Show time!

I didn't know what to feel about performing in front of an audience, and naturally I was nervous. But actually having an audience there felt like it completed the whole thing; this was what we had been rehearsing for, all this time. I had been told, don't look at them, and that really helped as they aren't really there, outside Belinda's living room, are they, so you can't make eye contact. If you did, it would distract you.

We performed Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday night and I think we all preferred Thursday and Friday night as the audience laughed the most and were most responsive. They were a good crowd and it was amazing to hear them laughing. You can hear everything in the dressing room so you can follow the play and know when to go on. This also means you can hear the audience chatting away before the play starts. Each scene starts/ends with "I saw Mommy kissing Santa Claus" to give the crew time to change the scene. Now when we hear this we will always think of Season's Greetings. Hearing it meant feeling slightly more nervous as we knew we had to go on.

It's funny but although all of us knew our lines it was still useful to have the book with you to just check them and to follow the cues. I would take it with me to the door and look just to make sure I knew what I was going to say. I'd put it down then have to grab it again to double check. Losing your script around the back rooms was always a bit panicky.

But as I say actually having the audience there made such a difference and it kind of helped you perform better. I noticed it with some people and Clive (Jonathan) remarked on it with me, that I sounded more relaxed and into it. When I'd said most of my bit in scene 1, and I stay on to "watch tv", I was sitting there enjoying hearing the others do their part and I thought, this is great, being here surrounded by these people who I love being with, and we are all enjoying doing this play together. It was such a nice feeling.

Funny that once it started, the plays seemed to fly past so quickly. It is knackering because you have to concentrate and follow where you are all the time so you don't miss a cue or get confused. I had bits on and off in scene 1, then on until the end, then on at the start of scene 2 and a bit of a rest through the interval. Then straight on for scene 3, the party scene, which required so much concentration, and then back for Act 2 scene 1, the puppet show, which needed all our focus to get the passing of the pigs wrong (or right) and the bumping of the puppet theatre. I think Jules and I got there in the end and he was just wonderful with the pig voices. The audience loved it, thank god. I should think so too. And then 3 lines in scene 2 which was fine.

My family came along, which made me feel a bit more nervous initially, and they really enjoyed it which was brilliant. It was really nice to have people you knew in the audience.

Knowing how much work goes into it, it meant a lot to finally get that appreciation from people. It was very tiring but totally worth it. We had a lovely party together after the Saturday show and the Chairwoman presented us all with really nicely worded certificates to sum up our part in the show. To my surprise she also presented me with a little cup that goes to one person each show, for being a good team player, reliable, punctual, helpful etc. Richard said to me later, "director's choice", which was lovely. And happily he now knows how much we all think of him, as everyone said such nice things, but so well deserved. The chair remarked what a happy group we were, with no dramas, no arguments. It was true. Everyone got on really well and Richard kept us all happy, he worked so hard to bring everything together for his vision, making the puppets, the scenery, the puppet theatre, and the set. The others in the cast said that this show felt special to them because everyone had got on so well. It was lovely to relax together afterwards and we went down to theatre to see if we could smell the lavendar lady, the resident ghost, but nothing, thankfully. Maria did a hilarious impression of her.

The next day we had to go in to tidy up the green room for the next group, who barely waited 5 seconds til they were on that stage (bare and house-less, which was tragic). It didn't take long to clear up but no one wanted to leave, and we were standing around quoting lines at each other from the play. We've been doing this for weeks, as they come into normal conversation. No one else will get it, will they.  So eventually we all said goodbye but I expect we'll see each other soon anyway as there are the next auditions that the Chair was trying to get people to audition for. And we have our Facebook page where Richard is putting up clips from the show, and we are sharing our thoughts. Everyone was so tired yesterday we just all fell asleep. I felt quite tired and emotional so took it easy. It is strange to think it is all over but it has been the most wonderful experience, I have been so lucky that this group of people were my first production as it's clear from what they said that we had something special. It did feel like a family and we spent so much time together. It is always nice to be part of a little group like that. Doesn't happen often but when it does it is a good feeling.

last week of rehearsals

It's rather a shame that, having been so busy with the play over the last 2 weeks, I haven't had time to blog about it. As now I have to update everything after it's happened. But that's how it is, so it can't be helped.

Needless to say, the last 2 weeks of rehearsals flew by. From 22 November we had the theatre to ourselves so the set went up and slowly Belinda's house took shape before our very eyes. Richard is very clever and not only designed the set but built it too, and a few of us helped paint the walls and some bits and pieces on the Thursday. That was all good fun, knowing that we were helping to bring it all together. I feel Pattie and Belinda might have been the sorts who got on with the decorating rather than relying on Neville and Eddie. Richard can certainly be relied on though and decked out the whole house with cards and decorations, which I got in Poundland, and it looked fabulous.

Sunday before the performance week was our tech/dress rehearsal, so we were there a good few hours as the sounds and lighting were fitted to the play. It meant running through a few scenes a few times so we were all exhausted by the time we went home. Monday night was full dress rehearsal and Tuesday too. Something odd happened on Tuesday and I just gave the worse performance ever, forgetting whole lines, and getting in a muddle. But luckily that was still a practice and before the real thing.

We had all our things in the dressing rooms and green room and so the props and back stage crew were busy getting everything in place for us. They were very reliable and had a lot of props to deal with including bowls of mousse, jelly and plates of sandwiches.  The stage manager, Lindsay, was very calm and that really helped us be calm too.

sunday rehearsal

There is only 2 and a half weeks to go (everyone was quite clear on this) and so it was a tad disappointing today that a few of us were tripping up over lines we knew before - what was happening! Things I knew just went out my head and the same happened for other people. Maybe it is line overload. I don't know. We worked on some scenes that needed work so maybe it was just that, that things need a bit of polishing. Anyway the director, ever calm and encouraging, seems to have faith in us and is still positive which I think is admirable. It helps, to say the least and it also gives you the added incentive to get it right and justify his faith in you.

Funny how knowing your lines at home is different from knowing and acting them out at the theatre. Everyone's said the same.  But it is different because you have other people saying things, possibly slightly differently to what you were expecting, and you are doing physical things as well. More to remember today but happily one little scene went quite well.

I hope that people come along: I mean, whoever comes will enjoy it, I'm sure, so in that way it doesn't matter, but it would be nice after everyone has worked hard on it. It's still an adventure for me because now things like props, the set and lighting are coming into it so I don't know what to expect. Probably best that way so I don't get too worked up beforehand. But I know a bit of nerves are useful.

Shame you get nerves in the wrong place, sometimes. I try to remember my meditation and breathing although it usually goes out the window when you want to be calm.

With ever increasing darkness in the news and in the grey skies of these short autumn days, it is nice to have something warm and Christmassy to look forward to.

Bumps and fonts

I had an interview last week, 3 and a half hours in total: a tour of part of the school, two 15 minute group discussions with students, a 45 minute IT test and an interview with three people. I got to know the other candidates (two internal) over the course of the morning, so we had fun, even if I did not get offered the position. It was only part time, so I am hoping to hear from a similar school which has a full time position and is nearer.

