SIX at the Oxford Playhouse

 

The Oxford Playhouse was sold out to capacity on Thursday evening. In a tightly packed theatre (albeit with good legroom) I wondered what I was doing there with case numbers rising. But I had not been to the theatre for nineteen months when I saw An Inspector Calls at Milton Keynes.

At first I thought the band (two guitars, keyboards and drums) was deafening. But somehow I did get used to that, I think they must have turned the bass down. This was a highly energetic performance, sometimes a bit too loud and in your face for my taste. But the mix of musical styles would suit any member of the audience. 

The Queens give us their own stories and after the rocking Catherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn, there came a wonderful ballad from Jane Seymour. This was all the more poignant for me as she was the sister of Edward and Thomas Seymour whose lives I studied hard for my screenplay set in the first three years of Jane's son Edward V1's reign. Jane sings Heart of Stone with tremendous verve.

But I had to wait until the last wife, Catherine Parr ( a central character in my screenplay), for the knockout of the evening. She actually sings a letter to her un-named ex lover. The subtlety of  the idea (not sure who else would have spotted this), is that this is actually Thomas Seymour the brother of Jane. Catherine and Thomas were together before Henry staked his claim. And Catherine sings I don't need your love, not knowing then that after Henry dies she does marry Thomas. So many memories of my researches came back. So that was worth it. 

All the six actresses put on a tremendous show, all were good singers and deserved the standing ovation at the end. And it was good to hear live music again. 

Charlie Watts

 

I must have forgotten that Charlie was a jazz drummer before he was chosen to back the Rolling Stones Apparently they had discarded nine before they met Charlie. He always seemed older than the rest. But only by a couple of years. There have been many tributes to his rock solid drumming, but having listened to some of the classic tracks, I found that Sympathy for the Devil relied heavily on his beat, and who can forget his cowbell on Honky Tonk Woman. I only saw the Stones live once. That was at the old Wembley Stadium in 1995. Not the best place to see them.

The Bedding Border Through the Years

 

Every year I try different bedding plants in the narrow border next to the dwarf wall. Some are more successful than others. The photo above is one of the earliest I could find. Below are the Antirrhinums from the following year that I definitely want to try again.

Here are some more from following years.

This is when I started trying something new.

Finally, this years Cosmos have been the most disappointing to date. I must go back to the Antirrhinums next year. Too bushy even if the flowers themselves are fine. But they do point towards the sun so less to see from the windows.

A Walk Around Royal Tunbridge Wells

 

During the afternoon of our visit to Tunbridge Wells, we had a wonderful walk around this historic spa town. We headed off downhill with the broad expanse of the Common to our right. We passed interesting buildings including King Charles the Martyr Church and many beautiful houses. near the bottom of the hill we found the start of The Pantiles, We had a look at the historic Chalybeate Spring.

The Pantiles is now a tourist destination, full of arty shops and cafes. The photo below is Upper Walk.

Yesterday it was busy with lots of people enjoying a drink in the balmy weather.

Our guide then took us through the back streets and lanes. I particularly liked the houses on Bedford terrace.

But there are so many superb properties in a quiet neighbourhood. From Frog Lane we entered the High Street before cutting across Calverly Grounds, a lovely green open space. Back to the more modern centre, we found the Police Station, Assembly Hall Theatre, Town Hall and Library that were very similar in archaeological terms. 

A short walk back to our starting point and the end of our tour. Certainly one of the most attractive towns in England and one we had never visited before. I'm very glad we took the opportunity.

Stillwater, The Courier and The Last Letter

 

This Matt Damon vehicle was not as good as I expected. There seemed to be two different films going on at the same time. One a family drama and the other a search thriller. It ended up being far too long, well over two hours, and then the unsatisfactory ending was all over in a rush. Matt Damon had certainly bulked up for the role but wearing only jeans and a check shirt in Marseille seemed unreal. 

Much better was this sixties political thriller, a fine dramatised version of the story of Greville Wynne played by Benedict Cumberbatch. An Oscar worthy performance. In fact all the acting was excellent including Jessie Buckley as his wife, Rachel Brosnahan, and Merab Ninidze. Even Anton Lesser appears in a small role. Dominic Cooke directs with aplomb and the sixties setting is well filmed, edited with great costumes and sets. There are a couple of glimpses of Moscow which are terrific. And even Chubby Checker gets a play with his "Lets Twist Again". 

I would normally steer well clear of an adaption of a Jojo Moyes book, but I was drawn by the appearance of Felicity Jones, one of my favourite actresses. She was as good as ever, but the big surprise was Shailene Woodley as the 1960's rich socialite. She actually held the story together. So another film (part) set in the sixties, but much different in style. ( I had also started a book about The Beatles, so flooded with stuff from that decade. Here the soundtrack included Marianne Faithful's mournful "Little Bird" and "Summer Wine" by Lee Hazlewood and Nancy Sinatra. Songs I had not heard since, well, the sixties.

