Swamp Castle
- One day son, this will be yours - What, the curtains?
Steps where Galahd runs to rescue Herbert
Steps where Galahd runs to rescue Herbert
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Doune Castle - aka Swamp Castle and Camelot etc
Not many words this time - just pics. This is Doune Castle, in Scotland, just out of Stirling. It's the castle where they filmed Monty Python and the Holy Grail in 1975!!
Swamp Castle
- One day son, this will be yours
Swamp Castle- One day son, this will be yours 
Monday, January 19, 2009
Stratford to Newcastle
Thursday 15 January
Here’s what’s happening at the end of week three. I’m writing this from Newcastle-upon-Tyne, on my way up to Edinburgh – the Dunedin of the North. Since the last update (Bath), I’ve been to Oxford, Stratford-upon-Avon, Cardiff, Liverpool (that’ll get an update all of its own…), York and now Newcastle.
Oxford was fantastic! I arrived in the afternoon and had to leave the next morning, but it’s somewhere I’d love to go back to. No factual information for you, but it’s an incredibly old town, based around the university. I REALLY want to go back to university there. It was cold when I was there, and because the sun sets at about 3:30pm it gets dark very quickly, but a lovely town. And the guy who runs the hostel I stayed at is from Dunedin!!
From Oxford I went to Stratford-upon-Avon, went to Shakespeare’s house (he wasn’t in), and went to a production of “Romeo and Juliet” performed by the Royal Shakespeare Company. Absolutely brilliant. I could have kept on watching it. The cast were superb and it was nice to see Juliet played by an actress of Indian descent. I don’t want to spoil the ending for any of you, but it was very sad.
Shakespeare's house (he wasn't home when I called)
Poster for Romeo and JulietCardiff was ok. It wasn’t my most favourite place to visit, but it was nice to step into Wales, even if only to say I’ve been there. Actually, the best thing about Cardiff was the two music shops I discovered. Sheet music is so cheap over here. More about that later. What I also discovered in Cardiff was “The Kiss” by Rodin. “The Kiss” is a sculpture, many copies of which exist, one in Cardiff. The Cardiff Kiss is a bronze and is now officially my favourite piece of art in the world. I could have stayed there for hours. In fact, if I could, I’d have taken it with me. (Imagine that…coming into my studio…and there’s a bigger than life-sized statue…)
Then Liverpool. For those of you who weren’t sure, I’m a HUGE Beatles fan. Totally my favourite band in the whole entire world, so Liverpool = Beatles’ heaven! The Beatles stuff I’ll talk about in a separate blog, but for now I’ll talk about the non-Beatle-y things. I went to the Liverpool Tate (art gallery). Some wonderful, wonderful works here: Picasso’s “Weeping Woman”, Degas’ “Woman in a Tub” and…a marble Rodin Kiss. I also found another music shop…
To York, where, more than anything, I got lost. No wonder it was such a strong fort. The enemies would have wandered around for days trying to get into the city. Eventually I found my way in. York is one of those English cities with cobbled streets, narrow, windy roads and loads of old stuff. I didn’t really get a good look around at any of the attractions as (a) I only had an afternoon there and (b) I had no idea where I was. The hostel there is on the outskirts of the town and there is a path that meanders alongside the river, then through miles of grass. I went for a walk in the morning, with the fog, the dew and images of “Wuthering Heights”. Very Heathcliff and Cathy.
I’m in Newcastle now. I arrived just after lunch and spent most of the afternoon in a music shop…and very nearly bought a new flute. I had to leave for a couple of hours and think about it, but was very tempted. (Warning: TFSA – Technical Flute-y Stuff Ahead) It was a silver Pearl with a gold lip plate, B foot, open hole, off-set G and…a C# gizmo, which I’d never come across before, but helps with the high C# trill, making them more in tune and easier to execute. It played beautifully and spoke very easily, especially the low register. And the best bit was that it was on sale for only $NZ3000, which is still a lot of money, but for what it was, is a brilliant price. I was very, very tempted. They also had some awesome ukuleles…sparkly ones, Spongebob ones, freaky ones…
But, you flute-y people…I hope you’re practicing because when I get back, there’s a whole lot of new repertoire you’re getting. Sheet music is so much cheaper here, particularly when I find things in the sale bin for only ₤1 ($3). Things like the Taffanel Andante Pastorale and the Monti Czardas (the best piece of classical music in the whole entire world). I’ve got some new chamber music too – the Martinu trio for flute, violin and piano, a duet for flute and bassoon, a Terence Greaves flute quartet (a lot of you have played the trio of his I have “Dance”, “Romp”, “Bourree”, “Gigue”). I’ve also got a whole load of new studies (ha ha ha ha ha – more technical work for you) and lots more.
I’m heading up to Edinburgh tomorrow and will stay there for a few days but until then…here’s the Beatles!!
