AnneMarriott

I had the same miserable experience of the vanishing tickets, over and over again! I didn't get anything I wanted and have now given up on the telephone after constantly redialling since 10.15. So we shan't be seeing Osipova in Giselle or Morera & Co. in Rhapsody unless we can pick up something from the Ticket Exchange nearer the time. Oh, it's sad to be poor ...

To all of you who wish to declutter, a cry from the heart: please don't palm your decluttered items on to someone else. My late father spent the last few years of his life inflicting things he no longer had a use for (chipped vase, decrepit kitchen gadget, hideous tablecloth, collection of DIY magazines, moth-eaten jacket) on friends and relations. Such was his insistence that most of us felt obliged to accept these unwanted offerings, thus adding to our own clutter. In the end I stopped arguing, accepted the "gift" and consigned it to the dustbin, praying that he would not ask to see it on one of his rare visits.

I think it's not so much physical similarity as musical and emotional empathy that matters. Of the pairings I saw, Bussell and Cope were perfectly matched in many respects but not such a sparkling partnership as Rojo and Cope. I'm sure there are many other examples ballet.co-ers can recall. Yes, Guillem and Cope.

Any of the traditional enemies of the U.K. - there are plenty to choose from!

Well, rather the Canadians than some other nationalities I could think of ...

Advance booking for ordinary Friends opened today. For the first time ever there were absolutely NO stalls circle standing tickets either online or on the phone for ANY of the performances! Looks as if we shall have to invest in a horizontal periscope if we're to see anything of the stage from bench seats practically in the wings... Did anyone else have any luck?

Here, here Alison. My local Tesco has a Krispy Kreme franchise on the ground floor and the aroma wafts up the travelator. Instant nausea. I have actually eaten one, not because of the aroma, but because my other half bought some. I didn't like it at all - sickly sweet with a sort of oily chemical aftertaste. Traditionally-spelled doughnuts are delicious, particularly the jam ones. Leave them alone, KK and DD!

By coincidence I caught part of a television programme about just this sort of scam. Apparently if you click on the link and carry out the instructions (e.g. enter your password) the perpetrators can use your details to send out bogus begging emails to all your contacts. Your contacts may then send money to "help you get back from Outer Mongolia" or somewhere else where you have tragically been mugged and lost all your money, passport, mobile phone etc. And of course the scammers could also make purchases or, I presume, steal your identity for all sorts of nefarious purposes. Follow Victoria Page's advice at No. 5 above - and the same goes for any other bank account, credit card account or anything else which has been "suspended", "access-limited" or "upgraded".

Birmingham Royal Ballet's version by Sir Peter Wright is the best, as Janet McNulty said. The Royal Ballet's version is also by Sir Peter and is next best. I recommend either. Don't know Birmingham's dates but RB runs from 4 December to 16 January. But be quick - tickets for Nutcracker sell fast!

And this (the one I meant to give! - hope it works this time)

Have a look at this:

Well I'm not sure Tsiskaridze deserves any more deference than any other dancer, and he was described as a megastar, amongst other less flattering epithets. And I don't think his coveting of Filin's job is exactly a state secret. Other Bolshoi dancers who have been praised by the critics have been described on this website as "expressionless contortionists". Now THAT's rude!

Don't bank on it (speaking as a Stalls Circle Standing pensioner...)

Ditto!

Wonderful - my laugh-out-loud moment of the year. Thank you, Ian!

Agree it was a smooth experience, which is good. Sadly stalls circle tickets for R & J and Don Q were conspicuous by absence in all except the top few price bands, both online and on the phone. Guess I'll have to do battle with public booking or hope for some returns!

Aileen, I've had experience of mother cats withdrawing affection from their weaned kittens, sometimes really quite aggressively. I think it's pretty normal. But the weirdest scenario was one kitten who continued to suckle up to the age of 18 months - the mother cat had several litters and actively "called" her adult daughter to feed amongst the new kittens. I tried to stop it, without success and the problem only resolved itself with the sad death of the mother under the wheels of a car.

A few (very few) tickets available on the ROH website for a couple of dates. Anyone still looking, be quick!

More tickets available for all dates!

Thanks, Minder - just got two tickets!

Whether they should or not is clearly a matter of opinion. But they might possibly feel that staying away is a more civilised, and even a more effective, way to demonstrate a degree of dismay at the parlous state of affairs at the Bolshoi than slashing tyres or countenancing acid attacks. I'm with those who hesitated before booking for the London tour but decided in the end to do so.

At exactly 10.00 am everything was sold out online for Hansel and Gretel except for three tickets for one of the dates, but when I clicked on "Buy" they had already gone! However I managed to get a couple of tickets by phone - it's always worth trying the phone if you can't get anything online (but you do have to keep redialling and then wait in a long queue!). Good luck with public booking and if all else fails keep looking at the ticket trade forum nearer the time.

My thoughts exactly. Saw the first night and yesterday's matinee and went from quite liking it but thinking it a little too long to loving it and not wanting it to end. Not so sure about the Wheeldon - went from quite liking to not really liking it that much, but there were two casts so perhaps a third viewing will help.

I sympathise. We have a similar, but less tricky cul-de-sac situation where we live - too many cars and not enough garages. There's an unspoken understanding that we'll all park outside our own houses, but people with two cars and no garage obviously need more room than their own frontage allows. Although it's irritating, your difficult neighbour is right - he can park where he likes, unless there's some obscure bylaw or covenant to the contrary. Since his attitude has already made itself plain there's little you can do but grit your teeth and hope that he will become more neighbourly in time. Please don't be tempted into indulging in a tit-for-tat battle - you'll almost certainly come off worse. Best to ignore it and try not to let it upset you - it's bad for the health - and he may get bored and stop being provocative. Or you could try the neighbourly approach - perhaps he has a nice wife you could chat to? or little acts of kindness like taking in parcels for him might make him see that consideration for others makes life more pleasant than selfishness. If all else fails, just remember what a sad individual he must be!

Same here, Ian. I tried several times, but gave up too.