Another opening, another show

Mutterings continued.

And I'm knackered. Opening night went well, despite the very heavy downpour that threatened to drown out the acoustics (and which did flood the backstage area). We were without an SM, so Pat the Director called the show (sound, lighting, curtain, etc cues) and did a fabulous job. I jumped one of my set change cues and brought a bench on a tad early but I think the audience was to engrossed with the action to notice.

Got to bed about midnight, after setting the stage for tonight's performance, with everything from the hips down aching. I have to lug, with assistance, a very heavy single bed up and down some scarily narrow steps and it's taking its toll on my knees.

Dad and I were going on a picnic to Freo today - last night Dad suggested that we postpone it if the weather was too dodgy. I was hoping he would cancel as I could do with more time in bed. Got a call at 8am this morning from him, "I've made the sandwiches, looks like the weather is clearing." *sigh* Still, it was a reasonable day - some rain and we had to eat in the car but it was pleasant.

I received four parcels this week, very productive - my latest V and B Iris goodie, a creamer; lots of HHGTTG stuff - disks and book of scripts; and a video of Richard II from Ash.

One more rehearsal

Mutterings continued.

and then we open tomorrow night. Looks like I'll be on stage a wee bit more than I planned as I'll be doing most, ok all, of the set changes. I'll be wearing my ninja stagehand blacks, so I won't be seen.

I made the most delightful looking cake today, I think not. The cream has to look fake and artificial - white poster paint fits the bill beautifully. I've put a warning on the actors' props list that they MUST NOT EAT the cake.

Poor young Nick, the ASM, is learning the fine art of bringing curtains in and taking them out. It's a bugger of a job - I put both shoulders out curtaining for R and G are Dead. I also nearly took the cast of I Hate Hamlet out when the SM called the cue too soon, but that's another story.

It's been a rather fine day - 21c and not clouds. Dad and I were going for a picnic in Freo, however Pat the Director needed me to go through set changes instead. We'll probably go on Thursday.

Last night's ep of Mythbusters:
Episode 23: Exploding House
Just how hard is it to find a needle in a haystack? Egos fly as the MythBusters get competitive creating the supreme needle-finding machine. Then, returning to their familiar territory of blowing stuff up in the name of science, Jamie and Adam arm themselves with roach foggers and an abandoned apartment building to find out if toxic fumes and bug bombs really are an explosive combination. Finally, the MythBuilders hit the roof to prove whether or not whispering sweet nothings to your plants is the secret to gardening success.

Lots of big booms!

A Profitable Monday

Mutterings continued.

Went to Carousel shopping centre this morning and picked up a number of props - 2 boxes from Aust. Post which have been turned inside out and string put through them to make gas mask boxes; a vintage-looking lipstick (Revlon); a rather nice 'engagement' ring from Kleins; some white plaster tape from the Chemist (for the side of George's head); and a white paper bag (for the pasties - I couldn't find any for sale, which was bloody frustrating, so I started hanging around shops to see who put customers' purchases into white bags. I spotted a Woman's Weekly being popped into one at a news kiosk, so I bought a gardening magazine for Dad and was most definite when the assistant asked if I wanted it in a bag.)

We have a tech run tonight, which will be just lights, sound and set changes. Hopefully it won't go too late (famous last words).

Dad and I are off to Freo again for lunch tomorrow. He likes Freo and watching the boats go by. He had a good day, today - a very nice lunch and a few games of bowls at the Seniors' Centre.

The Aust. Post delivery man has just knocked on the door and left a couple of parcels - some tabacco tins that I'd won on Ebay (I'm not into tabacco tins however they make nice set dressing) and a video of the BBC Richard II from my friend Ash.

Tired...tired...tired.

Spent about 7 hours at the theatre this afternoon/evening. As well as setting props, I will be moving furniture on and off the set.

This morning I went to the Stock Road Markets to see if there were any goodies on offer but I was most disappointed. I did find a great bookshop which has a wonderful drama section. They had 3 copies of the BBC Tempest book! And Richard 2. I got Winter's Tale for $5, as well as William Shakespeare 1564 - 1964 and a book of Stoppard's radio plays (including The Dog it was That Died). Good haul! I will have to go back as I have a yen to own as many of the BBCs as I can.


