Jul 29, 2008
Jul 28, 2008
Brevity is... wit
If I had been blessed with so flexible a brain and wild an imagination as the immortal Bard himself, I might write you a pretty speech about my encounter with Hamlet at the Courtyard Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon this evening. Alas, I was not so fortunately gifted. Therefore I entreat you, gentle readers, to simply picture your intrepid Antipodean correspondent with a large smile gracing her round, shiny visage, as she sat in the gallery not 20 metres from David Tennant, Patrick Stewart and the other fine actors from the Royal Shakespeare Company, as they strutted and fretted their hour (actually three and a half) 'pon the mirrored thrust stage, full of sound and fury (and more than a little cheeky madness on the part of one D. Tennant).
'Twas awesome.
The only disappointment (if it could be called that), was my inability to secure the signatures of the players due to the post-show crush at the stage door. I present the following as evidence:
I was, however, able to raise my Panasonic Lumix into the sky, and capture fleeting glimpses of our noble thespians fulfilling the dearest wishes of the madding crowd by putting black marker pen to their programs:
If your ears yearn to hear more about the production, tune in to Spencer Howson on 612 ABC Brisbane between 7 and 8am on Wednesday 30 July, to hear The Wah chat about Hamlet. I hope to write a longer, more succinct review at a later stage. For now I will simply bask in my own sense of self-satisfaction!
'Twas awesome.
The only disappointment (if it could be called that), was my inability to secure the signatures of the players due to the post-show crush at the stage door. I present the following as evidence:
I was, however, able to raise my Panasonic Lumix into the sky, and capture fleeting glimpses of our noble thespians fulfilling the dearest wishes of the madding crowd by putting black marker pen to their programs:
If your ears yearn to hear more about the production, tune in to Spencer Howson on 612 ABC Brisbane between 7 and 8am on Wednesday 30 July, to hear The Wah chat about Hamlet. I hope to write a longer, more succinct review at a later stage. For now I will simply bask in my own sense of self-satisfaction!
Jul 27, 2008
Great Houses & Castles I Have Known
Since leaving Glasgow on Friday morning, the Wah and I have been tearing around the south of Scotland into England, making mincemeat of castles, churches and fine houses.
Some notable mentions: the surprise of Haddon Hall, a Tudor mansion featured in many a film including The Other Boleyn Girl and the recent BBC adaptation of Jane Eyre; its opulent neighbour Chatsworth, reputedly the inspiration for Mr Darcy's home Pemberley in Pride and Prejudice, with parts of the Keira Knightley version filmed there; the Cavalier charm of Bolsover Castle, with its "Little Castle" full of mysteriously empty rooms and erotic paintings; and the majestic Hardwick New Hall (near the ruinous yet equally impressive Hardwick Old Hall), built by one of the most powerful of Elizabethan noblewomen, Bess of Hardwick.
(I have been admiring these great buildings for their architecture, interior decoration and illustrious history. The Wah has being doing all of this, as well as giving them a rating from zero to 5 on their potential effectiveness against zombie hordes. In his opinion, castles with strong walls, sturdy doors, spy holes to fire weapons through and internal green spaces for planting crops to weather the forthcoming zombie apocalypse are the best.)
This afternoon we rocked up at Warwick Castle, expecting the usual castle-going experience of near-silent admiration of former great halls, banqueting chambers, long galleries and medieval fortifications. But we were in for a surprise. Warwick Castle, as seen in the video below, has really caught the medieval jousting lance and run with it:
We are now firmly ensconced in beautiful Stratford-upon-Avon, which has been rather quiet for a Sunday night. We expect it to be a bit crazier on Monday night, when we carry out possibly our most geeky mission of this trip: watching David Tennant play Hamlet at the Royal Shakespeare Company. If the Doctor Who geek points weren't enough, we've discovered Patrick Stewart is playing Claudius, so that should hopefully get the Star Trek fans all a-quiver as well!
We've discovered the RSC has banned the actors from signing non-RSC merchandise, after audience members turned up at the stage door with bucketloads of talking Cybermen heads and models of the Enterprise demanding the stars sign them, probably with "To eBay" or something. So I shall be buying a program, and then working out how I could possibly ask for an autograph without looking like too much of a tragically unhip loser. The Wah is already working on his air of detached non-commitment, which he shall implement like a shield to cover his inner "squee!"s of excitement. But you didn't hear that from me.
