A Brilliant Birthday

I may have become another year older this week, but I was given the chance to celebrate in some style!  Completely unbeknown to me, Lizzie had booked a wonderful evening in London; dinner, a show, and a hotel room.  Suffice to say, it was a magical weekend.

Destination Holborn, and the peaceful Lincoln's Inn Fields Club Quarters hotel.  Situated just off the busy Kingsway, the hotel is a stone's throw from the Strand and Covent Garden, but the bustle of Saturday afternoon London shopping may as well have been a world away - the hotel was a small piece of tranquility.

Taking it easy in the hotel

At the Club Quarters

Out into the evening air, we wandered along Long Acre and into the hubbub that is Leicester Square and Piccadilly.  Surely this is the centre of urban Britain, the pavements packed from shop to road, the constant traffic, car horns, ticket touts and loud music blaring from the shops.  I couldn't live in London, but it makes for a fascinating visit, an enormous ball of energy incomparable with any other city I have been to.

before the theatre, Lizzie had booked a table at Planet Hollywood - a chain that first came about with the financial backing of, amongst others, Syvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Bruce Willis.  The walls are covered in memorabilia, the scenes around the restaurant showing trailers of films past and present.  It is all very American, and a lot of fun, and who can resist a birthday cocktail or two?  What's more, birthday messages flash up on the screens and before long, everybody knows how old I am!



Birthday announcements in Planet Hollywood

Enjoying a cocktail

Her Majesty's Theatre lies just down the road from Planet Hollywood and Piccadilly Circus, in Haymarket.  The theatre has been home to Phantom of the Opera since it opened 26 years ago.  Regarded as one of Andrew Lloyd Webber's finest works, it is said that the whole score was written for love - in this case, for his then-wife Sarah Brightman.  The theatre is small, cosy, and very classy.  After much jostling and movement we are seated, the lights go down, and the curtain comes up.



The stage is set

Audience member with programme

An auction begins, the selling of the Paris Opera's old items and instruments.  In amongst the collection is a music box in the shape of a monkey, and a shattered chandelier.  "Some of you may recall the strange affair of the Phantom of the Opera; a mystery never fully explained," announces the auctioneer.  "We are told, ladies and gentlemen, that this is the very chandelier which figures in the famous disaster.  Our workshops have repaired it and wired parts of it for the new electric light.  Perhaps we can frighten away the ghosts of so many years ago with a little illumination..."

With that, the orchestra strikes up, the chandelier explodes into light and is raised to the ceiling, the stage comes to life through the haunting overture, the retelling of Gaston Leroux's classic tale begins.  The staging, the sets, the singing and the acting is all superb - it makes for a fabulous evening out.



Her Majesty's Theatre, Haymarket

Home the next day, and just look at how generous everybody has been!  Thank you everybody for your birthday cards and gifts.  And a special thanks to Lizzie for giving me a perfect weekend - it was brilliant.

Pressies!

A Day at the Palace

On a cool Autumn morning last week, Lizzie and I took the train from Guildford to the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, to the royal palace of Hampton Court.  The grand old building was built for Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, a favourite of Henry VIII in around 1514.   When the Cardinal fell from favour, the King took the place over himself.  As you can see, he inherited quite a building!

The entrance courtyard at the palace

The beautiful facade from the formal gardens

Fearing that the sun would soon be blocked out by rain clouds, we made our first stop the extensive palace gardens.  Slightly faded in the cold Autumn air, these were still looking very formal and well-cared for.  The main attraction was, of course, the palace hedge maze, attracting many children and families.  We didn’t get too lost - in fact, we completed the course without one wrong move, in what must have been more luck than judgement.

One strange hedge-maze-dweller, he has probably been living in it for years

To the back of the palace, the gardens are even more formal.  There was perhaps a lack of colour (understandable given the season), but the topiary was perfect, the sculptures stood bright and white against the greying sky, everything with an air of regality that you expect from a royal palace.  What was better, we had most of the garden to ourselves- it was so quiet, that a plucky little fox strolled right past us!

