How Things Change
Posted: Wed 23 August, 2017 Filed under: Domestic, Five Year Plan (now Ten), Looking Back, Theatre, Theatre, Thoughts, Travel 2 Comments »While looking at historical August posts on D4D while writing a couple this morning, I came across this one.
So it’s just two years ago – almost to the day – that I saw my first Shakespeare play in a good decade or two, which was Hamlet, with Benedict Cumberbatch in the main role, at the Barbican.
Since then I’ve seen (in no particular order)
- King Lear – twice (Don Warrington, and Glenda Jackson)
- Hamlet (Andrew
StrongScott) - Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Globe
- Romeo and Juliet at the Garrick
- Macbeth (open-air production near my parent’s place)
- Tempest (Simon Russell Beale) at the RSC Stratford-upon-Avon
and - something else that I can’t currently recall.
I’ve also got Coriolanus in Stratford-upon-Avon next month, and Lear (again) in Chichester in October.
There’ve been a number of other plays along the way as well, and it’s all been pretty damn good. I’m just surprised I’ve wedged as much as I have into two years…
New Zealand War Memorial
Posted: Wed 23 August, 2017 Filed under: Domestic, London, Photography, Sculpture, Sociable, Travel, Walking Leave a comment »Last Sunday, I was in London to meet friends and eat food. (I know, it’s a shock)
I was hugely early (also not a shock) but semi-intentionally so, as I’d originally planned to do a decent-ish walk (still no shocks) and then meet up. But other plans from the day before had changed, so I started off by knocking the planned 8-miler on the head, and instead taking the Tube in to London, have a smaller more sensible walk, and then meet up.
And then I walked, and it all changed a bit, so I ended up still doing a nearly-eight-miler. Because I’m an idiot. (Hey, where are those shocks? Nope, still not happening)
The route was a bit different to my usual ones though, and on a couple of occasions ended up with “Oh, I could go that way, but I’ve done that before. So let’s go this way instead”. On one part of that, by Hyde Park Corner, I opted to cut through by Wellington Arch instead.
And in there, it turns out that there’s a huge sculpture piece for the New Zealand War Memorial. It really is quite epic – and yet dwarfed by the buildings, arches and other stuff nearby.
I really liked it – and although this time I was on a bit of a stomp, I’ll definitely go back on an occasion where I’ve more time, and look at them properly.
Saturday – Slow
Posted: Wed 16 August, 2017 Filed under: Charm School, Cynicism, D4D™, Domestic, Health, London, People, Sweary, Thoughts, Travel 1 Comment »While I was walking in London two weekends ago, I posted a ranty bith on Facebook, asking
HOW DO PEOPLE LIVE, WALK AND THINK SO FUCKING SLOWLY, FOR CHRIST’S SAKE?!?!?
To which Gordon asked how I live with being so irrationally angry to others. The answer to that ended up as a bit of a rant, but was still absolutely true, and I thought I’d add it here as well, rather than losing it to the vagaries of Facebook.
That answer was this…
In fairness, my friend, if any of them had any awareness of what was around them, I’d be fine.
I fully acknowledge I walk a buttload faster than most people, and think/move/avoid at similar pace. I take on at least 90-95% of the responsibilities for getting out the way, and for understanding/accepting that difference.
All I ask – well, hope for – is for people to have the ability to see this fast-moving juggernaut of a human being, AND NOT WALK AT ME.
Fair enough, I’m enough of a fat bastard that I obviously create a gravity well and people just fall at me. I get that, I accept it. But they could make a bit of sodding effort.
It’s not even like I’m hard to see. But still these motherfuckers walk at me, stop in my path, decide to suddenly stop and take selfies (which is how I’ll end up on fucking Crimewatch, I just know it) or just look me dead in the eye, stop, and see what I’ll do, like they’re expecting me to slam into them.
So yeah, if there were even a smidge of acknowledgement, avoidance, observation, or even just a conscious fucking thought, I’d be fine.
But no. None of it. So you get the rants.
All told, it was a bit of a throwback to the D4D of old…
Saturday – Chris Ofili, Weaving Magic
Posted: Fri 11 August, 2017 Filed under: Art, Day Trips, Domestic, London, Reviews(ish), Thoughts, Travel Leave a comment »Following on from seeing the Giacometti and Soul of A Nation exhibitions, my final visit was to the National Gallery, to see “Weaving Magic” by Chris Ofili.
