, and Lyn at Manchester's Portico Library to all at Bromley House as the Portico gang were clearly very fond of the wonderful Nottingham library. Ducking in after having my hair done, it was good to see the progress with some of the internal refurbishments including the new toilets!
I'll reserve judgement on the impact of the new student accommodation on the garden...
Oxford
The Bodleian Library
We had missed the tour (9.15am arrival in Oxford was beyond even our early rising) but we DID go to see the very lovely exhibition on Magical Books covering fantastical tales from across the ages. Just to see author Alan Garner's beautiful handwriting was enough of a treat.
London
The British Library
We kicked things off with the British Library - the building is hardly loved, but the contents are spectacular, and it has very good exhibitions. The BL suffered from a protracted development of a new site, and the leaving behind of the old Reading Room at the British Museum where it had been housed for so long. The BM has hardly known what to do with the room since the BL moved out, which is a real shame. The temporary exhibitions seem to have come to stop. At least at the new BL site, the temporary exhibitions are cracking opportunities to see the breadth of the collections.
We went to see Power and Persuasion, which closes soon: a very good exhibition material as diverse as war propaganda (from all sides), films promoting health (an incredible short on combating venereal disease) and the London Olympics. With posters, films, printed tracts and books, it shows the diversity of the materials held by the BL and also the slippery nature of the term propaganda which is taken here to include all information designed with the intention to change/inform behaviour and attitudes.
Manchester
Chetham's Library
The library at the famed School of Music at Manchester is a beautiful collection and feels how an old established library should feel.
or should that be the Enriqueta Augustina Ryland's Library
It's hard to resist a place so gothically beautiful as the magnificent JRL, but it highlights how women are often lost from history. I came away wanting to know more about the woman who powered the construction and collection of the library far more than about her husband in whose name she developed it.
The redevelopment to extend the space is sympathetic and well-done - keeping the proportions of window spaces is always a nice touch
The Portico Library and Gallery
On his preparations for the trip, Neil had found The Portico was a fellow library of the same group that Bromley House belongs to (our own local subscription library in Nottingham: see below). The photos on the website don't do it justice though and hidden as the location is at the side of its original entrance (the downstairs is now a pub), many would walk past without realising.
I would heartily yell that Portico should NOT be missed. It is beautiful (as are the other libraries we saw in Manchester) but the welcome was by far the best.
This was in no small thanks to two factors: first, that we are members of Bromley House (this gave us the right to look at the whole place, and not just the public exhibition space), and second, that we ran into a long-not-seen friend who is closely involved and indeed was attending a meeting of the library trustees. This meant we had a lovely long visit AND had lunch together in the reading room at the back (a proper treat!)
Nottingham
Bromley House Library
Having had such a warm welcome thanks to our BH membership, I thought it only fit that I pass on the hellos from Emma, Taylor, and Lyn at Manchester's Portico Library to all at Bromley House as the Portico gang were clearly very fond of the wonderful Nottingham library. Ducking in after having my hair done, it was good to see the progress with some of the internal refurbishments including the new toilets!
I'll reserve judgement on the impact of the new student accommodation on the garden...
Oxford
The Bodleian Library
We had missed the tour (9.15am arrival in Oxford was beyond even our early rising) but we DID go to see the very lovely exhibition on Magical Books covering fantastical tales from across the ages. Just to see author Alan Garner's beautiful handwriting was enough of a treat.
Sunday, August 25, 2013
BeVox flashmob in London 17 August 2013
Most of the time being a member of a choir like BeVox is straightforward in terms of gaining an audience - you tell your friends, colleagues, neighbours and family there is an upcoming performance and advise how to get tickets.
And then there is flashmobbing.
The point of doing a flashmob is that it is unexpected (for those in the vicinity). It really doesn't work if there are bunches of people waiting around 'for something to happen'. It can look very obvious.
So it was that around 200 singers gathered in central London to do three performances for Victoria BID (the Victoria Business Improvement District). This involved singing a medley of Queen songs (arranged by our wonderful BeVox choir leader Tim Allen) in Victoria Train Station, in the piazza of Westminster Cathedral, and outside Buckingham Palace. The medley consisted of extracts from "We Will Rock You", "Bohemian Rhapsody", "We Are The Champions", "Radio Ga-Ga" and "I Want It All". It's a bit of a rollercoaster of singing, and brought together not just members of BeVox but also City Voices, Cardiff and the Rodillian Singers.
Tim kicked it all off at each location, solo singing the verses and then gradually everyone joined in. At first it was just a few people, with the rest of us who had not yet joined in echoing the reactions of everyday folk around us. Then, on the climatic chorus of "rock you", we ALL joined in.
We had great fun going from location to location, but especially at Buckingham Palace because by then we knew we COULD do it.
