Amir Khan's Victory

Now I'm not a great fan of boxing (nor of any sport really) but there is something interesting about young talented boxer Amir Khan.

I think most people were disappointed that he 'went professional' instead of going on with an amateur career that would have led to a British medal at the Beijing Olympics.

However, it was good to see him win his first major professional title last evening - and at a local arena as well (well local to me that is!)

I wonder if his popularity stems from his quiet confidence, but somewhat modest behaviour, and the fact that he somehow epitomises the belief that hard work, focus and politeness can still achieve greatness. Is it true that only the bad guys are winners? Amir Khan seems to disprove the assertion.

Passendale

Today there were ceremonies to mark the 90th Anniversary of the Battle of Passendale. The Queen went to the biggest of all the British Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemeteries, Tyne Cot (pictured above). Over twenty years ago I went to this battlefield and the memory of the seemingly endless rows of simple headstones is so moving. Looking at the ages of many of those commemorated - those who died in this terrible of battles is hard to bear. Worse still is the huge wall containing the names of those who died, but whose remains have never been found or identified. When a previous royal visit went to this cemetery 85 years ago he declared it to be one of the most compelling arguments against war - and in favour of peace.

BBC in trouble

So the BBC showed a film which seemed to show that the Queen 'stormed out' of a photo session with an American photographer as a result of being told that her outfit was 'too dressy' (mmm crown, garter robes, various regal orders - too dressy?) and had to change her dress two or three times. This wasn't quite the reality. Oh dear! BBC apologises again.

Great British Victory

For the first time in 20 years a British tennis player has won a Wimbledon Championship. At last we have a tennis victory to celebrate.

Lets not be too carping and say that Jamie Murray needed foreign assistance to achieve victory - lets just rejoice at the fact that a British player can be pictured holding up a trophy!

Perhaps it is all the more sweet because it was unexpected. I'm sure Mr Murray is a good player - but he isn't as well known as his brother - who this year failed to even make the first round. Well done Jamie!

Floods in Hull

Now there is something very strange about this summer's weather. Hull has been especially badly hit by floods, and it seems like it will take months for things to get back to almost normal. There is talk about schools being unable to open for six months or more. I find this very strange - there were terrible floods in Carlisle last year and they seemed to recover fairly quickly. I suspect there will be fundamental difficulties with repairs and construction work, lack of proper insurance cover, and costs of course. However, constant bleating over lack of government money isn't going to help anyone. What is required is a bit more organisation and leadership.

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The New Leadership

I have to say I'm immensely pleased that Harriet Harman is to be the Deputy Leader of the Labour Party - my votes obviously made the difference!

On the other hand it now seems very unlikely that she will be Deputy Prime Minister - a job made unique and filled uniquely by John Prescott, who will also stand down on Wednesday. I think Harriet will be the real link to the Labour Party and will help Gordon Brown to get the kind of support from activists that might just about win Labour another term of office. Harriet's campaign was interesting - supporting the achievements of Blair government but admitting the failures - especially over Iraq. She might just about have convinced the hardcore Labour membership that things will get even better over the next couple of years - and without these people to pound the streets to get the vote out then we will end up with a Conservative government.

Gordon Brown needs to do one or two dramatic things in the next month - rather like the liberation of the Bank of England, to quickly stamp his individual mark on the country's consciousness.

Royal Festival Hall

Maybe it isn't great architecture, but there is something wonderful about the Royal Festival Hall. Opened on 3rd June 1951 it is almost exactly my age, and I've been to see many events within these so typically 1950s walls.

It is has just re-opened after a £90 million refit - and so much of the original has been retained, I'm pleased to say. This is really quite a homey building for one so large - and now the neighbouring 1960s/1970s brutalist buildings that surround it almost blend in.

Set beside the Thames it boasts some of the loveliest views of London, and at this time of the year it is a view that rivals any in the world.

