Deck the Halls

Ushered in the holiday season last Sunday with a tree-trimming/housewarming party. Lots of fun (and wine) was had by all. We had not one, not two, but three trees to decorate (well, ok, 2 are mini pink trees, but still…) My intrepid friend Alison even tracked down some Egg Nog (which is practically impossible to find here in the UK). Party pics are posted online. Now getting organized and packed up for my trip to States. I leave Sunday and come back on the 30th. Wishing everyone the happiest of holidays and a wonderful new year! See a lot of you in a few days!

Golden Globes Griping

Atonement leads the pack of nominations?!? Seriously?! Seriously?! Saw this movie here in London a few months ago and found it extremely underwhelming. Keira just poses in pretty period costumes, smoking in beautiful rooms. I swear she has maybe 20 lines of dialogue. James McAvoy is a bit better, but the whole film is just this big long style over substance thing. And don’t get me started about all the snubs of other much more worthy pics. Where is the love for “Once” or “The Savages” (just one for Philip S Hoffman), or “Grace is Gone” (hello, Cusack’s best performance ever).

Glad the Marion Cotillard scored one for “La Vie en Rose” (girl better get an Oscar nod as well, it is hands-down the best performance on film I’ve seen all year), but why isn’t it also up for others, such as best foreign film? I was full-on weeping in the theatre at the end of it. LOVED! Here’s a taste of it. Oh, and hello, what about the wonderful “Waitress!” Wake up and smell the independent movies Hollywood Foreign Press! As far as tv, have they not ever heard of a little show called “Heroes!” No nominations? Seriously?!

Happiness

I came home this afternoon to some fantastic news. I passed my thesis 'with merit’ and ended up passing the whole MA programme ‘with merit’ as well! Hurray, I have my MA! Will receive my actual degree in May at the graduation ceremony, but results are now official!

Comments on the thesis included “does a great deal to put the star system into perspective” and “very strong understanding of current debates and concepts.” I want to thank everyone so much for their support and encouragement throughout the year! Look forward to seeing many of you in just about 2 weeks!

Comedy Tonight or Send in the Clowns

I saw two comedy shows during the last month, both of which were side-splittingly Hi-Larious! The first was Jason Byrne, an Irish comedian who was the hit at last year’s Edinburgh Fringe Festival. He does a lot of situational comedy with tons of audience participation. Here’s a short clip of another joke he performed at our show regarding reincarnation and the Crocodile Hunter.

The second show was Pam Ann, an Australian who totally takes the piss out of all the different airlines, especially British Airways. OMG, if you have the chance to see her, run, don’t walk to the theatre. Here is an intro to some of her characters, and a different bit where she plays an attendant for Singapore Airlines. Fair warning, both of these have some salty language and are not in the least bit politically correct, but as they say, ‘Now that’s comedy!'

A Good Christian

One of the perks of my new job (which I am loving btw!) is the occasional free ticket to a West End show! This week’s was 'Swimming with the Sharks,' starring my thesis case study Christian Slater! The play was just ok, but he was fantastic! Turns out there was another quasi-celeb in the cast - Helen Baxendale, best known for playing Ross’ British wife Emily on “Friends.” Alas her time in ‘New York’ did nothing to help her Horrible attempt at a New Yawk accent. Ouch! But when Slater was on stage, all eyes and ears were on him as the manipulative Hollywood agent. Backstage he could not have been more different – very nice and charming! Yes, we stalked to the stage door where I told him about how he had been a thesis case study. “Very cool man!” was his reply before 1) signing the front page of my thesis and 2) putting his arm around me for a photo…sigh! Val or Woody – I’m coming for you next!..lol

Culture week continued as the next evening I went to opening night for Net Curtains’ ‘One, Nineteen’ at the Arcola Theatre. This is the company where I’ve been a marketing intern/volunteer since February. Their new show is about the media’s coverage of disaster, environmental responsibility, and our obsession with the cult of personality and it is INCREDIBLE! I am so proud of everyone involved. Sharp, clever writing, acting and directing. Read more about it in this article (have to scroll down the page a bit) and if you’re in London, do come see it. I couldn’t be more pleased with how the production turned out! I hope this play gets picked up by other theatres – it could not be more topical!

The next day brought the opening of the renovated St. Pancras train station! In a word – Gorgeous! In a second word – Convenient! Eurostar has moved its terminal here from Waterloo (making it much closer to my flat) and the trains are now high-speed (making it much quicker to get to France, Belgium and other European destinations). I then headed next –door to the British Library to hear my friend Barry perform in a concert of Stockhausens’ work Stimmung, a very cool, new-agey, choral piece for 6 vocalists. Amazing voices and a hypnotic performance!

From Germany to Austria, my crazy cultural week continued to the Sing-along Sound of Music! I’d done this before here in London and at the Kennedy Center, but my American friend Liz had been dying to go and it’s always a fun evening. Sure enough, last night did not disappoint as there were lots of crazy costumes and LOTS of audience participation (perhaps sometimes a bit more than we wanted – seemed to be several very drunk groups there, ahh, central London on a Friday night..lol)

Photos for most of the above are now online. Tonight I’m off to see my first event at The Tricycle. An Irish comedian who was a hit at the Edinburgh Festival. Tomorrow…relax! One month from today – fly to U.S.! So see you all SOON!

Play Mistley for Me

Wrapped up the London Film Festival with two great evenings. The first was the premiere of “The Savages” starring Laura Linney, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Philip Bosco. Run, don’t walk, to see this film. Three incredible performances that better bring in some Oscar nominations in the tale of an estranged brother and sister who come together to help their ailing father. I got to the theatre a bit early and ended up in the paparazzi section on the red carpet and was able to snap a few photos (though you clearly won’t find my blurry shots in US or People anytime soon). Then on Wednesday, my friend Lynne and I went to the TCM Classic Shorts event. Thought it would just be a screening of the top 6 short films selected for the competition, but it was the awards ceremony as well, so we got to see/hear the top 3 winning directors. A real good mix of UK and other European films, most of which were beautifully done and very moving or haunting. While Lynne and I were were pulling for 'Cocoon' (which has nothing at all to do with the 80s retirement village film), the winning entry ‘cleared the palate’ and was not as serious as the others. 'A Bout de Truffe 'was a funny French film (directed by a Brit) about a truffle hunter and his pig.

