A Life On The Stage

5 Things About SCO's 2005 Performance of La Traviata

1. I went to see it last night. This is the group with whom I have sung twice (in The Mikado & Eugene Onegin), but I had to drop out of this production due to illness, mugging and the Naomi Awards (longer story). Last night was the opening night, so Alex and I headed north to Southgate to witness the spectacle.

2. It was actually rather good, with the second half much better than the first. In (quite a few) places the singing wasn't quite in time with the orchestra and there were some misplaced tambourine rattles, but it was beautifully staged, acted, (on the whole) sung and gave me geniune tingles. I was quite jealous that I wasn't taking part! There's always Die Fledermaus this autumn.

3. There was a double cast, and unfortunately we picked the wrong night to go, as we missed Lee Mason in the part of Violetta. I have a sneaky suspicion that she would have been much better than the star of last night's show. She has a stunning voice.

4. There were quite a lot of old people in the audience who insisted on singing along. This was quite funny. At first.

5. The wine served (in plastic beakers) during the interval was de-icer with food colouring.

Early Bird

5 Things About Waking Up at 4am

1. It gives you an opportunity to discover whether any UK airlines are breaking the law on flights before 5am. They weren't today.

2. You can pay proper attention to the bird in my garden who has learned to imitate mobile phone ringtones. It's a very odd sound and I wish I knew more about the phenomenon.

3. It gives you the chance to drink two glasses of water, thus lessening the severity of the following morning's hangover.

4. It may have been caused by eating a large pizza covered in jalapeno chillies at 10pm.

5. It makes you oh so sleepy & tired the next day. I want to go hooooome!

PS - Today Popjustice have published an email from me. Hurrah!

Spoiled

5 Things I Did Last Night

1. Saw Alex singing in his debut recital as a counter tenor, at the Swiss Church on Endell Street. It was actually really rather good, even though the interval went on far too long. Most people in the audience knew each other and spent a good 25 minutes having a good old gossip. It confused the people who didn't know anyone, who were wondering why this little choral performance had the longest interval in the world.

2. Met John Suchet off the telly. He came to the concert too! I didn't realise who he was, but felt sure I knew him from somewhere. I'm glad I stopped myself from going up to him and saying, "You know, I'm sure we've met somewhere before", as that would have been v embarrassing. I didn't realise that he was David Suchet's brother.

3. Ate crisps in the Cross Keys with lots of Alex's friends and his parents.

4. Saw Izzy & Jon again, as well as my friend Andrew "culture vulture" Greenwood and Farouk, who came from work.

5. Drank champagne after we got back to my flat to toast all the clever things that Alex has been doing lately, like concerts and getting a new job. It was a very good way to round off the evening.

Schwester

5 Things About My Weekend

1. My sister came to visit me! This made me happy.

2. We went to see The Magic Numbers and Athlete at Brixton Academy. So far, the general consensus seems to be that The Magic Numbers are better than the band they are supporting.

3. We met Charl, Shona & Cat on Northcote Road, and then did some wandering. I bought a new purse to replace the one that the 15 year old muggers nicked. It's much nicer.

4. We watched Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, which I LOVED. It was so good. Jim Carey is brilliant when he's actually acting, as opposed to leaping around like a complete fool. We also watched the musical episode of Buffy - hurrah!

5. We saw my cousin Izzy & her husband John for lunch in The Crusting Pipe in Covent Garden yesterday. The Crusting Pipe is great, and we drank lots of manzanilla sherry. The only downside was that my artichoke salad had great lumps of mud in it. I didn't realise it was mud until half way through - just thought it was a bit crunchy and gritty. Ah well, I'm sure the minerals will be good for me.

Back to work today and a big week ahead of me!

The Life of Food

5 Things I Like To Eat

1. Ice cream with big chunks of yummy things in it, like cookie dough, chocolate chips, ginger or marshmallow. Preferably when it’s a bit melty and dribbly.

2. Cheese - on pizza, toast, chips and potatoes; in salad, dips, fondue, cheesecake; with pickled onions, tomatoes, mustard, artichoke, crackers, crisps and apples, or just by itself in lovely big chunks.

