Parade

I have some super-talented friends...like Gary and Sally who I've gotten to know in our local park as fellow-dog walkers, but have discovered that they work in the entertainment industry.

Sally has a long history in West End musicals and I discovered just recently that I actually saw her perform about 5 years previously in Anything Goes in 2003. I remember her performance as being a powerhouse one and am proud to count her as a friend now.

Gary has also been in theatre for a long time and he invited me to see his performance at the Donmar Warehouse of a musical called Parade.

I remember asking him while he was still in rehearsals what the musical was about, and he casually responded: "Oh, it's about a Jewish man in the Deep South accused of murdering a young Southern girl and then he gets lynched." I think I laughed when he told me, because I thought in all seriousness, how could you make this content into a musical.

I put aside my initial prejudices and asked Gary to set aside a couple of tickets for me to see it, and boy was I blown away! First of all the Donmar Warehouse is not your typical theatre, in that there are no seats, but benches instead and none of the 250 seats are more than 20 feet away from the stage - a very intimate experience. Second the seriousness of the subject matter was respected in terms of the musical score, so that the overall effect was that of a Porgy and Bess-style musical. And lastly the performances were fabulous. This was my first time seeing Gary outside his regular milieu of ball throwing and poo collecting, so it was fascinating to watch his effortless performance in not one role, but two. (He played both the reporter and the governor.)

So kudos to you Gary and all your cast and crew for an entertaining and thought-provoking evening!

Far out Far East - part #2

After 3 days in HK, we flew to Singapore using a low-cost airline, which was an experience which reminded me of my "People Express" years in university, flying Buffalo to Newark to visit my parents, crammed in a tin of sardines. Think a step down from Ryanair or Easyjet...

We stayed with our gracious friends Helen and Stephen and their lovely boys, who made our stay there so relaxed and inviting. Helen kindly took me and the girls to Chinatown for some shopping, while I was able to leave Adriana happily playing with Finn at home. I knew that wearing shorts or a short skirt would definitely be frowned upon in a temple, so I wore what I thought would be conservative, only to have not one, but two little old Chinese men running up to me at the entrance waving their arms and indicating I must cover myself up immediately. The girls certainly got a laugh out of it as I had to jury-rig some spare sheets as a skirt that they leave at the entrance for that very reason.

The next day Orest joined us for some shopping on Orchard Road. Well actually, it was more like we tried to escape the oppressive heat by hiding from one shopping centre to another. There was one point where Orest and the girls were able to cross the road completely, while I was stuck on a small island with roaring traffic on either side of me. I felt like I was melting into a puddle of sweat on the black tarmac while I waited for the signal to turn green again. I am now sure that I would never be able to survive in a place where I struggle to stay positive as my make-up slides off my face, my hair collapses limply and unspeakable rashes develop in the most private of places on my body.

The next day, Orest and I took the children over to Sentosa island, which is like having a resort just outside the city. We spent the day on the beach, playing on the sand and in the water and snuck into a resort to have splash at their pool. It appears that if you look the part, they won't kick you out. I spent a good hour trying to figure out what criteria the lifeguards were using to determine who should be there and who shouldn't, but couldn't figure it out. (I think ordering a cocktail from the pool bar helped.) I did come back from the island with a horrific burn on my back, not realizing how strong the sun was even under the shade of the palm trees.

Helen and Steve were kind enough to take us out both evenings and show us the lovely Singapore nightlife. Although the lights were not as intense as in Hong Kong, it still had the power to impress.

On the last night we took a nighttime safari at the Singapore zoo, and because it was Halloween, we had the extra special scares near the end. So we were taken on one of those open trams and all it was was some people dressed up in varying scary costumes (witches, mummies, ghouls, ghosts, etc.) and some even getting pretty close up and confrontational. I thought Adriana was going to have kittens until one of them jumped up in her face and handed her a candy. It was pretty incongruous, this scary guy screaming at her: "Here's a sweetie for you, wooo-aaahhhh!"

On the last day, we had time for a lovely brunch with the Manghams (sans Oliver) and had to say goodbye to our lovely hosts.

Far-out Far-east!

Over October half-term, I convinced Orest to take the family with him on his business trip to the Far East. I'd never been, so for me it would be the trip of a lifetime.

We only had one week, so I had to make sure that we didn't try to fit in too many places at once, but knowing that I wouldn't be back for a while I also had to make sure that we packed in enough to make the long-haul flight worthwhile. We started in Hong Kong, and spent 3 days having a nice mix of sightseeing, shopping and spending time with friends. The minute we arrived, we chilled out by the pool at the Marriott and were able to spend some time getting to know John and Margaret's two children - who we had not met since they had been adopted. Lienne and Vivienne were adorable and it was great to catch up with John and Margaret, who I'm ashamed to say, we hadn't seen in at least 6 years.

We then took the girls up to Victoria Peak for the evening for dinner with John and Margaret and Helen and Steve. The views were breath-taking and it we spent a lot of time trying to get the ultimate photo to try and capture the breadth of skyscrapers that make the view so impressive.

The next day, Orest and I took the girls to Ocean Park, where the highlights were seeing the pandas and dolphins and getting a soaking on a flume ride just when I thought I'd burn up from the heat. We then went down to Stanley Beach to hit the markets and meet with ZoeLynne and her friend for a nice long chat. We topped it off with a visit to John and Margaret's flat for a nice meal and relaxed chat.

The next day Orest took off for his business meetings in Tokyo and Shanghai, while I took the girls to Lantau island, the home of the tallest seated bronze Buddha in the world, Tian Tan Buddha. the bus rides to and from the Buddha were vomit-inducing at best and at worst life-threatening in trying to negotiate the winding narrow roads. But the views, and the vegetarian lunch at the monastery made up for the inadequate transport. That evening we had dinner (sans Orest) with ZoeLynne and Helen and Steve on the dock in Stanley and it was lovely reliving our "Fine Wine Club" days - albeit with a few members missing.

On the last day there, I took the girls over to Kowloon to the Ladies shopping street and it was great being in the midst of it all until Larysa's cheap Stanley Market flip flops bit the biscuit and we tried to find her an adequate replacement. I can't believe how hard it was, especially as Larysa was having to drag one foot behind her for several blocks as the flimsy piece of string holding her flip-flop came away from the bamboo sole. The only silver lining in all this is that I was able to find a lovely silk jacket in a small shop at the Star Ferry terminal - retail therapy rocks!
Don't ask me who that strange woman is behind the girls are....or how I managed not to notice that she would ruin our one and only photo on Ladies Fashion Street.