All the world's a stage...

Traveller has been run off her feet this past few weeks with the school's latest foray into the world of musicals. As she is the boss of all things dramatic in her little English prep school, it is Traveller's job to choose the musical, cast the children and plan the production in its entirety. This includes tasks such as organising performance rights, ticket prices and the programme.

This is the first time that T has directed a musical by herself and it has been quite the learning curve!

When not rehearsing with the children or completing administrative activities, T has found herself working out dance steps in the living room. This has been one of the most daunting parts of the job. With no formal dance lessons and a dance repertoire that includes 'the sprinkler' and 'the lawn-mower' - this has been no easy task.

However, with only a week to go, the musical is actually starting to shape into something which isn't too terrible.

Cue huge sigh of relief from Traveller.

Despite all the extra work, T has to admit that she does so enjoy watching the lil' darlings singing and busting a move on stage. Musicals are just so cheesy and fun, aren't they?

photo via weheartit

Gorgeous Vienna.

Here are some shots from Traveller's recent visit to Vienna.
The city is absolutely stunning; T thinks it is one of her favourites.
We loved and learnt so much at Schonbrunn Castle {first two pictures}Inside the castle is a tour of Austria's Royal history and it was ever so interesting, especially seeing portraits of Marie Antoinette and her sisters. The rooms were so lavish and intricately decorated.
We enjoyed touring the city and taking in sights such as the Kunst Haus {a major art gallery}, the Hofburg and the Natural History Museum.
We were also really lucky to watch a ballet of Romeo and Juliet in the Royal Opera House - it was such a beautiful performance. The orchestra were extraordinary and T's favourite part{aside from the dancing} was when the cast took many, many bows; while they were bowing, hoards of bouquets were thrown at them.
T has never before seen so many roses. One of the best European experiences so far.

If only we were in Moscow.

Traveller saw this lovely lady on the stage last night.

Romola Garai is currently playing in Three Sisters by Chekhov at the Lyric Hammersmith and boy, it was fantastic!

The play itself was compelling and poignant, albeit a little bleak

{it is Chekhov!}

Flattie had a few tears and Traveller has been pondering the play's meaning all day.

The characters, like in most Russian plays, were facing dark and meaningless lives, which they were sure would be much improved if they living in Moscow. Sort of a 'grass is greener' tale.

It definitely made T think.

Garai was striking and skilled as one of the sisters and she was joined by a large and talented ensemble cast.

T is continuing to love theatre in London.

{especially because flattie has discovered that she is viable

for free theatre in London due to her spritely age (under 26!). She managed

to procure us super-close seats which were only three rows from the very front. Awesome!}

Stars in my eyes.

This week, Traveller, hubbie and flattie went to see the lastest British celebrity on London's stage. Keira Knightley is appearing alongside Damian Lewis and Tara Fitzgerald in Moliere's 'The Misanthrope'.

Having seen Jude Law, Judi Dench, Kenneth Branagh and Derek Jacobi on the stage, it is something that Traveller has almost started getting used to. Almost.

{our little town in Australia doesn't quite receive this calibre of celebrity in their one big playhouse)

The play itself was fantastic - Moliere's script is intensely witty, dramatic and there were many laugh-out-loud moments. Damian Lewis lived up to his many flattering reviews and Keira Knightley was also fantastic.

The most amusing thing happened, however, after the performance. Traveller and flattie made their way around to the stage door...

{we know it's silly and perhaps a little stalker-like, but we really can't resist meeting the actors! Husband usually stays, but the temperatures were beyond arctic, so he quickly escaped down to the underground}

We were first surprised by the very large, black, tank of a car parked outside the door. Usually in London, the actors come out, sign a few autographs and then make their way on foot.

The first big actor to exit was the show's star - Damian Lewis. He came out very casually, signed a number of autographs and made his way up the street. A few minutes after this, a bodyguard climbed out of his enormous car and began to speak into what T assumed was a microphone in his ear. Moments later, Keira Knightley breezed through the doors, signed two autographs, made a sweeping call to the crowd 'Is that everybody?' {to which the many people waiting waved their playbills} Without waiting for the answer, she turned, pouted for the paparazzi, jumped in the car and screeched off into the night.

