Jacqueline

"If I did something wrong". Well, let's see. What could it be I wonder. Perhaps some of these players really need to get over themselves. There is pressure at the top of course, but it is after all, just a game, requiring one to be good at hitting a ball over a net with sufficient accuracy to win a point. Then repeat the process as many times as possible. If one gets really good, one will be very handsomely rewarded for this skill and be treated as some sort of heroic figure, as though one has achieved something of enormous importance.One's every utterance, no matter how banal will be received as though it is the most fascinating thought ever to be articulated. One will require a trainer, a coach, a physiotherapist, a dietitian, a psychiatrist, a designer of your sportswear, a P.R. office and any number of other staff. I would imagine after a while, one might lose sight of any sense of proportion and reality. Sometimes it must be a relief to get on court and play the tennis game. Only to have the disaster of one's towel not being ready. The outrage. One cannot believe one may have done something wrong, but one will apologize anyway, as it is good P.R. innit. Did anyone see Sue Barker 'interviewing' an American tennis player yesterday, whose name escapes me. I wondered what was going on, there was so much cringe inducing simpering and over the top laughing from her. I thought calm down dear, you are carrying on like a school girl.

I quite agree about Heather Watson. For me she has made watching women's tennis worth watching again and her match against Serena Williams was truly gripping. Miss Watson has all the talent and spirit to win Wimbledon and I look forward to seeing her achieve that in the future. Andy Murray too has that certain something on top of talent that makes somebody a deserving winner. I agree his early years left something to be desired behaviour wise but he was young and kind of unstructured. Now as well as being a superb player, he has maturity and comes across as a driven but essentially decent man. The main thing I remember about Tim Henman was that good though he could be, there was a point in his matches where you would see him peak and then wilt. However well he did, he just seemed unable to sustain it,then it was just a matter of time. He wasn't possessed of that killer instinct - not the same as being possessed by a killer instinct! - that overpowering desire to win. (Then again, Tim isn't a name I associate with killer instinct. No offence to all the Tims out there!) As I recall of Goran Ivanisovic when asked what motivated him to keep trying year after year, he said winning Wimbledon was his destiny. As for Wimbledon itself, I was reading about how difficult it is to become a ball boy/girl, with rigorous selection and training. I don't think I would have got very far with all that. Some players like the tennis balls rolled towards them, others thrown - carefully of course - at them, others prefer the balls to be placed directly on their racket and so on. Fancy getting it wrong!! If one of these overwrought prima donnas tossed their sweaty towel at me, I would leave it where it fell. That would be me out I suppose.

No, neither am I or the seemingly unavoidable,endless tedium of the Jeremy Clarkson saga. What's he said this time, what did he mean, who has he offended, he's only saying what we all think isn't he but only our Jezza can get away with it, what a lad he is. I found the programme quite unbearable the one time I watched it to see what all the fuss was about. Admittedly, I have little interest in cars apart from whether they go or not. But Top Gear just seemed to be an extended, extremely well paid jolly for three overgrown school boys with Jeremy as the leader and the other two, well, they were just the other two, doing their dream job playing 'adult' vroom vroom. Together with an enormous budget and a sycophantic audience to laugh along with their witless chattering. To think this is/was supposedly the show that allegedly kept the beeb afloat and now we have Chris Evans to look forward to. Really? This is only my opinion though, perhaps I just missed the point of it all. Millions of people loved it so I must be wrong. I don't mind being in the minority.

Why not? Or how about Tom Cruise? If he could play Jack Reacher who in the books, was a rufty tufty 6'8'' bruiser, Nureyev would be a doddle. Plus I understand Mr Cruise does all his own stunts and dancing when necessary, so they could save money on casting two people.

Yes, I like Ralph Fiennes, particularly his Onegin and English Patient period. His scenes with Kristin Scott Thomas in E.P. were riveting. I would imagine whatever he does will be thoughtful and sympathetic towards the subject. As Beryl says, impossible to capture the genius of Nureyev and nobody could replicate that fabulous smile. I was lucky enough to meet him once at the stage door of the Coliseum, after one of his Nureyev and Friends shows. When he appeared, he was wearing an unusual ensemble of a massive furry coat and if I remember correctly, a very large flat cap, of the Goodies Ecky Thump style. He signed some programmes and kept his head down. Nobody was speaking to him, it was all very reverent. Frankly, it could have been anyone under that hat. When it was our turn, my mother told him how much we had enjoyed the performance and how wonderfully exciting it was to meet him - or summat along those lines. Up came his head and he gave us a flash of that gorgeous smile. I have never forgotten it.