The boating lake, reminiscent of Versailles

Formal gardens

A brave fox

Yet more formality in the gardens!

A royal swan

Inside, the palace is divided according to historical period, the most popular being Henry VIII’s apartments.  When Henry took the palace for himself, he added the Great Hall - the last medieval great hall built for the English monarchy - and royal tennis courts.  He also quadrupled the size of the kitchens, remodeling the palace so that it was large enough to cater his assembled court of over one thousand people.  The stained glass windows of the Great Hall adorn the image of the king himself, leaving no doubt as to who was in power here.  To me, the place does not feel all that removed from its sixteenth century origins.

Henry VIII's Great Hall

Stained glass window in the Great Hall

King Henry VIII in stained glass

The Tudor kitchens, remodeled to cater for thousands

A Tudor pie thief tries her luck

When the Tudor period came to an end, James I used Hampton Court as the place for a meeting with representatives of the English Puritans; this became known as the Hampton Court Conference, and ultimately led to the commissioning of the King James Bible.  Later, William of Orange and his wife, Queen Mary II, undertook a rebuilding project at the court.  It was originally intended to demolish the whole palace, making way for a new estate that would rival Versailles.  Fortunately, these plans were largely abandoned, with only William and Mary’s private chambers being added.  Each suite was equal in value, reflecting William and Mary’s unique status as joint sovereigns.  On our visit, Mary’s apartments were closed, but William’s apartments were quite comfortable and positively modern compared to Henry’s.

The weapons room in William III's apartment

William III's bed

The last monarchs to reside at Hampton Court were George I and Geroge II.  Under these two monarchs, several renovations took place and new suites were added.  The Georgian galleries reflect the new and wealthier taste of the age, although to me they lack the harshness of history that was experienced in the chambers of earlier times.  Following the reign of George II, no monarch ever resided at Hampton Court.  George III apparently refused to set foot in the palace, associating it with a humiliating scene when his grandfather had struck him following an innocent remark!  The Great Hall did receive some restoration work during the reign of Queen Victoria, and promptly became open to the public.  It was given statutory protection in 1952 by being grade 1 listed.  It is now managed by the independent charity, Historic Royal Palaces.

Georgian games room

A lovely Georgian study

One final note that I think needs mentioning: we entered the palace on a 2-for-1 ticket, in a brilliant scheme organised by Southwest Trains, who offer discount tickets to those who use the railway.

Happy Halloween!

When Halloween arrives, you know it's Autumn. The clocks have gone back, it's dark when you get out of work, and for me there's an extra excitement to getting home and shutting the curtains on the cold dark evenings.

Our Halloween began a few days ago, with a visit to one of our favourite attractions, the Babbacombe Model Village.  Spooky illuminations and scary scenes had been set up especially for the occasion, and the residents of the tiny town were really getting into the spirit.  At the end of one road, the Addams Family house has popped up, whilst on the village green, locals have gathered to witness the burning of the Wicker Man.  Elsewhere in the town, it's a standard Hallows Eve, the brilliant illuminations of the city centre every bit the equal of London or New York, with the added twist of being under attack by giant spiders.  Truly, a spooky little city.

The Addams Family house

Burning the Wicker Man

Merrivale city centre

Attack of the giant spiders!

Spooky happenings in the abbey ruins

For Halloween proper, Lizzie and I were up in Surrey, and ventured to Secretts garden centre where they have put on their own pumpkin pick.  A tractor trailer ride is the only way to get to the site, taking us through many muddy fields completely unsuitable for walking.  Up on the higher land, the pumpkins have grown in abundance, and range in size from the tiny to the enormous.  Signs around the park explain that, due to the poor summer weather, many of the pumpkins have not turned orange, but this just adds an air of uniqueness for me as we walk off with one orange (ish) pumpkin, and one very definitely green fruit.

Fields of pumpkins

Lizzie's pumpkin

A successful harvest!

