An Evening with James Rhodes

So tonight, I had the very good fortune to be at James Rhodes concert at the Arts Theatre in Leicester Square, which was being recorded for a DVD. I say fortunate because I won my tickets to this, and I never win anything it seems, so of course I was super excited.

It was first come first served for the seats (49 other people won a pair of tickets too), so I got there nice and early, and met up with my lovely new friend Anna to queue for the best seats.

I got this when I was ill and feeling sorry for myself - made my day!

Totally worth it. We ended up in the centre of the second row from the front of the circle (the stalls were being used as the VIP area), and settled in to wait for the music to begin.

After testing out the sound with various levels of applause, James came out and started to play, with a Rachmaninov piece that he played on his Channel 4 documentary Notes From the Inside (check it out if you can, it was made inside a psychiatric hospital and was incredibly moving).

The thing I love about James Rhodes is that he makes classical music accessible. He said that the only rule he believes in is that Chopin must be played at a piano recital – he played in jeans and a t shirt, he swore, he even turned a Beethoven piece into a long joke. The thing I liked the most was that he gave us a little commentary before each piece with all the important information on the composers – what was going on in their love lives at the time, what their mustache was like, etc. – and then what the music meant to him personally. He described Grieg’s Hall of the Mountain King as it being like “you’re locked in a psych ward. The doctor’s coming to inject you with something to calm you down, but you don’t want him to so you’re hiding but you know he’s coming anyway.”

He’s incredibly self-deprecating, but his piano playing skills are astounding. His hands were a blur, he didn’t use any music, and you could tell he cared so much about what he was doing. It was such an informal concert, his brother yelled out “We love you James!” at one point, there was laughter, cheering, even the old wolf whistle. It’s not what you’d expect from classical music at all, and I hope everyone gets the chance to see him live (or buy the DVD when it’s out!) at some point.

Oh, and for the icing on the cake, I saw Derren Brown on the way in, and then ran into Benedict Cumberbatch on the way out. I think at that point my already wobbly legs turned to complete jelly. I didn’t get any pictures, as it didn’t seem right to shove a camera in his face when he was out with his friends, but it was a lovely end to a perfect evening.

Let me know if you went, and what you thought! And do check out James on Twitter - @JRhodesPianist

P.S. Apologies for the picture-light post – it wasn’t really the sort of place for taking lots of pictures, especially as they were recording!

Puppies and Picnics

This last Bank Holiday Monday, a friend and I decided to take advantage of the lovely sunny weather, and take our dogs for a walk at Petworth House, a gorgeous National Trust property in Sussex. The house has been used for all sorts of films, including Pride and Prejudice (the Keira Knightley version), so when I walk around, I tend to pretend, like the big child I am, that either I’m super rich and own the place, or that I’m Elizabeth Bennett.

The house itself

We didn’t look round the house this time, as we had the puppies with us, so we had a long walk around the grounds, which are also beautiful. We walked for about three hours, albeit with a picnic stop, and then later on a short break for the dogs – they only have little legs!

I was a bit short on food having been ill for a week post V Festival, and therefore neglecting the shopping, but luckily my friend stepped up to the plate and provided a delicious picnic. She munched on an egg mayo sandwich, while I had blue brie and sundried tomato. It’s not something I’ve tried before, but I’ll definitely have it again. These were washed down with lemonade, and followed by what was left of an apple spice loaf I’d made earlier.

The grounds were very busy (Bank Holiday + good weather = English people out in force!), so I wasn’t able to take many photos as we needed to keep a close eye on the dogs. Roux paddled in the lake though, and explored as much as he could. He’s just learnt how to eat blackberries from the bush, so he had a lot of fun with that. I also had the opportunity to exclaim “The herd is on the move!” a la Zazu from the Lion King, as the park is home to lots and lots of deer, who wonder about all over the grounds.

The lake - poor Roux fell in at this point!

So, when the dogs (and us) ran out of steam, we meandered back to the carpark. A lovely day out, which only cost us £2.50 for the parking, and gave us some good exercise – absolute bargain!

On a side note, does anyone else’s dog eat blackberries mid-walk? Not sure if I should be proud that he’s figured that one out or not!

Blackberry gobbling time

V Festival

Well, it’s been quite a while since I’ve written here! Life has got in the way a bit, I’ve been getting things ready to move in October (more on that one later), and trying to single-handedly finish decorating the house before then – not an easy thing to do.