I still can't get the seating plan but there are some dates on the Coliseum/Kolesnikova page, saying who is dancing when, although it doesn't say who is dancing when Kolesnikova is not. Kimin Kim appears to be doing both matinees and Kolesnikova is not doing either of them. As for adding more dates, I am also surprised but my information as to ticket sales is somewhat out of date, given the website problems. I can't really understand why I can see all the info except seating. Why doesn't it just all work? Last time I could see, tickets for Bayadere were very slow as were the early Swan Lakes but that may have changed, not least because we are much closer to kick off. Out of personal interest, could anyone tell me how the tickets for Sylvie Guillem are going/or gone perhaps?

Can anyone help me with a problem I am having with the ENO website. I can get all the details of shows/dates etc but the seating plan comes up blank. I phoned the Coliseum and was told it was probably because I have an incompatible browser, possibly Firefox, which no longer works on their site. I could change my browser but as the current one works fine everywhere else, I don't want to mess things up just so I can get the Coliseum seating plan, delightful as it is, then find I can't get anything else. I am not terribly computer savvy so if anyone can give me a simple - and I mean simple! - solution, I would be very grateful. Thank you in advance.

Very true. Sometimes though, you can hear people constructing whole sentences using the 'f' word as subject, verb, adjective and so on. Their English teacher would be so proud. I know what you mean. Done properly, with a degree of wit, swearing can be very funny. It is the witless variety I object to, particularly sad when it comes from the youth of today. Are they showing off their verbal skills or is it just the norm? As for broken teeth, here on the Ballet.co Forum?? Who? Where?

Yes, crisps for breakfast apparently. Not on the in-house menu, hence the inverted commas. That's what he liked for breakfast, his mother told me. I think it was more a case of that's what he got. The fact he lined them up along the windowsills might have told her that's not what he liked, had she been interested. We all went to the park one winter's day, this time with the daddy who liked to show off what he thought were his parenting skills. I suggested to the little girl that it might be funny to tie daddy to the miniature train tracks. She thought this was a great idea but informed me, in all seriousness, that the little train doesn't run in the winter. As for casual swearing,it is unpleasant and frankly, tedious to have to listen to. So many people have such a limited vocabulary/imagination. It's the same with many comedians nowadays, if you take all the swearing out of the performance, the show would be last about 3 minutes, along with the number of them that use audience participation to fill up the running time. I was listening to an interview with an Irish comedian recently, of the 'old school' variety. He was asked what he thought of the seeming modern reliance on audience participation. He said they not only wouldn't have done it in his day, but if they had, they wouldn't have got away with it. He started off on the northern club circuit, where most of the audience were working people who were there to relax and be entertained, not be the show. He said he couldn't imagine asking somebody who had perhaps just finished a long, hard shift down a pit or at the steel works , what their name was and where they got their shirt. Heckling was another matter! Still, today's society is very different for all sorts of reasons and as the saying goes, you gotta give the people what they want.

Oh yes! She sure was. Just prior to this, she had had one of many bust ups with the boyfriend ( the one who wanted to come along for the christening ride ) over whether the relationship was on or off. At that particular point, for her it was off. He responded by going round to her place and kicking the front door in, then chasing her and what must have been two terrified children all over the house. Luckily, he then ran off and she and the kids came round here for safety and the night. The next morning, I returned from taking my dog out, to find the little boy had lined his 'breakfast' crisps up all along my windowsills. Then his sister was moaning about lumps in the strawberry jam on her toast. I explained that these lumps were what we call strawberries but she wouldn't eat it. Both kids had a habit of spitting out food they didn't like and walking round while eating, leaving half chewed things under furniture. They did not know how to sit at a table and eat properly or use cutlery. The boy then decided to hit my dog over the head with a can of pop, so it was time for them to go! I arranged for somebody to come and fix her front door and took the kids to school. She and I had a chat about what she was going to do next and I just knew she would take him back. Everything was always about her and what she wanted. I did feel sorry for those kids and sometimes wonder what became of them. It was partly the reason we agreed to be godparents as we thought maybe we could look out for them. But you can't make people act responsibly. She would have just moved on to the next person she thought she could use.