Traveller and flattie were in fits of giggles. This type of celebrity behaviour is so out of character in London. When we saw Jude Law in Hamlet, he was oh so very gracious, signed many autographs and posed for a few pictures. Following this, he simply sauntered off into the night. You even spot the odd celebrity around town attempting to live a very normal, bodyguard-free life. Just last week, Traveller and hubbie were in their local blockbuster, lining up behind a very casual Jonathan Rhys Meyers.

After having a little giggle, Traveller and flattie made their way to Piccadilly Circus, whereby they spotted Damian Lewis still allowing fans to take pictures with him. He then, very unassumedly, jumped into a black cab.

Quite refreshing, really.

So long, Camera.

Traveller is sorry.

She didn't mean to leave you, dear camera, on that bus seat.

Who knows what happened to you?

She was excited about seeing Phantom and jumped off the bus in delight.

Not so delighted when she came to take a photo in the theatre, and you weren't there.

Now, Traveller knows she wasn't always very kind to you...
especially when your memory started to loosen.

She'd take it all back, just for one more photo.
{and the pile of unsaved images}

You have 21 days to resurface camera, before T must accept that you are gone forever.

****

The show, by the way, was stunning.

Occupational Hazard #1: The Nervous Fart.

Teaching in a school that is heaving with boys has consistently been a malodorous experience for Traveller. There are numerous situations where she finds herself overwhelmed with noxious odours. And, whilst trying to maintain a certain type of 'political correctness', can T remind you of the fact that she teaches in North London. This is a particularly multicultural area where many, many bowls of curry are eaten night and day.

Today, however, Traveller had a particularly fetid experience. It began when a boy in Grade Five approached her, looking notably anxious. T had just posted the cast list for her production of 'The Demon Headmaster' amid a flurry of excited students. Following this, said student mentioned that he hadn't intended to audition for the part and wouldn't be able to participate in the production. The part was small and wasn't at all a concern for Traveller.

What was a concern, however, was the thick cloud of smelly fart that permeated the air around her, in the increasingly narrow school corridor. The boy, whose chin was noticeably wobbling from the fear that he was going to 'suffer the consequences', had dealt T a fate worse than having to re-cast his part.

He had dealt her the nervous fart.

photo via flickr

Kicking up our heels at the scoop

Traveller is lucky to have a hubbie that likes to celebrate by doing something with a bit of 'culcha'.

This weekend we went down to 'The Scoop' on the Thames. The Scoop is an amphitheatre right near Tower Bridge which, during the summer, holds free events. You can see plays, films and hear music - all for free! The best part of the deal is the atmosphere; with Tower Bridge and many other icons in the background, it is a beautiful night.

While we were lining up for our bit of free London, we saw the lifting of Tower Bridge. We haven't seen this before and were quite excited. Yes, we are a bit nerdy like that.


We then entered the scoop, placed our picnic blanket down and commenced eating dinner while waiting for the show to begin. The agency which organised the job interview for hubbie gave him a bottle of congratulatory champagne, so we enjoyed that along with a few other yummies.

The play we came to watch was 'Medea'; it is originally by Euripides but was re-translated by Stella Duffy. Free theatre tends to attract a very diverse audience, so this version of the ancient play needed to be engaging and it was! The audience were on the edge of their 'seats' which was lucky, because T gets quietly rankled when people chat through live theatre (it must be the teacher in her).

So, Traveller and hubs enjoyed another fun and thrifty night in London. T wishes she had some photos to show you of the peformance but, as always, she was much too engrossed in the actual event to think of her camera. Next time!