To York, where, more than anything, I got lost. No wonder it was such a strong fort. The enemies would have wandered around for days trying to get into the city. Eventually I found my way in. York is one of those English cities with cobbled streets, narrow, windy roads and loads of old stuff. I didn’t really get a good look around at any of the attractions as (a) I only had an afternoon there and (b) I had no idea where I was. The hostel there is on the outskirts of the town and there is a path that meanders alongside the river, then through miles of grass. I went for a walk in the morning, with the fog, the dew and images of “Wuthering Heights”. Very Heathcliff and Cathy.
I’m in Newcastle now. I arrived just after lunch and spent most of the afternoon in a music shop…and very nearly bought a new flute. I had to leave for a couple of hours and think about it, but was very tempted. (Warning: TFSA – Technical Flute-y Stuff Ahead) It was a silver Pearl with a gold lip plate, B foot, open hole, off-set G and…a C# gizmo, which I’d never come across before, but helps with the high C# trill, making them more in tune and easier to execute. It played beautifully and spoke very easily, especially the low register. And the best bit was that it was on sale for only $NZ3000, which is still a lot of money, but for what it was, is a brilliant price. I was very, very tempted. They also had some awesome ukuleles…sparkly ones, Spongebob ones, freaky ones…
But, you flute-y people…I hope you’re practicing because when I get back, there’s a whole lot of new repertoire you’re getting. Sheet music is so much cheaper here, particularly when I find things in the sale bin for only ₤1 ($3). Things like the Taffanel Andante Pastorale and the Monti Czardas (the best piece of classical music in the whole entire world). I’ve got some new chamber music too – the Martinu trio for flute, violin and piano, a duet for flute and bassoon, a Terence Greaves flute quartet (a lot of you have played the trio of his I have “Dance”, “Romp”, “Bourree”, “Gigue”). I’ve also got a whole load of new studies (ha ha ha ha ha – more technical work for you) and lots more.
I’m heading up to Edinburgh tomorrow and will stay there for a few days but until then…here’s the Beatles!!
Liverpool - THE BEATLES
George Harrison's first guitarThursday 15 January – THE BEATLES
It was 20 years ago today… Actually it wasn’t twenty years ago, but rather 2 nights ago – I was in Liverpool. There’s a Beatles’ exhibition, which took me a bit to find, and in fact I found the gift shop at the end of the exhibition before I found the exhibition itself. But I did get some Beatle-y memorabilia – some stickers which are now attached to the laptop, a badge and a gift bag.
The exhibition was a bit disappointing to be honest. It didn’t really give me any new insight to the Fab Four or their music. It just rehashed their story and didn’t really put it into any kind of context, either of the time or of Liverpool. There was an audio guide that you listened to as you went around, but they kept playing music within the exhibition so that half the time you couldn’t hear the guide. In the end I just gave up.
The best bit was at the end when they dedicated one corner of a big room to each of the Beatles. Paul’s corner was like a movie theatre, and a video display played excerpts of interviews with him talking about his involvement with writing for film, composing classical works and his patronage of the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts.
John’s corner was set up like a bed where the video display focussed on his activism.
In Ringo’s corner you sat on drum stools and the video was about his work in films and Thomas the Tank Engine.
But George’s was the best (anyway – he’s my favourite Beatle by a million miles). You sat on cushions and the video display played “My Sweet Lord” while there was a still of George on the screen, then it played a skit he did for Eric Idle (Monty Python) on his show Rutland Weekend Television – singing about how he wants to be a pirate. You should check it out on YouTube!
In the afternoon I did a very touristy, very tacky thing, which I still can’t believe I did – I went on a bus trip called a “Magical Mystery Tour” that spent 2 hours driving around Liverpool looking at all the famous Beatle sites – the houses where they lived, the sign that says “Penny Lane”, the gates to Strawberry Field etc. Very tacky, but also…very good. The tour guide was brilliant – he had met Paul McCartney a number of times, he had played John Lennon in a film about Lennon’s early life, and he knew so much about the Beatles (like how John wanted Ringo in the band, not just because of his drumming skills – which I will defend until the day I die – but also because he saw how good Ringo was with the ladies and figured that if they let Ringo in the band then they’d get more girls too…).
It was a bit stalker-y but well worth it!
So there you go. I’m even more obsessed than when I began (if that’s possible)!
It was 20 years ago today… Actually it wasn’t twenty years ago, but rather 2 nights ago – I was in Liverpool. There’s a Beatles’ exhibition, which took me a bit to find, and in fact I found the gift shop at the end of the exhibition before I found the exhibition itself. But I did get some Beatle-y memorabilia – some stickers which are now attached to the laptop, a badge and a gift bag.
