Yep, there may have been a lack of updates recently. With Xmas coming up and needing to put cash away for presents, my experiences have had to take a back seat.
It was definitely the best 9 months I've experienced, many experiences I wouldn't have looked twice at. The main thing is that I threw myself out there and just let fate decide the rest.
If anything, some uncertainty in life can throw you a curveball but it's just about embrassing it and enjoying every moment. With 2011 around the corner, who knows what will happen! :)
I'm in the process of setting up / getting to grips with 'Tumblr'. Wanna check out the page? The link is http://imissmixtapes.tumblr.com/ I'm aiming to update this while I'm out and about. Let's see what interesting things I can think of...
Thanks for reading this blog and enjoying the ride with me.
All the best,
WARREN SMITH
Saturday, 20 November 2010
Wednesday, 29 September 2010
'Eat Pray Love' & moving forward.
As I mentioned in a previous blog, as great as the past eight months have been, I've almost run out of steam on a couple of occasions. I've been questioning if I should continue, then I went to see the new Julia Roberts movie 'Eat Pray Love' which completely changed my point of view and I'm now ready to see what the final months hold in store and complete this amazing journey of experiences. Like the movie, I have tried to break out of my current 'comfortable' state and just enjoy something new. If budget wasn't an issue, maybe I would be skydiving or taking a trip on the Orient Express. What I'm aiming to acheive is to show people that you can enjoy something new on a monthly basis and it doesn't have to break the bank to qualify.
The whole movie was quite an eye opener and an emotional journey - My Mum is proof of that, leaving the Cinema in floods of tears. It's even given me a few ideas for 2011, but I guess you'll just have to wait and see what they might entail...
September: 'Kicking it old skool'
We haven't had much of a Summer this year. Rain, perhaps a week of hot sunshine in June, but that has since departed and left us with so much rain and showers they surely can't have the cheek to say 'hose pipe ban' anytime soon!
With the weather improving and the weekends sunny, yes sunny, it was time to make the most of it instead of spending hourless weekends playing 'Grand Theft Auto'. I take my bike for a spin around the lake and on the way back something catches my eye.
'Oh. My. God. Are those rollerskates????!' When I was 13 (quite a few moons ago now) my Sister and I would go to our local leisure centre every Sunday for 3hrs, and roller skate, play 'bulldog' games and enter competitions to win a mars bar each week. Not quite a golden trophy, but none the less, still a prize to be won! The DJ was comical, a white guy, average height, but with quite an afro. Simply amazing. All those Sunday mornings came flooding back in an instant and I knew that I had to get my hands on some skates again!
As soon as I cycled home, I loaded up my PC and typed 'roller skates milton keynes' in to 'Google'. There has to be a local stockist!! There has to be!! YES! Bingo! I've found one and only 10 min cycle from my house! Before I knew it I was back on my bike and on my way to get some rollerskates! I find the ice rink and head towards the shop, I see the skates on wall - 35 pounds, nice design, nice price and the old school 2 x 2 wheels not the 'inline' style. Perfect for someone who want's to get back into skating!
I wonder across to the counter and ask the shop assistant
'I'd like to purchase those 'quad' boots please'. Yes, I had just looked up the phrase on Google 10 minutes ago and felt quite proud of myself.
I get a weird look and he wonders in to the back room and comes back with the boots:
'These ones yeh?'
I try them on and the fit nice and snug. Brilliant! I also require pads and enquire if I can get any discount as I've just spent 60 pounds on the boots:
'These pads are 25' he says
'25 - thats the standard RRP! No discount?'
'They're 25 pounds'.
Ok, this guy is not going to budge, so E-bay is the next stop once I'm home. I buy the boots, cycle home and find a helmet and pads combo in ebay for 35 pounds. I Click 'Buy it now' and job done! I can't wait to get started!
The pads arrive a few days later and the weather is perfect, sunny and clear. It could have almost been a scene from 'Top Gun', If only I had some cool aviators and written 'Goose' on my helmet.
It takes me 10 minutes to attach all the knee and elbow pads and then the skates are on and it's time to rock!! Well, I was all over the place balance wise! No falls, and only a couple since in the last three weeks so I'm definately getting back in to it again! There's a great industrial estate about 10 min walk from our house and I take a wonder with my gear, I set up and this is a great place to skate! It's almost completely quiet - minus a few cars. Some poor bastards are still working on the weekend! The entire place is tarmac. A nice smooth surface to skate on and away we go! I spent 2hrs that day skating around with my ipod and making the most of the free space and the beautiful weather.