From the French countryside to the English coastal area of Essex, I spent this past weekend in Mistley, at my friends Neil and Ashley’s GORGEOUS flat, right on the water. Mistley is this adorable village that is something right out of a film set. We stepped off the train and it was indeed like stepping back in time. And their place is just steps from the train station, which has now been turned into a cool art gallery and paint-your-own-pottery place! (which we did!) Had a lot of fun with Neil’s family for a good old fashioned Guy Fawkes night bonfire and fireworks on Saturday and did lots of walking (and good eating) in Mistley and the neighbouring bigger village of Manningtree. They are both set along the River Stour and are home to about 5,000 swans and sailboats. Great scenic views now posted online (along with the Linney pics). Another highlight was the relaxing Sunday afternoon listening to Elaine Page’s Sunday Showtunes programme on BBC Radio 2. Her guest this week listed his essential musicals as “Sunday in the Park with George,” “Into the Woods” and “Chess” – a man after my own heart!

I may be returning at Thanksgiving as the Mistley Thorn Restaurant (started by a woman from California) is having a full-on American style dinner that sounds amazing!

Everybody's Got the Right to Some Sunshine

Ok, now that I’ve put that song from Sondheim’s ‘Assasins’ in your head, I am reporting that it is a beautiful sunny fall day here!

Alas, the weekend was quite soggy for the first game of American football played outside the U.S. Giants and Dolphins fans got soaked at Wembley yesterday where a sold-out crowd (including my friend Liz) did the wave and watched as a streaker ran onto the field. Crazy! Speaking of sports, this Massachusetts-born girl is so happy about her Boston Red Sox! Woo hoo! Go World Series Champs!

Ok, I’ve really digressed ..Anyway, since it’s a sunny day, I’ve finally taken some photos in and around my flat. The shot above is out our living room window into the back garden.

I'm Just A Broadway Baby

Broadway Market that is. OMG, HOW have I not known about this area of London?! It’s just a 15-minute bus ride East of here. It is this adorable street that leads right down to Regent’s Canal at the bottom, and up to a pretty little park called London Fields at the top. Have posted a few pics online, as well as some very belated photos from last month’s Thames Festival, which included a tour of City Hall!

But back to Broadway Market, which has tons of great independent shops, including the Broadway Bookshop, and many great cafes. My good friend Nineta was in town this weekend (she’s livin’ the dream working in the culture section of the EU and London) and her former flatmates recommended we hit this area for brunch. Will definitely return to La Vie en Rose for their “French Brunch” special again! Only 7 pounds and the most mouth-watering pain au chocolate I’ve ever had. Our French theme continued as we then went to the V&A for their “Golden Age of Couture – Paris & London” exhibition. Anyone visiting between now and January 6 – we are soo going back to this. Dior, LaCroix, Fath, Galliano Balenciaga – films, videos, dresses, dresses and more dresses. The VA& really ‘makes it work!”

Amazing 'Grace'

Let the Oscar race begin and my nominee for Best Actor is John Cusack in ‘Grace is Gone.’ I caught the premier of this incredibly moving flick at the London Film Festival and believe me when I say it will take something phenomenal to knock it off the post of one of my top films of the year, not to mention best performances of the year. JC plays a father on a road trip with his two young daughters (amazing performances from two first-time actresses). Beautifully written and directed, you will need a box o’ Kleenex at the end. I agree with some early reviews that this is hands-down Cusack’s best performance.

He and the writer/director were on hand to introduce the film and then answer some Q&As after. Alas, I did not get to meet and greet him personally, but I was able to snap some photos while they were on stage. I do have to admit that John was not the friendliest of sorts as he exited the theatre. People at the ends of rows nearest to him were trying to shake his hand, snap a photo, say congrats, and Cusack seemed to have a bit of a ‘tude, unfortunately. One of my favorite celeb gossip sites, LaineyGossip, had this to say about Cusack in London. She might be a bit on the money here, much as I am loathe to admit.

What a Feeling

At the age of 40 I took part in my first “Flash mob” type event. This is when people get texts/emails telling them to show up at a certain place at a certain time and then do something (pillow fight, lay down, water fight, etc). This one was called ‘mobile clubbing’ or as I’ve dubbed it “Flash Dance.”

My friend Neena decided to do this event for her birthday party last Friday. It was beyond cool. The event was in the main Turbine Hall of the Tate Modern museum. We were instructed to bring our iPods, headphones, what have you, and stake out a space by 7 p.m. on the floor. Then at 7:01 we turned our own personal music on and started dancing up a storm. There were a few hundred people there of all ages, races, etc and it was so fun to see everyone boogie-ing to their own beat. Even better was when you found someone who was dancing totally in rhythm to the music you were playing. I went with a compilations of dance tunes from Dance Mix USA and Dance Party 2000 (b/c I’m old school and that’s how I roll..lol) and all of a sudden I’d look over and see someone and think “Oh my god, are they listening to Black Box’s Strike it Up too?”

What made it even more bizarre was the new installation in the Turbine Hall – The Crack in the Floor. It runs the entire length of the hall and gets quite wide at times so you had to be careful dancing around it. And of course some who didn’t know about wore expressions of “Oh my god, did we do that?” when they looked down and spotted it. The staff at Tate was great as they let us stay for nearly 2 hours.

Our party then moved from the Tate to the tunnels under London Bridge where there is this amazing club, Shunt. When anyone comes to visit, we are so going back there! Tons of cavernous spaces, like something out of a film set, plus great music and cheap drinks.

