Weekend's whizz by don't they?
Must do an update. Yep. Well on Thursday me and James went to see Madame Butterfly at the Grand in Leeds. We'd never been there before and I have to say that it was mightily high up. We were in the cheap seats naturally and were on the fourth story. This isn't usually a problem for me, but as the whole thing was sung in Italian there were helpful screens with subtitles on but I was having to strain to see them. I know that subtitles at an opera is a bit besides the point but I really wanted to know everything that was going on, and I didn't know what the opera was about beforehand. Plus, there are little bits of humour in the songs that you wouldn't get unless you spoke Italian. Anyway, it was my first opera and I still don't know what to think about it. During the first half I really felt as if there was a barrier between me and the stage (no, not the safety curtain) which prevented me from getting emotionally involved in the opera. However, the second half was much better and I got really invested in it all and really enjoyed it. Personal thoughts aside, the lead lady was absolutely amazing. I keep thinking about, not only the amount of lines she'd had to learn, but also the fact that she had to sing them all, and there are so many lines. So was stunning, and the climaxes of the piece were great, as was the orchestra. You need so much stamina to perform an opera.
So yes, I did really enjoy it, it was great but I can't decide if I'd make an effort to go to another opera any time soon. I much prefer plays where you can admire the language and the plot and the characters, which are all very prevalent in opera I'm aware but I don't feel quite as involved in. I must say that I'd love to see and orchestra play live though, it's been years and there really is nothing like live music, in whatever form.
On Friday I managed to make it in to work. I have to say that I think that one day working weeks are the way to go. I'm still not into the swing of things today either even though we have a big inspection tomorrow. I don't feel as into this one as OfSTED somehow. Plus I've already managed to break a table today. Wonderful.
I had a relaxed weekend really. On Saturday we headed off to Lancaster to visit Julia. It was funny going because I'd not been to Lancaster for over three years, the last time being with James on one of our first meets. Happy times. Although rumour has it that The Blob Shop, the wonderfully named pub in Lancaster where we had a stiff drink and confessed all, may no longer be there. Add to this the Pizza Hut in Leeds city centre going and it seems like all those places we met at in summer 2004 are disappearing :( Anyway, back to Lancaster. I haven't been to uni halls in a long time and seeing Julia's room was weird. Although her room is very big and nice and the campus itself is small and leafy, plus, unlike the University of Lancaster itself, the University of Cumbria is within walking distance from the train station. I went into the library there to have a nosy and Julia highighted this to one of her flatmates to try and make me look like a geek. She failed naturally, especially as I got points for playing on my DS when she was telling him.
We didn't really get up to a lot. We had a nice meal in Bella Italia and did some charity shopping although none of us did very well. I managed not to buy anything at all. In fact, I've been so good this month that I decided to treat myself to some DS games. Mmmm, goodness. Anyway, a nice day was had by all although James didn't feel like he'd achieved much by going. Seeing his sister is clearly not enough. It is nice that Julia seems to have settled in ok though. Sunday was spent mostly catching up on TV and playing Playstation. i have nobody to play my two-player games with so I'm quite pleased that James is getting into it. He seems to like the destructive ones more than anything so he loved Burnout. It also helps if he's good at them too because he sulks if hes rubbish. He's off ill today so I think he's playing it to make himself feel better.
So yes, I did really enjoy it, it was great but I can't decide if I'd make an effort to go to another opera any time soon. I much prefer plays where you can admire the language and the plot and the characters, which are all very prevalent in opera I'm aware but I don't feel quite as involved in. I must say that I'd love to see and orchestra play live though, it's been years and there really is nothing like live music, in whatever form.
On Friday I managed to make it in to work. I have to say that I think that one day working weeks are the way to go. I'm still not into the swing of things today either even though we have a big inspection tomorrow. I don't feel as into this one as OfSTED somehow. Plus I've already managed to break a table today. Wonderful.
I had a relaxed weekend really. On Saturday we headed off to Lancaster to visit Julia. It was funny going because I'd not been to Lancaster for over three years, the last time being with James on one of our first meets. Happy times. Although rumour has it that The Blob Shop, the wonderfully named pub in Lancaster where we had a stiff drink and confessed all, may no longer be there. Add to this the Pizza Hut in Leeds city centre going and it seems like all those places we met at in summer 2004 are disappearing :( Anyway, back to Lancaster. I haven't been to uni halls in a long time and seeing Julia's room was weird. Although her room is very big and nice and the campus itself is small and leafy, plus, unlike the University of Lancaster itself, the University of Cumbria is within walking distance from the train station. I went into the library there to have a nosy and Julia highighted this to one of her flatmates to try and make me look like a geek. She failed naturally, especially as I got points for playing on my DS when she was telling him.
We didn't really get up to a lot. We had a nice meal in Bella Italia and did some charity shopping although none of us did very well. I managed not to buy anything at all. In fact, I've been so good this month that I decided to treat myself to some DS games. Mmmm, goodness. Anyway, a nice day was had by all although James didn't feel like he'd achieved much by going. Seeing his sister is clearly not enough. It is nice that Julia seems to have settled in ok though. Sunday was spent mostly catching up on TV and playing Playstation. i have nobody to play my two-player games with so I'm quite pleased that James is getting into it. He seems to like the destructive ones more than anything so he loved Burnout. It also helps if he's good at them too because he sulks if hes rubbish. He's off ill today so I think he's playing it to make himself feel better.