I was looking through the Sunday papers yesterday and came upon the interiors section. There was quite an eye catching vase featured and I wondered if it might not be the kind of item one might buy and then regret. I have made a few such purchases over the years and am now much more circumspect before handing over the cash. I used to get carried away mostly on holiday and fail to consider how a large camel carved in olive wood, exotic in Tunisian desert context, might look in the reality of an English semi. I also bought a pair of wooden clogs in my size, in Amsterdam. They were of the unpainted, natural look which I could imagine actually wearing to do the gardening, clogs being the original footwear of choice for agricultural workers I believe. They did not take kindly to the leaden clay soil of my garden! Anyway, I was just wondering if anyone has bought something they really wish they hadn't, even regretted it before they got it home and then been unable to return it for whatever reason. Perhaps wrapped it up and passed it on as a present?

Also other people's christenings. A few years ago we were invited to be godparents to two young children, whose parents were acquaintances of ours and were separated. We were surprised and flattered to be asked and agreed, despite some misgivings, not least the religious aspect. Anyway, as was typical of the mother in this case, all was not as it seemed. Next we heard was that it was the grandmother's wish for the children to be christened and she lived in Dorset, where it was intended the ceremony should take place. As we live in Derbyshire, this raised the question of transport. As the mother could not drive, it was decided that we would provide wheels for her, the children and ourselves. The grandmother ran a guesthouse but was not prepared to accommodate us - the godparents - as we have a small dog. We were obliged then, not only to travel some distance but also to find our own accommodation and pay for it. The mother then announced her boyfriend - who is not the father of the children - wanted to come along 'for the ride'. Next up she told us they wanted to stay a few extra days so she could see all her old friends. We were expected to stay on, because of course we were providing the transport! I told her she must surely be taking the proverbial but she thought I was being unreasonable. The final straw was when we again queried the details, little things like the church ceremony, responsibilities of being a godparent and so on. All the important stuff was already arranged as far as she was concerned, transport, accommodation, catering etc. It turned out the father of the children knew nothing about this whole event and we were told not to tell him if we saw him, as he would never have agreed to it. No way was I going to agree to that sort of deception and we pulled out. She was furious and could not understand why we felt as we did. We have not spoken since.

For clarity, regarding my comment about London 'currently being home' to both Ferri and Guillem, I was referring to the fact that both dancers are appearing in London theatres at this time. I felt it interesting to be able to compare and contrast these two uniquely talented women. Close in age, one about to retire from dance and the other returning to the stage. I presume London is their home for the duration although I understand Miss Ferri lives in America and Miss Guillem mainly in Switzerland.

Victoria coach station, what a dump. Coach got in yesterday about 10.30am, I followed the signs round to the ticketing area where I could top up my oyster card, only to find myself at the back of a queue of about 70 people and only two desks open out of about 12, I didn't count them! On a Saturday morning in London! There didn't appear to be any self service machines and nobody to ask. I didn't have time to mess about so I walked all the way back to the information desk where luckily, the guy knew there was a shop in The Colonnade shopping parade across the road, where I could top up. As I was waiting to cross the road, about three Number 11 buses passed me by and I thought why on earth can you not just get on a bus and buy a ticket anymore? Anyway, I found the shop where there was a very helpful woman behind the counter and no queue, topped up my card and walked to the nearest bus stop. I will remember that in future and it may help anyone who travels in that way. The shop is called Bradfords and it is a sort of gift/food/general shop. London was also looking particularly filthy yesterday. There was litter all the way along Park Lane and all over in general. The place looked really shabby, don't they bother with the flower beds anymore. This is a capital city for crying out loud. Some places the coach goes through, you just look out the window in horror. I was talking to my Swedish friend about this and remembering how clean and well cared for Stockholm was when I went there. She said even that has its moments as does any city, but why is London and so much of England so dirty?