In other culture news, I’m raving about the film “Once.” I think I’m a bit late to the party on this one as it was in the States last spring/summer after winning the audience award at Sundance. But for those who haven’t seen it, add it to your Netflix queue asap! The London Film Festival also pens this week and have snagged tix to a few screenings (but alas, did not get into the Q&A with Laura Linney, grr..arrgh). I am also hoping to see my thesis case study Christian Slater in the stage version of Swimming with Sharks. It’s been listed on the half-price TKTS board (which is a bonus when one is still unemployed)!

Speaking of...the job search goes slowly. I’m now pounding the pavement for any kind of editing/comms/web temporary job for the next two months before I head home for Christmas. Any and all suggestions welcome! I then head back to States for the first time in a year and a half and I can’t wait. I'll be in the DC area Dec 17-29, so hope to see many of you. In January I will then re-assess my visa/work situation and go from there.

Hope all are well!

My Boy Bill

I'm back and blogging after a month off due to post-thesis relaxation and then moving into new flat and getting Internet access set up. Kicking off the latest post with some big news!

There are good days and then there are days that rankup there as some of the best days of your life. Yesterday was one of those days. I met and spoke briefly with BILL CLINTON! Alas, was not able to get any photos as security measures prevented us from bringing cameras or mobiles (but my friend Candacewill back this story up!..lol)

He came to London to do a book signing for his latest work, Giving – How Each of Us Can Change the World,and my friend Candace and I went. We got to Waterstone’s at Piccadilly Circus around 7:30 for his 11:30 signing and were about 30th or so in line (or rather in the queue). In yet another example of how small the world is, the two people behind us in the queue were American students to whom we had lots of connections! I was standing right in front of an ATM and so of course I had to field lots of questions from cash-withdrawers about what was going on. I joked with one nice older man who talked about having gone all the way to NYC to meet Margaret Thatcher and said that I’d had to come all the way from DC to meet Clinton.

When I said that, the girl behind me said “Oh my God, are you from DC, so am I!” Turns out she graduated from American University two years ago and then worked at EBRI and is now pursuing a Masters at UCL. She knew lots of my old haunts/favorite places such as Two Amys pizza, Amphora Diner, Potomac Yards Target, Channel 4 news, etc. Not only that, through her work she knew some people I worked with at AARP! Then the world got even smaller as the friend with her was from Philadelphia area, which is Candace’s hometown. Bizarre!

Talking with them made the three hours fly by and then we were let into the store where Waterstone’s had it very well organized and even handed out biscuits and sweets to us! Our last hour was spent surrendering our bags, coats, getting wristbanded, etc. and then waiting for Bill by the Biographies section (where I wore my marketing hatand looked for all the books by my friend Neil andmoved them to more prominent positions on theshelves).

Around 11:20 all the lift doors opened up and a slew of (hot!) Secret Service agents came out! Woo hoo! Bill is in the Building!) He first faced a slew of press paparazzi and then us regular people. Tere are no words for how amazing it was. He shook hands and chatted with each person going through the line, so when it was my turn, here’s how it played out:

GP: “Good morning Mr. President, it’s such an honour (or maybe I said pleasure) to meet you. I marched in your inaugural parades”

BC: (big genuine smile): “Why thank you, thank you so much. Who did you march with?”

GP: “With the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt”

BC: (moves in closer me, very serious, thoughtful expression on face, then PUTS HIS HAND OUT AND GRIPS MY SHOULDER!) “Thank you for that. Bless you.”

GP: “Thanks, hope there’s one for Hilary” (or “GoHilary” or something like that)

BC: (chuckles) “Thank you! Take care.”

I then basically floated out of the room and then did a little Laura Linney happy dance like she did in“Love Actually” when her cute coworker kissed her. Definitely one of the Best Days Ever!

And in a funny footnote, we had a Clinton-related question in our pub quiz last night. “Who was Clinton’s vice president during his tenure?” Umm, I wonder who that couldbe?...lol

Cheap Flights to London

While Mrs. Lovett sang about the Worst Pies in London, I’m singing the praises of some Cheap Flights TO London! United is offering flights as low as $199 each way through March, but Act Now! Offer ends Tomorrow (Aug 28)!

And Now is a perfect time to come see me too as after Wednesday I will be thesis-free! Hurray! I’ve finished the writing, now working on the final editing and polishing. Phewwww…..So jump that pond and come on over and visit! I’m also job-free, so I have plenty of time to show folks around. If you come in September, we can go see the fantastic Impressionists by the Sea exhibition at the Royal Academy. That's me standing out front of it in my new blog photo. Went with a classmate last week and loved it. Also, check out the list of stars coming to the West End this fall (OMG, it's my thesis all over again..lol): Patrick Stewart in MacBeth, Jonathan Pryce in Glengarry Glen Ross, Stockard Channing in Awake and Sing, and Ewan McGregor and Chiewetel Ejiofor in Othello. You know I’ll be stalking those stage doors!

Starting later September the stalking for a new job begins in earnest, but taking a week or so to rest up and relax as the last 6-8 weeks have been eating, sleeping, breathing the casting of Hollywood film stars in the West End (and my thesis concludes that no, they will not cause the downfall of Theatreland, thank you very much!).

Speaking of thank yous, want to thank everyone for all their support this year. I could not have made it through without your ears to listen, shoulders to lean on and your eagle-eye editorial skills (this means you mom..lol). I can’t believe how fast the year went!! Seems like just a short time ago I was partying with many of you at Ron and Fred’s. Am definitely coming home for Christmas this year, so hope to see many of you then!

And now that thesis is done, will be a bit more frequent with blog updates. Will also let you all know my new contact details as soon as I have them. On Sept 12, I am moving into a new flat in the same neighbourhood where I am now, but don't have my whole new official address yet.

Take care!

A Weekend in the Country

Took a well-needed study break over the weekend to travel up to the wedding of my friends Katie and David. It was held in the beautiful countryside of South Shropshire at Hopton Court and was all right out of a movie! Mother Nature even got in the act and gave us beautiful weather for the day (at last!)