Big Brother

There really is something badly wrong with Channel 4 television. Not only do they continue with the appalling Big Brother for most of the day, they propose to show an unsavoury programme about the death of Princess Diana including insensitive pictures in the tunnel where she died. This is 'in the public interest' we're told - but not according to her sons.

How about boycotting this channel - and telling them that you've given up watching anything they produce?

The Rose Tattoo - Tennessee Williams

I went to see the play at the National Theatre. It has a vast cast but the star is Zoe Wanamaker. The cast numbers 35 and includes a chorus of women, a further chorus of children, and a goat (totally live) comes on twice! The set was excellent too - a revolving wooden cabin used to great effect.
The play is not the usual moody Tennessee Williams. It is a vehicle for a tour de force performance by Ms Wanamake. A story about a Scicilian woman in the deep south of the United States who believes she has the perfect husband and a perfect marriage. Naturally this is not true, as she discovers when her husband is killed in suspicious circumstances. She keeps his urn of ashes in front of a shrine to St Mary. A devout, if not fanatical Catholic she believes in miracles (including the appearance of a tattoo of a rose just like the one her husband used to sport at critical moments). After becoming a widow her grief drives her to bizarre behaviour and she cossets her daughter to prevent her falling into sin.
Really this is a stary of delusion - she refuses to accept her husband's infidelity, that her daughter has grown up, that the rose tattoo did not appear at the moment of her daughter's conception, etc.
Zoe is superb, her accent wonderful, and many of the supporting cast are excellent, but some have trouble with the accent - it veers from sub cockney to godfather Italian, New York Jewish to West Coast Hollywood - sometimes in the same sentence!
This was a theatrical occassion - and probably the performance of Zoe's life - she must be exhausted as she is on stage for almost all of the three hours.
My rating: 9/10

Gant's Hill Tube Station

I had reason to pass through Gant's Hill tube station - on the Central line. This is one of those

beautiful 1930s design London Underground Stations - this one by Charles Holden and the barrel vaulting illustrated here is supposed to be inspired by the Moscow Metro stations. (Although having seen the Moscow stations, this isn't nearly as luxurious). There is something tremendously satisfying about these structures. The architecture makes travelling more of an experience. This particular station has a special history. Begun in 1939 work was abandoned with the outbreak of war. However, when a nearby Ilford Aircraft and Munitions factory was damaged it was decided to use the existing tunnels linking Gant's Hill with neighbouring stations as not only an air raid shelter (like many others) but as a manufacturing centre. A railway was introduced and hundreds of people worked away throughout the bombing burrowed away underground. The line finally opened for passengers in 1953.

Signs of Aging

I was listening to 'Loose Ends' on Radio 4 this evening and I was shocked to hear that Marc Almond (famous for Tainted Love) is going to be 50 shortly. This really bothers me - I will always imagine he is just over 20 - but then I'm always surprised to find out that people are my age - I think I look vastly younger than them. Is this just distortion of thought?

Bank Charges

Now I realise that the banks do not have a good reputation and I'm sure some of the charges they are making to their customers appear both excessive and unfair. However, I do think that

there should be some way to ensure that a small number of customers do not totally ignore the agreement they made when they opened their account. Those who
REGULARLY go either overdrawn or flout their overdraft limit should be penalised. Perhaps a seven day

warning should be issued telling those errant customers what they will be charged if they continue above their limit. Equally if you go overdrawn one day and are unaware of the fact banks should not levy a daily charge making the situation worse. I would not be happy though if banks were unable to make any charges to these rogue customers who ignore limits - and then charging the rest of us 'good customers'.

The Bizarre World of Anthony Steen MP

The Totnes MP was in a hurry to catch a train recently and couldn't find a parking space, so he parked in a bay set aside for blue badge holders. He left his car there for THREE DAYS.