Hey Jude: Part Two

On Tuesday evening, T, hubbie and her flatties rushed off to the Wyndham Theatre, more excited than you can imagine. They arrived at the theatre, greeted some of their friends from the morning and then took to their box seats! Because it was such a special occasion that the company had been planning for over a year and a half, their seats even had presents on them. We could not believe it. We usually spend £3.50 on a program, however, we were given a program, a copy of the play (an edition printed for this particular performance, with Jude's photo on the front) and a poster!

When Jude Law's name was first announced as performing Hamlet at the Wyndham, T has to admit that she was a little dubious as to whether he could pull it off. Well, after about three minutes, she cast all doubts aside and enjoyed a truly phenomenal performance of the Bard's best play. He was outstanding! The best part was, our little box was so close to the stage, that as T watched, Jude looked her in the eye about four times....so fun!

During interval we made plans with our friends from NC to have a drink after the show. Before that, we were going to go to the stage door and wait so Jude could sign our plays or programs. After the show, the director and Jude gave a quick talk about the performance and why they decided to fill a theatre for free (to provide London with an audience in the future) and then we all raced downstairs to get prime spots at the stage door.

After a little wait, Jude came out and there were so many people there! There were people that hadn't come out of the show and just wanted him to sign photographs, passers-by, paparazzi and audience members. He was very gracious; he signed as many as he could and even signed five professional photographs for a very pushy man (T doesn't know if she could be so gracious!). T did manage to stammer out a few words to him, to which he responded very kindly - a very lovely actor!

After the procuring of the autographs, T, flatties and their new friends made their way to the pub right near the theatre, for a drink and a chat about the peformance. We had a great time and even noticed that the actors seemed to frequent the same pub. So, as our lucky day would have it, we had a chat to the actor who played Horatio and then one flattie declared her admiration for the actor who played Laertes (we had seen him in Twelfth Night). They were very nice and very normal and were so inspired by performing in front of such an enthusiastic crowd; it was really lovely to see the night from their perspective.

Then we went home, twenty-one hours after we had arrived at the theatre that morning.

A perfect day!

Hey Jude: Part One

This week Traveller experienced what could possibly be her best day in London so far. Seriously. She could, in her excitement, even go so far as to say that it was the best day in her life so far - but that might be a little too much, considering she has experienced her own wedding and numerous other life-changing events prior to this wonderful day!

The day began with an alarm buzzing at 4:30am. T awoke, changed and ran out of the house with one of her flatties, to catch a red bus into Leicester Square. T usually loves the red buses. They are cheap, convenient and provide a lovely look at the city while you are on your way somewhere. However, at 4:30am they are a completely different experience! T and her flattie had to hold their breath the entire time they were on the bus out of concern that they might puke with the pure stench of the many intoxicated people...on a Tuesday morning!

They made it out alive and to their destination in record time. Destination = Wyndham Theatre. This was the theatre where Jude Law was currently playing Hamlet. T and her flatmates had been to the entire Wyndham season; they had seen Kenneth Branagh in Ivanov, Derek Jacobi in Twelfth Night and Judi Dench in Madame de Sade. You think with all of this experience they would have remembered to secure tickets to Jude early - however, before they knew it...they were all sold out! Thus, an early morning line-up was in order, as the Wyndham holds 30 standing tickets aside to sell on the day.

They arrived at Leicester Square at 5am on the dot and were met with two Americans from North Carolina, who were there to do the exact same thing. Will and Bill (T kids you not) were father and son from the southern states, and soon became fast friends. T and flattie chatted to Will and Bill and various other theatre enthusiasts as they joined the queue. It was quite astonishing how quickly five hours flew by and before we knew it - we were at the box office! (It is worth a quick mention, that T, flattie and our North Carolina friends had to assert authority a few times during our five hour wait, in order to fight off the various queue jumpers that came our way. Some pretended they didn't understand what we were saying, some sat down right in front of us and said they were there first and others just creeped closer and closer. But to no avail; T and her posse of Americans fought them off with all the kindness of spirit they could muster at that hour in the morning.)

