So, television provided another range of films today - most of which I'd seen. But not Hampstead, which was languishing way down my film list - so I watched that, this evening.
Diane Keaton plays an American widow with a picture-perfect life. She lives in a gorgeous flat in an old red-brick building in the affluent North London borough of Hampstead, works in a dinky clothes shop that she can walk to from home, meets up with the residents' committee (all-female) in her building, which is headed by Lesley Manville, keeps in touch with her son, James Norton. But all is not as rosy as it seems - and when she comes across a local homeless person (Brendan Gleeson) with a quirky streak, he provides a much-needed catalyst for change.
Hampstead looks lovely as ever - it's an artsy part of town, as well as an affluent one - mainly, I associate it with being very hilly. Just strolling around burns off calories. The only evidence of that here is a couple of shots of a long flight of steps - yes, I'm familiar with that too. Gorgeous view of Central London from Parliament Hill. Oh, and I cannot get decent mobile coverage there - not that that seems to be a problem in this film. Maybe they're on BT.
Anyway, back to the story. There's a very strong undercurrent of scorn of the Hampstead lifestyle - the committee seems as superficially friendly as you might expect, but there's nothing deeper, and one funny scene has a brattish child causing trouble in the shop, but when our widow tries to scold her, she's met with shrieking horror by the mother, defending her little darling. The local men seem emasculated, and there seems to be a constant run of petitions against one thing or another - some backed by ulterior motives.
On the other hand, we have Brendan Gleeson - who, it turns out, just showed up one day 17 years ago and built a shack, in a quiet corner. Every day, he bathes in the local pond, where he also frequently fishes for his dinner. (Another dig at the locals here - he has to watch out when they're around, because they expect him to throw back anything he catches.) He grows his own vegetables. Anyway, wouldn't you know it, the developers are moving in and want him out - and are prepared to play dirty. But can he prove he has squatter's rights..?
I liked it - actually think it's underrated on IMDB. Most of the main actors do an excellent job - although I'm getting a bit sick of Brendan Gleeson's constant whingeing in everything I see him in, expecting everyone else just to leave him to do things his way. Particularly galling is his performance in Mr. Mercedes, which I've started to follow again - who would ever oblige such an intransigent cop in any way? Works a bit better here, where he's more believable as a society drop-out. Anyway, I liked the back-to-basics message, liked the way it was played, liked the brief trip they took to the British Museum - was a bit underwhelmed at the implausible ending, but what the hey.
Later, I caught up with another episode of Planet Earth - next up was Shallow Seas. As usual, I had a choice of the playlist, with excellent quality but some episodes blocked, and the full-length version, of dubious quality. Started with the playlist - but so many episodes were blocked that I had to resort to the full version.
And I'm glad I did, because it's another beautifully and imaginatively shot instalment - this one focuses on the abundant sea life in the shallow seas off our shores. And again, we're plunged right into the action, swimming right alongside the most incredible creatures. Jaw-dropping facts and beautiful images - even if you don't think you'd be interested in the specific subject matter, this series is always worth checking out.
Tomorrow, back with Up in the Cheap Seats (UITCS) - conveniently, an afternoon Meetup, where we're back watching an Andrew Lloyd Webber offering. This time, it's By Jeeves. The discussion afterwards will be on Jitsi, though - so I'll have to position myself closer to the router, as I had terrible trouble with this before. V annoying, how they persist in using this.
Monday sees London Literary Walks' next quiz.
And next Saturday, I'm back with UITCS for The Midnight Gang Musical, from Chichester Festival Theatre.
Saturday, 9 May 2020
Friday, 8 May 2020
Play: Antony and Cleopatra
Today was a bank holiday (VE Day) - so I needed something to do, on principle. And I was thinking I'd follow Up in the Cheap Seats' (UITCS) lead from earlier in the week, and have a look at a livestreamed Showstopper! show, filmed in the Lyric a month ago without an audience (!), now available on Facebook..
