Author: Ian Louis Harris

A Day In Hyderabad And Surrounding Sights, 31 January 2011

All our pictures from Hyderabad can be seen in the following Flickr album:

001 30 Jan 2011 Club Room at The Taj Krishna, Hyderabad P1000935

Rose early but still managed to faff around over ablutions and breakfast.

Set off just before 9 to Golconda Fort (30 minutes drive outside town). Our guide is called Jonny Wilson (really!)

Daisy & Jonny

We do the fort (all 360 steps up and surely fewer steep ones down)with several parties of Indian school kids. Daisy dances with one of the school teachers on the way down.

Daisy Dancing

Then on to the Qutb Shahi Tombs nearby. We explore one properly but Johnny denies this the other six or seven.

Qutb Shahi Tombs
Charminar

Next stop, the Charminar palace complex. Then on to the nearby Makkah Masjid – a vast mosque.

Makkah Masjid
Ged Ladd In Laad Bazaar

Then around the Laad Bazaar area – bought some citrus squeezer is And bangles from Michael and John’s girls.

Next stop, the Salar Jung museum which didn’t do all that much for us, although I liked the music o’clock at 3 pm.

Next a bit of a wild goose chase for the cricket stadium but eventually got in to the poor old ruin (Lal Bahadur Stadium).

Final stop, a craft shop that did little/nothing for us. So, home to rest/change for dinner at the Falaknuma Palace.

Before dinner we have cocktails in the Gol Bungalow.

Gol Bungalow

…and Falaknuma you too!

We tried a lamb (ghost) starter with thin medallions of amazing tenderised lamb. Plus a trio of haleems, veg, chicken and lamb. Main course a different chicken murgh with coconut served with bread and some rice. Absolutely delicious.

Driver Pasha takes us home – excitedly discussing cricket.

Romantic evening in the extreme!

A Visit To Lal Bahadur Stadium, As Reported In A King Cricket Piece, 31 January 2011

This report for King Cricket relates to a small part of our India & Sri Lanka trip, which I shall write up more comprehensively eventually, for which the Ogblog placeholder and links can be found by clicking here or below:

India and Sri Lanka, 29 January to 26 February 2011, placeholder and links

Here is a link to the King Cricket piece, which relates to just one of the many places we visited in Hyderabad on 31 January:

Lal Bahadur Stadium in Hyderabad match preview

King Cricket published the piece on 18 April 2011. Just in case the above link goes duff, I have also scraped the report to here.

Frankly, some of the comments are better than my report – it is worth reading for them. King Cricket can be like that.

Not much used by 2011, Lal Bahadur Stadium

Journey From London To Hyderabad, 29 & 30 January 2011

In the Taj Krishna Club Room before dinner

Watched some of the Aussie women’s [tennis] final (Kleisters beat Li Na) before Mohammed collected us [from Sandall Close].

Uneventful journey in club (no upgrade as no first class).

Arrived Hyderabad 4:45 India time – met by Basquar – arrange/bargain our way into early check-in at Taj Krishna.

Restful day sleeping, sorting, checking out hotel etc. Arrange to eat in Indian restaurant. Take massage before dinner.

Tried wonderful Hyderabad dishes – Haleem with Sheermal (wonderful slow cooked lamb) and Dumka Murgh – creamy gravy chicken dish – plus some Lamb Biriani Hyderabadi style. Absolutely superb.

Cooking it in the Firdaus Indian Restaurant at The Taj Krishna, Hyderabad
Eating it in the Firdaus Indian Restaurant at The Taj Krishna, Hyderabad

Arrival And First Day In Hyderabad, 30 January 2011

Links to lots of information about this vacation can be found through the placeholder and links here and below:

India and Sri Lanka, 29 January to 26 February 2011, placeholder and links

The following is a diary extract, perhaps with one or more illustrative pictures.

Arrive in Hyderabad 4:45 India time.

Met by Basquar – arrange/bargain our way into early check-in at Taj Krishna.

Restful day sleeping, sorting, checking out hotel etc. Arrange to eat in Indian restaurant.

Take massage before dinner.

Club Room at the Taj Krishna. Hyderabad

Try wonderful Hyderabadi dishes – Haleem with Sheermal (wonderful slow-cooked lamb) and Dum Ka Murgh (creamy chicken dish) plus some lamb biryani hyderabadi style

This chef was the business

Absolutely superb.

Stuffed and/but blissfully happy

The Flight To Hyderabad, 29 January 2011

Links to lots of information about this vacation can be found through the placeholder and links here and below:

India and Sri Lanka, 29 January to 26 February 2011, placeholder and links

The following is a diary extract, perhaps with one or more illustrative pictures.

Watched some of the Oz Women’s final (Clizsters beat Li Na) before Mohammed collected us.

