Here are the posts to this blog I could have written, had I not been such a lazy bugger. In consequence, you will only be able to read samples of them. I can hear a general sigh of relief.
Tomato Teaser
Monday 18 September
This afternoon, I attended a photoshoot for one of Slightly's projects. About a year ago, he launched a blog mixing food recipes and pictures of hunky guys. The blog has since been so successful, that he decided to pitch it to a publisher. The shoot is part of the process of creating the proposal. This involved £20 worth of tomatoes (about 4/5 kilos), a semi-naked man (complete with tatoos), a photographer and the inevitable hangers-on.
Below is a short video of the shoot:
Thames Festival Fireworks
Sunday 17 September
This week-end was Ken's Thames Festival. It involved, some sort of fun fair on the South Bank, and performances. There was also a night Carnival, which for me mostly meant delays for the bus I was on coming from Regent's Park from a picnic with a few Tenors 1 from the Chorus. (pictures available here)
In the evening I attended the traditional fireworks on the river from Waterloo Bridge. Someone I seem to have managed to see most of them (often by pure chance) since I have been in London. When this year's edition was finished (and a bit before that, if I am honest), Slightly and I looked at eacher and almost burst out laughing. The display had been so bad we wondered if Ken had had a discount at his local corner shop. I am pretty sure I saw better shows at my parents' tiny village when I was a kid.
Gaddafi: A Living Myth
Friday 15 September
About two years ago, on the Today Programme, I heard a few bars of the forthcoming ENO piece by Asian Dub Foundation. It sounded great and the chosen subject matter, Colonel Gaddafi, seemed rather intriguing. Since then, I had been on the look out for the production.
As you can imagine, I really wanted to like this but already the reviews I had of it had prepared me for desappointment. The music, as expected was great (you can download a track from the show on the ENO website and the production was quite good, although perhaps a bit stark by ENO's high standards. The actors were quite good too. The libretto was really the problem. The story line was not very clear moving back and forth in time as if in a linear way. The text, in rhymes, sounded rather bad.
The show did not go deep enough into Gaddafi's character and the whole thing lacked pace. Everything seemed on the same level of hightened aggression; there almost no respite. The music could have also been given a more central place, not being used simply as a soundtrack. A missed opportunity but definitely worth the try.
London Gay Men's Chorus in Turin
Thursday 14 September
Yesterday afternoon, I got back, quite tired, from that trip to Turin with the London Gay Men's Chorus.
The organisation and generosity of the organisers was quite astonishing compared to the self catered way of doing things the Chorus is used to. The show went incredibly well (pictures, video stream (Windows media player) and podcast (10.9 Mb Mp3 file - 7 min 46 sec). The audience loved us, we did what is one of our best ever performances, and got loads of PR (local papers (here and here; in a third paper too) and TV).
The show was reviewed (several critics were spotted taking notes but only this review has been traces so far). We also were officially received by the City of Turin and Pride organisers in one of the city's buildings (pictures). We were also billed as the main attraction for the opening of a new gay venue. Those were pretty intense few days however, trying to fit in the rehearsals, the performances and the sight-seeing. A link to my pictures has already been posted on this blog.
To be honest, I found Turin rather monotonous. In the centre of town, the buildings all look more or less the same; probably the reason why so many people compare it to Paris. Historically, it is rich and very interesting but for the city-boy that I am, it all felt very provincial despite its million inhabitants. The fact that most shops and restaurants are closed on Mondays and even more on Sundays does not help that feeling.
Tomato Teaser
Monday 18 September
This afternoon, I attended a photoshoot for one of Slightly's projects. About a year ago, he launched a blog mixing food recipes and pictures of hunky guys. The blog has since been so successful, that he decided to pitch it to a publisher. The shoot is part of the process of creating the proposal. This involved £20 worth of tomatoes (about 4/5 kilos), a semi-naked man (complete with tatoos), a photographer and the inevitable hangers-on.
Below is a short video of the shoot:
Thames Festival Fireworks
Sunday 17 September
This week-end was Ken's Thames Festival. It involved, some sort of fun fair on the South Bank, and performances. There was also a night Carnival, which for me mostly meant delays for the bus I was on coming from Regent's Park from a picnic with a few Tenors 1 from the Chorus. (pictures available here)
In the evening I attended the traditional fireworks on the river from Waterloo Bridge. Someone I seem to have managed to see most of them (often by pure chance) since I have been in London. When this year's edition was finished (and a bit before that, if I am honest), Slightly and I looked at eacher and almost burst out laughing. The display had been so bad we wondered if Ken had had a discount at his local corner shop. I am pretty sure I saw better shows at my parents' tiny village when I was a kid.
Gaddafi: A Living Myth
Friday 15 September
About two years ago, on the Today Programme, I heard a few bars of the forthcoming ENO piece by Asian Dub Foundation. It sounded great and the chosen subject matter, Colonel Gaddafi, seemed rather intriguing. Since then, I had been on the look out for the production.
As you can imagine, I really wanted to like this but already the reviews I had of it had prepared me for desappointment. The music, as expected was great (you can download a track from the show on the ENO website and the production was quite good, although perhaps a bit stark by ENO's high standards. The actors were quite good too. The libretto was really the problem. The story line was not very clear moving back and forth in time as if in a linear way. The text, in rhymes, sounded rather bad.
The show did not go deep enough into Gaddafi's character and the whole thing lacked pace. Everything seemed on the same level of hightened aggression; there almost no respite. The music could have also been given a more central place, not being used simply as a soundtrack. A missed opportunity but definitely worth the try.
London Gay Men's Chorus in Turin
Thursday 14 September
Yesterday afternoon, I got back, quite tired, from that trip to Turin with the London Gay Men's Chorus.
The organisation and generosity of the organisers was quite astonishing compared to the self catered way of doing things the Chorus is used to. The show went incredibly well (pictures, video stream (Windows media player) and podcast (10.9 Mb Mp3 file - 7 min 46 sec). The audience loved us, we did what is one of our best ever performances, and got loads of PR (local papers (here and here; in a third paper too) and TV).
The show was reviewed (several critics were spotted taking notes but only this review has been traces so far). We also were officially received by the City of Turin and Pride organisers in one of the city's buildings (pictures). We were also billed as the main attraction for the opening of a new gay venue. Those were pretty intense few days however, trying to fit in the rehearsals, the performances and the sight-seeing. A link to my pictures has already been posted on this blog.
To be honest, I found Turin rather monotonous. In the centre of town, the buildings all look more or less the same; probably the reason why so many people compare it to Paris. Historically, it is rich and very interesting but for the city-boy that I am, it all felt very provincial despite its million inhabitants. The fact that most shops and restaurants are closed on Mondays and even more on Sundays does not help that feeling.
Tags: London, fireworks, Thames festival, LGBT, GLBT, London Gay Men's Chorus, Gaddafi, ENO, Asin Dub Foundation, tomatoes hunks", naked men, cooking, video, Turin, Torino, Italy, singing, Settembre Musica.
I can't believe you missed the most important thing!
ReplyDeleteWhere is the mention of Fantabulosa Bunny Ears?