It's taken a Holiday...

...to get me to up date on my blog...
A lot to post!
Let's see...
Outing to ROH to see Strauss;

Not my cup of coffee...give me Puccini every time.  And speaking of Puccini, here's a photo of the Cornish beach closest to the Minack where I'll be in Tosca in July.

Various Charterhouse projects on the go; one is where to put our urban beehive.  Think we've found the place!  Climb through hidden rafters a you find this hidden flat roof!

Was out on Saturday celebrating two Salsa buddies BDs and was tickled to find a promotional reference to our senior house in the land of Switzer.  Guess they started doing the liqueur after they sent some boys over to establish our monastery in the 14th century.

Wandering near by and thought this photo of the Secret Cinema site to which I've secured two more tickets was looking splendid!

The garden is beginning to bloom and our magnolia tree is rather impressive. That's Brother Peter Day.  We had just returned from our weekly visit to Camden Passage.

Sunday, after a blissful Brazilian cocktail or two with Sis on the South Bank, I attended an interesting interactive performance of Pullman's Grimms Tales in the basement areas of Shoreditch Town Hall.

Which brings us to tonight and a visit to the closest Irish Pub, the Tepperary on Fleet Street. Songs, Guinness and great company!

Cornucopia

Of delights and similars...
One from a week ago.
I have been on a diet...so last Sunday I requested a plain yogurt rather the proffered dessert.  But I did request the decoration and voila....

  Standard

My version





















After the lunch I went to Olympia to an Art Fair.  My pal Jon and I were underwhelmed as it all seem so unoriginal and derivative. An exception is in this photo of Jon...the lovely women in a section of paintings were either clothed or not dependant on where you moved in relation to the art work.

 So let's see...while watching the Academy Awards my right ankle started aching.  By Monday night it was excruciatingly painful.  So much so I went to an out of hours GP to see if it was blood poisoning, as I had a few years ago.  It wasn't, I was given a prescription, filled at the 24 hour service at St Pancras and within a day I was fine.  It did give me an opportunity to understand the pain and necessity of using a walking stick as experienced by some of my Brothers.
This mishap prevented me from a few outings but on Thursday there was an invitation from Mother General and the Tyburn Nuns to a ceremony on the restoration of the Tyburn Megillah.

It was a cross denominational occasion and was rather jolly.
I am sure most of you know that what is today the Marble Arch roundabout was for centuries the site of public executions.  The triangular altar piece in the photo is a recreation of the shape of the "Tyburn Tree"....see....

Today I celebrated the lovely sun by meeting friends at Victoria Park for a pic-ca- nic!
Two more photos...our lovely magnolia tree is blooming.....

And our little magnolia bush...wonder if I will be around to see it all grown up?

The Spice of.....

I give up...there is no way I am going on as I started and contribute to this blog every day.  I am too busy, too drunk, and too lazy most nights.  The drunk is only listed to make me sound kool.
But to make up for it, here is a catch up.
I am plotting with two friends to move my story/screenplay forward.  You know, the one about the adopted young woman who finds her birth parents at 20, falls in love with her father and murders her mother...set in Edwardian London to keep it civilsed.
A lovely evening singing with my Darling friend Lucy at Crazy Coqs; a lovely evening singing at Show Off; a lovely evening singing with my Darling friend Kai at the Palm Tree... get the feeling I like singing?
Sunday night with my Salsa buddies cheering when we saw someone we knew in the film "Cuban Fury".
A private visit to Ironmongery Hall of a Tuesday morning, enjoyed with some interesting art work on display.

Here is an example; a former Master of the Guild giving HRH the sword.
Oh, and a former master purchased this young lady on a Grand Tour to Italy in the 1800's.  His lady wife would not have it in the pile, so it found a home in the Hall, much to the pleasure of the guild.

A visit to the BBC radio studio:

...to listen to a recording of "Click" on wearable technology with my pal Amelia.
Rushed up to Camden to a front row seat provided by the Fetter Lane boys to the second half of "Naked Girls reading Rock and Roll"

Very instructive and nothing to do with anything wearable. Evening ended with Salsa.
Last night an amazing treat! A free ticket to "Secret Cinema". Can't tell you where but I appeared as Count Riverski.

The film was "The Grand Budapest Hotel" which was so gorgeous, each scene was like a Mendal dessert... delicious!

And then tonight a concert here given by the young musicians from Charterhouse School in Godalming in Surrey.