Some notable mentions: the surprise of Haddon Hall, a Tudor mansion featured in many a film including The Other Boleyn Girl and the recent BBC adaptation of Jane Eyre; its opulent neighbour Chatsworth, reputedly the inspiration for Mr Darcy's home Pemberley in Pride and Prejudice, with parts of the Keira Knightley version filmed there; the Cavalier charm of Bolsover Castle, with its "Little Castle" full of mysteriously empty rooms and erotic paintings; and the majestic Hardwick New Hall (near the ruinous yet equally impressive Hardwick Old Hall), built by one of the most powerful of Elizabethan noblewomen, Bess of Hardwick.
(I have been admiring these great buildings for their architecture, interior decoration and illustrious history. The Wah has being doing all of this, as well as giving them a rating from zero to 5 on their potential effectiveness against zombie hordes. In his opinion, castles with strong walls, sturdy doors, spy holes to fire weapons through and internal green spaces for planting crops to weather the forthcoming zombie apocalypse are the best.)
This afternoon we rocked up at Warwick Castle, expecting the usual castle-going experience of near-silent admiration of former great halls, banqueting chambers, long galleries and medieval fortifications. But we were in for a surprise. Warwick Castle, as seen in the video below, has really caught the medieval jousting lance and run with it:
We are now firmly ensconced in beautiful Stratford-upon-Avon, which has been rather quiet for a Sunday night. We expect it to be a bit crazier on Monday night, when we carry out possibly our most geeky mission of this trip: watching David Tennant play Hamlet at the Royal Shakespeare Company. If the Doctor Who geek points weren't enough, we've discovered Patrick Stewart is playing Claudius, so that should hopefully get the Star Trek fans all a-quiver as well!
We've discovered the RSC has banned the actors from signing non-RSC merchandise, after audience members turned up at the stage door with bucketloads of talking Cybermen heads and models of the Enterprise demanding the stars sign them, probably with "To eBay" or something. So I shall be buying a program, and then working out how I could possibly ask for an autograph without looking like too much of a tragically unhip loser. The Wah is already working on his air of detached non-commitment, which he shall implement like a shield to cover his inner "squee!"s of excitement. But you didn't hear that from me.
Jul 23, 2008
Slide
Because we went to see "The Dark Knight", and because I haven't gotten around to doing up more complicated videos yet, all right?
Keep an eye out for Debbie's video-bombing. Nice work.
Keep an eye out for Debbie's video-bombing. Nice work.
Jul 22, 2008
Bannockburn
We're back in Scotland staying with Debbie and Eoghann in Glasgow. Deb very kindly lent us her car today, and we headed out to visit Stirling Castle. It turned out to be rather sunny and pleasant as we walked the cobbled paths, taking in some Cromwellian-era soldiers showing off their pikes and muskets, as well as - very bizarrely - an American troupe of hand-bell ringers performing a concert in the chapel. More video on all that later.
Right now, please enjoy this vision of the pair of us getting up close and personal with history at the Bannockburn Heritage Centre:
Special thanks to my young squire Joy and her spirited brothers and sister.
Right now, please enjoy this vision of the pair of us getting up close and personal with history at the Bannockburn Heritage Centre:
Special thanks to my young squire Joy and her spirited brothers and sister.
Jul 21, 2008
Jul 20, 2008
Hvala Hrvatska
We spent our final night of the cruise in the old town of Dubrovnik, a UNESCO World Heritage site. We walked the extraordinary city walls (over 2 kilometres), sweating in the sun and taking in the bright orange tiled rooftops - a reminder of the rebuilding and restoration of the city, which suffered under siege from the Serbian navy during the Balkans War in the early 1990s.
In the evening, after dinner and a stroll through the narrow, marble-paved streets, we ended up at "Le Fresh", a cocktail bar that also served wraps and provided free wi-fi access. With my laptop on charge onboard the "Tarin", I instead joined my shipfellows for a hearty knees-up involving metric measurements of mixed spirits. This particularly bright orange tube was quickly followed by one of the house cocktail, which was a fairly unnatural shade of aqua. I really didn't have very much at all (as you know I'm not a drinker), and I put the slight swaying I experienced down to the rocking one week on a boat had left me with. Eoghann, the Wah's Scottish brother-in-law, said the cocktail was mostly fruit juice - and if you can't trust a Scotsman on the subject of alcohol, who can you trust?