Rehearsals last week were interesting: we all seemed to fluff our lines on Thursday night and took forever to get through one scene, but perhaps you have to do this to get it right. On Sunday we went up to the wardrobe section and I tried on some outfits for Pattie. Turned out I had been wearing the bump upside down, and now that the kind wardrobe lady has helped me with it, it looked much better, with an added bit of padding too. It took some squeezing under a couple of dresses.  The director asked us to look at the recent comedy series, The Kennedys, which is set in the 70s like Season's Greetings, and has a pregnant character. He asked me to look at how she walks, moves etc. I was watching an episode and recognised the actress but couldn't think where I'd seen her.  When I looked online, guess which school she went to. Only the one where I'd had the interview.

Work-wise I am trying many avenues but not all of them lead where I want to go. Time is ticking on and I do want to get something soon. It can get very disheartening. Beggars can't be choosers, but then again I have good qualifications and experience and know perfectly well I am capable of a lot. If everything wasn't so expensive I would not be in this situation. Supporting yourself also makes things more expensive but don't for one minute think I'm hooking up with anyone just for their money. I keep having the weirdest, unpleasant dreams, mostly about being trapped, funnily enough.

I still have my articles to write for Wiltshire Life magazine about our font obsession. I had great fun making my sister a quiz all about the places we have been, including a photo montage at the end. Choosing the photos made me realise just how many places we have been to and how many marvellous things we have seen, adding in photo after photo of fonts and doors and creatures and designs. It was quite moving in fact. I fail to see how anyone could not be excited by some of it. But I understand that they're not... It's quite funny now that we only want to talk about these places and when I'm not talking about that I'm talking about the play. Turned into a right bore.

I don't care. I know what I like and what I can do. Still having fun doing logic puzzles and getting paid for them. Inspired by the Antiques Roadshow, my current one is on antique finds. Every week on that programme someone has found something valuable in their garden or in a skip. I saw a lovely little gravy boat in the charity shop yesterday, from a Staffordshire pottery. Things do shout quality, it's true.

it's getting more real

This line-learning and rehearsing is quite tiring, I think. I suppose it is a lot of concentrating. It is strange how you think you know the lines at home and when you get to the theatre, and you are standing in a different place and hearing different people saying the cues, suddenly it gets muddled and goes out of your head. Got to get them in there now. It's getting increasingly near.

I need to be louder so I am hoping that I will be able to get some tips for projecting my voice from the others. I don't want to spoil anything by not being heard. It's good to have someone telling you that because I think I'm speaking loudly but, as Richard pointed out, at the start I am at the back of the stage and the sound has to carry a long way. So I have that to work on. I still feel odd doing little actions like tidying my husband's clothes, so I hope I can get on with that and get over the oddness.

I have sent a flyer to everyone I know round here so I hope that some of them will come along. It would be good to have as many people as possible. Now I appreciate plays more because I know how much hard work has gone into it. I think I should go to many more. I went to the Masqueraders' show on Friday which was mostly singing, some dancing. It was impressive that so many people enjoy getting up there and singing. At least I don't have to sing, I couldn't do that. When I stepped through the front door, it was at once both scary and exciting. It suddenly made our own show more real. In a few weeks' time, people I know and don't know will be coming through those doors to watch the show. Which is exciting because I know they will enjoy it, it is very funny and my fellow cast are wonderful, as is the director. So I have total trust in them which is a nice feeling. I am of course nervous to do my best and to get it right and so on. But I think that we will be concentrating so hard it won't be possible to take that much notice of the audience.  

I have seen posters around town now which look great, so I hope that people are in the mood for a festive trip to the theatre.

Gloucestershire

Hallowe'en is always going to be a strange day, in my opinion, as the two worlds of so-called reality and spooky things are at their closest. Strange things have happened historically and today was no different. Well, for a start it was gloriously sunny, which was unusual. We had decided that it might be one of the last good days this year for getting out to places (sob!) so we set off, this time in The Van, which was a pleasant change and meant that anyone who did hurtle down narrow lanes towards us would have to do the reversing this time...

So we set off further afield than usual, all the way out past Cirencester in Gloucestershire. It is an area we visited once before and so we were recalling the delights of Langford, Inglesham, Highworth, Ampney St Mary etc and the not so delightful drizzle in which we visited them. Gloucestershire seemingly has a wealth of things to visit and we were absolutely spoilt with what we found. It was one of those trips that was just one gasp after another. And we increasingly laugh about how probably no one else really understands our excitement. Although there are a few people who have shared or share our interests.

First stop (and what a stop), was St Swithins, Quenington, a place near where we'd been before and nearly visited, but ran out of time and energy.  We were without our usual information books, but my sister remembered that Quenington had "beakheads" - the ones where animal heads grip the arch above the doorway in their beaks or mouths. Always entertaining and always worth visiting.  So we found the cute old village of Quenington, complete with 15th century stone gateway, the "knight's arch" and stream. The church notice proudly declared "NORMAN DOORWAY" which boded extremely well, as when the church cares about its romanesque architecture, you can be sure they have looked after it well. (It is a Grade I listed building, I am glad to read). So we walked with anticipation up the long pathway craning a little to get the first look at the door, expecting something exciting. (It's always exciting that first glimpse...)  Gasps ensued. The doorway has a wealth of excitement. It's as if the carver got carried away and did everything he could. Arch decoration, capitals with fabulous faces, flowers, interlacing patterns, and a complicated tympanum showing Jesus standing on the devil, spearing him in fact and 3 figures - with what looked like rabbit ears but must have been hair. There was also a ram's head (date unsure) over the top. It is all a little overwhelming when there is so much to see. It is almost as if the carver is showcasing his talents.  So we stood there, marvelling at it in excitement, and a woman (I can't remember if she said she was the churchwarden or vicar) came along. She seemed rightly proud of the door and gave us an information leaflet.

We decided that, although R had been sure there had been beakheads, perhaps she had got muddled with somewhere else.  But as she was reading about the north doorway, she read on and spluttered in excitement that there was also a south door! Not believing our luck, we hurried round the side of the church and were amazed to see a second equally elaborate doorway, with carved arches and tympanum, this one even more complicated. It was apparently, the coronation of the Virgin and there she was with the figures of the evangelists (their animal forms) and a house (for good measure). And more importantly - there were the beakheads! Around the archway were some delightfully comic beakheads, clutching the archway in their mouths for all eternity, including a wide-faced horse, a boar(?) with little teeth and a hare.  Fabulous.  The "hinge" design up the sides of the door was just the same as the one at South Cerney, also in Gloucestershire - it must surely be the same carver. This sort of thing is exciting for me because how many people (except Pevsner and one or two many years ago) have gone round viewing carvings and comparing them, to the extent that they know the same person must have done their special design in more than one place? We were joking that we could set ourselves Mastermind questions on the subject (but apparently we have better things to be getting on with).

So Quenington was rather exciting and we returned to the van feeling that the day could not get any better, because one amazing door is something, but two is just fabulous. The Knights Templar ran the church so perhaps this has something to do with how ornate the doors were.

Next stop was nearby Coln St Aldwyn's where we went to see two dragon heads. You can't beat a good dragon's head and these two were some of the finest we've seen. Both had lovely toothy grins and had more detail than some, and I was rather pleased with my drawing too.

   

Finally we finished up at Southrop, where there was another woman who told us about the church. The font there was just inside the door and was very elaborate. It had a fancy band all around the top, which was a very complicated design with a rather pleasing "buckle" part.  Below this (we read) were some figures standing on other figures and spearing them. They were the virtues conquering the vices. It was interesting but I don't care for designs with people as much as patterns, I've decided. I didn't really care for the bloodthirsty depiction of these virtues either, and it was an echo of a very unpleasant scene we had inadvertently driven through to get there. We'd been going through country lanes and the sides of the road were cluttered with stupid people waiting to watch a hunt go through. I won't rant here but you will get the point that we were not on their side. Anyway - the font seemed to echo this in tasteless violence.  There was an arch inside that had a similar pattern to that at Ditteridge.