3. Tomatoes. I put them in virtually everything I cook, particularly my special pasta sauces made from fresh cherry tomatoes, which no one else seems to love quite as much as I do, but then I eat them the most so who cares?

4. Potatoes - in every possible size, shape and variation. I simply adore them.

5. Fruit. I don’t love fruit indiscriminately; I am selective. Some, like kiwis and bananas, I would happily not encounter for the rest of my life, but others, such as strawberries, cherries, mangos, apples, melon and pineapple I would quiet happily scoff until the cows come home. And after they’d gone as well.

Moodswings

5 Things Which Are a Bit Pathetic

1. I had the whole of Saturday free to do productive, inspiring things which would really move my life forward in a new and exciting direction. How did I spend my time? Watching Buffy and eating toast!

2. I am actually aching today after about 45 minutes playing frisbee on Clapham Common yesterday. Rubbish.

3. After being woken up by two men in my back garden on Saturday night (they were just drunk trying to find their way home), I've not really been able to sleep as every little noise has been magnified in my head.

4. I spent so long lying in bed this morning trying to think of ways I could have a day off work that, when I couldn't think of any, I was late.

5. On Friday evening, after watching Alex sing in a rather lovely concert, I got into a big strop for no apparent reason (possibly low blood sugar).

Bread & Honey

5 Things On Which To Waste £20

1. A manicure which you smudge as soon as you leave the salon. Particularly bad when you have a bright colour, as this is far more noticeable.

2. A bottle of champagne which you take to a party but which doesn't get drunk while you're there. You can't take it home with you.

3. A sonic mouse deterrent. They really really really don't work. The little blighters defy them with mouse-sized earplugs.

4. A new top which you don't try on as you're in a hurry. It doesn't fit, but you never get round to taking it back to the shop.

5. Penny sweets. But then again, that's not really a waste.

The Philosphy of Plato

5 Things About Plato Road

1. It's the home of Simon Cooper at Number 14: 14 Plato Road. He is clearly a party animal.

2. It features in 'Brixton', a poem by Gary Lowe
A bored middle class white-girl (with an indeterminate accent)
is disappointed with her art degree
at number 11 Plato Road
she has turned her one room into a shrine
suitable for the comemplation of the ZERO
at night (or so she said) "I make love to the Buddha"
as yet, no-one, has believed her.

3. It's a thriving business community, being the home of Clifton Motor Repairs, Plain Text marketing agency, Lion Music Recording Studios & Pickupaproperty.com (among others).

4. How it comes about, I know not; but the fact is demonstrable, that two little streets branching from Acre Lane - the suburban thoroughfare which connects Brixton with Clapham - have been named, respectively, after the great lawgiver and the great philosopher of Athens. But for this startling originality of nomenclature, Solon Road and Plato Road would have little or nothing to mark them out among the countless similar byways of South London. They are short and narrow; the houses are very small, yet in their feeble way pretentious, for the bay-windows of the ground-floor display miniature stucco columns, scraped with spiral moulding; they have a plaintive little air of resolute respectability, of domestic virtue established on the very narrowest basis of cash. Great, however, is the force of a name. That of Plato Road sufficed to attract Mr. Philip Dolamore, who sought a lodging within the philosophic precincts, and here abode for the space of two years.
From The Pessimist of Plato Road by George Gissing

5. It's definitely in Brixton, not Clapham.

Tell Me Why...

5 Things That Made Me Smile This Weekend

1. Going to visit my cousin Katherine and seeing how she & her husband are totally in love with their little baby Alexander. It's not hard, as he's the cutest thing in the world and just keeps getting cuter, no matter how impossible I think that is.

2. Spending time with my parents and seeing them really laughing and enjoying each other's company. Even if occasionally I wish they would just stop dancing round the living room together and sit down, I secretly like it.

3. Appreciating just what a thoughtful and caring person my sister is. She is a generous spirit and I'm looking forward to her coming to visit me in a few weeks for some quality sister time!

4. Being driven round the countryside in my dad's Rolls Royce (which he has for his chauffeur business). It's even better when people stare.

5. Watching the fish at DT & Kim's house on Friday night. One had huge staring eyes and spent all its time looking at the people in the room. The other had something wrong with its fins and could only swim with its head down and its tail sticking straight up. Thinking about creating a new fictional blog based around what the two of them see each day, but clearly won't get round to it.

