Up FAR too early and on with my assignment. Started at 7.00 am and finished at 2.00 pm. Really rather pleased with it under the circumstances. Off to our friends for a Summer barbeque in the rain in the afternoon. I think we were all a little too tired to be honest, but we soldiered on and had a really good time in the end. I suspect that Bank Holiday monday will be spent horizontal. There was a real buzz about the casting of the show, and I genuinely think it has the potential to be the best yet.
Monday, 30 May 2011
Saturday 28th May
Quiet session in the morning as it's half term, then the final auditions and casting session. It all went really well in the end, and the cast was announced on the website. Really good reception from the members and we can all look forward to a happy show I think. We then collapsed again in the afternoon, and rather than do the sensible thing and write up the final essay from all my prep notes, I left it for the morning, Youngest arrived back in the country a few hours earlier than we expected, so that was a pleasant surprise, and we were able to catch up with all the gossip from her trip....it was good to have a complete family again. It makes you realise how precious your times together really are.
Friday 27th May
We didn't get up until lunchtime, and then I have to be honest, achieved very little after that. I caught up with emails etc, but couldn't motivate myself to do anything worthwhile around the house, which as a result of everyone's long few weeks resembled something post Tsunami. The weekend will give us the chance to catch up I hope. My final assignment of the year needs to be in by midnight on Sunday, and that is still at the back of my mind...fortunately, this one is well within my comfort zone in that I have already gone over all of the work so many times. We have a couple of final auditions for the adults production in Winter time tomorrow, and then we need to cast it....I hope we can do so without too much in the way of upset. Sadly, some people seem determined to create problems as usual. The evening session was excellent again, and I can't believe how well most of them have taken to the Bard. I'm really looking forward to the show now.
Thursday 26th May
The last day of our project, and of course, now the kids have to go outside and walk to the other venue to perform, we get thunder and lightning. They were all so proud of themselves yesterday, so getting them motivated for today was no problem. Myself and eldest were on techie duty today, and whilst it wasn't exactly the London Palladium, we were rather proud of ourselves for what we managed to achieve with such limited resources. We walked back from the event absolutely exhausted, but knew we had done something special. We then had to motivate ourselves to run a session in the evening...we needn't have worried....it all went well. I remember little of the evening other than sitting down reading all the lovely thank you messages we received from the kids at the project, and thinking what a great few weeks we had. I can't wait to get involved with another such project, and sure enough, as a result of this one, we have been inundated with more work.
Sunday, 29 May 2011
Wednesday 25th May
AAAAGGHHHHHHHHH. That is the most eloquent way I have of describing how I felt when I woke up. Would they manage to pull it off today or would it be a total disaster, with the headmistress calling the authorities and having me locked up? I needn't have worried. As with all such things, the run through was awful, but the actual performance was delightful. I had a tear in my eye at the end. I wish I could write about some of the individual backgrounds and circumstances of some of the kids I have been working with. it would give a little perspective as to quite what they have achieved, and quite how precious they have all become for me over the last few weeks. Of course I cannot put such details, but words such as abuse, neglect and poverty would give the merest of hints. We move on to the performance in front of parents tomorrow, and I think this has been one of the most significant and worthwhile things I have ever been involved with.
Tuesday 24th May
The madness continues, but this time accompanied by eldest who has the chance to participate with all the lovely kids. She has, of course, fallen for them all too, and I think that my hero worship may be transferred over to her. I hope that she gets an appreciation of quite how much goes into something like this project. She is really good with the kids, and I am very proud of her for that. I think that the way people respond to children is the best way to judge them. Not that I like judging people....well not much that is. We have the first show tomorrow. I am hugely nervous of the whole thing, as it has taken me out of my comfort zone. I doubt that I will sleep well
Tuesday, 24 May 2011
Monday 23rd May
Big day at School with the show starting on Wednesday. Full run throughs completed, and costumes and scenery is on the way. I have spent many a happy hour completing the sound files, and I am hoping that I can continue to work with this wonderful little school again. The evening Robin Hood session was excellent, and so I retired for the evening a happy man. I actually went to bed with the intention of listening to a podcast, but got as far as putting headphones in alone. They were not attached to anything other than my ears, and this is how I woke up. I look forward to the weekend to do some more catch up on sleeping,
Sunday 22nd May
A Lie in!!!!! Well you would have thought wouldn't you?....but the alarm was set for silly o clock, in order to dispatch youngest to the School to set off to France for the week. She seems to be taking it all in her stride. She went of with a fistful of euros, and strict instructions regarding her behaviour. I am also looking forward to seeing the results of her photographic escapades with her new camera. We arrived back home, made a cuppa and went back to bed for a few hours. Eldest was out for most of the day, and due to our state of lethargy, we treated ourselves to a meal out, and went to the rather offputtingly titled Dewdrop inn. A Chinese restaurant in Ampthill, it has the most awful decor, but the staff are lovely, and the food not bad for the price. I think I would like to go back when I am not ready to nod off into my Prawn crackers.
