A little bit soulless....

Sometimes, if the weather is nice, i like to get off the bus a couple of stops early and walk through the allotments. They are little garden patches that the people who live in my area, (in very tall ugly communist apartment blocks), can grow their own vegetables in. Slovenes like to grow their own crops. They make me think what parts of Britain might have looked like during the WWII war effort....They look a bit like this......






So I was very shocked and upset when i got off the bus today to see that half of the area had been cleared and replaced with this.....

Maybe its because i'm a messy person.....but it made me feel like whoever planned it took away a part of the heart and soul that made it so beautiful....

Shiny Shoes......

I was full of excitement this morning as i drew up the blinds on my window to discover it was raining!!!

Finally, i got to wear my Sparkly Hot-Pink Welly Boots that i bought last time it was raining, but then the sun came out before i had a chance to put them on.

Oh how they sparkled!

Oh how they shone!

But most of all they protected my T00tsie-Toes from suffering from Squelchy Socks Syndrom.

Thankyou Wellington boots.....

a little bit of magic....

"a story was a form of telepathy.
By means of inking symbols onto a page, she was able to send thoughts and feelings from her mind to her readers.
It was a magical process, so commonplace that no one stopped to wonder at it."
Atonement by Ian McEwan

I started reading this book a couple of days ago. I like this thought that reading is something magical, sometimes i know that it is.....

Countdown....

As a person who quite often burst spontaneously into song, back in May/June-ish time a couple of my friends put a ban on me from singing Christmas songs out loud until the month of December, and until then i had to contain them to the inside of my head.

Perhaps they did not think that they would still be friends with me by then....

perhaps in a few days they will soon stop answerining my calls....

perhaps this is because i keep reminding them how well i have been behaving concerning 'The Ban' and how i have warned them i will call them up each day of December to sing them a different Christmas tune...

Perhaps.....

Until then i'm countng down the days....

my mummy and the moon....

When i was a little girl my mum used to tell me

I love you up to the moon
around the stars
and back again.

Now that i'm a grown up girl, she tells me the same thing.....

on the subject of beavers.....

so talking of Mister Bartholemew, i came across a short something i wrote in my notebook about this time last year. i remember writing it after coming home from....well...i suppose it was a date....


"You dont believe me"
"No, i do not"
"How mightily rude, when have i ever lied to you?"
"Well....seeing as you just told me you spent the afternoon conversing on the subject of beaver politics with three beavers who live under the bridge near your house....No, i do not believe you"
"Fine, i ll prove it to you, turn left here"
He is amused, "your kidding right?"
"Nope, lets go there right now" I check my watch, "although it is after 11 on a saturday nigh Little Humpernickle will probably be in bed and Betsy really isnt much of a night owl but Bartholemew might still be up"
He gives me a look and then turns left.
Uh oh. "You know it is a bit dark out"
"Ha! Now your making excuses"
"No no no, I'm just saying that with your poor night vision you might have a little difficulty spotting them, they're so well camoflaged even during the day its going to be exceedingly dificult with this poor lighting" He laughs and shakes his head, apparently at a loss as of what to say any more.

We arrive at the bridge. Its cold as leave the warmth of the car. He puts his hands in his pockets and stomps his feet, "This is ridiculous" . I ignore him and lean over the railing trying to spot one.
"Don't be so pessimistic, they're not going to come out if your being like that are they now."
"There are no beavers in this country. I think you saw a rat"
"Shhhh, how can you be so mean" I come up close to him and whisper, "Beavers are descended from the rodent family but they don't like it mentioned, it offends them." I call out loud, "He's sorry he didnt mean it! He really wants to say hello!"
A passer-by passes us by and pretends not to notice us. I lean further over the rail and call out, "Bartholemew! Bartholemew! Are you still up? Matt wants to say hello, I promise we wont be long"
I cross over to the other side of the bridge and start calling over that side. Meanstwhile he looks on at me in awe but also as if i'm crazy. He is unsure as of how to react but is amused. He decides to play along, "Why dont you call to them in Beaver-ish"
"Oh, good thinking" I start to click away in my Beaver language i had demonstrated to him earlier in the evening. "You know they might come if you call them" I turn to him and lean back on the rail. He comes closer.
"Dont be absurd, I'm not calling them"
"Well then, its your own fault if they dont come. I have tried my darndest"
He smirks.
"Just face it. No beavers"
"Bartholemew!"
I shout excitedly as i spot a beaver being pulled down the river by the current.
"Aha!" I raise my eyebrows at him. I turn my attention back to the beaver who scrambles up out of the water onto the bank and then stands on his hind legs and looks up at us.
"I'm so glad you came to say hello, I hope we didnt wake you. Oh sorry "I say lowering my voice. I turn to Matt, "He asks if we can be a bit quieter as he has just got Humpernickle to sleep" Matt is shaking his head in disbelief, smiling. "This is my friend, he just wanted to say a quick hello, we'll leave you now."
I look at Matt basking in my glory.
"I cant believe you got so lucky!
Neither can I, how fantastic!
"Lucky? I don't know what you mean, I called him and he came"
"You Jammy Dodger"
"I'll have you know I'm a Custard Cream"


So actually, there is probably more non-ficiton than fiction in that story....could this be the reason why i rarely get asked out on second dates....methinks perhaps.....