George the Guy, in the wings, awaiting his cue.

There's some good telly coming up on UKTV next month - Foyle's War and Murder in Mind with David Suchet.

Busy Saturday

Mutterings continued.

Went shopping this morning, bought props (including a bottle of Guinness that is a body double for a bottle of Newcastle Brown).

And then spent the rest of the day at the Dolphin doing a run through. I still have a few props to find and make, including four gas mask boxes (but at least we have the gas masks!!).

Ooh! Dalek's got hovering ability! Dr Who is on in the background and it was rather fun watching it "El...e...vate".

Hols, Day 5.

Mutterings continued.

Had a very useful trip to an antique shop in North Perth this morning. A couple of the Nightingale cast are friends with the owner of the shop and one of them did a bit of a deal on a vintage (I originally wrote 'antique' but as it's not over 100 years, it's only vintage) radio. Nice bakelite and it works! The valves take a while to warm up but it actually tunes in. Couldn't find FM, but.

And the WA Academy of Performing Arts has come up trumps with three gas masks. I'll probably still have to make the boxes, but that's the easy part. And George the Guy, who should get his own bio in the programme, was acceptable to the director. He's called George after the character in the play who makes him and is told that he looks like him on his wedding day.


Not very good shot of yesterday's hail storm.

Hail!

Mutterings continued.

There I was, on the balcony surrounded by straw, which I was stuffing into Guy, when the wind came up, the skies went black and little bits of ice fell from the sky. The hail melted as soon as it hit the surface but it was impressive while it lasted.

I did a fair bit of driving around this morning and the weather was filthy; roads were flooded and the windows kept fogging up. I got to wear my very attractive red raincoat, however.

I finally finished Guy this afternoon; it was as difficult as I thought it would be. He's buckling a bit at the knees so I'll have to see what the director thinks of him. He doesn't really bend in the middle, so I'm wondering if he'll fit in the car. He'll just have to lie down on the back seat. Rehearsals tonight so it will be another late night.

No mutterings yesterday; mutterings today

Mutterings continued.

Busy day yesterday; in the morning I visited Director Pat and we went through the props list. I managed to supplement my meagre store from her cupboards - she has a lot of stuff, but then she's been in the theatre game for a long time. She worked with Timothy West when he was Director-in-Residence at the Dolphin.

Last night was a rehearsal and I didn't get home until 11.30pm. No rehearsals tonight, hurrah! I will, however be making more props. Monday night was spent watching Mythbusters and making red, white and blue bunting.

And today has been spent spending more money. Nabbed a nice looking Army-style duffle bag for $14.95 from the local Army surplus. And today's shiny thing purchase was a new printer; my old one finally died after spitting out increasingly odd copies. And I also bought myself a DVD labeller thingie, which includes software, lots of labels and a whatsit to help put the labels on the disks.

Two parcels recieved yesterday - three very old milk bottles (one imperial pint) that will come in handy some day and two cd and one tape sets of HHGTTG - Primary, Secondary and Quintessential Phases. Pity I don't have a cassette player. I did try to order the cd version however the Amazon site refused to let me amend my order. Ah well.

Tootling around the suburbs day

Mutterings continued.

Visited a few op shops and got some nice stuff (including an art deco style tray that isn't but looks nice, for $4.50); material for bunting (which I'm in the middle up of cutting up and sewing onto tape) and a couple of rosaries (which, at $5.95 each, were cheaper than I thought they'd be).

I bought the rosaries from a Catholic supply shop in Canning Vale. My family lived in Canning Vale for about 10 years in the early 70s/80s. In those days, there was no electricity or scheme water and all blocks were nearly 4 acres in size. Very few roads were sealed when we moved in and the bus only ran four times a day. These days, the suburb has been turned into yet another series of estates and is unrecognisable.

I caught an episode of Stargate last night and my favourite character, Dr Mackay from Atlantis, was in it, being his usual obnoxious self.

The telegram envelopes arrived today from Aus Post; I didn't have the heart to cut them up to make templates.

