Tuesday December 24, 2024
A Christmas Eve Table
My sister's beautiful table.
Posted on December 24, 2024 at 9:22 AM. Category: Days Out. | Comments (0)
Saturday October 26, 2024
Knitting in Shoreham-by-Sea
Today I went on a little tour of the south coast by public transport - a trip down memory lane. The Shoreham Knitting and Needlecraft store were having an open day with Martin Storey and ... well I couldn't resist could I? Apparently they were the first independent yarn store in the UK to stock Rowan yarns, and I first went there in the 1980s.
I spent a few happy hours there, gushing over Martin and purchasing the latest Rowan book (and, inevitably, some wool!), before nipping along the coast to Chichester to meet my sister for lunch, after which it was off home by train and bus. A thoroughly satisfying day's outing.
I was very pleased to find that the Rowan magazine (76) has a big feature on the Textile Garden of whom I have long been a fan with their beautiful buttons.
Martin getting down to the serious business of book signing! [Note him sporting "Shoal" from the Union Collection - currently on sale from English Yarns.]
Posted on October 26, 2024 at 6:19 PM. Category: Knitting and Crochet. | Comments (0)
Friday October 25, 2024
Box Hill Knitters
Today was knitting and crochet at Box Hill but there's a lot of "craft creep" in our groups, and to prove it, here we have Jan, working away as a highly skilled beader. She had a lot of astonishingly lovely pieces of 3-D work with her - but the chess set was just amazing.
[The mis-placement of the pieces is entirely down to me!]
Posted on October 25, 2024 at 6:07 PM. Category: Knitting and Crochet. | Comments (0)
Saturday October 19, 2024
Creative Fibres Open Day
Another splendid Open Day at Box Hill - where we were pleased to see a lot more local people dropping in to visit. I thought the standard of work was particularly high this year - we have a lot of talented folk in our midst!
The 6-inch square competition on the theme of "Out of the Blue" was won by Rachel!
Posted on October 19, 2024 at 6:05 PM. Category: Spinning, Dying, Weaving. | Comments (0)
Wednesday October 9, 2024
The Cat and the Canary
When I booked this show, I was under the impression I was familiar with the story from old B&W films of the era, and that, rather like Sweeney Todd etc, it had its origins in Victorian melodrama. However having read up about it, it seems I was entirely incorrect. I did not know the story, and it seems to have begun life in the 1920s as a play - which may have been a melodrama - but the most famous adaptation (and why I'm familiar with the title) must be the 1930s film comedy starring Bob Hope.
However... back to this production: it's a tongue in cheek comedy, very much in the vein of the production I saw recently of the 39 Steps, and, likewise, very entertaining. And although it cannot boast 4 actors playing 139 roles, the cast played a number of characters very effectively with amusing "on stage" transformations within single scenes - quite a challenge in the intimate environment of the Minerva Theatre (my first experience there I realise).
Posted on October 9, 2024 at 5:57 PM. Category: Art and Culture. | Comments (0)
Wednesday July 3, 2024
Watery Fowls
The excellent reviews of this play are certainly well-deserved, and we - along with the rest of the matinee audience demographic - enjoyed ourselves immensely.
The cast were splendid in their roles - which were essentially pitch perfect mimicry of the original cast - with astonishing attention to detail in costuming and set. Hard to imagine the characters played by anyone other than John Cleese, Connie Booth, Prunella Scales and unforgettable Andrew Sachs - and yet here they were.
One amusement for me was seeing idol of my youth, Paul Nicholas, as the elderly and confused Major - he was (again) perfect - and a long way from Jesus Christ (but still a Superstar).
[G observed before the start that it was rather like going to see a much-loved tribute band - and so it was].
Posted on July 3, 2024 at 8:24 PM. Category: Art and Culture. | Comments (0)
Wednesday June 5, 2024
Boys from the Blackstuff
The TV series was without a doubt a landmark drama whose impact resonated decades after its initial broadcast on BBC2 in 1982. Watching it now as a stage play was a very emotional experience, bringing back vivid memories of my "youth" and the era of the Thatcher government - despite the fact that Bleasdale created the story before Thatcher actually came to power; it generally describes the social impact of the economy throughout the 70s and into the 1980s.
All the cast were excellent but I have to have a low key shout out to Barry Sloane, who was called upon to play Yosser Hughes "one of the most intense and memorable characters in British TV history, whose image and catchphrase were imprinted on British culture". Although it may be the most interesting part to play, it's now pretty difficult, due to the fact that the character is totally synonymous with the actor Bernard Hill, such that even now, if you google either Hill or his character, you will find endless references to the 1980's TV series. Anyway... he clearly enjoyed the role and played it excellently.
It was "Boys from the Blackstuff" the TV series that really brought Alan Bleasdale to the fore in popular culture, subsequently being recognised in as one of the foremost TV dramatists of the age. Apparently he resisted all offers of adapting the play for the stage but has been finally won round by James Graham. [I note that Bleasdale is described as "the foremost TV dramatist" but I really enjoyed his play "Having a Ball" (a comedy) which I saw in 1982 - though from what I read I think Bleasdale regarded it as something of a failure - which it isn't!].
Posted on June 5, 2024 at 8:37 PM. Category: Art and Culture. | Comments (0)