Mr Steen was fined for the illegal use of this facility. He is now complaining that the 'handicapped' are given far too many perks, and there shouldn't be so many spaces left for blue badge holders. As a blue badge holder I am really annoyed by the widespread misuse of the badges and the bays set aside for drivers with disabilities. I quite regularly turn up at a shopping centre or town centre car park to find most or all spaces taken - including the 'disabled' bays - and those occupying these bays often do not display a blue badge. I find walking very hard, and often I see people with wheelchairs unable to go to a blue badge bay because they are occupied by seemingly able bodied drivers without a blue badge. Mr Steen is really not setting a very good example - he clearly doesn't realise how hard it is to obtain a legitimate blue badge.

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The Wickedest of Cargoes

I recently went to see an exhibition put on by Newham Council at Stratford Town Hall about the slave trade. I should perhaps, before too long, do a blog about Stratford Old Town Hall - it is a building that is a work of art in itself. The picture shows elected Mayor of Newham, Sir Robin Wales visiting the exhibition when it opened. I was interested to discover how many local notables from East Ham and West Ham were connected with the campaign to abolish the trade in slaves two hundred years ago, and slavery itself. These include MPs who aided Wilberforce in passing the Abolition Act in 1807, and various campaigners, including Elisabeth Fry, Samuel Gurney, and Buxton. Of course the Borough has other links of a more unsavoury nature - Tate & Lyle have their biggest sugar refinery in Silvertown. I was impressed by the exhibition - it included a wide variety of artefacts and a good narrative outlining the history of slavery from ancient times to the present day. Slavery (in a variety of forms) exists throughout the world today.

The Entertainer

I couldn't find a picture showing the cast from the present run at the Old Vic. The illustration here is from the film starring Lawrence Olivier. It is said that the great actor told Robert Lindsay that he would be ideal in the lead role. Mr Lindsay has only just reached the appropriate age to take on this monster of a part, requiring incredible dexterity, skill and determination - Robert Lindsay took on the role with tremendous verve.

This play is set in Britain at the time of Suez and is intended to be a metaphor for the decline of the British Empire - as the leading character (Archie Rice) is a music hall entertainer at the end of the era of variety. Perhaps this was one of the great triumphs of television that it hammered several nails into the coffin of this 'artform'. Like Britain, Archie has lost his way and can't quite find a role in the new world. His wife, played by Pam Ferris, is a total revelation - she changes her mood rapidly and expresses every emotion with superb timing.

The action is set in the lodging house Archie has taken for the season. There lives his father - who is a retired actor - clearly of greater standing than Archie - his wife and one of his sons, who had refused to be conscripted into National Service. The other son is away in the army, and his fate forms the centre of the piece. the play opens with the arrive of their daughter, who is going through some tricky relationship difficulties. Although this is a comedy it darkens as it progresses, and is very thought provoking. Archie himself is extremely repulsive in his behaviour and attitude, but somehow induces sympathy. The remainder of the family also parade less than attractive qualities, but somehow you empathise with them.

The play is rarely revived - and it isn't surprising because it is rare to find such quality of acting from a cast and this play demands such high standards. It is worth reviving more often. My rating: 8/10

Cutty Sark

Fortunately, when the fire broke out, much of the structure had been removed for a massive restoration and preservation project.

The fire was started deliberately it is believed, and the Cutty Sark Trust are concerned that the heat of the fire may have buckled the iron hull, but they will have to wait for further examinations.

Go to http://www.cuttysark.org.uk to contribute towards the restoration. The Cutty Sark normally gets 7 million visitors a year - so if each person send £1 they will be close to meeting the costs of all the work required to make it once again a place of pilgrimage for all wanting to get a taste for Britain's Maritime History