Falling Angels, The Stories and Utopia Avenue

 

I enjoyed the structure of this book, each short chapter told by one member of the two families in the first person. So you are given the views of more than one person on each event as it happens. And we see the relationships between the Colemans and the Waterhouses. But in the first half nothing really happens. I guess it was meant to give us the personality of each of the characters. But the main event is the opening of a new library! The second half takes on a much more dramatic story. I actually raced through the last third. It was only just worth the toil of the beginning.

I don't normally read short story collections, but Jane Gardam's are exceptional. She says in the introduction that "I have always preferred writing short stories to writing novels". Ad it shows. There are 30 here from thirty years of writing. I loved the first "Hetty Sleeping" and later "The First Adam" about a man wedded to a construction project abroad.

"The Pangs of Love" I nearly skipped as it is about a mermaid, but it is very funny. She is the seventh sister or "numera septima" and many other imaginative variations. Her elder sister had died for the unrequited love of a prince who number seven tracks down. He tells her "i always adored her ........ but I didn't realise it until it was too late". Mademoiselle Sept answers "That's what they all say".

"Damage" is 34 pages of a superior disturbance. "The Dixie Girls" and "Groundlings" are quite special but both end in a death. Then at the end there are two short stories from the "Old Filth Trilogy of novels that I loved. Another Jane Gardam novel is on order.

What encouraged me to read this book was that it was set in 1967 and was about a rock band. Early on, it even had their first gig at Brighton Polytechnic. Well, I was there that year, studying for the exams of the Institute of Quantity Surveyors, a body who ceased to exist when we joined the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors. However, in those days it was actually called Brighton College of Advanced Technology, it only became a Polytechnic in 1970 when it merged with the School of Art. But I had left by then after five years there.

The long thin hall described in the book I think was called the Mezzanine, and instead of the few in the audience, it was always packed no matter who was playing. So not an auspicious start for me, and it doesn't really get any better. I didn't like the mix of fact and fiction as the band meet and talk to actual stars from the past. I thought that was lazy. There is also so much superfluous stuff that I found quite boring, as if the author had to meet his normal 500 plus pages.

It's not all bad. When Elf meets up with her sister Bea, she says "Bea, tell me something. I've been to University. I've survived the music scene for three years. You're still at school. How come you know so much while I know bugger-all? How does that work?" Bea replies "Basically I don't believe in people. Basically, you do". So there is some good dialogue, the story alternates between boring and brilliant and the ending is predictably rubbish. A lot of people will love it. But not me.

Nanci Griffith

 

I was so sad to hear about the death of Nanci Griffith on the 13th August at the too early age of 68. I think I first heard her on the Terry Wogan show on BBC Radio 2. He was a big fan and I was an early convert. She was always one of my favourite singers and possess nearly all her albums.

I went to see her perform on a number of occasions, the best shows were those at the peak of her popularity here at the Royal Albert Hall.

Venues:

Hexagon Reading   21st October 1995

Royal Albert Hall   11th May 1997

Dacorum Pavilion   12th May 2000

Royal Albert Hall    29th May 2000

Royal Albert Hall    1st November 2001

The Garden in August

The experiment of trying the Cosmos Apollo Lovestrong in the bedding border (above) has not been a great success. There is more foliage than flower and although called a dwarf variety, were too tall for this bed. But the flowers are pretty.

The best flowers in the main border of the garden are now over. However, there is some colour from what might be a herb, called Marjoram.?

And the Penstemon Firebird is back in flower.

As is one of the Astrantia Roma.

The Hibiscus is a late flowering shrub and has these white flowers.

Monty Don on Gardner's World was giving advice of what to plant for late summer colour and I'm going to move a lovely pink Achillea from the far end.

 I might also take a piece from the Heuchera that is next to it. 

Only one of the roses is in flower again. The "Blue for You" is amazing. It was pruned after the flowering in July (see that post) and is now coming back well. It must like it next to the brick wall.

Two weeks later and in full flower.

The white rose is even better.

Hidden away next to the Hypericum is a Hosta which has unexpectedly come into flower.

Those at the side of the house are also doing well.

As are the new Hostas in the side patio called Fire and Ice.

Having ditched the disappointing Calendula, I replaced them in the pots with Petunias which seem to like having waited until now.

Last of all, I'm not sure if the Verbena bonariensis is in the right place. Maybe a move to the main border is due.

The Rudbeckia are going strong.

The new Verbena hastata  have been successful though over crowded and half will be moved in the Spring.

The Euphorbia below is growing out of the stones that edge the lawn at the near corner.

Finally, the Weigela is only supposed to flower in the Spring, but here we are in August.

Archie in his new favourite places.