The exhibition was a bit disappointing to be honest. It didn’t really give me any new insight to the Fab Four or their music. It just rehashed their story and didn’t really put it into any kind of context, either of the time or of Liverpool. There was an audio guide that you listened to as you went around, but they kept playing music within the exhibition so that half the time you couldn’t hear the guide. In the end I just gave up.
The best bit was at the end when they dedicated one corner of a big room to each of the Beatles. Paul’s corner was like a movie theatre, and a video display played excerpts of interviews with him talking about his involvement with writing for film, composing classical works and his patronage of the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts.
John’s corner was set up like a bed where the video display focussed on his activism.
In Ringo’s corner you sat on drum stools and the video was about his work in films and Thomas the Tank Engine.
But George’s was the best (anyway – he’s my favourite Beatle by a million miles). You sat on cushions and the video display played “My Sweet Lord” while there was a still of George on the screen, then it played a skit he did for Eric Idle (Monty Python) on his show Rutland Weekend Television – singing about how he wants to be a pirate. You should check it out on YouTube!
In the afternoon I did a very touristy, very tacky thing, which I still can’t believe I did – I went on a bus trip called a “Magical Mystery Tour” that spent 2 hours driving around Liverpool looking at all the famous Beatle sites – the houses where they lived, the sign that says “Penny Lane”, the gates to Strawberry Field etc. Very tacky, but also…very good. The tour guide was brilliant – he had met Paul McCartney a number of times, he had played John Lennon in a film about Lennon’s early life, and he knew so much about the Beatles (like how John wanted Ringo in the band, not just because of his drumming skills – which I will defend until the day I die – but also because he saw how good Ringo was with the ladies and figured that if they let Ringo in the band then they’d get more girls too…).
It was a bit stalker-y but well worth it!
So there you go. I’m even more obsessed than when I began (if that’s possible)!
The house where John Lennon grew up with his aunt Mimi
Yours truly by Penny Lane
The house where Ringo Starr grew up
Strawberry FieldThursday, January 8, 2009
London to Bath
Brighton Pavilion
Stonehenge
3 Savile Row, London - the Beatles' Apple office and the site of the rooftop gig
me outside Paul McCartney's London office
Tuesday 6 January
Hi Everyone,
It’s been just over a week, so here’s my first update.
Firstly, some of you have heard about my mid-air medical mayhem, but for those of you who haven’t, here goes.
The flight from NZ to Australia was fine, but from Aus to Korea I fainted twice on the plane, then spent the next five hours throwing up. Not fun. Still, nothing that 4 hours in a Korean hospital couldn’t fix. I’m fine now, but I was a bit wobbly for a couple of days afterwards.
It didn’t help that jet-lag then kicked in! I would wake up at 2am and not get back to sleep. The next night I deliberately stayed up late, and then slept in til 1:30 the next afternoon!
I spent a few days in London, staying at my sister’s flat in Acton (west London), and from there started exploring London. I still haven’t finished with London, but here’s a few pictures I took. Of course I hit the galleries and museums – I saw Van Gogh’s sunflowers, Picasso’s Child with Dove, Monets, Manets, Klimts, Raphaels, and millions of other famous paintings.
London’s such a huge city, and to be honest, I’m not a huge fan. I love all the inside stuff – the galleries, the museums, the history – but I hate being surrounded by people all the time like that. People shove and push and there’s no personal space. It’s like being at the Regent 24 hour Book Sale at 8pm on the Friday night – crazy.
But what I do love about London is the theatre. Later on in March Kenneth Branagh will be directing Jude Law in Hamlet, Rowan Atkinson is starring as Fagin in Oliver, Derek Jacobi is in Twelfth Night and Sanjeev from the Kumars at No. 42 is King Arthur in Monty Python’s Spamalot. Kate (sister) and I went to see Spamalot – very funny. Not quite as good as the film, and it goes off in some weird tangents, e.g. instead of having to get a second shrubbery, they have to produce a West End musical, so Sir Robin goes into this big and song and dance number about needing Jews in the musical????? Oh, and Lancelot is gay and ends up going out with Herbert (“huge tracts of land”). It was a very odd adaptation, but with some great moments (King Arthur speaking Hindi???!!!).
I left for Brighton on Monday. The main attraction for me was the Pavilion, created by The Prince Regent (later King George IV, or Hugh Laurie in Blackadder). It was absolutely amazing. He built it in the 1820s a getaway palace down by the sea. For any of you who have read Regency Buck (Georgette Heyer) the Pavilion is where Judith Tavener fainted in the Prince’s company when he showed her one of his new statues (although, I wasn’t sure which room this was).
The Pavilion is decorated incredibly lavishly, in the “Chinese” style that was popular at the time. The music room (far out, if only I had one…) is massive. It’s about the same size as the Glenroy Auditorium. There’s an organ at one end. You can see the pipes, but the keyboard is hidden behind a secret door. Rossini performed here in 1823(?).
