Jacqueline

I agree bad behaviour does seem to permeate everything at the moment. Too many people seem to have the attitude that they can do exactly as they please and two fingers and/or a mouthful of abuse to anyone who doesn't like it. Whether it is part of the home entertainment generation or just a sense of entitlement or a combination of a number of factors, it is certainly very unattractive. I also had the misfortune to walk along Villiers Street on my recent visit to London when there were no buses. When I left the underground, I was almost knocked back by the gag inducing stench of drains, urine and vomit,and piles of rubbish. It was a very warm day but even so, the whole length of the street was utterly disgusting. Another aspect of human behaviour I find mystifying, was how many people were sitting outside cafes, eating and drinking in all this squalor when there is no need. You don't have to go too far to find some decent places. Perhaps they just like that sort of thing. One group was having a selfie taken right next to an overflowing wheelie bin and a hole in the ground decorated with a circle of cones. I felt like asking if they knew Trafalgar Square was just up the street. I also find audience behaviour almost unbearable now. I don't pretend to be an expert in these matters, my interest in ballet is just that, an interest. I go when I want to see something and I either enjoy it or I don't and I can go for months and not see anything. But when I do go, I can at least be guaranteed to behave well and be considerate towards others. This subject has been discussed at length and in my opinion, it boils down to good manners. You either got 'em or you haven't and at the moment, too many haven't.

Yes, it was a Sunday evening performance and a one off as part of Irina's 2009 European Spring Tour and apparently, La Bayadere is Irina's favourite ballet. Not a lot of people know that.

Seen in the park this morning, a 'green spaces sanitation technician' or cleaner in plain language armed with his plastic sack and grabber, trying to pick up a small piece of plastic from the path. Like one of those amusements where you try and lift the gift with a special picker that is designed to drop at the last second, he tried this way and that to pick up the plastic but kept dropping it. Must've had all day! In the end, as he was wearing gloves and other protective clothing, I asked why not just pick it up with your hands? Apparently, he is not allowed to, he must use the grabber. If he were to injure himself etc.

I remember something like this in pantomime many years ago. One of the 'comedy' characters used to run at the audience brandishing a bucket of 'water'. It contained a sort of gel that would come out of the bucket and then sort of go back in. There was a knack in the throwing but it was very effective as everyone would scream and duck, expecting a soaking. I recall it came from a joke shop, something similar possibly to be found on line nowadays.

At least I sat in an aisle seat so I wasn't hemmed in on each side. The lack of leg room is really bad and I suppose gets worse the further along you go. I can't imagine what the situation is like in the seats marked as having restricted leg room or what it would be like to sit through a lengthy performance. I agree the BBC interview with Sylvie is well worth watching. She always comes across well, her obvious intelligence and humour make her very likeable. Deborah Bull is also a very adept interviewer, she asks good questions and actually listens to the answers. If only more interviewers could learn that skill, instead of being desperate to interrupt and get onto the next item or make it all about themselves. The two women seemed relaxed in each other's company and I wish I could have seen this interview before I saw the show, as it shed quite a bit of light on proceedings.

Fair enough. I don't want to labour the point, but do you think your not remembering well enough a couple of weeks on, may be down to the performance not having made much impression on you? Almost two weeks on now myself, I can barely remember any of it. Slightly off topic about the Coliseum. I sat in the front row of the dress circle, an expensive, treat seat. I was however, disappointed by the lack of comfort, particularly leg room and I am not particularly tall or wide. The ROH Grand Tier certainly wins the comfort stakes.

I would be interested to know what you might have written, if you feel like writing it now?

Sorry if this has already been mentioned. I just noticed on the ROH website that the role of The Actress in the forthcoming 'Cheri' will be played by Francesca Annis. Wow!! Alessandra Ferri and Miss Annis in the same production.

I also have the 'no sales people etc' sign in my window and clearly visible. Often though, such people knock and when I mention the sign, they affect not to have noticed it. I then point it out to them and say something along the lines of " Well, you have seen it now, good day to you". I then firmly shut the door. A friend of mine, who is a great mimic and plagued by these people, now has a bit of fun at their expense, by answering the door in whichever 'character' he feels appropriate. His best one is Brad Pitt in the film 'Snatch' but sometimes, he just stands and stares at the caller while saying nothing. The caller usually finds this sufficiently unnerving to clear off pretty quick.

