Wednesday, November 12, 2014
Blackadder goes fourth at Neath Little Theatre (review)
Blackadder goes fourth at the Neath little theatre.
The set was very good, and the show consisted of three episodes of the the 1989 tv series. Captain Cook, Major Star, and Goodbyeee.
It's always difficult to put on a play based on a tv series, everybody knows the stars and the jokes and the stage show is always compared to the original, and inevitably there will be shortcomings.
The Neath little theatres show followed the episodes very closely, there were a few minor changes to accommodate the stage setting, but it didn't affect the story at all.
The cast did a good job, and from personal experience I know how hard Blackadder is on the cast, most of the lines are not normal conversation like other plays, it's more short monologues, so much harder to learn and remember, there were one or two small "fluffs" but again nothing major and the actors recovered well, and to be fair considering it's three episodes of hard going dialogue it was pretty damn good effort.
All in all a good evenings entertainment.
Waynes rating, it's impossible to rate fairly as I'm a fan of the original series and anything else no matter how well done will always be a poor companion. That said I enjoyed the evening and it was well done.
So well worth the £7 entrance fee.
It's all in the name!
It's all in the name... or is it?
Swiss rolls wern't invented by the Swiss (and neither was the cockoo clock, thats German)
Great Danes come from Germany originally not Denmark.
Goodyear tyres, Charles Goodyear the man who invented the vulcanization process died penniless 30 years before Goodyears tyres (started by Frank A. Seiberling) took over the name.
Buffalo Bill, or William Fredrick Cody never shot any buffalos, there wern't any in the USA, he shot Bison (Bison bison) which isn't even related to the Buffalo, or at least not for the last 6 million years.
Billy the kid, really named Henry McCarty (not Willian Bonney, that was an alias) and he wasn't called Billy either, just the Kid.
Monday, November 10, 2014
It must be Christmas... It's November!
Yes it must be Christmas, it's November and the bloody crap Christmas adverts have been on for days.
Why it's thought to be a good idea to ram really terrible boring Christmas adverts down our throats for two months baffles me. I mean do they really think we don't know Christmas is coming? Curiously it's turned up on the 25th December for as long as I can remember, and I'm pretty sure for a good while before I can remember.
The Christmas adverts always have huge tables groaning under the weight of tons of food (wonder if Ethiopian Christmas adverts have as much food?) theres always people with those ghastly Christmas jumpers, and theres always the same bloody awful Christmas songs playing. The same hideous songs they'll play in the supermarket for two months as well.
You can get a five bird roast in some supermarkets, (why does that make me think of premier league football players?) I'm going to ask my supermarket if the have one with swan, penguin, eagle, robin and albatross, bloody hell a breast anyone? I'd definitely need a bigger oven for that bugger!
Then theres the really rubbish overpriced crackers... Yes we all need a tiny one inch comb, or a plastic thimble, I don't think anyone has used a thimble in decades?, and how could we live without a 1p flimsy paper fire trap hat that'll tear as you try to put it on and make the bloody awful jumper look even worse.
The trouble is it actually puts people off Christmas, by the time December come we're all totally pissed off with the whole Christmas thing.
Still by December the 26th you be able to buy an Easter egg, cheaper than a turkey but it's crap if you stuff and cook it!
Why it's thought to be a good idea to ram really terrible boring Christmas adverts down our throats for two months baffles me. I mean do they really think we don't know Christmas is coming? Curiously it's turned up on the 25th December for as long as I can remember, and I'm pretty sure for a good while before I can remember.
The Christmas adverts always have huge tables groaning under the weight of tons of food (wonder if Ethiopian Christmas adverts have as much food?) theres always people with those ghastly Christmas jumpers, and theres always the same bloody awful Christmas songs playing. The same hideous songs they'll play in the supermarket for two months as well.
You can get a five bird roast in some supermarkets, (why does that make me think of premier league football players?) I'm going to ask my supermarket if the have one with swan, penguin, eagle, robin and albatross, bloody hell a breast anyone? I'd definitely need a bigger oven for that bugger!
Then theres the really rubbish overpriced crackers... Yes we all need a tiny one inch comb, or a plastic thimble, I don't think anyone has used a thimble in decades?, and how could we live without a 1p flimsy paper fire trap hat that'll tear as you try to put it on and make the bloody awful jumper look even worse.