So, I was quite ready for my little trip to V Festival in Chelmsford. I was a bit (well, quite) nervous beforehand, as not only was it my first festival, but also my first proper camping experience, and even worse, I’d never used a portaloo before!

So, my friend and I set off early Saturday morning, which luckily meant we missed out on all the traffic, and had our tent up by 10.30. Not bad for a couple of camping novices. We ended up about as far away from the festival as we could be, right be the road at the top of the campsite. I’d have to say that this is a really good place to be if you don’t want to party like crazy, it was a fairly quiet area, and while I heard reports of some thieves in tents in other areas, we had no problems at all.

The dreaded portaloos! Thankfully the sky brightened up 

The weather was incredibly changeable this weekend, so I went with wellies, denim shorts and tights, a t-shirt, and a zippy hoodie. I also bought a hat first thing  as I didn’t have one with me– my poor pale scalp burns in seconds!

On the first day, the highlights for me were Eddie Izzard and Travis – we were right down the front for them, and were dancing and singing along with the best of them. My friend and I do have polar opposite music tastes – she loves manufactured pop, especially boy bands, while I love just about everything but that! We saw some of Paloma Faith as well, Deacon Blue (lots of dad dancing there), The Script, and Beyonce. I was actually really disappointed with her, 20 minutes late, about 5 costumes changes, and only did her hits for about 15 minutes at the end. I was never her biggest fan, but I thought at least she’d be fun to watch.

Eddie Izzard in the Glee tent. Please excuse the bad quality, I didn't want to take my good camera!

Sadly, on day two, we had to leave at about 6pm, missing the Stereophonics (one of the reasons I bought my ticket!) and Kings of Leon. My friend had to leave early, and due to problems with phones, I couldn’t find my other friends in time. I’m comfortable doing a lot of things on my own, but staying at a festival solo didn’t feel right unfortunately.

However, I really loved seeing Tom Odell that day, especially doing a version of ‘Get Back’ with Seasick Steve. We also saw 5ive and Olly Murs, as per my friend’s request.

Tom Odell and Seasick Steve on the 4Music Stage

So, all in all, a bit of a mixed bag for the weekend. I’ll definitely go to more festivals now – the portaloos weren’t nearly as bad as I’d feared, and most of the time the atmosphere was really good. I think I just need to find one better suited to me. What I will say is:

- Take toilet paper! I can’t stress this one enough. I got a wonderful little travel box from Sainsburys that fit in my handbag, and was perfect for carrying around all day

- Pace yourselves. I saw a lot of people who were struggling by the time it started on the first day. Don’t waste your time there!

- Don’t take anything you don’t want to lose or ruined. I stocked up on cheap t-shirts from Primark, and a cheap handbag – a lot of bottles full of beer and various other liquids were thrown, and things can easily get lost.

- Accept that you won’t be able to see everything you want. I bought a programme for £10 when I got there, and we went through everything we were desperate to see, things we would like to see, and things that we didn’t. It takes a while to walk between stages, so it’s worth planning your day in the morning.

- Take as much food as you can. The food there is pretty pricey, so it’s worth taking lots of snacks and then just getting a main meal. There’s a real range of food, though, so there should be something for everyone.

Cheeseburger from Jamie Oliver's food stall - definitely the top end of festival food!

I hope this helps fellow festival newbies, I’d love to hear about other festival experiences and recommendations though! 

The Get to Know Me Tag!

So, now that I’m a few posts in, I thought it’d be about time to do the Get to Know Me tag, especially as I realised my first post didn’t actually tell you that much about me! So, I thought I’d start with this, and then maybe do a couple more later on. Anyway, first questions first!

1. Are you named after anyone? 

Nope. I was going to be called Alexandra, but when I was born my parents though I looked so small that I needed a small name too, so they called me Amy. About as short as you can get!

2. When was the last time you cried? 

It was about 3 weeks ago, when I said goodbye to my parents at the airport. It’s always tough saying goodbye. I’m not really a big crier though.

3. Do you have kids? 

Goodness no! I still feel much too young. Unless the dog counts? 

4. If you were another person, would you be a friend of yourself? 

I’d hope so! I am quite shy though, and it does take me a while to open up, so it might take me a while to make friends with myself...

