Basquiat Strings & Olivia Chaney, Purcell Room, Southbank Centre, 22 May 2010

We really liked this concert.

We didn’t know either of the acts before we booked; it just sounded interesting and was.

The Basquiat Strings is a string jazz ensemble, basically. Olivia Chaney is a very talented folk singer, who went very well with the strings.

Here is a link to the only write up of the gig I could find.

I have scraped that review to Ogblog just in case – here.

We were really impressed with Olivia Chaney, who confessed to being relatively inexperienced as a concert performer in 2010. I’m glad, writing in 2017, that it seems to be going well for her at this stage – click here.

Canary by Jonathan Harvey, Hampstead Theatre, 21 May 2010

Well, by this time the Ed Hall era had started at Hampstead Theatre, but this one didn’t really work for us.

It felt to us like an “everything including the kitchen sink” gay saga. Angels in America without the sparkling wit, The Normal Heart without the heart-wrenching pathos. It spanned the decades from 1962 (a fine year IMHO) to the present day.

We really wanted to like it. We didn’t really dislike it. It just didn’t grip and/or move us.

Good troupe from the Liverpool Everyman – it was a shame really.

Here is a search term – click here – that finds you all the reviews and resources available back then.

There’s a YouTube trailer/interview with the playwright for this one:

We no doubt went to Harry Morgans for some comfort food before the show.

Spring Storm by Tennessee Williams, Cottesloe Theatre, 15 May 2010

We’d been on a relatively poor run at the theatre for six months. This was more like it!

This production of an early Tennessee Williams was twinned with a production of an early Eugene O’Neil, Beyond The Horizon, which we went to see a few weeks later – click here.

Janie and I are partial to a bit of Tennessee Williams. While this early play is not one of his great plays, it shows all the signs of an emerging great playwright and was a thoroughly enjoyable evening at the theatre.

A very strong cast and production from a regional source; the Royal & Derngate Northampton.

The critics loved it; this search term – click here – will find you the reviews and stuff; mostly for both but some for this play specifically.

We probably got some food from Shanghai Knightsbridge, “May’s”, afterwards. Either that or shawarmas.

A Business Trip To Manchester Including A King Cricket Report On The ICC World T20 Semi-Final and Dinner At Obsidian Restaurant With Ashley, 13 May 2010

Sometimes my King Cricket reports can work like super diary notes. This one, from May 2010, is a good example, as I write in August 2017.

It seems that I was on business in Manchester and had arranged to meet Ashley at a posh new restaurant, Obsidian, now defunct. Jay Rayner stuck the boot into the place a few weeks after our visit – here.

I recall cunningly arranging a slightly later than usual meet time with Ashley so I could see the denouement of the World T20 Semi-Final between Sri Lanka and England.

I wrote it all up on King Cricket – here.

If anything ever happens to King Cricket, the piece is scraped to here.

Everything you might want to geek about the cricket match can be found on Cricinfo – here.

I recall a very convivial evening with Ashley after the match. The restaurant seemed quite good, but I seem to remember that Ashley had a fist full of vouchers, which enabled us to try the place at modest prices. We concluded that the meal had been good value for us, but that the place would not pass the Manchester “value/how much?” test once at menu prices.

Ashley might recall more about that evening; if he does, no doubt he’ll chime in Ogblog-like.

Samba Drumming – Z/Yen Team Event, St Helen’s Place, 11 May 2010

Z/Yen team events on the whole tended to be sports-oriented affairs. Cricket, tennis, horse racing…sometimes watching, sometimes playing, sometimes both.

Becky Dawson, our resident musician-cum-administrator, suggested that something musical as an activity event would make a welcome change. We agreed, suggesting that if she organised it, we’d do it.

So, presumably through her musical connections, Becky found us the Inspire Works people – click here for their website – and suggested Samba Drumming as something that would be fun and manageable for us.

Some seemed to take to the big drums…
…better than others!

There was a Now & Z/Yen Blog piece about it at the time – click here for that piece on the Z/Yen site…

…or here for a scrape of the piece in case the Z/Yen site piece moves.

I recall personally getting on better with the shakers than the big drums

I also recall that everyone had a really good time, both while drumming and with the celebratory drinks that followed.

There are quite a few more pictures, all thanks to Monique Gore if I recall correctly, which are available through the Flickr album link below:

Samba Drumming 001

 

Polar Bears by Mark Haddon, Donmar Warehouse, 8 May 2010

By the time this play was announced, I had read and thoroughly enjoyed The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime.

So Mark Haddon’s name was a big draw for me.

The Curious Incident centres around autism, whereas Polar Bears centres around bipolar disorder.

Polar Bears was fabulous cast (Richard Coyle and Jodhi May in particular), beautifully produced, etc., but by gosh was it depressing and predictable to watch the inevitable tragedy unfold.

It is a short play – “just as well”, I recall Janie and I agreeing – I also recall us agreeing that we were pleased to have seen it but couldn’t exactly recommend it.

Here is a link to the Donmar Study Guide, now a downloadable resource.