..and then they advertised Antony and Cleopatra, screened by the National Theatre from last night, as it happens, for a week. Starring Ralph Fiennes and Sophie Okenedo. Now, that sounded interesting.. so that's what I watched. Eventually, once there was a gap in good tv programmes.
Oh dear. See, it's very, very long. Now, I've seen longer - including longer by Shakespeare, who also wrote this. But if it's compelling enough, you don't notice the length. Now, this is really well done - the acting is excellent, done in modern dress, as usual. Antony starts off in holiday mode - flowery shirt, expansive trousers - hanging out in Alexandria with Cleo, who spends almost all the play dressed in a variety of fabulous outfits in white. He then gets called back to Rome - for a brief period, there are a lot of meetings in military uniform, then it gets into the battles. The National's rotating stage served well to switch action between Alexandria and Rome.
But as I say, it's oh so long. And I fell asleep. I did catch mention of Antony marrying Octavia, then the next thing I knew, Cleo was pretending she'd killed herself and it all went to pot. Their lives, not the play. I do acknowledge that I missed an awful lot of stuff in the middle, but even trying to watch it again, I kept finding myself scurrying to the next bit. It is good, but as with many good plays, you could chop a lot of it. Hey ho. Kudos to them for using a real snake for her suicide, though!
I'll probably catch up with another episode of Planet Earth tomorrow - next up is Shallow Seas.
On Sunday, back with UITCS - conveniently, an afternoon Meetup, where we're back watching an Andrew Lloyd Webber offering. This time, it's By Jeeves. The discussion afterwards will be on Jitsi, though - so I'll have to position myself closer to the router, as I had terrible trouble with this before.
Monday sees London Literary Walks' next quiz.
And on the 16th, I'm back with UITCS for The Midnight Gang Musical, from Chichester Festival Theatre.
..and then they advertised Antony and Cleopatra, screened by the National Theatre from last night, as it happens, for a week. Starring Ralph Fiennes and Sophie Okenedo. Now, that sounded interesting.. so that's what I watched. Eventually, once there was a gap in good tv programmes.
Oh dear. See, it's very, very long. Now, I've seen longer - including longer by Shakespeare, who also wrote this. But if it's compelling enough, you don't notice the length. Now, this is really well done - the acting is excellent, done in modern dress, as usual. Antony starts off in holiday mode - flowery shirt, expansive trousers - hanging out in Alexandria with Cleo, who spends almost all the play dressed in a variety of fabulous outfits in white. He then gets called back to Rome - for a brief period, there are a lot of meetings in military uniform, then it gets into the battles. The National's rotating stage served well to switch action between Alexandria and Rome.
But as I say, it's oh so long. And I fell asleep. I did catch mention of Antony marrying Octavia, then the next thing I knew, Cleo was pretending she'd killed herself and it all went to pot. Their lives, not the play. I do acknowledge that I missed an awful lot of stuff in the middle, but even trying to watch it again, I kept finding myself scurrying to the next bit. It is good, but as with many good plays, you could chop a lot of it. Hey ho. Kudos to them for using a real snake for her suicide, though!
I'll probably catch up with another episode of Planet Earth tomorrow - next up is Shallow Seas.
On Sunday, back with UITCS - conveniently, an afternoon Meetup, where we're back watching an Andrew Lloyd Webber offering. This time, it's By Jeeves. The discussion afterwards will be on Jitsi, though - so I'll have to position myself closer to the router, as I had terrible trouble with this before.
Monday sees London Literary Walks' next quiz.
And on the 16th, I'm back with UITCS for The Midnight Gang Musical, from Chichester Festival Theatre.
Wednesday, 6 May 2020
An Hour With Nick Hennesey
London Literary Walks' quiz came through - happy to say I'm still doing well! And I do enjoy it, particularly these days, without many calls on my time.
