Work for Idle Hands

Off to the Everyman in Reigate.
I read Three Bags Full in 2009 - and it's a charming story. I did feel it would be hard to film, but I think they have made a good fist of it. From what I remember, they seem to have changed the plot quite a bit but they have been totally faithful to the spirit of the book. Sad that they felt they had to change the title, and also the name of the cleverest sheep, who should have been Miss Maple.

Posted by Christina at 3:15 pm | Category: Art and Culture | Permalink

This is a really excellent new play at Chichester Festival Theatre about the opposing views of Harry Houdini and Arthur Conan Doyle on the subject of spiritualism. It’s written by David Haig, who also stars as Doyle.

Sadly — for both men — they were equally eager to believe as they were desperate to contact loved ones "on the other side". However, Houdini, being a master of illusion and misdirection himself, was far more cynical, having already spent huge amounts of money on fraudulent mediums while trying to reach his mother.
Doyle, on the other hand, simply could not accept that his son, who had died of Spanish Flu after being injured in the First World War, was truly gone. He genuinely believed he had proof of the mediums’ integrity and that he was able to communicate with his son through them.
The final scenes of the play are incredibly poignant and moving, with Doyle’s despair expressed through what appears to be a physical barrier between himself and the spirit world he so passionately believes in.
David Haig has explored the devastation of a father losing his son in WWI before in his — again excellent — play about Rudyard Kipling, in which he also played the father. Beyond that, his acting career has been astonishingly varied, from prestigious stage work with the Royal Shakespeare Company to appearances in what feels like half the British television dramas of the last thirty years — far too many to list properly.

Posted by Christina at 8:29 pm | Category: Art and Culture, Days Out | Permalink

Lyn and I went to Portsmouth and Southsea - where we: wandered about, had coffee at the tennis club by the harbour - more walking along the newly refurbished prom - then a delicious lunch at Viet Quan Cafe which had a splendid atmosphere with lovely people (serving and dining!) - "strongly recommend".
More wandering where we were driven to explore "Ravelin House" which seems a bit worse for wear; it's owned by the University, but is closed ("falling masonry") but I do hope there are plans to repair it. There are references to it on line with splendid and misleading pictures - clearly it used to be open to the public - but I fear (or possibly am grateful) not now.
Finally, after a short shopping interlude, we travelled home from the Harbour station - and how wonderful that you can stand right there and admire Warrior, in the dockyard.
I should mention - the weather was delightfully sunny and breezy all the time we were out - a truly English summer day at the coast - and only when we were travelled home did it cloud over as seen in my picture.

Posted by Christina at 6:01 pm | Category: Days Out, Red Letter Days | Permalink