19 Princelet Street, Spitalfields

A friend told me about this unusual project in East London. 19 Princelet Street in Spitalfields, close to Brick Lane and Liverpool Street is a house built in 1719 that has had a remarkable history. It was firstly rented by a Huguenot family of refugees, then after a period of prosperity the area began to decline. The building was converted into lodgings for silk weavers, who created large windows on the upper floors to allow them to work longer hours. Irish immigrants used it as a lodging house in the nineteenth century and then in 1869 a Jewish Friendly Society took the lease and built a synagogue in the garden to serve the growing community of immigrant jews from eastern Europe. A caretaker lived in one of the flats, and other rooms were rented out. In the C20th the Jewish congregation began to dwindle, and the last wedding was held in the 1970s. The building became derelict, although one reclusive lodger continued to rent the top floor, although he walked out one day leaving his 'home' untouched for a decade or so. A charity rescued the building, but it is still in danger. It is now trying to raise £3m to preserve it. For a few days a year it is open to visitors, when I came out today there was a queue reaching to the corner of the street. It is next open on Sunday 27th May.

Find out more at http://19princeletstreet.org.uk

Renoir Landscapes

I was pleased I managed to go to the Exhibition of Renoir Lanscapes at the National Gallery, just before it closed this weekend. I'd been recommended to go by a work colleague.

I have to say I found the townscapes more charming than the countryside views, and some of the Venetian pictures appeared somewhat unsuccessful. Renoir certainly had an eye for scenes involving water - the ones involving boating, or with a river in the background really caught my attention - but for vibrancy of colours the Algerian pictures are superb.

My favourites? 'Woman with a parasol and a Small Child on a Sunlit Hillside' (1874); 'Allee in the Woods' (c1878-9) - what a beautiful impression of a wild wood, 'The Jardin d'Essai, Algiers' (1881), 'Field of Banana Trees near Algiers' (1881), 'The Railway Bridge at Chatou' (1881) - utterly charming, and of course 'Chestnut Trees in Bloom'. What can be nicer than viewing some art followed by a cup of tea in the cafe in Trafalgar Square? Bliss.

The Eurovision Song Contest

Words fail me.

Tony Blair - history will judge him kindly

Ten years of government led by Tony Blair will shortly come to an end.

I'm going to list the things that I think should be remembered about him and his term of office.

The first Labour leader to win three general elections with large majorities.

The minimum wage.

The Freedom of Information Act.

The incorporation of the Human Rights Convention into British law.

Power Sharing in Northern Ireland.

Greater tolerance for minorities - the introduction of Civil Partnerships.

Greater equality and protection of minorities.

Better maternity and paternity pay.

Holiday rights.

A decade of low inflation.

A decade of economic growth.

Free entrance to museums and galleries.

Family Tax Credits.

IRAQ

A victory for democracy?

The election of Nicholas Sarkozy may not end the problems that beset France. I wonder if he can really get to grips with the deep seated divisions within French society. Is he truly the French Margaret Thatcher? Certainly he recognises that the French need to work harder, economic growth is more important than a job for life. The enormously high levels of youth unemployment can only signal trouble unless jobs can be created and France can be dragged into the top ranks of economic powers in Europe. There is a degree of schizophrenia within French society, proudly nationalistic and yet holding unrealistic views about their place in the world. This is an aging population finding change difficult to cope with - and yet they voted for a man who seeks economic transformation - perhaps because of his hard line on immigration, to outflank Le Pen. However, who will be the stokers of the engine of economic growth if the immigrant population are cast out - the French workforce seem to only want to have the lifetime civil service jobs. The excellent 85% turnout is incredibly impressive and Royal did well to gain 47% of the vote. Sarkozy needs to unite and not alienate, and Britain will find it difficult in Europe if Sarkozy maintains his opposition to Turkey's accession and continues Chirac's defence of French farmers in the face of the costs and economic realities.

Sarkozy will need to start work pretty quickly if he's going to be believed as the true reformer.