A cold, smoggy start to the day. It got down to about 4c overnight and all them buggers with combustion fires lit them, causing a wonderful layer of smoke over everything. Not nice for asthmatics, like meself.

There's been some bad flooding again in North Yorkshire. Particularly badly hit are Thirsk and Selby, which is just north of where my friend, Ash, lives. Thirsk doubled for Darrowby in the All Creatures Great and Small stories of James Herriot.

A Cult TV Survey: MOST POPULAR CULT TV SHOWS

1. Doctor Who
2. Star Trek
3. Buffy the Vampire Slayer & Angel
4. Stargate SG-1 & Stargate Atlantis
5. Blake's Seven
6. Thunderbirds
7. The Avengers
8. The Prisoner
9. Babylon 5
10. The X Files

Cult TV readers obviously have a lot of taste.

Cold and breezy Sunday

Mutterings continued.

Just got back from rehearsals. Things are looking good on the gas mask front from what I can gather. Sitting in the Dolphin Theatre dressing room for notes, I started reading the graffiti from previous shows. There was a cast list from a panto done last year and two of the names tickled my fancy - Maiden Heaven and One-Eyed Maid Earlier - I can just see the build up to that particular joke.

Blak Yak's Picasso was very funny and a great night was had by all. Leece has a very good review here.

Shopping

Mutterings continued.

Did the usual shopping this morning - no shiny things today - and bought some more props from op shops (and Army surplus). I made a couple more props last night - an old sack (which is a new hessian sack with black paint over it) with a dead whippet in it (not so much a whippet as a large teddy bear, but hopefully the weight is about the same) and a couple of calendars.

Off to Picasso at the Lapin tonight - it's a production by Blak Yak and has had some good reviews on ITA. The theatre seating is cabaret-style and it seems that food consumption is encouraged, so Leece and Rob have created a veritable feast for us.

Hols!

Mutterings continued.

Friday nights are good; Friday nights before a long weekend are better; Friday nights before two weeks hols are the best. Well, Friday nights before going on leave and then heading overseas are the best, but as I won't be doing that for a while, two weeks will have to do.

I got a phone call from the Post Office today - I'd emailed them to see if they had any old telegram envelopes going spare. Turns out they don't but the very nice man said he would send me a couple of other coloured envelopes (I'm chasing buff, he only had red and green) to use as templates. "You'll send them back?" he asked hopefully. "Well, actually, I was thinking of taking them apart and using them as templates." I replied. "Ok, you can have them then."

Apparently they're the only telegram envelopes left in captivity! Well, on the west coast anyway.

I've downloaded a template to make gas mask boxes, then realised that all the photos I've seen have been in black and white! I has no idea what colour they were until I found a few sites on the net with colour photos. They were made from ordinary brown cardboard, BTW.

Batman Begins has been getting some decent reviews - Margaret gave it four stars, David three and a half. I like Christian Bale's work a lot.

A Wintery Thursday

Mutterings continued.

From the B of M: The overnight minimum was 10.4 at 0557 hours; Today's maximum was 11.7 at 1419 hours. Not a huge range in temps, eh?

I went to lunch with Kim (had chicken parm. with lots of lovely vegies) - we sat outside, on the verandah. It wasn't the warmest spot to sit but at least it was dry!

It was Tamsin Greig night last night - Green Wing and the first in the third series of Black Books. Simon "Shaun of the Dead" Pegg was in BB, playing a very David Brent-type character. He tried to cut Manny's hair!

I received an email from Amazon.uk to tell me that three HHGTTG I ordered have been shipped - that's the Primary, Secondary and Quandry Phases heading my way.

Full!

Mutterings continued.

Just back from dins with L and R and M (no S tonight) in Leederville. I was boring and had nachos and a lime spider, as usual. It's not really the kind of night to be out on the roads but I had to get out of the flat - the place looks like Spotlight exploded and bits had landed on every available surface.

We have a baby orang! He was born on Monday afternoon and made his public debut today. I've just seen footage on the ABC news.

Cold, grey, but not unpleasant Tuesday

Mutterings continued.

Nightingale Director Pat and Wardrobe person Shirley are off of the Army Museum tomorrow for props, uniforms and stuff. Sounds like a fascinating place. Here's hoping they can find some gas masks (I'm stressing about finding gas masks!!).