As the clock struck ten, the doors opened and our American friends took their rightful place at the front of the queue. T and flattie hung close behind to see what type of standing room they were receiving, how much it cost, and if by some heavenly chance, there were any seats left. To their surprise they heard muffled words like, 'an under 26 evening sponsored by the company', 'free to you because you lined up,' and these fateful and beautiful words, 'and there is also this box in the grand circle which is yours for free'. Will, Bill and family gasped and stammered their way through the transaction and then said to the rest of us, 'Y'all..coffee is on us!' Flattie and I looked at each other and tried to be happy for our new friends, muttering kind phrases such as, 'they deserve it', and 'how fantastic'. We gulped and took a step towards the desk. T quickly stuttered in her quietest voice, 'I guess there aren't any seats left?' The lady looked at T, surprised, and said, 'Why yes, there are these two boxes just for you. For free!' T's knees started to knock, her voice shook and she did everything she could possibly do to stop herself yelling, 'Yahooooooo!!!!' She coolly nodded, spelt her name out, and then skipped over to her American friends as they all took photos of each other, in their unfathomable glee.

After sharing coffee, we and our queue friends went our separate ways and looked forward to seeing each other that evening. T and flattie promptly went home, shared their good news with the world wide web through facebook and then T had a three hour nap to prepare herself for Hamlet...and Jude!

Treading the boards

With two trips to OZ, Christmas, and six weeks of teaching in less than two months, it would seem difficult to believe that T and hubs had managed to squeeze anything else in. However, T managed to see a ballet, two Shakespearean performances, and she ice-skated at the Tower of London. T and hubs also spent their fifth wedding anniversary in York and they saw the biggest snowfall London has experienced in over 20 years! Life in London Town is never dull.

This brings T to her current favourite topic of conversation - theatre in London!

The first performance T was lucky enough to see was the ballet production of, 'Edward Scissorhands'. The production was housed at Sadler Wells, and was simply one of the most engaging and colourful perfomances T has ever seen. The visit was a gift from her brother and sis-in-law, and it was a real treat.

The second performance T and hubs saw was at Wyndham's Theatre. This is the second production T has seen at Wyndham's Theatre - the first was Chekhov's 'Ivanov' starring Kenneth Branagh. This time around they were seeing, as a gift from their flat-mates, 'Twelfth Night', starring Derek Jacobi. The peformance was outstanding - both uproariously funny and completely mesmorising. The next two performances of Wyndham's theatre season are 'Madame de Sade' starring Dame Judi Dench and Rosamund Pike, and 'Hamlet' starring Jude Law. Needless to say, T will definitely be along for those two!

The other performances T has seen have been school theatre trips she has organised for her fifth and sixth formers. It is an interesting task taking 12 and 13 year old boys to the theatre, but they have been respectful audience members and so it has been a pleasant experience, so far. She has taken them to see, 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' put on by the RSC and 'Lord of the Flies' at the Unicorn Theatre. 'Lord of the Flies' was outstanding - a little bloody, but so powerful. It made for much discussion in the classroom the following day.

If there is one thing that T will miss when the time comes to eventually leave London, it will be the theatre. Besides New York, it seems there is no other place in the world which houses such amazing productions night after night. There are so many experienced actors and the productions are so profitable that they manage to have one actor for each part, unlike many other places which see one actor playing two or three small parts. T (and hubs) love it!

T's signed copy of Ivanov's program

Glorious Bath

When one thinks of the British city of Bath, images of Austen, the Roman Baths, and Georgian architecture spring into mind. As an avid Austen fan, this is one of the key cities in Britain that Traveller couldn't wait to visit! She couldn't wait to walk the very steps that Austen herself had walked. She also couldn't wait to see the sights where Austen's characters had strolled, had tea and where they had danced. When T imagined herself ambling down the streets of Bath witnessing these historical places, what she didn't picture was a garish red bus packed with loads of tourists with cameras around their necks and bright red earphones in their ears.

