SEE HOW BEAUTIFUL I AM: the return of Jacqueline Susann.

I was thinking about my very talented friend the wordsmith Paul Minx yesterday. His play is moving to NYC and I wish him well and hope his play is picked up for a very long run somewhere! Jeff and I had gone to see an excellent production of George Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion at the Old Vic and I also received an email from another friend Denise Higgins – Regan who is directing a play in NYC this summer (700 WIVES - THE MUSICAL). I have some very talented friends! Paul’s Play SEE HOW BEAUTIFUL I AM: the return of Jacqueline Susann will be opening at the Fringe NYC Festival on August 8th.

On July 14th, at the Bar Kick in Shoreditch Jeff and I attended the London one night only performance of SEE HOW BEAUTIFUL I AM: the return of Jacqueline Susann. The play made for a great evening out on a dreary Monday night! In this one-person comedy, Debora Weston portrayed the story of Jacqueline Susann, author of the VALLEY OF THE DOLLS in a hilarious, sad, and very engaging manner. I absolutely loved her! I had no idea that Jackie had a thing for Ethel Merman! Debora was fabulous darling! Afterwards, Jeff surprised me by saying he also read the Valley of the Dolls under the blankets with a flashlight back in the 60’s!

If you are in NYC try not to miss this one! To quote the author “For Jackie the sexual liberation was merely just another cocktail party!”

Pygmalion

Today, Jeff and I are off to see a production of Pygmalion at the Old Vic. Written by George Bernard Shaw written in 1913,the play is based on the Greek myth of Pygmalion. Many people know it better as the story of My Fair Lady. The play tells the story of Henry Higgins, a professor of phonetics (based on phonetician Henry Sweet), who makes a bet with his friend Colonel Pickering that he can successfully pass off a Cockney flower girl, Eliza Doolittle, as a refined society lady by teaching her how to speak with an upper class accent and training her in etiquette.

As a side note, at the beginning of the movie, Professor Higgins when he first meets her in Convent Garden tells Eliza that she is from Lisson Grove. I always enjoy telling people that I live in the same neighborhood! I am always puzzled by the fact that Eliza is referred to as a cockney when Lisson Grove is no where near Bow Bells!
Cockney often refers to working class Londoners, particularly those in the East End and the language they speak. According to traditional definition, a "true" Cockney is someone born within earshot of the Bow Bells, i.e. the bells of St. Mary-le-Bow church in Cheapside in the City of London (which is not itself in the East End). Formerly it included Clerkenwell, Finsbury, Shoreditch, Hoxton, Stepney, Bethnal Green, Limehouse, Mile End, Wapping, Whitechapel, Shadwell, Bermondsey, Rotherhithe, Surrey Quays and The Borough.

The first English production in opened at His Majesty's Theatre, London on April 11, 1914 and starred Mrs. Patrick Campbell as Eliza and Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree as Henry Higgins; it was directed by Shaw himself. I am looking forward to this production as today is the birthday of both Shaw and Kevin Spacey (the artistic director of the Old Vic).

GB Shaw was interesting man. A prolific writer, founding member of the Fabian society and London School of Economics he abhorred formal education and held an animosity toward schools and teachers, saying, "Schools and schoolmasters, as we have them today, are not popular as places of education and teachers, but rather prisons and turnkeys in which children are kept to prevent them disturbing and chaperoning their parents.”. I wonder what my kids would make of that quote?