I've been going back there for the past couple of weeks, but now as we're heading towards November, it's been solid raining all week and the chances of me getting outside again soon are next to none. On the other hand, I have found a local 'skaters club' that runs on a Sunday at my local leisure centre - roller disco and tips on how to improve. It'll be like im 13 all over again. Let's hope I'm not the only one over the age of 13! I'm looking to attend an event shortly, update will follow :)
Updates & August.
I know, it has been a while hasn't it? Many internet gremlins have stopped my updates recently, but we're finally back...well for now at least!
I'll admit it, 8 months in and I've covered a variety of experiences but carrying on to the end of the year seemed a harder task than I'd like to admit. It's easy to say "12 tasks, pah! That's easy!" But getting around to doing them is something totally different. I'm not making excuses, but on top of these experiences I have also been busy reviving my online Punk webzine (which is a lot of work for one person) and assisting a local Ska band sell their merch at shows - which has been a busy schedule since August, hence the delay in updates and what leads me on to August's experience...
AUGUST - 'EXPERIENCE A NEW FESTIVAL'
Anyone that knows me would tell you how much I love music. Be it live shows, listening to my ipod or boring my friends by going on and on about how great a recent album I've heard is and why they should have it in their collection - like yesterday! I've done the major UK Festivals a few times now, heavy rock/metal festival 'Download' x 3 & 'Reading Festival' x 3. This year it was time for a change, and with the local Ska band added to a 4 day all punk/ska festival in Blackpool titled 'Rebellion, how could I resist?!
No free entry and backstage passes this time. That's for band members only. But for a 4 day punk riot it was only 70 pounds! On top of that I had booked my accommodation in advance, well I say accommodation it was hardly the 'Hilton' but a local 'B&B' not far from the venue.
The first night we arrived in Blackpool, it was already 10.30pm, so we decided to go and check out the venue - grab a beer and watch some bands. We finally left at 1am, I thought this would be fine to go and grab my room key and crash out after a long day - I almost ended up sleeping in the van with the band...almost. I typed the address in to my phones maps application and started to wonder off in to the night with my hand raised above my head looking like Spock on the search for new life forms. I eventually stumbled on to the 'B&B's street - it looked pretty close to the image I saw on Google Maps - enough for me to go on at 1am!
I walked up the stairs leading to the front door and got a shock when the door was locked. 'Shit, was I meant to come earlier? I'm sure he said "we're open 24/7"' I thought to myself, thinking that any minute I'd be on the phone to the band asking to sleep in the back next to the amps and guitar cases. Apparently the B&B was 24/7 accessable, you just had to collect your key at a reasonable time on the first night. Whoops!
So like the scene from 'Indiana Jones & The Last Crusade' i blow cold air in to my sweaty palms and reach for the door bell. 'I'm sure he won't mind, I surely can't be the first who's done this???....right??' I see a shadow of a huge guy walking towards the front door and think 'shit, i'm dead'.
'Hello' he says wiping his eyes and standing there in his boxer shorts.
'Erm. Hi. I have a room booked tonight?!'
'Aah. You must be Warren!'
'Yep, sorry if it's a little late' I reply, hoping he's not just about to tell me to take a walk.
He grabs the room key and I follow him up the stairs towards my room. Also getting an eye full from behind as his boxers aren't quite that fitting. Not quite the great end to a long day that I was hoping for!