I went to see Sylvie's final show at the Coliseum. I have only seen Sylvie live, in the latter part of her career and have tried to see as much of her as possible before the inevitable retirement. I would love to have seen her when she danced the classical roles, as I struggle to like much of the modern stuff. As Sylvie says in the programme notes though, she felt she had done all that, so why do it again. She didn't want the final shows to be the standard gala, bit of this and bit of that. While of course, that is her wish, for me the result was, in my opinion, only partially successful. She is a hugely charismatic dancer and riveting to watch, no matter what she does. It is hard to believe that someone who is so clearly still at the top of their game is giving it up. But as she also said, she wanted to do so why she still loved what she does and can give of her best. Amusingly, she adds that she has given a friend 'licence to kill', should she go on longer than she should, and she wanted to spare them the task. As for the four pieces on offer, the Khan presented some striking imagery but didn't amount to very much. For me, the best piece was Maliphant's Here & After. This was more varied, with interesting lighting, some beautiful movement by Sylvie and La Scala's Emanuela Montanari and that ingredient so often missing in modern dance - a sense of humour. Here & After followed Forsythe's DUO2015 for two male dancers. I gather this is a reworking of choreography originally for two female dancers. It was quite intriguing at first, but I am sorry to say the novelty quickly wore off and with a running time of around fifteen minutes, for me it was about five too long. There was also some incessant coughing from the audience throughout this piece, otherwise performed in almost total silence, which did not enhance the experience. Finally, we had Mats Ek's Bye. I first saw this as part of 6000 Miles Away at Sadler's Wells. I do not recall being particularly enamoured of it then. Its meaning is supposedly ambiguous, but with its leanings towards change, age, exploration and so on, it is an obvious choice for a farewell performance. I didn't really like it any more this time, but it did carry extra 'emotional' pull with being time to say au revoir to Sylvie. I do agree with reviews that have commented on what a low key and almost downbeat show this was. I understand, that much as I would have loved to see a dash of Raymonda or Manon along with the modern works, it was unlikely to happen. This was Sylvie's show and she did what she wanted. It just seems rather a pity that with the possible exception of Here & After, the pieces weren't really worthy of her. She has such a huge presence, I wonder, much like the Alessandra 'Ferri' dust sprinkled over Woolf Works, what these works would be like performed by somebody else. Even with Guillem they were wafer thin. Anyway, I think Sylvie would have been pleased with the audience reaction. She is clearly much loved. I hope she will be happy in whatever she decides to do next and I am very glad to have been lucky enough to see her in action. She is unique and people like her only come along very rarely. Apart from seeing Sylvie Guillem, I would also like to say it was a great pleasure meeting LinMM!

There is another of these 'trophy hunters' in the papers today, posing with her kill. In this instance a giraffe. Ludicrously, the 'huntress' describes the giraffe as a very dangerous animal, that can really hurt you. Yes, I expect if you invade its territory and threaten it, you can expect it to fight back. Not that it can put up much resistance against a powerful gun. I don't understand the mentality of people who can see a beautiful creature, be it a lion, giraffe, stag or whatever species and regard it as a target to be destroyed, then posed with and hung on a wall, so the killer can say look what I did, aren't I clever. Well, no you are not clever or even brave. These poor animals have no chance of escape or defending themselves. There is no contest and very often, as with Cecil, it isn't even a clean kill so adding to the poor animal's suffering. Despicable people. The story of Cecil is sad and his killer just another inadequate human being. I hope the story doesn't just fade away and that it might make people think more carefully about what is done in their name, some people of course, you will never get through to - and all the terrible cruelties we as humans, dish out to animals every day of the week, from shooting a defenseless, wild creature for fun or the horrors that go on in an abattoir and any number of other atrocities, most of which are hidden away so we don't have to think about them.

Apologies for the subject matter, but is it national nose picking day today? Just had to go on a long detour 'round the houses' as the main road is closed again, due to road works. I have never seen so many people going by in cars or just walking along the streets and picking their noses. Not just a discreet wipe either, but full on cavity exploration with 100% attention to detail. Absolutely disgusting.

A little tip that works for me - albeit not every time - as well as having a drink of water, I brush my teeth and get that nice fresh, minty taste that doesn't go well with food! As for salad, if you want a break from lettuce, substitute with raw spinach leaves, mix in some roughly chopped, oven baked chicken (still warm), some chopped, grilled bacon, cherry tomatoes, handful of pine nuts and a drizzle of olive oil. Give it a stir and eat. Nice!

The seating plan for the Coliseum has reappeared on the ENO website! I haven't changed anything on my laptop, perhaps they have changed their system again? Anyway, I am pleased it is back.

Well, this is weird. I had my packing dream again last night. Don't know where I was apart from in some sort of hotel. It was time to pack and although I had the usual loads of stuff, I had absolutely no trouble packing. There was plenty of room in my bag, almost like one of those bag tricks in reverse, where the magician can get an unfeasible amount out of a small bag, I was merrily piling it all in with room to spare, thinking this is easy, I usually can't fit it all in. I never really got to the bottom of the psychology of this dream as I used to dream it. None of the possible explanations seemed to fit. Now it has changed - perhaps for one night only though - I am none the wiser.