St Paul's Covent Garden

A friend of mine had a nine hour stopover at Heathrow en route between Manchester and Hong Kong on Tuesday. I suggested

we met at Covent Garden, to take up some of the time. After a pleasant lunch we drifted around the piazza and came across a
a real gem of a Church - St Paul's, which is known as the actors Church. The face turned to the square is plain, classical and understated, but the reverse face overlooks a lovely garden with

many seats. We wandered into the church and discovered an array of plaques to many actors, theatre producers, dancers, directors and playwrights. Richard Beckinsale, Flora Robson, Oscar Wilde, Noel Coward, Edith Evans, are all commemorated. The interior of the Church is restful and plain, very Georgian. In many ways the fact that it is so plain makes this Church very moving, and there close by the door is a plaque marking the life of Vivien Leigh. How appropriate is the epitaph upon it - taken from the play Anthony and Cleopatra:

'So fare thee well,

Now boast thee, death, in thy possession lies

A lass unparall'd.'

The Lady from Dubuque

What a superb actress Dame Maggie Smith is! She truly transformed this play that I saw at the Theatre Royal Haymarket recently.

The Lady from DuBurque is not often produced but it is an excellent vehicle for Maggie Smith, who dominates the second act totally. The play is by the same writer as 'Whose afraid of Virginia Woolf' and is as verbally violent as that play, famously starring on screen Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor. The Lady from Duburque opens at the end of a social evening involving three couples, who are 'friends' but appear to have absolutely nothing in common, but in reality hate one another - or do they. One woman is dying of cancer and is in enormous pain - and takes this out on everyone else - her husband, her old college friend, her weak husband, their boorish male friend and his seemingly unsophisticated girlfriend.

The humour is harsh and bitter, sharp and pointed, to the extent that it almost offensive. When things appear to be on the brink of open warfare the actors address the audience and demand answers. (Of course as a British audience we resolutely stared at our shoes and hoped not to have to respond).

The woman who is dying is bemoaning the fact that her mother has abandoned her and ignored her even at the moment of her death. And then Maggie Smith appears with her black 'friend/lover?' and claims to be the long estranged mother. But is she - she is the lady from DuBurque. These two characters inject a great deal of humour (still extremely sharp) and pathos but prevents it from turning into total bathos and melodrama.

Worth seeing - even if only for Maggie Smith's wonderful performance. Rating 7/10

Hogarth Exhibition - Tate Gallery

I managed to catch this 'major exhibition' of the works of Hogarth at the Tate Britain today. I think one of the problems I had with this exhibition was the volume of people allowed in to view at the same time. Many of the pieces are relatively small, and the captions attached are quite lengthy - obviously wanting to put the prints and paintings in some kind of context. The crowds gathered around each print meant it was difficult to appreciate the contents. The other problem stems from familiarity. Many of the pictures or series of pieces (Rake's Progress, Harlot's Progress, Marriage a la Mode) are reproduced so regularly that seeing the real thing holds no surprises. With large scale pictures this isn't a problem, but prints that appear true size in magazines are not going to be revelatory when seen hanging on a wall. I don't feel much link with the life of pre-industrial England - and although Hogarth was a campaigning artist many of the targets of his satire have been lost in time. He isn't really an innovator, nor is he a great portrait painter or landscape painter. The Holbein Exhibition earlier held many surprises and you could see the development of his art - into realism and perspective, the Constable Exhibition revealed so much about his techniques and composition, Hogarth tauught me nothing new. Interesting to see these works of art all in one place but not a truly memorable exhibition.

The Seraglio

This is blog number 200! Celebrations all round!
I must be turning into a total philistine but I have to admit that I am no longer a fan of either Mozart on his operas.
I have not seen this opera before but I have no intention of ever seeing it again. I suspect it is intended to be light-hearted and humerous, but the kind of studied humour in this opera is just too wearing, and wearying for me. It is the usual operatic story - lovers forced apart by circumstance (in this case pirates and a hareem have intervened) and two hours are spent re-uniting the lovers. However, as it is Mozart there is not the tragedy that I love in Verdi or Puccini, no romantic music and soaring duets instead we get vocal gymnastics and downright showing off. In this case the notes and arias go higher and higher and to my ears the beauty of the song turns into shrieking or screeching.
In Amadeus the Emperor declares 'Too many notes, Mr Mozart' and oh how I agree with him!
My rating 4/10
This was the English Touring Opera production at the Hackney Empire.