It was a wonderful selection of items.  Saved for the last Serenade K.361 by the genius that was Mozart.  For me; he and the boy from Stratford stand side by side.  There is a wonderful wit and unpredictability in Wolfgang's creations. For a moment a thought made my heart ache with a profound pain... my eyes were nearly moist with a longing to have appreciated what that man could have provided if he had lived longer.
Well...

Out of this world

Yea, I'll come back to that.
Bit of catch up.
I didn't get the role of Max in The Producers.
Admit it was a disappointment.  Think I might have been a little larger than life compared with the other actors and there has to be a balance.  That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
But hey! Tomorrow is another day and it may be sunny!

Beautiful day today and our Sunday lunch is the big meal of the week.

We have recently had two new Brothers join our fraternity and they are on each side of me at my table. It is nice to have this sense of renewal and conversation is informative and fun.
On my way out on an excursion today, I ran into a '64 Mustang....

The outing was with Brother Philip to the Clerkenwell Vintage Fair.

I ended up spending one pound because I had spent far too much the day before at the Men's Designer Warehouse sale.  I wore one of the items last night and the young lady I had a drink with said it was so me, it fit me like a glove.   That's good news.
OK, so back to not of this world......Gravity pretty much swept the board in the technical visual categories at the BAFTAS.

Think it would have been ungracious not to give 12 years a slave best picture.   The highlights for me were awards for Steve Coogan, Helen Mirren, "La grande bellezza" and an award that was neglected, for Uma Thurman's dress.

Soap box

Know you can't wait, but it's time for my pronouncement on our terrible environmental situation.

Number One: anyone who denies Global Warming (or Global Weirding as I think it will be called) is an idiot.
Number Two: it is turning extreme earlier than the experts expected.
I am not sure there is the global political will to do anything serious about it; heaven help future generations.
The short sighted and stubborn policy of the Con/Lib government to cut back and not invest in infrastructure, is coming home to roost. There is now no denying that cuts to the EPA in allocation of funds and staff are a great mistake. The question is where do we go from here?
It could be that the UK becomes a world leader in technology and design, and engineering in protecting as much as can be protected for the next few generations.
We should be spending twice the amount the experts say needs to be spent.
How? I for one think it is time to reallocate funds.
Does the UK need trident and the vessels to fire these weapons? Does the Navy need two carriers and the seemingly useless new aircraft to fly from them. (Watch the Newsnight report from last night.) 
Wouldn't one carrier do nicely?  Perhaps it is time to increase specialist manpower and not order these super expensive bits of kit. Perhaps it is time to work out different roles within NATO. Perhaps it is time to form an organization and integration of the Allied armed forces and challenge the rotten Middle Eastern Hippocrates, who fund the terrorist armies who are today's enemies. Let's jaw jaw with North Korea, Iran, China, and the Russian Federation.
We must while there is still time.

Variety

That describes the style of life here at Charterhouse.
Yesterday, after an outing with two Brothers to the marvy exhibit at the Museum of London....

...went to a concert of the BBC Singers in Knightsbridge with my pal Kathryn.

An amazing Hollywood icon passed today.  She was one of the biggest stars of her generation and if Mr Mayor had had his way, she would have been the star of The Wizard of Oz.  A great what if.... As it was, among other achievements, she saved the Raj for another hundred years.

So this morning a very pleasant outing with Brother Philip to visit his favorite clock shop on the Portobello Road to help his son Johnny find a splendid example.  This was handily accomplished.

A long overdue visit to the gym this afternoon and this evening another notable bit of British history.  Every month the City Glee Club gets together here at Charterhouse to perform for us, guests and each other.
They have been singing in London since looking like this:

You see, around 1669, after the great fire, London choristers found themselves out of employment.  There were no church for them left to sing in.  So they decided to band together and entertain in pubs and clubs.  Glee clubs were born.
Don't know about you, but I was in a glee club in high school and university, and I have certainly watched a certain TV program....

You know.....

....when I said I'd get back in the habit of writing every day?  I lied.
Let's see, a little catch up.
Last Thursday we had a Brother's meeting about plans for our opening to the general public in 2016.
This is in conjunction with the Museum of London so one of their leading curators came along to start talking about the exhibition and tour ideas.
I'm on the Brother's committee related to the redevelopment and you'd be surprised to hear I am full of ideas!  How about this:

Friday afternoon brainstormed with a young, talented friend about her budding career as an illustrator/designer and I arranged for her to exhibit in a hot new coffee house venue.
In the evening there was singing and meeting new chums at the ShowOff open mic.