It was a heck of day out.... Try searching online for Victoria BID, BeVox flashmob or more to additional videos and information!
http://youtu.be/PZRplnB6jso
And then there is flashmobbing.
The point of doing a flashmob is that it is unexpected (for those in the vicinity). It really doesn't work if there are bunches of people waiting around 'for something to happen'. It can look very obvious.
So it was that around 200 singers gathered in central London to do three performances for Victoria BID (the Victoria Business Improvement District). This involved singing a medley of Queen songs (arranged by our wonderful BeVox choir leader Tim Allen) in Victoria Train Station, in the piazza of Westminster Cathedral, and outside Buckingham Palace. The medley consisted of extracts from "We Will Rock You", "Bohemian Rhapsody", "We Are The Champions", "Radio Ga-Ga" and "I Want It All". It's a bit of a rollercoaster of singing, and brought together not just members of BeVox but also City Voices, Cardiff and the Rodillian Singers.
Tim kicked it all off at each location, solo singing the verses and then gradually everyone joined in. At first it was just a few people, with the rest of us who had not yet joined in echoing the reactions of everyday folk around us. Then, on the climatic chorus of "rock you", we ALL joined in.
We had great fun going from location to location, but especially at Buckingham Palace because by then we knew we COULD do it.
It was a heck of day out.... Try searching online for Victoria BID, BeVox flashmob or more to additional videos and information!
http://youtu.be/PZRplnB6jso
Sunday, August 04, 2013
The New Doctor
So ridiculously pleased with the choice for the next Doctor. Worth sitting through whales and the atrocious fluff that was the live programme to see the walk through of Malcolm Tucker.
Requirements for this new incarnation? Please keep the Scottish accent.
Otherwise just bring everything to this role that has been brought to the rest of his career. One of my earliest memories of Capaldi which made me love him as an actor was when he played a transvestite in Prime suspect 2. He was heartbreaking, funny and capable of being the bad 'guy'. Brilliant performance and he's done great things since then time after time.
I hope he has an absolute blast in this so demanding role.
Requirements for this new incarnation? Please keep the Scottish accent.
Otherwise just bring everything to this role that has been brought to the rest of his career. One of my earliest memories of Capaldi which made me love him as an actor was when he played a transvestite in Prime suspect 2. He was heartbreaking, funny and capable of being the bad 'guy'. Brilliant performance and he's done great things since then time after time.
I hope he has an absolute blast in this so demanding role.
Thursday, August 01, 2013
Books from Scarthin, Cromford Derbyshire
Danny Gregory has a great book available and a lovely blog as well. dannygregory.wordpress.com/category/books/an-illustrated-journey/
I can't recommend this book highly enough.
It was purchased from Scarthin Books. www.scarthinbooks.com
I can't recommend this book highly enough.
It was purchased from Scarthin Books. www.scarthinbooks.com
Sunday, July 28, 2013
Norm's decade
Dear Norm - whose blogging is in turns inspiring and a little intimidating (I've become rubbish at this blogging malarky as the technology and means to do it has vastly lagged behind my wherewithal and energy) - has been blogging for a DECADE at Normblog!
Honestly - Norm you put us to shame even as you spur us on!
Honestly - Norm you put us to shame even as you spur us on!
Aquatopia: a gallery review (to break a bad pattern)
Aquatopia is the new show at Nottingham Contemporary Art Gallery (locally known as 'tempreh). The subtitle of the show is 'The Imaginary of the Ocean Deep', and to be honest I think it is one of the BEST shows that the gallery has done.
What I think I like about it most is that it combines contemporary art with historical material - putting things into context.
It's also a dense show - the galleries feel FULL: and in a white space, all too often the shows have felt thin, feeble, scarcely enough content to fill one room let alone four.
So we get a show juxtaposing Turner's sea monsters alongside Odilon Redon's illustrative visions; we get sea squids of various shapes, sizes and textures (including Spartacus Chetwynd's disconcerting 'enactment' of Hokusai's "The Dream of the Fisherman's Wife", itself a pretty alarming set of imagery), and we get the smooth sculptural flows of Hepworth sat just opposite a 19th century diving helmet. You get to see Marcel Broodthaer's mussel shells and various of Christian Holstad's sea-squid 'creations' draped around the gallery ---- each called "This is not a life-saving device". Well indeed.
To accompany the show there is also the usual variety of talks and other events - films screenings, discussions, documentary presentations, workshops etc. Everything from the Lovecraftian legends to viewing the deep sea world, Hollywood B-movie sea monsters to ocean soundscapes.
It's a bizarre show in many ways - especially in land-locked Nottingham - but it's worth catching here. For those who want a more 'apt' setting, an expanded version will be shown at Tate St Ives later in the year.
You should come to 'tempreh.