It was my first English wedding so of course I had to buy a hat. Kudos to my friend Nineta, who, after hitting at least 4 other stores with me, spotted a perfect one just as we were about to leave yet another shop. Even more good news? The hat was originally 50 pounds but was on sale for 12! Perfect for the grad school budget!

Pictures of the wedding are now posted online. While I didn’t manage to get a shot of me in the hat, my new young friend Meghan was happy to oblige as she took to borrowing it often. During the speeches part of the reception everyone put on really wacky hats, including the bride who sported a Statue of Liberty crown! More hilarity came with the menu cards on the tables. These were printed inside “Despair.ink” greeting cards. Those are the hilarious spoofs of those cheesy, motivational posters you see in offices that talk about “Leadership” or “Success.” Instead, we had cards like “Defeat – There are only a few winners and many more losers. Odds are you’re one of them.” or the one at my place setting – “Compromise – Let’s agree to respect each other’s views, no matter how wrong yours might be.” Ha! Was just a lovely day which included Pimms Cup on the lawn, delicious duck and a DJ playing great 70s/80s dance music. You all know I loves me some ABBA!

Spent the night at The Crown, which was originally a 16th century coaching inn. Comfortable beds, but thin walls – and you know my Jamie Sommers hearing..lol! Sunday brought a nice leisurely trip back, during which I got to see a bit of Birmingham, a city which I’d written an essay about in the fall. Cultural regeneration is in full swing in Brum! It was then on to the train back to London, during which I, ironically enough, finished reading the latest Harry Potter. Won’t say a thing except Good Stuff! Great way to end the series! Am now working on ending my thesis. 9,500 words down, 6-7,000 to go (past the halfway mark, hurray!). Hope all are well!

I'm Still Here

Just like Carlotta in “Follies,” I’m 'still here' in London, slogging away on thesis and job search. Had a good meeting today with my thesis supervisor who says I’m on the right track, so Pheww! 4,000 words down, 11,000 to go! It’s really been an interesting research process as I’ve talked to and/or met a number theatre directors and critics! I think I confused some folks by my last post when I talked about being at Andrew Lloyd Webber’s office. That was for at thesis interview, not for a job. My last thesis interview was being wined (a nice Pinot Grigio) and dined (tasty mushroom omelette) at lunch by playwright/director Terry Johnson. He directed Kathleen Turner in “The Graduate,” and Christian Slater in “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.” He’s also written a ton of plays, including “Dead Funny” which was at Woolly Mammoth some years back. He had a lot of good insight (and used the f word a lot! Needless to say I’ll be cleaning up his language for the thesis..lol)

Speaking of that f word, I ended up dropping it on Virgin Trains last week. I was trying to book a train to go to a friend’s wedding later this month. Virgin had cheapest/most convenient fares, but their website was continually down with a message saying try back in a few hours. I gave it two days and then numerous calls to customer service led nowhere (the irony being that while you’re on hold the message says “Do you know you can now book tickets on our website?”) Umm, yeah, not so much! When I finally got through, they quoted me a much higher fare, saying that the cheap ones were only available on their website. Again I say, umm, yeah, you mean the website that’s not working?! Literally must have called and complained to 4 people, each of whom was ruder than the next. Screw you Virgin Trains, I took my business to Chiltern Trains that was a bit more but had much friendlier staff!

Speaking of friendly staff, I had two very positive customer service experiences to make up for the bad Virgin one (ok, that sounds weird..lol). The first was getting my National Insurance Number (kind of like Soc. Security). I had an appt. at 12 and when I first walked in to the office, it looked like the Arlington DMV at 4 on a Friday on the 30th of the month! I thought “uh oh!” However, they called my name right at 12, then went to another waiting area and my rep Jacqueline came to fetch me at about 10 minutes after and was very apologetic that they were running late. How do I describe Jacqueline? Powder blue sparkly suit, bright auburn hair and about 4 feet tall. Anyone picturing that short woman in Poltergeist would not be too far off with that image. However, it was not scary at all. She was very helpful and efficient.

Also helpful? The staff at the Belle Epoque café (aka the best reason for living in Newington Green). I dashed over there for a sandwich and coffee, but then found I’d left my wallet back in my flat. No worries, they said, you’re such a great customer and in all the time, you can just pay us next time you’re in. J’aime Belle Epoque! What else do I aime? The film “Paris Je T’aime!” OMG, run, don’t walk to see it! Best movie I’ve seen this year!

Time To Say Good-bye (to classes that is)

Bowling, Bocelli and Bombs, Oh My!

Woo hoo! I am free from classes! I had my last final exam yesterday so I am 66% done with Grad School (and so far averaging ‘with merit’ grades). I did well on my final essay, which looked at re-branding a theatre. The exam went ok - I will find out my grade in about a month. I even worked in the final quote from “Casablanca” into one of my answers (it was about Customer Relationship Management)! So now it’s just a 15,000-word thesis to go….Had a good interview today with the general manager of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Really Useful Theatre Group. I even saw Sir ALW’s piano! Dan was really helpful and fun to chat with (and a bit of a dead-ringer for our friend Chris Lidy). It was all I could do not to shout out “Hire me, please hire me!”

This past weekend my classmates and I were shouting and celebrating with some of the aforementioned B’s. Friday was spent at Bloomsbury Bowling Lanes, where yours truly had the highest scores of the evening (might have been as I was the only American bowling and it’s in my blood..lol). Saturday a few of us scored tickets to see Andrea Bocelli at the new O2 Arena (the structure formerly known as the Millennium Dome in Greenwich). It was a fantastic concert of “Andrea and Friends” and those friends included Dame Kiri Te Kanawa and James Galway, who brought down the house with his solo of Danny Boy. When Andrea closed the show with all his friends singing “Time to Say Goodbye” there was not a dry eye in the arena (which is a fantastic, gi-normous new facility).

Of course all of this has been overshadowed by the bomb incidents here in London and in Glasgow, but Life Goes On and I’m adopting the British Stiff Upper Lip and going about business as usual.