Unusually, I attended storytelling today! Yes, I skived off for an hour - one of my favourite storytellers, Nick Hennessey, was hanging out for an hour on Facebook. And oh my goodness, was I glad I signed in.. it was terrific! (once he followed our advice, and turned up the volume a bit.) Audio only. He played the harp, sang - and told stories.. for well over the scheduled hour. Some I knew, some not - it didn't matter. Finished with an excerpt from the Kalevala, which is a specialty of his. And it was all terrific - so soothing. I'd missed storytelling so much, it's been so long! Particularly in his case - he lives in the North of England, and doesn't make it to London that much any more. I think the recording is staying on Facebook for another couple of days.. seriously recommend you check it out. You might need headphones though! Oh, and it does take a few minutes for anything to start - the volume finally increases to manageable levels about 12 minutes in!
Now, Friday is a bank holiday (VE Day) - so I'll need something to do that day as well. And I was thinking I'd follow Up in the Cheap Seats' lead from yesterday, and have a look at a livestreamed Showstopper! show, filmed in the Lyric a month ago without an audience (!), now available on Facebook..
..and then they advertised Antony and Cleopatra, screened by the National Theatre from that day. Starring Ralph Fiennes and Sophie Okenedo. Now, that does sound interesting..
Unusually, I attended storytelling today! Yes, I skived off for an hour - one of my favourite storytellers, Nick Hennessey, was hanging out for an hour on Facebook. And oh my goodness, was I glad I signed in.. it was terrific! (once he followed our advice, and turned up the volume a bit.) Audio only. He played the harp, sang - and told stories.. for well over the scheduled hour. Some I knew, some not - it didn't matter. Finished with an excerpt from the Kalevala, which is a specialty of his. And it was all terrific - so soothing. I'd missed storytelling so much, it's been so long! Particularly in his case - he lives in the North of England, and doesn't make it to London that much any more. I think the recording is staying on Facebook for another couple of days.. seriously recommend you check it out. You might need headphones though! Oh, and it does take a few minutes for anything to start - the volume finally increases to manageable levels about 12 minutes in!
Now, Friday is a bank holiday (VE Day) - so I'll need something to do that day as well. And I was thinking I'd follow Up in the Cheap Seats' lead from yesterday, and have a look at a livestreamed Showstopper! show, filmed in the Lyric a month ago without an audience (!), now available on Facebook..
..and then they advertised Antony and Cleopatra, screened by the National Theatre from that day. Starring Ralph Fiennes and Sophie Okenedo. Now, that does sound interesting..
Sunday, 3 May 2020
Film: Split
Might not be in the UK, but this is a bank holiday weekend in Ireland - which doesn't mean that much to me, except that the range of tv programmes improves! In particular, the film selection - I was delighted to see Split, on offer this evening. On at the same time as the main evening news - but my mother obligingly agreed to watch the film instead. Sick of the daily diet of morose Coronavirus news, anyway.
Directed by M. Night Shyamalan, this is the story of James McAvoy and his multiple personalities. A few of them have become dominant - and have decided to kidnap some young women.. for highly dubious purposes. I always wanted to see this - I like Shyamalan's work, and the idea of McAvoy acting in several different personalities did appeal. Just slipped under my radar - which can happen easily, for films not rated quite as highly.
Perfectly understated, right till the chase at the end - typical for Shyamalan. And as usual, a perfectly simple story, which he can use to tell some kind of a parable about humanity in general. I really enjoyed seeing McAvoy slipping into the different characters - there are supposed to be 23, but in the entire film we only get to see seven - a couple only briefly, mainly for illustrative purposes. Apart from the scenes in the dungeons where he keeps his prisoners, he keeps nipping out to his psychiatrist - and we follow her at a conference, where she gives us a little lecture about dissociative personality disorder.
Otherwise, the only respite we get once the girls are kidnapped is a series of flashbacks about one of them - why we are seeing these gradually becomes apparent. As usual in horror films, this one girl is quieter than the rest, doesn't really fit in - it's unusual for her to have been hanging out with the others at all, and it was them that our psycho really planned to take. And sure enough, this one is the best equipped with survival skills, and the only one with the nous to get out of there using her own skills. An interesting parallel is, in fact, drawn between her and her kidnapper.. as gradually, and subtly, drawn out over the course of the film.