Eugene Onegin

The English Touring Opera production at the Hackney Empire was a wonder to witness. As always the staging was slightly disconcerting - huge mirrors were employed - but to remarkable effect, especially in the ball scenes where it created the illusion of a mass of dancers instead of the dozen or so members of the cast.
Tchaikovsky's opera 'Eugene Onegin' requires great skills from the performers - exacting singing, enormously long arias, almost balletic dancing (frequently), dramtic acting, a score requiring the orchestra to play not as accompanists but as a symphony orchestra, and great stamina. Based on the classic Pushkin epic it is the tale of two sisters, one of whom is spoken for the other who falls for Eugene who fails to return the emotion. As is inevitable in opera there is death and passion, many fallings in and out of love, and a not entirely happy ending, for opera should not be anything other than tragic to my mind.
The letter scene ( six hours attemting to construct a love letter contracted into a ten minute aria) is a tour de force and needs a soprano of great skill - and here this was achieved with enormous finesse. As this is Tchaikovsky the dance scenes have beautiful melodies, and some of the musical passages are worthy of being a movement in a symphony.
I love this opera and will seek it out in future. My rating: 9/10

Lets skip spring

I bought some daffodils from Marks & Spencer today. It does brighten up my flat to see some spring flowers inside. However the temperature in London today was a balmy 17 degrees. For March this is exceptional - it seems as though we'll be skipping spring and going straight to summer. On the other hand we've had snow in April before now!

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Porgy & Bess

I went to see this marvellous, vibrant production at the Savoy Theatre yesterday. It was a matinee performance and so it was full of coach parties, mainly women from the Home Counties.

This is a period piece. The Gershwins were trying to produce a twentieth century opera dealing with modern themes. George Gershwin always wanted to write classical music but this is really just a popular musical play. That isn't to devalue it though, 'Summertime', 'I got Plenty of Nothing', 'I Love You Porgy' 'It Ain't Necessarily So' are all time popular standards. This is the usual love story of tart with a heart who is reformed by the love of a good man, but led into temptation by the bad guys. In this production there isn't really anything operatic, it is good American Musical through and through. None of the cast are duds. The dancing is superb, and the audience were engaged from the start.

However, this is a production written by whites and performed by a black cast. I became a touch uneasy at times because the roles were so stereotyped, and I wonder how comfortable some of the cast were in portraying these parodies of black lives - the great dancers, the negro spirituals, the language of subjection. Would it be performed in America nowadays I wonder.

Clive Anderson - What a star!

Now I'm a total radio addict, I have the radio on throughout the day. I am now becoming an enormous fan of Clive Anderson. He's been filling in for Parkinson on his Radio 2 show on Sunday mornings, and I have to say he does that kind of show tremendously well - talking about the papers, entertainment, theatre, music and films. Now he's filling in for Sandi Toksvig on the News Quiz. Now I love Sandi - she is so good on this show, chairing with an infectious laugh, but I have to say Clive is probably even better - and funnier.

In search of the nuclear umbrella

Having taken the decision to renew trident when the prsent system reaches its' 'use by' date, now Britain appears to be in a desperate auction with the American government to become the setting for a new anti-missile/missile system. We're told that the United States are convinced that before too long a rogue state (Iran?) will develop a nuclear warhead and will inevitably aim them at U S cities and hold the American government to hostage. A system, being called 'the son of star wars' to show it is a different version of the failed experiments under the Reagan Presidency, is ready to be deployed. This system will, at a stroke, be launched from a site in Europe to head for a point shortly before an enemy missile whilst it is cruising just beyond the atmosphere. As if by magic the American missile will shed the pointed end and 'negate' the nuclear missile harmlessly before it re-enters.

Tony Blair is eagerly shouting 'me, me, me' whilst waving his hand at George W demanding that this system is placed somewhere in North Yorkshire. Unfortunately for poor Tony the Poles are the front runners. How times have changed since Soviet days!

