Catch Up
Well, in the time that I've not been posting, Armaleggan have danced with Eynsham in Witney and Sharp and Blunt at the Red Lion, Mabels have said faretheewell to Rhiannon, have been to see Taming of the Shrew at the Globe and went to Ely Folk Festival.
Ely will get a couple of posts to itself but, as to the rest...
Dancing with Eynsham was huge fun as predicted. Also there were KBO and a Bellydancers side who may not have been the best dancers ever but were enthusiastic and you had to admire them for the little they wore on what was a chilly (if fortunately dry and sunny) evening. Fantastic session afterwards in the Windrush, good-humoured bar-staff, lots of singing and some playing too.
The dance out at the Red Lion in Deddington was also fun. I like Sharp and Blunt, They dance well together and their kit suits them (although I wish that one lass would have her waistcoat open like everyone else. It's a little thing but it's actually really noticeable). Fairly quiet session after since the confident musicians had to leave early leaving 3 not-so-confident musicians behind. We managed to muddle through a fair few tunes though and spent a lot of time laughing about it and we got some singing in too so all was well.
Mabels said farewell to our second youngest memeber on Tuesday before she wends her way to Norwich (We say farewell to or youngest member next tuesday, also on her way to Norwich...Hmmm...). We had a quick practice before doing one dance with her (her 1st (and last, at least with Mabels)) at the Red Lion at Brightwell (to and audience of 2 very tolerant people and their slightly bemused dogs) before settling down to a lovely dinner and chat. She was presented with various silly cake making stuff which she seemed to like. She's going to be a miss.
Went to the afternoon showing of The Taming of the Shrew at the Globe on Saturday. Weather was lovely (I believe a couple of folks passed out from the heat.) and the actors were very good. (Lovely to see Pearce Quigley again after Faustus. He was Grumio in this. He's got a fantastically flat and sarcastic delivery which suits these roles down to the ground and his comic timing is impeccable.) and I liked the way they started with the lad playing Christopher Sly pretending (very successfully judging by the horrified comments of the lad next to me!) to be a very drunken member of the audience who had run up on stage pursued by various member of staff before collapsing (after 'peeing' on some of the audience) before being dressed up and tricked by the 'cast'.
Taming of the Shrew is an odd play and very much of it's time. In the C16th, the idea of a strong, bad-tempered woman being 'tamed' by her husband would have been seen as a good thing. In this day and age, it can be quite an uncomfortable thing to process. I've seen it done a couple of ways; some productions have had Petruchio coming across as just trying to show Katherine that he cares about her and that he's willing to pay attention to her without her having to throw a tantrum to achieve it, and at the end they are equals if not downright partners in crime sharing a laugh at everybody else's expense; a recent production had Katherina scared and downtrodden at the end. This production ended with Katherina happy in herself and sharing a joke with Petruchio but seeming to genuinely believe her own speech at the end where she speaks of what a woman's place is and what her duty is to her husband. What made it a bit more uncomfortable was that there were moment in the play where the character seemed genuinely terrified as Petruchio seems to run mad. Given the Globe, this actually seems to be a perfect production as it seems to gel with the ideals of the 16th but it does make you feel a little odd when you're cheering at the end. That said, bothe Katherina and Petruchio were brilliant and I liked the lass playing Bianca who, instead of being a wet victim of her sister at the beginning, was equally as bad but, ever time her father looked her way, became a weeping innocent before grinning evilly over his shoulder at her sister when he turned away; a move any older sister will recognise all too well. Katherina had my utmost sympathy from that moment on.
A special mention should go to the signer at the pther end of the stage (it was a BSL performance) Particularly as the cast kept singing 'The Cuckoo's Nest', a song that is remarkably unsubtle even for a folksong which should tell you all you need to know. I learnt a lot of new and interesting signs that I will probably never be able to use in polite company.
In home news, I had a go at waterproofing my tent yesterday. Having nearly gassed myself with the fumes from the seam sealant (which said to wipe down with alcohol first. Only alcohol I had was gin so the mole tunnel is now a genuine Mabel tent!), I followed the instructions on the waterproofing spray. These were 'wet tent' (I did), spray tent evenly (this too, plus the grass, myself and the cat when she wandered up behind me unexpectedly), leave for 2 minutes (I timed this) before wiping off the excess (check) and then leave to dry (no problem in the gorgeous sunshine) and check to see if you have missed any spots (...how can you tell?! Once it's dried it's invisible! I suppose I can wait for it to get rained on and see which bits let the water through but that's not what I would call precisely ideal. Ah well).
I also managed to do my handwashing and the wringing motion loosened up the claw my left hand had turned into after an accidental 5 hour fiddle practice on the Sunday.
In other news, I have finally retreived my bike from the Thrornhill Park and Ride (where it's been tied up since the end of January due to me never remembering to take the key for the lock with me). It was a little rusty (I think. It's hard to tell since it was a little rusty before) and the tyres have gone down a little (easily fixable with the bicycle pump) but it's in one piece (huzzah for cheap bikes that nobody else thinks are worth the effort to steal!) so, if it's sunny on my next free weekend (sometime in October then and because I'm not that confident a cyclist I'd like not to add rain to my woes) I will take it out around the countryside.
