Laurel and Hardy!

........The Watermill Theatre, Newbury is a fantastic venue!

Imagine one of those lovely summer evenings we had last week.  Think of a clear Hampshire river, ducks dabbling, roses and lavender, delicious fresh food waiting to be selected from the buffet.  Add to that, a delightful, funny, entertaining, nostalgic and moving play performed in the old mill now turned into a very intimate theatre and you have all the ingredients for a delightful evening.

The play, 'Laurel and Hardy' wasn't a variety show of their best comic sequences or a biographical drama.  Cleverly blending both, we followed the characters from their beginnings, through success and ultimately, to their deaths.

They performed 'By the Light of the Silvery Moon' which had our section of the audience joining in quietly with the words and attempting a seated soft shoe shuffle!  They  incorporated classic moments like the chandelier scene and looking after a baby.

But, by the end, the closeness of their relationship, their different talents - I hadn't realised that Laurel actually wrote and directed a lot of their films as well as acting  - the ups and downs of their lives had  resonated with the audience leaving a fond regret that their  style of comedy is no longer relevant .

This was a brilliant production, inventive, clever, amusing and performed by two superb actors and a pianist!

We came out singing into a perfect summer's night - warm and starlit.

A great night out.  Do visit the theatre there if you have a chance.

Chris Froome, my hero!

....back home now and the camper van returned UNDAMAGED to the depot in Geneva!  Some exciting moments getting used to driving something that large through busy streets ( distracted by the window displays in the designer boutiques which line the couture quartier!)  and then up into the mountains!

Luckily the gendarmerie did a fantastic job guiding the convoy of vans up the Alpine roads and into position  though it as first come first get the best places to park.  We were settled into a car park a little way from the top of Alpe d'Huez but had the excitement of seeing them hurtling towards us at what seemed impossibly high speeds.

Chris Froome was easy to identify in yellow and I kept my eyes open to see 59, Thomas Voeckler go by unscathed by barbed wire or team Saxotintoff!   And my new man of the moment, Ritchie Porte, who should be very impressive in next year's Tour.  (We've already booked hotels for the start in Yorkshire and are sending out local friends to find the best viewing points!)

After this stage, as soon as the roads were passable again, we headed off with the fanatic convoy to Annecy. (More retail opportunities!). The weather had changed to damp and humid and we were relieved that there were very few accidents.

By this time, Gabrielle was totally obsessed with the atmosphere of the Tour and, dressed from head to toe in yellow, insisted on climbing onto the roof of the van to perform a sort of dance of victory as the peleton swept by! Despite assistance from  'the men', I didn't manage to join her- we all collapsed in hysterical  laughter as they heaved and shoved to no avail!  So, screaming 'Allez, allez, allez', I joined the others on the roadside - wearing a large and totally unsuitable (for the weather)  straw hat trimmed with the most enormous red and white spotted ribbon!  Gabrielle, naturally, had managed to get hold of one of the sponsor's yellow caps so she was very happy.

At the end of the day, when it was obvious that nothing, bar an horrendous accident or mechanical breakdown, would prevent Chris from winning, we made hasty phone calls to Parisian friends, and drove through the night towards Paris.

By the time we got there, central Paris from Versailles to the  Arc du Triomphe was in shut down and we were directed to a large campsite where we left the van.  Then by metro to the Marais district and our friends and all the excitement of the final stage!

What a triumph, what excitement as the riders flowed through the city.  What a fabulous moment when all the Team Sky riders rode abreast to the finish with Chris in the middle and Ritchie, literally, his right hand man!  Loved the Lumiere on the Arc- so inventive and so beautiful.  Shed a tear or two over Chris' ' speech......and then to party till the morning!  Champagne and happiness all around!

An Evening with Deborah Dalton Millinery

Graciously  hosted by Eleanor Allen, the evening began with Pimms on her patio overlooking her beautiful, secluded garden.  Before the talk began, we were able to wander through the bowers of roses, clematis, honeysuckle and sweet peas - an ideal setting to find out more about the delightful hats designed and handcrafted by Deborah Dalton.

She's an entertaining and quirky individual who described her transition from the world of educational drama and theatre to her new career as milliner.

The  audience found the explanation and demonstration of the skills used in the creation of a  piece of bespoke millinery very interesting.  Those who had professed to not liking hats or never being able to find one to fit, realised with some relief, that the industry standard sizing of twenty two and a half inches was part of the problem.

She related some amusing anecdotes about the people she meets when sourcing materials - the almost medieval workshop of Boon and Lane in Luton where she came across beard blocks for the  film 'Lord  of the Rings', the milliner who made the little pink fascinator worn by the Queen when she 'jumped' out of the helicopter to open the Olympics, the film costumes made from fabrics purchased for The Berwick Street Cloth Shop.

At the end of the evening, we were invited to try on her samples.  What a great dressing up session!  Everyone was choosing and advising, posing for photos, exclaiming their surprise and pleasure and enjoyment!  Gabrielle, who never misses an opportunity to be prepared for any occasion, took advantage of the sample sale to purchase the divine 'Left Bank Lipstick'.  (Deborah had told us that when she is designing, she thinks  of where her client  may wear her pieces  and makes up little stories about them! This lovely little hat had quite a saucy story - reflects Gabrielle's youth VERY well!)

There'll be not pretty little hats where we're going next!  It's off to Geneva and the mountain stages of the Tour de France  next week.  Our men have admitted their plan and we shall have company in the camper van!

