Smashing pumpkins

Following on from the previous post about 'Trick or treat', have you seen this amazing artwork? Fashioned out of pumpkins and by using a spoon, this guy creates these incredible faces.

I would love to know if he works in other materials and, if they were within my budget, I would jump at the chance of buying one of his pieces!

Trick or treat?

I've bought a small stash of Dairy Milk chocolate bars and left them near the front door, in preparation for tonight's 'trick or treaters'. They will be handed out to the little monsters - quite literally, of course - who come to our front door, dressed in a range of weird and wonderful costumes. Vampires, witches, ghouls, zombies - you name it. As the masked children call out "Trick or treat!", the parents often stand, somewhat sheepishly, at the end of the path as the treats are handed out. Mind you, I've never called their bluff and retorted "OK, then... trick"!, because you're not quite sure what they might have up their sleeve. Possibly, nothing, but you never know. When I was a young lad, I remember pouring some flour-and-water glue - with food colouring, for added effect - on some people's paths if they refused to give us anything, which I now recall with a mild sense of regret.

Legal action approved for St. Paul's protest

The City of London Corporation, which is the local authority for the financial heart of London, has approved court action to remove the anti-capitalism campsite at St Paul’s Cathedral. The organisation’s Planning & Transportation Committee has voted to go ahead with court action to clear 200 plus tents from the public highways around the Cathedral. Watch this space, as they say.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-15495019

What's your number?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-15391515

This is fun! The world's population is expected to reach seven billion in the next few weeks. You can use this ready reckoner on the BBC News website to find out your number!

West End stars at the Guildhall

I attended an Olympic Games media briefing in the 16th-century Great Hall at the Guildhall last night and, after the speeches from City figures and Games spokespeople, we were entertained by a handful of top performers from London's West End, including Ramin Karimloo, who recently played the Phantom in Love Never Dies and The Phantom of the Opera and Danielle Hope, who plays Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz at the London Palladium.

They performed beautifully (Danielle, Somewhere Over the Rainbow; Ramin, Bring Him Home) and I was delighted when Danielle posed for this portrait just after she came off the stage.

STOP PRESS: Ramin has landed the role of Jean Valjean in Les Miserables at the Queen's Theatre in London's West End.

Will Ferrell and the trophy

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-15434952

I've got a healthy sense of humour (or should that be 'humor'...?), but I'm not sure what to make of this. Did he mean to drop it, or was it an accident? (Am I being naive? Probably.) If it was a carefully, pre-arranged bit of stage business, he took a huge risk to drop a prestigious award in front of a large audience, who had just given him a standing ovation. I wonder if the event organisers will give him a replacement trophy?

The world's best whisky!

I was very interested to read this news. I'm not a whisky expert, by any means, but I enjoy a glass or two of single malt as a night cap. My favourite tipples are Laphroaig, Highland Park and Lagavulin - I love the intense smoky, peaty undertones - but I'm a firm believer in adding a drop of water to separate the oils, remove some of the 'fire' and bring out the flavours.

Old Pulteney comes from Wick in Caithness, Scotland... and I can remember working at nearby John O'Groats for two months shortly before I went to university. I spent two months living in a 10ft caravan in a field next to the hotel. No heating, no running water, no electricity, no toilet - so thank heavens for the hospitality of the hotel manager, who let me use the facilities. A desolate but amazing place - as June approached, I would walk down to the harbour and even at midnight, it was daylight.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-business-15423862

Another three quid wasted!

Another weekend, another National Lottery draw, another dashed hope. Every week, I check my three lines, only to find that I've wasted my money. I'm sure that I heard once that you've got as much chance of winning the Lottery as watching Elvis land a UFO on the back of the Loch Ness Monster.

Mind you, I guess that none of the winners have ever really expected to win. And so, I'll continue to do my three lines and hope that, one day, It Could Be Me.

Mr Noisy

My evening at the theatre with Daniel Kitson was enjoyable... but my journey to the NT was anything but. Living in London has much to commend it, but if there's one thing I can't stand, it's when some mouthy individual on a train or a bus decides to verbally commandeer the whole space and bore everyone else to tears.

On the 76 bus from Hackney to the South Bank on Friday night, it was the turn of a guy in his mid-40s whose vocal range - and degree of nuisance - could have easily got him into the Guinness Book of Records. He was, quite possibly, one of the most bloody irritating people I've ever encountered on the capital's public transport. Not able to move from my seat, I listened to his annoying patois as he shrieked, whispered and trilled to his friend for 35 minutes. One minute, his voice dipping low, the next, screaming like a school girl on the verge of orgasm - and at no point, did I ever get the impression that he was aware of his surroundings or the noise that he was making. Should I ever find myself on public transport with him again, I shall hurl myself out of the window.
     

In praise of Daniel Kitson

I went to see the comedian, Daniel Kitson, at the National Theatre last night. His one-man show, It's Always Right Now, Until It's Later, has to be seen to be believed - but, as it has been solidly sold out for ages, you'll be extremely lucky to get hold of a ticket... in fact, all the performances in the 890-seater Lyttelton Theatre sold out within hours. Every seat cost just £12 and apparently, he pulled strings to ensure that his fans got in quick to book the tickets.

He ambled on to the stage last night, clutching a mug in one hand, and over the course of 90 minutes, he only drew breath when his stutter got the better of him. His delivery was extraordinary - and it was funny, thought-provoking and moving in equal measure - and it was a phenomenal feat of memory. The set comprised a black stage and a chair, small ladder and around 25 light bulbs, all of which signified a person at one particular stage in their life. At the end of the show, he thanked the audience for coming to see him and walked off. Cue much applause and a standing ovation from a few people in the front row.

He didn't come back on stage to take a bow, so the lights went up and the audience filed out. One of my friends, Gerard, saw the show a few days earlier and told me that he wouldn't come back on stage and that, give or take the odd add-lib, he had delivered exactly the same words when he'd seen the show.

These strange times

Sat here at my desk in my office in London, watching the rolling news reports unfold about Col Gaddafi's death in Libya, it makes you think about the strange times that we are living through.

In a relatively short space of time, we have seen the toppling of former Egyptian leader, Hosni Mubarak, and the deaths of Saddam Hussein, Osama bin Laden and now, Muammar Gaddafi. One by one, these regimes are coming to an end, paving the way for a new life and new hope for their countries' people.

'Bergerac' - 30 years on

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-jersey-15349184
This makes me feel old... I remember watching John Nettles, Annette Badland and Terence Alexander in 'Bergerac' when I was growing up. Can it really be 30 years ago?

City of London protests

The anti-banks protest continues in front of St. Paul's Cathedral in the 'Square Mile'. I took my camera and went there to see it for myself this morning - a maze of colourful tents outside Wren's iconic building with City of London Police officers, tourists, media photographers and bemused City workers in attendance.

Reporters talk to protestors and film their 'pieces to camera' around them. Banners, signs, flyers, flags and, less ideally, slogans chalked onto the pavement have turned the area into a makeshift community. Not quite sure how long it will continue...

Reaching around the world!

I was delighted to see that, according to my Blogger stats, londonlife has just had its first view in Australia. So far, I've got regular viewers in France, Jersey, Spain and, most notably, the USA - but I'm particularly pleased that my blog has now reached around the world. If that was you, thank you very much - and I hope that you continue to check it out.

'Jerusalem' autograph hunters

I was in the West End yesterday and enjoyed chatting to some lads who were waiting to meet the cast of Jerusalem, Jez Butterworth's phenomenally successful play, starring Mark Rylance and Mackenzie Crook, after the matinee performance. We waited for a while and, although Mark Rylance, who plays Johnny 'Rooster' Byron, didn't come out because he was resting in his dressing room, Mackenzie (who played Gareth in Ricky Gervais' The Office) emerged from the Stage Door and was happy to chat to fans and sign some programmes.

'Short and Sweet' by Dan Lepard

I'm no great cook - less cordon bleu, more cordoned off - but I owe some of my successes in the kitchen to Dan Lepard, baker extraordinaire, who has a regular cookery column in The Guardian. His new book, Short and Sweet, has just been published and it brings together hundreds of wonderful recipes for bread, cakes, biscuits, puddings, etc. The recipes are easy to understand and Dan's photographs (is there no end to his talent, dammit...?) will have you drooling. It retails at £25, but you can currently pick it up on Amazon for £14. It's a bargain, either way, and I reckon that it's likely to become a classic. 

Christmas shopping

I've started my Christmas shopping. Yes, I know it's over two months away, but I couldn't resist drawing up a list of ideas for my partner, parents and friends - and before I knew it, I was tapping away on Amazon and pressing the 'Place Order' button. Three days later, the boxes arrived at home and I've just made a mental note to get some wrapping paper and tags today.