A shot of me in Dubrovnik, overlooking part of the Old Town, the harbour, and a smidge of the grey stone walls. As you walk around Dubrovnik, you can still see bullet and mortar dents in the walls of some buildings. High on the mountain above the town (beyond which lies Bosnia) stands a solitary large blue pylon, still upright despite the Montenegrin navy bombing the cable car line that once ran to it.
These statues decorate a charming building in Diocletian's Palace in Split, to which we returned by bus on Saturday after departing the "Tarin" (so very sad, such a marvellous craft she was!). I theorised it must have once been a theatre reknowned for terrible operas or appalling plays; how else would you explain the grimace of agony?
Jul 17, 2008
Korcula
Korcula is perhaps the prettiest of island Old Towns we've visited so far - it's built in a leaf-like layout with lanes coming off a central "spine" street to take best advantage of the Adriatic Sea breezes.
There's no evidence that Marco Polo was born in the house featured in our little video; nor is there any evidence that he was even born on this island, which was under Venetian rule at the time. But hey, it's a good story, and allows for muchos merchandising opportunities!
Today we've spent the day in Mljet, which is virtually all national park. It's immensely pretty - the forest-covered hills are a change from the limestone mountains that have bordered the coastline so far.
I'm not trying to make anybody jealous here, but can I just say it is immensely calming to know that the hardest decision you'll have to make in a day is whether to swim or not. Yesterday I didn't; today I was back in. I'm working on my tan see - I'm currently a slighter darker shade of "pasty" than I normally am. It's very exciting, I can tell you.
Jul 15, 2008
Jul 13, 2008
Omis: Fortress Climb
The Dalmatian coastline truly is beautiful - clear skies, blue water, sun, and a boat named the "Tarin", which is our home for the week. We have a marvellous cabin with a window, and are well looked after by our crew of four, including the Captain, the Admiral, and Cookie. Only Anna the cook is known by her actual name.
We departed from Split on Saturday morning, and got into Omis around 6pm. We decided to climb up to the Fortress, or "Fortica" overlooking the town. It's 311 metres up, but of course the actual walk was a lot longer, twisting and turning as it did up the mountainside, it's rock-and-scree strewn path proving havoc for even the most capable of footwear.
However we got to the top, and as you can see in the video, were put to shame by a Norwegian named Piorn. The mountain did demand a sacrifice and in our case it was Greg's sister Debbie's shorts - split from rump to thigh courtesy of a sharp rock.
Sunday we went rafting on the Cetina River that runs from high in the mountains behind Omis. The rapids were only Grade 2, but were great fun. Many epic sea battles were fought between our crew ("Team Awesome") and the scurvy dogs populating the dozens of other rafts careening down the river. Water was liberally splashed, but being in the low 30s, nobody minded much!
Jul 12, 2008
Forbidden Planet
We've managed to log on to free wi-fi here at Cafe Twins, on the Riva promenade in Split, Croatia. The sky is blue, the sun is out and blazing, and it's close to 30 degrees already, if not over. We board our boat for our 8-day cruise to Dubrovnik in about half an hour.
London was marvellous as always, and we'll be back later. I have more video to post featuring the great capital, but for now, enjoy some surruptitious filming inside a "Forbidden Planet" comic store.
London was marvellous as always, and we'll be back later. I have more video to post featuring the great capital, but for now, enjoy some surruptitious filming inside a "Forbidden Planet" comic store.
Jul 10, 2008
Monkeys!
As promised - proboscis monkeys, plus Brunei's famous water village. Massive thanks to TC and Grace from Good Miles Brunei for making our stay so amazing!
Interesting facts about Kampung Ayer: the village has been there since the 1400s, when Spanish explorers (Magellan and co) first sailed in to Brunei for a lookabout. At its peak it housed over 30 000 people; now it has about 18 000. And while you would think it gets washed away every couple of years by a freak typhoon or something - it's flourished particularly because Brunei isn't affected by those sorts of calamities.
Interesting facts about proboscis monkeys: the recognisably flabby nose is not, as you might imagine, a symbol of fertility, or masculinity. Even if monkeys understood jokes about the correlation between noses and other organs, they'd probably be too busy flinging their own poo about to really care. As it happens, the large nose is there because the large nostrils help regulate body temperature, keeping the furry orange critters cool even during Brunei's hottest days. But speaking of penises - we've been reliably informed that due to alpha male proboscis monkeys hogging all the chicks in a sexy monkey harem, the smaller males maintain a raging erection 24/7, just on the offchance they land an opportunity to charge in and bang one of the females while the alpha male has his back turned (possibly to regulate his body temperture).