Tis all go
Ely will get a couple of posts to itself but, as to the rest...
Dancing with Eynsham was huge fun as predicted. Also there were KBO and a Bellydancers side who may not have been the best dancers ever but were enthusiastic and you had to admire them for the little they wore on what was a chilly (if fortunately dry and sunny) evening. Fantastic session afterwards in the Windrush, good-humoured bar-staff, lots of singing and some playing too.
The dance out at the Red Lion in Deddington was also fun. I like Sharp and Blunt, They dance well together and their kit suits them (although I wish that one lass would have her waistcoat open like everyone else. It's a little thing but it's actually really noticeable). Fairly quiet session after since the confident musicians had to leave early leaving 3 not-so-confident musicians behind. We managed to muddle through a fair few tunes though and spent a lot of time laughing about it and we got some singing in too so all was well.
Mabels said farewell to our second youngest memeber on Tuesday before she wends her way to Norwich (We say farewell to or youngest member next tuesday, also on her way to Norwich...Hmmm...). We had a quick practice before doing one dance with her (her 1st (and last, at least with Mabels)) at the Red Lion at Brightwell (to and audience of 2 very tolerant people and their slightly bemused dogs) before settling down to a lovely dinner and chat. She was presented with various silly cake making stuff which she seemed to like. She's going to be a miss.
Went to the afternoon showing of The Taming of the Shrew at the Globe on Saturday. Weather was lovely (I believe a couple of folks passed out from the heat.) and the actors were very good. (Lovely to see Pearce Quigley again after Faustus. He was Grumio in this. He's got a fantastically flat and sarcastic delivery which suits these roles down to the ground and his comic timing is impeccable.) and I liked the way they started with the lad playing Christopher Sly pretending (very successfully judging by the horrified comments of the lad next to me!) to be a very drunken member of the audience who had run up on stage pursued by various member of staff before collapsing (after 'peeing' on some of the audience) before being dressed up and tricked by the 'cast'.
Taming of the Shrew is an odd play and very much of it's time. In the C16th, the idea of a strong, bad-tempered woman being 'tamed' by her husband would have been seen as a good thing. In this day and age, it can be quite an uncomfortable thing to process. I've seen it done a couple of ways; some productions have had Petruchio coming across as just trying to show Katherine that he cares about her and that he's willing to pay attention to her without her having to throw a tantrum to achieve it, and at the end they are equals if not downright partners in crime sharing a laugh at everybody else's expense; a recent production had Katherina scared and downtrodden at the end. This production ended with Katherina happy in herself and sharing a joke with Petruchio but seeming to genuinely believe her own speech at the end where she speaks of what a woman's place is and what her duty is to her husband. What made it a bit more uncomfortable was that there were moment in the play where the character seemed genuinely terrified as Petruchio seems to run mad. Given the Globe, this actually seems to be a perfect production as it seems to gel with the ideals of the 16th but it does make you feel a little odd when you're cheering at the end. That said, bothe Katherina and Petruchio were brilliant and I liked the lass playing Bianca who, instead of being a wet victim of her sister at the beginning, was equally as bad but, ever time her father looked her way, became a weeping innocent before grinning evilly over his shoulder at her sister when he turned away; a move any older sister will recognise all too well. Katherina had my utmost sympathy from that moment on.
A special mention should go to the signer at the pther end of the stage (it was a BSL performance) Particularly as the cast kept singing 'The Cuckoo's Nest', a song that is remarkably unsubtle even for a folksong which should tell you all you need to know. I learnt a lot of new and interesting signs that I will probably never be able to use in polite company.
In home news, I had a go at waterproofing my tent yesterday. Having nearly gassed myself with the fumes from the seam sealant (which said to wipe down with alcohol first. Only alcohol I had was gin so the mole tunnel is now a genuine Mabel tent!), I followed the instructions on the waterproofing spray. These were 'wet tent' (I did), spray tent evenly (this too, plus the grass, myself and the cat when she wandered up behind me unexpectedly), leave for 2 minutes (I timed this) before wiping off the excess (check) and then leave to dry (no problem in the gorgeous sunshine) and check to see if you have missed any spots (...how can you tell?! Once it's dried it's invisible! I suppose I can wait for it to get rained on and see which bits let the water through but that's not what I would call precisely ideal. Ah well).
I also managed to do my handwashing and the wringing motion loosened up the claw my left hand had turned into after an accidental 5 hour fiddle practice on the Sunday.
In other news, I have finally retreived my bike from the Thrornhill Park and Ride (where it's been tied up since the end of January due to me never remembering to take the key for the lock with me). It was a little rusty (I think. It's hard to tell since it was a little rusty before) and the tyres have gone down a little (easily fixable with the bicycle pump) but it's in one piece (huzzah for cheap bikes that nobody else thinks are worth the effort to steal!) so, if it's sunny on my next free weekend (sometime in October then and because I'm not that confident a cyclist I'd like not to add rain to my woes) I will take it out around the countryside.
Tis all go