Hope you all are doing well and wishing you all a Happy, Safe and Wonderful Fourth of July! Have a hot dog for me! And could someone please send some sunshine 'across the pond?' It's now day 314 of cold, rainy weather! So much for English summers and global warming!

Some Nice Monet, A Pinter Play, Perhaps a Piece of Opera

Leave it to me to turn my life into a mangled lyric from Stephen Sondheim’s "Company"…lol. What can I say? I ushered for a production of it in my impressionable youth and can practically sing the whole show.

First, the Monet – My friends Nineta and Artemis are taking Arts Markets this semester and their professor got them (and a few of their lucky friends) into Sotheby’s Impressionist Auction last night! It was beyond cool. There I was in my little black dress hobnobbing with people who sere spending millions on Renoirs, Magrittes and Monet, whose “Nympheas” started out bidding at 8 million pounds and sold for a whopping 16.5!

A Pinter Play – Donmar Warehouse’s final show of the season was Pinter’s “Betrayal.” We liked it, we didn’t love it. Not sure I’m a fan of Pinter’s. Odd dialogue, awkward pauses, etc. However the acting was very strong and the two male leads were quite the hotties with quite the pedigrees. Toby Stephens (you may know him as the villain in James Bond’s “Die Another Day”) is the son of Dame Maggie Smith (I was so tempted to ask him in the Q&A why his mom is so mean, but I held my tongue). Samuel West (you may remember him from Howard’s End) is the son of another English actress, Prunella Scales (from Fawlty Towers). Can we say talented gene pools.

A Piece of Opera - Speaking of Britain having talent, my latest reality show addiction was “Britain’s Got Talent” and our main man Paul Potts just won it this weekend. Unassuming mobile phone salesman by day, amazing tenor bringing people to tears with Nessun Dorma by night! (Check out Simon Cowell's huge grin at the end of audition). Though I would have also been happy had Connie Talbot won. No one sells “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” like this 6-year old!

Reality Check

Last Saturday – sitting on the edge of my seat in the beautiful Wyndham’s Theatre (think it’s the prettiest London venue I’ve seen) to see my Brideshead Revisited crush Anthony Andrews in Somerset Maugham’s “The Letter.” My friend Mary was over in London and we hit the half-price booth and scored great seats. Of course, me being me, we also stalked the stage door. True to London form, there was hardly anyone else there, save for a father and his son (who was all of about 12, a bit young if you ask me, for a play about murder and adultery, but I digress). Anthony came out in a crisp blue shirt and blazer, his blue eyes twinkling and was just the epitome of graciousness! Was very sweet chatting with the young boy and then we spoke briefly and he personalized my autograph: “To Gretchen, Bring Happiness” (or at least that’s what Mary I think it said, a bit hard to make out the handwriting)

This Saturday – sitting on the edge of my sofa watching the finales of reality shows “Any Dream Will Do” and “Grease Is the Word.” Yes, seriously. I’ve been watching “Dream” since catching it at the Winslows’ in Belgium way back when (remember the thwarted attempt to see Lloyd Weber’s castle in Ireland?). I came late to the party on “Grease” and only watched it sporadically. I’m now pleased to report that all of my favorites were the winners! Lee scored the role of Joseph (after an amazing showdown with runner-up Keith, who I also liked), and brought down the house in his final song. If anyone knows my type, they will know that Lee is right up there at the ‘top of the heap’ so to speak (even if he did flub some lyrics. Not sure how little town 'shoes' can melt away in NY, NY..lol). I think there will be more stage door stalking in the future. On Grease, I was really pulling for Susan and Danny (she from Ireland, he from South London). There’s no footage of their win yet, but here’s an early clip of them singing “Somewhere” from West Side Story. If anyone’s coming to London soon, you know what shows I’ll be recommending..lol.

Speaking of “Somewhere” – OMG, can we talk Ugly Betty finale which just aired here in London. Damn people, that was the mother of all season finales. Pass the Kleenex indeed! I loved all the show’s Broadway references, i.e. Angela Lansbury eating a pizza bagel before Sweeney Todd. Speaking of Broadway, I am so bummed I won’t be able to watch the Tony Awards tonight. Go Frank Langella, Go Raul Esparza and all other Frost/Nixon and Company-related nominees!

Ok, back to my essay.

It's A Small World After All!

I recently found out about this cool site - Flickrvision.com. It’s connected to the photo-sharing site Flickr. Flickrvision shows you in real time photos that people are posting from all over the world, including the city/town from where the person is posting. I logged on and the first three photos were from 1) Leesburg, VA (woo hoo, my old neck of the woods!), 2) Kapellen, Belgium (a town near where I visit my friends the Winslows) and 3) Freiburg, Germany (the town where from where my classmate Christian hails). Wacky!

Speaking of all around the world, my beloved address book (Italian leather, gift from mom) containing the ‘411’ of all you far-flung friends and family has gone completely AWOL! A thorough search of my flat has come up empty! Soo annoying! Not only did it hold addresses, but also birthdays. Could folks please email me their info? Am going go get new one or at least in the meantime, start keeping them electronically. Thanks!

Culture update – Saw an AMAZING production of “Kiss of the Spider Woman” at Donmar Warehouse! That theatre can do no wrong. I’ve enjoyed everything I’ve seen there this year. I did not enjoy Andrew L. Weber sending home the ‘wrong’ Joseph yet again on “Any Dream Will Do.” Yes folks, my tastes range from the sublime to the ridiculous here in the UK. More cultural news, the Culture Vultures (the team formerly known as “The Alliance”) were back to their winning pub quiz ways last week! Woo hoo, that 10 pounds I won will come in handy (for about a carton of milk and cereal..lol).

In other news, I continue to plug along on thesis and coursework, but have to admit my mojo is fading (despite finding references to “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” in not one, but two academic journal articles for research)! Must be the ‘final semester blues,’ compounded by the fact that I am also starting the job/housing search. I’ve decided to try and stay here ‘across the pond’ if I can. Any and all recommendations/suggestions welcome. Can’t believe on Friday it will be June! A big happy birthday that day to my Mom and also Greg J.