5. Do you use sarcasm a lot? 

I’m English. What do you think?

No seriously, I suppose I do on occasion, but not in a mean way. Or at least, it’s never intended as mean!

6. Will you ever Bungee Jump? 

I don’t think so. Never say never, but I’m really not keen on heights/falling from heights. I would like to swim with sharks though. I think that would be amazing!

7. What is your favorite cereal? 

I’m not really a massive cereal fan. Sometimes I’ll have Weetabix for lunch, but otherwise I like cornflakes – they’re in my flapjack recipe, and they’re good for chocolate refrigerator slices.

8. What's the first thing you notice about people? 

It’s tricky to say first... I think it actually might be hair, I usually notice very quickly when people have haircuts. Bit of a strange one though!

9. What is your eye color? 

They’re blue, although usually covered by glasses as I am atrociously short sighted.

10. Scary movie or happy endings? 

Out of the two, happy endings, but only because I don’t do well with scary movies. I love the film 28 Days Later, but I have to watch it in the middle of the day with frequent pauses, and I always have nightmares after. Happy endings can get a bit boring though.

11. Favorite smells? 

Fresh baking. Nothing beats that!

 

Mmm... Christmas baking smells....

12. Summer or Winter? 

I love the idea of winter, but physically I don’t do very well in it, so I’ll have to say summer. I do love the sun, even though I have to get slathered up in Factor 30 to go outside.

13. Computer or Television? 

Computer. Then I get the best of both worlds, as I can watch TV on my laptop. Yep, I’m greedy.

14. What's the furthest you've ever been from home? 

Well, I’ve spent 10 years in England and 10 years in Australia, and 4 years in places in between, so... I can’t really answer that as home for me isn’t so much about the location. Right now I live in England and my family are in Australia, so I suppose that’s quite far away!

15. Do you have any special talents? 

Nothing unusual... I’m good at languages, I majored in French and Spanish at uni, so there’s that.

16. Where were you born? 

South-East England. We stayed here until I was 5 and then moved to Portugal.

17. What are your hobbies? 

Cooking, baking, going to the theatre, reading, dog walking/training, travel when I can afford it, gazing longingly at expensive handbags....

18. Do you have any pets? 

I do. I have my little spaniel Roux (French for redhead – my dog is ginger!) who is lovely, and a bit of a Velcro dog. He sticks to me like Velcro!

19. Favorite Movie? 

That’s such a difficult one! I mean, I have different favourites for different moods. I love Atonement, I’ll always stop and watch that when I see it, and the same goes for any Audrey Hepburn film, Roman Holiday and The Nun’s Story in Particular.

I also love films like Platoon, The Usual Suspects, Manhattan Murder Mystery, any film in The Cornetto Trilogy, good action films (hello Skyfall and Sean Connery Bond films!), and old classics. This is such a horrible question, I really can’t choose!

20. Do you have any siblings? 

Nope, I’m an only child.

So, there we are! I tag you all to do this, and let me know when you’ve done it, I’d love to know more about who’s reading :)

Long Haul - Long Bore!

Although having family on the other side of the world can have many advantages, one of the disadvantages is the flight it takes to reach them.

Now, I’m not a particularly good flier. I tend to get quite nervous, and almost go into shut-down mode on the plane. I don’t eat enough, I don’t drink enough, I don’t sleep.

As you can imagine, this makes the 24 hour flight to Australia much longer than it is. I’ve decided that next time, I’m going to try breaking up the journey for the night; I’m sure that’s a healthier option!

There are countless tips on Youtube and beauty blogs on beauty regimes for flights. I don’t exactly have that. But, I do have some tried and tested methods for making flights easier, if not more bearable.

Firstly, moisturise. (“Moisturise me, moisturise me!” - Yes, I'm a geek, high five if you get that reference!) It sounds basic, but it makes a world of difference. Every few hours, I just get a little travel sized bottle out, and lip balm, and I feel so much fresher on arriving.

Secondly, food. This is a big one for me. I don’t trust plane food at all. In fact, I’ll eat the bread rolls, and that’s about it. Unfortunately, I tend to need to eat little and often, so this doesn’t quite cut it. I always take a bag of snacks for the plane. Admittedly, I take far more than I’ll ever eat, but it’s good to have a variety, and I can always eat it when I land. For the last trip, I took homemade cheese straws and chocolate chip cookies, a bag of crisps, an apple, some chocolate (for energy!), and sandwiches.

