Oops
I've just noticed that I haven't updated for ages. I haven't dropped off the planet, just been quite busy and a bit allergic to summer. Unfortunately I do mean that as hot, humid weather and my skin do not go well together. It's no accident that the slightly fresher weather has made me suddenly notice I haven't updated recently!
First the book meme
I Just Finished Reading
Bring Up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel. Reading this book is an extraordinarily immersive experience, almost like being at the court of Henry VIII seeing the fall of Anne Boleyn through the eyes of his chief minister Thomas Cromwell. Henry wants Anne gone and it is Cromwell's job to see she goes or fall himself. How he goes about building a case against her composed of gossip and innuendo is fascinating and terrifying. The more sympathetic Cromwell of "Wolf Hall" is giving way to a darker man who does what he must to please the increasingly volatile Henry. One of the ways in which Hilary Mantel's historical novels excel is by showing the might have beens of history, what the people of the time feared could happen instead of what we know did happen. Henry's tournament accident is easily forgotten now but it throws a sharp light on the chaos that might have ensued if Henry had died suddenly and why he was so desperate for a male heir. Compulsively readable book which I read slowly to make the experience last longer.
What I'm Reading Now
The Guns of August by Barbara Tuchman. It seemed like a good idea to read this classic account of the beginnings of World War I now and I'm finding the book very interesting. I read A Distant Mirror by Barbara Tuchman years ago so I knew The Guns of August would be very readable and the whole period and characters involved are really coming alive. Tragic and fascinating.
What I'm Reading Next
Not a clue, but I might give World War I a break!
In between wishing my skin would stop itching I have actually been quite busy.
We've been to two Proms (Promenade Concerts not the American kind), the First Night, which a rousing performance of The Kingdom with Andrew Davis obviously enjoying himself enormously conducting the BBC Symphony Orchestra. The two main excitements of the evening were wondering whether the baritone Christopher Purves's voice would hold out for the whole of the performance and the fact that I unexpectedly found myself sitting next to Gareth Malone. Our second Prom was John Wilson and his Orchestra doing a semi-staged (the only thing missing was the scenery) performance of Kiss Me Kate, which was fabulous. Alexandra Silber did a wonderful version of "I Hate Men" and Ben Davis was an excellent Petruchio with a simply gorgeous voice. The only downsides were some slight technical problems with the sound and some odd lighting decisions. It's on telly at Christmas so it will be interesting to see how it comes across and it should still be up on the iPlayer here until the beginning of September.
The next day as a total contrast we went to the BFI to see a complete reshowing of the TV version of Testament of Youth starring Cheryl Campbell. J had never seen this and I rather finessed it past him without explaining that it would be 5 hours long (with interval). He was really quite doubtful when he realised how long it was but at the end he said that every moment was worth it. It's still a stunning piece of television with an amazing performance by Cheryl Campbell as Very Brittain, on screen for almost every shot. Because the story was told over 5 episodes it really gave the characters time to develop and though I remembered how sad and difficult the story often was I'd forgotten a lot of the gentle humour, often at the expense of the humourless Vera. It wasn't a story just about her life and losses during WWI but also about her hopes and ambitions before and afterwards and the educational choices available to women at that time. It was enthralling television and it will be fascinating to see how the forthcoming film deals with the story in a necessarily shorter time. It was being shown as part of a tribute to director Moira Armstrong and both she and Cheryl Campbell were there.
We made another trip to the BFI on Saturday to see West Side Story on the big screen. As I've only ever seen it on the television before it was like watching a new film. The only downside is I now have a bizarre combination of tunes from Kiss Me Kate and West Side Story going round in my head - "Brush Up Your Shakespeare....Tonight".
TV wise the only things we seem to be watching are history and art documentaries and Inspector Montalbano which washes over me in flood of Sicilian language and excitable Sicilian Italian. I'm also watching the beginning of the first series of Arrow having already watched the second half of Series 2. It's a long time since I've watched a show so out of order but it's great fun to watch the team come together. Some interesting characters and John Barrowman as a slimy baddie...what's not to love.
I've also rewatched the first episode of Highlander for killabeez rewatch and am awash with nostalgia. It holds up surprisingly well though I remember the first few episodes of Season 1 as being awful.