Never forget these are our closest DNA cousins, people.
Interesting facts about Kampung Ayer: the village has been there since the 1400s, when Spanish explorers (Magellan and co) first sailed in to Brunei for a lookabout. At its peak it housed over 30 000 people; now it has about 18 000. And while you would think it gets washed away every couple of years by a freak typhoon or something - it's flourished particularly because Brunei isn't affected by those sorts of calamities.
Interesting facts about proboscis monkeys: the recognisably flabby nose is not, as you might imagine, a symbol of fertility, or masculinity. Even if monkeys understood jokes about the correlation between noses and other organs, they'd probably be too busy flinging their own poo about to really care. As it happens, the large nose is there because the large nostrils help regulate body temperature, keeping the furry orange critters cool even during Brunei's hottest days. But speaking of penises - we've been reliably informed that due to alpha male proboscis monkeys hogging all the chicks in a sexy monkey harem, the smaller males maintain a raging erection 24/7, just on the offchance they land an opportunity to charge in and bang one of the females while the alpha male has his back turned (possibly to regulate his body temperture).
Never forget these are our closest DNA cousins, people.
Jul 7, 2008
Above the Equator
Greetings from Brunei Darussalam - the "Abode of Peace", approximately 440km north of the equator.
Our flight out of Brisbane was smooth and uneventful - even if the Royal Brunei plane lacked back-of-seat personal entertainment systems (What is this, 2002?).
The only problem came at Bandar Seri Bagawan airport, where a miscommunication about re-arranged flights and accommodation saw a group of disembarking passengers (including your intrepid adventurers) sidelined near an immigration booth waiting for our passports to be checked over by some confused-looking ground staff.
You can tell that the Wah and I are reasonably seasoned travellers, because rather than get worried and frustrated by this turn of events, we did a little dance and invented "The Clusterf**k Song", in honour of the post-flight mess.
Eventually we got to our palatial and luxurious accommodation - the Orchid Garden Hotel. My oh my. For a couple of backpackers we feel incredibly spoiled. Our first night is on the airline, and we're in a big room with two beds, a bathroom with a hose for use "post-toilette" and a flat-screen TV with BBC World. We somehow scored a massive free buffet dinner as well, as well as a fruit punch welcoming drink (no alcohol in this strictly dry Islamic nation).
A short walk outside after dinner was enough to remind us of just how humid this part of the world is at the height of summer. There's not much about near our hotel, so we're heading to bed for a good night's sleep ahead of a water village tour tomorrow. We also intend to see some probiscus monkeys, if they'll deign to show us their rather flappy faces.
Our flight out of Brisbane was smooth and uneventful - even if the Royal Brunei plane lacked back-of-seat personal entertainment systems (What is this, 2002?).
The only problem came at Bandar Seri Bagawan airport, where a miscommunication about re-arranged flights and accommodation saw a group of disembarking passengers (including your intrepid adventurers) sidelined near an immigration booth waiting for our passports to be checked over by some confused-looking ground staff.You can tell that the Wah and I are reasonably seasoned travellers, because rather than get worried and frustrated by this turn of events, we did a little dance and invented "The Clusterf**k Song", in honour of the post-flight mess.
Eventually we got to our palatial and luxurious accommodation - the Orchid Garden Hotel. My oh my. For a couple of backpackers we feel incredibly spoiled. Our first night is on the airline, and we're in a big room with two beds, a bathroom with a hose for use "post-toilette" and a flat-screen TV with BBC World. We somehow scored a massive free buffet dinner as well, as well as a fruit punch welcoming drink (no alcohol in this strictly dry Islamic nation).
A short walk outside after dinner was enough to remind us of just how humid this part of the world is at the height of summer. There's not much about near our hotel, so we're heading to bed for a good night's sleep ahead of a water village tour tomorrow. We also intend to see some probiscus monkeys, if they'll deign to show us their rather flappy faces.
Jul 4, 2008
Well Heeled
The short film I shot back in May is now online - enjoy, and let me know what you think!
Jul 1, 2008
At the Pictures
Did someone call for a narcissist? Can't come now, too busy looking at my reflection in this pond...
Yes, that's right. Courtesy of a fabulous hairstylist and photographically-talented friend, I had a very self-indulgent Friday.