This taken into account, after Traveller and her hubbie arrived in Bath, Traveller was put off by Hubbie's suggestion that they should hop on a red bus so that they could get a better picture of the city and its surrounds. The red bus? With the ear phones? And the tour guide? This was not how Traveller pictured her first tour of Bath. However, as all attempts of renting bikes were thwarted, Traveller and hubbie jumped on the bus and were pleasantly surprised with a historical journey of Bath and its surrounds. With all of its red glare - the bus actually provided a wealth of information about Bath, and as Saturday was a sunny day, we were able to view all of the beautiful architecture, the lovely countryside and the main 'hot spots' in a 50 minute round trip!

One of T's most favourite stops was the Jane Austen Centre where you toured a small musuem of Austen's life and some of the films that have been made of her novels. You could even have 'Tea with Mr. Darcy' although T never quite found out what that was, as she is still fighting (perhaps a losing battle) the 'Heathrow Injection'. Hubbie, of course, made himself scarce when T went into the Austen museum.

Following the bus journey, T and hubbie had a fabulous night planned which included dinner at a a lovely restaurant, a play at the Royal Theatre and culminated in watching the ever-hilarious Eurovision contest. T could not think of a better way to spend her Saturday evening. They had a pre-theatre meal at a nearby Italian restaurant which was lovely but it was the actual theatre performance which was the best part. T had booked her and her hubbie in to see 'Blackbird' - a play written by David Harrower. The play was dark in subject - but so powerful and engaging. It was 1 hour and 30 mins long with no intermission, and T and hub were on the edge of their seats. The play had only two key characters, and the actors were on stage for almost the whole time. It was an excellent play and was featured in an excellent location - as the Theatre Royal is one of the oldest and most beautiful theatres in Britain.

Our next day in Bath was spent sightseeing. We started by touring around the Roman Baths - which hubbie loved! He stayed in there for hours, while T, after an hour and a half, took herself off shopping. The Baths were fascinating though, and T particularly enjoyed the Bill Bryson audio tour.

In the afternoon, we took a 'Mad Max' tour of Stonehenge and Lacock Village. Our tour guide was quite flustered and quirky and quickly shared with our little bus that he had a keen interest in crop circles and the unknown. Following this, he promptly passed around a book on the subject for all of us to have a look at! We were a bit unsure about him at first, but it turned into quite a humorous and unusual journey of the English countryside. T's favourite part was not Stonehenge (although it is quite fascinating), but was in fact, the tour of Lacock Village. Lacock is particularly famous because it was the set of the infamous BBC production of Austen's 'Pride and Prejudice' where Colin Firth, as Mr. Darcy, set women's hearts fluttering worldwide in a wet T-shirt scene. T was super excited! Lacock is also famous for hosting the house where Harry Potter lived with his aunt and uncle in the first film.

Our final day in Bath was spent just as the Roman's would have - in an actual thermae spa. This is the only natural thermae spa left in Britain. The spa re-opened in 2006 and is quite the treat! You begin with steaming rooms and foot spas - there are four steam rooms infused with different oils, such as lavender, jasmine, mint and eucalytus. These were very hot, but smelled heavenly! Following this, T and hub cooled off in the open-air rooftop pool which has stunning views of the city of Bath, the Abbey and the surrounding hills. It was the most relaxing morning and a fitting end to our weekend in Bath, as within the next hour we were back on the train to London.

A Cultural Day-Out

One of the things that Hubbie and Traveller love about London is how much there is to do here. Whatever you like to spend your time doing - T guarantees you can do it here. Last Saturday morning (after a late, last minute decision with our favourite French friends) we headed into Leicester Square to buy some cheap theatre tickets to whatever was going.

We arrived in Leicester Square agog at how many different places you could buy theatre tickets. After much discussion and question-asking, we bought tickets to see 'Mamma Mia' at the Prince of Wales Theatre. The best seats that they had were for a matinee session that very day, so we quickly decided to stay and explore the city whilst waiting for our show.