Understated, with a constant tension - as always with Shyamalan, I liked it very much. And the self-powered heroine of the piece, Anya Taylor-Joy, has a haunting intensity about her that suits the tone of the film. Yep, recommended. Delighted I subjected my mother (and her dog) to it - hey, there isn't even much gore..
Waiting for another set of quiz questions from London Literary Walks - due on Tuesday, I believe.
Unusually, I'm attending storytelling on Wednesday! Yes, I intend to skive off for an hour - one of my favourite storytellers, Nick Hennessey, is hanging out for an hour on Facebook.
Now, Friday is a bank holiday (VE Day) - so I'll need something to do that day as well. And I was thinking I'd follow Up in the Cheap Seats' lead from earlier in the week, and have a look at a livestreamed Showstopper! show, filmed in the Lyric a month ago without an audience (!), now available on Facebook..
..and then they advertised Antony and Cleopatra, screened by the National Theatre from that day. Starring Ralph Fiennes and Sophie Okenedo. Now, that does sound interesting..
Directed by M. Night Shyamalan, this is the story of James McAvoy and his multiple personalities. A few of them have become dominant - and have decided to kidnap some young women.. for highly dubious purposes. I always wanted to see this - I like Shyamalan's work, and the idea of McAvoy acting in several different personalities did appeal. Just slipped under my radar - which can happen easily, for films not rated quite as highly.
Perfectly understated, right till the chase at the end - typical for Shyamalan. And as usual, a perfectly simple story, which he can use to tell some kind of a parable about humanity in general. I really enjoyed seeing McAvoy slipping into the different characters - there are supposed to be 23, but in the entire film we only get to see seven - a couple only briefly, mainly for illustrative purposes. Apart from the scenes in the dungeons where he keeps his prisoners, he keeps nipping out to his psychiatrist - and we follow her at a conference, where she gives us a little lecture about dissociative personality disorder.
Otherwise, the only respite we get once the girls are kidnapped is a series of flashbacks about one of them - why we are seeing these gradually becomes apparent. As usual in horror films, this one girl is quieter than the rest, doesn't really fit in - it's unusual for her to have been hanging out with the others at all, and it was them that our psycho really planned to take. And sure enough, this one is the best equipped with survival skills, and the only one with the nous to get out of there using her own skills. An interesting parallel is, in fact, drawn between her and her kidnapper.. as gradually, and subtly, drawn out over the course of the film.
Understated, with a constant tension - as always with Shyamalan, I liked it very much. And the self-powered heroine of the piece, Anya Taylor-Joy, has a haunting intensity about her that suits the tone of the film. Yep, recommended. Delighted I subjected my mother (and her dog) to it - hey, there isn't even much gore..
Waiting for another set of quiz questions from London Literary Walks - due on Tuesday, I believe.
Unusually, I'm attending storytelling on Wednesday! Yes, I intend to skive off for an hour - one of my favourite storytellers, Nick Hennessey, is hanging out for an hour on Facebook.
Now, Friday is a bank holiday (VE Day) - so I'll need something to do that day as well. And I was thinking I'd follow Up in the Cheap Seats' lead from earlier in the week, and have a look at a livestreamed Showstopper! show, filmed in the Lyric a month ago without an audience (!), now available on Facebook..
..and then they advertised Antony and Cleopatra, screened by the National Theatre from that day. Starring Ralph Fiennes and Sophie Okenedo. Now, that does sound interesting..
Concert: Tribute to Andrew Lloyd Webber
Today - middle of the day, for once - Up in the Cheap Seats (UITCS) was watching this weekend's offering by Andrew Lloyd Webber. This time, it's his 50th birthday concert, featuring a famous cast singing his most famous numbers at the Albert Hall. And I was delighted to be able to join them, for once!
I started early, to give myself a little break before the chat afterwards - I'd never used Jitsi before, which they use for chats, and thought it might be good to give myself some leeway. You can watch through Andrew Lloyd Webber's own website - or through his The Shows Must Go On channel, on YouTube, as I did.