Last night, aftering seeing the brilliant new film, The Invisible Woman,  another wonderful singing venue (yes I am an open mic junkie) the Palm Tree pub in the middle of Mile end Park.

Rather special setting as you can see.  The pub is located all on its own, in the middle of what was once terraced housing, but thanks to enemy bombs in the 1940's, is now in the middle of a park next to the Regent's Canal.
After a lazy day today I have just spent a lovely evening with two of my brothers, Peter and Stephen, watching Mike Leigh's Life is Sweet.

Don't know if you remember, but I accosted Mr Leigh when he was here for James Roose-Evan's wonderful talk and asked him to come and tell us all about his new film soon to be released, Turner.
So in prep for his visit I suggested we watch one of his earlier triumphs.  What a great British film, in the Mike Leigh style.  He is like the Hogarth of our times; portraying the seemingly simple and mundane in a jovial manner, observing slightly annoying characters with whom you can't help engage, only to be moved to tears when their inner mosts are revealed.  He's unvarnished Capra.
Marvelous!

Brotherly pursuits...

Ah yes, the contemplative life......

St. James, Clerkenwell as seen on a stroll home yesterday.

Well, not really.  Meeting with my Marketing Team on the new web site today and then an interesting evening at the theatre...

Burlesque on Ice with a pal, Bonnie as a headliner!

Now what was I contemplating?

Willing to be chillin

The reason I was chillin was cause I was up till 5 watching the Superbowl with friends!

Here's how today felt:

                                                                                                                           

It was a day of taking, posting, planning....

Had a post from the BBC about the wonderful workshop I attend a couple of weeks ago.... what fun was had!

If you'd like to listen.....that is possibile: 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/events/egvwrz#p01r5bb9

Oh!  Watch this space....there may be a new Open Mic in town!

"Im back...."

OK, so 1st Feb today and goona try to contribute daily again.
So much recently, where to begin.  Think I'll catch up gradually and not write too much now.
Charterhouse: Loads going on.....I'm proposing a Petanque "terrain" for the new look of our square.

Had Sis over for our Sunday lunch today.
We had a special lunch yesterday to celebrate the BD of one of our ladies from the catering club.
I've been out twice this week with the gang.

Above an outing to a Shoreditch open mic a and then last Friday a St, Paul's bar with a view.

Last Thursday I went to Ronnie's to watch my pal Triona and her group Eve and I entertain.  Great sounds!!!!

Here's a brag about one of my Brothers:

Brother Colin wishes he'd kept his designs for Jackie O too!
Lastly, I went to the cinema last night.

What a roller coaster ride!  Brilliant all around! Hat's off to the Scorsesse machine.  Such a visually musically stintilatantly exciting tour de force of storytelling.  So much that I'd love to go again and notice all the bits I'd missed the first time around.  Can't say that of many films.
Off to watch the Superbowl with other Yanks tonight......

Liberation!

OK, here you have, the least offensive illustration of the hell I have experienced the last 9 days!

I have renamed myself Mafaking today.

Tried to catch up on some sleep and then went to the cinema.

Saw "12 Years" tonight and since it is so thought provoking, here are a few: We are enjoying a cinematic year with two films that have changed the benchmark by which all that follows will be effected. "Gravity" has raised the bar on visual possibilities and "12" has plunged the public vicarious experience into an area of the human condition that is shameful, and which still exists on our sad planet.
To me is was a strong narrative of the resilience of the human experience and the necessity of not always standing and shouting, but using intelligence to act in a pragmatic, effective manner.
It almost bothered me that such a harrowing story should look so beautiful.
I thought that some leading characters provided adequate cypher like performances and thought it a shame that some chacterisations did not rise to the material.
I sat hoping that not too many of my fellow audience members, here in the UK, would distance themselves to the actuality of where we all stand as individuals on this subject because it took place in the 1850's in the USA.
It made me think of two great persons; one celebrated this time last year in the cinema, Abe Lincoln and of Nelson Mandela.
What great men who challenged and changed the injustice of their times with their intelligence and their pragmatism.
I would wonder whether, especially those older, more conservative members of the UK audience, agreed in their minds and hearts with the government of the UK only 30 years ago in tacit or, as recent documents have revealed, active support of the status quo in SA and apartheid.