A friend of mine had seen this and really liked it, hence why I wanted to see it.
It’s a fantastic tapestry – designed by Ofili, and then handwoven by Dovecot Tapestry Studio, and based on “I know why the caged bird sings“, by Maya Angelou. It’s also been staged and displayed really well, in a room of its own, which has also been decorated by Ofili.
So you end up with a room covered in murals like this
And then the tapestry itself, the only thing of colour in the room
It’s well worth seeing – if you get the chance to go before the end of August, I’d recommend it. Even better, it’s free to go in and see it, which is… noteworthy, in the current climate.
12 Years A Driver
Posted: Fri 11 August, 2017 Filed under: Domestic, Driving, Thoughts, Travel Leave a comment »Blimey, I’ve been driving now for 12 years today. That really surprises me, how the time has flown.
I dread to imagine how many miles I’ve covered in that time – all I know is it’s well over quarter of a million miles. 120,000 in the Mondeo, another 120,000 in the Saab, and coming up to 20,000 in the Kia already. Of course, that doesn’t include the ones I covered before buying the Mondeo, or any of the hire vehicles I’ve had in that time.
However you look at it, that’s pretty scary.
It’s hard to imagine life now without driving – if I were to lose my licence, it would change things radically, including having to change where I lived, where/how I worked, and many other things. I value that freedom and licence more than I ever actually thought I would.
I’ve no idea what the future will bring, but I’m pretty sure that whatever comes along, I’ll be driving there.
Saturday – Soul of A Nation
Posted: Wed 9 August, 2017 Filed under: Art, Day Trips, Domestic, London, Travel Leave a comment »While I was in Tate Modern on Saturday, I also went to see the “Soul Of A Nation” exhibition, which is about Black Art during the Civil Rights movement. It’s not one I was really planning on seeing, and more of an impulse “Oh, why not” thing, but it was still interesting.
The Civil Rights movement happened in the US before I was born – not by much, but obviously by enough. I know the basics of it, but not a lot of the detail, and always feel I should know more about it. It absolutely amazes me that it was all relatively recent, that it was all happening fifty years ago. In that context, it’s amazing how far we’ve come – although there’s still a long way to go.
Anyway, it was an interesting exhibition – although there was a significant amount of (in my opinion) shite stuff, there was also enough to make it worth having gone in. I also got to learn about AfriCOBRA, the African Commune of Bad Relevant Artists – most of which was admittedly bad, but still, made me laugh just for its honesty.
One of the other things I found interesting (and slightly sad) was that in an exhibition so deeply connected to Black Art, African-American History and Civil Rights, every single person viewing it was white. There was a quote on one wall, the gist of which was that Visual Arts were the biggest bastion of White Male artists, and the exhibition visitors certainly helped to reinforce tbat.
All told, it was interesting enough. I don’t think I’d bother seeing it again, but I’m still glad I did get to see it.
Saturday – Giacometti
Posted: Mon 7 August, 2017 Filed under: Art, Creativity, Day Trips, Domestic, London, Reviews(ish), Thoughts, Travel Leave a comment »On Saturday, I went into London for a walk, and to visit a couple of exhibitions – which turned out to be three – as well as food and the like. As there’s other stuff going on this week that I can’t be naffed to go into right now, I thought I’d write a bit about some thoughts related to the exhibitions. So that’s the plan.
The first one on the list was Tate Modern’s exhibition of works by Giacometti. Up ’til now, I’ve seen a few of his works, but not loads – and I’ve honestly never seen the appeal of them. They’re certainly distinctive, strange, and of note – but I certainly didn’t love them, and didn’t really get why he’s so well regarded.
Having seen the full exhibition, I still don’t love them, but I understand more of why he’s regarded. Oddly, his statues still do very little for me – I find them kind of odd, and kind of unsettling, but nothing more than that – and I certainly couldn’t sit and just look at one block of statues, as one person was doing. (He’d even brought along his own camping stool in order to do so, God love him) However, I really liked some of the sketches, and some of his oil work that looked like it had been done in charcoal.
I think that in some ways I wasn’t convinced of Giacometti as being an actual artist – OK, he could do the sculptures, but that could’ve been just the one thing. Having seen the sketches, drawings, and paintings, I do realise that he’s a lot more of an artist than I’d thought, and a lot more talented.
That doesn’t make me like the sculptures and so on, and I still wouldn’t go from here to the bog to see another exhibition of his work, but all the same, I’m glad I did go.