MAB

I have a dream similar to the O/P's and a recurring dream of turning up at an airport without a passport that stopped for many years and has come back. The other dream is about being on a train that never seems to get anywhere or arrriving at a station and not finding the right train, sometimes I'm on a bus that gets held up or takes me away from my destination. Now I am aware of the meanings of these dreams, but that knowledge doesn't prevent me from continually having them. I would have thought that I could tell my subconscience - okay, I get it, but deams don't seem to work that way.

In Donizetti's opera Emilia di Liverpool, I'm told there is a stage direction where the peasants come down the Mountains to Liverpool. People who know Liverpool always find it very funny.

Anne Williams, you are making an assumption when you accuse me of 'speculation'. Thank you Amelia for telling it like it is.

I think it is fair to point out that dance does exist in the Muslim world. Last year I saw a fabulous dervish dancer in Dubai who had a high tech act that included a brief cameo of a woman with a baby. I've also seen a Palestinian folk group and a Turkish belly dancer. There are also a lot of ballet dancers that are at least nominally Muslim, I can think of quite a few though I shan't 'out' them here, but Rudolf Nureyev never made a secret of his Islamic background, indeed, his grandfather was a mullah. It seems that of late Muslims are becoming the new 'reds under the bed'; most are harmless such as my future Algerian sister-in-law, though a few are anything but, the difficulty in the future will be to identify the dangerous minority that exists in western cities before they can cause more harm - it won't be an easy task though.

Isn't Rojo herself rather thick about the waist?

And why doesn't Junor Souza get a crack at Franz, is it so essential to import a star such as Lendorf when there are so many company members that could also do justice to the role. Clearly the company must have more money to chuck around than it used to.

Once again Elena Glurdjidze isn't cast. Why is TR deliberately sidelining her best dancer?

As someone born in London who has lived there ever since. I think I can still look at the city objectively and the changes I've experienced have made the place very different to what it was. Northerners ARE friendlier, just as I have come to believe country dwellers are nicer than city dwellers.

In that case what a blinkered trio Messers Scarlett, Malliphant and Khan must be to have totally missed the outstanding qualities of Elena Glurdjidze.

It's not your imagination; commuting into the centre has never been fun but now it's an ordeal, Even though they have improved the service on many tube lines(not all), it is a real ordeal getting into work in the morning and Victoria is closed every morning because of sheer numbers that it cannot cope with, It's not just the tube ether as my Southern Region line has had the platforms lengthened to take ten carriage trains again because of he pressure of numbers.

Of course these new ballets aren't the first to be inspired by WW1, I wonder how Mr Crisp reacted to MacMillan's Gloria?

Cleary I'm an exception as I've travelled all over England and Wales to watch ballet, not to mention much of the continent but London of course has more arts events than anywhere else. Arts aside, the quality of life in London isn't what it used to be as it becomes increasingly crowded and crime ridden. Given a choice I would probably leave if I had the opportunity.

I had a friendly computer bod at work take 8 off my laptop and install 7 instead. Actually I don't like 7 much either but it's a massive improvement on 8!

So it's taken less than 48 hours to prove he is totally unfit for the job.

Liked the second act, reservations about the rest. Thought Perdita's Act 2 solo very close to what Ashton created for Fonteyn as Chloe.

Only in the Treasury: As is well known the current Chancellor doesn't have an appropriate background for his job. When it comes to the budget you will find Rupert Harrison actually writes it.

I believe that's the case but for years I thought it had been named ironically.

I doubt if the Russians have any territorial interests beyond Eastern Ukraine. Partly it is a settling of scores with the west, as the setting up of Kosovo as an independent state struck straight at the heart of the Russian people who consider Russia and Serbia to be indivisible. The EU will make a lot of noise but will be aware that Putin's hand on the gas tap equals a very cold winter.

Jennie Lee ticked all the boxes and David Mellor had a keen interest too, though fewer achievements apart from coining the phrase 'Ministry of Fun'. Saw Tessa Jowell at the first night of Lest We Forget last week, so although more associated with sport, maybe she does appreciate the arts too. On the whole politicians are a philistine bunch but Harold Wilson liked the ballet and Ted Heath was a keen amateur musician. I've seen Michael Portillo at both the opera and at modern dance events, as the son of a poet I imagine he might have an inbred artistic leaning.

Although there is a marked reluctance here to discuss anything of a vaguely political nature, I would say the appointment of a new 'culture' minister (we never use that archaic word Arts any more) deserves a mention. The new encumbent is a former banker with no discernable interest in the arts at all, which in political terms means he is perfect for the job. Here is the news from The Guardian, read it and weep. At least the readers comments underneath show that I'm not alone in wishing it had been someone who actually had a qualification for doing the job i.e. fondness for something - anything, of an artistic nature. http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/apr/09/sajid-javid-replaces-maria-miller-cabinet-culture

So how close is the story line to the original Shakespeare?

Isn't the assoluta title conferred within a company? As Pavlova was an independent I can understand her not being designated as such.

Danseur Noble describes a certain type of dancer: Dowell - possibly, Macleary - definitely, Mukhamedov, Baryshnikov et al - never.

Bet he doesn't know, isn't it down to the government to make these decisions? The shooting incident reported today may mean the uneasy situation is about to escalate.

So if many of the names were published without permission, how do we know whether Svetlana Zakharova and Ivan Vasiliev's names indicate genuine support or not?