Uneventful journey in Club (no upgrade as no First Class!).

Becky Shaw by Gina Gionfriddo, Almeida Theatre, 22 January 2011

Janie and I both really enjoyed this play and production. It is an American comedy about disastrous blind dating, with enough issues in it to keep it interesting as well as amusing.

Superbly acted and beautifully directed and produced.

Here is a link to the Almeida resource on the play/production.

Here is the trailer:

Here is a link to a search term that should bring up reviews and other resources on this play/production. The reviews are a bit mixed – everyone seems to praise the production but not all of the reviewers liked the play as much as we did.

Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare, Cottesloe Theatre, 15 January 2011

Janie really isn’t into Shakespeare, but Twelfth Night is a play close to my heart, having “done it” at Alleyn’s for the Dramatic Society in 1978.

Twelfth Night, Alleyn’s School, 12, 14, 15 & 16 December 1978

Ever since, I had been keen to see productions of Twelfth Night when they came around. Further, this production with Rebecca Hall as Viola and possibly a last chance to see a by then 80 year old Peter Hall directing…Janie said yes.

In truth, I don’t think this was the best Twelfth Night I have ever seen. It was of course very well acted, directed and produced, but it was a little old-fashioned in style for my taste; it felt like the sort of Shakespeare production I might have seen at the National 20-25 years earlier. I guess I should have expected.

It certainly didn’t do anything to improve Janie’s view on Shakespeare. I explained how much better it was done in the hands of Alleyn’s schoolkids in 1978 and Janie said she could understand exactly what I must mean.

She wasn’t humouring me, was she?

“After all,” said Janie, “you are practically a reincarnation of The Bard, are you not?”

Anyway, here is a link to a search term that finds reviews and other resources on this production. The reviews are a little mixed; mostly suggesting that it was a good, but not great production, which I think sums it up pretty well.

Aung San Suu Kyi – Lady of No Fear, Frontline Club, 6 January 2011

Janie was very keen to see this movie and we spotted that it was to be premiered in the UK at the Frontline Club in early January, so we booked it ahead of time.

Just as well, as the showing sold out, so even Frontline Club members were turned away on the day; we ran into Roger Graef outside the club, regretting that he hadn’t booked.

Here is a link to the IMDb entry on this film.

It is a short film. Unlike some at that time, this film was not brimming with unequivocal praise for “The Lady”. Writing in late 2017, that equivocation seems prescient.

Still, it was a very affecting, moving hour of documentary.

Here is the trailer:

The Boundary Restaurant, Preceded By “Goodbye” Drinks At St Helen’s Place, 17 December 2010

Janie and I made a profound sacrifice in the August preceding this event – dining at the Boundary with Anthea and Mitchell, before booking it for the 2010 Z/Yen do. The things we used to do for the sake of the team.

Some Vague Memories Of August 2010, Not All Cricket, But Including The Boundary & Lord’s

Anyway, the Z/Yen seasonal event started with “Goodbye” drinks at St Helen’s Place – hence the search for a suitable venue quite near that office.

Those of us who had been with Z/Yen from the outset had been at St Helen’s Place since 1995, albeit in different bits of it at times. Still, the move away from there felt a little unsettling at the time.

Janie remembers the meal at the Boundary fondly, despite us being unable to use the terrace (as we had on our previous visit in August) and despite the fact that it was only a couple of weeks after her twin, Phillie, had died.

It was a growing team at that time and it felt that the seasonal events were getting better and better. The house party atmosphere ahead of the dinner helped, I’m sure. As did the excellence of The Boundary as avenue for our sort of event.

With so much going on in our lives at that time, I was neither in the mood nor well mentally equipped for writing a silly song. We revived The Twelve Days Of Z/Yen Training that year.

Here’s a link to a pdf of that year’s version of that song.

Worse…I mean, better…yet…

…someone videoed the performance of the Z/Yen song at that event. You can see and hear it in all its gory…I mean, glory:

Loads of photos that year too. Here’s a link to them all – this or the picture link below:

ZYen Christmas Party 2010 022

Fela! by Jim Lewis & Bill T Jones, Olivier Theatre, 11 December 2010

We don’t normally do musicals. But this one sounded interesting and different so we booked it.

Set in Nigeria in the late 1970s, it is basically a tribute to the life, music and politics of Fela Kuti.

It was at the National, so of course no on-line resource to help navigate all the whys and wherefores of the show. This search term – click here – should find the (mostly rave) reviews and other resources you might want.

I’m not sure we need a subsidised National Theatre to import this sort of hit show from Broadway and make a hit of it in London, but anyway I’m glad it was on there and I’m very glad we saw it. This was just the sort of boost we needed so soon after Phillie’s passing. A life-affirming show, but with real grit too.

Here’s the trailer vid: