Fonty

It certainly should be free if you are visiting somebody in the hospital. My father was in hospital for 3 months, recovering from a serious operation and then a broken arm bone where he slipped in the hospital bathroom. My poor mother was paying huge amounts every week to park there, and there was no other parking available. And she had to pay per visit, and she often went twice a day. I think they should issue a free visitor's pass for people who are in hospital for more than a couple of days. Or at least, some sort of discount. You should not have to pay nearly £300 a month to visit your loved ones.

Janet, do you live near public transport that gets you to an airport, or anything like that? My old flat was within 5 minutes of tube and bus links to two of the major London airports. And we found that people used our road as a free parking spot for their car when they went away on holiday. Perfectly legal, of course, but it did mean that parking was very difficult to find if you actually lived there. In the end, the council brought in the dreaded "residents' parking."

Are you talking about edible treats? Or any sort of treats? (Because I am a huge fan of a lolling in a hot bath with a good book if I have those "cold weather, short grey day, freezing cold" sort of blues. ) But edible treats? Well, I love baking, and I have to say that a nice cup of tea and a slice of home made cake usually perks me up. And I have to say, there is something about a bacon sarnie, on white bread, with lots of tomato ketchup, that seems to have a wonderfully reviving effect when I am feeling a bit down. I haven't read Anjuli's ordeal, which thread is that? However, if I am abroad and feeling low, there is something about a thick, hot chocolate that does the trick. I remember having a wonderful one in Madrid, the best ever. You could stand your spoon up in it!

I've sort of gone off Freecycle since I heard that dealers were collecting things for free and then selling them. I am not sure if this is an urban myth, though?

I am amazed you got a charity to take anything. I have some good quality furniture, but because it is not rated for fire resistance they refused to look at it. A friend of mine had the same problem. She was getting rid of a very expensive dining table and chairs, purchased from Heals, and no charity would touch it. She ended up paying the council to take it all away, which she was very upset about.

Spearing wild pigs? Goodness, did ladies indulge in such bloodthirsty activities? No wonder the Prince refused, he certainly wasn't dressed for the occasion! I didn't really notice all the costumes at the start of Act 3, there was so much going on, but I did notice at the curtain call that there was somebody wearing an animal mask of some kind, and another male dressed in some sort of Ali Baba outfit. I suppose we should be thankful the 40 Thieves didn't turn up and do individual variations.

Yes, I was the same last night, for the same reason, I was just very tired. Why are the Puss in Boots and Red Riding Hood variations there in the first place? The music certainly sounds cat like for the former, did Tchaikovsky actually create and insert this particular piece of music here for a special reason? Or did he create a piece and somebody thought it would be a good idea to put it into the Act III celebrations? I've tried a quick google, but I can't find anything on the creation of either the music or the ballet, so I would be interested to know.

Aileen, I agree with you. When it was danced as well as last night, I don't mind, but they do come at the end of a fairly long evening. They are fun pieces, but I don't think the ballet would suffer any if they were cut out. Talking of the other variations, the costumes for the Pas de Quatre included tutus for the ladies with black underskirts. When the ladies lifed their legs, they looked as though they were wearing sheer black knickers. I have never really associated these dances with saucy lingerie before!

I went to the performance last night, but I didn't take a camera. Sorry Bruce. Just a few rambling thoughts, in no particular order, not really on the dancing itself but the production. This is a gorgeous Sleeping Beauty visually, with lovely costumes and great sets. My one teeny tiny complaint is that sometimes I would like to see the Lilac Fairy in a proper lilac costume. The dress for this production is in such a pale colour, it looked more like the Silver Fairy. It is, however, a very gracious and elegant outfit. I have no problem with the Lilac Fairy being a non dancing role. It balances out the Carabosse character. These are clearly two senior fairies with equal powers, so it makes more sense that the Lilac Fairy can remove the fatal spell cast by Carabosse with her own fairy gift. Marion Tate was a wonderfully evil Carabosse, and I loved the curtain call at the end, where she and Lilac Fairy came on together and remained in character as they .took their curtseys (each keeping a very careful and wary eye on the other!) All the dancers seemed to be performing with verve and style. I even enjoyed the Puss-in-Boots and Red Riding Hood dances. In the past, I have sometimes got a trifle bored with these, feeling that this is supposed to be a wedding celebration for Royalty, so why have we got people prancing around in animal costumes? Mathias Dingman and Momoko Hirata were wonderful in the Bluebird solos, although I did think the wig for Mathias made him look a bit like Julian Clary. Iain Mackay was a marvellously regal Prince, managing the difficult task of looking handsome and debonaire in white tights, and Jenna Roberts was a beautiful Sleeping Beauty. Personally, I thought she was very nervous throughout the Rose Adagio. However, once that was over, she seemed to relax and settle down. I won't go into detail about that, as I might put my thoughts on that particular solo into a separate post. A question for people who have seen this production (or any other production, it might be a standard mime for all of them). When the prince first appears with the party of ladies in riding outfits, what particular activity does he decline when they all go off together and he stays behind alone? As far as I could make out, it looked as though they were going to do a bit of digging with a spade! No wonder he declined, pale tights don't go along with that activity at all.