I went through Salisbury (pronounced: Sauls-bry), which is where Stonehenge is. The stones are impressive, but it was so bitterly cold I didn’t stay long. The stones come from Wales, and no one knows how they came to Salisbury, or why.
In 2000 a team of people tried to bring a stone similar in size from Wales to England as a special project to mark the millennium. They failed. The stone sank at the first river crossing. Yet, somehow, 3000 years ago, all these stones were transported by human labour alone.
I’m writing this from Bath (and I will stop soon, I promise!). For me, Bath is all about Georgette Heyer. Several of her books were set here and it’s really cool (well, really cool for a book nerd like me) to go around the streets and see the streets and places she talks about. I didn’t arrive til late, so I haven’t really had a chance to look around. That’ll be tomorrow until lunchtime, when I have to catch a train to Oxford (yes, more nerdy book stuff).
I hope you’re all enjoying the lovely weather back in NZ. I heard it’s been up around 30 degrees :P
See you in the next instalment. Remember you can email me at justinepierre@hotmail.com or I’m on facebook.
Justine
Hi Everyone,
It’s been just over a week, so here’s my first update.
Firstly, some of you have heard about my mid-air medical mayhem, but for those of you who haven’t, here goes.
The flight from NZ to Australia was fine, but from Aus to Korea I fainted twice on the plane, then spent the next five hours throwing up. Not fun. Still, nothing that 4 hours in a Korean hospital couldn’t fix. I’m fine now, but I was a bit wobbly for a couple of days afterwards.
It didn’t help that jet-lag then kicked in! I would wake up at 2am and not get back to sleep. The next night I deliberately stayed up late, and then slept in til 1:30 the next afternoon!
I spent a few days in London, staying at my sister’s flat in Acton (west London), and from there started exploring London. I still haven’t finished with London, but here’s a few pictures I took. Of course I hit the galleries and museums – I saw Van Gogh’s sunflowers, Picasso’s Child with Dove, Monets, Manets, Klimts, Raphaels, and millions of other famous paintings.
London’s such a huge city, and to be honest, I’m not a huge fan. I love all the inside stuff – the galleries, the museums, the history – but I hate being surrounded by people all the time like that. People shove and push and there’s no personal space. It’s like being at the Regent 24 hour Book Sale at 8pm on the Friday night – crazy.
But what I do love about London is the theatre. Later on in March Kenneth Branagh will be directing Jude Law in Hamlet, Rowan Atkinson is starring as Fagin in Oliver, Derek Jacobi is in Twelfth Night and Sanjeev from the Kumars at No. 42 is King Arthur in Monty Python’s Spamalot. Kate (sister) and I went to see Spamalot – very funny. Not quite as good as the film, and it goes off in some weird tangents, e.g. instead of having to get a second shrubbery, they have to produce a West End musical, so Sir Robin goes into this big and song and dance number about needing Jews in the musical????? Oh, and Lancelot is gay and ends up going out with Herbert (“huge tracts of land”). It was a very odd adaptation, but with some great moments (King Arthur speaking Hindi???!!!).
I left for Brighton on Monday. The main attraction for me was the Pavilion, created by The Prince Regent (later King George IV, or Hugh Laurie in Blackadder). It was absolutely amazing. He built it in the 1820s a getaway palace down by the sea. For any of you who have read Regency Buck (Georgette Heyer) the Pavilion is where Judith Tavener fainted in the Prince’s company when he showed her one of his new statues (although, I wasn’t sure which room this was).
The Pavilion is decorated incredibly lavishly, in the “Chinese” style that was popular at the time. The music room (far out, if only I had one…) is massive. It’s about the same size as the Glenroy Auditorium. There’s an organ at one end. You can see the pipes, but the keyboard is hidden behind a secret door. Rossini performed here in 1823(?).
I went through Salisbury (pronounced: Sauls-bry), which is where Stonehenge is. The stones are impressive, but it was so bitterly cold I didn’t stay long. The stones come from Wales, and no one knows how they came to Salisbury, or why.
In 2000 a team of people tried to bring a stone similar in size from Wales to England as a special project to mark the millennium. They failed. The stone sank at the first river crossing. Yet, somehow, 3000 years ago, all these stones were transported by human labour alone.
I’m writing this from Bath (and I will stop soon, I promise!). For me, Bath is all about Georgette Heyer. Several of her books were set here and it’s really cool (well, really cool for a book nerd like me) to go around the streets and see the streets and places she talks about. I didn’t arrive til late, so I haven’t really had a chance to look around. That’ll be tomorrow until lunchtime, when I have to catch a train to Oxford (yes, more nerdy book stuff).
I hope you’re all enjoying the lovely weather back in NZ. I heard it’s been up around 30 degrees :P
See you in the next instalment. Remember you can email me at justinepierre@hotmail.com or I’m on facebook.
Justine
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