And goodness, I was in seventh heaven with this concert - it's glorious! It was filmed in 1998, mind, which explains why you see some oddly young-looking famous faces. Donny Osmond reprising Joseph and the Amazing Techicolor Dreamcoat, anyone? Or Sarah Brightman! (I agreed with comments afterwards about how artificial she looks - in comparison with other female singers in the show.) It was fun, guessing what would come up next - and most of the big numbers are there. And there are some real surprises - Antonio Banderas, Glenn Close - and what on earth were Boyzone doing, plonked in the middle? Ronan Keating gives Michael Ball a cheeky wink for the finale. My personal favourite - probably Elaine Paige, singing Memory to end the show.. she smashed it. Available for a few more hours at time of writing, and highly recommended.
Sadly, the Jitsi call afterwards was underwhelming - it just couldn't cope with my internet connection, even with my video turned off. Others had trouble too. I've never had these problems with Zoom - it's a pity this group always uses Jitsi. Ah well, who knows when I'll next be able to join them for a chat? It was good to see them, anyway.
This evening, they're back with Hampstead Theatre for The Arrest of Ai Weiwei. I was thinking of watching it too - but it didn't take me long to realise I'd seen it before! Seven years ago.. my first time ever there, in fact! I think this is the last of their online broadcasts, sadly - available until 10pm. I guess they expected to be open again, after that.
And damnation, I keep forgetting to mention that I'm attending storytelling on Wednesday! Yes, I intend to skive off for an hour - one of my favourite storytellers, Nick Hennessey, is hanging out for an hour on Facebook.
Now, Friday is a bank holiday (VE Day) - so I'll need something to do that day as well. And I was thinking I'd follow UITCS' lead from earlier in the week, and have a look at a livestreamed Showstopper! show, filmed in the Lyric a month ago without an audience (!), now available on Facebook..
..and then they advertised Antony and Cleopatra, screened by the National Theatre from that day. Starring Ralph Fiennes and Sophie Okenedo. Now, that does sound interesting..
I started early, to give myself a little break before the chat afterwards - I'd never used Jitsi before, which they use for chats, and thought it might be good to give myself some leeway. You can watch through Andrew Lloyd Webber's own website - or through his The Shows Must Go On channel, on YouTube, as I did.
And goodness, I was in seventh heaven with this concert - it's glorious! It was filmed in 1998, mind, which explains why you see some oddly young-looking famous faces. Donny Osmond reprising Joseph and the Amazing Techicolor Dreamcoat, anyone? Or Sarah Brightman! (I agreed with comments afterwards about how artificial she looks - in comparison with other female singers in the show.) It was fun, guessing what would come up next - and most of the big numbers are there. And there are some real surprises - Antonio Banderas, Glenn Close - and what on earth were Boyzone doing, plonked in the middle? Ronan Keating gives Michael Ball a cheeky wink for the finale. My personal favourite - probably Elaine Paige, singing Memory to end the show.. she smashed it. Available for a few more hours at time of writing, and highly recommended.
Sadly, the Jitsi call afterwards was underwhelming - it just couldn't cope with my internet connection, even with my video turned off. Others had trouble too. I've never had these problems with Zoom - it's a pity this group always uses Jitsi. Ah well, who knows when I'll next be able to join them for a chat? It was good to see them, anyway.
This evening, they're back with Hampstead Theatre for The Arrest of Ai Weiwei. I was thinking of watching it too - but it didn't take me long to realise I'd seen it before! Seven years ago.. my first time ever there, in fact! I think this is the last of their online broadcasts, sadly - available until 10pm. I guess they expected to be open again, after that.
And damnation, I keep forgetting to mention that I'm attending storytelling on Wednesday! Yes, I intend to skive off for an hour - one of my favourite storytellers, Nick Hennessey, is hanging out for an hour on Facebook.
