National Demonstration: London Saturday 3 January

Stop Gaza Massacre Hands Off Gaza: Stop the Bombing: Free Palestine

Assemble 12:30pm Embankment, WC2

Nearest tube Embankment.

Called by Palestine Solidarity Campaign, Stop the War Coalition, British Muslim Initiative, CND and many other organisations.

Join the demonstration - message from Tony Benn

The Israeli Government, armed and supported by President Bush, with its savage attack on the people of Gaza now represents the greatest threat to security in the Middle East and the world peace movement is mobilizing on a massive scale to defeat this aggression. I appeal to everyone who can possibly do so to attend the many demonstrations that are being held here so that the British government is left in no doubt as to the strength of opposition there is to this war.

The source...
Stop the War Coalition News

A time for peace

Let's hope that this coming year brings about much needed peace both here in the UK, and also over the whole world. There has been enough bloodshed and hatred to last more than one lifetime. It needs to stop to enable new beginnings. I pray that this new year will proove to be a positive one for those less fortunate than ourselves. They deserve peace. The world needs it to survive.

In the meantime here's something about time...

New Year to arrive a tick later ~ BBC News story

Make sure you remember to set your clocks! :)

Israel rejects Gaza ceasefire calls

Palestine's examine a crater on the border between Gaza and Egypt (AOL News)

Israeli leaders have rejected an immediate 48-hour pause in fighting and will push ahead with the devastating air offensive against Hamas. Israel is facing growing international pressure to halt the assault, and Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert has discussed a ceasefire proposal with his foreign and defence ministers. According to government officials the meeting ended with a decision to continue operations and a top forum of cabinet ministers entrusted with security matters will discuss the continuation of the offensive. Earlier, International Development Secretary Douglas Alexander said Britain will put £7m towards emergency humanitarian aid in Gaza, to help provide urgently-needed food and fuel to the Palestinian territory.

The assistance comes amid continued international pressure, supported by the UK, for a ceasefire in Gaza, where hundreds of people have been killed. Mr Alexander said: "Aid is desperately needed in Gaza. The human cost of this conflict is unacceptable and the humanitarian situation is getting worse by the hour. "Thousands are suffering. Medical items are in short supply. Fuel shortages have led to power cuts which in turn are affecting hospitals and other essential services. And UN stocks of food are very low. "The limited aid that is getting through cannot be distributed properly because of bombing from the air and rocket attacks launched from inside Gaza. "The fighting must stop to enable humanitarian agencies to help people in desperate need. The Government remains gravely concerned by the conflict and we renew our appeal to all parties to end the violence immediately." Meanwhile, France's foreign minister said he and French president Nicolas Sarkozy are considering the possibility of going to Israel amid European efforts to end the violence. Bernard Kouchner said he and Mr Sarkozy will be in southern Lebanon on Monday, and "we will see if it is possible to go to Israel".

A question of Costume Design

e.g Ngila Dickson's Lord of the Rings Costume Design Sketches

e.g A costume sketch I did recently

Costume Design - Wikipedia...
.."Costume design is the design of the appearance of the characters in a theater or cinema performance. This usually involves researching and designing or choosing clothing, footwear, hats and head dresses for the actors to wear, but it may also include designing masks, makeup, wigs, underwear or other unusual forms, such as the full body animal suits worn in the musical Cats"..

Gary Thorne (head of design at RADA) recently gave me some really good advice after I completed a short course in his class at Central Saint Martins Art College here in London. He said "MAKE SURE YOU ALWAYS CARRY AROUND A NOTEBOOK!" Point taken. I look forward to catching up with him after I start at the Arcola. He's promised to pop in at some point. I hope he does. He's so humorous. He also knows the designer of the show I'm helping out with which is pretty cool too.

Erratic weather 'harms wildlife'

Photo by Alice Russell


The Global warming effect...
.."UK wildlife is struggling to cope as erratic and unseasonal weather has taken its toll for a second consecutive year, the National Trust says"..

Grief and Fear in Gaza

BBC news update...
.."Israel is not currently permitting international journalists to cross into Gaza"..

Images of suffering...
In pictures: Gaza under seige

The suffering in Gaza continues

Will the heartache never stop? Don't the children mean anything?
The unrest in Gaza rears it's ugly head once more as the innocent
children are made to suffer in this new unjustified wave of violence.

Israel attacks civilians...
BBC News coverage
Sky News coverage

Children of Gaza...
Child malnutrition in Gaza

Stop the Gaza slaughter...
Stop the War Coalition demo today

Where have all the Sparrows gone?

A female House Sparrow

More info here...
House Sparrows.com

When I was a small kid the Sparrow (didn't know there were several types) was my favourite bird. I used to watch them in my Grandparent's garden as they came to feed from the bird feeders and dodge her cats who for the most part ignored them. Some days my Nan would open up her french doors to let in the sun, and occasionally a Sparrow or two would briefly hop inside to check us out. How I miss them days.

So recently I discovered that there aren't many Sparrows about. Well that's what has been officially reported. In fact in my part of London we have quite a few of them hanging about, but that's probably because we are in close proximity to the Hackney Marshes with it's nature reserve. At the corner of the road where I live there is a very sweet colony of Sparrows who reside in a large bush inside an overgrown garden. Some days, usually in the warmer months there are so many of the little creatures that the whole bush will shake and come to life. And the noise is very funny. So much squabbling in their community. Their patch. A friend mentioned that she didn't know there were any left, but there are. Lots of them in my neck of the woods anyway it seems. In my garden I have the odd one too, but my beloved moggy can't be trusted so for the moment I will refrain from adding a feeder. I do get other species of bird though, like Magpies, Jays and blue tits...wood pigeons and Robins as well as the crows. I prefer the Sparrows because they are so cute and have such a character about them.

A few Family Reunion Reviews

Samuel West as Harry Monchesney in TS Eliot's Family Reunion


The Telegraph...
.."Daunting, yes, but the cast, spearheaded by Samuel West's haunted Harry, have got the measure of it. At times they're consciously and comically aware of how peculiar they must sound as they grope for a language to describe their nameless familial dread"..

The Independant...
.."Samuel West's insistently self-dramatising Harry may have all the best arguments about the trouble we're in – he's living the nightmare – but Jones's Amy becomes the still, throbbing centre of tragic deprivation"..

The Guardian...
.."In the past, reviewers have thought Harry a prig, but in Samuel West's performance he is a sympathetically tormented soul searching for peace"..

The British Theatre Guide...
.."Already, before Sam West's character makes his entrance, a quartet have transformed themselves into a poetry-spouting chorus, chanting mysterious lines that might have been drawn from The Four Quartets, in unison"..

Variety...
.."A typically buttoned-down yet immensely articulate Samuel West is Harry, Eliot's re-imagining of the Greek hero Orestes. He returns to his chilly family pile in the north of England after wandering for eight years, during which time his wife has died"..

The Sunday Times...
.."It is a homecoming for young Lord Harry Monchensey (Samuel West) and a birthday party for his indomitable mother (Gemma Jones)"..

The Stage...
.."In particular Harry, the troubled Orestian hero, who returns to his family home pursued by avenging Furies, is played here by Samuel West with an almost insolent throwaway style that heightens and deepens the drama"..

Peruvian Jesus born to Virgin Mary on Christmas

A Reuters news story

Virgin Mary, a 20-year-old Peruvian woman, gave birth to a baby boy on Christmas day and named him Jesus, Peru's state news agency said on Friday. The baby's father, Adolfo Jorge Huamani, 24, is a carpenter. Religious Peruvians compared him to Joseph the Carpenter in the Bible. "Two thousand years later the story of Bethlehem is relived," read the headline about the birth in El Comercio, the main newspaper in Peru, a predominantly Catholic country. The mother, Virgen Maria Huarcaya, delivered the 7.7 pound (3.5 kg) boy, Jesus Emanuel, in the early hours of Christmas at the central maternity hospital in Lima, the capital. "A few days ago we had decided to name my son after a professional soccer player," the father said. "But thanks to a happy coincidence this is how things ended up."

Love's Philosophy by Percy Shelley

The lady of the lake 2008

The fountains mingle with the river
And the rivers with the ocean,
The winds of Heaven mix for ever
With a sweet emotion;
Nothing in the world is single,
All things by a law divine
In one spirit meet and mingle -
Why not I with thine?