This search term – click here – will lead you to reviews and stuff.

It didn’t put me off from booking the dramatisation of The Curious Incident a couple of years later, thank goodness – click here for my notes on that evening – which was cracking theatre – perhaps thanks to Simon Stephens combining with Mark Haddon that time.

But unfortunately Polar Bears was a continuation of a somewhat lacklustre six months of theatre for us at that time.

Dinner At Le Café du Marché With Michael Mainelli & Jeremy Smith, 6 May 2010

We arranged a dinner at Le Café du Marché to celebrate the third anniversary of the sale of Jeremy’s bit of the Z/Yen business to Aon.

We had some e-mail bants about the arrangements; Jeremy to me:

Cafe du Marche booked for 3 at 7:00pm on Thursday 6th May in name of Jeremy Smith…

…me to Jeremy in reply to the calendar invitation inferring that the dinner would start at 19:00 and end at 19:30…

…I’ve accepted your calendar invite only tentatively, as it seems like a lot of effort for a 30 minute chomp!!…

…Jeremy in response…

…OK OK – I’ve changed it  (well the location to a kebab shop – rather than the length)

Fortunately that last bit wasn’t true – Le Café du Marché was and I think still is a very fine restaurant in Smithfeld.

We had a very good meal and it was nice to catch up with Jeremy. At the time of writing (November 2017) we still catch up periodically, although not usually in quite such high-falutin’ locations.

China (Beijing, Yunnan and Sanya), 4 April to 27 April 2010, placeholder and links

We were very keen to see a rural and scenic part of China; Yunnan seemed to fit the bill. We’d see interesting places.

8504967862_179230ca23_z

We’d meet interesting people.

8506637040_5d56772dfe_z

There would be opportunities to do some wonderful walks.

8508458030_74d86b1c39_z

We could stay in high quality hotels; unlike our fascinating but hardy experience in Tibet eight years earlier. Steppes East put together an excellent itinerary for us – here it is available for download: Harris – Final itin dep 4 Apr 2010.

We took some great pictures, divided into three albums:

One good story is already up and available – an unexpected cricket match between Tibet and England, with me representing England.  The match was also reported in excruciating detail on King Cricket, a few weeks after the event.

As usual, there are loads of notes waiting to be written up properly. If you are desperate to see them and try to decipher them before I get there – feel free to download and have a go:

 

China (Beijing, Yunnan and Sanya), Sanya To Shanghai & Then Home, 26 to 27 April 2010

26 April 2010

Last morning in villa – take a little sunshine, and take light breakfast (no butter!) and a bit more sunshine etc.

Pack and stroll and prepared to leave. Chat briefly with Max in the sunshine before leaving.

Uneventful journey to Shanghai p.m., checking in to Ramada Pudong airport hotel. Not special!

Snacked on toast etc. evening then early night after wrestling with ineffective air-conditioning!

27 April 2010

Light breakfast at Ramada followed by uneventful journey home!

Airport transfer was like clockwork, did duty-free shopping then boarded the plane on time only to sit on runway for an hour and a half – perhaps for Sarkozy!

Land at Heathrow one hour after scheduled time – Not too bad.

Grumpy cab driver home [we’re back]!!

There is a placeholder and links piece for this trip, with links to all the photographs, the full itinerary and stuff – click here for that.

China (Beijing, Yunnan and Sanya), Slightly Sickly In Sanya, 23 to 25 April 2010

23 April 2010

Overnight rain postponed tennis but clears the air.

Ged starts Yiddish Policeman’s Union.

Ged’s cold still in full sway. Breakfast. Run backups on to drive, then enjoy our villa for the day, jacuzzi, steam, pool, vids and all.

Then early evening tennis.

Try some in-villa dining tonight – Daisy has a club sandwich, Ged a pasta with prawns washed down with the Venetian we bought yesterday – very nice

Try playing Go/Othello/whatever it’s called briefly.

24 April 2010

Up early for tennis again today then wash, breakfast etc.

Another day relaxing in villa, another day of streaming cold for Ged! Again make most of the facilities – discover the water-bouncy ball doesn’t bounce! Still jacuzzi and steam works wonders.

Try the beach barbecue tonight starter of duck/Hainen chicken – then try prawns, oyster, scallop, clam, lamb, beef… with trimmings and some ice cream! Bottle of Stump Jump goes down well.

Daisy decides to open windows tonight as it’s cooler – bad idea mozzie wise! Someone or something must’ve been badly bitten by one of the mozzies but it doesn’t seem to have been one of us!

25 April 2010

Oversleep tennis slot and it is bright first thing so take some sun then breakfast…

…then Ged’s guts explode!

Quiet day on beach (briefly Ged) and mostly around villa to recuperate.

Daisy swims (Ged doesn’t). Replacement bouncy ball seems more bouncy!

Daisy joins Ged’s “fast” to try to clear guts so quiet evening in and early night – looked at photos again briefly before bed.

There is a placeholder and links piece for this trip, with links to all the photographs, the full itinerary and stuff – click here for that.