To the evening, and amongst the spooky snacks we've bought for the day, two sugar mouse cookies from Lizzie's mum!  Our afternoon has been spent carving our beautiful pumpkins, both of us coming up with sinister designs. This is such a fun activity, not just because of the creepy characters you get to meet, but also because of the delicious pumpkin soup you get to make from their scooped-out insides.  On a cold, wet, windy evening, this is a warming treat.  As for our new friends, they will get pride of place at the front gate, warding off evil spirits and hopefully keeping our house safe for the night.

Sugar mouse cookies

Halloween treats

Our handsome "jacko-lanterns"

Who's the prettiest?

Warming pumpkin soup

This blog would like to wish everybody a fun and spooky Halloween!

Bond is Back

We're all going Bond-crazy as the newest addition to the 007 collection hits cinemas up and down the country!  I for one am seriously excited about the latest film, which has reviewed fantastically well and has what must be the most "Bondy" theme song for many years.  No I haven't seen Skyfall yet, but I'm already envisioning a powerful and explosive introduction, melting into the atmospheric piano tones of Adele's new hit.  It sounds straight out of the Bond tradition.  Check out this Skyfall review, it will really whet your appetite.

It has always been said that a person's favourite James Bond is usually the one he or she grew up with.  My first Bond experience came at the Alexandra cinema in Newton Abbot, the beautiful gem of a building below.  I was 11 or 12 and off with a friend to watch Tomorrow Never Dies, the second of the Peirce Brosnan series in which an out-of-control media mogul tries to create an enormous war in order to boost his news sales.  Cue a British secret agent...

Newton Abbot's Alexandra cinema

I was hooked.  I wanted to see more Bond films, and a few weeks later Dr. No screened on the television.  I remember remarking that  "some old guy" was playing 007 when I watched it - I didn't realsie at the time that this old guy was, of course, Sean Connery.  Film after film them flooded into my life (aided by the generous time ITV dedicated to Bond Season), and before I knew it I had collected every movie on video.  The spines of their cases formed a picture and sat proudly on my shelf until the invention of the DVD player.  Now, perhaps it's time to invest in a new collection, and revisit these classics.
 
There hasn't been a bad Bond in my opinion.  Each actor has broguht something new and different to the franchise, and each is very much a product of his time.  Sophisticated 1960s Connery and Lazenby, 70s joker-Bond Roger Moore, powerful 80s agent Dalton, slick and suave 90s man Brosnan, gritty Daniel Craig, perfect for our current age.  So do I have a favourite?  It's impossible to pick one Bond, but here are the five films that most stick in my mind when I think of 007.  The original British movie posters are just terrific, don't you think?

 

I hope that Skyfall lives up to these classics, and I'm sure it will.  I just can't wait to get in front of the big screen for it, to welcome the secret agent back into my life once again!

 

Book Review: The Beautiful and Damned (F. Scott Fitzgerald)

F. Scott Fitzgerald's second novel presents a haunting portrayal of New York's wealthy but rootless generation emerging out of the First World War.  Anthony Patch, the grandson of tycoon millionaire Adam Patch, lives only in the pursuit of wealth and pleasure.  On one of his many social events, he meets the selfish and supremely beautiful Gloria Gilbert, the cousin of a close friend.  Gloria is simultaneously wise and naive; at times she exhibits almost child-like behaviour, but her string of previous relationships hints at a girl with a jaded outlook on the world.

As the years turn, so beauty fades and so the incompatibilities in Anthony and Gloria's relationship become more and more exposed.  Only when under the influence of liquor, at their increasingly common parties, are Anthony and Gloria happy, but even this emotion can only be sustained for so long, as finances dry up, friendships fade, and marriage reaches breaking-point.  Then, when old Adam Patch dies, his fortune becomes the sole ambition of their sordid and empty marriage.

The Beautiful and Damned is a moody and atmospheric portrayal of early Twentieth Century New York and a nation awakening from its slumber to find its place as an emerging superpower.  Said to be influenced by Fitzgerald's own torrid marriage, the novel charts the destructive obsession with wealth and decadence that gripped a unique class of people - a class with no direction, no identity, no ambition and, ultimately, no hope.

The Beautiful and Damned

F. Scott Fitzgerald.

First published in March 1922 by Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, USA.