I knew it was going to be an expensive hairdo - but it had been over two years since I last visited Stewart. He'd moved salons since; but I tracked him down to The Design Studio through a friend. It's quite a new salon, and it has two private rooms instead of banks of chairs in front of mirrors. I received a head massage and treatment as well as a stint in the vibrating massage chair during the cut and colour process. It was marvellous service; and the end result was (gasp) $209 worth of saucy new hair.
I was going to meet Aurelie at the Brisbane Powerhouse to do a photo shoot; she's in her final year of study and the novelty of taking pictures of self-obsessed improvisers hasn't worn off yet. I am all about "offering my services as a model" to "help friends" in their "chosen field of endeavour". Yeah, that's it.
But the hair appointment had gone on far longer than I expected, and I'd texted Aurelie asking to reschedule. However, upon seeing just how awesome my hair looked after being comprehensively GHD-curled by Stewart, I rang her back to insist upon a brief photo session at her place - if only to get some evidence of how sweet my hair actually looked for once.
So I motored on over to Aurelie and Dan's place at Moorooka, where Aurelie was in the middle of setting up an impromptu studio in her lounge room. I used the bathroom to whack on some make-up. It was a fairly slapdash effort; I've never been terribly good at applying make-up, my face seems prone to self-smudging.
Aurelie made clever use of her sofa, curtains, even Dan's Iron Improviser set dressings as backdrops, and positioned herself on top of tables and chairs in order to get better angles. Dan, meanwhile, proved himelf a top-notch lampstand - holding up lights on Aurelie's command, and clicking his computer screen to ensure it remained on, bathing the room with its liquid crystal glow. We chatted about Impro Mafia, the upcoming Off the Cuff Festival, and other non-linkable topics. The "impromptu" photo shoot turned into a two hour session!
Aurelie kept asking if I was okay, comfortable etc; I replied "Are you kidding? I could do this all day!" I just love having my photo taken - but normally I always look a bit naff, or round-faced, or blubbery in all the wrong places. Aurelie, however, is a gem behind the lens, as you can see from the small selection here. I'd recommend checking out her Flickr stream if you want more examples of her skill!
Yes, that's right. Courtesy of a fabulous hairstylist and photographically-talented friend, I had a very self-indulgent Friday.
I knew it was going to be an expensive hairdo - but it had been over two years since I last visited Stewart. He'd moved salons since; but I tracked him down to The Design Studio through a friend. It's quite a new salon, and it has two private rooms instead of banks of chairs in front of mirrors. I received a head massage and treatment as well as a stint in the vibrating massage chair during the cut and colour process. It was marvellous service; and the end result was (gasp) $209 worth of saucy new hair.I was going to meet Aurelie at the Brisbane Powerhouse to do a photo shoot; she's in her final year of study and the novelty of taking pictures of self-obsessed improvisers hasn't worn off yet. I am all about "offering my services as a model" to "help friends" in their "chosen field of endeavour". Yeah, that's it.
But the hair appointment had gone on far longer than I expected, and I'd texted Aurelie asking to reschedule. However, upon seeing just how awesome my hair looked after being comprehensively GHD-curled by Stewart, I rang her back to insist upon a brief photo session at her place - if only to get some evidence of how sweet my hair actually looked for once.
So I motored on over to Aurelie and Dan's place at Moorooka, where Aurelie was in the middle of setting up an impromptu studio in her lounge room. I used the bathroom to whack on some make-up. It was a fairly slapdash effort; I've never been terribly good at applying make-up, my face seems prone to self-smudging.
Aurelie made clever use of her sofa, curtains, even Dan's Iron Improviser set dressings as backdrops, and positioned herself on top of tables and chairs in order to get better angles. Dan, meanwhile, proved himelf a top-notch lampstand - holding up lights on Aurelie's command, and clicking his computer screen to ensure it remained on, bathing the room with its liquid crystal glow. We chatted about Impro Mafia, the upcoming Off the Cuff Festival, and other non-linkable topics. The "impromptu" photo shoot turned into a two hour session!
Aurelie kept asking if I was okay, comfortable etc; I replied "Are you kidding? I could do this all day!" I just love having my photo taken - but normally I always look a bit naff, or round-faced, or blubbery in all the wrong places. Aurelie, however, is a gem behind the lens, as you can see from the small selection here. I'd recommend checking out her Flickr stream if you want more examples of her skill!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)