Had a walk in Windsor Great Park before heading to Bray for dinner today - we managed to catch the last of the daylight after the rain, and were rewarded with some spectacular views and scenery. I took this photo with my phone, but hopefully I'll be able to link to Kt's camera photos when she posts them.
Saturday, December 30, 2006
sinister!
Walked past Itsu restaurant on Piccadilly today - this was the sushi restaurant where Alexander Litvenenko possibly was poisoned with the polonium that killed him a couple of weeks later.
The restaurant is all boarded up and there's a sign on the hoardings. It's made to look like a James Bond title sequence camera shutter and reads "An international espionage incident has transformed this Itsu into a world-famous meeting place. Sad and shocked, we would like to thank you for the many emails of encouragement. Our customers and staff are magnificent. We will reopen and we will flourish. Meanwhile, enjoy Itsu's healt and happiness at Hanover Square and 313 Regent Street".
The restaurant is all boarded up and there's a sign on the hoardings. It's made to look like a James Bond title sequence camera shutter and reads "An international espionage incident has transformed this Itsu into a world-famous meeting place. Sad and shocked, we would like to thank you for the many emails of encouragement. Our customers and staff are magnificent. We will reopen and we will flourish. Meanwhile, enjoy Itsu's healt and happiness at Hanover Square and 313 Regent Street".
Tuesday, December 26, 2006
Happy Christmas!
Alex, Nicki, Charlotte, Colin, Annie and Simon - all sitting down to a Christmas feast!
Sunday, December 24, 2006
compelling!
I went to see the fascinating Frost / Nixon at the Gielguid Theatre last night. It's the story behind the interviews that Richard Nixon granted to David Frost in 1977 after he'd resigned post Watergate. It sounds a bit dry but it was actually fascinating. Amazing to think how many machinations went on to get the interview and also how much pre-work went into the questions and set-up. Frost was thought of as quite a light-weight chat-show host but he recruited some crucial researchers. The whole thing had the air of a boxing match. Great performance by Michael Sheen as Frost and Frank Langella as Nixon. Was thinking that i wasn't really that familiar with Nixon's mannerisms or delivery - don't really see that much footage of him as you would Kennedy or Reagan.
Easy to get a ticket for the show - pre-Christmas in London is a good time to go! Really noticeable on the way home in the bus how deserted all the pubs and bars are. London really empties out at this time of year!
Easy to get a ticket for the show - pre-Christmas in London is a good time to go! Really noticeable on the way home in the bus how deserted all the pubs and bars are. London really empties out at this time of year!
Saturday, December 23, 2006
christmassy!
Have got my Christmas tree up in my living room, complete with fairy lights and the decorations I've accumulated! It smells lovely but does tend to shed quite a few needles! Thankfully it's a wooden floor. It was great fun getting it home on the bus but thankfully it was wrapped up in its sleeve and relatively easy to transport.
Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas!
commission?
I wonder whether I should contact Steve Jobs about getting a commission? After Fiona bought a MacBook on my recommendation, two of my friends of work have also bought MacBooks this week. I'm really happy with mine (now the Random Shutdown has stopped happening). It's a little bit slow to toggle between features, but it's doing everything I wanted it to do, and more! I've also got a free trial for Aperture, the photo software, so I'll have a play with that over this month.
familiar!
Went along to see Greg Johnson in concert the other night - he was here for a few days so did a show at the Bloomsbury Theatre. It was a nice comfortable venue and he played a lot of his old tracks as well as quite a few new ones. He does a nice patter in between his songs. He's based in California now and is slowly making inroads into the American markets - there's some talk of him having songs on the soundtrack of The OC and Grey's Anatomy which is good news. He seems to have a different rhythm section in each country - we had the Welsh drummer and bass player. He's got two sets in the States and another in NZ - cheaper all round I guess! He was supposed to be flying out the next day, so hopefully he got past the freezing fog which has grounded loads of flights here.
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
rebooted!
Went to see the new James Bond film, Casino Royale, last night. It was very enjoyable and a bit of a departure from recent Bonds (I don't think I actually ever saw an entire Pierce Brosnan one however!) Daniel Craig was very good as Bond, quite a bit grittier than his predecessors. There were a couple of fantastic stunt sequences - the opening 'parkour' scenes were amazing and also the house in Venice was spectacular. Montenegro, where the Casino Royale itself is meant to be, looked strangely picturesque and quite different from when I was there a couple of years ago, but from looking at the credits, it was actually shot in the Czech Republic! Also spotted the hotel where Charlotte and I had stayed in Venice during one scene. Was reading in Wikipedia that the new James Bond is described as a 'reboot' rather than a relaunch - how modern!
Saturday, December 16, 2006
catching up!
I've been disgracefully tardy with my blog since I came back from holiday -dreadful! So rather than write a whole lot of posts, here's what I've been up to
Went to see the fantastic Muse in concert at Wembley. Their new album 'Black Holes and Revelations' is indeed a revelation - I'd been a fan at the beginning, but had got a bit bored, as they'd seemed to become a lot heavier and hystrionic. But their new material is stunning. It's still quite over the top but has got much more of a groove and a funkier sound. Lots more space travel and alien themes too. Matt Bellamy's dad used to be in The Tornados, who had a hit in the 60s with the sci-fi sounding Telstar, and his son really seems to have picked up on this. The show at Wembley was also overblown and over the top and highly enjoyable. They played all of the new album at the start so it was wierd to hear the older stuff which I don't like so much at the end of the show. Great lights and atmosphere. We've got tickets to go see Muse again at Wembley Stadium next June.