The trouble is it actually puts people off Christmas, by the time December come we're all totally pissed off with the whole Christmas thing.
Still by December the 26th you be able to buy an Easter egg, cheaper than a turkey but it's crap if you stuff and cook it!
Photography related Christmas presents, some ideas.
If your into photography or your other half is here's a few present ideas for some things if they don't already have them
A tripod. The trick here is to get the balance right, you want it light enough to be carried around but sturdy enough not to wobble about in a slight breeze, remember there might be a few grands worth of camera on the top, you don't want it falling over or collapsing. Put the tripod all the way up in the shop and tap the top sideways, if it wobbles look for something stronger.
A "standard" lens. This is considered to be a 50mm lens for film and full frame cameras and a 30mm or 35mm lens for crop sensor cameras. These lenses are usually high quality and cheap, they are also usually "fast" lens like f1.8 or similar, so handy in low light. The 50mm 1.8 makes a good portrait lens on a crop sensor camera too. Usually around the £60-100 price range
A rain cape, these range in price from about £2 upwards, these are pretty much a nylon or plastic sleeve that goes over the camera and keeps the worst of the rain off. Note these are not fully waterproof, so use with care.
A waterproof compact camera, these start around the £40 mark and go up from there. These give the photographer the chance to take pics in places he/she would never risk their proper camera, is the sea or under a waterfall perhaps, or more lightly out in the pouring rain.
A flashgun, if your buying for a partner you'll need to check here what sort of flashgun is needed, theres lots of different makes and options. Sadly these are not cheap, your looking at about £50-60 as a starting price, but if your looking at a top of the range model your going to be paying a few hundred quid easily.
Spare batteries and memory cards, these can be fairly cheap and make good stocking fillers if you shop around online, but do check which type of card and battery is needed, they're all different, Canon is famously awkward with different batteries in different models for example.
Special lenses, if the photographer likes taking pics of certain things he/she might need a special lens, a long telephoto for sports or wildlife, a macro lens for close up's of bug and flowers (note a proper macro lens, many telephoto lens have the word macro in the title, a true macro lens will focus at half life size or closer) A perspective shift lens if the like architectural photography. You will need to check these as some photographers have preference for make and model, and the photographer will usually have a better idea of he/she actually needs.
Note the above lens ideas are not cheap, the start at a few hundred quid and go way way up from there, you can pay thousands for one lens.
A tripod. The trick here is to get the balance right, you want it light enough to be carried around but sturdy enough not to wobble about in a slight breeze, remember there might be a few grands worth of camera on the top, you don't want it falling over or collapsing. Put the tripod all the way up in the shop and tap the top sideways, if it wobbles look for something stronger.
A "standard" lens. This is considered to be a 50mm lens for film and full frame cameras and a 30mm or 35mm lens for crop sensor cameras. These lenses are usually high quality and cheap, they are also usually "fast" lens like f1.8 or similar, so handy in low light. The 50mm 1.8 makes a good portrait lens on a crop sensor camera too. Usually around the £60-100 price range
A rain cape, these range in price from about £2 upwards, these are pretty much a nylon or plastic sleeve that goes over the camera and keeps the worst of the rain off. Note these are not fully waterproof, so use with care.
A waterproof compact camera, these start around the £40 mark and go up from there. These give the photographer the chance to take pics in places he/she would never risk their proper camera, is the sea or under a waterfall perhaps, or more lightly out in the pouring rain.
A flashgun, if your buying for a partner you'll need to check here what sort of flashgun is needed, theres lots of different makes and options. Sadly these are not cheap, your looking at about £50-60 as a starting price, but if your looking at a top of the range model your going to be paying a few hundred quid easily.
Spare batteries and memory cards, these can be fairly cheap and make good stocking fillers if you shop around online, but do check which type of card and battery is needed, they're all different, Canon is famously awkward with different batteries in different models for example.
Special lenses, if the photographer likes taking pics of certain things he/she might need a special lens, a long telephoto for sports or wildlife, a macro lens for close up's of bug and flowers (note a proper macro lens, many telephoto lens have the word macro in the title, a true macro lens will focus at half life size or closer) A perspective shift lens if the like architectural photography. You will need to check these as some photographers have preference for make and model, and the photographer will usually have a better idea of he/she actually needs.
Note the above lens ideas are not cheap, the start at a few hundred quid and go way way up from there, you can pay thousands for one lens.
Sunday, November 9, 2014
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