Jan McNulty

Looking at the photograph in the article, he's going to have to use a heck of a lot of makeup on his hands!

Of his narrative works I think (hope) Hobson's Choice (one of my all time favourite ballets and the one David Bintley said he has not tweaked), Far from the Madding Crowd, Cyrano (BRB version) and Edward ll should survive (IMHO). Of his "plotless" works I agree with the ones Bruce mentions and I would add in Gallantries too.

A view from the Gloucester Citizen.

I've just been watching the Peregrines at Norwich Cathedral via the web cam link. They were being fed: http://upp.hawkandowl.org/norwich-peregrines/norwich-cathedral-peregrine-live-web-cam-2016/

I've just bought one from the link I provided LinMM (yes OK, I've given in!).

"By now" would be the equivalent I think.

Would this one be any good? https://www.amazon.co.uk/Discounted-Trophies-Round-Enamel-Badge/dp/B01AK4NJTO/ref=sr_1_fkmr1_2_m?ie=UTF8&qid=1462795539&sr=8-2-fkmr1&keywords=small+round+enamel+school+badges

BRB's Midscale South tour started on Friday in Cheltenham. I'm moving Trog's post to this thread so it will appear above this one as the first post. Please use this post for your thoughts on Midscale South performances. I'll start a separate one for Midscale North.

I was watching a tern diving for its lunch at Crosby Lakeside this morning. They are much more elegant than gulls to my eyes.

I like the Ice Ice Breaky suggestion in one of the tweets!

David Bintley choreographed Cyrano for the Royal Ballet and completely re-choroegraphed it for Birmingham Royal Ballet (including a different composer) some years later. I couldn't remember enough about the choreography of the RB version to say if he had retained any of that but the only similarity I know of is that it uses the RB set and costumes. How much did Balanchine change Apollo from the 1928 original to how we see it today?

A friend gave me instructions from the M6 J6 many years ago. Come off onto the A38, taking the right hand fork. As you come off the slip road and onto the A38 stay in that lane. First you come to a flyover, then three short tunnels (as you come out of the second tunnel the Mailbox should be visible on your right. The third, very short, tunnel is under the pagoda roundabout. When you come out of that tunnel move over to the left and take the first left. Go down that road, through one set of traffic lights, till you get to the Arcadian car park entrance on your left. It's about 20 yards before the T-junction. If you go to the T-junction go in the right hand lane and turn right, the entrance to Pershore St multi-storey is immediately on the left. The outdoor car park is on the right.

I go to the Arcadian whether approaching from the M5 J3 or the M6 J6.

David Bintley is well known for tweaking his ballets, as is David Nixon. I believe George Balanchine also reworked his ballets. I am sure many other choreographers must be the same.

Pershore St multi-storey is very cheap (but it's pay and display) as is the outdoor car park opposite. They do, however, tend to fill up quickly. There is no lift in Pershore St multi-storey. To get from either of these car parks to BRB I would tend to walk through the Arcadian car park (just around the corner from them) and (depending on mobility) either come out via the Ibis Hotel exit and turn left as you come out of the complex or up the stairs. Either way you end up opposite the Hippodrome. The BRB entrance is in the road on the right hand side of the theatre as you are looking at it.

I can't answer your question about the day itself but assuming the day is being held at the BRB HQ in Thorp Street I know of 2 car parks that may suit. There is a small car park directly opposite the BRB HQ entrance itself. It looks very tight and I have never used it but I know people who have. The car park I tend to use is the Arcadian car park which is a couple of hundred yards from the BRB entrance. There is no lift but if you have a disabled badge there are quite a few spaces on the ground floor. There is also a car park by the Holiday Inn. Again it is only a couple of hundred yards from the BRB entrance, albeit over a busy dual carriageway (with pelican crossing). It has a lift and disabled spaces are close to the lift on every floor I have ever been on. It is, however, ruinously expensive these days.

Me three!

I love watching cormorants at our local Crosby Lakeside (a man made marina on what had been our local beach, leading up to the sea wall and the beach). They are not as elegant as herons but I think they are tremendous birds.

Hello DtoD, sadly in my lifetime I have known 3 people who have committed suicide because of their depression. If the person you know has suicidal tendencies because they are depressed and, given their age, I would try to find a way to express your concerns to their parents. Depression is a dreadful illness and one of my very wise friends has said that someone who is very depressed needs to have reached the position of wanting to be helped before anything can be done to help them. What you and any other friends/concerned adults can do is make sure you are there for that person when they need you and perhaps have already researched what facilities and services are available for when they may be needed.

Thanks for this information Estriiita. It sounds fabulous. Sadly I won't be able to get there either.

I've expanded the title of this thread to cover any birding news (good, bad or indifferent) and moved some posts over from Room 101. I like watching water birds but I am in no way an expert and garden and field birds are a total mystery to me! Bearing in mind that I live in an urban environment (albeit on the coast) we are lucky enough to have some fields (previously tips going back to Victorian time) at the bottom of our road. I am absolutely hopeless at spotting small birds. Recently I went on a guided birding walk through those fields. We could hear lots of birds but I couldn't see them. Our guide got quite excited when he saw a black cap (I'll be blowed if I could see it) but he described it and I looked it up in my book when I got home. Blow me down with a feather but at the start of this week Chunkydog and I were walking up the pathway and a black cap flew in front of me at eye level!! Previously I would have just thought it was an odd sparrow! At Crosby Lakeside on my way up to the sea wall I saw some small sparrow-sized birds that were quite rusty in colour. I happened to be on the phone to a friend who is a keen birder and she said my description sounded like pipits. I looked them up when I got home and she was right - they were water pipits! I love looking at the oystercatchers on the beach when the tide is out too.

I've moved the bird stories to the Cuckoo thread and amended the title slightly so we can talk any birds - good, bad or indifferent. http://www.balletcoforum.com/index.php?/topic/958-any-cuckoos-out-there-and-other-birdwatch-news/page-2

Done!

Link to thread on Northern Ballet's Swan Lake: http://www.balletcoforum.com/index.php?/topic/11926-northern-ballet-swan-lake-spring-tour-2016/?hl=%2Bnorthern+%2Bballet I love this production BTW.

Sorry to hear about your Mum Hudds. I do hope she is on the mend but I know that pneumonia is very debilitating. I am visiting my very best friend. Tomorrow we are seeing the BRB matinee in Cheltenham and we are spending a lot of time chewing the cud!