I apologise for waking him and he wonders back downstairs to lock up as I enter my room. Now the UK has been 'no smoking' indoors for sometime now, but maybe the last guest thought the rules didn't apply to him, and my room stinks of cigarettes. Not ideal for an asthmatic! Time to open a window. No, it's not double glazing, but looks like If I go to open the window it's bound to fall out and I think Paul (Boxer shorts host) won't be too happy about that! Anyway, this room needs fresh air so I open the window, push up and realise there isn't any 'latches' to keep the window open - only a small piece of wood - how high tech! Unfort. this doesn't support the window as much as I was hoping and the window soon comes down with a thud, probably waking most of the guests up at 1.30am, and letting them all know I've arrived. Can't wait to meet them all at breakfast tomorrow! :(
I wake up around 9am, head downstairs at 9.30 and it seems a little quiet. I really must of pissed the guests off last night. Not really. It turns out breakfast is between 7-8, not really my ideal time - so I go without and munch on a muffin bar I found squashed at the bottom of my bag. The bathroom wasn't much better. It wasn't until I got out of the shower that I realised Paul had kindly given me a hand towel and not a full size towel. I felt like I was a giant! Once the 'turbo' watering can flow of water called a shower was done, I walked back to my room and got changed. The room had a small basin, TV and a cupboard which felt like it was going to collapse at any minute. More paper based than wood that's for sure!
I decide to go to the toilet before leaving the B&B, which is handy as it's only next to my room. One or the only perks. I try to get back in to my room and have seemed to find myself stuck outside my own room - locked out! Ah great, time to visit Paul again.
I finally get myself together and go and meet the guys in the band at the car park about 10mins from where I'm staying. It looks like most of them have had a rough night. Bleary eyed I feel a bit bad standing there with my bacon roll freshly made from a coffee shop while they tuck into some cereal bars. We make a move back to the venue to catch day 2 of the action and the whole four days was incredible. I checked out a vast mix of bands and genre's within those four days, drank many beers, many pints of water the day after to aid the hangovers and met some fantastic people! No fights broke out, just a huge fun, festival vibe with scenes of old friends catching up and sharing a drink or many together and really just enjoying each others company and embracing the festival with open arms.
Yes the festival was wall to wall mohawks, I'd never seen so many in one place before. It almost felt like being transported back to the `70's again. Ripped jeans, pins on jackets, mohawks - and if you could've seen my face, it would have been like Christmas morning! It was sad to leave on Sunday with every bands 'goodbye's' taking 20-30 mins each, nobody wanted to leave this event - but we've always got next year :)
I'll admit it, 8 months in and I've covered a variety of experiences but carrying on to the end of the year seemed a harder task than I'd like to admit. It's easy to say "12 tasks, pah! That's easy!" But getting around to doing them is something totally different. I'm not making excuses, but on top of these experiences I have also been busy reviving my online Punk webzine (which is a lot of work for one person) and assisting a local Ska band sell their merch at shows - which has been a busy schedule since August, hence the delay in updates and what leads me on to August's experience...
AUGUST - 'EXPERIENCE A NEW FESTIVAL'
Anyone that knows me would tell you how much I love music. Be it live shows, listening to my ipod or boring my friends by going on and on about how great a recent album I've heard is and why they should have it in their collection - like yesterday! I've done the major UK Festivals a few times now, heavy rock/metal festival 'Download' x 3 & 'Reading Festival' x 3. This year it was time for a change, and with the local Ska band added to a 4 day all punk/ska festival in Blackpool titled 'Rebellion, how could I resist?!
No free entry and backstage passes this time. That's for band members only. But for a 4 day punk riot it was only 70 pounds! On top of that I had booked my accommodation in advance, well I say accommodation it was hardly the 'Hilton' but a local 'B&B' not far from the venue.
The first night we arrived in Blackpool, it was already 10.30pm, so we decided to go and check out the venue - grab a beer and watch some bands. We finally left at 1am, I thought this would be fine to go and grab my room key and crash out after a long day - I almost ended up sleeping in the van with the band...almost. I typed the address in to my phones maps application and started to wonder off in to the night with my hand raised above my head looking like Spock on the search for new life forms. I eventually stumbled on to the 'B&B's street - it looked pretty close to the image I saw on Google Maps - enough for me to go on at 1am!
I walked up the stairs leading to the front door and got a shock when the door was locked. 'Shit, was I meant to come earlier? I'm sure he said "we're open 24/7"' I thought to myself, thinking that any minute I'd be on the phone to the band asking to sleep in the back next to the amps and guitar cases. Apparently the B&B was 24/7 accessable, you just had to collect your key at a reasonable time on the first night. Whoops!
So like the scene from 'Indiana Jones & The Last Crusade' i blow cold air in to my sweaty palms and reach for the door bell. 'I'm sure he won't mind, I surely can't be the first who's done this???....right??' I see a shadow of a huge guy walking towards the front door and think 'shit, i'm dead'.
