London adventures
Jan. 30th, 2016 07:41 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
amberdreamsBeen away for a couple of days in London with my Austrian friend Renate (met via SPN, JIB and GISHWHES as are all the best people, huh?). We were down to see Andrew Scott, David Dawson and Joanna Vanderham in The Dazzle in a temporary theatre in an abandonned art school right next to Foyles bookshop, a tour of BBC Broadcasting house and an evening enjoying The Station Breaks (aka Rob Benedict and Jason Manns) and Paul Carella at the Borderline. Oh and this morning before home-time I squeezed in a visit to Somerset House and the free Tintin exhibition.
So have a two day pic&vid spam. And apologies for the lack of a cut! I thought I'd done one...
In chronological order - The Dazzle. Which, by the way, was a pretty amazing play. (Guardian review here if you're interested). There are only three characters in it, and room was designed so that the audience are effectively part of the set - only a 132 people watching, all seated on a miscellany of old chairs round the edges of the brothers Collyer's chaotic room, where all the action takes place. I've never been so close to actors while they are actually acting before. We were on the front row nd had to be careful where we placed our feet or we could've tripped one of them up! Renate says David smells gorgeous - I can't say, wasn't sniffing them as they walked past...
I confess, a play that is all about two disfunctional codependent brothers did make me think someone should rewrite this as SPN fanfic... but that was only after the play had finished. During the action, I was totally absorbed, mainly by the older brother's story (which makes me wonder whether I just have an affinity with the eldest siblings for some reason). Anyhow, we missed Joanna at the stage door, but we did catch both Andrew and David for the obligatory autograph and photo.
David Dawson (aka Alfred in The Last Kingdom)
He wasn't as pissed off as he looks here (at least I hope he wasn't, but of course I was talking. Doh. In the play he has an American accent, but as himself he sounds a bit Scouse, so I asked him about it. Turns out, he's from Widnes which is my neck of the woods - I got a high five from him for that! LOL
Here's the very charming and lovely Andrew (Moriarty to most folk, I expect)
So Renate was happy, she got her hand painted bag and stuff autographed, lots of pictures,plus she also went to see the play three days running (now that is KEEN, especially as she's already seen it three times on her last London trip). i got my programme signed which is a nice souvenir.
So our next event was the BBC tour - they run them every 15 minutes, with two guides per party, and we lucked out getting couple of good ones, a youngish dark haired chap and a sixty something marvellously camp character who kept us entertained. It would have been interesting enough just to have a look at some of the studios and the old Boradcasting House with all it's 1920s art deco, but they threw in a couple of have-a-go sessions - reading the news and doing the weather, and recording a radio play.
So here's Renate in the Radio 4 Afternoon Play. It's a little shorter than the usual ones at less than three minutes LOL
Our guides had fun doing the sound effects but I missed the old chap doing the champagne cork.
Here's me in the foyer of the new Broadcasting House. I don't think Dame Judy likes visitors, while Ben looks less than happy having his photo taken...
The evening was the Borderline for me and the Dazzle again for Renate. The Station Breaks tour consists of Jason Manns and Rob Bennedict, supported by a cute Glaswegian called Paul Carella. The three all seemed to bounce off each other really well, enjoying each other's company, and that reflected in the music. Apart from the fact that a good half of the so called audience spent the entire concert talking loudly to each other, it was really good. And Rob and Jason did manage to get silence for their accoustic version of Halleluja which was quite spine tingling.
So here it is. If you want to see more of the concert there are several more vids on my Youtube channel.
This morning after breakfast at a Pret, Renate went shopping in Covent Garden and I popped into SOmerset House to check out the Tintin and Herge exhibition. It was small but perfectly formed - three rooms, each with one wall painted like the inner covers with the blue and white stripes and pictures, original drawings, models, photos... It gave me cravings to re-read some Tintin.
So anyway, here's a random London picspam just because.
An office foyer...
Holborn Viaduct
What it says on the tin
Some dodgy-looking news readers - the BBC have really lowered their standards!
Jason and Rob do Jazz Hands
The hotel I'm going to stay at when I win the lottery. In fact I think I'll hold my own SPN convention there. *nods*
There was a charming and handsome young man guarding the Mazaratis and Mercs parked to either side of this weird upsidedown bear.
So have a two day pic&vid spam. And apologies for the lack of a cut! I thought I'd done one...
In chronological order - The Dazzle. Which, by the way, was a pretty amazing play. (Guardian review here if you're interested). There are only three characters in it, and room was designed so that the audience are effectively part of the set - only a 132 people watching, all seated on a miscellany of old chairs round the edges of the brothers Collyer's chaotic room, where all the action takes place. I've never been so close to actors while they are actually acting before. We were on the front row nd had to be careful where we placed our feet or we could've tripped one of them up! Renate says David smells gorgeous - I can't say, wasn't sniffing them as they walked past...