Goodbye Harold Pinter

I too am saddened by the news of Harold's passing
on Christmas Eve. He was a legend in the theatre
world, and grew up in an area of east London
that I live in now...about 10 mins away. I've seen
a lot of his plays over the years and I admired his
work immensely. He will be missed by us all.

R.I.P Mr Pinter

Obituary: Harold Pinter 1930-2008

Smile please it's Christmas!

From moi...who is going to attempt to capture today
on her camera...from a stationary bike between journeys.
*sigh* The things we do for Art aye! lol

IN BLOOD: THE BACCHAE

Link for more info...
An Arcola theatre production

I will be helping out with this production in the costumes dept. It's going
to be a great show so please come along and see it if you dare! :)

Memories are for keeping

Take my hand and lead me to the light
I am fading fast and my heart grows so weary
Like a painting that crumbles at the slightest touch
I cannot disappear again if I live in your memories

The Spirit by Frank Miller

Looks like a good movie. Great to see Gabriel Macht in such a cool leading role...

Movie trailer here

Definitely gonna have to see this! hehe!

Shakespeare Sketch in the style of Blackadder

An extremely funny video...

**Hamlet**

"Ay there's the rub. To die to sleep. Whoops Hamlet falls off the battlements!"

Shame they missed you Mr Bush

Let's face it George...you really crapped yourself! lol

Bush ducks shoes (BBC video)

It will likely rank as one of the more bizarre episodes of his presidency -- George W. Bush, surely one of the most protected leaders in history, ducking as two size 10 shoes hurtled in his direction. The US president laughed off the incident during a surprise visit to Iraq, although it highlighted the lingering hostility still felt toward the man who ordered the 2003 invasion of the country. "I didn't know what the guy said, but I saw his sole," Bush quipped later, not the first -- and he won't be the last -- to rack up a shoe pun. The footwear belonged to an Iraqi television journalist, Muntazer al-Zaidi, who jumped up as Bush was holding a press conference with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki. "It is the farewell kiss, you dog!" he shouted, and threw the shoes before being wrestled to the ground by security guards and frogmarched out. Bush lowered his head and the first shoe hit the American and Iraqi flags behind the two leaders. The second was off target. Television footage of the incident quickly went round the world. Soles of shoes are considered the ultimate insult in Arab culture -- after Saddam Hussein's statue was toppled in Baghdad in April 2003, many people beat its face with their soles. "It doesn't bother me," Bush said of the incident. "If you want the facts, it was a size 10 shoe that he threw." He later played down the incident. "I don't know what the guy's cause is... I didn't feel the least bit threatened by it." The US leader then flew to Afghanistan, telling reporters en route that it reminded him of an incident in April 2006, when a heckler from the Falungong spiritual movement interrupted a formal arrival ceremony for Chinese President Hu Jintao in the grounds of the White House. "Look, I mean it was just a bizarre moment," Bush said, "but I've had other bizarre moments in the presidency. "I remember when Hu Jintao was here. Remember we had the big event? "He's speaking, and all of a sudden I hear this noise, had no earthly idea what was taking place, but it was the Falungong woman screaming at the top of her lungs. It was kind of an odd moment." So when the president landed in Kabul for talks and a news conference with his Afghan counterpart Hamid Karzai, the buzz among reporters was whether more footwear would fly. It didn't. One Afghan reporter jokingly urged a television colleague to follow suit -- "Why don't you do it here? Come on, do it." Many journalists however had not heard or seen of the incident just a few hours earlier. And while security is always tight at Karzai's palace, where visitors have to undergo a number of checks, no one's shoes were examined this time. Meanwhile Al-Baghdadia, the television channel that employs Zaidi, urged authorities to release him immediately "in line with the democracy and freedom of expression that the American authorities promised the Iraqi people." In Cairo, programming director Muzhir al-Khafaji described Zaidi as a "proud Arab and an open-minded man." "We fear for his safety," he added. Bush, who has strongly defended the 2003 invasion that triggered years of deadly insurgency and sectarian violence that has killed tens of thousands of Iraqis and more than 4,200 US troops, rejected suggestions Zaidi represented the Iraqi people as a whole. "I don't think you can take one guy throwing shoes and say, this represents a broad movement in Iraq," he added. "I don't think it would be accurate."

