Well, of course I must begin with a wholehearted Merry Christmas to all! I hope everyone is enjoying their Bucks Fizz, Christmas Dinner and Sherry Trifle – we have a custom of throwing pizzas in the oven on Christmas Day and enjoying the customary gluttony on Boxing Day, so I am free to graze on chocolate and jelly beans and leftover takeaway – and just to generally be a layabout.
First up I had to shuffle some furniture around to get the huge tree into a position where it would actually fit under my sloping roof, and then I spent an evening decorating the huge thing. Then, after a trip to Leeds where I stuffed bags and bags full of the cheapest decorations, tinsel and lights that I could find, I set about concealing the usual minimal aesthetic behind a layer of what my mother would call “tack”.
I am quite happy with the result, a lovely warm room (in great contrast to my usual aesthetic) which has gotten me in the festive spirit over the past few weeks! These decorations do hold a secret, however, which I shall reveal in a week or so…
I was rudely awoken this morning by my sister who decided that she was going with her friend, Lucy, for a wander around our local reservoir, Hurstwood Reservoir. I decided I wasn’t happy with her wandering by herself, and so took the opportunity to get out of bed and go for a wander.
Lucy had brought her boss’ dog, Benji, along for a walk, and I had brought my camera (naturally). We headed through the village of Hurstwood and headed through the forest up to the reservoir, having a good old chat and catch up along the way…
The beautiful surroundings, however, were soon marred by our idiocy once the camera had come out…
Look at this excellent dog!
After fooling around by the water’s edge, we thought it best to move on along. I got really excited and jumped in a puddle, having forgotten that my Docs now have a hole in them, and so had to squelch my way back home.
Also, Ellie nearly fell down a hill, Lucy dropped some chocolate in the mud, and I nearly did my back in trying to limbo under a fence. Was still a lovely trip though.
Once again I have hit a time in my life when things have gotten ridiculously busy, and so my poor old blog has been neglected for nearly a month. Have no fear, however, for I am back – and with only a week left until Christmas!
Speak of festivities, as a family (plus my sister’s boyfriend), we decided that there’d be no place more jovial to visit than the ancient city of York. To this end, we hopped in a car and argued and sang our way across the Lancashire/Yorkshire border, headed through an eery little tunnel, and wandered through an arch into the old walled city.
As you may have guessed by the title of this post, York has suffered the brunt of the latest bout of newly named storms that the UK has had to bear. With the amount of rainwater inundating the city, the river that runs through the heart of the city had burst its banks in the most spectacular fashion…
There wasn’t going to be much walking down this footpath today.
We soon landed at one of the cities most famous (and most huge) landmarks: York Minister Cathedral. The aim of the day was a spot of Christmas shopping, however, and so we opted not to head inside, but rather I just took a few snaps of the exterior as we wandered past.
After a quick snack, me and my dad left my mum, sister and company to head down towards some of the older buildings down by the river. It soon became very clear that not only had the parks and walkways around the riverbanks taken an influx of water, but that countless businesses and homes had been seriously affected too. It was a sobering reminder of how dangerous things like this can be, and the flooded areas were hauntingly quiet and still, with the fast moving flow of water the only distraction from the submerged buildings.
The streets were disappearing into the water.
We had soon crossed the river, over a bridge the top of whose arches barely rose two feet above the surface of the water. On the other side we found yet more flooded streets, with impromptu temporary bridges built to permit access to buildings on the riverside. Modern buildings had very effective flood barriers in place, with an underground car park remaining bone dry despite sitting a good ten feet under the new water level.
As we crossed back towards the centre of York once more, the extent of the water’s spread inland became very clear, with whole parks and car parks unrecognisable under the water. One of York’s famous old tower monuments, which sits atop a grassy hill, looked rather resplendent with it’s reflection sitting below.
It soon became dark, and we all soon became hungry, and so after a jostle around the Christmas Markets for a while, we headed out to find somewhere to eat. Heading through York’s famous Shambles, we stumbled upon a lovely little Italian where I discovered that I do, in fact, like tomatoes, and so that my whole life up to this point has been one massive lie.
The title says it all really for this blog post. In fact, you may as well stop reading now, nip down to your local off license and get a bag of chocolates from the bargain bucket for a quid. But, if indeed you have decided to stay, I’ll explain…
After me and Amber hit Manchester for some theatre research last Monday, we ended up back in the city on Friday, all for the most important purpose of watching Pomona at the Royal Exchange. Jess, another friend from work, had visited a few weeks ago and spoke of how eerie it was, and so I was very pleased to be going along.
Our first stop was Lunya, a Catalan restaurant, bar and deli which has recently opened on one of Manchester’s main streets, Deansgate. My mum and sister had visited a while back and brought me back some alioli, so I thought I’d give it a go and see what their tapas was like…
I was not disappointed! With huge portions and delicious fresh deli produce, I thoroughly enjoyed a selection of lomo, patatas bravas, and gambas píl píl – all washed down with some sangía and churros, of course! The service was great too, and I had an excellent time. We also got 10% off the deli next door, and so naturally I had to go and grab some Pan De Cadiz and salsa brava.