That reminds me of my other half's sister in law. His brother's house is one of the tidiest I have ever been in, partly because they don't seem to read. No books, no magazines, nothing. They don't seem to have any hobbies either, as far as I can see. I visited once with a newly purchased, unread newspaper. And I had to fish it out of the dustbin when I left, she must have put it there when I went out of the living room for a moment! Agree with asking people to write on the back of photos. I begged my mother to do it, many years ago, but she never got round to it.

It could have been, Alison. I think it did have a mirror at the back, but it was some time ago they did it, so my memory is a little vague. Regarding musicality, I think this is what separates a good dancer from a great one, for me. I hate to see a dancer playing around with the music. For example, I have seen many dancers hold an arabesque for longer than the choregrapher intended, and then rush through the following steps slightly out of time in order to catch up with the music. And all so that the audience can gasp with astonishment at how high they can lift their legs. It really, really annoys me! So does shoving in a double or triple pirouette, just to show they can, when there is really only time in the phrasing for a single. It isn't clever, it does not dazzle me, it just seems to make a mockery of the conductor and orchestra. I am sure you can all think of other examples, but it is one of the things I used to hate about the visiting Russian companies, and one of the qualities I loved about the English style of dancing. Ashton's muse was Fonteyn, who must have been one of the most musically gifted dancers ever, and may perhaps explain why current dancers appear to struggle with his "simple" choreography. .

I would love a piano, but I don't think I have the room for it. I was only talking about this to someone yesterday. When I was a child, we lived in a town which sold musical instruments, including second hand pianos. These were very reasonably priced, and consequently most of the children I went to school with took piano lessons from a local woman, and practised at home. Once the family had grown, or decided they no longer wanted to play, the shop came and collected it free of charge, and back it went to be retuned, repaired and so on, and sold again. Brilliant system, which enabled people such as myself, who came from a family of very modest income, to learn and enjoy music. We also had 3 second hand bicycle stores as well. All long gone, nobody buys second hand any more, it seems.

After much brain racking, I have come up with two new(ish) ballets that I would like to see again. The first one I have mentioned before, and was the 2nd act of Mr Wordly Wise by Twyla Tharp. An absolutely beautiful piece of work, IMO, which has never been repeated as far as I can remember? The second one is a bit more vague. It was a piece choreographed for the ENB, and the dancers wore constumes that resembled black leather tutus! I just cannot remember who the choreographer was, but I don't think ENB have done it again, which is a pity. They must still have the costumes, and I don't remember any elaborate scenery. I would not mind the RB having that one. So you see, I can and do appreciate new works. Just not very many of them. It seems to me that new choreographers tend to favour the Balanchine style, with oodles of long leg extensions, ensemble dancing and no plot, rather than the MacMillan narrative ballet with its mime, and dramatic pas de deux dances woven into the story. I am editing this to add that I realise the previous paragraph is a bit of a sweeping statement. I am sure you can all think of many new works that don't really fit into either category. Ashley Page springs to mind. Not sure how I would describe his stuff.

Yes, I agree with you, Jenny. I have also seen practically every new work, (apart from Alice) and am struggling to remember any of them, let alone ones I would wish to see for a second time. Of course ballet has to have new work or it becomes frozen, I understand that. The trouble is, that the new ballets I have seen seem to be modern in style, rather than classical.

I fully appreciate that for some people it is impossible to recycle. 3 hour trips are definitely not on! I've never been to a car boot sale, so would not have a clue what to do, but I will try ebay, thanks for the tip. And I must say it did help to set deadlines. There was simply no room for people to dither, they either had to make their minds up by a certain date or it was gone. I have to be ruthless, because the house has to go on the market soon. Now, all I need is for someone to come round to my own house and declutter for me. I am completely unable to throw any of my own stuff away! I am particularly addicted to Homes magazines, such as Ideal Home. I just HAVE to get every new issue that comes out, even though I know it is going to be the same stuff each time. I have about 10 years supply cluttering up the spare bedroom, but I just can't seem to bring myself to get rid of them. And does anyone else keep magazines with recipes or gardening tips? I have masses and masses of them. I keep meaning to cut them out or scan them and file them away, but I never get round to it.