Till my next post.....allez, allez, allez!

Kew the Music - Blondie in the Grdens

.....well, I'm having a quiet morning after getting home late last night after a fantastic show.

As you know, Gabrielle and I had planned an evening of fizz, food, music and dancing and the evening was everthing we could hoped for.

Thank goodness summer has arrived at last as the evening was (as a boyfriend a very long time  described me though probably with different spelling) soft, warm and balmy!  We found a prime spot   in the picnic area  in front of the stage and set up our encampment.  Opened the pink fizz and began with delicious charcuterie (what would one do without Waitrose!)

After the warm up act and a little break for Mediterranean tart and salad, Hugh Cornwell, front man for The Stranglers was on stage.  Great music; great to see him in person.

The sun was setting as the stage lights picked out the features in the Temperate House which formed the backdrop for the stage and Blondie made her entrance.  What a vibrant performer, such rapport with the audience, wonderful to hear her improvising on the songs so familiar from the CDs.

I was thrilled to hear variations on my favourite 'The Tide is High' ( loved the way they used it in 'Muriel's Wedding') as it featured solos by some of her band- that drummer is amazing!

Gabrielle had her (nearly) 30 seconds of fame when she was shown on the big screens giving her all to 'Atomic'!

After a hour of play and four encores, the fireworks shot up from behind the building neatly bringing the show to an end and preventing, what surely would have been, countless calls for even more encores!

Gabrielle and I stayed where we were with coffee and her delicious home made pistachio macaroons whilst the crowd thinned out.


Then I saw it, and you  must forgive my little rant.  LITTER!  How could so many 'John Lewis' type people leave SO much rubbish behind on the grass?  I couldn't believe anyone would wish to spoil the beautiful  gardens or be so inconsiderate, so arragant as to leave their detritus behind - especially as the paths to the exits were lined with bottle banks and big skips for litter.  Bring back the Wombles, perhaps!

Anyway, tonight I'm off to 'An Evening with Deborah Dalton' - my favourite milliner.  I'm looking forward to hearing about her ideas for Autumn/Winter and, perhaps, if she's having a sample sale, may be able to pick up another pretty little piece to wear to a wedding in France next month.

....talk to you soon, my dears.  Have a happy sunny day.

www.deborahdaltonmilliner.co.uk
www.kew.org/visit-kew-gardens

Blondie at Kew

.... Blondie is playing tonight at Kew!  And there'll be fireworks at the end!  What more could one want?

Well, the picnic , definitely!  I'm taking Mediterranean tart, raspberries and cream ...and pink fizz, naturelement!

And the weather!  It's going to be perfect and how wonderful that summer has come in time for an evening outside.  Better pack the mosquito repellant - not a good look, big red blotches  especially as they might clash with the shocking pink silk top I'm wearing with my cigarette pants!

Gabrielle is making her own macaroons- clever girl!

So, it'll be night of fun, dancing, bubbles and laughter.

I'll tell you all about it tomorrow!!

Le Tour and my friend Gabrielle

....after a busy few weeks, Gabrielle and I finally managed to catch up for lunch and finalise our plans for watching the Tour de France!  The mountain stages are always the most exciting so we've hired a camper van  for  a few days - essential for the essentials of life; chilling the champagne,  cups of herbal tea, hair straighteners - and fly into Geneva for the closing stages in the Alps.

Although I'd planned to support Chris Froome who probably should have won a stage last year if he hadn't been helping Wiggo but ever since  Thomas Voeckler had the collision, two years ago, with a press car and was catapaulted into a barbed wire fence, he's been my man!  However, family connections with Belgium mean that I shall keep a close  eye on Jan Bakelants.

Gabrielle and I are still arguing about who's going to be doing  the driving; our men insist they won't come with us as too many years travelling to holiday villas behind convoys of caravans have left dark memories.......I've  noticed, though, that they are very interested on the details of our 'Tour' and I shaln't be surprised if, when the day comes, they won't have made their own secret plans to surprise us on the flight!

Mediterranean tart, watercress and rocket salad, strawberries, blueberries and creme fraiche for lunch!

Strange Encounters in Paddington!

.....to Paddington last night - a disused fire station and possibly part of an office block had been transformed by Punchdrunk into the venue for a  promenade performance of 'A Drowned Man'.

Quite extraordinary, quite different from a normal night's theatre going, quite amazing.

Te venue had become 'Temple Studios' - an old film lot laid out over three floors.  Arriving at out specified time- 7.10 to be precise- we were allowed in in groups of 3 or 4 to make out way through a dimly lit labyrinth to the first set - a small town square in old time America.  Given masks to wear and asked not to speak, we were invited to wander through the sets and see what we could see.

The effect of all these silent, white masked people soundlessly inhabiting the locations was quite strange- it felt as if we were background characters  for  a film but uncertain of where to be.  Gradually,   We became braver, examining the artefacts that dresses the sets and sitting down in the rooms and saloon.  Without warning, 'real' characters drifted in and played out a scene in movement and barely audible sound - it was left up to us to interpret the action .

As we were wandering freely without direction, there was no warning when things might happen or where; we, sometimes literally, stumbled upon the moments.  At times, was very moving especially in the house, where our presence as onlookers incapable of helping gave added pathos to the situation.

All in all, a thoroughly creatively satisfying experience ......though my feet ached by the end and I wondered how they had managed to fill the top floor with such a quantity of sand!