Monday, 23 May 2011
Saturday 21st May
The day started with me wishing most of it away. Tiredness continues to dominate, and I hope that it's not affecting my performance at work. We did more auditions in the afternoon, and then got home for a day and a half of doing nothing, knowing that youngest had to pack. I managed to get a live stream of the Luton play off final against Wimbledon. Exciting game and all watched on the iPad. I am getting to love it ! I fell asleep through the last two weeks Dr Who, so will have to rematch when I am a little more awake.
Friday 20th May
The day started with exhaustion and I think the kids are feeling it too. I feel that we have been on autopilot all day, and that we all need a weekend. The evening was given over to Romeo and Juliet, which continues to go well. I just hope we can pull it off as we get nearer. There are still lots of lines and not many weeks. Afterwards, we settled down to a drink or two and fell asleep.....rock and roll eh?
Thursday 19th May
A day of Theseus and the Minotaur, followed by Hansel and Gretel then on to Robin Hood, followed by a bit of Dickens. With about half an hour to spare all day I was able to pop out for some euros for youngest who is off to Normandy at the weekend, I think our mad busy week means that we have not really given it a second though, but buying them made me think about it and have that horrible feeling in the pit of my stomach. I hate it when she is away. I'm sure she will be ok....but I always miss her. We held auditions with the grown ups in the evening. I cannot discuss any of them on a blog, but the process always makes me evaluate what I am getting out of doing this. I am not sure I know the answer when I consider some of the issues I need to deal with.
Wednesday 18th May
I am having to get used to working what is in effect a 9to5 day again. The project I am working on means that I am out all day. I am loving the project. The kids I am working with are all adorable, and it has been quite profound on several levels. The courage that some of them have with their difficult history and backgrounds makes it inspiring to say the least. I am trying my hardest to cope with the evenings as well, particularly when I have some big shows coming up.
Thursday, 19 May 2011
Tuesday 17th May
Today is Tennant and Tate day at Plug Acres. We are off, as a family to watch that Shakespeare blokes play, with that Dr Who bloke, and the old ginger sweary lady. Cant wait....it'd better be good. I rushed from the school.....got myself looking mildly delicious, and then popped off to that London to see that Acting. It was delightful, light, pacey and bordering on farce. I thoroughly enjoyed i and got the impression that it was deliberately dealt with in such a way to appeal to Shakespeare newbies. We hung out at tthe Stage door, and got the two stars autographs....I will post pictures when I have five minutes to spare.
Monday 16th May
My new iPad...(Did I mention I had one?) has come into its own already. The delights of reading the paper on the train....the wonderful portability of Garageband and the myriad possibilities that it afford me. The note taking apps, the general beauty of it....I'm quite taken.....not sure of that comes across. Work is a joy at the moment. I love the kids at the School...they are so eager to please, and so desperately want to be good. I just hope I am keeping them all happy. The thought of leaving there next week makes me feel rather sad. The show is only just a week away. Straight out of work, and into a session, followed by a late night doing paperwork and sound editing for the show.
Sunday 15th May
A day spent, pretty much solidly, writing essays for Uni. Very little else to report. I kept an eye on Spurs via the internet, winning at Liverpool. All rather infuriating that they can do that, but get it so wrong against the weaker teams. I feel the pain of my West Ham supporting friends today. I am not sure how this week is going to pan out. My to do list is longer than my nose,and I am already feeling a little panicy. I have a full week at the School, as well as reaching a crucial stage in our own shows, and auditions to look forward to with the oldies. All fun I suppose.