Later that week we went to see Scissor Sisters, also at Wembley. We were stood downstairs this time and so had lots of room for dancing and playing around. Highly enjoyable! Most of the new material is a bit dull to be honest, but it 'I Don't Feel Like Dancing' went down a storm!
Party week (there's always one work week a year with lots of events and evening events) went well. First up was the CIG (City Information Group) party at the Science Museum. I won a hamper of wine in the raffle so that was brilliant! Quite a group from work went and we enjoyed ourselves. Then a couple of nights later, it was off to Just St James for dinner with a group of global collegues. Lovely venue and great to meet people from around the world. On the Friday night was our work Christmas party at Old Billingsgate which was actually a great night -now we've joined a larger department along with IT, HR, Facilities etc., it means larger venues and better quality entertainment. We had a nice dinner and then hit the dancefloor with a vengence! Got to wear my new Monsoon skirt so I felt very glamorous!
All that partying meant that I missed Karen's housewarming, but apparently it was a good night there as well.
Went to see Pan's Labyrinth at the Rio Cinema on the corner - a real adult fairy tale - quite disturbing but fantastical.
Went to see 'Bent' at the Trafalgar Theatre starring the gorgeous Alan Cumming. He was brilliant, the play was emotional and touching. Great reception from the audience too.
Kt's Christmas drinks and housewarming were last weekend. She's now living in leafy Baron's Court so it was lovely to see her new flat, drink mulled wine and eat Christmas biscuits. Cameron was down from Scotland so great to catch up with him and Mike who came to the party as well.
Had a lovely lunch at the Notting Grill on Sunday - its an Anthony Worrall Thompson restaurant in Notting Hill. The suckling pig was sadly off the menu so I settled for the rack of lamb. Nice comfortable atmosphere and good quality food. Didn't get a discount being a fellow Thompson sadly!
Also went to see 'The Holiday' at the movies - good Sunday afternoon entertainment! Picture perfect English cottages etc.
One of our suppliers at work, Owen, is leaving to move to New York, so we farewelled him at a party at Planet of the Grapes, the wine shop. Sampled some lovely wines, including McCrae Wood from Clare Valley - lovely!
My colleague Steve is in 'A Christmas Carol' down in West Norwood (South London) at present, so a group of us went to see the show this week. It's very good for an amateur production with a huge cast and a great set. Steve was brilliant - good stage presence!
Rest of the evenings have been sent catching up with friends, mainly at the pub. It's a busy but fun time! So I've been a bit slow on the present and Christmas card sending, but it's all gradually getting done...
Went to see the fantastic Muse in concert at Wembley. Their new album 'Black Holes and Revelations' is indeed a revelation - I'd been a fan at the beginning, but had got a bit bored, as they'd seemed to become a lot heavier and hystrionic. But their new material is stunning. It's still quite over the top but has got much more of a groove and a funkier sound. Lots more space travel and alien themes too. Matt Bellamy's dad used to be in The Tornados, who had a hit in the 60s with the sci-fi sounding Telstar, and his son really seems to have picked up on this. The show at Wembley was also overblown and over the top and highly enjoyable. They played all of the new album at the start so it was wierd to hear the older stuff which I don't like so much at the end of the show. Great lights and atmosphere. We've got tickets to go see Muse again at Wembley Stadium next June.
Later that week we went to see Scissor Sisters, also at Wembley. We were stood downstairs this time and so had lots of room for dancing and playing around. Highly enjoyable! Most of the new material is a bit dull to be honest, but it 'I Don't Feel Like Dancing' went down a storm!
Party week (there's always one work week a year with lots of events and evening events) went well. First up was the CIG (City Information Group) party at the Science Museum. I won a hamper of wine in the raffle so that was brilliant! Quite a group from work went and we enjoyed ourselves. Then a couple of nights later, it was off to Just St James for dinner with a group of global collegues. Lovely venue and great to meet people from around the world. On the Friday night was our work Christmas party at Old Billingsgate which was actually a great night -now we've joined a larger department along with IT, HR, Facilities etc., it means larger venues and better quality entertainment. We had a nice dinner and then hit the dancefloor with a vengence! Got to wear my new Monsoon skirt so I felt very glamorous!
All that partying meant that I missed Karen's housewarming, but apparently it was a good night there as well.
Went to see Pan's Labyrinth at the Rio Cinema on the corner - a real adult fairy tale - quite disturbing but fantastical.
Went to see 'Bent' at the Trafalgar Theatre starring the gorgeous Alan Cumming. He was brilliant, the play was emotional and touching. Great reception from the audience too.
Kt's Christmas drinks and housewarming were last weekend. She's now living in leafy Baron's Court so it was lovely to see her new flat, drink mulled wine and eat Christmas biscuits. Cameron was down from Scotland so great to catch up with him and Mike who came to the party as well.
Had a lovely lunch at the Notting Grill on Sunday - its an Anthony Worrall Thompson restaurant in Notting Hill. The suckling pig was sadly off the menu so I settled for the rack of lamb. Nice comfortable atmosphere and good quality food. Didn't get a discount being a fellow Thompson sadly!
Also went to see 'The Holiday' at the movies - good Sunday afternoon entertainment! Picture perfect English cottages etc.
One of our suppliers at work, Owen, is leaving to move to New York, so we farewelled him at a party at Planet of the Grapes, the wine shop. Sampled some lovely wines, including McCrae Wood from Clare Valley - lovely!
My colleague Steve is in 'A Christmas Carol' down in West Norwood (South London) at present, so a group of us went to see the show this week. It's very good for an amateur production with a huge cast and a great set. Steve was brilliant - good stage presence!
Rest of the evenings have been sent catching up with friends, mainly at the pub. It's a busy but fun time! So I've been a bit slow on the present and Christmas card sending, but it's all gradually getting done...
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