I confess, a play that is all about two disfunctional codependent brothers did make me think someone should rewrite this as SPN fanfic... but that was only after the play had finished. During the action, I was totally absorbed, mainly by the older brother's story (which makes me wonder whether I just have an affinity with the eldest siblings for some reason). Anyhow, we missed Joanna at the stage door, but we did catch both Andrew and David for the obligatory autograph and photo.
David Dawson (aka Alfred in The Last Kingdom)
He wasn't as pissed off as he looks here (at least I hope he wasn't, but of course I was talking. Doh. In the play he has an American accent, but as himself he sounds a bit Scouse, so I asked him about it. Turns out, he's from Widnes which is my neck of the woods - I got a high five from him for that! LOL
Here's the very charming and lovely Andrew (Moriarty to most folk, I expect)
So Renate was happy, she got her hand painted bag and stuff autographed, lots of pictures,plus she also went to see the play three days running (now that is KEEN, especially as she's already seen it three times on her last London trip). i got my programme signed which is a nice souvenir.
So our next event was the BBC tour - they run them every 15 minutes, with two guides per party, and we lucked out getting couple of good ones, a youngish dark haired chap and a sixty something marvellously camp character who kept us entertained. It would have been interesting enough just to have a look at some of the studios and the old Boradcasting House with all it's 1920s art deco, but they threw in a couple of have-a-go sessions - reading the news and doing the weather, and recording a radio play.
So here's Renate in the Radio 4 Afternoon Play. It's a little shorter than the usual ones at less than three minutes LOL
Our guides had fun doing the sound effects but I missed the old chap doing the champagne cork.
Here's me in the foyer of the new Broadcasting House. I don't think Dame Judy likes visitors, while Ben looks less than happy having his photo taken...
The evening was the Borderline for me and the Dazzle again for Renate. The Station Breaks tour consists of Jason Manns and Rob Bennedict, supported by a cute Glaswegian called Paul Carella. The three all seemed to bounce off each other really well, enjoying each other's company, and that reflected in the music. Apart from the fact that a good half of the so called audience spent the entire concert talking loudly to each other, it was really good. And Rob and Jason did manage to get silence for their accoustic version of Halleluja which was quite spine tingling.
So here it is. If you want to see more of the concert there are several more vids on my Youtube channel.
This morning after breakfast at a Pret, Renate went shopping in Covent Garden and I popped into SOmerset House to check out the Tintin and Herge exhibition. It was small but perfectly formed - three rooms, each with one wall painted like the inner covers with the blue and white stripes and pictures, original drawings, models, photos... It gave me cravings to re-read some Tintin.
So anyway, here's a random London picspam just because.
An office foyer...
Holborn Viaduct
What it says on the tin
Some dodgy-looking news readers - the BBC have really lowered their standards!
Jason and Rob do Jazz Hands
The hotel I'm going to stay at when I win the lottery. In fact I think I'll hold my own SPN convention there. *nods*
There was a charming and handsome young man guarding the Mazaratis and Mercs parked to either side of this weird upsidedown bear.
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no subject
Date: 2016-01-30 08:37 pm (UTC)I love the upsidedown bear and that some office has a random zebra in their window.
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Date: 2016-01-30 08:58 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2016-01-30 09:22 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2016-01-30 09:37 pm (UTC)no subject
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Date: 2016-01-31 01:37 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2016-01-31 03:34 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2016-01-31 09:04 pm (UTC);-)
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Date: 2016-01-31 11:46 am (UTC)I've never understood that whole, "Talk through a show" thing, it's so rude, and especially seen as Rob and Jason are mainly vocalists and guitar it's not like they have a giant back up band to drown out the idiots!
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Date: 2016-01-31 03:33 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2016-01-31 02:02 pm (UTC)<33333
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Date: 2016-01-31 03:33 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2016-01-31 02:02 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2016-01-31 03:31 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2016-01-31 06:00 pm (UTC)This looks like a great trip, and ZOMG DAVID DAWSON! Been blown away by him in The Last Kingdom. ♥
Is it just me or is that weird globe thingy between the upside down bear's legs his balls? Please don't tell me it's just his tail. That would be very disappointing. *g*
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Date: 2016-01-31 06:41 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2016-01-31 06:17 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2016-01-31 06:40 pm (UTC)And you're welcome, of course.
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Date: 2016-01-31 06:46 pm (UTC)