'Hello' he says wiping his eyes and standing there in his boxer shorts.
'Erm. Hi. I have a room booked tonight?!'
'Aah. You must be Warren!'
'Yep, sorry if it's a little late' I reply, hoping he's not just about to tell me to take a walk.
He grabs the room key and I follow him up the stairs towards my room. Also getting an eye full from behind as his boxers aren't quite that fitting. Not quite the great end to a long day that I was hoping for!
I apologise for waking him and he wonders back downstairs to lock up as I enter my room. Now the UK has been 'no smoking' indoors for sometime now, but maybe the last guest thought the rules didn't apply to him, and my room stinks of cigarettes. Not ideal for an asthmatic! Time to open a window. No, it's not double glazing, but looks like If I go to open the window it's bound to fall out and I think Paul (Boxer shorts host) won't be too happy about that! Anyway, this room needs fresh air so I open the window, push up and realise there isn't any 'latches' to keep the window open - only a small piece of wood - how high tech! Unfort. this doesn't support the window as much as I was hoping and the window soon comes down with a thud, probably waking most of the guests up at 1.30am, and letting them all know I've arrived. Can't wait to meet them all at breakfast tomorrow! :(
I wake up around 9am, head downstairs at 9.30 and it seems a little quiet. I really must of pissed the guests off last night. Not really. It turns out breakfast is between 7-8, not really my ideal time - so I go without and munch on a muffin bar I found squashed at the bottom of my bag. The bathroom wasn't much better. It wasn't until I got out of the shower that I realised Paul had kindly given me a hand towel and not a full size towel. I felt like I was a giant! Once the 'turbo' watering can flow of water called a shower was done, I walked back to my room and got changed. The room had a small basin, TV and a cupboard which felt like it was going to collapse at any minute. More paper based than wood that's for sure!
I decide to go to the toilet before leaving the B&B, which is handy as it's only next to my room. One or the only perks. I try to get back in to my room and have seemed to find myself stuck outside my own room - locked out! Ah great, time to visit Paul again.
I finally get myself together and go and meet the guys in the band at the car park about 10mins from where I'm staying. It looks like most of them have had a rough night. Bleary eyed I feel a bit bad standing there with my bacon roll freshly made from a coffee shop while they tuck into some cereal bars. We make a move back to the venue to catch day 2 of the action and the whole four days was incredible. I checked out a vast mix of bands and genre's within those four days, drank many beers, many pints of water the day after to aid the hangovers and met some fantastic people! No fights broke out, just a huge fun, festival vibe with scenes of old friends catching up and sharing a drink or many together and really just enjoying each others company and embracing the festival with open arms.
Yes the festival was wall to wall mohawks, I'd never seen so many in one place before. It almost felt like being transported back to the `70's again. Ripped jeans, pins on jackets, mohawks - and if you could've seen my face, it would have been like Christmas morning! It was sad to leave on Sunday with every bands 'goodbye's' taking 20-30 mins each, nobody wanted to leave this event - but we've always got next year :)
Saturday, 25 September 2010
UPDATE
Dear all,
my blog will be back shortly. My internet (mainly the damn router) is playing up at the moment and my connection is all over the place!
August & September updates will be online asap. In the mean time, I'll use the old 'notepad' method :)
Thanks
Warren Smith
my blog will be back shortly. My internet (mainly the damn router) is playing up at the moment and my connection is all over the place!
August & September updates will be online asap. In the mean time, I'll use the old 'notepad' method :)
Thanks
Warren Smith
Sunday, 25 July 2010
Experience #7 July: "Art" - COMPLETE
Ok, first of all apologies for the delay. This month i've been on a tight budget (more so than usual) and I was struggling to find something low cost or preferably free! And the idea behind these experiences is that anyone can do something new each month, it doesn't have to break the bank! So I was thinking about checking out the local Art gallery as I've yet to go pay a visit but then on Tuesday, everything fell in to place!
TUESDAY AFTERNOON: Typical afternoon at work and a good friend calls and asks if I want to go and catch the Circus tonight. Let's rewind quickly for a minute, My mate was at a bar a couple of nights ago and got chatting to a woman. Turns out she's one of the performers featured in the 'Big Top' as part of the new arts festival in Milton Keynes titled "International Festival". This ha swallowed up Milton Keynes for a week and I've loved every minute of it! The only way I can describe it, would be to say it has been like sunset strip - no, no drugs - (although saying that it would explain some of the artwork I've seen.) But a long strip from the train station right up in to the shopping centre and ending up at campbell park at the other end of the city. Everyday there's been events of some kind, street performances to workshops.
