I'm Blathering Now...

Holibobs! OK, it’s just a long weekend in Yorkshire, but it’s a break…and there’s a hot tub on the horizon. Over the years I’ve visited a few Hoseason’s lodges and they are a great place to wind down. The ones I go to are usually in a remote place where you can unwind and relax with a bottle of Prosecco, a book and a hot tub. There are usually places to walk and explore and they’re great if your idea of fun is peace and quiet! This winter (it’s always winter when I go, best time to go I think for hot tubs) I decided to try a new location. Cedar Retreats in West Tanfield is relatively new, about 4 years old, and near the Yorkshire Dales. As I was heading northwards, I thought I’d stop off at York for a little wander around The Shambles, a bite of lunch, and a quiet pint at the iconic King’s Head by the river.  Iconic because it is prone to flooding, it even has a sign on the pub wall showing how high the water has risen! Thirst slated and onto West Tanfield, a lovely little

What would you do if your past came back to confront you? There you are, minding your own business, you’ve come home from a long day at work and all you want to do is have a hot bath, make some dinner and mark your student’s homework. Before you know it there’s a knock at the door and your former lover is standing there, expecting to pick things up from where they were left. I don’t know much about David Hare’s work. I had watched his versions of three of Chekov’s plays at The National, and I knew I wanted to watch The Red Barn at The National but the dates of the play didn’t match up with when I was in London. I wasn’t prepared to spend lots of money travelling down to see it when I knew so little about the play, so having the opportunity to see his work at my local theatre was a real blessing. Skylight is the tale of school teacher Kyra Hollis (Jeany Spark) who receives a surprise visit from Edward Sergeant (Oscar Batterham.) He walks into her flat armed with a four-pa

When I first met the Burke fans, I decided to brush up on Tom’s theatrical career. I read all of the plays that were listed on Wikipedia that he had performed in. There were playwrights I had heard of, and some I hadn’t; it was an interesting education. At the time, I wrote up my thoughts on the plays on this blog, and I now think it would be interesting to revisit those thoughts at some point. I’ve now got used to reading plays, and then watching them being performed, and so I notice things now that perhaps back then I missed when just reading the plays. One of the playwrights I enjoyed reading was Howard Barker. I particularly loved Scenes From An Execution, not least because it is set in Venice, a city I love and have fond memories of.  My friend Nikki saw that one of Barker’s plays was being performed in London and we were a little undecided as to whether we could see it because we had already booked to see a play in Manchester the following day. We decided it was doable, it i

IT CAN’T BE FEBRUARY ALREADY??? As New Year’s go, 2017 has been pretty good so far.  I read some of the air of despondency on Twitter (last year we had seen Tom in War in Peace, then there were the radio plays, and of course the excitement of tickets in our sweaty paws to see him on stage for the first time...but we've got nothing at the moment...) but I seem to be too busy to worry about Burke Blues! I'm even having the odd moments when I'm wondering if I'm a real fan of Tom's at all! Of course I can't wait to see him bring Cormoran Strike to life (I could easily picture him in the role when I read the novels and I did become rather excited about what the end result would be like) but we won't see the series until the end of this year...so what am I supposed to do until then?  Tom/Athos enabled me to find some like-minded people who are out for fun, adventure and a bit of theatre, and so rather than sit waiting for Mr B's next move, 2017 has a

Art   noun  - the quality, production, expression, or realm, according to aesthetic principles, of what is beautiful, appealing, or of more than ordinary significance.  A friend asked me if I fancied a weekend in London (she knew full well I would say yes) and she told me to book my usual hotel for the pair of us. I thought little of why she wanted to stay near Waterloo, but I was soon to find out. We were off to watch Art at The Old Vic, with RUFUS SEWELL in it! I loved watching Rufus Sewell in Zen, and more recently as Lord M in ITV's Victoria. For the first time ever, I wanted a historically based drama to not pay heed to history; I wanted Lord M and Victoria's relationship to continue long after Albert was on the scene!! I was thrilled, I knew very little about the play, but quite frankly Rufus could just stand on stage saying nothing and I'd be happy to watch him. He's one of those actors that can say a thousand words without uttering one syllable.

LOVE - what does it mean? It can be such an overloaded word. It is often said without thought or meaning. "I love cake." "I love you." Do we really love a slab of cake as much as we love a person? And what do we mean when we say we love a person? Well I guess it depends on the person or the relationship. Are they your soul mate, a person that you have a passing infatuation with, a member of your family? Well this play shows that there are many sides to Love. What will you do for another person to show how much you love them?  After watching this play, it's not a Valentines card and a bunch of roses that show you care. It's the small things in life that really matter. It’s the small things that help you to keep going on. Survival in the face of Poverty Love is the first play I have watched which has completely drained me; put me through the wringer. It made me question myself, question what is going on outside of my world, and question my attitudes