   

The wealth of riches in Gloucestershire (there were many places we had to leave for another day) was a bit tiring and so we headed home before the sun set.

Coming along

I have one interview, which is encouraging. I do find some things which are interesting so that is good. I am continuing to do the logic puzzles, which are fun. The chap liked the last one most of all and said it was more complicated; perhaps I am improving with practice. It's quite fun to think of themes for them which I take from everyday things - so yes, we've had one set in the theatre... of course!

Rehearsals are keeping me busy and in between I am making an effort to learn my lines. As my favourite comedians advised (via Twitter), repetition is the key. It seems that you just have to go over and over it until it becomes second nature. I suppose it is a bit like knowing the lyrics to a song where you hear it so many times, you know without thinking what is coming next. And all credit to Mr Ayckbourn, the language is very musical - the more you look at it, the clearer it is that he chose the words deliberately and (of course) did not just write anything. This makes it easier to learn, in fact, because there is rhythm and repetition and music there. Which our director has made us aware of. It is important to get the words right and not substitute your own version. For a start, it helps the next person because you are relying on the person before you to give your cue. It is funny though, how some lines go in and others you just can't get quite right. But there is time to correct this...!  It is really quite surprising how any of us can learn of all these lines (and not just your own but the ones in between.) As I do more, they are beginning to pop out of my mouth nearly before I've thought about it... That's how it all needs to be, soon.

It is a case of going over and over it again and over it once more to learn the lines. It is lucky for me that I have the time to do this. I admire people like our lead actress, who has lots of lines to learn and a busy life outside it, not to mention the director, who sounds like he is always busy. Which all goes to make it even more special that we are doing this together and it is so important to get it right for everyone else as well.  The nearer we get (there are 5 weeks), the more nervous I feel about actually appearing on stage in front of people, but some people (I'm not sure who) were watching rehearsals and laughing away the other night, which was very encouraging. I'm sure that people will laugh, because some of it is most amusing, specially the puppet show. I laugh at the funny lines every time.

I probably go on about it too much but I did not know I would find it this absorbing. All I want to do is to immerse myself in it and when one rehearsal has finished I can't wait for the next one - I probably should not wish the time away like this. Actually the days in between are vital to go over the last rehearsal's points and lines and to look at the next one. Lines are beginning to trip around my head, now, specially before bedtime. It is no wonder I have dreamt about the director too.

While I am working I have also found it quite uplifting to listen to some of the songs from musicals I like and for the first time I think I feel it is no longer a bit embarrassing to like them! This is all somehow giving me a new sense of freedom. There is much to learn and much to try and new challenges to face. But how cool is that? I was chatting to Richard about how he had started and how many productions he's been involved in. I really hope I can stay involved wherever I go. It would be nice to stay around here and make some friends in the extended group(s) - as it (rather surprisingly) seems such a big thing round this area.

Back to Act 2....

In and around Bath

After stopping off for vital supplies at the art shop, and breakfast at Waitrose, we headed to local areas around Bath, as it was not a great day weatherwise, with a constant drizzle of rain as if we were sitting in a cloud. (We were). Visibility was poor and it didn't seem sensible to go trundling off too far.  Armed with our usual snacks, first stop was Charlcombe, the most delightful little church set up on one of Bath's hills, above a garden and St Alphege's Well.

The one problem with font-ing in this season is that there was no light and churches seem intent on saving electricity (who can blame them) as there are only minimal lights for visitors. You can see lights up above but no switches, so perhaps only the vicar has the key for these. It makes visiting on a dull day rather a dark affair and we were literally peering through the gloom all day. But luckily with the front door propped open we could just about see the delights of Charlcombe font, a real gem, which impressed me the second I opened the door. It is a lovely shape, with an interesting and unusual design set around the bottom. I took to calling the swirly bits "chelsea buns" and then there were definite mushroom designs between these. All rather deeply carved, which was accentuated by the light which fell on it.  We had to peer closely to draw it. The best thing about the font was that it was from one piece of stone and that it had an original stem and base! I do not even recall the last time we saw this as usually the base is later and the font bowl has been put on top. It was for me an absolute delight to see a whole, unaltered font. It somehow made such a connection to the past because the whole thing was as it had been from its creation.  Apparently the writers Henry Fielding and Jane Austen both visited the church (Fielding was married there. I often think if I got married I would use it as an excuse to have a nice font at the back of the room and to make this a focal point for the guests. "Now, if everyone can please admire the font.")

We stepped carefully through the wet grass of the garden on the slope below and found St Alphege's Well (on the hunt for moss again for other purposes). It had atmosphere in such a secluded setting, with the trees dripping around us, and apparently the water was good for eyes, so I doused my lids in the hope that I will no longer have to wear glasses. So far, no change.

Next stop was Langridge, where we have been before and I did remember it once I was there. The columns in the porch are lovely with some fine spirals, always fun to draw. There was also an arch of saltire crosses, or were they circles with shapes in that then formed saltire crosses where they met? I don't know if there is a difference. Inside there is a very impressive arch with much zigzagging and we noted some new things this time: two feet-like carvings at the bottom of columns and also two arch ends that looked like they could have been the start of dragons, they really did - we could see the faint line of where a mouth or teeth would be, as if the carver had been going to start dragons and then been called away or the church said, no, don't bother, those zigzags are more than enough.  See, we really are like Antiques Roadshow experts now.

Finally we finished in the small hillside village of Swainswick; again, somewhere I remember going in times before we drew. I did not remember a most unusual feature inside the church, which was a kitchen area. I jokingly asked my sister if she wanted a cup of tea, and then saw to my surprise that the church provided free tea and coffee for walkers and visitors. What an innovation. If more churches had kitchens, this would be ideal. It felt really kind.  I remembered a strange corner of the church where there was a weird bit of carving - a long piece of fish/finger/weird things like eels all coming out of the wall. Didn't really care for it then and didn't care for it this time either. There was a weird head, a roll of carpet on a famous Bath architect's memorial tablet, and some heads in the porch. I drew one of them - it had an okay expression, but turned more into a halloween mask in my drawing.

Dinder, Doulting, Chesterblade, Holcombe, Leigh on Mendip

Back on the road and this time we ventured into Somerset, out towards Shepton Mallet area. First stop was Dinder, where we found some creatures who were possibly dragon heads, like we have seen before, but on closer inspection seemed more like dogs. They definitely had dog noses, and no dragons' teeth, and pointy ears. So dogs they were. A knowledgeable and interested woman who was helping out in the church took the time to talk to us about them and seemed genuinely interested in art. Not one of these people who can't understand why we are drawing them. Which was a nice change.  The dogs had been rescued from somewhere and had been placed end to end over a window, so that they were not in the usual dragon door arch position. They were quite pleasing, as was the pretty and hidden village of Dinder (despite "no turning" notices where there was really no need. We turned anyway, at speed).