The Wild, Wild West

The final days of our Ireland adventure were spent exploring the GORGEOUS West coast of the country. We left Killarney, took a fun ferry ride across the river Shannon and then lost our way a bit heading to the Cliffs of Moher. Serendipity led us to Kilkee, an Adorable seaside town whose locals claimed that their own cliffs were just as nice, if not nicer than Moher's. After taking a great hour long hike along them, I think I'd have to agree with that. What Moher has in size, Kilkee makes up for with more variety and quantity.

It was at the Cliffs of Moher where we had another "small world of Ireland" encounter. Walking up the trail, I ran into a nice couple from New Zealand who sat across from us on our Ring of Kerry bus tour! They were then heading to Galway as we were, but first we had some other sidetrips to make. Our first stop was St. Bridget's Well, right at the foot of Moher. This is known as a healing well where people come and leave religious objects like images of the Virgin Mary or Rosary beads (not to mention gym shorts - I wish I was kidding!)

The Burren was next up. Talk about amazing views and landscape. Feels like your on the surface of the moon with all limestone. We were able to also see one of the more famous Dolmen portal tombs and then did some serious off-the-beaten-path trekking to find some other burial sites that the Dolmen docent told us about.

We then made it safely to Galway where we had an amazing seafood dinner followed by Frank's (my 2nd favorite B&B owner) wonderful breakfast the next morning. Definitely best breakfast of the trip! Two words: potato waffles! And now four more words: Con-ne-mar-a. OMG! Now that is some seriously gorgeous countryside we drove through on the way to Sligo. Stopped for lunch in the great town of Clifden and ate at the tasty Two Dog Cafe (also home to the Westernmost Internet Cafe in Europe - I bought the t-shirt!). En route to Sligo we stopped in at the Kylemore Abbey - home to the Benedictine nuns of Ireland, but also home to a very pricey admissions fee, so we just took exterior photos!

Our final day was spent in Sligo - aka Yeats country! We saw Yeats' grave as well as some beautiful coastlines and castles. Alas our journey then came to an end as we headed to Knock airport to fly back to London. Not to knock Knock, but well, you have to pay 10 GBP at their "redevelopment fund" counter before you can get on the plane!

Speaking of develop, the final set of photos has been developed on Snapfish. Some of the shots may look familiar to you if you're a fan of the "Today" show. Turns out that the week after our trip, Matt Lauer took his "Where in the World" series to Cliffs of Moher/Galway, etc. Can't believe we just missed him!

So now it's back to reality and back to school. Can't believe I'm already half-way through my final semester! This year is Flying by.

Kerry is So Very

With apologies to Johnny Cash, but "We fell in love with the Ring of Kerry. We rode up, up, up, boy those roads they sure were scary. But oh those views...the Ring of Kerry, the Ring of Kerry!"

Before hitting the ring, though, we drove to the teeny, tiny town of Inchigeelagh in southwest Cork to see the town from where my Arlington priest Fr. Gerry Creedon hails. Alas, we weren't able to meet up with the family as they'd had to go into the larger town of Macroom for the day, though the nice maintenance man let us rest a bit in Creedon's Hotel (of which there turn out to be two!) We stopped at one earlier on the route and this woman came out and said "oh are you one of Fr.Gerald's parishoners? You need to keep driving." (Those 4 last words were becoming my least favorite words to hear as my knees were not loving the hell of the tiny Hyundai).

However we then made it safely to Killarney where my knees got a rest as we put ourselves in the able hands of Michael our Ring of Kerry tour bus driver. Spent the whole day touring the Ring which is, in a word, GORGEOUS (as was Michael, who looks like actor John Slattery, aka politician on Sex/City and Desperate Housewives).

We also ventured at dusk to Ross Castle, set along Ross Lake and it was just Breathtaking! We also were able to get in on the last tour of Muckross House, during which we met a friendly couple from Rhode Island who gave us a ride back to our hotel (we'd planned to walk, but turns out it was much farther than our concierge had said). While our fellow Americans were fine in the House, once we got in their (equally tiny car) they turned in to the Bickersons. OMG, hope they survived the rest of their journey!

The photos of this part of our journey are now up on Snapfish.

Coming up next: "The Cliffs of Kilkee are just as nice, if not nicer than Cliffs of Moher"

It's a Long Way to Tipperary

We left Kilkenny and made our way to Tipperary to the fabulously situated Rock of Cashel. Talk about views! It was nice and empty so we could easily roam (and dance) around the grounds. The only disappointment was finding the much-hyped-by-Rick Steves "Granny's Kitchen" closed.

Our next destination was Cork, but Gretchen talked Steph into a little, well, umm, detour that became the LONG way around Tipperary as we went in search of Andrew Lloyd Weber's castle in the teeny, tiny town of Fethard. The castle was the site of early episodes of my new guilty pleasure, "Any Dream Will Do," aka the casting show for London's new production of "Joseph...Dreamcoat." (Go Keith, Lee or Daniel!). Anyhoo, having just a picture in my head from what it looked like on t.v., we went driving around til a friendly local pointed us in the right direction. We finally found it, but alas, it was pretty much blocked off. All we caught was a glimpse of the turrets! Oh well, at least we can say we, um, turned around in his driveway!

After a long day o' driving we were thrilled to hit Cork and stay at the BEST B&B of the trip! Tom/Tony (long story, but it's really Tony, sigh... loved him!) and his wife Avril, their nice daughters and cute dog were the friendliest of hosts, sending us to a fantastic restaurant for dinner, cooking us a wonderful breakfast and providing the nicest/biggest room of the trip. If you're heading to Cork, don't stay anywhere else but Fernroyd House. It's smack-dab next to Cork's lovely University and a 7-8 minute walk into the city.

Next up was Blarney Castle and kissing the Blarney stone! We scored on this as well as we were a 10 minute drive away so got there right when it opened. Steph passed on trekking to the top to kiss it, but I made it and now possess the gift of gab (or well, perhaps an even more intense gift of gab?) Guidebooks had said the castle was not much, but it's on GORGEOUS grounds, with a beautiful park and sets of druid stones throughout.