Take my dog! He looks like David Bowie!

David Bowie look-a-like pooch

Lots of unwanted dogs turn up at the doorstep of Britain's biggest dog welfare charity. So do some odd excuses from the people who bring them in. With the festive season closing in, Dogs Trust released Monday the Top 10 dubious reasons its staff has heard over the past year for dumping Fido at one of its shelters. "My dog doesn't match the sofa," topped the list, followed by: "The dog looks evil and has different coloured eyes -- just like David Bowie." "My black dog doesn't match the new white carpet. Can we swap him for a white dog?" was at number three. Other excuses: "My pet guinea pig got worried with a dog in the house... The dog opened all the presents on Christmas Eve." To say nothing of the puppy given as a gift to an elderly couple with dementia. "Having a dog is a long-term commitment," said Dogs Trust chief executive Clarissa Baldwin, who coined the charity's much-mimicked slogan -- "A dog is for life, not just for Christmas" -- 30 years ago this year. "Dogs are not fashion accessories or disposable items that can be upgraded or discarded after just a few months."

Black hole confirmed in Milky Way

Image of the Milky Way

"Is that a Black Hole I see before me?"

My first reaction to hearing this news was the quote the phrase "The end is nigh!" but after doing a bit of research this news is in fact quite exciting. Some people (me included) believe that Black Holes are form of Worm Hole that connects space and time together. This could also possible explain the origins of our Universe's existence. Quantum Physics, and all that kind of stuff. I once bought a book many years ago about Quantum Physics. You needed to degree in science to understand it but hey I was learning OK. lol. The Secret explains a lot about this as well. I have the DVD which is really intriguing. We make our own destinies with the power of our mind over matter. Just need to kick my brain into shape. I bought that brain training DS game a while back but that guy who keeps popping up is getting rather annoying.

Anyway let's hope guys that our very own black hole don't get ideas of its own otherwise it's bye bye time for us and this ball of hot gas, water, rock, pollution blah blah that we live on.

More info here...
Black Hole in Milky Way

Lady of the Lake

I love this picture. Says it all really.

Link to image site...
Lady of the Lake gift shop

Early one morning

All images taken by me while out on my bike...


A seagull walking on the ice. It falls through it soon after. The poor
thing got the shock of its life. I wonder if the bird knew it was
walking on solid water? The Moorhens and Coots were out in force too
that day. Scavenging for food and trying not to get run over by
passing bikes on the tow path.



Ice everywhere. Like broken glass. So fragile yet beautiful. I had
to get my camera out before it melted. It's so peaceful early in
the morning. You can almost pretend you're somewhere else like
in the countryside or in another time.



Birds under the bridge...the only place with no ice. I heard a canal
boat behind me as it cut its way through the water very gently.
Quite fascinating to watch and listen to the ice crack. Also hard to
believe these waterways are man made. Many locks along the way too.

Sunset in the Docklands

All images taken by me...

*simply beautiful*

**I'm avin a Maria kind of day**

Pavarotti singing Ave Maria (video)

Andre Bocelli-Ave Maria Live (video)

Ave Maria sung by Tarja Turunen

*wipes away a tear*

The Lord of the Rings Soundtrack ~ Howard Shore

A few links to some of my favourite tunes from the LOTR soundtrack.

♫ Soundtrack- The Lord of the Rings - Aníron (with lyric)

♫ Soundtrack - Lord of the Rings - Haldir's Lament (with lyric)

♫ Soundtrack - Lord of the Rings - Arwen's Song (with lyric)

♫ Soundtrack - Lord of the Rings - The Passing of the Elves

♫ Soundtrack - Lord Rings - Grace of Undómiel (with lyric)

♫Soundtrack - The Lord of the Rings - In Dreams (with lyric)


And this has got to be one of the best opening scenes ever...
Lord Of The Rings - The Prologue (video)

Galadriel: "History became Legend, Legend became Myth"

*sigh* How I miss going to the Howard Shore concerts.
Damn it. Maybe I should just go and buy ~ the Lotr the complete recordings.