Thirdly, organisation. Through trial and error, I’ve learnt that when I travel on my own, it’s best to use a backpack as hand luggage, instead of a little wheeley suitcase. I put everything I’m likely to want during the flight into my handbag (currently a Michael Kors Hamilton from Bicester Village - a perfect size for travel, and has a divider pocket in the middle so great for staying organised), such as my Kindle, the snacks, my bag of liquids, and the bottle of water I get after security. Things like my laptop, chargers, cameras and a change of clothes (just in case) go in the backpack.

Finally, attitude and thoughts. This is the most difficult one for me. I’ve really had to train myself to think positively on flights, and silence the internal chatterbox that says “I’m not in control, I can’t do this, what was that noise?!” Instead, I’ve learnt to think that it’s a good thing I’m not in control, as I can’t fly a plane, and that all the noises are normal – if they’re not, they’ll tell us. The last time I flew long haul was on the day of the plane crash in San Francisco. It was hardly an auspicious start to the day, and I just had to put it out of my mind.

But when all’s said and done, you either have a lovely holiday to look forward to, or getting home. And nothing beats that moment when you finally land for the last time and breathe that sigh of relief!

So, what are your plans to get away this year? 

Safe summer travels everyone!

Theatre Time: The Cripple of Inishmaan

One of the things you need to know about me is that I love going to the theatre. I try to go every month or so if I can, there's always something good on. However, as someone with essentially the budget of a student, I need to try and find cheap tickets. There are lots to be found, especially for the under 25s (National Theatre Entry Pass, I thank you!), which makes this possible.

This week, I went to see the Cripple of Inishmaan, part of the Michael Grandage season, starring Daniel Radcliffe.

Now, another thing you need to know is that I’m a Harry Potter fan. And I mean a proper fan. I started reading it when I was 10, and the final book came out when I was 18, so I feel like I’ve really grown up with the series. From the fourth book on, I read them all from start to finish the day they came out. I went to a 10pm screening of the Philosopher’s Stone on a school night. My local bookshop even gave me Goblet of Fire a day early as they knew I loved it so much. And most importantly, I always knew that Snape was good.

I think it’s partly because of this that I want the stars of the film do well. I don't want them to fulfil the child star stereotype. I was hesitant about booking this play initially, as I wasn't sure it'd be my sort of thing, so to get a cheaper ticket I had to go for a Wednesday matinee, something I don’t usually do.

I saw Daniel Radcliffe in Equus years ago (and later ended up sitting next to him at another play!), and while I was impressed with his choice, I wasn’t convinced. The Cripple of Inishmaan however, is a different story. His physical transformation into someone with cerebral palsy, as well as his Irish accent, seemed virtually flawless. Although in many ways it’s an incredibly sad play, it has some very funny moments. I don't want to spoil anything for those who haven't seen it yet, but the women in the play are really something. 

It’s very much an ensemble piece, and although D-Rad is billed as the star, the other characters really make up the play. It’s a play that really shows all the characters’ flaws and their good sides, giving it a very ‘true’ sense.

A lot of people sitting around me were talking about it being hard to understand the accents for the first few minutes or so. I also found that to be true, but once I got the ear for it, it was fine. 

I would definitely recommend this play to anyone – definitely not one just for the Potter fans!  

Hi, I'm Amy. It's good to meet you!

So, first things first. Introduction time!

I’m Amy. I’m a twenty-something (early mid-twenties, to be precise) girl currently living in England but brought up all over the world who wants to be more creative. That’s how this blog has come about – I want to write. It’s one of the things that has got lost somewhere over the years, and this blog is a way of bringing it back.

This blog doesn’t have an exact direction, except the direction of my thoughts. It’s essentially a lifestyle blog as I attempt to find my way. I plan to write about anything and everything, from cooking to theatre (one of my loves) to travel to fashion, to name just a few.

I’ve never tried my hand at blogging before, although I’ve often wanted to, so there may be some bumps along the way, but I’m hoping you’ll be patient with me.

I'd also like to introduce Roux, my lovely puppy - I'm sure he'll be making a few appearances here.

I’m looking forward to a good blogging future, and please feel free to say hi and introduce yourselves too!