Ok, so getting back to my friend. The woman (who turned out to be Ula) had put my mate's name on the guestlist +1 hence his phone call on Tuesday. I've been to the Circus before and loved it, so without hesistation I was going to head up to the 'Big Top' in a shot! The only thing is...it didn't quite turn out to be a Circus at all.
The two of us approached the box office and my mate began to panic.
"I can't remember her name for starters! What am I supposed to say?"
"Hmmm." I say, follwed with a genuis plan:
"Just say I'm on the guestlist - say your name +1" Genius, they'll never catch on!
So we wonder on up to the box office and we give our names and the tickets are there waiting for us. We take the tickets and look at each other a little conufused by how easy that actually was. We're running a little late, so we pass our tickets to the stewards and head inside the 'Big Top' where the temperature is that of a Sauna. It looks like a simpler version of a circus, there's a few ropes tied back on each side of the arena..but that's about it. There's a white horse at the centre of the ring walking around - looking like he's greeting the audience as he gallops around with bells on his legs, impressive!
We take our seats and the lights go down - my mate still can't remember the woman he met at the bar but it might be the woman who greeted us on the way in, he can't be sure. The show was not of a Circus format, but an interesting blend of storytelling, trapeze artists, gymnastics, dance and Diablo's. You know the ones, everyone had one in school but could never get it right, especially when it came to tricks and being able to through the diablo in to the air without it knocking you out on the way down.
Trying to describe the show won't do it justice, but check out this link to view a trailer for the amazing show titled: InSTALLation:
http://www.ifmiltonkeynes.org/festival-programme/2010/07/17/installation.html
You'd be pleased to know that my friend DID recognise the woman once she was performing and he met her briefly afterwards to thank her for the guestlist and asked her for a drink afterwards - Nothing came of it and it wasn't until our walk back home that we realised her name 'Ula' was actually on the back of the programme!
So that was a great night but it didn't end there. My mate and I were chilling outside the 'Big Top' discussing the perfomance and having a beer when one of his old friends (who was working the event) had two spare tickets for the Comedy Showcase that was taking place next door to the 'Big Top', so another 2hrs of entertainment for free!!
Strangly enough, 'Stand Up' Comedy night was actually on my list for another month, so it seems I was going to cover two experiences in one night! We started off by the bar, bought ourselves a pint each and sat at a table at the back of the room. (Safe from the eagle eyes of the comedian, just looking for his next target to mock and destroy in front of a sold out audience.) Three 'warm up' acts and then the headline. It was during the first act my mates friend approached us and invited to join them. "Sounds great! Thanks" we both said and started to follow him closer and closer to the stage! I was constantly thinking "here's great or here will be fine, no, he's going in even closer! I don't have any protective gear or witty remarks prepared as backup! I'm gonna get ruined if I sit down the front. I've got glasses dammit! They always find a way to get the guy with glasses!"
Tonight would be my lucky night, a couple in their thirties (wait for it!) were just a few seats away from us and the comedian had spotted his ridiculously pointy beard. He had it coming! When the comedian asked the gentlemen "How do you keep the spark in your marriage" he replied "I've no idea". At that moment the air was silent then the bombers dropped from the sky hit after hit destroying their target. Poor bloke, he only wanted a few laughs and a night out with his wife. That'll teach him. Maybe he'll re-shape that beard now?!
The following acts weren't much to watch, mildly entertaining but I did force a few laughs to avoid being seen on their radar as "oh, he didn't find that funny. Are my jokes not good enough for you? Let's get him boys..."
So that was Tuesday night, an unexpected but very entertaining evening! The Festival continued for the rest of the week, closing on Sunday and on Saturday afternoon, I went back for more!