Oh, a topic after my own heart. Recently I have had to single handedly go through the house that has been in our family for 80 years. You would not believe the junk, the entire 3 bedroomed house was stuffed to the loft with books, papers, old clothes, ornaments...the list goes on and on. I found it hugely helpful to try and tackle one category at a time. First off was clothes, sorted into wearable and falling apart. I am fortunate to have several charity shops within walking distance. One would take "vintage" clothes, which appeared to be anything over 10 years old in good condition. They got some wonderful 70s flared trousers and floral shirts, my brother's 21st birthday suit (he is now in his 50s), my mother's 80s shoulded padded suits, and so on. Another one got money from fabric recycling, for which they provided special bin liners. Out went all the moth eaten clothes, old shoes and handbags, old sheets and towels - I must have taken them about 50 bags of stuff, which they appeared to very happy to receive. Next on the list was books. First off was paperbacks that were falling apart - that went straight into the recycle bins. All the others were sorted into piles according to the original owner, and a phone call made saying that if they did not collect them within a month they were all going to the charity shops. After that, there were the nick nacks which I dealt with in the same way as the books. Anything remaining that was in good condition and sellable was washed, wrapped in newspaper, and off to the charity shops again. I found it hugely helpful to have my partner evaluate stuff. Without any sentimental attachment, he could easily decide what could go to the charity shops, and what was total junk, and throw things away accordingly. Although I must admit I sneaked my old, broken music box out of the dustbin when his back was turned! I am now taking a bit of a break, before tackling the vinyl records, furniture and magazines. Not to mention the sporting equipment, garden tools, crockery, old papers, pictures....

Lindsay, if you read my post again, you will see that I did not say the concept should be applied to ballet alone. What I am saying is that other art forms are allowed to produce works that do not fit that description, and nobody thinks these are inferior in any way. Yet I get the feeling that if a choreographer was to produce a new, original, 3 act ballet, with a story line, to classical music, with the dancers dressed in tutus, the critics would dismiss it because it did not fit their view that new ballet should be "daring".

I wasn't upset either, just to make it quite clear. However, I have to say that my heart sinks when critics use the words "original" and "daring" when talking about new works. Of course they have to be original, otherwise the choreographer would be guilty of plagiarism. But what do they mean by "daring"? Who decides what does and doesn't satisfy this description? And why should this be applied to ballet? Is a library ever told to purchase new books that could only be described as "bold" and "audacious". Is an artist only allowed to paint pictures that "push the bounderies"? Must a composer bring out a new creation that can only be described as "courageous"?

You are right, Alison, this thread has taken a different slant, but not sure where you would split it! Now, this is a question for people with far greater knowledge than me about ballet. How many new works were created in Mason's reign at the RB, and how many have stood the test of time? Or will stand the test of time, if they were only created in the last couple of years. I am asking for personal opinions, I know, but I can't think of many new works I have seen over the last 15 years that I would rush back to see.

Lindsay, what you are saying is that you prefer certain styles. I prefer the more traditional, classical ballets. I would rather see grown women pretending to be fairies, dressed in gorgeous tutus, and dancing to glorious classical music, than see grown women rolling around on the floor, pretending to be humans experiencing a sexual orgasm, to the sounds of someone banging a dustbin lid. And if that makes me conservative, so be it!

I think it is no coincidence that this trend has coincided with what I think I am not alone in seeing as stagnation at the Royal Ballet during the Mason era. For some reason I seem unable to use the Quote function, so I've just picked out the relevant sentence from Lindsay's post. I would disagree with this comment. Mason's role at the RB was to maintain the existing repertoire, as well as commission new work. What you see as stagnation, I see as an attempt at preserving the very works that made the RB a company of world wide renown in the first place. All international companies have to strike a balance between heritage and encouraging new creative talent - a very difficult task! The fact that the balance seems to have swung in the direction of the old, rather than the new, is possibly because the new works commissioned did not popular, and did not stand the test of time. Regarding Cojocaru, she was promoted to Principal just before Mason took over, (I think?) and has remained with the RB for 11 years. In that time she has danced all the major roles, so clearly Mason thought highly of her during that time. As far as Guillem is concerned, she always struck me as a dancer who did things her way, whether or not this was what the choreographer originally intended. I also remember her saying she turned down various roles because she didn't like the costumes. In a small company, this sort of individual approach might be fine, but in a large company you cannot have one individual dictating in this way.

I will add my thanks, as I know what a difficult task moderating can be at times.

Thanks for the reports, Janet. I am seeing this on Thursday - really looking forward to it!

Having just read the link to Alina's interview, I wonder what on earth the Royal Ballet "style" is supposed to be? A very odd comment to put in a newspaper article.

I saw her dance Myrthe, and on the basis of that I was so disappointed I could not get tickets to see her in Swan Lake. I thought she was wonderful in those pure, classical roles. I assume the lack of a tall enough partner is the problem. Even the reliable Mr Cope was deemed to be a little on the short side for her, I believe?