My neighbour Bartholemew.....

i was very excited today to see that Mister Bartholemew the Beaver has returned to his winter quaters, underneath the bridge on my way to the bus stop, after being away at his summer home.

last year i learned to speak Beaver-ish to him and we had many a late night conversation. i didnt see his wife Betsy or Little Baby Humpernickle (who must be quite big now).....i cant wait to find out how the family has been doing!

the conduct of conductors....

for the last few performances we have been doing we have had an exceptionally good conductor. not only did he actually watch us whilst we danced....in fact i'm pretty sure that he didnt even look at his orchestra one bit, but he came up and thanked us afterwards for dancing so well to his music....trust me no conductor has ever done that before!

it turns out that his wife is a dancer and he has spent a long time studying how to conduct for ballet, which is completely different from conducting for operas or concerts. its amazing how you can feel the difference.

i had the experience of dancing for a conductor once who hadnt studied for the performance at all, he didnt even know when our cues were and started playing the music a few times when we werent even on the stage yet, not that he noticed, he didnt look at the stage once to see us running rond like headless chickens.....when he came on stage to bow we booed. it may sound rude but he really disrespected us.

when i was in chicago in the summer i came across this painting in the Chicago Art Institute that made me smile...i felt like i connected with the painting.....isnt that what art is meant to do?

happy endings.....

she attempted a smile. "don't fairytales always have a happy ending?
"that depends"
"on what?"
"on whether you are Rumplestiltskin or the Queen"

briar rose by Jane Yolen

Graffiti Gratitude.....

Howls Moving Castle definitely being up there on my list of favourite movies, i was very pleased to see the other day that someone has graffitied a painting of my favourite character from it in the underpass on my way to the post office.....



thankyou Mister Artist......

A Birhtday spent with friends is a birthday well spent

It's my birthday........

"i was wise enough never to grow up while fooling most people i had"
margret mead


photo www.meghangiboin.co.uk

Tubby The Tuba

After the build up of the big premiere performance we have now done a few shows and it is at this point that i start to relax a little bit more on stage and notice things that are going on other than thinking thoughts such as 'what count i should be moving, is it the 2 or the 3', or is the choreogrpaher going to kill me because i'm half a centimetere to far too the left'.

Last night as i was standing very still and the soloists were doing their grand pas de deux i started listen to parts of the orchestra that i hadnt listened to before, i pick out an instrument other than one that is playing the main melody and try to follow it throughout the piece of music. During one piece i focused on what might have been a Tuba and it was making a very sad Ooom Paaa, Ooom Paaa, and it got me to thinking of a cartoon i used to watch as a child called Tubby The Tuba.

Poor Tubby the Tuba was very sad as no matter what the beautiful piece of music that the orchestra was playing all he ever go to do was Ooom Paaa, Ooom Paaa. Poor Tubby wanted a melody to play, he wanted to expres himself, but whenever he tried the other instruments just laughed at him. I wondered tonight if the Tuba player was having this same feeling, then i realised that sometimes i have this feeling. Here i am standing very still whilst others dance around the stage making beautiful steps and i am just Ooom Paa-ing, sometimes in life i feel like i am just Ooom Paa-ing.

I couldnt remember how the cartoon turned out, if he found his melody or if he learned to be contented with how he was....

Yes, these are the thoughts that go therough my head on stage.....

beards

My big sister has recently developed a crazy thing for guys with beards, personally i'm not so sure that i'm a fan. On the other hand this song is simply darling......



i just bought her album a couple of weeks ago, (from here http://sophiemadeleine.bandcamp.com/) and i love it!

i'm off to have an afternoon nap before performance tonight......
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Rainy days

As i lie all tucked up in bed and snuggled warm beneath my duvet.
I listen to the constant rainfall outside my window.
A sly smile comes across my face,
because I know
Try as He might....
Tonight Mr Rain Cloud will not be getting my socks wet.

Behind the scenes....

We had the dress rehearsal for our upcoming production of La Bayadere this week. Seeing everything in costumes for the first time helps to make the steps we have practised for a very long time begin to seem interesting again and helps bring some character to them. Here are some snapshots i took.....













Sometimes it all gets too much and we have to resort to just being plain silly...