Talking of toasters, I got to work the other day and there was a terrible smell of electrical burning in the hallway. I asked a colleague about it who replied that she had noticed it too. Mmmm, no need to panic then. Anyway, I went into the kitchen where the smell was worse and somebody said it was the toaster. I looked at the toaster which was unplugged, cold to the touch and to my eyes completely innocent. I suspected it might in fact be the microwave, as there was smoke coming from it. So I switched it off and opened the door to find a box of incinerated chips. Nobody seemed remotely interested or concerned or to be the owner of the chips. I wondered if I had walked into a parallel universe. Keep calm and carry on!

As I recall, Sarah Lamb was going to dance Giselle in 2009, presumably this would have been her debut. Her Albrecht would have been Viacheslav Samodurov (spelling?) but both pulled out, I think due to injury. Certainly with Lamb as she broke her foot I believe. I remember this as I had a ticket for the matinee and in the end I saw Cuthbertson and Pennefather.

I was rather surprised to be paying £92.00 for a seat in the Stalls Circle for the Viscera matinee, but as tickets seemed to be disappearing before my eyes and I particularly wanted to see this bill, I just went ahead. I see it is largely sold out now. Last year, I paid £75.00 for a front row Grand Tier seat to see Winter's Tale, which is more in line with what I would expect to pay for a matinee of reasonable length. As I have said before, I don't go very often so when I do, I like a good seat with a clear view. But I did look twice at this Autumn's prices and wince a little.

Oh, thanks for that info. I decided to go ahead and get a ticket before I read your post. One hour 5 minutes huh? I assume there is no interval. Maybe I will get another ticket and see it again in the evening to make it worth the trip.

I was hoping for something in the region of my 'usual' seat in the Grand Tier, if not the seat itself, for the matinee of the Viscera bill. I have settled for similar in the stalls circle. I got in as early as I could but there wasn't much left. I will look out for returns nearer the time and see if I can do a swap. Anyway, at least I got something for my Autumn treat. No problems with the purchasing process. I hovered over Cheri as there seem - presently anyway - to be a number of seats. Haven't committed myself yet although I would love to see Alessandra Ferri again. Can anyone advise as to the running time and where is good to sit. I would guess the ticket prices indicate it is a shortish piece, but is that more because of the venue? Much as I love Miss Ferri, it is a long day of travelling for me and just not worth it for a short performance, whoever it may be. I agree it is quite stressful, tuning in to find out what is left of the pickings. Like Cavycapers, the answer would perhaps be to become a friend but the cost of that combined with living where I do, would make it pointless as I would not benefit from any of the perks other than early doors on ticket choice.

Your post was yesterday and now it is today so Happy 60th Birthday to you Bruce!!

Re: the earnings. My team would be employed on a no win no fee basis. At least we'd know where we stood from the off!

Same here. There is a large lay-by opposite our local hospital. It was very useful for parking if you were visiting the hospital for whatever reason and did not want to queue/pay to park in the grounds. At one point, there was a little florist stand there and a takeaway kiosk. Now there are two rows of double yellow lines along each side and the lay-by is obviously unused. What is the point of that, other than to stop what was perfectly legitimate free parking. Presumably they also considered the kiosk and florist a threat to the outrageously overpriced in-hospital versions.

I agree that mentally, Federer seemed to be 'elsewhere' yesterday. It was hard to believe this was the same guy we saw last Friday when he made mincemeat of Murray, but as Alison says, it would be impossible to recreate that sublime form, two days later. For me, the match was flat as a pancake apart from a brief revival in the tie break. The crowd was clearly partisan but the whole thing seemed leaden, not helped by the rain break. Federer was making so many mistakes, I have never seen him hit as many balls into the net, shots he could normally win in his sleep. I wanted him to win, partly because I don't much care for Djokovic, but it was apparent quite early on, this wasn't going to happen. Federer seemed absent, tired and just 'off'. Djokovic, like Serena Williams, was in it to win it and I don't think, short of some sort of divine intervention, anyone could have stopped them.

I am also glad Sharapova is out. The noise is irritating enough but I find her very robotic to watch. Usually I try and avoid her matches altogether. Apparently, she gets quite defensive when the subject comes up, so there is no likelihood of the problem being dealt with. She's not the only one but she is by far, the worst. The ladies' final should be interesting if the Spanish lady keeps her nerve and it isn't a complete wipe out. As for tennis players' requirements, I wonder if a paramedic should be added to the list after yesterday's fiasco in the ladies' semi, when the Polish team called the ball out incorrectly and effectively lost her the match. She may well have lost anyway but I felt so sorry for her. What a way to go. I would love to have been a fly on the wall in the changing room afterwards. I don't speak Polish but I imagine one could get the gist. Finally, and I am having a name blank today, the referee with the sexy voice is getting quite a following, so it is not sexist to mention it. I thought he sounded like Barry White the other day, when the score includes love, or lurve as he says it. Cool!