When it comes to Festivals (Music) I HAVE to write a timetable of events. I sometimes enjoy wondering around from tent to tent and stumbling across a new act that takes my ears fancy but this was different. So much to see and only a day to enjoy the best of it! So Saturday morning was spent searching for YouTube videos, performers websites etc. Then done! My schedule was complete and ready to rock! Living in Milton Keynes, it was also the same Saturday that 'The Prodigy' had come to rock our outdoor arena known as 'The Bowl', but this time I was walking in the opposite direction of all these dance fans heading towards a venue I'd normally go and check out. Not this time! This time I was off on a cultural journey!
My first stop is at a place called 'The Hub'. A mixture of restuarants and bars with a swanky fountain right at the centre. Today, "Stopgap" A group of peformers mixed of abled and disabled members where putting on a display of their recent production. The idea of the show was that everything is not as it seemed. Basically before the show began, (we didn't know this at the time) but the performers were already in the crowd, looking like the rest of us, curious of the upcoming performance and enjoying the afternoon sun and then they all burst into action and the show began and was an entertaing mix of comedy and dance.
My next stop was to view the installation titled "Asleep at the wheel". A thought provoking installation of multiple cars lined up as if they were all in three different lanes, you could sit inside each car and you would then hear soundbites of different topics of debate or interest from the war in Iraq to Global warming. Each car had a different theme which was quite bizarre as the entire room was in darkness and all you could see was the bright yellow flicker of the cars blinker lights to guide you. I left there feeling 'educated' i guess, but defintely thought provoking.
Next Stop, to view a carousel in the city car park known as "The Magical Menagerie". Basically a carousel that looked like it could've been designed by Tim Burton.
An incredible design and it seemed the adults were more excited than the children! The ride was accompanied by French themed accordian music which added a new dimension than the usual 'fairground' soundtrack. As you can see from the photos, these creations were something else!
Two more sites to visit! First up "The Dukes Box". That's right, a three piece band that sit inside a converted Caravan. You choose the tracks from their playlist and they'll do their own version for you! It drew in quite a crowd and was a nice mix of banter with the crowd as well as some 'interesting' covers!
Then it came to see my Festival Finale : "Against The Tide"
The easiest way to describe the show is just to type you part of the synopsis. 'Imagine an Island seperated from the world not by an ocean but by a vast desert. The tribe that survives here has almost forgotten what water was and every day they assemble to tell each other their stories and share memories'. The acrobatics were incredible and definately a sight to witness! A great performance to end a fantastic and insightful week!
TUESDAY AFTERNOON: Typical afternoon at work and a good friend calls and asks if I want to go and catch the Circus tonight. Let's rewind quickly for a minute, My mate was at a bar a couple of nights ago and got chatting to a woman. Turns out she's one of the performers featured in the 'Big Top' as part of the new arts festival in Milton Keynes titled "International Festival". This ha swallowed up Milton Keynes for a week and I've loved every minute of it! The only way I can describe it, would be to say it has been like sunset strip - no, no drugs - (although saying that it would explain some of the artwork I've seen.) But a long strip from the train station right up in to the shopping centre and ending up at campbell park at the other end of the city. Everyday there's been events of some kind, street performances to workshops.
Ok, so getting back to my friend. The woman (who turned out to be Ula) had put my mate's name on the guestlist +1 hence his phone call on Tuesday. I've been to the Circus before and loved it, so without hesistation I was going to head up to the 'Big Top' in a shot! The only thing is...it didn't quite turn out to be a Circus at all.
The two of us approached the box office and my mate began to panic.
"I can't remember her name for starters! What am I supposed to say?"
"Hmmm." I say, follwed with a genuis plan:
"Just say I'm on the guestlist - say your name +1" Genius, they'll never catch on!
So we wonder on up to the box office and we give our names and the tickets are there waiting for us. We take the tickets and look at each other a little conufused by how easy that actually was. We're running a little late, so we pass our tickets to the stewards and head inside the 'Big Top' where the temperature is that of a Sauna. It looks like a simpler version of a circus, there's a few ropes tied back on each side of the arena..but that's about it. There's a white horse at the centre of the ring walking around - looking like he's greeting the audience as he gallops around with bells on his legs, impressive!
We take our seats and the lights go down - my mate still can't remember the woman he met at the bar but it might be the woman who greeted us on the way in, he can't be sure. The show was not of a Circus format, but an interesting blend of storytelling, trapeze artists, gymnastics, dance and Diablo's. You know the ones, everyone had one in school but could never get it right, especially when it came to tricks and being able to through the diablo in to the air without it knocking you out on the way down.
