Ed's Head

Nottingham had a royal visitor today in the form of Prince Edward. He was in town to help celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Theatre Royal.

I knew he was coming today, but had no idea when. So at lunchtime, I took a walk up to Theatre Square to see what was happening.

I was in luck as he hadn't arrived yet. A small crowd had gathered and the red carpet had been rolled out ready.  A couple of plain clothes police were wandering around. One bystander asked one of them when the prince would be arriving. She was told he was running a bit late due to traffic.   He was coming from Newark, where he visited the new Civil War Centre.

Finally he arrived in a black Range Rover, led by security people in a red Jaguar. He stopped and chatted to the crowd which was about 100 now before going into the theatre where he unveiled a plaque and had a piece of birthday cake.

Bringing Home The Bacon

Do you like cooking?  I do, and Gail thinks that I'm reasonable at it. No Gordon Ramsey, but ~I've never given her food poisoning yet!

My cookbook might be a bit thin, but I always try to do the best I can, with what I know how to make.

I wonder if this shopper has got their ingredients ready to for the evenings' meal? I wonder what they have in the bag. Some fish perhaps, with a small bag of new potatoes, beans, fresh sprig of parsley and a Key lime pie for pudding.

Whatever it is, I hope they cooked it well and everyone enjoyed it.

Lighting Up Time

Tonight saw Nottingham city centre lit up once again, as it was the annual Light Night festival. The yearly event where buildings are used as cinema screens, strange things pop up in all sorts of places and it is generally very cold.

Well this year was no different. The castle was tonight's backdrop, where a group calling themselves 'Elemental Force' projected a show containing animation, photos and pyrotechnics. It seemed to relay the history of Nottingham, and included of course Robin Hood, lace making and Raleigh bikes.

I was pleased to see that the Daleks and the Tardis were making a return visit. They looked very good last year standing next to the Robin Hood statue, where they were trying to terrify the fabled outlaw. This year they were placed outside the Theatre Royal. I must admit it didn't look so good. Possibly because where they were was quite bright, and so they lost some of their impact, as where they were before was quite atmospheric and darker, so they all stood out more.

Still I suppose I shouldn't complain, as we were lucky to get anything with the continuing cuts in finances and relative poor state of the economy, as it is funding for the arts that always seemed to get trimmed first, rather than say sport.

Where There's A Will

They say that life is a cabaret old chum, and it certainly was at the Theatre Royal tonight, when we went to see the musical of the same name. It starred singer Will Young, actress Michelle Ryan and legendary actress Sian Phillips. It is on a short tour of the country, before transferring to the West End of London.


I've only seen the film version which starred Liza Minnelli a couple of times, so I had a rough idea of the plot. The action is set in Berlin in 1931 and revolves around night club singer and dancer Sally Bowles, her friends, lovers and the rise of the Nazi party.

The ending was very dark, shocking and done in complete silence. As a Nazi pushes over the giant letters that spelt KABAERT over, you see the dancers from the club all lined up and naked, with their backs to the audience. You then see sprinkles of light pouring from the ceiling and you slowly realise that they are in a gas chamber and about to die as part of the 'Final Solution'.

It was an excellent production and well staged. I was even impressed with Will Young's singing and dancing abilities; considering that he only came from the Pop Idol TV series a few years ago, rather than the usual route of progressing through theatre or drama school.


We decided to wait backstage and see if we could say hello to the stars. We met Michelle Ryan, and she signed our programme, before driving off in her red Mini. Will was a bit more challenging. He actually managed to leave the theatre without anyone noticing, as he left through another door and into his black Mercedes. There was quite a crowd waiting for him too, so it was somewhat disappointing that he decided to play the drama queen and ignore everyone.

How?

Here's a puzzle for you. What have these two Red Indians got to do with drinking? The answer is that they are above the entrance to a pub called The Stage Door. Which co-incidentally is opposite the Theatre Royal. Although I have absolutely no idea why they are there & why one of them is holding a giant cigar!

Carmen Get Her

This sculpture is called Carmen, and stands outside the Theatre Royal. She's been there a few years now and was designed by Hilary Cartmel and is made of stainless steel and concrete.
Personally I think it is quite an ugly statue, and quite likely to scare people on a dark night. But that's modern art for you.