Saturday, 14 May 2011
Saturday 14th May
We had a good session this morning even though we were all a little tired the rest of the day was spent not achieving anything at all very much and again I think the events of the last few weeks have caught up on me. I've not done any work on my assignments today and I think I may well have to admit defeat and just put this year down to experience. It will be a great shame but something has to give occasionally. I think this is just two assignments too far we shall see. I watched the cup final and it's nowhere near as good as it used to be with all sorts of cup final related events and now it just like any other match..again maybe this is me getting old?
Friday 11th May
Didn't get as much done as I wanted today and I am feeling tired. I think the next week might be a challenge. I hope I can get more done over the weekend as I've got to finish off my assignments we shall see. I'm not really looking forward to next week either as I have to work every day at the school much as I love working there I think the strain on the rest of the house might be quite costly, again we shall see. Another good evening rehearsal of Romeo and Juliet, they are really are doing fantastically well and very proud of it. I'm really looking forward to getting it finished in terms of blocking over the next few weeks and then we can really stuck into rehearsing. I have started to use the iPad at some of the sessions it's really rather lovely and I'm glad I bought it. A lot of the kids seemed to have a love of the iPad which is quite funny I just have to make sure I look after it and it doesn't get misused. I've also started to use Dragon dictation software for typing. I still find typing on the iPod is quite cumbersome. Perhaps I need to keep practising or maybe I'm just turning into an old git ?
Wednesday, 11 May 2011
Tuesday 10th May
I have always been a bit crap at DIY. I think it dates back to my childhood when I was not really allowed to join in with anything that involved sharp objects. When you are wrapped up in cotton wool as much as I was I suspect you just accept your lot and wait for others to do everything for you. The problem is that all these years later and here I am with no-one to do it for me. Mrs Plug is a dab hand with a screwdriver and a hammer, but she is not about much with all her uni work so I have been left pretty much to my own devices. I bought three shelving units and a chest of drawers last week and I am in the process of putting them all together. I actually purchased some more tools this morning which made the job a lot easier, and as a result I now have a working chest of drawers and a big bookshelf in our bedroom. I actually felt grown up for the first time. In other news, i took my driving theory test this morning. I did no preparation at all and as a result went along more out of hope than expectation. Imagine my surprise on being told that I had passed! I could not believe it, and I have felt the need to warn other road users that I am halfway towards being a menace on the road. The test is clearly too easy, although I was astonished at the pigs ear that people were making of the test.
Monday 9th May
I suspect that the majority of blog entries this week will be on the brief side. We are reaching a real log jam of work at the moment, so I do need to prioritise. I continue with trying to get everything in order in the house and finish building various items of furniture from Ikea. I am not naturally gifted at such things so I find myself regularly frustrated. I good rehearsal in the evening followed by an early night. I suspect that the weekend has caught up on us all.
Monday, 9 May 2011
Sunday 8th May
A day out to Maidenhead to appear in the All England Theatre Festival Semi Final. I love days like this, I think perhaps because it is the closest I get to gigging again. I love meeting new people in new venues, and the challenges that this brings. I think some of the party were slightly intimidated by the whole event, but I just loved every minute. Whilst we didn't win, and we didn't expect to, we did receive a really very good adjudication, and I think we all felt rather proud that our little group had achieved so much in the last year.
Saturday 7th May
A pleasant session in the morning followed by a quick trip to Camborne to attend the NODA East AGM and conference, at which we were presented with an award for last years October production. It was a long day,and I felt that the whole conference was slightly over egged. Interesting debates were had apparently, but I think I missed them by the time I arrived. We were laughing during the day, as there seemed to be much competition between groups and the degree of petty minded bitchiness seems to continue on an upward curve as you go further up. I suspect that the Oscars must be murder! I did meet some good people though, and we were delighted to be approached by a newspaper that was desperate to review us not that we were getting a little success. It was the same paper that sent a reviewer to my first play as a Director who assassinated me in writing! Times have changed! I was also asked to speak at next years conference and perhaps run a workshop or two.