St Aldhelm's well

When we finally got to Doulting (because I was once again too slow to signal the turning), we investigated the church (some unusual capitals in the foyer) and then made our way down a slope to a spring, St Aldhem's well.  Surprisingly it was a busy spot as two cars came to fill up a variety of vessels with the holy water while we were there.  I learned to recognise a liverwort (there were some fine examples) and there was some moss as well. The water was (although it is a cliche) crystal clear, quite remarkably so, and being a holy well I had to sample the water. It tasted slightly minerally but not unpleasant. The water poured out from a hidden and peaceful channel at the back, through into a deep animal trough, which I thought was nice. It was pleasing to think of cattle and horses drinking from the holy spring.

Chesterblade

On to Chesterblade, a tiny, quiet spot with nice views over the hills. The church was small and cute and had a pleasingly tub shaped font. Very appealing. We examined it in detail, as a church leaflet made out it had once had a carved band around the middle. There was a slight discolouration in the stone there at about that spot, but neither of us could see evidence that it had been chipped away or bring ourselves to believe that anyone would have gone to such trouble. Now, convinced we are like experts on the Antiques Roadshow who have seen enough examples of something to recognise things by sight, we did not know of any example of anyone defacing a font in this way and for no obvious reason. So we concluded the chap who drew the font with the band on it had either embellished it himself or got confused with another font (as it is easy to do if you do not write down where you have been). Either way it was rather bizarre and my sister was right to question. Do not believe everything just because it is written down. If we have learnt one thing, it is surely that.   The doorway had two lovely capitals, one a face, with unusually prominent ears, and the other a very pleasing swirly design which on reflection reminds me of a Walnut Whip.  There were also two tiny faces, which proved harder to draw than bigger ones.  Oh and apparently we missed a lamb of god, outside. Our favourite. But sometimes you just get overloaded.

Holcombe Old Church

Next stop (it is remarkable afterwards how long we keep going for), in the quiet spot of Holcombe Old Church, down a lane out of the way and a really peaceful place if you are going to be buried somewhere.  A load of ducks were nearby as we could hear raucous quacking from somewhere. They always sound like they're laughing at something.  Holcombe had a rather appealing porch archway, with a two twirly columns and a really nice interwoven design which could be good for inspiration for making something one day.  I liked how we are now so confident in our churchyard environment we just moved a bench and sat in front of it to draw - well it is tiring to stand all the time - and of course no one came and said, what are you doing, anyway. It was too out the way.

On the way back we squeezed in one final stop (well, it seems worth it when you still have some energy) at Leigh on Mendip. The font here was a simple two-scallop design that reminded both of us of a bottom - it had that pleasing shape about it, it has to be said. There was a little bit of embellishment on the curved corners, but overall it was quite a chunky and cheeky font.

Treading the boards

Despite still being (technically) job-less, I am keeping busy and have explored different routes this week. In fact, a couple of people I was speaking to yesterday are self employed and clearly this is the way to go. So this week I have investigated ads online for writing and editing jobs and also puzzles. I submitted a logic puzzle for an online site and the man loved it and paid me actual money! I was quite excited because although it is quite tricky to figure out the clues for the puzzle, it wasn't impossibly hard. So best get on with a few more of those.

The rehearsals for the play are, quite frankly, keeping me buoyant, and I am so glad I decided to give it a go and even more grateful that I have been given a part. I feel it is coming along nicely, although the lead is a bit worried about the amount of lines she has to remember. I think it will all come; the director would not have cast her if he had any doubts. And he is very good as he gives helpful and constructive advice and direction. We all gel as a cast, in my opinion, which helps. Richard has been asking us to think about our characters' back stories, which really helps because you have some motivation for your actions and lines, and your lines begin to take on more meaning so it makes them easier to deliver. It is interesting that the more we rehearse and the more we find out about our characters, the more sense the play makes. The funny lines seem to be funnier and when we watch each other, we are all laughing at the same lines, every time. Which is really encouraging. Some parts are really quite amusing, which I did not pick up on at first. But some people deliver them so well, it is a joy to watch.  The strange thing is that you can't see yourself acting, so it is hard to tell how I am doing and I feel that I have lots to improve on. But hopefully this will all come with practice. I watch the others and I learn something about the scene and the process each time, which I find quite exciting. And believe me I haven't been excited about much recently (except fonts and volcanoes).

The play is set in the 70s so that's a good excuse to watch Columbo and Life on Mars isn't it, to research the decade.  I have got lots to do: learning my lines, practising sounding tipsy, bitchy and getting in a state. I realise that there is no room for inhibitions or feeling self conscious - and I can feel self conscious quite easily so it will be a real triumph if I can overcome this. For example, you don't usually go round touching people you don't know that well, do you. So if you are in a scene where you have to do this, it doesn't feel natural. My character has to tidy up the clothes, hair etc of her husband, and so I will have to get over that natural English reaction of "oh, excuse me, I'm just going to touch your arm now," because I'm his wife and I don't have to do that.  But it is fun and it's a real adventure for me, who knows nothing about the theatre.  What's for sure is that there is a real theatre community in Warminster so if I stay involved I will get to know a few people.

A weird day

Being under the influence of a cold is in some ways like being under the influence of other mind-altering things; my brain has been acting in a very strange way the last couple of days and it was all building up to a head full of cotton wool and some sneezing fits. So I write this in a semi-aware state and hope it makes sense. The last couple of nights' dreams have been a germ-induced muddle of strange images: rhinos, sharks (marine life, always marine life), gypsy children and general angst. And yesterday's trip out was also heavily influenced by the germ, I am sure, as neither of us could think straight and seemed lost in a world of vagueness. It wasn't a usual trip, I can tell you.

It started off with a visit to a spring at Bratton, for moss collection - a different venture to normal but one that was necessary. Bratton church had a (later) carved font which was tastefully decorated for harvest festival. Turns out the area is known for big cat (or dog) sightings, and the way the day developed the only surprise is that we didn't see one.

Onwards to Devizes, for a long awaited trip to the Italian cafe, Dolcipani. If you haven't been, then you must go, and you will never look back. I just wanted a decent espresso.  It was, as always, very busy. We both had a "Sicilian sunshine" ciabatta (enough for 2 meals) and I noticed, for the first time, that there were lots of references to Sicily. So when we finally dragged ourselves away, I asked (not in Italian, to my shame) the guy where he was from. "Sicily," he said. "Where in Sicily?" "Catania!" came the reply. No way! I could not believe it, having spent the last year in the very same place. The guy seemed less surprised by this coincidence and of course asked me how I'd liked it, etc. I said I missed granita and arancini, which he, of course, understood.  It was too busy to stand chatting to him, so I couldn't even get on to Etna.

A bit surprised by this coincidence the pair of us went on to our next stop, one of the churches in the centre of Devizes. Apparently we've been before, but I don't remember what was inside. Sadly it was shut this time, but I don't mind as it's a good excuse to go back to Dolcipani. We went on to a village just outside Devizes, except I wasn't looking at the map (there are too many in the car, I can never find the right one) and my sister got confused and took a road in the wrong direction. So after going in a big circle we ended up in Etchilhampton, a very quiet little spot. Outside the car, hundreds of bees were busy going in and out of holes in the bank. Further investigation is required as to what sort they were. Etchilhampton was a small church with a nice, simple font, with a band of carved semi circles. It was noticeably wonky and the design sloped down a little to one side.

We drove next to a place that was circled on the map, called Patney - not a place of note in Pevsner, but one that supposedly had had something of interest about it online. My sister could not remember what so we thought we would just turn up and see. As she went through the gate, I noticed it said "Private" but ignored this as we both headed up the path. Both of us were thinking the same thing, that they'd made a real effort with the flower beds as there were lots of flowers. A glance into the window of the building and R saw a standard lamp, I saw a sofa.  It was a house.  A church converted into a house. We beat a hasty retreat. I bet others have made the same mistake.

