Thursday, August 20, 2009

Clippy's log - page 27

16/8 4pm. Elise walks out - she has a lower threshold of pain than we do. Even though she teaches music.

5:20pm. The show finishes. We were supposed to be at dinner at 5pm!

5:35pm. We turn up at last and Elise is wondering where we are. And whether we survived the concert. So we just tell her - this is what happens when an appreciation society tries to turn into a performing society, by degrees.

6:45pm. We don't make the same mistage twice! The boys aren't going to the show tonight but Charlotte is. We head down there and the boys and I hang around in the club.

7:35pm. Elise joins us to help leech wifi. She still doesn't have a steady supply of email. It's not going too well and a few words between Rosuav and their resident geek show why - it's not public yet! It's only a trial system. In between ping packets we continue to converse. As always.

10pm. Chris, Sarah-Jane and Robert Hall come in and everyone makes a fuss as is obligatory. Robert blogs you see, and any failure to oblige would be recorded for posterity. We move to a proper table, and Elise uses my pal to read Savoynet while the packets continue to time out.

10:30pm. The Club opens as usual with community singing of chorus numbers from the show. Time Gasvic did Sorcerer obviously, none of us know it very well.

10:45pm. University Challenge for under-50s (and honorary under-50s). Midga is within an inch of being on one of the teams but escapes just in time. After a while Ian runs out of questions and - the game is a draw!

11:55pm. Home. Via Elise's as usual. That bag needs to be dragged uphill, not carried.

17/8 11:30am. Midga gets up and wonders what to do. Rosuav is still asleep so he grabs Traal and the Rollingstock book and prepares trip plans for the days off.

4pm. Time for lunch. Two eggs and "a few" sausages each. Luckily Midga keeps working over the food.

4:30pm. The days are filled, so Midga and Traal work on the Smartpax 2020 document. At this rate the thing will be done by the time we get home!

7pm. Time to go - Ruddigore tonight! Hope it's good, we have high standards.

7:35pm. The curtain opens and we are transported back two years - the same Paul Lazell set the Festival production used in 2007. The bridesmaids enter - and we're in 2007 still! A glance at the program shows - director Andrew Nicklin. All is explained. The cast aren't as good though, a mixed bag. What strikes me and Midga in our professionally amateur capacity is the lighting - too much fill and practically no highlight, which makes everyone on stage look like a cardboard cut-out - ehee!

10:30pm. Neil Smith asked us as a personal favour to oblige the theatre staff in not using Traal, so I'm back on duty with Rosuav jotting down the adjudication.

10:45pm. We rejoin Midga in the Festival Club. Elise comes in too and Midga opens with the leading question "Did you recognize any of the direction of that show?" All of it maybe?

12 midnight or so. Standard finish. Goodnight!

18/8 11:30am. Better get up soon - Elise is coming for lunch!

1pm. Elise and Charlotte turn up - Charlotte has been let out of rehearsal on good behaviour but isn't eating. Tech/Sitz/DR is apparently going quite well, but that huge opera house is as much of a shock as expected!

1:50pm. Charlotte has to go - chookas! Oops, that has to be translated.

5pm. Lunch has merged with dinner so we all move to Elise's to finish off the spaghetti.

7pm. And off to the theatre. A surprise awaits - not only is Elise Cripps's peppermint drop cart broken off at the handle (by person or persons unknown) but all the stuff is sold already! So she doesn't have to get into that "eye-catching" costume and sing the same song to every passer-by any more.

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