Trying to describe the show won't do it justice, but check out this link to view a trailer for the amazing show titled: InSTALLation:
http://www.ifmiltonkeynes.org/festival-programme/2010/07/17/installation.html
You'd be pleased to know that my friend DID recognise the woman once she was performing and he met her briefly afterwards to thank her for the guestlist and asked her for a drink afterwards - Nothing came of it and it wasn't until our walk back home that we realised her name 'Ula' was actually on the back of the programme!
So that was a great night but it didn't end there. My mate and I were chilling outside the 'Big Top' discussing the perfomance and having a beer when one of his old friends (who was working the event) had two spare tickets for the Comedy Showcase that was taking place next door to the 'Big Top', so another 2hrs of entertainment for free!!
Strangly enough, 'Stand Up' Comedy night was actually on my list for another month, so it seems I was going to cover two experiences in one night! We started off by the bar, bought ourselves a pint each and sat at a table at the back of the room. (Safe from the eagle eyes of the comedian, just looking for his next target to mock and destroy in front of a sold out audience.) Three 'warm up' acts and then the headline. It was during the first act my mates friend approached us and invited to join them. "Sounds great! Thanks" we both said and started to follow him closer and closer to the stage! I was constantly thinking "here's great or here will be fine, no, he's going in even closer! I don't have any protective gear or witty remarks prepared as backup! I'm gonna get ruined if I sit down the front. I've got glasses dammit! They always find a way to get the guy with glasses!"
Tonight would be my lucky night, a couple in their thirties (wait for it!) were just a few seats away from us and the comedian had spotted his ridiculously pointy beard. He had it coming! When the comedian asked the gentlemen "How do you keep the spark in your marriage" he replied "I've no idea". At that moment the air was silent then the bombers dropped from the sky hit after hit destroying their target. Poor bloke, he only wanted a few laughs and a night out with his wife. That'll teach him. Maybe he'll re-shape that beard now?!
The following acts weren't much to watch, mildly entertaining but I did force a few laughs to avoid being seen on their radar as "oh, he didn't find that funny. Are my jokes not good enough for you? Let's get him boys..."
So that was Tuesday night, an unexpected but very entertaining evening! The Festival continued for the rest of the week, closing on Sunday and on Saturday afternoon, I went back for more!
When it comes to Festivals (Music) I HAVE to write a timetable of events. I sometimes enjoy wondering around from tent to tent and stumbling across a new act that takes my ears fancy but this was different. So much to see and only a day to enjoy the best of it! So Saturday morning was spent searching for YouTube videos, performers websites etc. Then done! My schedule was complete and ready to rock! Living in Milton Keynes, it was also the same Saturday that 'The Prodigy' had come to rock our outdoor arena known as 'The Bowl', but this time I was walking in the opposite direction of all these dance fans heading towards a venue I'd normally go and check out. Not this time! This time I was off on a cultural journey!
My first stop is at a place called 'The Hub'. A mixture of restuarants and bars with a swanky fountain right at the centre. Today, "Stopgap" A group of peformers mixed of abled and disabled members where putting on a display of their recent production. The idea of the show was that everything is not as it seemed. Basically before the show began, (we didn't know this at the time) but the performers were already in the crowd, looking like the rest of us, curious of the upcoming performance and enjoying the afternoon sun and then they all burst into action and the show began and was an entertaing mix of comedy and dance.
My next stop was to view the installation titled "Asleep at the wheel". A thought provoking installation of multiple cars lined up as if they were all in three different lanes, you could sit inside each car and you would then hear soundbites of different topics of debate or interest from the war in Iraq to Global warming. Each car had a different theme which was quite bizarre as the entire room was in darkness and all you could see was the bright yellow flicker of the cars blinker lights to guide you. I left there feeling 'educated' i guess, but defintely thought provoking.
Next Stop, to view a carousel in the city car park known as "The Magical Menagerie". Basically a carousel that looked like it could've been designed by Tim Burton.
An incredible design and it seemed the adults were more excited than the children! The ride was accompanied by French themed accordian music which added a new dimension than the usual 'fairground' soundtrack. As you can see from the photos, these creations were something else!