Underneath the Lintel

Starring Richard Schiff - previously seen on TV's 'The West Wing'. This play is currently been performed at London's Duchess Theatre. An amazing one-man show - only one act but Richard Schiff is on stage (alone) for 80 minutes - and how well he does it too! He holds the audience from the moment he walks on stage. This is a voyage of self discovery. The play begins with the actor arriving on stage with the pretence of giving a lecture about what? An ex-librarian becomes obsessed with discovery the truth behind the book he finds in the returns file - it is over a century overdue. He then attempts to trace the owner of the book through a dry cleaning ticket from London, a tram ticket from Bonn, and so on and so on. This is good, old-fashioned story telling, and depends so much on the abilities of the actor - it is a monologue but Schiff uses his voice and body and the few artifacts with tremendous skill. There are a few visual aids, and some sound effects, but remarkably understated. Schiff's self discovery is about religion, the existence of God and about a man finding out about himself and his relationship with the world.
A remarkably good play. Rating: 8/10

Richard & Judy scandal?

I derived some pleasure from the discovery that the Richard & Judy Show 'quiz' 'You Say We Pay' has been fixed. The successful candidate to appear on the show is selected early in the live programme but the hosts (unaware of the fact - we're told) continue to urge viewers to phone a premium rate number to get on the quiz. I do have another objection. Most of the 'selector questions' are so bleeding obvious that there is no skill required at all. Of course that is intentional to get more people to phone up. Premium phone lines generate huge sums for Channel 4 - so call me cynical but I'm hardly surprised that they want to have overwhelming numbers of callers. It also illustrates to me that Channel 4 do not deserve to be considered a Public Service Broadcaster. After the Big Brother troubles earlier this year (another scheme to get money from phone calls) Channel 4 should be thinking long and hard about their programme ethics.

The Scandal of the Blue Badge

I qualify for a blue badge. I qualify because I receive Disability Living Allowance, and find it very hard to walk very far. The blue badge is a godsend too me. However, a report recently has discovered that 50% of blue badges are being used illegally. They are worth over £1000 on the open market - they can allow the user to avoid parking charges and fines. Many blue badges are stolen every day, and some holders lend the badges to friends or members of their families. However, local authorities do have the power to check the usage and prosecute those who are using them illegally. Liverpool City Council has been very successful in wiping out conterfeit and stolen badges within their City.
As a genuine user it annoys me enormously to see the misuse of the badges - and the able bodies (without badges) blocking disabled spaces. On the other hand I also condemn blue badge holders who park without consideration - just because they can.

The Thirty Nine Steps

Today I went to see a performance of 'The Thirty Nine Steps' at the Criterion Theatre at Piccadilly Circus. Based (extremely loosely) on the John Buchan story of daring-do, espionage and international politics.
This version, however, bears much more resemblance to the Alfred Hitchcock film of 1935. I think when I tell you that 4 actors (3 men and 1 woman) play 120 characters you'll begin to understand that this production is for laughs rather than tension or thrills. I won't give away how they achieve the feat of reproducing a crashing biplane - on stage with sound and fury.
Tracing Richard Hannay's adventures in pursuit of those in possession of 'state secrets' before they can be taken abroad, we travel from a West End theatre via his private apartment (including a dead lady picked up at the show), unlikely disguise as a milkman, a highspeed rail journey (including the famous scene on the Forth Bridge), a Highlands workman's cottage, a crashing plane, high speed car chases and a return to the theatre for the denouement. All this is done with remarkably few items of scenary.
A fun afternoon for anyone with a sense of humour. The run has been extended - and the theatre was packed. My rating 8/10

Showtunes - Radio 2

Sunday afternoons have been a bit of a problem on Radio 2. Normally Elaine Paige presents a programme of tunes from the shows - the West End, Broadway and Hollywood. She is awful - I like the tunes but NOT her - everything about her drives me mad!