As Leicester Square is right near Trafalgar Square, we made our way over to the National Gallery as we all had never been. We promptly split up and covered the parts of the Gallery that we really wanted to see - it is much too big to do in one day. It was quickly discovered that the Gallery is one of the BEST free places to visit in London. Traveller was absolutely delighted with the amount of famous paintings there were in the gallery. There were paintings from Da Vinci, Van Gogh, Monet, Picasso, Renoir and so many more. Now, T isn't the most discerning art student, but to stand a mere half-metre away from Van Gogh was simply breathtaking. We all walked away from the Gallery extremely inspired and uplifted and we hadn't even listened to any ABBA songs yet!

'Mamma Mia' the musical was something else. It was T's second London musical experience, and she will just say that it was oh so much better then the first! The songs, the costumes and the dancing were so much fun that even the people in the very back row were dancing in the aisles. Traveller can't wait for the film!

Another of T's and hubbie's cultural experiences over the weekend was a look through the latest art exhibition on the River Thames. We were walking by the river after having a lovely dinner and came across the 'Telectroscope'. Pictured, it is a device which allows people in London to see people in New York, in real time, through a person-size lens. Whilst there, after paying our £1 entry fee, we found ourselves waving at people in New York.

Close to us were Londoners talking to friends and family on the other side of the Atlantic, whilst looking at them through the massive lens! It was quite a reminder of life in London, as in the middle of June we were standing in a coat and scarf, whilst the Americans, on the same side of the equator, were in shorts and singlets boasting of their warmth. They also (we heard this from the people on their mobiles) had no entry fee!

Ah, London - why would you want to live anywhere else?

Now it's time for the good stuff...

A list of things that Traveller and hubbie have been up to over the last week or so...

1. Hubbie got a great job working in the finance industry doing computer stuff- he is very happy

2. Traveller and Hubbie moved in to their new flat - with the help of lovely brother + wife

3. T's brother ran in Asics Half-Marathon and wooped it up :)

4. Hubbie's brother, Jord came to visit (and is still visiting) - sleeping on our very cosy floor

5. Traveller, Hubbie, and Jord went to their first west end musical - Lord of the Rings! (Phenomenal set, costumes, props - little lacking in some of the acting, songs and script).

6. T finally got to experience the Gordon Ramsay Gastro-pub, along with hubbie, Jord, T's brother and his wife.

7. The London Flu has (finally) gone!

8. The plans have started for the first European holiday...

9. Saw a great chick flick - 'Definitely, Maybe'. Traveller loves her flick chick compliant hubbie ;)

10. Traveller (without hubbie) did some serious shopping on Oxford St. with a flatmate and has decided she really loves London shopping - yay Topshop, Zara etc!

11. Hubbie found out that one of our flatmates loves 'Settlers of Catan' (our fav boardgame) and so we played it with a few of our flatties over a Sunday lunch.

12. Went to our first London church (we know - it's been way too long!) - Hillsong London was awesome! Great music, excellent speaker and great location - The Dominion Theatre.

13. Went to the Australian Film Festival at the Barbican and saw a great movie (this is not the group consensus - as it was one of those movies that didn't really end). It was called 'Monkey Puzzle' and was set in the Blue Mountains.

14. Traveller went for her first proper run (with new headphones) and ran 4k's around the track - not bad for a Sunday! It's only the beginning....

15. And now for Hubbie's most exciting event - H went to watch a mixed martial arts/UFC tournament called 'Cage Rage' :). He was very excited about this event, and in his excitement got chatting to another attendee whom he sat next to on the tube. The man told Nathan that he might have a better ticket for him, so they swapped numbers. Long story short, Nathan ended up going from a 25 pound ticket, to a 200 pound ticket, sitting amongst London's C-grade celebrities! He was most chuffed!

Well, that's all the news for now. Traveller and hubbie send much love... xxxx





Traveller's brother is in the orange shirt - this is right near the finish line. He ran his first half marathon in 1 hour and 37 minutes - not bad!



















T's brother after finishing - they wrap the gold foil around the runners after the race to keep them warm..