Two more sites to visit! First up "The Dukes Box". That's right, a three piece band that sit inside a converted Caravan. You choose the tracks from their playlist and they'll do their own version for you! It drew in quite a crowd and was a nice mix of banter with the crowd as well as some 'interesting' covers!
Then it came to see my Festival Finale : "Against The Tide"
The easiest way to describe the show is just to type you part of the synopsis. 'Imagine an Island seperated from the world not by an ocean but by a vast desert. The tribe that survives here has almost forgotten what water was and every day they assemble to tell each other their stories and share memories'. The acrobatics were incredible and definately a sight to witness! A great performance to end a fantastic and insightful week!
Monday, 28 June 2010
Experience #6 June: "A NIGHT AT THE THEATRE + 'IN IT TO WIN IT'" - COMPLETE
I've not spent 3 hours in a Cinema since I saw 'Avatar', but tonight would prove to be a refreshing change. It seemed the 'theatrics' would start before the main event, it has been another scorcher of a day and that didn't help the middle aged Woman standing behing me in the queue, shouting at the front desk to "hurry up!! I just want one ticket!!!" Then I made the mistake of turning around to listen to her whining and had to hear the whole story. "I can't stand in a queue for TOO long, especially in THIS heat, my body just can't handle it!! I just want ONE ticket!!" Yes it turned out to be 'London Assurance' - the play I had also came to see, I didn't have her down as a Russell Brand fan.
It seemed like forever, but finally I was called to buy my ticket, so i carefully blocked the woman from behind from hearing what I was saying in to the microphone, so I wouldn't have to be bothered any longer! I got my ticket, £9, a massive £1 reduction with my Cinema pass - what a let down! And with the heat couldn't get away with sneaking my own snacks and drink in as I didn't have pockets large enough or a kind Sister with a 'Mary Poppins' sized handbag so i was forced to pay full price to my dissapointment.
I had no idea what the story was going to be, I just followed the four star reviews from various London magazines and tabloids. As soon as I entered the Cinema I felt out of place. Mainly because I was the only one there with my own hair and teeth and was able to get up past the first four rows without taking a deep breath. I walked proudly up the stairs with my king size popcorn and large coke and sat three rows from the back, not expecting the room to fill out as it did. Surprisingly, by the time the live feed was on screen, the cinema was over half full! The National Theatre would be sharing this live feed with over 22 countries at the same time! 'London Assurance' was the final part of National Theatre Live and is returning later on in the year with Danny Boyle's (Slumdog Millionaire) version of 'Frankenstein', now that would be something to witness!
As with any visit to the cinema, you enter the room and hear the local radio station being played softly in the background. While we were waiting for the live feed, 'Lady GaGa' & 'Journey' entertained us through the surround sound speakers. Finally, the lights dimmed and a shot from outside the National Theatre could be seen. A beautiful sunset in London and a large screen outside the NT where a young crowd were spread out among the open area with picnics and enjoying the last few rays of sunshine. As a 'warm-up' they had, well basically, Jugglers on stage performing for about 15 minutes which was as much as I could take! Then we see inside the NT and it looks like an incredible building. The first scene began and I wasn't sure what to make of it. Eccentric characters, comedy along the lines of 'Blackadder' and a lot of make up. It didn't take long before I felt quite settled and just enjoyed the fantastic acting on offer as well as catching a few stars in the cast. (You might recognise a couple of familiar faces in the above photo.)
After about 1hr 30 mins, there was a short interval for 20 mins. You would have thought the house lights would've come on as majority of the audience were over 50 and it was dark in there. I was expecting to hear them fall down those stairs like dominoes, I just couldn't watch! I'm glad to say they all made it back in one piece for the final part of the show, which is more than I could say about me. I didn't need a toilet break and decided to stay in the Cinema. I'm my own worst enemy - who comes on stage again?? Those BLOODY Jugglers!!
The final part of 'London Assurance' was as witty and sharply acted as the first and before I knew it the cast were taking their final bow and heading off backstage.
It was a great insight in to the world of plays. I'm not sure I would actually make the effort to go in to London to specifically attend a show, but would go and see the live feed again in the Cinema.
2.)IN IT TO WIN IT.
I had entered a load of competitions now, but they won't close until the end of this week. If I have a new 'Mini Cooper' or a 'Henry Hoover', you'll be the first to know!
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