A Refreshing Change

I've not blogged for a few days. There's plenty I could write about, the Internet only England match, MPs expensed revisited, the Strictly Factor attempts to out-scandal each other.

But no.  There's something far more important. I have discovered Crabbie's Original Alcoholic Ginger Beer.

I picked up a couple of bottles on offer in a small corner shop thinking it would something different and worth a try, and if I didn't like it Mrs W likes ginger ale so it wouldn't go to waste. Two bottles later we were almost fighting over the last mouthful. This really is a ginger beer, not a ginger flavoured ale, and unlike some soft drinks it has the perfect amount of ginger to give it a real kick but without being overpowering. Refreshing drunk cool from the fridge ( we drank it straight, the label recommends a slice of lemon or lime) it also gives a warm glow as it goes down, so it's likely to be just as nice at room temperature on a cold winters evening. And at 4% alcohol a very pleasant way to spend an evening I'd imagine. Maybe I'll get a bottle of their Ginger Wine as well for those more "sophisticated" occasions

My next mission is to find a local pub stocking it. I can't imagine the big mega-brewery owned pubs would touch it,  but if anyone knows of any proper pubs serving it in the Hampshire area please leave a comment. Oh, and if anyone from Crabbie's is reading and has any free samples available .....

A Night At The BBC

On Sunday we travelled up to London to the home of the good old BBC. I'd registered on their website for audience tickets to watch shows being recorded and had been allocated 4 for the recording of the 5th episode in a new situation comedy, Miranda, staring Miranda Hart.

We had a great evening. The show itself had us all in stitches,although I suspect that this was more to do with watching it live, with accompanying mistakes and ad libs. I suspect the finished article won't seem quite so funny - but then not many sit-coms do in their first series.

It was fascinating watching how the show is put together. It's obvious that actors have to rehearse their lines , but only when you watch a recording does it become apparent quite how many are involved behind the scenes, and how much they must have rehearsed to ensure that everyone is in the right place at the right time doing the right thing. This doesn't apply just to those making the programme but even the radio controlled team ensuring the audience don't end up anwhere they shouldn't. It also came as a shock how small an area the sets take up - what you see on screen is pretty much all there is, not an inch of space is wasted.

There are many gaps in recordings as are things are moved around and scenes are reviewed and reshot. The whole evening is "held together" by warm-up man - sorry, Audience Liaison - Ray Peacock. He had the unenviable task of acting as an ad-libbing, audience-involving, stand-up comedian with the added hassle of being told to stop immediately, even if mid-joke, when the others were ready to shoot again. He coped admirably and I have a feeling we'll be seeing more of this guy in front of the cameras sooner rather than later.

And a tip if you ever get the chance to attend a recording, get there early! Like scheduled airlines they give out more tickets than there are seats and it's first come first served.

The Emperor's New Clothes

We had a lovely 2 day break down in Cornwall last weekend. Monday was not quite beach weather, so we decided to pay a visit to the Tate St Ives art gallery. I came out feeling that we had been totally ripped off by a collection of the most pretentious load of rubbish I have ever paid to see (and remember, I am a Southampton fan ).

Here is my honest, open minded, review

A beautiful, impressive building that cleverly blends in with it’s surroundings. Ok, that’s the good bit over with.It is split into several sections with separate exhibitions in each room. When we visited these were –in no particular order - as follows, along with my own reviews.

Alfred Wallis: I’ve heard of this guy before. A famous St Ives painter, he recorded images of ships out at sea, and other local scenes, as he saw them in his head, on random scraps of card. Sorry, but the world is not 2 dimensional; boats do not travel vertically up the sea. These were no better quality than you would expect to find in an infant school, with no unique feature or style to set them apart from work by children of that age. One picture I thought summed up the work. It’s title alongside it was “St Michaels Mount (or Gibraltar?)”, note the question mark. I have been to both, this was definitely neither.

Bojan Sarcevic: A room divided by a few sheets of clear thick perspex that you had to take care not to bump into in the dull light, with a projector playing a flickering cine film of various bits of “sculpture”. I think we endured this one for the length of time it took to cross the room and get out the other end.

