lazy sunday

actually, not that lazy, seeing as I got a whole new New York breakdown done, with maps and practice sentences, all while watching Ireland thrash Australia at the rugby. Got up relatively early today and got the bus to Richmond for a little light shopping. While there is a bit of spare cash, there are some things that I need - like another longish jumper. TopShop had a nice mustard one (and an even nicer wool cowled long thing, which looked great but I int spending forty quid on a jumper). Got the paper and had a proper breakfast with toast, egg, bacon and tomato at an Italian. Was doing really nicely till a rather loud couple sat at the next table. I couldn't help overhearing - no, really, they were both really loud. But I couldn't work out how they knew each other, and why they were having breakfast together, as they seemed to be relatively recent acquaintances - she'd just returned from living in somewhere ex-Soviet, and he seemed to know nothing about it. Was it a weird date? Had they been to a suburban late-thirty something's speed dating evening and was this the morning after? I never fail to be surprised by how loud the middle classes can be, and when there's no need. As opposed to the gang of lasses on the bus back to chiswick, who were obviously out of west indian households. Boy, that's a big noise! And I must do a breakdown of a young contemp londoner - ain't nuffin to do wiv cockney now.
So back to flat, read paper, re-did new york, had large bowl of quinoa and stir-fried veg (to make up for the breakfast), had thorough shower and did hair, sorted out meetings with sarah about next term, and Daron about friday (assuming there will actually be something for him to watch), and then did this.
Happy things? well - buying something that fits and looks half decent is always good.
getting another breakdown sorted always good.
Cooking - always good.
Planet Earth - ALWAYS good (though a little too much on the spider front - oh, and is there anything other than arachnids that does not have ostensibly two eyes (of course I know that flies technically have hundreds, but they are in two sets, not eight).
And best of all, YouTube. Had a good old surf last night and found loads of clips of old movies, including lots of Nicholas Brothers routines and a superb clip of Peter Sellers, in Merkin Muffley mode, chatting on the phone to someone about British accents and slipping seamlessly through a variety of London, RP and Scots. This reminds me. Must ask at work tomorrow about Voiceover demos. Well, i need something to tide me over the hols, and if my voice is my USP, then i really should try and do something with it.
Oh, and trees all looking very pretty at the moment.

Friday

Hmmmmm. interesting day. had morning off from Lamda to go to Charing Cross Hospital to get checked out for growths. Not a nice experience, though hugely impressed by the sheet I was given to preserve modesty (no percale there! Cotton or nowt), by the smoothness of the radiographers arms (don't ask), and by my own eejicy by pulling the big red cord in the loos, somehow, obviously, thinking it was a flush, and being surprised when one of the porters knocked on the door asking if i was okay - doh! You can tell I don't go to hospitals much - I was surprised to see proper shops and a hairdressers in the foyer: bear in mind the last hospital I was in was A and E in brum, getting half a kilo of Northampton's best cobble grit scrubbed out of my palm. Money in from Lamda, so had a little splurge - a moleskine city notebook (Dublin - well i'm bound to go there again SOMEDAY), and some NARS colour wash from space NK (well, the one in chiswick is very good at giving out samples). Not hugely impressed with the quality of work this afternoon - with this group having had another week I would expect utter fluency in the accent, and not dumbass statements like 'Israel is in Saudi Arabia', which kind of suggests a lack of depth in the research process, and certainly a skilin avoiding any reference to the religious and political situation in the middle east. Oh, and nor is 'israeli' one of the official languages!
Then had the nice task of popping over to Lamda to go through a bit of Glesgae with some third years. Am slightly worried that they are now so Weegie that naewan wiw unnerstaun 'em. Will await feedback from Yvonne.
Home via Tescos with a big bag of Revels, an oven Chinese and an evening doing nowt. Hurrah.
Oh, and things which made me smile? Chad and Becca twigging one of the 'nonsense' words on the board (voiceless, post-alveolar fricative: front closing diphthong, starting from mid-open back: voiceless alveolar plosive). And gang of lads getting on the train in the morning, with music tsk=tsk=tsking out of a mobile (there is so much to be said for in-ear 'phones) and bottles of lager at eleven. They also got out in hammersmith and began to leg it up the stairs. Joy! low slung jeans couldn't cope, revealing a rather tatty pair of Marks and sparks finest. REALLY hope he heard me laughing at him!