Caught In A Moment

5 Things I'm Doing Right Now

1. Trying to resist going to the shop for chocolate

2. Ooohing and aahing at the thunder & lightning.

3. Keeping a close eye on my brolly so that no one decides to 'borrow' it on their way out the door.

4. Trying to get 'Sweetie the Chick' out of my head.

5. Some work. Except I'm not, as I'm blogging.

R.E.M.

5 Things About My Dream Last Night

1. It started with me arriving at a haunted mansion called 'Concrete', which had been converted into holiday apartments. I decided to write a review of the holiday hotspot for, er, the Financial Times. I wrote what I considered to be a wonderfully funny and original piece and sent it off for publishing.

2. One of my friends was reading what I'd just sent off, and pointed out that paragraph 6 was in fact, extremely offensive to Centaurs, and Centaur lovers. I was horrified! That wasn't how I'd meant it all, and I couldn't bear the thought of having offended Centaurs.

3. There was no question about it, I had to travel to all the local newsagents to collect all their Financial Times before they went on sale. I borrowed a friends car, which was so tiny I had to crouch right over in the driving seat and bring my knees up near my ears to fit into it.

4. In the first newsagent I went into I asked the man behind the counter if they had any copies of the Financial Times for that day. He said, "yes, of course!" and proceeded to present me with a voucher for money off Bloom lipgloss. I was extremely confused and left hurriedly to clamber back into my tiny-mobile. I did a cracking three-point turn though.

5. I finally found a copy of the Financial Times in a tip outside a house that was being renovated. It turns out that they'd published the article, but under someone else's name. I felt an odd mixture of relief that the Centuars wouldn't know it was me who had been so rude, and guilt that they would be offended anyway and I'd got away with it!

Gggrrr!

5 Things About Being in a Big Grump Today For No Reason At All

1. It makes me very impatient with everyone, even when they are just in a good mood or asking me to do something perfectly reasonable.

2. It makes me do stupid things like scratch my face too enthusiastically and actually rather hurt myself.

3. It makes me stuff down my lunch in 30 seconds and then get really annoyed that it's all gone.

4. It makes things like listening to the new album by The Departure annoying.

5. It makes me WANT TO GO HOME and eat ice cream.

Crime & Punishment

5 Things About Court

1. I went, today. I got mugged in February by two teenage boys, one of whom was recognised by a witness and is now being prosecuted. Little gits. I turned up at 8.45 for a 9.30 start (so like me), and had to wait for half an hour before anyone was there.

2. It was very odd, sitting by myself in the little waiting room reading old editions of Now Magazine (when Darren Day and Suzanne Shaw were still telling the world about their love!).

3. I actually think the services for victims (feels so odd calling myself that) are really good. There are people all along the way you can talk to if you're feeling bad or if you not sure what to do. The Witness Service volunteer was really sweet, despite clearly being stressed, and stayed talking to me for ages.

4. I waited for three hours and the other witness didn't turn up, so it was friggin' postponed, until god knows when! Gggrrr.

5. It was surprisingly nerve-wracking.

Gather Round Children

5 Things I've Learnt This Weekend

1. When gardening for four hours, it's important to kneel in the correct way, otherwise you will give yourself a lot of lower back pain for the next few days.

2. Just because you've been to the supermarket three times over the weekend, it doesn't mean that you've spent less that you would if you got everything at once.

3. When you are very drunk, the things that seem like a really brilliant idea, usually really aren't.

4. A pint of water before going to bed really does help.

5. If you don't read the paper or watch anything other than old episodes of Friends then you won't find out about the Pope dying.

Never Again

5 Things About Hangovers

1. Hangovers are caused by drinking liquid containing 'alcohol', a poisonous depressant which affects the body by causing capillaries to open, thereby temporarily duping the body into thinking it is too warm so that it uses fluid to cool down. This in turn causes dehydration, which results in the brain shrinking away from the sides of the skull, leading to headaches, depression, lack of judgement and shame.

2. I have one.
3. See above.
4. See above.
5. I made that first paragraph up. I have no idea how scientifically accurate it is.