Lawrence Weiner: An empty room with 10 pieces of text painted onto the wall. These had the appearance of large car number plates, at an angle of 45 degrees, with three word phrases such as “cobblers eat cheese” (I doubt that was really one of them, but they were all that forgettable) spelt out on blue backgrounds. Attention span in here was as long as it took to read ten three word meaningless phrases.

Lucie Rie: Some pots.

Barbara Hepworth: Sculptures that were at least pleasing on the eye. Basically random shapes nicely proportioned in a variety of textures. At least they had titles like “oval form”, not claiming to be something they weren’t. Ticket also included entry to the Barbara Hepworth Sculpture Garden and Museum, 5 minutes walk away where more of her work set in a garden actually seemed worth looking at.

Carol Bove: What seemed to me to be random items. What is artistic about an approximately 4” cube of what appeared to be coal placed on a plinth with a few bits of dust and black crumbs around it? (not sure if the dust and crumbs were intentional or had simply dropped off). My favourite piece here, and something I wouldn’t mind having in a living room if I had one big enough was a large piece of driftwood about 7ft long displayed vertically . She hadn’t made this, simply picked it up and decided it looked good. Is that art, or nature? Or simply being in the right place at the right time?

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Katy Moran: Quite frankly – a mess. A room full of "pictures"(?) consisting of scribble, some with the artistic touch of a few bits of scrap paper stuck on them. Meaningless rubbish given meaningless titles- what is the point?

I am not against art – I know what Ilike and am also open minded enough to appreciate things that don’t particularly appeal to me when I can understand what the artist is trying to create or represent. I have been to the Saatchi gallery in London and stood in awe at some of the things I saw there. I also appreciate that not everyone likes the same thing, and some people will dislike things I like and vice versa.But my overwhelming impression of the whole experience here was "Why?"

I think the people in charge at St Ives are relying on the Emperor New Clothes Syndrome, if we claim to be an authority on the subject and tell the masses it is good, then they will believe it is good. Sorry, not me, as I commented to a friendly member of staff “I don’t get it, it’s just a mess”. She did try to explain the thinking behind some of the “work” but I noticed that she didn’t try to contradict my original statement

Tellingly, an hour later we were wandering around one of St Ives numerous retail galleries admiring some (I guess they would be called ) modern landscapes. “Now that’s art, not like that other rubbish” commented my wife. The guy running the place looked up with a knowing grin and said “You’ve been to the Tate haven’t you, we here that sort of comment a lot”.

Tiger Tiger Burning Bright

Today I visited Marwell Zoo for the first time in ages. It always makes for a great day out, but seems to have undergone several improvements since I was last there.

My earliest childhood memory of zoos was the now infamous (and thankfully long gone) Southampton Zoo. This was the sort of zoo that gave zoos a bad name, with animals locked in tiny (and even to a small child they seemed tiny) cages. I hate political correctness, but when it comes to animal welfare the pc lobby does have a few good points. This place could have set a world record for the number of rules broken, not least for the chimpanzee, kept in captivity in cramped inadequate conditions who entertained the public by smoking lighted cigarettes they passed to him.

Marwell Zoo is only a few miles outside of Southampton but is light years away from the old zoo when it comes to conditions. Animals are well looked after in large open paddocks ( caged only when safety dictates) with plenty of room to lead as normal existence as possible. It is also world renowned for it's efforts in animal conservation, and has many endangered species not only on display but also in breeding programmes to help re-establish disappearing species into the wild.

The star of the show has to be the tigers. To see such awesome creatures close-up is almost humbling. Seeing them on tv just doesn't do them justice, these beautiful creatures simply ooze power and elegance. Sadly - and to the shame of the human race - the day may come when the only tigers left are those in captivity. Thanks to Marwell and other organisations like them they should hopefully never disappear completely.

Film Of The Year

Last evening we went to the cinema to see Stardust. With Mrs W and the 2 L'il Wurzels I just went along for the ride, there was no way I was going to like it.

It was a fairy tale - they're for kids.

Set in a fantasy world - I hate those.

It was a romance - they're for girls.

So I sat through 2 hours plus - and loved every minute of it !!!

This is one of the best films I have ever seen , certainly the best this year.

