Frump to Fab 2022 - The Big One

sugarbaby125

Hello Ladies, 

Helen, what an unpleasant experience you were subjected to by that stylist. She is so short sighted. If she had been professional in her manner and given you a good cut, it would have worked it her favour, as you would have given her a good tip. She has lost your custom forever. That is just. 

I went to The Lyttleton Theatre at The National to watch Much Ado About Nothing yesterday evening. I was fortunate to get a ticket last Friday in The National's Friday Rush promotion where you can get tickets for current productions for only £10. My ticket was worth £66, so I made a really good saving. I love the actor Katherine Pearson and she was starring in this production as Beatrice. I was hooked as soon as the curtain rose. The sets were exquisite and so sumptuous. The detail in all of the costumes made the characters really come to life. There was so much humour, that I could not stop laughing. I did quieten down my natural laugh, as I did not think huge belly laughs would have been appreciated by the rest of the audience.  I absolutely loved this production. It was a 10/10 for me.  If I was not so busy I would have bought another ticket and watched it again. 

Neighbourhood Voices had another Masterclass this evening with Tenukie Van Der Sluijs who is the current Head of Artistic Development at The Young Vic. This was a really useful session. He was so informative about where we could take our writing. He said that just because we were not being paid to write, it did not follow that we were not professional writers. Obviously no one had informed him that more than half of our group are already professional writers who are paid to write, they just want their writing to take a new direction. 

This is supposed to be our last Masterclass, but this was not confirmed this evening. They have been invaluable.   

maman

I read good reviews about Much Ado about Nothing @sugarbaby125. I'm glad you enjoyed it. You have such varied tastes in theatre and film. I'm sure it all helps add to the skills you are building up. 

I noticed that there's an interview with Helen Mirren on Sky Arts tonight which I thought @helensbiggestfan would be interested in. It's with Melvyn Bragg so probably done quite well. 😊

helensbiggestfan

Thanks Maman. Yes I'll watch that. I watch sky arts quite a bit. I watched a bit of the cirque de soleil last night. The things they can do with their bodies. 😱😂.

  I also watched the programme about Emma Thompson.  I know the wardrobe and make up departments can work wonders but it's amazing how she transforms herself.  

Speaking of wardrobes. I am going to MK mine today. 

To paraphrase Captain Oates. I may be gone some time. 😂🤣.  

liberty_lily

That was a fantastic saving, Sugarbaby 😁 One thing I miss now we live so far from London are the theatres/museums. Last play we went to there was Strangers on a Train (in 2014, iirc!). Not saying we were regular theatre goers but we did try to see a couple of plays and the odd exhibition (usually concerning Pre-Raphaelite art or the Arts and Crafts Movement as these are where our interests lie 😊). I loved Rupert Everett in The Judas Kiss 😍🤩😍

Yesterday my ten half-price Oliver Bonas seagrass baskets arrived - we both love them and they're going to look great on the Inchyra Blue floor-to-ceiling shelving DH built in the upstairs hallway  (when I finish a few bits of filling/painting 🙄).....but we both agreed that we'd never have paid the full price of almost £300 😳

Here's a sneak peek of just two of them with a piece of the William Morris strawberry thief wallpaper we have up there....

maman

I do love the style you're decorating your home with @liberty_lily.

 I, too, am a great fan of the Pre-Raphaelites. Fortunately, we are only about an hour away from London. We missed the galleries and museums during lockdown so had a few days there in March to catch up. I couldn't resist going into the Tate to see Ophelia yet again. It was like visiting an old friend. 😁

liberty_lily

Thank you, Maman 😊

We really need to organise a few days in London to revisit the Tate, V&A etc...perhaps in Sept when DH is off 😉 We still have family and friends along the south coast of England so plenty of opportunities for places to stay and travel in....

sugarbaby125

Hello Ladies,

Phoebe, those baskets and wallpaper are gorgeous. 

I went to the Blackfriars Settlement mental health and wellbeing discussion group from 11am to 12.30pm. We were all talking about our families. We all have very different experiences and sizes of family. We also discussed our upcoming day trip to Hampton Court next Thursday.    

I went from Blackfriars Settlement to The National to watch the play Jack Absolute Flies Again at The Olivier Theatre. I also got my ticket for this play in the Friday Rush promotion for £10. It was worth £56. So another good saving.    This is a delightful quintessentially English Farce. Caroline Quentin was a fantastic Mrs. Malaprop. She is not only a very talented actor, but a very light on her feet dancer.  I also enjoyed Kelvin Fletcher's performance as Dudley Scunthorpe, as his comic timing was so good. Once again, I could not stop laughing. For me this play is a 9/10.    I bought a copy of the programme and the book of the play.    

I had lunch in the restaurant in The National. I did not balk at the price, as I could afford to treat myself. I found my extra hot 6 chicken wings with skin on fries really tasty and satisfying. I washed it all down with water, my favourite tipple.     

maman

Your day out tsounds the pineapple of perfection @sugarbaby125! 🤣Well done for treating yourself to lunch. You've definitely saved enough for a treat now and again. 

sugarbaby125

Hello Ladies,

I was on my way to Greenwich Theatre yesterday evening to watch the play Intervention, when I hit an immovable obstacle. All of the 177 buses were terminating at Deptford Bridge, so I suddenly had no way of continuing my journey to Greenwich. There were no alternative buses I could have got on. It was so frustrating, but there was nothing I could do, so I simply had to return home. A waste of more than 2 hours. 

It was to be my first visit to Greenwich Theatre, but hopefully I will get another opportunity soon. 

I am going to see the play Ultimatum with my son tonight at Streatham Space Project.  It is not easy to prise him away from his computer gaming and online friends, but sometimes I insist, so that he gets some fresh air. 

No weight loss this week, but no gain, so I am content. 

sugarbaby125

Hello Ladies,

Neighbourhood Voices had the usual Saturday session from 11am to 1pm, lunch break from 1pm-2pm then finish the session from 2pm-4pm. Ola taught us how to write a treatment for our plays today. The treatment is a prose description scene by scene of your play. Some of the people in the group really struggled with the writing exercises today, as their plays are still at the planning stage, they have not actually started to write their plays. 

We have to submit the treatment of our play and a short scene from our play to Ola on 1st September. Later in September he will have one to one meetings with us all with Kirk Ann and they will both give us feedback and criticism on our treatments and our scene. It will only be a 15 minute meeting, so they will be very concise with their comments. I am looking forward to finding out if they both think that I am becoming a playwright, with my own unique voice. 

I got ready after the Saturday session in a different outfit and went to watch Ivor from our Neighbourhood Voices group do his comedian routine of old Jewish jokes at the Camden Comedy Club. Ivor was so surprised to see me in the audience. He was genuinely very funny, thank goodness.     I was crying with laughter most of the time.   He is off to Edinburgh Fringe for the month of August, but in September when he has a new date at the Camden comedy club, he is going to invite everyone from the Neighbourhood Voices group to come and support him.  One of the women in the group is also Jewish and a stand up comedian. I would love to see her doing her routine as well. I must remember to ask her when we meet up face to face on August 27th where she will be appearing next.