Fonty

Love the idea of Ferri in M & A! I shall have to purchase tickets to two different casts now. I suppose we will have to wait a long time to see the full cast for Symphonic Variations. And I have never seen The Dream. No idea why, just missed it every time.

I have never really understood why they have kept this mime in the RB version, when she goes on to stab herself to death.

To be strictly fair, I had an excellent meal in the Amphitheatre restaurant a year ago, and the staff were charming. But I have given up on the Floral Hall since they revamped it. Even if I am down in the posh seats, I always go up to the amphitheatre bar. It is a nicer atmosphere, and better service as well. But I have never ordered tea or coffee there. Alcohol or nothing, as far as I am concerned!

Oh, people who hum or sing along to the music are so annoying. I have had lost count of the number times I have asked people (politely) to shut up. And they always look so astonished when I speak to them, as if they think I can't hear them. I still remember the man who started to sing very loudly and tunelessly, the words Just One Cornetto at a recital. I think the whole audience was telling him to keep quiet, but he flatly refused, and seemed to think the whole thing was very funny.

That was precisely my thought, Sim.

I've never understood why you need to show ID for an internal flight, but not for any other mode of travel. What's to stop a security risk getting on a coach instead? I can remember the wonderful days when you just turned up at Stansted and walked through without any ID if you were taking an internal flight.

I have to say that I once managed to set this on my watch, and could not fathom out how to switch it off again. I ended up taking it back to the shop where I bought it, and they spent ages fiddling with it before it stopped doing it.

I really am so last century. I write reminders on a blackboard, and do a weekly shop with a list.

Hmmm. My friend still lives in Leytonstone, and nothing will persuade me that it is trendy. Just a bit less of a dump than it used to be!

Very nice flat. But the prices!!!!! Where was it again? Leyton, or somewhere like that. I remember hunting for my first flat in that area, purely because it was so much cheaper than everywhere else. Seems funny to think it is now more expensive that the very unfashionable area I live in at present.

I remember it, and if I recall correctly, the emphasis of the programme was on two young dancers of roughly the same age, who had both come through the RB school from White Lodge, and were now establishing themselves in the company. I certainly didn't get any impression of the programme makers trying to establish a rivalry of any sort.

I've got confused with all this talk about cast changes. Apart from Lamb, who has actually danced Aurora during this new run?

With regard to my comments on the Fonteyn programme, and the failure to show even the last balances of the Rose Adagio in full, the BBC recently broadcast their original film of the Sleeping Beauty in 1959. I am not sure what version they used in the tiny amount shown in the Bussell programme, but they do have their own material they can access, surely?

Personally, I thought it was good that they just concentrated on the two principals. I felt we really got to know them. They did devote quite a lot of attention to the students as well, but if they had filmed all the other roles, then it would have been a very bitty programme.

I caught the rerun of the Fonteyn programme, and I found it an enjoyable programme on the whole. Even though it didn't really give that much information about Fonteyn the dancer, I did find the little snippets of information interesting. For example, the detailed book of expenses written by her at the farm during her last years seemed very poignant, and I loved it when MacLeary talked about seeing Margot's feet and exclaiming in horror, before realising who they belonged to. I thought Darcey seemed more relaxed in front of the camera than she usually does, and was a pleasant presenter. Unfortunately, yet again programme makers were more concerned about showing us the commentators, rather than the subject. When Bussell shows an early clip of Margot performing Giselle to Sir Peter Wright, we didn't get to see the whole of what was described as a very short film. Instead, the focus of the camera is on the two of them viewing it. And I thought it was awful to play a film of Fonteyn performing the last balances in the Rose Adagio, cut away while the music continues, show Darcey talking in front of her burial place, and then cut back to the last arabesque at the end of the RA. What was the editing team thinking? Did they believe that the average viewer would lose interest if they were shown about one minute and 30 seconds at the end of the programme of the great lady herself actually dancing something?

Having been away for a lot of this year, I haven't been able to see much at all. But if we are talking about dance performances that created a lasting impression, then Ed Balls dancing Gangnam Style on SCD has to be one that will stay in my mind for a very long time!

Same here, Janet. My mother hated admitting she needed them.

Yes, this is something I have always found very odd. If someone wears glasses because of poor eyesight, nobody would even comment on it. Perhaps part of the problem is that people are encouraged to go for regular eyesight tests, but nobody ever suggests going for regular hearing checks, especially after a certain age? Also, while deteriorating eyesight is obvious to the individual concerned, and can prevent them from going about their daily business, hearing loss is often gradual, and someone may not realise they are suffering from it. I know it is hard for people with poor hearing, but it can also be very, very difficult to live with someone who refuses to admit they may have a problem. Having to repeat everything two or three times, at increasingly loud levels, just leads to anger and frustration on both sides. And spare a thought for one of my friends, whose neighbour has her television or radio on at MAXIMUM VOLUME at all hours of the day and night. As far as audience behaviour is concerned, I can remember sitting in the theatre once, and as the play progressed, the woman sitting behind me was repeating some of the dialogue quite loudly to her companion. When I turned round and asked her to keep quiet, she stared accusingly at me, and said, "My husband is hard of hearing." If my response to that was supposed to be sympathy and understanding, I am afraid I failed miserably.

I have no personal knowledge of hearing aids, but I remember once getting a last minute ticket for Oklahoma, the hottest show in town at the time. When I arrived, I discovered that the reason there were spare seats available was because it was a performance for the deaf, with a professional person standing at the front signing for them. Before the performance began, there was a positive bellow of high pitched whining, which was so awful I very nearly walked out. When I made a comment to one of the ushers, saying I couldn't stand it, he said to give people a chance to make their adjustments, and to tell him if I could still hear anything and he would speak to the individual. The whining vanished in the end, so I assume the answer is yes, they can be adjusted! I found it very sweet at the end, when those of us with hearing were clapping in time to the music, that the people sitting around me were watching me, and timing their claps accordingly.

Sadly, I fear this is true. But this has been going on for a long time, hasn't it? Going back to my own childhood, my parents' idea of dumbing down was when the television broadcast a Gilbert & Sullivan light opera, rather than a proper one!

I remember that clip as well, Odyssey, and being amused at the time that there were 5 cygnets, rather than the usual 4.

And sadly, didn't seem to get enough chances to show that she could. Very sorry I won't get another chance to see her. She was one of the finest dance actresses I have seen.

But Dave, we have to talk about something when there are no performances taking place.

I certainly intend to. I loved this programme. It would have been so easy to have a lot of talking heads, going on about how he changed their lives, or a few "personalities" saying how much they enjoy taking their children/mother/great aunt to see the Nutcracker once a year. Instead, Sir Peter was a wonderful interviewee, and the marvellous snippets of dance were made even more splendid because he was commentating on them. I think the BBC has put on some good programmes about ballet this year, and this one was the icing on my Christmas cake. P.S. Darcey Bussell has always been a charming and delightful interviewee.

Speaking personally, I wasn't having a dig at Darcey. I was just curious as to why she was there, and I did wonder if it was because she was doing some coaching. I think it would have been nice if the commentary had mentioned this as her reason for being there, bearing in mind that she is a familiar face on the BBC.