I won the Evening in Paris perfume bottle on Ebay - a whole $8, including postage! Yay!

I finally got to watch Shaun of the Dead the other night. Very funny stuff, particularly the scene in which Shaun's party, heading for the pub, meet up with a party of identical types coming in the opposite direction (one of whom was the wonderful Tamsin Greig).

Over at moviemistakes.com it seems that Harry Potter and Chamber of Secrets has racked up an impressive 286 mistakes. Pirates of the Carribean and Prisoner of Azkaban only have 277 and 275 respectively.

A foggy start to the day

A right pea-souper out my way this morning. Dad, who lives south-eastish of me, didn't get any fog at all. Then the sun came out and it all went away. It's been a pleasant day, albeit cold. I'm sure my British friends will scoff at my definition of 'cold'. It was about 9c as I was walking to a meeting with the boss at the other end of the Zoo this morning.


The city is in there somewhere...


Fog!


More fog!

Took the picture below last night. Shot doesn't do the colours justice.


Some rather cool clouds, taken last night.

Well, I won the V and B Iris creamer - Au$13 or thereabouts. And I'm counting down to the end of bidding on an Evening in Paris scent bottle that I really, really need for the play! I also need an Evening in Paris lipstick from the same era - I've seen a photo on Ebay (lost the bid, unfortunately) and I know I've got something similar somewhere here. It used to belong to Mum and I can't for the life of me find it - I wouldn't have thrown it out.

Made a few more props last night - a rosary, set of cufflinks...and something else. Ah, a couple more ration books.

Got a letter from the Post Office today - it had a card inside advising that there are two parcels waiting for me. They've never put the card inside an envelope before; maybe they were getting eaten by snails lurking in letter boxes. I've had that happen before. I emailed the PO today asking if they had any old telegram envelopes lurking in the dust; I think my chances are very slim.

"SOLO "MACBETH" AT THE ALMEIDA
Steven Dillane is to perform a one-man "Macbeth" at the Almeida this autumn." He'll be knackered!

Must be winter

Mutterings continued.

I don't think the temp got to 15c today, though I don't think we got the thunder and hail storms forecast. Lots of wind at Rottnest - hope the quokkas haven't blown away.

I've just got back from rehearsals, a run through of the second half. It's rather nice hearing all those (faux) Geordie accents. The theatre was bloody cold, man!

I've just put in a bid on Ebay for a V and B Iris creamer to match the coffee pot and sugar bowl I got a few weeks back. Anyone going through my history would find that I've bid on some very odd things - a cut-throat razor; a biography of John Barrymore; art deco bits and pieces, etc.

Saturday - wet and windy day

Mutterings continued.

Did a fair bit of prop shopping today. I bought a black box that will do nicely as a box of Rowntree's Black Magic chocs; some buttons with which to create cufflinks; and other bits and pieces. I got caught up in the lunch time Cannington melee - must have been Stupid Driver Day today judging by the number of people who didn't realise that stopping across intersections and across two lanes of traffic actually exacerbates the problem.

Today's shiny thing purchase was one box set of DVDs (McGyver, first series) and one BBC Miss Marple (Murder at the Vicarage, the one with Derek Jacobi and Jason Flemyng). The Marple was $18.99, $6 cheaper than the ABC Shop which I'd rather support but not at those prices.

I've given up on Hello software and have uploaded some pics to the Iinet server. Uploading one 500k photo to Iinet takes 3 minutes but at least it's working. Intermittently.


The obvious sexual dimorphism of White-cheeked Gibbons - that's her on the right.



One of the Painted Dog pups.

Firefox has decided to die on me and it seems I'm not the only one as there are several posters in iinet.general who are having problems. I'm having to use IE, which I don't like as it's full of security holes, but it's the only brower working at the moment. Looks as though Iinet is stuffed too; I keep getting "Cannot connect to remote server www.iinet.net.au" error messages.

Zoo Pics

I've been trying to upload five photos to the Possbert blog, however "Hello" is doing very stupid things and only publishing the first and the last. I think it would be easier to upload them to the Iinet server and write the code myself.