The truth is, when it comes to Christmas, I'm not a last-minute person. I can never quite believe that some people leave it until a couple of days before Christmas Day before hitting the shops in a mad shopping frenzy. Secondly, of course, it's much easier and very often, cheaper to get stuff online. Most of the things that I've been shopping for - books, jewellery and DVDs - are half-price, or cheaper. And thirdly, I'm too impatient to fight with the crowds on Oxford Street and at Covent Garden. London gets very, very busy during the run-up to the festive season to the extent that it's not so much shopping, more unarmed combat. When they do arrive, you fight (well, jostle a bit...) to get into the buses and then, you're packed in like sardines. No, thanks. Give me two hours or so with my laptop, a couple of glasses of wine and I've got Christmas... er, wrapped up, as they say.

Are you making dirty phone calls?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-15284501

Eww! Scientists from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and Queen Mary, University of London, have found that many mobile phones - in particular, in London and Birmingham - are harbouring nasty germs.

I won't go into the lurid details here - just read the report (see above) - but it makes me feel less of a hygiene freak for carrying a small bottle of anti-bacterial gel wherever I go, and not touching door handles in public toilets after I've washed my hands.
  

Too much money?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-15253038

I don't think that many of my friends or colleagues share my view, but I can't help thinking that some of the Euromillions 'roll-over' jackpots are just obscene. The latest one - £101,000,000 - has just been claimed by a couple from Cambridgeshire, who are expected to go public about their win shortly.

On one hand, I think "good luck to them!" - they entered the prize draw and their numbers have come - but on the other hand, I think "bloody hell!". Isn't it just a LUDICROUS amount of money to land in your lap? Wouldn't it just panic you? One day, you're chugging along on a decent (or perhaps, not) wage... and then, suddenly, you've got more money than you can possibly imagine or know what to do with.

Ugly Betty does Chicago!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-15253436

More celebrity casting news for London's theatreland! It's just been announced that America Ferrera, the star of the hit US show, Ugly Betty, will play Roxie Hart in Chicago at the Garrick Theatre in the West End from 7th November.

The show has been running in London for 15 years, so she looks set to become part of the anniversary celebrations.

'Saved' at the Lyric Hammersmith

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-13314221

Since I moved to London in 2000, I've seen hundreds of plays and I don't mind admitting that, over the years, I've had pre-show jitters about some of them. You Me Bum Bum Train was one of them (exhilarating, terrifying and amazing); The Lieutenant of Inishmore (darkly funny and, in one key scene, breathtaking gruesome) was another; and Contains Violence (a fist-eatingly awful waste of two hours of my life) is a third example.

On Wednesday, I'm taking a friend to see a play at the Lyric Hammersmith that includes a scene where a baby is stoned to death in its pram. I've seen graphic sex, violence and nudity aplenty on the London stage, but I doubt that anything will prepare me for Edward Bond's 'Saved'. We'll see...

Lord Mayor's Show

One of the liveliest and most colourful events in London is just a few weeks away. The Lord Mayor's Show takes place on Saturday 12th November, with a three-mile long procession of floats that starts from Mansion House at 11am and ends up on the Strand - and then, makes a return journey from Temple, via Queen Victoria Street, back to Mansion House.

Tens of thousands of people line the streets for the free event, which is also broadcast live on BBC television - and there are also fireworks at 5pm, which you can watch from the South Bank and Victoria Embankment. Of course, one of the highlights is the sight of the 250-year-old golden Lord Mayor's State Coach... with a very happy Lord Mayor David Wootton inside!

www.facebook.com/lordmayorsshow

Jonathan Pryce in 'King Lear'

Nifty bit of casting at the Almeida Theatre in north London. Award-winning actor, Jonathan Pryce, whose recent credits include the Pirates of the Caribbean films, will take the title role in King Lear at the Almeida Theatre from August to November 2012.

I've been a fan of his since I watched him in Terry Gilliam's film, Brazil, and heard him on the original soundtrack of the West End musical, Miss Saigon, in which he played the role of The Engineer. He was also a superb Professor Higgins in My Fair Lady, opposite Martine McCutcheon and her understudy, Alexandra Jay, at the NT and in the West End.

http://www.almeida.co.uk/event/kinglear

Joke from comedy legend Barry Cryer

I read a wonderful joke in The Guardian during the weekend, which appeared in Simon Hoggart's column. A man buys some LSD tablets and leaves them in a small bag at home on the kitchen table. When he comes back, the bag is empty. He turns to his mother and says "Did you find any pills in that bag?"  "Never mind those bloody pills," says his mother, "there's a dragon on the shed!"