And at least I have broken the bad pattern of not blogging. I'm getting rubbish at this aren't I though?!
What I think I like about it most is that it combines contemporary art with historical material - putting things into context.
It's also a dense show - the galleries feel FULL: and in a white space, all too often the shows have felt thin, feeble, scarcely enough content to fill one room let alone four.
So we get a show juxtaposing Turner's sea monsters alongside Odilon Redon's illustrative visions; we get sea squids of various shapes, sizes and textures (including Spartacus Chetwynd's disconcerting 'enactment' of Hokusai's "The Dream of the Fisherman's Wife", itself a pretty alarming set of imagery), and we get the smooth sculptural flows of Hepworth sat just opposite a 19th century diving helmet. You get to see Marcel Broodthaer's mussel shells and various of Christian Holstad's sea-squid 'creations' draped around the gallery ---- each called "This is not a life-saving device". Well indeed.
To accompany the show there is also the usual variety of talks and other events - films screenings, discussions, documentary presentations, workshops etc. Everything from the Lovecraftian legends to viewing the deep sea world, Hollywood B-movie sea monsters to ocean soundscapes.
It's a bizarre show in many ways - especially in land-locked Nottingham - but it's worth catching here. For those who want a more 'apt' setting, an expanded version will be shown at Tate St Ives later in the year.
You should come to 'tempreh.
And at least I have broken the bad pattern of not blogging. I'm getting rubbish at this aren't I though?!
Friday, July 05, 2013
Cats, bunnies and other animals - a partial post
This is a cat being wrestled into loving submission by virtue of having been peskily jumping on the kitchen surfaces. Same cat had paw stuck in my mug (foolishly the milk had been put in advance and the kitchen left... fatal error!)
I will add to this post but wanted to get something on this blog before I lose it.
Wednesday, June 05, 2013
Reasons for lax blogging: number 123 (family)
I do have a good reason for not blogging much at the moment - and it's actually one of the best we've had for a while. Previously, the problems have been issues of idleness / access to blogger / stringing more than a short thought together to feel the post is worthwhile.
Currently, I feel rather okay about the lack of presence.
The family are back in the UK. Not just for a visit - they're just BACK. And it's glorious and wonderful and lovely. And - apart from Neil's mum (staying with one of her brothers in law and his wife) - they're all living with us.
It feels like a comedy routine (that's how I'm delivering it anyway): usually our house has Neil and me in it. The last time we had more in the house was when we had George living with us which was a long while ago now! And the cat sadly died over 2 years ago.
Now we have:
Neil
Me
Neil's brother
Neil's brother's wife
Nephew (aged 14)
Niece (aged 16)
Epileptic dog - with a torn cruciate ligament
2 cats
Actually, it's fine: for all that I am playing up the comedy routine of the situation, we're getting along great. They're acting as house elves (cleaning, cooking, shopping, generally helping around the house with odd jobs - mowing the lawn, weedkiller-ing the worst garden excesses, replacing dodgy light switches) and we're making them as comfortable as they can be in a house with just one bathroom and one toilet (and hurrah for the functional shower now being back in service!)
So it's all good. It's weird when they disappear to visit friends and their prospective new home. But it will be weirder when they move out properly. It's nice to have them back with us in the UK; and it's particularly lovely to have them so close to us at the moment.
Currently, I feel rather okay about the lack of presence.
The family are back in the UK. Not just for a visit - they're just BACK. And it's glorious and wonderful and lovely. And - apart from Neil's mum (staying with one of her brothers in law and his wife) - they're all living with us.
It feels like a comedy routine (that's how I'm delivering it anyway): usually our house has Neil and me in it. The last time we had more in the house was when we had George living with us which was a long while ago now! And the cat sadly died over 2 years ago.
Now we have:
Neil
Me
Neil's brother
Neil's brother's wife
Nephew (aged 14)
Niece (aged 16)
Epileptic dog - with a torn cruciate ligament
2 cats
Actually, it's fine: for all that I am playing up the comedy routine of the situation, we're getting along great. They're acting as house elves (cleaning, cooking, shopping, generally helping around the house with odd jobs - mowing the lawn, weedkiller-ing the worst garden excesses, replacing dodgy light switches) and we're making them as comfortable as they can be in a house with just one bathroom and one toilet (and hurrah for the functional shower now being back in service!)
So it's all good. It's weird when they disappear to visit friends and their prospective new home. But it will be weirder when they move out properly. It's nice to have them back with us in the UK; and it's particularly lovely to have them so close to us at the moment.
Monday, May 20, 2013
Doctor Who: pulling all the crackers from the bag at once - "The Name of the Doctor" Saturday 18 May 2013
Holy....
Well, sorry, whatever flaws you may think this (half) season has had, this was a CORKER.