I attended the matinee yesterday, I admit more to see Alessandra Ferri than the work itself. She did not disappoint, I found her mesmerizing and beautiful. She really has the most extraordinary presence and expressiveness, even in the smallest of gestures or just standing still. I never saw her live before but it was worth the wait. I had decided not to read up too much in advance, other than what I already know about Virginia Woolf, which admittedly is not a great deal. I found myself sitting next to a knowledgeable lady over from Sweden for the performance, who gave me a brief rundown of what I should know and also showed me a quote from V.W. she had had tattooed on her arm. Which was nice. She was also staying in a b&b which is the house where V.W. was born I think. So she was going for the whole experience! Anyway, I enjoyed the first piece, I found it interesting to watch although it did remind me a little of the Brandstrup last autumn. Federico Bonelli was a wonderful partner for Ferri, they looked very comfortable together.I found some of the programme notes, which I read afterwards, to match my own thoughts on Miss Ferri and everything she brought to the performance. Both she and McGregor comment about age and using a dancer in her 50's, with all the experience and 'baggage' she brings. As I was watching her, this feeling came over very strongly, that she is of a certain age - my age - and I felt able to relate to that. I also thought her presence and this facet of it, gave the production a certain gravitas it might not otherwise have and possibly doesn't deserve, but that is just my opinion Programmes were apparently in short supply, as mentioned earlier. There was a sign up saying this was due to 'unprecedented demand' and the shop had none. They were however, available for ticket carrying patrons in the usual places and a steward told me the shortage was due to the ticket sales having been very slow to start. The number of programmes produced is calculated according to ticket sales and initially, it looked as though they may only need about three boxes. Then of course, sales took off but they could not re - order in time so supplies were being rationed. I have been reading through it this morning and found it more interesting than expected. It also has some lovely photographs and not too much pretentious filler. Meanwhile, onto Becomings. I afraid I became bored with this piece rather rapidly. After a promising start, with Osipova taking the breath away with her incredible agility and speed, I though perhaps we were really onto something new but for me at least, we were soon back in Wayne's World of familiar tics, twitches and funny walks. I found it repetitive and the lasers/lighting although clever, did nothing for me. The whole thing certainly had a look of pots of money being thrown at it but I was glad when it was over and I don't want to see it again. I felt I had seen it all before anyway, a million times. Tuesday was pleasing if again, a little repetitive. I was sitting in the Grand Tier and after a while I had to look away from the waves film, as its slowness of movement was making me feel a bit queasy. It may have been better as a full backdrop rather than above their heads, but as has been said, the effects look different according to where one sits and it is all a matter of perception. Again, Ferri and Bonelli were lovely together. I liked it but it didn't move me. But that may be because I am not easily moved. I think Ferri deserved every moment of the applause and that as she is the 'star', there was nothing strange about her taking the first curtain call. It would have been odd not to. This is Alessandra Ferri, she is indeed a legend! I was wondering why there were no flowers,first time I can recall nobody getting a bouquet. Just a few thoughts to wrap,I don't want to bore everyone stiff. From what I can remember of the score, it reminded me of The Winter's Tale in that for me,despite being a big feature it was unmemorable and what I can remember, mostly from Becomings, it was not something I want to hear again. I think the first and third parts work, but as said earlier, much of that is due to the presence, literally and metaphorically of Miss Ferri. All three parts could stand alone. Becomings also reminded me of Eonnagata, a place for it might be found on the same shelf. I felt the two have some similar features. Interesting that London is currently home to both Guillem and Ferri, two extremely different dancers but fascinating to compare careers and styles. As a footnote, my new Swedish friend recommended that I watch the film Orlando starring Tilda Swinton and I advised her to try Romeo and Juliet with Ferri and Wayne Eagling.

Sorry if this is a really stupid question, but what historic ROH lamps should I be looking out for and why are they of interest? Also, what is that thing for that looks like an old fashioned telephone receiver, hanging over the auditorium near the curtain? I have very much enjoyed reading the comments/reviews of Woolf Works and am looking forward to seeing it for myself on Saturday. Anyone else going to the matinee?

So you were right to say something, having tried to give them the benefit of the doubt. If they want to whisper and generally express themselves in a playground stylee, that's what the lavs are for. Maybe they will ask for a transfer back to their little mates so they can all whisper together. What did they actually do/say when you mentioned things? Was it a Vicky Pollard moment?

The seat prices range from £15 - £55. The premium seats are £75 and the V.I.P. Experience is £114.00, for which as mentioned, you get the meal, seat, program and 'warm welcome'. As well as the booking fee at 5%, there is a £1.00 charge for postage. Way hay!! There is a booking fee at the Coliseum or was it because I booked over the phone, can't remember without looking on their site or somebody here being able to tell me. Can't remember if I paid postage either. The cost of the ticket itself was eye watering but for what it is and where it is, about what I expected.