We received our award, and them many of us headed out for a celebratory curry in the evening. Early to bed for the big Semi Final tomorrow
Friday 6th May
So my day started with my trip to purchase what might be considered "Saucy" underwear for the current Mrs Plug. This was of course, not without risks. I seem to attract a certain kind of shop assistant, who I think tends to treat me with caution on account of my appearance. This being the case, I try to act confidently and nonchalantly when purchasing anything that might be considered "Awkward". I tried just about every shop in Luton for the items that were required. If I am being entirely honest, the concerned looks of the old ladies on Marks and Spencers amused me. Eventually though, I ended up in Ann bloody Summers, where I was not only able to buy what I needed, but I was also offered a 50% discount on something called a "bullet" as well as a demonstration. I smiled a politely refused. I was then offered a loyalty card, which I thought was ironic looking at some of the clientelle....I'm not sure it was ALL for their wives. Anyway. I long shopping trip and everything I needed I managed to find. Another fabulous rehearsal tonight, and I am getting to grips with this Shakespeare malarkey.
Friday, 6 May 2011
Thursday 5th May
Election day! Well....local election and Alternative Vote referendum day, but that doesn't have the same ring to it. We didn't receive any polling cards, so I eventually managed to speak to a council employee who seemed to know slightly more than nothing about her specialised subject, and was advised that I "should be ok to vote". This did not fill me with optimism, and on pressing for further clarification I was advised that apparently,they are very busy, as lots of people didn't receive their polling cards. I asked if perhaps I should call back next week when the elections were over? She didn't seem impressed. I decided that I would vote when i got back from working at the School this morning, That didn't happen as I got back much later than expected, had to deal with a couple of calls, pick up youngest whose bus was late, get prepared for work, then then straight to rehearsal afterwards. It is te first time that I can remember that I didn't vote, and I am still cross about it. Oh well. Unfortunately, or fortunately as I could put it really, it would appear that my vote would have been totally wasted anyway. What we need is some sort of voting system that accurately reflects the wishes of the public rather than the silly two party politics that we have all grown to loathe....Oh hang on....perhaps we all like it?
In other news, Nadine Dorries....(Yes...I've been good.... I've avoided mentioning her for a while)....My delectable MP, spoke today in the commons. She has put forward a ten minute bill that is proposing that we preach abstinence to schoolgirls. She went on to explain that showing 7 year olds how to put condoms on bananas was immoral and that she wanted it stopped. Apparently, it leads to teenagers pretty much dropping their fruit based demonstration and "doing it" right there and then in the classroom. I have written to her to ask which school are ACTUALLY putting condoms on fruit to classrooms full of sexually active seven year olds, I await a reply with an inevitable sense of disappointment. I can only think in wonderment as to where would would be now, had her parents practiced the abstinence that she preaches about.
We rehearsed again in the evening for what is almost certainly the last time. We are performing in the semi finals in Maidenhead on Sunday, and whilst I am proud of the play, I suspect we will not progress to the final. Tomorrow I need to go to the shops and purchase Lingerie based products for my good lady wife to complete her costume. Yes...the cheap tart is going for the shock tactic to try and get votes, whereas I am keeping my stature under cover and relying on my acting talent. I am hoping that the blog of this shopping expedition does not lead to any horror stories. I have no problem with making tge purchases, it just usually ends up with other people being embarrassed for me.
Wednesday 4th May
A funny old day that was mainly spent tidying and waiting for deliveries. I was expecting an IKEA delivery, and if I am being honest, I waited with a sense of dread. The main reason being that I have experienced nightmares with them as a company before. Had I been blogging at the time, the posts describing the day bed debacle would now be legendary. This incident was sadly about ten years ago, and believe me, the scars are only just healing. It was with a sense of vulnerability that I decided to try their new home delivery service (Well i assume it is new....it never used to exist). It all seemed very efficient...I received a text or two confirming the delivery date, then on the day I received a phone call telling me they were about 45 minutes away. Almost exactly 45 minutes later, I received a knock at the door, and sure enough, it was a large delivery man with a large collection of boxes. I was delighted with the service, and all the right bits appeared to be in the right boxes. I was however, slightly disappointed. The burly delivery man seemed to manage all the boxes with ease, but he then proceeded to tell me that I would need help to lift them upstairs, and it might be an idea to open the boxes and carry them up bit by bit. He did this in a voice that was perhaps only one step away from asking me if I wanted a nice cup of tea and a slice of cake. I was being spoken to like I was a withered old man, not a prime example of British Beef in his prime both intellectually and physically! This irked me greatly, and I then, in a fit of pique I might add, proceeded to carry the boxes up the stairs...UNAIDED! How I laughed at his memory as I swept the boxes up onto my shoulders. I was still angry about it a few hours later, and I expressed this to Mrs Plug as she helped me get the bookcase up the stairs....