Now, Friday is a bank holiday (VE Day) - so I'll need something to do that day as well. And I was thinking I'd follow UITCS' lead from earlier in the week, and have a look at a livestreamed Showstopper! show, filmed in the Lyric a month ago without an audience (!), now available on Facebook..
..and then they advertised Antony and Cleopatra, screened by the National Theatre from that day. Starring Ralph Fiennes and Sophie Okenedo. Now, that does sound interesting..
Saturday, 2 May 2020
PIVC 2020 & Murder Mystery: Murder at the Manor
Had to be awake today in time for a Paranormal Investigator Virtual Conference! Organised by Spooky London, it was on all day - the organiser hadn't heard from me since lockdown started, and was good enough to enquire after my health; as I explained to him, I couldn't make the whole thing, but would dial in when I could.
And I did! It was on YouTube, also Facebook - each talk roughly an hour long, and separated from the next by half an hour. First up was a guy describing his epiphany as a ghost hunter in Arizona, where he first experienced the events that made him a believer. And I tell you this - he's put me off ghost hunting for life! Awesome stories, though - and who would have thought that Arizona was so haunted?! Check out the Jerome Grand Hotel, as well as Tombstone (appropriately) to relive the experience. Think I'll skip that, myself - although I enjoyed hearing about them. Very entertaining talk too, with a good deal of humour.
Next (partly watched while I walked the dog, who didn't seem to mind) was one about the nature of poltergeists, also touching on the themes of subjective analysis of the paranormal, and comparison of different types of paranormal phenomena. V interesting, and he's written a book on the subject.
I missed most of the rest, but they were recorded, and are still available. Unfortunately, it clashed with my afternoon's other activity.. London Social Detours was doing an online murder mystery, where everyone chose a character and (optionally) dressed up. Small fee. We were sent scripts.. And I was chosen to be Sierra Tango, police constable! Seems it'd booked heavily, and that was all that was left. Fine by me. Got myself a character image and background - neither of which worked, as the light was wrong for a virtual background, and it wouldn't let me split my screen. Hey-ho.
The event itself was great fun, and also rather an education on Zoom, with me learning (theoretically) how to add an image or a background, as well as how to switch to gallery view, and what that meant. Don't think it'll catch on for our company-wide Zoom meetings, mind! Anyway - what with hilarious back stories, and unintentional hilarity from people not hearing their names called to ask, or answer, questions (not to mention those who couldn't find the copies they'd printed out) - it was a riotous way to spend an afternoon. And I returned to PIVC in the evening, briefly.
Tomorrow - middle of the day, for once - Up in the Cheap Seats is watching this weekend's offering by Andrew Lloyd Webber. This time, it's his 50th birthday concert, featuring a famous cast singing his most famous numbers at the Albert Hall. And I can join them, for once, which will be lovely.
That evening, they're back with Hampstead Theatre for The Arrest of Ai Weiwei. I was thinking of watching it too - but it didn't take me long to realise I'd seen it before! Seven years ago.. my first time ever there, in fact! I think this is the last of their online broadcasts, sadly - available until 10pm that day. I guess they expected to be open again, after that.
Now, Friday is a bank holiday (VE Day) - so I'll need something to do that day as well. And I was thinking I'd follow their lead from earlier in the week, and have a look at a livestreamed Showstopper! show, filmed in the Lyric a month ago without an audience (!), now available on Facebook..
..and then they advertised Antony and Cleopatra, screened by the National Theatre from that day. Starring Ralph Fiennes and Sophie Okenedo. Now, that does sound interesting..
And I did! It was on YouTube, also Facebook - each talk roughly an hour long, and separated from the next by half an hour. First up was a guy describing his epiphany as a ghost hunter in Arizona, where he first experienced the events that made him a believer. And I tell you this - he's put me off ghost hunting for life! Awesome stories, though - and who would have thought that Arizona was so haunted?! Check out the Jerome Grand Hotel, as well as Tombstone (appropriately) to relive the experience. Think I'll skip that, myself - although I enjoyed hearing about them. Very entertaining talk too, with a good deal of humour.