Manzi


Hamadryas Baboon bub.

Soggy

Mutterings continued.

The weather forecast for today sounded horrendous - gale force winds, hail, etc etc. It didn't quite pan out like that, though we have had a fair bit of rain.

I got wet at lunch time - took a trip to the groovy paper shop in Victoria Park to find some black paper. Had to park miles (well, not literally) away and it bucketed down. I didn't find the paper I was looking for but hopefully what I got will do.

Bedroom Antics

Mutterings continued.

Went to bed as usual on Monday night; took my pill, turned the bedside lamp off, snuggled under the covers, patted Milo, looked up and saw a Huntsman spider on the ceiling above the bed.

Keep calm, I told myself, it won't fall off the ceiling onto you. And even if it does, you'll be asleep and won't notice. And Milo will get it.

Then I put the covers over my head.

It was very windy that night and the curtains blew the lamp over; when I woke up the spider was gone and I'm thinking that perhaps it got blown off the ceiling (and is probably hiding under the covers at the foot of my bed).

Wet and windy today, even worse forecast for tomorrow (with the addition of possible hailstorms and gales). A top of 16c tipped.

The rhino calf made his public debut today. He performed well for the cameras, played in the wallow and ran around the exhibit.

The Google banner today is lovely - it celebrates Frank Lloyd Wright, the architect.

The Monday That Isn't

Mutterings continued.

Today is Tuesday; it's been Tuesday all day, however some people (ok, me and theVet) thought today was Monday. We were most confused.

It's been a very wet Tuesday. I'll have to check the bucket on the verandah to see how much rain we've had.

Back to my old/new job today. I like my big office, though I'm having touble finding things - I had a very nice collection of pens but have no idea where they've all gone! I spent most of the afternoon wandering around the park looking for things on the asset register - exciting things like pumps and steel benches and stuff.

And this afternoon I met Director Pat at Melville Theatre Company to have a mooch through their props store. I came home with a few goodies and, would you believe, a real war time baby's respirator. Now I just have to make the gas masks.

A Day Out

More of a morning out as it's now only 11.19am and I've been home long enough to grind some beans and make a cup of coffee.

I decided to visit Fremantle Markets this morning in search of props. I got into Freo about 8.50am and discovered that the Markets open at 10am on public holidays, not 9am as I thought.

My prop hunting was completely unsuccessful - all I ended up buying at the Markets was a box of Fuller's Earth and some coffee beans (Australian Wombah), however...

On the way to the Markets I walked past an internet cafe and had the strangest sensation - the only other people about were obviously tourists (cameras, bum bags and maps a give-away) and I had the definite feeling that I was also a stranger in town. I've been to Freo many times but this is the first time I've ever felt like a tourist. Interesting sensation, so I went and had coffee and fruit toast for breakfast in a cafe I've never been to before and then wandered around looking for things to take photos of.

The town hall clock and an attractive building later (see below) I was distracted by Elizabeth's Second Hand Bookshop. I went upstairs to see the el cheapo book selection and was drawn to the drama section. I'd already been through the section downstairs and was surprised to see one upstairs. I was delighted to find a book entitled "Before You Start - Macbeth", an educational primer for understanding the play based on the Ian MacKellen/Judi Dench production (of which I have the video). I then found "Reading Hamlet" in the same series; this one based on the BBC production with Derek Jacobi. And then, I found this...


At last!!!!

It's the BBC companion book to their Shakespeare series of the 70s. I have been looking for this for about 7 years, ever since I first saw the video. I have looked in nearly every second hand bookshop and Oxfam in England (and Scotland) for the damn thing and it turns up in Fremantle. For $2.50!

Thrilled with my purchases I trotted off, turned the corner and found the other Elizabeth's in Fremantle. Thinking that I could never be this lucky again (I'm on the hunt for the BBC Hamlet book) I has a peruse through their drama section, where I found the BBC Tempest, Measure for Measure and Henry VIII. Unbe-bloody-lievable. The Tempest starred Michael Horden as Prospero, David "Ford Prefect" Dixon as Ariel, Nigel Hawthorne as Stephano and Warren "Dalziell" Clarke as Caliban.


David Dixon and Michael Horden.