We wrapped up our Cork stay with an open-air bus tour of the city and a lunch stop in one of Europe's biggest markets - the Old English Market. Two words: Tas-ty!

The photos for this part of the trip are now on Snapfish.

Next up? Kerry is so very.....breathtaking!

As God Is My Witness...

...I'll be heading back to Ireland, particularly the Hill of Tara, which was just beautiful. It was fitting that we left Dublin to explore this site and Newgrange on a foggy, misty morning. It just added to the mystical, mythical atmosphere surrounding the area.

The sun broke out later though as we headed south to explore Kilkenny, where my mother's family hails from. It is the prettiest city with two beautiful cathedrals and one gorgeous castle. Oh, and lots of cool pubs and restaurants too. We couldn't believe it when we stopped in at Kytetler's pub and ran into a family from the States who had been with us on the Dublin Literary Pub Crawl 2 nights earlier! It's a small world in Ireland.

Further road trips brought us more connections with fellow travelers, not to mention all the sheep and cows. Some of whom shared the road with us! They also share a lot, well, more of themselves, in the countryside. Needless to say it's a good thing I don't have a sense of smell!...lol

See all the latest pics online and keep stopping back for further stories from those wild Irish roads!

In Dublin's Fair City

Back in London (and back in classes) after an amazing trip to Ireland. Not only was I "Wilde" about the country and its people (that's me with famous resident Oscar above), but I was wild about my new camera, so am still sorting through 500+ pics! I've culled through the first set and the Dublin batch are now posted.

We had a blast in the capital city. My friend Stephanie and I were joined by her friend Helen, who also lives here in the UK and who makes an excellent "wingman" or should I say "wingwoman." She introduced us to some nice Brit and Irish men who bought us Guinness all evening! On Saturday, Sanna, formerly of Canada now of Dublin, joined us for a fun day of sight-seeing, which included Trinity College and the Book of Kells, St. Stephen's Green, a number of churches and the highlight of the day, Kilmainham Gaol, where we went on a wonderful tour led by Kieran Murphy (ask for him by name if you go to visit!)

We wrapped up Dublin by doing a Literary Pub Crawl which was the best. It included a trivia quiz at the end, and you all know me and trivia questions! The quiz came down to a tie-breaker between me and a woman from Dublin, but when they announced the tie-breaker category was Academy Award-winning films, well, I don't want to say it was a slam-dunk, but I am now sporting the green t-shirt of pub crawl champions!

Will work on posting the next few posts and pics of Ireland soon. I can't wait to go back! Beautiful countryside, friendly people, and good music (well, save for one night in Galway where the man did
"traditional" Irish music karaoke style! Felt like we were on the Love Boat).

In other news, had my very first totally random celebrity sighting in London last week. All ones so far have been a result of stalking at the stage door. This one was just a 'stroll-by' in Regent's Park by JUDE LAW and his two children. He is GORGEOUS in person!

Also gorgeous? Matt Rawle, who plays Che in London's production of "Evita," which I saw on Tuesday. Had been thinking about seeing this and half-price tickets at the TKTS booth sealed the deal. OMG! It's FANTASTIC! My first Broadway show was seeing the original Evita w/Patti LuPone and Mandy Patinkin in NYC so this show holds a special place in my heart. But I have to say that this production gives NYC's a run for its money. It's beautifully staged, choreographed, and sung! If you're coming to London, you Must see it! Director Michael Grandage is definitely the UK's golden child as he also directed "Frost/Nixon" as well as the last two plays at Donmar Warehouse, both of which were excellent.

We're Leuven It!

Now back from a fantastic Easter week trip to Belgium. Stayed with the wonderful Winslows again (they truly are the hosts with the most) and also caught up with Tania, Ned, Nadia and Sophia. Was so good to see everyone.

We had a lot of fun, including a gorgeous day trip to Leuven - Beligum's version of Oxford/Cambridge (about which we appropriated the McDonald's theme song), as well as jam-packed days exploring Brussels and Antwerp. Good friends, good beer, good waffles - who could ask for anything more. Wacky highlights included hearing "Auld Lang Syne" by roaming musicians, not once, but twice - which of course warmed the hearts of us UVA grads who broke in to the "Good Ol Song" in the middle of the Grand Place in Brussels, finding the Albert Einstein of Beer at the Kulminator pub in Antwerp, and trying a Condomus beer in Leuven (Ned suggests it should be followed by a Pilsner, ha!).

Tomorrow (Friday the 13th, yikes) I head off for my 8-day Ireland adventure. Wish me the luck o' the Irish in driving on the opposite side of the road.

Cheers!

April Foolishness

If it's April 1, there must be a new website for St. Charles Borromeo. Check out this year's fool's fun and learn all about "The Lost Bulletin!"

More foolish things:

1) Speaking of church.... despite having a Nun on their side, the Georgetown Hoyas lost in the Final Four. Wish I could say April Fool's about this one, but alas no. Still, they had a fantastic season!

2) When work e-mails go really, really bad. This had all the markings of an April Fool's prank but it is stone-cold serious. All together now, a la Napoleon Dynamite, "Idiot!"

3) This too smacks of April Foolishness, but it's 100 percent true. One of my favorite web sites, Television Without Pity (i.e. where Gretchen should be working) has been bought out by the Bravo network!

4) Eurovision - Oh man, where do I start.... Eurovision, for those not in the know, is this HUGE song contest that takes place over a weekend (it's like American Idol super-sized and super-condensed) where countries field, well, what could only be considered the CHEESIEST of songs. ABBA won it with "Waterloo" back in the day. This year's UK entry is called "Flying the Flag," and let me tell you, you better get a jumbo sized box of crackers to go with this cheese. A great blog entry on the Guardian discusses why it will not win and the writer shares that he will be voting for Denmark's entry, the super-cheesy, super-fabulous "Drama Queen." Think that might get my vote too!