Next (partly watched while I walked the dog, who didn't seem to mind) was one about the nature of poltergeists, also touching on the themes of subjective analysis of the paranormal, and comparison of different types of paranormal phenomena. V interesting, and he's written a book on the subject.
I missed most of the rest, but they were recorded, and are still available. Unfortunately, it clashed with my afternoon's other activity.. London Social Detours was doing an online murder mystery, where everyone chose a character and (optionally) dressed up. Small fee. We were sent scripts.. And I was chosen to be Sierra Tango, police constable! Seems it'd booked heavily, and that was all that was left. Fine by me. Got myself a character image and background - neither of which worked, as the light was wrong for a virtual background, and it wouldn't let me split my screen. Hey-ho.
The event itself was great fun, and also rather an education on Zoom, with me learning (theoretically) how to add an image or a background, as well as how to switch to gallery view, and what that meant. Don't think it'll catch on for our company-wide Zoom meetings, mind! Anyway - what with hilarious back stories, and unintentional hilarity from people not hearing their names called to ask, or answer, questions (not to mention those who couldn't find the copies they'd printed out) - it was a riotous way to spend an afternoon. And I returned to PIVC in the evening, briefly.
Tomorrow - middle of the day, for once - Up in the Cheap Seats is watching this weekend's offering by Andrew Lloyd Webber. This time, it's his 50th birthday concert, featuring a famous cast singing his most famous numbers at the Albert Hall. And I can join them, for once, which will be lovely.
That evening, they're back with Hampstead Theatre for The Arrest of Ai Weiwei. I was thinking of watching it too - but it didn't take me long to realise I'd seen it before! Seven years ago.. my first time ever there, in fact! I think this is the last of their online broadcasts, sadly - available until 10pm that day. I guess they expected to be open again, after that.
Now, Friday is a bank holiday (VE Day) - so I'll need something to do that day as well. And I was thinking I'd follow their lead from earlier in the week, and have a look at a livestreamed Showstopper! show, filmed in the Lyric a month ago without an audience (!), now available on Facebook..
..and then they advertised Antony and Cleopatra, screened by the National Theatre from that day. Starring Ralph Fiennes and Sophie Okenedo. Now, that does sound interesting..
Friday, 1 May 2020
Documentary: Planet Earth Episode 2 (Mountains)
Well, another lull in tv programming left me with a hole in my schedule. (To be fair, there was some decent stuff showing, but I'd already seen it.) So I took myself off to catch up with more of Planet Earth! This time, it was Episode 2 (Mountains) - a favourite topic of mine..
As with other episodes I've watched, this is available in bitesize pieces on YouTube, 2.5 minutes each. This one, I had to click around a fair bit for, though - they kept redirecting me to other series. Just make a note of what number part of the episode you've just watched, then search for the next part - I managed to get almost all of it. And as usual, it's worth it - grand, sweeping shots: and I have to wonder how they managed them without drones.
The music suits the majestic landscapes, as the camera soars around and over mountaintops and mountain ridges, giving wide shots of glorious, but desolate landscapes. Some slopes, as Sir David Attenborough points out, are too steep to sustain snowfields, and appear as bare, jagged rock. But as usual with this series, we also get to zoom in and examine the wildlife - and it's spectacular in this case, from the elusive snow leopards of the Himalayas to the absurdly cute giant pandas of China, barely surviving on the ultimate junk food diet of bamboo, which hardly sustains them. How on earth they've survived this long..
Have to be awake tomorrow in time for a Paranormal Investigator Virtual Conference! Organised by Spooky London, it's on all day - the organiser hadn't heard from me since lockdown started, and was good enough to enquire after my health; as I explained to him, I can't make the whole thing, but will dial in when I can.