smirky things today

Hmmm, what's perked me up today? Well, sending a CV off to Rada - just for a laugh: will of course keep trying my damndest to sort out the move to Conti's, but an interview might be interesting. thankfully the job description is within my experience. slightly eek-ed to see that students are expected to transcribe by the end of term one, but the Arts lot have been doing okay after only eight hours (well, less of course, as the classes get trimmed due to none of the clocks matching), and some of them had a good go at reading quite complex stuff on the board - first line of 'disteapte-te romene' for example.
Just written a carefully worded reply to Vasta - chap asking for Rp pronunciation of transubstantiation'. You can't use IPA on vasta, so was trying to pick words where the sound is the same both sides of the Pond, and forgot the one for 'ee' (it's 'fleece', btw). basically, what the chap wanted to know was is it pronounced 'traens' or 'trahns'. I said 'traens' (like i've always heard it, and like it says in the dictionary(s). than some chap says 'sorry guys' (love that!) 'some people in the north might say traens, but it is properly said 'trahns''. Had to reply, dropping in all my RP credentials (being east midlands, english, etc), and that the only people I've heard say 'trahns' are jump-ups like my aunt and uncle - where a miner's daughter from a tiny village in fife comes up with 'trahns' (and no it's not a legacy of scots) lord only knows. So that made me smirk, as I know that will have opened a whole can o' worms.
John seems to be enjoying himself in Chooksbri - hopefully this will give him a taste for work, and not for watching DVD's all day. getting a computer will hopefully fire him up when he gets back.
Oh, and the ansaphone message from his mum got me giggling in the street - I see where Gemma gets her, shall we say 'elongated speech structures' from.
Trinity's in Chiswick (highly recommended, if anyone around west london reads this) have started doing some new cakes - the cookies and white choc brownies are VG!
Had an evening free tonight, which is fab - got home at kid's TV time!!!!!! didnt watch any though - had a couple of episodes of scrubs, finished off yesterdays pasta (that's 'paesta' rather than pahsta - I am not my aunt/ant), and the rest of the maltesers. am going to close this and get a cuppa tea and watch 'Buzzcocks'. then an early night.
another nice thing today - the cherry trees on Chiswick Village Green have at last turned colour - that weird almost glowing colour. took a photo on my phone on my way home in the dark - will take my camera out tomorrow - see if there's any nice shots in daylight!

And got new hotwaterbottle yesterday too - cream furry from Boots. Niiiice!

what made me smile today?

this did. Trip to Good Food Show at Olympia. Much cheese on sticks, much chutney, and these little darlings, flirting with me. Eventually went for a slice of Lemon Tart.

it was good

i dare say no more.

Also watched Rich Sutton take his first oyster. I had had one by myself earlier. will not worry too much if it is my last - just seems to be rather watery, and that water to have a lot of grit in it. Prefer mussels, to be honest. In fact, prefer Hakarl to oysters - at least it tastes of something. So, have eaten my entire cheese ration for this month in centimetre cubes; and to be honest, not sure there's many i'd rave about, compared with the cheese board at that pub in Essex we went to for John's birthday - will add it to blog when i've remembered it. Did have some good sausages though - Debbie and Andrew's Sicilian are highly recommended.

Went to pub after and watched England get thrashed by Argentina inthe rugby. Must check when they are playing scotland (heesh-heesh)

Oh, and this made me smile a lot too, though i've only just uploaded the photo...

Nuf said

see previous title

# going to see Terror 2006. Saw it last year, with Hollis as a resident of Hamburg during the arial bombardment. Very effective pieceof theatre, and as I hadn't seen him act since, well, Birmingham, I had forgotten, or not realised, just how good he is - Like Dhafer, he has a real sense of truth in how he acts - however well I know him, I completely believe that he is that person telling that story. I also bumped into Adam Meggido, who had created the festival and directed some of the pieces. I confess to being totally in awe of him in Brum - the skills he had, the ideas he came up with. Yes he was annoying, but you can;t deny the man's talent. and unlike a lot of us from that time in Brum, he has kept it going. So it was great to meet up with him again in Lamda. And to hear that Lenagan was going to be in the Terror show this year - had to go! Back to the little Union theatre, with its wodd burning stove and outdoor cafe, the rumble of trains going over head, TOTAL blackout - very atmospheric venue, and while some of the pieces this year weren't as gripping as last year, Normal was very thought provoking. Interesting to see that Simon still has some of his habits, but a very compelling performer to watch, and the playing between him and Bill as the lawyer, excellent. Seeing stuff like this just makes me realise more and more that I have taken the right decision re Arts.
# getting the jubilee line when it is going to terminate at Neasden. the train announcement is very funny, and highly recommended.
# Losing my voice. Ironically: it's just always interesting to hear changes - as long as they are temporary. And having to take a day off - well , I can;t exactly teach voice if I cant explain myself to the group. And I got so much done that needed to be done - paying in cheques, doing my hair properly, cooking some decent food, blogging, shopping. Oh and finding the perfect Liverpool text in the National's bookshop.
# Tom's pretty perfect Zulu accent, Francis S's knowledge of Japan, and Will's transcription of the Japanese lady - perhaps some of them do get it after all.
# Dhafer. nuff said.