And that's it from me for the moment. I'm going to be pretty busy for the rest of the month and away for a large chunk of September but I'll try and drop in when I can.
First the book meme
I Just Finished Reading
Bring Up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel. Reading this book is an extraordinarily immersive experience, almost like being at the court of Henry VIII seeing the fall of Anne Boleyn through the eyes of his chief minister Thomas Cromwell. Henry wants Anne gone and it is Cromwell's job to see she goes or fall himself. How he goes about building a case against her composed of gossip and innuendo is fascinating and terrifying. The more sympathetic Cromwell of "Wolf Hall" is giving way to a darker man who does what he must to please the increasingly volatile Henry. One of the ways in which Hilary Mantel's historical novels excel is by showing the might have beens of history, what the people of the time feared could happen instead of what we know did happen. Henry's tournament accident is easily forgotten now but it throws a sharp light on the chaos that might have ensued if Henry had died suddenly and why he was so desperate for a male heir. Compulsively readable book which I read slowly to make the experience last longer.
What I'm Reading Now
The Guns of August by Barbara Tuchman. It seemed like a good idea to read this classic account of the beginnings of World War I now and I'm finding the book very interesting. I read A Distant Mirror by Barbara Tuchman years ago so I knew The Guns of August would be very readable and the whole period and characters involved are really coming alive. Tragic and fascinating.
What I'm Reading Next
Not a clue, but I might give World War I a break!
In between wishing my skin would stop itching I have actually been quite busy.
We've been to two Proms (Promenade Concerts not the American kind), the First Night, which a rousing performance of The Kingdom with Andrew Davis obviously enjoying himself enormously conducting the BBC Symphony Orchestra. The two main excitements of the evening were wondering whether the baritone Christopher Purves's voice would hold out for the whole of the performance and the fact that I unexpectedly found myself sitting next to Gareth Malone. Our second Prom was John Wilson and his Orchestra doing a semi-staged (the only thing missing was the scenery) performance of Kiss Me Kate, which was fabulous. Alexandra Silber did a wonderful version of "I Hate Men" and Ben Davis was an excellent Petruchio with a simply gorgeous voice. The only downsides were some slight technical problems with the sound and some odd lighting decisions. It's on telly at Christmas so it will be interesting to see how it comes across and it should still be up on the iPlayer here until the beginning of September.
The next day as a total contrast we went to the BFI to see a complete reshowing of the TV version of Testament of Youth starring Cheryl Campbell. J had never seen this and I rather finessed it past him without explaining that it would be 5 hours long (with interval). He was really quite doubtful when he realised how long it was but at the end he said that every moment was worth it. It's still a stunning piece of television with an amazing performance by Cheryl Campbell as Very Brittain, on screen for almost every shot. Because the story was told over 5 episodes it really gave the characters time to develop and though I remembered how sad and difficult the story often was I'd forgotten a lot of the gentle humour, often at the expense of the humourless Vera. It wasn't a story just about her life and losses during WWI but also about her hopes and ambitions before and afterwards and the educational choices available to women at that time. It was enthralling television and it will be fascinating to see how the forthcoming film deals with the story in a necessarily shorter time. It was being shown as part of a tribute to director Moira Armstrong and both she and Cheryl Campbell were there.
We made another trip to the BFI on Saturday to see West Side Story on the big screen. As I've only ever seen it on the television before it was like watching a new film. The only downside is I now have a bizarre combination of tunes from Kiss Me Kate and West Side Story going round in my head - "Brush Up Your Shakespeare....Tonight".
TV wise the only things we seem to be watching are history and art documentaries and Inspector Montalbano which washes over me in flood of Sicilian language and excitable Sicilian Italian. I'm also watching the beginning of the first series of Arrow having already watched the second half of Series 2. It's a long time since I've watched a show so out of order but it's great fun to watch the team come together. Some interesting characters and John Barrowman as a slimy baddie...what's not to love.
I've also rewatched the first episode of Highlander for killabeez rewatch and am awash with nostalgia. It holds up surprisingly well though I remember the first few episodes of Season 1 as being awful.
And that's it from me for the moment. I'm going to be pretty busy for the rest of the month and away for a large chunk of September but I'll try and drop in when I can.