Forgetfulness

© Billy Collins

The name of the author is the first to go
followed obediently by the title, the plot,
the heartbreaking conclusion, the entire novel
which suddenly becomes one you have never read,
never even heard of,

As if, one by one, the memories you used to harbor
decided to retire to the southern hemisphere of the brain,
to a little fishing village where there are no phones.

Long ago you kissed the names of the nine Muses goodbye
and watched the quadratic equation pack its bag,
and even now as you memorize the order of the planets,
something else is slipping away, a state flower perhaps,
the address of an uncle, the capital of Paraguay.

Whatever it is you are struggling to remember,
it is not poised on the tip of your tongue,
not even lurking in some obscure corner of your spleen.

It has floated away down a dark mythological river
whose name begins with an L as far as you can recall,
well on your own way to oblivion where you will join those
who have even forgotten how to swim and how to ride a bicycle.

No wonder you rise in the middle of the night
to look up the date of a famous battle in a book on war.
No wonder the moon in the window seems to have drifted
out of a love poem that you used to know by heart.

Sonnets from the Portuguese, XIII

by Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1770-1850)

If thou must love me, let it be for nought
Except for love's sake only. Do not say
'I love her for her smile--her look--her way
Of speaking gently,--for a trick of thought
That falls in well with mine, and certes brought
A sense of pleasant ease on such a day'--
For these things in themselves, Beloved, may
Be changed, or change for thee,--and love, so wrought,
May be unwrought so. Neither love me for
Thine own dear pity's wiping my cheeks dry,--
A creature might forget to weep, who bore
Thy comfort long, and lose thy love thereby!
But love me for love's sake, that evermore
Thou mayst love on, through love's eternity.

The Hamlet Twins

Being a huge fan of the Shakespearean play 'Hamlet' I thought I had to mention my thoughts on a recent sitting of this production in the company of a certain David "Dr Who" Tennant. I've seen this play performed by other thespians apart from and most regrettably by Samuel West who managed to do a whole year of strutting his Hamlet stuff without me even knowing. Bad Bad me.

I've been to see Mark Rylance do this role at the Globe theatre as a birthday treat a few years ago, I thoroughly enjoyed Mel Gibson's film adaption of the great Dane, and have seen the Factory's version too which was brilliant. I used to have a cat named 'Ophelia' and my new one has the middle name Hamlet which he's not too impressed with so I've had to call him Sam instead. I've even found time to visit Hamlet's Castle also named Kronburg in Helsingør Denmark on my birthday during a visit to the country in 2003 which was excellent apart from the bit when I hit my head on the dungeon ceiling and almost knocked myself out while on a tour. It bloody hurt too. *Ouch*

Anyway I went to see this David Tennant version of Hamlet at the Norvello Theatre in London. First of all I thought David although favourable to the eyes talked so damn fast. I never remember Hamlet being done like that? David also tried to encourage the audience to laugh at parts of the play that I thought weren't necessarily funny in my opinion. Mainly the scenes in which Hamlet appears to be in distress. I know that some of the madness was comedic, but there were other moments of genuine grief also and this shouldn't be laughed at. But maybe I'm wrong? I don't know. I'm sure Sam was a lot better. Mark was outstanding in this role and I would like to think Sam can be added to this category. David in my opinion was more interested in trying to entertain his many fans. Most of the audience came alive when he entered the stage. Those other unfortunate characters including the poor Ophelia were ignored when trying to get a reaction in the same way. Another observation that I need to mention was the way that David was dressed quite similar to Sam in one scene. (see above image) They could be twins! I don't understand why this director had to copy Steve Pimlott with the costumes? I wasn't impressed. Overall I did enjoy this production but only because I like Hamlet. I just hope that maybe with David playing this role it will encourage a younger generation to explore Shakespeare's work...which isn't a bad outcome I guess.

*updated to say sorry to hear that poor David did his back in. Maybe he shouldn't of overplayed the character by throwing himself all over the stage? Anyway I hope he recovers soon. Not a nice injury to have. Damn*