From the pre-credits sequence, to the goodbye, to the final seconds... gah: nerdgasm alert!
Spoilers, obviously, after the long delay...
S
P
O
I
L
E
R
S
L
I
V
E
H
E
R
E
B
E
W
A
R
E
All clear? Good, then we'll begin. Sorry this is brief. I'll try to add to it (I had to sneak watch on Sunday - family committments, and then sneaked a second watch with some of the family. Will do it all again on Thursday!)
Oh Mr Moffat, just when we thought you were only able to prove how difficult it is to show-run multiple projects, you pull this gem out of the bag and dazzle us all over again. You sold everyone a total pup that this would reveal 'The name of the Doctor', whilst as ever doing so much more than that. Nice learning from Gaiman's "The Doctor's Wife". It's about how you subvert the set-up and not the set-up itself.
From the pre-credits sequence, scattering Clara like confetti into the Doctor's timeline, complete with the footage being 'aged' to at least reasonably match the original period, I was just tingling with glee. We had Vastra, Jenny and Strax back again on fine form - full of humour and verve, but also - especially with Jenny - some emotions. "I'm sorry, I think I've been murdered". *sob*
And we had Professor River Song back as well: and if this MUST be her finale, then what an ending. Just heartbreaking. The Doctor cries - time is rewritten, and then underwritten, with Clara making things possible by being impossible. Adorable. With so much cross-referencing to old Doctors, this was a nerdgasm on stilts. But somehow it worked. Colleagues squeed at me this morning in a way they hadn't for a while. I laughed - and cried - when River and the Doctor kissed. And I yelped at my unspoileredness when John Hurt got his on-screen caption. Whatcha doing Moff?! Our brains will explode by November!
Things I will forgive them:
Richard E Grant - villain by numbers, didn't make as much sense as it should, but fine to see him getting a shot at the narrative
The Whispermen - someone call Joss Whedon quick! They've obviously worn out the BBC copy of "Hush" (Buffy season 4) because this was totally 'The Gentlemen' revisited...!
Can't even shout, can't even cry
The Gentlemen are coming by
Looking in windows, knocking on doors
They need to take seven and they might take yours
Can't call to mom, can't say a word
You're gonna die screaming but you won't be heard.
Well, sorry, whatever flaws you may think this (half) season has had, this was a CORKER.
From the pre-credits sequence, to the goodbye, to the final seconds... gah: nerdgasm alert!
Spoilers, obviously, after the long delay...
S
P
O
I
L
E
R
S
L
I
V
E
H
E
R
E
B
E
W
A
R
E
All clear? Good, then we'll begin. Sorry this is brief. I'll try to add to it (I had to sneak watch on Sunday - family committments, and then sneaked a second watch with some of the family. Will do it all again on Thursday!)
Oh Mr Moffat, just when we thought you were only able to prove how difficult it is to show-run multiple projects, you pull this gem out of the bag and dazzle us all over again. You sold everyone a total pup that this would reveal 'The name of the Doctor', whilst as ever doing so much more than that. Nice learning from Gaiman's "The Doctor's Wife". It's about how you subvert the set-up and not the set-up itself.
From the pre-credits sequence, scattering Clara like confetti into the Doctor's timeline, complete with the footage being 'aged' to at least reasonably match the original period, I was just tingling with glee. We had Vastra, Jenny and Strax back again on fine form - full of humour and verve, but also - especially with Jenny - some emotions. "I'm sorry, I think I've been murdered". *sob*
And we had Professor River Song back as well: and if this MUST be her finale, then what an ending. Just heartbreaking. The Doctor cries - time is rewritten, and then underwritten, with Clara making things possible by being impossible. Adorable. With so much cross-referencing to old Doctors, this was a nerdgasm on stilts. But somehow it worked. Colleagues squeed at me this morning in a way they hadn't for a while. I laughed - and cried - when River and the Doctor kissed. And I yelped at my unspoileredness when John Hurt got his on-screen caption. Whatcha doing Moff?! Our brains will explode by November!
Things I will forgive them:
Richard E Grant - villain by numbers, didn't make as much sense as it should, but fine to see him getting a shot at the narrative
The Whispermen - someone call Joss Whedon quick! They've obviously worn out the BBC copy of "Hush" (Buffy season 4) because this was totally 'The Gentlemen' revisited...!
Can't even shout, can't even cry
The Gentlemen are coming by
Looking in windows, knocking on doors
They need to take seven and they might take yours
Can't call to mom, can't say a word
You're gonna die screaming but you won't be heard.
Saturday, May 04, 2013
All Change...
Over the coming couple of weeks, things are changing. Furniture being dismantled and assembled. Things moving around, being cleaned, tidied, repaired.
Incentives are wonderful things: the Roberts are coming...
Incentives are wonderful things: the Roberts are coming...
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