The day did not seem to be going to plan and we both felt a bit vague. So we decided to head back. The route home went near Old Dilton, where there is a disused church which is kept up by the The Churches Conservation Trust.  It was quite interesting as it was full of large box pews, where a whole family could sit together. It had escaped all the heavy Victorian features so it was quite plain. We had to get the key from a nearby house and it always makes it more fun when you have to unlock these heavy oak doors yourself.

We headed back via Upton Scudamore, where we have been before but then it was locked. This time we were in luck as a woman had gone in just as we were arriving. Except when we got out, two rather large dogs that were with her were guarding the gateway and barking at us. I was still feeling a bit weird and I did not like the look of this dog; its owner was too far away to call and the way the day had been going instinct was telling me it would probably take my leg off if I opened the gate. Probably it would have been fine, but I didn't like to risk it and so we gave it a miss. Sometimes you just have to trust your instincts, even if it means missing out on interesting Norman things.

rehearsals continue

Rehearsals are continuing and I find them very absorbing - you can forget about all the job hunting and cares of the world when you are concentrating on something different. Last night a small "bump" was produced from somewhere and I duly tried it on under my jumper to produce a pregnant look. It might need a bit of tweaking but it gave me the idea of how it will be. I will need to think about how I walk, move etc. No running around the stage, not that I do anyway.

It was interesting to have a drink with a few of the cast afterwards and find out a bit more about them. Despite everyone coming across as confident and very able, they expressed the same worries about learning lines and so on that I might feel as a beginner. But I assured them that they had come across as very confident and professional, to which they looked astonished; but having a lot of experience between them, I am sure everything will be fine.

I have to do some thinking about the background of my character, Pattie. Who is she, what happened in her past etc? I realised that each of us plays as vital a part as any other, and so everyone is reliant on everyone else (literally) playing their part; we are all responsible for a small part of the whole and those parts will come together to make something bigger. Well, we can only hope so anyway. The play is a bit different to things they have done before, because it has a lot of conversations happening at the same time, so two conversations intertwine on different parts of the stage, which might make it a bit trickier remembering cues. Last night we were "blocking" which meant working out our positions and movements. I am right near the front of the stage for one scene, so I hope I don't take a step to the left and fall off(!) Two of us have a lot of "business" which is doing things with props, so that will be interesting and hopefully easier to do than imagining doing it while we don't have props available.

It sounds like the various theatrical groups in the town all know each other, in fact people take part in productions in the different groups, so there must be a large number of people who know each other from that. So it will be a good way to meet different people.

Treading the boards

Having always harboured a secret desire to be an actress, I have finally joined a theatre group in my local town. I went along to the auditions a couple of weeks back, not knowing what to expect. I explained that I'd never really done much acting before, apart from a dalliance with the camera a few years ago when we re-did "Dinner for One" and when I was at school, hundreds of years ago. I say when I was at school, as if I played the lead role in all of the school's weird productions. I didn't. All I can remember is Mr Grossman making us pretend to be motorbikes, and telling me I had a nice voice. But this remark has stuck with me.

I was a bit nervous at the auditions but everyone was friendly and they made me feel very welcome. We had to read out a bit of the play which is being put on at Christmas: Alan Ayckbourn's "Season's Greetings", a mixture of the usual seasonal arguments and wine-fuelled liaisons that do actually ring true. It's quite amusing in places. I only wanted a small role so read two of the smaller characters - except actually most of the characters have about the same amount to say really; there is one central woman around which everyone interacts.  I realised that most of the women at the audition had performed before and were very good, so although I had enjoyed it, I could not imagine that I would be chosen for a part with that much talent in the room.

However, the director must have seen something worth taking a risk on, as he offered me the role of Pattie. A woman with three kids who is seven months pregnant! Naturally, I accepted the challenge.

We have a busy rehearsal schedule and I have been to two rehearsals. I am quickly realising there is so much to learn - not in terms of lines, although I do have many - but in terms of the theatre. The stage is bigger than I expected. It is as much about movement, where you are standing and where you are facing as how you say the lines. Saying the lines is not the same as reading them out of a book. I will have to learn to project my voice. How, for example, do you convincingly cry or get angry? Maybe it's not so easy. And I need to learn terms like "upstage" and "downstage", "business" and probably lots more. But I can clearly learn a lot from the others. The woman cast in the main role told me she hadn't done any more acting than I have when she joined a year ago, so she has clearly taken to it like a duck to water. And I see that the director will of course be guiding and advising the whole way through. So it doesn't feel quite as terrifying as it might do. In fact, it felt strangely right to be standing on the stage. But I can tell that it will be a journey of challenges and ups and downs, and that sometimes I will wonder what I am doing there. But all in all I think it should be good fun.

Everyone seems very nice and as we will be spending a whole lot of time together, I am glad because it will mean knowing local people. The nicest thing is having something else to focus on other than job hunting and I have found myself feeling a little more productive the next day as a result.

A predictable and probably often-to-be-repeated misunderstanding occurred last night, as I chatted with a woman who had missed the first rehearsal.
"I haven't done any acting before," I told her. "And I'm pregnant, so that will be weird!"
"Ooh," she said, glancing at my figure, "how far is it?"
"It's 7 months..." (She looks confused), "No, I'm pregnant in the play! Not in real life!"
Much hilarity. She thought I looked a bit thin...
I'm looking forward to having the baby bump put on (well, not actually because I imagine it is going to be very weird, having not been in that condition before) - But I might put the picture on Facebook and see how many people I can fool...

Leominster Priory

Following a trip to Shropshire, we found ourselves, as usual, passing through Leominster on the way home. Now always thinking about nearby fonts and tympanums, we wondered if we should stop off (just quickly) to see what Leominster Priory had to offer. We could see a spire from the nearby petrol station. Could that be it? It was, and it wasn't far to go.  Walking up to it, I was amazed how large it was but how well hidden from view when you were in the town.

So, Pevsner mentioned some carved capitals with various animals, people and plants... Sounded promising. We wandered up to the west doorway. And gasped. Six columns each with a carved capital - all different and all remarkably well preserved and intricately carved. Wow, it must have been like cinema back then to the people - you could really enjoy looking at the pictures, as we do today, and working out what they were.  There was one of some sort of cereal - we have seen something similar - one of foliage and snakes, one with two men (which is quite unusual) who looked like they were wearing striped pyjamas; two birds which were definitely in the same style we have seen before; and two animals sharing a head - again, something we have seen before at... hmm, where was it... Avening in Gloucestershire.

So there is a definite and recognisable style - and these carvings fall into the "Herefordshire school" style, examples of which we have seen Stottesdon (in Shropshire) and Castle Frome. We have seen birds (pigeons? doves?) like that at Durnford and Hinton Parva as well. They are quite pleasing and always seem amused, to me. They have real character.

Pevsner briefly mentioned some carvings inside, so we went to look for those. Once we'd got over our surprise at the sheer size of the place, including enormous fat Norman columns the like of which I've never seen, we were excited to discover that the carvings inside were equally as detailed and pleasing as those outside. They were basically in the same position, on the inside of the doorway, with another 4 columns each with carved capitals, and some other details further up. These had some interesting faces, perhaps Green Man-ish, one with a plaited beard? and the other with the "raspberry" type fruits (or maybe, more realistically, grapes?) that we have seen in other carvings.

