Things missed and done

Sad suck points include missing Messrs Flay and DeVille's cabaret and the Dark Fantasy Ball in Salisbury. Wonderful am win points include the reason we couldn't get to Salisbury; the date clashed with larians secret squirrel surprise, something he had booked months in advance.

Some chums know that for Valentines Sunday I arranged a little something for us: an afternoon at the Opera, Jonathan Miller's production of La Boheme at the Coliseum, with upper circle front row seats, and a little Bolly in the interval. I did not know at the time that larians had made a similar arrangment months before; it manifested on the night of March 6th, in the shape of a box at the Albert Hall from which to watch Carmen. Champagne and a dinner at the old Turkish Embassy followed, and I was very spoilt indeed.

I am not surprised at Carmen's claim to being the most popular opera of all time. She is The Bad Girl to beat all others, with her knife fights, manipulation and desperate need to make every man in town dream of banging her over a trestle table. For me, La Boheme peaks higher in terms of pathos and simply heart rending arias, but for vivacity and passion, Carmen is the winner; She's not on fire, she is fire, and my heart bled for poor silly Don Jose following her all the way down the road to perdition. Such fun though I find La Boheme more beautiful; for allure, Mimi or Musetta can't compete with the mighty gippo - who could, against all that flamenco fueled drama? - but in La Boheme, the combination of voice and note works more sweetly. It takes a lot to make me care about a seamstress embroidering flowers while whittering on about blooms in spring; but it works and I do.

There's always more; daisyanne was in the city, so we popped along to the Natural History Museum to see this:http://www.nhm.ac.uk/visit-us/whats-on/temporary-exhibitions/wpy/
Words fail me here. Suffice it to say this exhibition is £6.50 and it is the Best Thing. I am going back again before it ends.

And finally, Watchmen. Well, it's faithful, and perhaps a little long, but I really enjoyed it. There's lots about it that is good but Great in this movie is defined by one word: Rorschach.

And now.
We is shakin' out our pocketsez...an' they is empteeeeee.