From Paris to Shanghai to Cuba

First things first - finished my thesis research proposal, sent it in and already received feedback from my professor, who thought it was fine. I just need to tweak my research questions a bit. Am sticking with "Hurray for Hollywood? An Inquiry into the Impact of American film stars on the West End" Will be doing a case study of five actors (Kathleen Turner, Christian Slater, Woody Harrelson, Val Kilmer and Jessica Lange) who have trod the boards here across the pond.

Now taking a bit of a breather and pulling together more Paris pics. Round deux is now posted on Snapfish. The one above is the whole gang helping ring in my 40th at the fabulous Alcazar, which I've just learned on Google is a Sir Terence Conran restaurant, which at one point had been tennis courts and a transvestite bar. Who knew??

Speaking of restaurants, the next time anyone comes to visit, we are making tracks for Shanghai. It's the BEST chinese restaurant ever and walkable from Alliance House. Set in a former East End pie and mash shop going back to Victorian era, the food is super-fresh, super-tasty and super-affordable. Three words: Dim-Sum Happy Hour

Tonight's fare will be Cuban as we celebrate classmate Stuart's birthday at Cuba Libre. Oh, and next week? Belgium! A tres international spring break indeed!

I Love Paris in the Springtime

Back from a fantastique weekend in Paris. I think it may be battling London for my favorite city. Highlights included a wonderful stroll in sunny, 60 degree weeather along the Seine to Louvre and then down along Champs-Elysees to Arc du Triomphe, a trip up the Eiffel Tower, a voyage to Versailles and a wonderful birthday dinner on Saturday with friends old and new. Oh, and if it's me, you know there has to be a pop culture moment. That came when we went to the super, ultra-cool Kong Bar on Pont Neuf. On the upper floor is Kong Restaurant, where one of the last scenes of "Sex and the City" was filmed (when Carrie meets the Russian's ex-wife). Check out some photos on Snapfish. Will post more soon.

The Lady from DuRude

Just home from seeing Dame Maggie Smith in Edward Albee's "The Lady From Dubuque." I was so hoping I could title this blog entry "There is nothing like a Dame." Alas, no.

Ms. Smith wins the award for rudest celeb encounter at stage door! I was standing behind 6-7 young American drama students (which seems to be typical for UK stage doors. The Brits may love their celeb tabloids, but are not big for meeting stars in person). When Maggie came out, they asked if they could get their picture taken with her and she practically bit their head off. I then made my way up and was asking for an autograph and my friend had a camera at the ready, but she said "no more pictures." She then fussed about where to sign my flyer (I was not shelling out 4 pounds for the program) and then huffed off into her car.

Her performance in the play, however, was fantastic. The play itself very odd. We're still scratching our heads and asking "Who IS the Lady from Dubuque?"

In other news, my class is done! I passed my essay and think my final exam went ok. Day after tomorrow it's off to Paris!

Au revoir

6 months here

As the sun sets over Alliance House (pic is view from my bedroom window!), I reflect on how it was 6 months ago today that I was moving in. The year is flying by! And just as it was a warm, sunny day when I moved in, today was also nice and bright. I have yet to experience London's horrible gray, rainy winter as promised. I can maybe count on under 2 hands the number of days the weather's been really bad. Apparently this winter's been the UK's warmest on record. Go global warming!...Well, no, not really. Everyone needs to see An Inconvenient Truth and start taking steps to reduce their carbon footprint!

Now looking forward to my Spring Break, which begins Tuesday and which comprises Gretchen Gone Wild with travel plans. 4 countries (France, Netherlands, Belgium and Ireland) in 5 weeks (oh and also working on my thesis).

Friday Night Lights and Saturday Blackout

Two fairly opposite evenings added up to one of the best London weekends I've had so far.

Friday night I spent the evening at my friend Neil's. He's launching a new web site (to tout his work as an author of celeb biographies) so I was helping him with work on the set-up and design. His flat is on the South bank, near Tower Bridge, and out of all his windows we had gorgeous views of the river and Canary Wharf, so gorgeous all lit up at night. After working on the site, we had a tasty dinner and watched "Ugly Betty," such a cute show! Then I crashed in the guest room gazing out at the lights of London.

Saturday night was spent partying with about 10 classmates at our friend Nineta's flat, during which we all went up on the roof to watch the lunar eclipse (it helps that she is an R.A. in the building). Wow, talk about incredible views. It turned blood red and dark right in front of us. Festivities continued until 4 in the morning! The highlight of which was when I was deep in conversation with a Bosnian guy and a Greek guy debating comic book superheroes and their translations into film. Had Artemis not twisted my arm into doing some vodka shots, I might be able to remember a bit more. The one thing I do recall is that we were all in agreement that the 2nd X-Men film was the best of that series.

My First Blog!

Welcome to my blog! Thanks for stopping by. Can't believe it's taken me 6 months to get this thing going, but my first semester was a killer. From October through December I was eating, sleeping and breathing Arts Management. The good news is I passed those classes, one "with merit" even! I'm now about to wrap up my second semester, for which I only had one class. Do not ask where that time went- Jan. and Feb. seemed fly by. Not really sure what happened, but I know I:

• Wrote a 3,000 word essay on cultural regeneration in Birmingham
• Saw some great theatre - "The Seagull" w/Kristin Scott Thomas, "Don Juan in Soho" w/Rhys Ifans, and "John Gabriel Boorkman" w/Ian McDiarmid (best known as the Emperor from Star Wars films)
• Continued on quest to return to victory at our local pub (The Nobody Inn) quiz night. We won back in December, but The Alliance has been off its game ever since, placing 2nd or 3rd (always the bridesmaid, never the bride!)
• Came up with thesis topic - "Hurray for Hollywood - The impact of American film stars in the West End" (so far that's about as far as I've gotten...need to 'get to steppin'' as they say)
• Landed a marketing internship with a theatre company - Net Curtains
• Started this blog, whose name is based on my second favorite television show (after "Buffy" of course)

Will update the blog at least weekly with various updates on life in London and feel free to post comments!