All in all it was well worth stopping off at Leominster, which we'd done on a whim.  A couple of other people came in while we were there, took a cursory walk and glance round the place, missing out the carvings and left. I think they missed the best bits.

More catching up

Another trip fonting took in Berwick St James (some previously unseen criss cross designs above the door), Winterbourne Stoke (a very pleasing font, small but chunky, sadly with the most hideous and out of place but apparently historical Jacobean font cover. We did not include it in our drawings). The archway over the entrance had some nice blob shape designs. We had a disappointing trip to Amesbury, where the priory was closed (what happens if you are religious and seeking solace, or persecuted and seeking sanctuary? Not much good if the church is shut), we stopped to enjoy the clear waters of the Avon where some ducks were having a good time. Some keen walkers strode over the bridge, making it bounce rather uncomfortably. Another example of when people walking seem to think the point is to get from A to B in the quickest possible time, instead of actually looking at what is around them.

On to Durnford, described rather simply by Pevsner so that we were expecting merely a font with some sort of design on it. (All our trips are based on the information taken from Nikolaus Pevsner's architectural guides. He and his wife spent many years going from church to church across the UK, while he documented everything. From this my sister has extracted the bits about Norman and Saxon architecture. How he had time to look at everything we marvel to comprehend. But then again he does sometimes miss things out or gloss over the most amazing features. And we can understand why - just doing 4 or 5 churches is sometimes exhausting).  This was the case in Durnford. We weren't expecting much. But it was quite amazing. Over the doorway were some wonderful and unusual shapes that look like shuttlecocks. I pushed open the big heavy oak door (I love some of these old doors! They are from centuries ago).  I looked round. I gasped. The font was amazing. So intricately and elaborately carved with a design covering all of it. The design looked like little faces. That would be hard to draw... I looked round again. Gasped. There were carvings in the wall. Looked more. Gasped. Remnants of paintings on the wall.  Went further in and looked at some capitals - gasped - 2 perfectly preserved and hilarious animals. Read about the church from their information. Gasped. The back pews were 16th century. Drawing the fabulous font was of course tricky but fun, specially sitting on the ancient pews.

Durnford font

Durnford, a smiling bird

Catching up

It is slack of me but I have failed to blog about the previous fonting trips we have been on, so rather than forget them entirely, I will mention them here. There were, after all, many things of interest and a few moments that elicited gasps.

The Minute Face

The majority have been around the Stonehenge area. It was quite amusing when we drove past it to see the crowd of tourists who come, presumably daily, to marvel at this ancient sight. We had sights of our own to seek out and marvel at. The first trip back took in Longbridge Deverill and Brixton Deverill, with two pleasing fonts. Our next trip was towards Yeovil, where we spent a little time in Milborne Port (a tympanum with 2 affronted creatures and a woman who gave us a start inside the church); Maperton, home of the minute face (a tiny but compelling face stuck halfway up a wall in the belltower), and a Saxon-esque scrolled design in the porch. On to Blackford - a pleasingly chunky font; All Cannings (bat droppings and some impossible to draw column capitals), and Stanton St Bernard - just the cutest font you will ever see - and finishing at Marden, by which time I was too weary to draw much.

The simplicity of the font at Stanton St Bernard was deceptive - ah, just two lines of zigzags, you might think. But try drawing this and you will soon see that simple is often the most difficult, at least to draw. I had to really look and not let my brain draw what it thought was there. This font had real character and part of this appeal has to be its unevenness, which speaks of its carver and somehow the actual creation of it. You are taken back to those days 900 years ago when the carver might have taken a step back and realised his font design was getting out of kilter. But then, that doesn't seem to matter. The essence of the carvings are in their asymmetry, this refreshing difference from the mass-produced, identical and perfect soul-lessness of modern things.

Stanton St Bernard font. Who wouldn't want a font like this?

The search for gold

Job hunting is a time-consuming thing. Good job I have all this time to do it in, then. Although of course, there are many other things I would like to be doing, like writing. You think that it should be relatively straightforward. You look for a job; you find a job; you submit an application. But no, there are sometimes things which take you hours to do, when it should take a few minutes. Even more frustrating when you end up not hearing back from people.

For example, the other day, I was applying for a job. Everything now requires you to sign in to the job site and create an account, so I did that and then began filling in the application. Oh good, you can just upload your CV and add a covering letter. The least painful method. Although I remembered to tweak my CV before posting.  Then I wrote a wonderful letter about how marvellous I would be for the job.  Then I scrolled down. The site wanted, in addition, the usual information filled out in their boxes about my education, experience, and why I wanted the job. So basically everything on my CV. I filled this out dutifully and then went back to change my cover letter so it didn't include everything I needed to say again.  Then I pressed submit.  It told me I must fill in all the asterisked boxes. Ah, ok: it needs dates. I put in the dates. Submit. No, still no good. I looked again. Ah, they have little calendar icons; I must use these to select the dates. Done. Submit. Still no good! I looked at the top: "please put the date in the format DD/MM/YYYY."  OK! Now I get it. But when you select the date from the calendar it put the date in the format DD-MM-YYYY.  So I had to go back and change it.  Sigh. Finally it accepted it.

Then this morning. I am applying to a well known and large organisation. "Please address any queries to XXX".  OK, I have a query. I will ask her. I emailed the woman.  An email came back: "I am out of the office until Monday, please email ZZZ with any queries."  Ok, fine. The closing date is only tomorrow but I'm sure ZZZ can help in your absence.  I emailed ZZZ. An email came back. "I am out of the office until a week on Monday."  Ah! Very helpful. So the person you put down as your cover is not there himself. Does this look good for your company? I think not. But then we're all human and things like this do happen. It's just that as a candidate applying for things, you are asked to show how marvellous you are, because that is the only sort of person they want.

And then to top it all this morning, as "Homes Under the Hammer" comes on (or whatever it was, please note I was not watching it), I see Dion Dublin is now one of the presenters. Dion Dublin. Ex-Aston Villa and England footballer. Tell me, what experience and qualifications does Mr Dublin have, exactly, which have led him into this career? Oh but I see I am wrong. He has had lots of presenting experience for the BBC (Football Focus etc). And I expect he has a lot of experience of posh houses. So I am wrong. And should get back to job hunting.

Fonting

We have, since I returned from Sicily, been back out on our rather unique and always enjoyable "fonting" trips. What I mean is that we have been out around Wiltshire (mostly) visiting churches where we know there are good examples of Norman sculpture to draw. Mostly this involves archways and columns that form part of the front doors, and often or not there is an excellent Norman font inside. There is also column decoration inside some churches.  So font is now being used as a verb to describe what we do.

We have made at least 3 visits over the last month or so. In fact, see, I am already forgetting because I have been slack and not blogged them. And then you tend to forget where you've been. So I thought I would blog today's and squeeze in previous visits in another post.

Today, which could have been called "Weird Wednesday", we set off to some of the villages that are in the middle of Salisbury Plain. It is such a weird landscape, and a sky heavy with promised rain did not help. We could hear the unsettling boom of the guns on Salisbury Plain before we even set off, which was rather disturbing. The whole area is strange, because of the rather enclosing hills and also the strange military villages that are near Stonehenge.

