Surprise Birthday 9 Mar

9th March 2013: I (DNC) and Henry went to the Forest v Wolves game and when we got back I was expecting about 4 people to turn up at 630pm. But there was a text from Desmond to ask about the score, and a minute later, the knock on the door and ….. it was Desmond, Daphne and Kathy! All had planned in secret. And then, loads of other people turned up!



The three Cole siblings, in March 2013!


IMG_0256


Maureen, Adrian, Glyn and Desmond


Carol, Auntie Sheila and Daphne


Barney seems unfazed by all the people, and unafraid of all the feet likely to walk on him!


Foreground: Kathy, Hugh McC. Background: Daphne, Henry, Karina W, Francis McC, Sophie, Mark W, Garth


Another angle on the group: Daphne, Henry, Francis McC, Karina W, Mark W and Sophie


Foreground: Hugh McC, Kathy, Desmond. distance: Judith G and Sally


Sophie, Judith and Glyn G, Sally, Kathy


Three siblings


Three siblings


Family joy


Not forgetting Barney

Earlier in the day, we all went to Belle and Jerome, with Sophie and Henry

Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo

9 February 2013: We went to the Theatre Royal for a performance by the Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo - who are actually a New York based troupe of all-male ballet dancers - slightly satirising traditional ballet, but finish up astonishing and delighting the audience with true virtuosity (also proving that male dancers can stand on their toes!). We went with Adrian and Maureen Harms.
See http://www.trockadero.org/

24 Nov 2012: Oh dear, It has been a long time since my last posting in May and we have done so much, including our holiday in Limoges in August. Maybe I should go back and fill in some gaps!

Don Giovanni from the Opera North website

We went to the Theatre Royal to see Mozart's Don Giovanni, by Opera North. The music is always good, and we quite enjoyed the innovative staging, the metaphor of the puppet show, the historically mixed costumes and even the 'pig' scene later.
Opera North page about the production
Interview with Claire Wild, the soprano who plays Zerlina.
As a little story, we turned up to the Theatre exactly a week earlier and were escorted to our seats by the usher, but found them full. The lack of an orchestra was a clue. We had come a full week too early and were about to watch 'Horrible Histories'!

Food and Drink at Hardwick

27 May 2012: The Sunday after a week of continuous sunshine, I went to do time on the Sharphill work party in the morning, clearing undergrowth from around some newly planted infant-trees, mostly on the fringes of the wood. 

The Peveril Solar house, seen from the pathway up to Sharp Hill. A sea of yellow rapeseed flowers.

 Sharphill wood is typical Nottinghamshire forest, with sunny glades and not overcrowded trees. This doesn't come totally naturally, work has been done on cutting out invasive species. I wish people wouldn't be so hard on Sycamore, but the argument is that a strong non indigenous species drives out the older species.

 We took the M1 up to Hardwick Hall, to see the Derbyshire Food and Drink festival 2012. Very well organised and attended, and plenty of stalls with food to graze from. Where did all the money go! :)
In this picture, there was an impressively shiny Airstream caravan as a coffee bar.

Rose birthday at Hebden Bridge

6th May 2012: We travelled to Yorkshirt, to take part in Sally's sister Rose's birthday celebration. It was at La Perla in Hebden Bridge, and a fine time was has by all - great food and a superb band.

The band 'Mean Business', originally called Doris and the Dinner Ladies. Excellent all round, the brass, the vocals, drumming and guitar. A great repertoire too.

 Rose and Paul in the foreground. MB really got people up and dancing!

Paul makes a small speech at the start to wish Rose a happy birthday. Thanks for organising such a splendid birthday party!

See below for some links to Youtube for some of the music.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IN1sA61Gdko

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQ6pMVoqy00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fOOA__CGXOo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mGi9Nzpv3Zg

One amusing observation: we stayed at the White Lion in the centre of Hebden Bridge. We have heard the 'urban myth' that HB is the 'gay capital' of Yorkshire.... well, perhaps that is right. The TV in the hotel room was only able to tune into two stations. Channel 1 and 2 which should be BBC were Gay Rabbit1 and Gay Rabbit2 !!
Something needs to be done about the 3G reception there! It was a relief to get back to Nottingham and some good phone reception. 

Mary Shelley

28 April 2012: We had dinner with the Harms and went on to the Nottingham Playhouse for the play Mary Shelley, by Helen Edmundson. Very powerful and moving, and urged me to read up on the true story. Mary Shelley is famous as the writer of Frankenstein (at the age of 18). People with such powerful and creative minds always seem destined to suffer tragedy. On the face of it, Shelley seems to be in the wrong, seducing and eloping with an infatuated teenager... but without it, some great literature might never have been created. Its possible to find the entire text of Frankenstein on line, and the other books if you look a bit harder.

Find out more:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Shelley

http://people.brandeis.edu/~teuber/shelleybio.html

Here's the site from the theatre company Shared Experience, about their production of Mary Shelley.

Tall Building Students visit

3 April 2012: The term has ended, and we took the earliest opportunity to have a social gathering. Most of the Tall Building studio made it over to our house in West Bridgford for an extended lunch. As usual, everybody brought a little something to eat, so there was plenty to go around. Some of the students are looking forward to a New York field trip. Everybody is relieved to have got past the end of term crit. There are a few weeks now to recharge batteries, think about dissertation, and reflect on ways to advance the design project.

 Veronica, Phil, Sayali, Rishika, Zuzar, Udayan

DNC, Wezha, Ronssi, Noura, Deepika, Pelin and Alejandro