Ebernoe Horn Fair

Quoted from Wikipedia: "Ebernoe Horn Fair is held in the small Sussex village of Ebernoe, the location of which is about five miles north of Petworth. The fair is held annually on Saint James's Day, 25th July. The tradition is centuries old though it appears to have been revived in 1864 after a long lapse. The celebration is held on the village common and the main attraction is a cricket match between Ebernoe and a nearby village. Towards the end of the day the highest scoring batsman is presented with a set of horns. These are taken from a sheep which has been roasted during the day. It is thought the presentation of horns is associated with the custom of dressing up with horns as a symbol of cuckoldry (a cuckold is an old English term for a man whose wife has had an adulterous affair. It relates to the cuckoo, a bird which lays its eggs in another bird's nest). Centuries ago horn fairs were boisterous events where cuckoldry and seduction would not be unknown. The old saying All's fair at Horn Fair probably originates from such events. In days gone by it seems that Ebernoe Fair was often beset by thunderstorms. However, the storms were taken as a good luck sign and farmers would look forward to a good harvest. The absence of a storm would suggest the crops would fail. Ebernoe Horn Fair was also the day on which gardeners were reminded to sow their spring cabbages. Martin West won the horns in the year 2007 with 78 runs."

Stourhead Pictures

Saturday, on our way to Bournemouth, Jeff and I visited the gardens at Stourhead. The place is a spectular National Trust property near Mere, Wiltshire.

We took a miss on the Palladian mansion and just did the grounds. The Stourton family had lived in the Stourhead estate for 700 years when they sold it to Henry Hoare I, son of wealthy banker Sir Richard Hoare in 1717. Henry Hugh Arthur Hoare, gave the Stourhead house and gardens to the National Trust in 1946. His sole heir and son, Captain "Harry" Henry Colt Arthur Hoare, had died of wounds received in World War I

The gardens are home to a large collection of trees and shrubs from around the world. The gardens were designed by Henry Hoare II and laid out between 1741 and 1780 in a classical 18th-century design set around a large lake achieved by damming a small stream. (The place gets it name from the River Stour!) The inspiration behind their creation were the painters Claude Lorrain, Poussin and, in particular, Gaspar Dughet, who painted Utopian-type views of Italian landscapes. In the garden are a number of temples. On one hill overlooking the gardens there stands an obelisk and King Alfred's Tower (a 50-metre-tall, brick folly designed by Henry Flitcroft in 1772);


On another hill the temple of Apollo provides a vantage point to survey the lake and temples.

The Pantheon , the largest of the temples would be a great place to have a picnic. The Grotto was entertaining and was very popular in Italian Renaissance gardens and a cool place to escape the heat.

I loved the Palladian Bridge and the Bristol High Cross.

Farnborough Airshow 2008

Jeff and I went to the Farnborough Airshow on yesterday afternoon. We were on our way back from Bournemouth where we had dinner with Beth the night before. We hadn't been to an airshow in years and Farnborough had always been our list of things to do here in England. The Farnborough Airshow is probably rated as one of the best airshows in the world, right up there with the Paris Airshow. Sunday was the 60th anniversary of this particular show and we joined about 50,000 other people witnessing spectacular flying demonstrations! At dinner with Beth the night before, we had talked about her experience an at airshow in Niagara Falls some ten years back and she did not have fond memories of it! Too bad. One of my fondest childhood memories is of airshows at Floyd Bennet Field in NYC and climbing around airplanes (couldn't get 10 feet near a plane at Farnborough!). I wished my dad and brothers were there. Maybe Beth will change her mind and attend this one some other time. It really wasn't that loud!

We arrived in our designated parking lot a bit late and missed the start of the flight demonstration. What we did see was a huge Airbus 380 doing aerial gymnastics in the sky. It was unbelievable that an aircraft that large could make tight turns like that! It was like watching a whale fly! Airbus 380 doing maneuvers over parking lot
The Blades













F16

Vulcan

The Goat in Boots

Yesterday, on the Fulham Road here in London, Jeff and I attended the debut public performance of a very talented young lady. Jesse, the daughter of dear friends of ours (see picture above of proud parents!), has been taking guitar lessons for a few years and had her first pub date! Supported by her friend Nick (also a talented singer) and her guitar teacher, Jesse performed three songs. We were glad to be there and lend our enthusiasm! I always admire people who are willing to take a chance and step up in public! Jesse and Nick did a great job. We wish her well in future gigs!

Colin Firth

Enough said...............................