Tomorrow afternoon, behold, London Social Detours has my attention again - they're doing an online murder mystery, where everyone chooses a character and (optionally) dresses up. Small fee. Cool! We've been sent scripts.. And I've been chosen to be Sierra Tango, police constable! Seems it's been booking heavily, and that was all that was left. Fine by me. Got myself a character image - we'll see about a background. And I'll have to organise myself in time - I can't print out the scripts, as suggested.. my printer is stuck in London, with most of my wardrobe!
On Sunday - middle of the day, for once - Up in the Cheap Seats is watching this weekend's offering by Andrew Lloyd Webber. This time, it's his 50th birthday concert, featuring a famous cast singing his most famous numbers at the Albert Hall. And I can join them, for once, which will be lovely.
That evening, they're back with Hampstead Theatre for The Arrest of Ai Weiwei. I was thinking of seeing it tonight, as the weekend promises to be so busy - but it didn't take me long to realise I'd seen it before! Seven years ago.. my first time ever there, in fact! I think this is the last of their online broadcasts, sadly - available until 10pm that day. I guess they expected to be open again, after that.
Now, next Friday is a bank holiday - so I'll need something to do that day as well. And I was thinking I'd follow their lead from earlier in the week, and have a look at a livestreamed Showstopper! show, filmed in the Lyric a month ago without an audience (!), now available on Facebook..
..and then they advertised Antony and Cleopatra, screened by the National Theatre from that day. Starring Ralph Fiennes and Sophie Okenedo. Now, that does sound interesting..
As with other episodes I've watched, this is available in bitesize pieces on YouTube, 2.5 minutes each. This one, I had to click around a fair bit for, though - they kept redirecting me to other series. Just make a note of what number part of the episode you've just watched, then search for the next part - I managed to get almost all of it. And as usual, it's worth it - grand, sweeping shots: and I have to wonder how they managed them without drones.
The music suits the majestic landscapes, as the camera soars around and over mountaintops and mountain ridges, giving wide shots of glorious, but desolate landscapes. Some slopes, as Sir David Attenborough points out, are too steep to sustain snowfields, and appear as bare, jagged rock. But as usual with this series, we also get to zoom in and examine the wildlife - and it's spectacular in this case, from the elusive snow leopards of the Himalayas to the absurdly cute giant pandas of China, barely surviving on the ultimate junk food diet of bamboo, which hardly sustains them. How on earth they've survived this long..
Have to be awake tomorrow in time for a Paranormal Investigator Virtual Conference! Organised by Spooky London, it's on all day - the organiser hadn't heard from me since lockdown started, and was good enough to enquire after my health; as I explained to him, I can't make the whole thing, but will dial in when I can.
Tomorrow afternoon, behold, London Social Detours has my attention again - they're doing an online murder mystery, where everyone chooses a character and (optionally) dresses up. Small fee. Cool! We've been sent scripts.. And I've been chosen to be Sierra Tango, police constable! Seems it's been booking heavily, and that was all that was left. Fine by me. Got myself a character image - we'll see about a background. And I'll have to organise myself in time - I can't print out the scripts, as suggested.. my printer is stuck in London, with most of my wardrobe!
On Sunday - middle of the day, for once - Up in the Cheap Seats is watching this weekend's offering by Andrew Lloyd Webber. This time, it's his 50th birthday concert, featuring a famous cast singing his most famous numbers at the Albert Hall. And I can join them, for once, which will be lovely.
That evening, they're back with Hampstead Theatre for The Arrest of Ai Weiwei. I was thinking of seeing it tonight, as the weekend promises to be so busy - but it didn't take me long to realise I'd seen it before! Seven years ago.. my first time ever there, in fact! I think this is the last of their online broadcasts, sadly - available until 10pm that day. I guess they expected to be open again, after that.
Now, next Friday is a bank holiday - so I'll need something to do that day as well. And I was thinking I'd follow their lead from earlier in the week, and have a look at a livestreamed Showstopper! show, filmed in the Lyric a month ago without an audience (!), now available on Facebook..
..and then they advertised Antony and Cleopatra, screened by the National Theatre from that day. Starring Ralph Fiennes and Sophie Okenedo. Now, that does sound interesting..
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