Have just been perusing the ticket arrangements at Birmingham Hippodrome. The top price seat is £114.00 which will give one what they call the V.I.P. Experience. I was amused to read that amongst other things such as a meal, a program and an excellent seat, one will receive a 'warm welcome' on arrival at the venue. Is this different to a standard welcome, do you get a hug? I would expect some sort of welcome, wherever I choose to sit, more than a tilt of the head in the general direction of my seat. For £114.00, I expect a horse and carriage outside my house. I agree the tickets are pretty pricey and with a 5% booking fee on top. Having said that, I splurged on a seat for Sylvie at the Coliseum in August. There have been quite a few returns for Sadler's Wells in the last week or so, but a good seat there isn't very much cheaper than similar at the Coliseum for this show. Both are expensive for what will probably be a fairly short performance. Anyway, it is Sylvie's last do before retirement and I feel I should be there, so I can say I was there. I get the impression it really is the final curtain and there will be no Sylvie - the comeback stadium tour. Still, who knows.

Well, for what it's worth this is my opinion. On the one hand, you have been used to having the space to yourself, so the intrusion into what was 'your' space, is probably unwelcome. You need relative quiet to concentrate and suddenly you are being to subjected to what must be one of the most irritating noises known to man - that of whispering. Whatever they are whispering about, it is very rude and intrusive on your space. I think of how annoying it is in the theatre. Sometimes you feel like asking the offenders to just speak at a normal pitch, say whatever they feel they need to say and then please be quiet. I can see why proximity to the manager's office and his radar tabs might encourage the whispering but when there is a third person in the room i.e. you and you are being excluded albeit for no particular reason, but it is distracting you from your work, then you are entitled to say something. It needn't be confrontational, after all I am sure we have all worked with people who are hyper - sensitive to anything that could possibly be interpreted as a tiniest hint of merest criticism, even if it isn't meant that way. I used to work with a 'professional' cryer. As the office layout is fairly new, you could suggest something along the lines of it isn't really working for you - you could even do it David Brent style by musing about the work related arena - make a light remark about how they don't need to whisper if they are discussing relevant office business. The boss won't concern himself about that. But the whispering is hugely distracting to somebody trying to do a job that requires intense concentration and as you are sharing an office now, you would be most grateful if they could stop. If they are otherwise nice, they should respond positively. Perhaps they are concerned that they are disturbing you by talking, not realising how much more annoying whispering can be. Failing that, come in to work with an enormous pair of bright yellow ear plugs.

Well, the big day is upon us and the question must be 'Woolf Works', is it any good? I am intrigued and can't wait to find out. I really want it to be good, not least because I have bought a ticket for a performance later in the run but for the sake of everyone in it. Anyone going tonight, please post a review as soon as you can.

I tuned in at 6 am and found it, finally, quite exciting. It reminded me of the Monty Python election sketch where the result was pretty much as predicted, except the other party won. We don't seem to have had any interesting candidates or any clear policy about anything here. The talk seems to have been mostly about fighting for the ordinary people ( who they anyway? how do you define ordinary? ) and the usual delivering of things ( unspecified but you will be out anyway, so it doesn't matter ) moving forward, a bit more fighting and filling in the potholes - maybe. Certainly nothing about the arts. But if you read the local rag, it is clear the fighting is very popular!

It is to do with Katherine being a commoner. Whereas William was born royal and is a prince, Katherine is only a princess by marriage.She would be known as Princess William, much like Princess Michael of Kent. When/if Prince William becomes Prince of Wales, Katherine will be Princess Katherine of Wales as Diana was Princess Diana of Wales along with all the other titles. This title takes precedence over all the others. As I understand it, Camilla is currently Princess of Wales but for obvious reasons, she is not known by that title. So, Katherine is by marriage, a princess, it is her top title and as such her occupation. But she is known as Duchess of Cambridge rather than Princess William and I can't really blame her. Please don't quote me on this as it is all from memory and I didn't check any of the facts before I posted.

According to a well known daily rag, one should never name a baby 'Alan'. Especially if it is a girl I suppose.

I may be wrong but I took Cavycaper's remarks re:Cojocaru's feet literally, rather than as criticism of her artistry. Alina Cojocaru is one of my all time favourite dancers but her feet are not her best physical feature. I don't know if it is because of her shoes or the shape of her feet but the result particularly en pointe distorts the line. Hence she could not be described as having pretty feet. I haven't seen her dance for sometime so do not know if this is still the case. Anyway, just my opinion.