A few of the places we saw today we didn't draw much of, or didn't stay too long, as a couple were not what we were looking for. We have now become quite expert on Norman sculpture - well I think its proper name is Romanesque.  We are now able to recognise whether something is of the right period from its appearance - often this is obvious because of signs of age, rather than something new looking. But the give-away is really to do with how it was carved. Norman carvings (particularly for fonts) tend to be uneven, not uniform and generally wonky. This is their appeal. There is a real spirit and connection with the human who carved them, in comparison to a dull, soulless piece which is perfectly symmetrical, from later years. Are we fussy? No, but we know what we are looking for and we know what we like.

So today the real gem was a couple of carved column tops outside at Netheravon. They were opposite sides of the door of a really high tower - most unusual - and to accompanying booms outside (guns) and inside (someone practising the organ, Jeremy, apparently) - we set about drawing. Quadrapeds, as my sister calls them, are one of our favourite - these looked like bears to me. But you can never tell. We spotted their typical long claws (a regular feature) and a tail looped under a leg, coming over the animal's back. So somehow or other there were shared features among carvers. I suppose carvers would have gone to see others' carvings and of course they have carved many churches each - so a common style develops. Or is this how all animals were depicted at the time? It is interesting to consider.  One creature was completely worn but the other had a jaunty face that I managed to make look demonic in my attempt at drawing him. Talking of creatures, I was especially lucky when I went round the church for a little nose around. Catching sight of an animal behind a gravestone, I thought someone's dog had got into the graveyard. But coming round the side I came face to face with two deer - we were all surprised to see each other. There was an adult and a baby, both quite big and orangey in colour - who turned and leapt over the fence at top speed. Except then I saw the baby hadn't managed to get over, so I left in the hope its mother would return and help.

Today's trip took in six places in all - Shrewton, Netheravon, Fittleton, Figheldean, Durrington, and Orcheston, until the rain started coming down and became quite dull. There was also a horrible ten minutes where we got stuck in the middle of a small village where traffic had been diverted, a bus squashed the side of someone's car in front of our very eyes, and too many big lorries squeezed past us. All with a funeral just finishing in Shrewton. It wasn't very nice.  Specially with the guns so loud they shook the church we'd been in.

We learned about the Fittleton disaster of 1976 from a chance remark in a visitors' book, and all about the church at Figheldean from a man working outside. We had gone to visit the 13C knights in the porch, which, he told us, had been discovered buried nearby - perhaps to keep them safe from Cromwell. Not as detailed as the amazing knight at Castle Combe, but quite chunky.

The pleasingly simple but unusually wide font at Fittleton

My Scottish Inspiration

A year ago, when I was getting ready to fly out to Sicily, I had to miss seeing the live show of "Still Game", the wonderful Scottish comedy that was making its return after an absence of many years. I was gutted to miss it, so when I heard that the Burnistoun boys were doing a live show, I promised myself I was not going to miss that for the world. So I didn't - and it was bucking amazing. (See you have to be a fan...)

the sunshine on the Clyde

Yes, it was extravagant to fly to Glasgow and stay the night but why not!? I have long thought that Glasgow sounded nice - vibrant, exciting and with lots going on - since hearing my favourite Scottish comedians talk about their city. Glaswegians seem very proud of their home and rightly so - I was very impressed. Everyone was very friendly, including a woman working in the airport who offered to post some postcards for me.

botanical gardens

I set off on Saturday for Bristol Airport - two bus journeys and a delay of 90 minutes to take-off couldn't keep me from seeing my two Glaswegian favourites, oh no.  When I landed in Glasgow, it was surreal at first hearing everyone speak in the beautiful accents that I am used to only hearing on tv, and I tweeted Robert Florence to say I was a little overwhelmed by this. He favourited the tweet - both he and Iain Connell use Twitter and respond to their fans very often, me included.

George Square

My hotel was very near the theatre. Glasgow is on a grid system so it is not easy to get lost. I had some dinner (Italian, of course) and treated myself to a pre-show drink. I didn't know what to expect because I've never met a Burnistoun fan before (who I haven't converted). I was interested to see they were mostly young. The theatre was packed - I was in the back row of the stalls.  A woman in the interval was amazed to hear I'd come up from Bristol "Good for you!" she kept saying. She had never seen Burnistoun before and was loving it.

The show was wonderful - it was a good mixture of classic and new sketches with everyone's favourite characters, including the Quality Polis (with a wonderful take on "Maria"!); a welcome resurrection of Paul and Walter; Scott and Peter; Biscuity Boyle and of course, squirrel-mad Jolly Boy John.  There was a particularly good sketch with the politicians; the original blue denim jaisket; the now famous lift sketch; and great support from Gerry McLaughlin and Louise Stewart. The audience was laughing continuously and it was amazing to hear everyone shouting out the catchphrases. I realised you can't shout the catchphrases in southern English - it has to sound Glaswegian. There were a few times when I didn't catch what they said - I guess it is a bit easier on telly. But Glaswegian for me is just poetic, it really does add something special to the language and delivery.

down by the Clyde

One of the nicest things was seeing how much they enjoyed performing - they talked to the audience as well. Iain and Robert were in virtually every scene, so there were voiceover sketches between frantic costume changes - they managed it very well. They must have been exhausted following a run of a few nights. I had seen on Twitter that they meet fans after the show - I thought how rude it'd be if I didn't say hello in person, after coming all that way. And there they were, at the stage door, in the flesh. It was so kind of them because there were loads of fans and they looked quite tired, unsurprisingly. When it came to my turn I leaned towards Robert and said, "I thought I'd come and say hello instead of tweeting." He looked at me and was probably thinking, well which one of my followers are you, and so I said my name and he knew then that I had come from Bristol, which was so nice, and they were both really appreciative and he said was it worth it? Of course it was, totally. I got to have a picture taken with them which was great. It was one of those surreal moments that you look at afterwards and think, did that really happen? I don't remember Iain's hand on my shoulder. It means a lot to me because they're both round my age and they've both done some brilliant things - so they are a real inspiration to me. Especially now, when I'm job hunting again. They are wonderful writers and actors, and obviously appreciate their fans. Robert seems to have endless energy and ideas. So to see the show and to meet them gives me energy and inspiration and self belief for the future.

Iain Connell, me, and Robert Florence

One night some years ago, I watched by chance a comedy programme called "Empty", which I really enjoyed. Beautifully written and acted (with Gregor Fisher and Billy Boyd). Later, I just happened to wonder who the writers were. I looked them up, this "Iain Connell and Robert Florence" and saw they'd done something else, "Burnistoun"... and from there to this, to Glasgow... :)

The Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum

Next morning, in bright sunshine, I took the Glasgow tour bus around the city from George Square. The tour guide was interesting and amusing and I saw some of the famous landmarks like the cathedral, the necropolis, the big ornate Victorian buildings from when it was a wealthy industrial city, and the futuristic buildings along the banks of the Clyde. I saw the Armadillo and the Hydro (where I should have seen Jack and Victor). I stopped off at the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum for a wander round (visiting Sir Roger the elephant and baby elephant, Kelvin). I was quite excited to see things I recognised from Still Game such as George Square and the River Kelvin.

   

Sir Roger

Glasgow reminded me of Birmingham with the old industrial past and modern rejuvenation. I liked it a lot and I would love to return to explore it some more. Taking off from the airport you could see some pretty hills in the background. So ideally, a job in Glasgow then...

the River Kelvin, which features in one of my favourite episodes of Still Game

August

I seem to leave it awfully long to blog again but here we go, what has been happening in August?