Certainly not aimed at young kids, the PG rating should have indicated that. It's a long time since I've seen a cinema so full, and full of men and women of all ages (and a few kids as well). All I can say is it was a great story, which unusually for fantasy adventures was easy to follow and made total sense. Some great performances from the likes of Robert de Niro, Clare Danes, Rupert Everett, Sienna Miller, Peter O'Toole to name but a few. And funny? Certainly not an outright comedy but there are real laughs all the way through.
I defy anyone to see this film and not enjoy it and come out feeling good (if you don't then you must be a heartless old fart with no sense of humour but you probably can't help that) EDIT: 5 minutes after typing this my brother and family called in - they'd just seen it as well, they enjoyed it, he didn't, say no more. ;-)

Oh and one other big reason to see it.

Did I mention Michelle Pfeiffer is in it too?

Surrounded By Women

I was given 2 free tickets for a night at the theatre, it would have been daft not to use them. So last night Mrs W and I put on our finest and went off to see ........... The Vagina Monologues.!

I had a rough idea what it was about, having checked a few reviews online. Although a few early ones mentioned "anti-men" later reviews mentioned men "laughing loudest". So I thought I'd pluck up courage and brave it.

As we approached the theatre there were women everywhere. A whole coachload had just arrived and small groups huddled outside the entrance. I kept my head down as we walked briskly through the foyer and headed for the bar. I felt like a negro entering an Alabama drinking den. Whilst supping my (manly) pint of lager a quick game of spot-the-lezzer was proving just too easy although I was thankfully reassured when I heard the one with the beard speak, I wasn't alone after all !

Once we took our seats a quick look round the theatre made me realise that there were plenty of men there. Probably outnumbered about 30 to 1 but in a theatre the size of The Mayflower that's still a fair few, although I doubted that there would be much of a queue for the gents at half time.

The show itself, starring Sue Holderness, Jerry Hall and Claire King was great. It would be no good going if you don't have an open mind. At times the stories were very poignant, whilst much of it had the audience - including me and all the other men - nearly wetting ourselves with laughter. When I say nearly I think one women a few rows in front of us actually did.

If you get the chance Id recommend seeing it. But any gents going, make sure you take a lady with you.

Oh - and I learnt quite a few new words last night - I thought it was us men that were meant to be the crude, filthy minded half of the species

Coco Rio

Every year my family mets up for a Pre-Xmas meal. It's getting to be a challenge to come up with something different, this year my brother suggested Coco Rio - and different it certainly is, for all the right reasons.

It's an Afro-Latino restaurant - no, I had no idea what that meant either! Suffice to say it was the nicest meal out I've had for a long long time. I stuck to the traditiona turkey - after all it was a Xmas get together - but this was no simple roast bird with stuffing. I'm not even going to try and recreate the succulent taste of the perfectly blended herbs spices and unexpected vegetables in words, I wouldn't be able to do it justice. What I would say is come and try it for yourself. Being Xmas the meals were pre-booked from a less extensive than usual menu and between the 8 of us we sampled everything available that evening with not one complaint (excludng my Dad but then he complains for a hobby, no-one takes him seriously)

It's one of those places that feels just right as soon as you walk in, the ambience, lighting and smells from the kitchen make you feel at home straight away. I would guess there was 60-70 people in the place, large enough to feel busy, small enough to feel cosy. A live guitarist was creating just the right atmosphere at just the right volume whilst we were eating. As soon as the last plate was cleared away the volume and tempo increased enabling diners (or at east those still feeling able) to dance the rest of the night away. Suddenly the gutarist was accompanied by a female vocalist, and no too much alcohol wasn't playing tricks on us, it really was the lady who only minutes before was attending the tables.

I understand this place has only been open a few months. Not just for the reasons already mentioned but also for some of the most attentive - but importantly, un-fussy - waitresess around it deserves to do well. It's only drawback is it's a bit hidden away, but as they say word of mouth is the best form of advertising, I'm sure people will soon be hearing plenty more about it.

Oh and I forgot to say, we were very pleasantly surprised when the bill came. They certainly don't rip you off on drinks prices, unlike certain other establishments I could mention.

Check it out at http://www.cocorio.co.uk/