After our delicious meal we headed to the Royal Exchange, picking up our tickets and bracing ourselves for Pomona…
The piece did not disappoint, with a very strong cast putting on an amazing dystopian performance, with fate and horrific crimes melding in a non-chronological chaos. The storyline came to a cusp in a dramatic and excellent example of physical theatre, with the cast dashing around and intertwining on the heptagonal stage, all whilst revealing key details which suddenly linked all the disparate elements of the story.
Between the spookily ebony blackouts and the twists and turns of this wonderfully written piece, I was once again taken aback by the ingenuity of the technicians, stage designers and directors at the Royal Exchange. Every time I watch a performance at the Exchange I am left in awe of the clever ways in which they use the space, and how it’s unique shape and design is maximised to enhance each performance. We’ll be sure to be back later in December to see Into The Woods!
Anyway, back to Burnley I headed, only to jump on a train early on Saturday morning headed back to Leeds! My Saturday in Leeds was first spent house hunting for the final year graphics house, and then heading to my friend Em’s house to celebrate her and Kat’s birthday, both of them ex-housemates from last year.
After a catch up with Em and a poke around her new house, we went on a trip down into her creepy cellar, to where I must return one day with my camera! I managed to snap this photo, though, of one of the eerie rooms in the cellar…
Anyway, after some piñata fun and a whole load of pizza, it was time to amble back down to the good ol’Burley Park train station to head back home. With a delayed train, however, it was a race against time to get the last train back over the border into Lancashire – but after some platform panic, some running through Leeds train station, and a whole lot of relief when I managed to sit down, I was back in Burnley.
There, however, things somehow managed to go quite wrong. On the Sunday morning, I somehow managed to get lost in my home turf when I tried to take a shortcut to work, and ended up stuck behind a huge lake. It was rather pretty, however, and I found a bunch of friendly cows, but I soon had to find my way back to civilisation and get back on track to Burnley Youth Theatre, where I paid the Winter Fayre a visit.
Once I was there I was very happy to see a huge vat of hot mulled fruit punch, and after drinking as much as my wallet would permit, I headed outside where Kat was running a circus skills workshop. I tried my hand at spinning some plates and then some poi, however I ended up with a sore face from falling plates and sore legs from whacking myself with the poi, and so decided to stick to munching down on a steak and ale pie instead. Here’s a photo from before I retreated for a spot of gluttony…
Anyway, and in other news, I have recently had another batch of photos developed from my old analogue camera. Containing photos from our family holiday to Portugal, some from various wanders around my village, and many more, I shall soon be sure to get a few of the best scanned in and uploaded here…
Until then, however, it’s time for another busy week of work which will culminate in the get-in for our Christmas show, Cinderella, on Saturday. For those non-theatre buffs amongst you, a get-in is just a day of set installation, lighting rigging, prop making and generally setting the stage for dress rehearsals – but their main purpose is the excessive consumption of pizza in order to fuel the array of preparations. Something tells me I’m sure to have a good day…
Just today me and my Burnley Youth Theatre colleague, Amber, headed off on the trusty old X43 bus to Manchester to do some visual research for the upcoming branding project at work! The trip was to visit numerous arts organisations in quick succession, picking up some of their promo goods and just getting a general feel for the venues.
First up we visited an old favourite, The Royal Exchange in St. Anne’s Square. I will always adore its beautifully lit neoclassical architecture, huge spaceship-esque theatre in the centre of the huge main space, and generally welcoming yet peaceful atmosphere. I did take my camera along, so here’s a quick photo…
Secondly we visited a decidedly non-theatre venue, Manchester Central Library, however it was very much well worth the visit! The new media lounge and café on the first floor, accessed through the very beautiful new entrance, are a lovely communal space for a quick coffee or to discover something new.
After this, it was time to head down towards the University of Manchester campus to visit the Whitworth Art Gallery, a decidedly less-theatrical but equally creative space. In this beautifully renovated building we found a lovely mix of postmodern and textile arts, as well as a lovely café space and a gift shop which proved just too much to resist buying a few bits and bobs from.
From the art gallery we sauntered through the campus some more until we reached Contact, a rather alternatively designed space! It has to be seen to be believed. We stayed here a while, soaking up the atmosphere and exploring the quirky space, before heading off once more…
From here we decided to go check out a venue which we didn’t plan on having a look around, but one which we were glad that we did! Home, a multi-use theatre, film and arts space just off Oxford Road, proved to be an amazing venue (with amazing coffee to match!)
After a browse around their book shop where I picked up a copy of Creative Review and “The Modernist”, me and Amber sat in the window and enjoyed a lovely coffee break in and soaked up the lovely atmosphere. Visually impressive, the space also had a wealth of activities on offer – check out their programme on their website. We shall be sure to visit the venue again very soon!
