I'm Blathering Now...

Wow! Three issues, who would have thought it? I do think it is a great shame more people don't get involved with writing things for the fanzine, although after this quarter's issue I can see why they don't bother putting their head on the chopping block. It's not like anyone has your back when criticism is thrown your way. Anyway, I have been off on my travels and I visited Pinon to see if Athos was at home and I visited some of the various locations where Dracula was filmed. As I've been to see the play Reasons to be Happy a few times, and no other articles were forthcoming on Tom's play, I've allowed my blog posts to be used. Finally a very contentious issue about fashion, so contentious that it has been pulled from the magazine because someone demanded that the editor remove it. My thoughts on that later... Page layout and design by Christine  @christine_ghh   @TBO_magazine (click on the pics to view) ---------------------------------

William Shakespeare, 1564-1616. No-one really knows when Shakespeare was born, but the accepted date is St George's day, 23rd April 1564, which if true, then it is somewhat remarkable that he also died on the 23rd April, 52 years later. 37 plays, 37 films, 37 screens We know 16 of Shakespeare's plays were printed and published during his lifetime, even though many of them were published without the consent of the author. It is understood many were obtained surreptitiously from the playhouse! The remaining 21 plays remained as manuscripts until 1622 when Othello was published. In 1623, two actors who were friends of Shakespeare, collated all of the dramas, both published and unpublished, which they knew to have been written by Shakespeare. 36 plays were comprised in this collected works...the final play Pericles was added to the collection in 1664. It is these 37 plays that The Globe celebrated on the weekend of 23rd and 24th April 2016. 37 ten minute films were com

On a bright sunny Saturday morning my non Burketeer friend and I headed down to London to watch Tom's play (for the last time.) We had a few hours before the play so I suggested we head to the National Portrait Gallery to view the "Russia and the Arts" exhibition that I'd failed to see on my previous two visits to London due to excessive Prosecco drinking the night before!!! Marvelous in Miniature Walking through the gallery we noticed an exhibition celebrating Charlotte Bronte and her sisters. I've been to Haworth walking, but never taken the opportunity to go to the parsonage (too covered in mud from my hiking!) so I thought it would be interesting to pop in and see what they had on show. I knew that Charlotte and her sisters would sit around the table together and write their books, and that they had also written tiny "toy" books for their brother's toy soldiers to read. They would sew small pages together and cover their books in wallpaper,

I am a HUGE fan of Haruki Murakami, and this lumbering great tome has been sat on my bookshelf for a while waiting for the right moment for me to give it the justice its 1318 pages deserve. Murakami is well known for his strange cultish type stories, and this book, originally published in three volumes takes two cults head on in a disturbingly maddening story. The book focuses on two main characters, Tengo, a thirty year old former mathematical genius and Aomame (Green Peas) a thirty year old sports instructor and physical therapist. Tengo shunned his child prodigy abilities and became a part time maths teacher. He embarked on a career in literature, and became the ghost writer of a teenagers story, "Air Chrysalis." The publisher of a literary company thought the story had the potential to win a prestigious literary competition, but the writing was flawed, if Tengo re-wrote the tale it could be entered into the competition. The teenager Fuka-Eri who wrote the story is

Back from another top Burketeering Burkeathon weekend, and now I'm packing my chest infection off to Tywyn for a week. I'm a bit grumpy because it is the third and final part of The Magus. My other half hasn't been listening to it, he is fed up of the name Tom Burke, and there is no wi-fi where we are going. Oh sod it, "please can we listen to Radio 4 at 3pm?" "Yes of course, what's on?" "Oh just the final part of a play I've been listening to." Yes! We set off at just the right time so that I get to hear the entire episode during the car journey, and I cough majestically over the bit where the announcer says "and the part of Nicholas Urfe was played by Tom Burke." I really enjoyed the production, and wish that Radio 4 were bringing it out on CD. I think if I am honest, and discount the fact that Tom was in it, I did prefer the book, however, don't discount the play, it was still very good.  I don't know what it wa

Nooooooooooo!  I hear you shout. You can't be serious?  Yes I am. I am addicted. I don't know what it is, but the more you see Tom, the more you have to see him again! So, this morning, we managed to pack, talk about Tom, go to breakfast, talk about Tom, get our phone map app working and head towards Hampstead Heath, whilst talking about Tom, get to a cafe and order tea, and talk about Tom, waddle towards the entrance of the park, get a taxi and head back to the theatre! In the theatre we meet up with a load of other Burketeers, and as I'm sitting and chatting I notice an older couple try the doors to the theatre to get in. Now the Hampstead has those electric doors where you need to press a button for the doors to open, and this couple hadn't noticed, so I jumped up as I was near the door and hit the button for them. OH MY GOD! I'VE JUST LET TOM'S PARENTS INTO THE THEATRE! Now when I was young, I remember watching Sherlock Holmes with my mum (it wasn'

Yes! You guessed it, I'm back off to London, and this isn't an April Fool joke! I'm meeting Cheryl and Anne for a spot of lunch whilst we wait for Solenne to arrive from France. I am full of cold and can hardly speak (hooray everyone says) so I have a medicinal Processco with my lunch! After a catch up, we all head towards Hampstead and get ready for another night at the theatre. All Good Evenings Must Start With Prosecco! The evening started as all good evenings do with a bottle of Prosecco. This time I have a really good seat, three rows from the stage and a perfect view of Tom. The play has changed slightly. It is more polished, not too polished, but the conversations between the characters flow better and are therefore more believable than they were at the earlier showings. I know some people have complained about the profanities, but think about it, this generation does swear. There is a generation that gets both excited and so emotionally involved with a topi