Town Hall Clock

A rather attractive building.

More Mundaring Weir Pics.

Entrance to the museum

Museum

Sunny, then wet, then sunny Sunday

Mutterings continued.

The day started out very foggy but cleared by 9am. Dad and I had our picnic at Mundaring Weir - see photos below. On the way home it poured with rain but stopped as soon as we hit the flat ground at the bottom of Greenmount Hill.

Had a good night last night - pea soup, home made bread and tasty cheese (not home made) and choc goodies from Miss Maud's. And Stargate and Rah Xephon and MST3K. It will be my last Saturday for a while - R and L have gaming next Sat night and I've got rehearsals and the play itself. Eeek!!

Got a few more props today - some beer glasses and tin ashtrays (3 for $2, bargain!).

And here are some amusing reviews on Amazon.com. If only they were real.

Mundaring Weir pics

Mundaring Weir No.1 Pumping Station chimbley

Pumping Station Chimney

Pumping Station Museum plaque

Museum and chimney and dam.

Shopping Day Saturday

Mutterings continued.

Did the usual grocery shopping this morning; bought nice stuff for sweeeets tonight (chocolate-themed); the news agent's was selling slightly out of date magazines for $1 each so I picked up two on scrapbooking for my niece, one BBC History and an MTV mag; some socks, paper and glue from K Mart; and then to Office Works for lots more paper, envelopes, printer cartridge and DVD+RWs. I guess the disks count as shiny things.

I have to get some old milk bottles for ...Nightingale and have put in a bid of $5 for 3 on Ebay. And I've been downloading old telegrams and matchbox labels.

From The New Scientist: "

New hack cracks 'secure' Bluetooth devices

Cryptographers have discovered a way to hack Bluetooth-enabled

devices even when security features are switched on. The trick,

demonstrated in real gadgets, works by spoofing a device’s identity

and pretending to have forgotten a cryptographic key. The technique

may allow hackers to eavesdrop on conversations or steal calling

time.

Click on the link below for the full story on NewScientist.com/news:

http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn7461"


If the weather is clement tomorrow, Dad and I are off for a picnic at Mundaring Weir. Dad hasn't been there for about 50 years.

A Wet Friday

Mutterings continued.

Had lunch with the Ed gang today. We went to Secret Garden in South Perth; they've put all their prices up but the food and service were still good.

Lots of rain this morning, which is good. A few showers are forecast for the weekend - Monday is a public holiday (Foundation Day). Hurrah! I shall be visiting Fremantle Markets for props.

I had to pack up all my bits and pieces in the office today; I headed out the door this afternoon looking like a bag lady.

A sepia sky, Thursday 2 June 2005 

We have a baby rhino!

Mutterings continued.

Born on the weekend; he'll probably be on display to the public in a couple of weeks.

I put the blanket I bought yesterday on the kitchen table with the other props and Milo has decided to sit on it. And Gus has decided to raid the rubbish bin. Cats!

The sky has gone a peculiar yellowish colour - it's all very sepia out there at the moment.

Nearly 100 whales beached themselves south of Perth today. One has died but it looks as though the rest have been coaxed back into the water. Fingers crossed.

I'm looking forward to making the prop money for Nightingale - not! The five pound notes were huuuge and made from what was known as onion skin; very thin, flimsy stuff. I think I'll use tracing paper instead - not quite the same but easier to handle.

"Guests take a dip in beer pool

An Austrian holiday resort is offering guests the chance to swim in a pool containing 42,000 pints of beer." That's Austrian not Australian.

Props Buying Day

Mutterings continued.

Went to the Op shop after work and got some bargains - I bought some dark blue pants for the guy; a rather nice wicker basket ($5); grey blanket; grey wool and a set of four needles (for knitting socks). I also had a bit of a win last night - I managed to find a replica sad news telegram on the internet from 1944, so now I know what the Post Office logo and telegram looked like. I have to make 11 of them.

For some reason AV2 on my telly/entertainment centre thing isn't working. AV2 is supposed to be the VCR channel however all I get is a blue screen. I think I've pressed a button or something but can't work out what I've done. I'll check the leads later; maybe something has come adrift.