In other news, I received my mini portable and dare I say, deeply cute recording studio. It is almost small enough to fit in a top pocket, and the quality is absolutely superb. I recorded an awful version of Crazy by Patsy Cline to prove it, and may be tempted to post it up online should my fans demand it of me.
In other news....the iPad has still not been delivered. The thing is, I am so busy at the moment that I doubt I will have the time to anything much with it. I might blog from it of course.
Tuesday, 3 May 2011
Tuesday 3rd May
Back to work proper today with an all day visit to the school project, and getting down to the real nitty gritty, It was a bit of a logistical nightmare to start with, but I was there in good time, and able to get to meet the younger group that I will be working with. It was such a pleasure, and they are such a lovely bunch of kids. I will miss them all by the end of this project. I was even able to join in with their playtime in the playground! I have lots of deliveries tomorrow, and then I need to get down to ensuring all is in place for this weekend, with a prize giving on Saturday in Cambridge, and then the semi final of the drama festival on Sunday in Kent. It is all promising to be a long weekend.
Monday, 2 May 2011
Monday 2nd May 2011
We had rather a late and disturbed night last night, and so this morning, we were awoken with a rather surreal call from youngest, who told us that Osama Bin Laden had been found and killed by the US Military in Pakistan. Once we had stirred from our far too heavy slumber, we realised the importance of this news. I couldn't help but feel that despite a wait for a decade to find this man, the real sense was one of unease. In many ways his death leaves me feeling less secure than before. I also felt that so much of the chutzpa demonstrated by the team USA crowd at Ground Zero and Times Square to be distasteful. I realise that this can make me feel like something of a traitor to the cause and all that, but I simply cannot derive pleasure from the death of anyone, even if that anyone happens to have been labelled as "Evil". I also struggle with the concept of evil as such anyway. Who is responsible for making these decisions? Would Tony Blair or George Bush be seen as just as evil were I to be an Iraqi for example? Obama has been hailed as a hero for finding Bin Laden, but would the friends and relatives of the 2000 people killed by US Drone attacks think that he was the real villain here? As with so many situations, it is somewhat emotive. I was brought up to believe that we were the good guys. In recent years I have had cause to question that. In other news....I have taken the plunge and upgraded my Broadband speed. In a couple of weeks, and engineer will be popping round to install (Plug In) my new modem. Instead of the already excellent 20mb speed, we will hopefully be enjoying the 50mb speed. This makes me rather happier than is probably healthy in someone of my age. I have also ordered my portable recording studio, for use in my sessions. It will give me the ability to record and manipulate vocals for both live and recorded work with the shows. This will be SO useful, It will also help me to record on the road as it were. It has been a good holiday. We started it by feeling jaded and rather stressed. We both managed to switch off in varying degrees, which is both e blessing and a curse. It was much needed in terms of recharging, but I suspect that Mrs Plug will find tomorrow much more difficult to get into. I hope she is ok for the last 8 weeks of her course.
Sunday 1st May
Breakfast in bed, followed by another trip on our Antiques hunt. Mrs Plug found the ring of her dreams, and I found some more books, because I don't have many of those! I found a delightful book about Aubrey Beardsley, two books on Shakespeare, a hefty tome on the History of London, and an illustrated version of Pepys diaries. I have developed an interest in Pepys, mainly from the perspective of wanting to write something about him for performance. I think there is certainly a lot of mileage in it. Spurs were cheated out of a result at Stamford Bridge yesterday, and are now destined to be out of Champions League contention without some sort of miracle. It is a shame, but it's been an amazing season, and I hope they get back in again soon. In the afternoon, I managed a quiet hour or so in front of the football, and also managed a roast dinner for the girls. It's been a relaxing weekend so far, and whilst we know that hard work is on the way, I think we needed it.
Saturday 30th April
Mrs Plug's birthday today, so a day full of fun and treats. Started off at work, with a surprise drop in from Mrs Plug's sister and kids, who then spent the day with us. We then went around the Antiques emporium in the nearby town, and ended up having a picnic in the local park. Mrs Plug wanted an antique ring for her birthday, but nothing suitable could be found, so we decided to wait until the local antiques fair in the morning. In the evening, we went to a friends for a Barbecue, which was held in honour of the wedding. Whilst I am a committed republican, it was good to see everyone, and good to celebrate with our friends. We got home quite late, and looked forward to an morning lie-in.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)