However, John Barrowman took over this week - and how wonderful he is! Paul O'Grady (who was on the previous couple of weeks) was pretty good too, but John is just too good to be true!

Aida

I was in the audience for the Chisinau National Opera appearance at the Hackney Empire last night (11th February). As always a remarkable performance and production. The soloists are always tremendous. The scenary is always remarkable. However, on this occasion the scenary changes were so extensive that it led to several very long pauses of silence between scenes. The stage at the Hackney Empire isn't enormous and this is also a problem when staging an opera like 'Aida'. This is a truly monumental opera and requires for the grand marches dozens of performers to represent armies and captured soldiers and hostages. This company could only muster three spear carriers, two archers and four infantry men - they had to keep walking across the stage, round the back and then marching across again.

On the other hand there was plenty of dramatic singing, excellent ballets to cover the long instrumental passages, and good use of a group of children. Some nice pyrotechnics too.

Overall another good production from a good company - and the three main soloists were terrific. My rating : 8/10

David Cameron - Did he Inhale?

So it turns out that the leader of the Conservative Party indulged in the odd spliff whilst at school in that non-state Comprehensive just outside Windsor (Eton College to the unitiated). The newspapers love it - because during the election campaign he refused to confirm or deny - so they've got a victim in their sights. He says no one should be interested in something he did a quarter of a century ago before he entered politics.

Various thoughts cross my mind though. OK so most people who were young from the 1960s onwards have dabbled in drugs of some kind or other. Before the 1960s young men probably got drunk before the legal age. Most young people (after the introduction and widespread consumption of the contraceptive pill and easy availability of condoms) indulged in sex before the age of 16. Trouble is all of these things are illegal. Where do we draw the line. Would we consider it of interest if a politician had done some joy riding at the age of 16? How about an abortion (even though it was legal)? How about gay sex before it was legal? Privacy is a tricky issue. Trouble is we elect people not only because of the party they belong to, but also because of the experience of life they bring to the office. Does an ex-serviceman not bring a certain experience to the post of Defence Minister, a parent has a certain viewpoint regarding child benefit, someone whose relative has suffered from senility will have a view on the NHS.

None of this invalid, but perhaps the electorate should be aware of an agenda. Has David Cameron's experience given him a view on the criminalisation of drugs?

Life on the Tube

Travelling on the tube in London (something I do quite frequently) is always an education. People watching can be such fun. The other day this emminently respectable middle aged woman suddenly appeared through the connecting door between carriages to ask (in a very low voice) for money to let her get home. All of us rapidly looked down to examine books, newspapers, shoes, the floor or anything to exhibit non-compliance. She the left to go through to the next carriage, even though we were travelling dangerously fast - everyone in the carriage watching her leave. This prompted various thoughts: How did she get onto the train without money - perhaps she has an Oyster Card with insufficient funds? How quickly foreigners learn how to behave on the tube - no talking, no looking at each other, no eye contact EVER! Confidence and reading is the rule. I've seen Polish workers reading the Highway Code, Lithuanians checking out the questions for the driving test, Japanese reading 'War and Peace' and various London newspapers in a variety of languages - Portuguese, Spanish, French, and Chinese.

Yesterday though I saw someone breaking all the rules. A man - probably nearer to 40 than 30 - got on the train. He had a streak of red hair like a cockscomb, bunches of multicoloured hair tied in coloured ribbons, various facial piercings. He was clutching an enormous holdall to his chest (always something to cause nervous tension on the tube). He resolutely stared around the carriage demanding attention. And then I saw them - his earlobes had been replaced by large plastic tubes, reminding me of the cheesy snacks called hula hoops. I began to know what the mouse feels like when confronted by a cobra - awful fascination - repulsive, and yet drawing the attention. As the journey progressed passengers got on, filled the empty seat beside him, looked at him, and then quickly got up. His face got redder and redder as each station passed.

You see life on the tube.