Well, work, work and more work, and the students were just getting more and more weary as the term went on because basically no one else is at school so why should they be? It did seem increasingly difficult to keep them motivated and who can blame them? By the end of term it was quite impossible. But I saw a different side to one or two of them and it was all a bit emotional for them leaving their friends after becoming so close in such a close-knit environment.  There is no work for me there next term, as numbers in September are lower. I have turned down 3 months in the Ukraine, as my plan is to stay here now and not delay finding what I want here. I'm happy with that, I just need to start looking.

Going back to job hunting is as depressing as it was last time. I applied for a bog-standard kind of position as a vets' receptionist/animal assistant - I have experience in both reception duties and working with animals. But they had over 200 applications for it - from whom, I cannot imagine. So if this is the sort of competition... However, can't give up and I have had a look today and found some things to apply for, even if they are not amazing and challenging careers. It seems that the job market today has changed and it is no longer possible to just find a rewarding and well paid job that suits your skills and qualifications. Seemingly you have to have experience in everything (but who would go from the same job to the same job all the time? It doesn't even make sense). I saw one for a copywriter for a website but you had to have a proven interest in lingerie (er, how?) I will have to approach it all more creatively and perhaps have several ways of making a living instead of one. I have advertised my English tuition services so hopefully with the start of a new term, some students might want help with things. One person has replied so far :) It is very time consuming looking for jobs, before you've even applied for them.

In other news, well I will blog about that separately. Needless to say that I am missing the warmth of the Sicilian sun very much in this English climate, and still missing the coffee, boys and Etna.

Back again

It hasn't seemed worth blogging until now about being back in the UK, but here I am again. It's been 6 weeks and the things I miss most are the coffee, sunshine and Jo. And nice looking ragazzi. And some of my students. And the food. But at the moment, mostly the sunshine and coffee, it being cold and rainy here. A day of ceaseless rain on Friday is enough to make anyone head to the easyjet website.

However, I don't think that is the answer right now. A recent birthday was my annual time for reflection (maybe I should have these more often) and perhaps I should think about what I want from life a bit more and actually take action to get nearer that. Running back to Italy is tempting (especially when Jo has been talking about returning to exotic locations), but there are things here that I could be focussing on. We will see.

I've been in touch with some of my students and occasionally heard from the nice floppy haired Back to the Future fan, so I have some sort of connection with the land of lovely Etna. (I failed to say I miss her but I do, very much). It is currently pushing 37 degrees there, which is too hot even for them, what a shame, but I dare say they prefer it to what we have at the moment.

Here I am experiencing a new part time summer job at a small international school which prepares students for UK boarding schools. They are mostly from China, Russia and Japan, with a sole Italian boy who I make read in class so I can hear the lovely accent. It is different to what I was doing in Italy and I hope to learn a few things about teaching while I am there. The teachers are all nice and supportive and the kids are pleasant enough, very polite and really just typical teenagers, who'd rather be sleeping sometimes than working. But what's new. I have enjoyed working with one smaller child and encouraging him with his spelling and reading. Another bonus is having tea breaks and a hot lunch all together. But boarding school life with its regulations and so on is quite a different thing but I think I've got used to it now and the children seem happy there. It's nice that everyone knows each other by name and they all look after each other.

Aside from that, it will be back to the job hunting again and also thinking of long term plans; where do I want to be, who do I want to be there with, etc etc. Meanwhile work and feeling generally knackered seem to get in the way of more exciting things like Fonting and writing and finding a way out of having to work.  But some fonts have been visited (yey!) which was a great relief and helped establish equilibrium again. More on those to come. And if it is all too much here, then I know Etna is only a 3 hour plane trip away, even for a quick burst of sunshine and a much-needed caffè.

Changes

So time has caught up with me and all of a sudden, it is time to go home. I don't know how we have gone from having 5 long months ahead of us in January, to now when there is only one week left of my life in Sicily. To say there are mixed emotions is an understatement - who would have thought this would be the case back in January when I really wanted to go home.

It shows how you get used to something and how things become normal. I've made a list of things I will miss and things I won't miss, and surprisingly they are equal. This week is our last week of teaching and it is strange, something of an anti-climax, as we say goodbye to students for the last time. Those who you think might have turned up didn't always, and those who you least expected to see showed up. My FCE class were lovely and we had a nice last lesson, doing word games and so on, and then we went to lovely little Acitrezza, with its three rocks in the sea, and memories of happy granitas, and we had a pizza in a lovely restaurant overlooking the sea. In fact it was a place Shona and Gab took me and Jo in the first weeks so it kind of felt like things are coming full circle. I had pizza norma, (pasta alla norma is a traditional Catanese dish with aubergine and ricotta salata. The pizza is a version of this). My lovely class gave me a very nice book on Catania, full of beautiful pictures to remind me of everything. It's quite heavy though so I will just have to make allowances in my suitcase!

So mixed emotions - I will not be sad to leave certain things like the noise, the graffiti, the honking of horns, not being able to understand everyone or communicate very well, working in the evening and eating at night, ... many other things. But I will miss granitas, the coffee, Etna, the sunshine, Italian, beautiful looking men and Italian style. I won't miss the mosquitoes, they have been making the past few days hell.  I will miss Jo, but she too is going back to the UK so of course we will stay in touch. Students have all been asking (ok, not all, but the nice ones haha) whether I am coming back next year. So far I can only say I don't think so, I don't know. I really want to see how I feel about things. I think no. And I don't think it would be the same without Jo - the experience is now and a new experience lies ahead somewhere else.

I won't have had time to see and do everything I wanted to see and do, but this is mostly because it turned out that without a car it is impossible to get places here - public transport is ok but only to main towns and cities. Even then it still takes ages. There are amazing mosaics I wanted to see, and we wanted to go to the top of Etna, and see her erupting and go to see the mummies... Never mind.

The experience has been amazing, learning how to be a teacher - I am amazed that I actually can say I love my job without it being too far from the truth. I do love doing it, it's rewarding. I have now got a new job in England, teaching English to students in a college, for summer. They are foreign children who want to go to a school in England for their entire schooling - and not just any old school but the elite ones including places like Eton and Harrow. The college is for up to one year, so they improve their English quickly and learn about British culture, including our sports and day trips to cities etc. So they will be prepared to go to their new school. I was surprised to be offered the job so now I want to make a go of it and I think the college looks like a supportive place to work and to learn.  It is near my sister so at least I will be near part of my family again.

So I have booked my flight today (after a fun time in the post office transferring money) and it is for a week today. I think it will be a big adjustment after so long here - as I say you get used to things don't you, so it's like any change. But things end and new things start. I couldn't stay here long term, for a start it gets too hot from now onwards, and then there is the whole thing about fitting into a culture. I think here it would take simply ages to be let in to their culture; we still don't get the whole living at home til you're 40 thing or the mummy's boys, or the dress sense, or any of it really haha. But it has been a great experience to live somewhere else and if I need any confidence in myself then this should have given me plenty. Yes I like the Italian boys look and yes I will miss that too but Sicilian men, they're not for marrying or hanging on to I don't think - too many issues :)  I don't understand them. Let's hope the English ones are a bit easier now. At least there won't be the language barrier.

OK, so granitas all round. If I could stuff granita, chinotto, arancini and Etna in my suitcase, I would... but I'm going to have a hard enough time packing what I have accumulated anyway! See you at the airport... I'll try and bring the sun. x