Where are you going tonight?

[thebish]

Me? My daughter's bed. She's sleeping in mine, before I hear anything Friztl about me. She has a chest infection, she's sleeping in our bed to keep her night's sleep undisturbed, and for the second night running, I'm taking one for the team.

This after I haven't left the house all day due to tending to her. At the busiest time of the school term for my company - the holidays, which is a massive moneyspinner.

The short term welfare of my children far outweighs the potential long term risk of making them homeless. At least I can compensate the latter by working harder.

surely it's your missus who is "taking one for the team" - you get a good nights undisturbed sleep while she shares a bed with a rasping, snuffling, coughing, restless child!

anyway - hope she's better soon - then you can send her out to work and pay the mortgage...

I told you - I didn't go into my bed!

Plus, the bed I slept in isn't any longer than a sofa - it's a child's bed, so I was scrunched up all night.

yes - you got a good nights undisturbed sleep in a single bed - ie - not sharing with the spluttering daughter!

(anyway - don't kid us KB - from my memory, you're not THAT tall! )

[KeeeeeeeBaaaaaaab]

Me? My daughter's bed. She's sleeping in mine, before I hear anything Friztl about me. She has a chest infection, she's sleeping in our bed to keep her night's sleep undisturbed, and for the second night running, I'm taking one for the team.

This after I haven't left the house all day due to tending to her. At the busiest time of the school term for my company - the holidays, which is a massive moneyspinner.

The short term welfare of my children far outweighs the potential long term risk of making them homeless. At least I can compensate the latter by working harder.

surely it's your missus who is "taking one for the team" - you get a good nights undisturbed sleep while she shares a bed with a rasping, snuffling, coughing, restless child!

anyway - hope she's better soon - then you can send her out to work and pay the mortgage...

I told you - I didn't go into my bed!

Plus, the bed I slept in isn't any longer than a sofa - it's a child's bed, so I was scrunched up all night.

yes - you got a good nights undisturbed sleep in a single bed - ie - not sharing with the spluttering daughter!

(anyway - don't kid us KB - from my memory, you're not THAT tall! )

I'm 5 foot 9.

The bed's 4 1/2 foot long. That ain't fun.

To be honest, it's not the spluttering during the night - she just wheezes. It sounds like she's snoring as loud as a Klaxon. It's loud, but it's not the sort to keep anyone up. And the restlessness/wriggling - it's easier in a double bed, so she's not disturbing Mrs K as much as you'd expect. Thankfully she's getting better, but coupled with the sudden announcement our childminder was stopping with immediate effect due to being diagnosed with cancer, the poor Kebabling isn't having the best of deals right now.

[thebish]

nor the childminder by the sound of it!

(shortarse!)

(snoring as loud as a klaxon WOULD keep me up!)

[William the White]

To the Octagon, for Love on the Dole. After the total turkey at the Royal Exchange on Wednesday I'm looking forward to going to a real, high quality theatre once more.

[William the White]

To the Octagon, for Love on the Dole. After the total turkey at the Royal Exchange on Wednesday I'm looking forward to going to a real, high quality theatre once more.

This is brilliant. A very moving production, but with lots of humour also.

Clare Foster even manages to cap her brill performance in Streetcar with what may be the most superbly judged performance this role has ever had. All the women are outstanding - Thacker does it again. The men are less on the button, but still fine.

Quality theatre. Outstanding.

[clapton is god]

Just in time there William. Setting off to see this in about 45 minutes. Sounds good!

[William the White]

Just in time there William. Setting off to see this in about 45 minutes. Sounds good!

Be interested to see if you share my real admiration for this production... Esp the women!!!

[Bruce Rioja]

To the Octagon, for Love on the Dole. After the total turkey at the Royal Exchange on Wednesday I'm looking forward to going to a real, high quality theatre once more.

This is brilliant. A very moving production, but with lots of humour also.

Clare Foster even manages to cap her brill performance in Streetcar with what may be the most superbly judged performance this role has ever had. All the women are outstanding - Thacker does it again. The men are less on the button, but still fine.

Quality theatre. Outstanding.

Not a chance. I'm there on Friday (hopefully) and really looking forward to it.

[clapton is god]

To the Octagon, for Love on the Dole

A top class production from first scene to last with a real real sense of local history.

Yet again the Octagon gets the set design spot on. The auditorium is surrounded by a perimeter of smoking factory chimneys, a skyline that I well remember from my youth and one that remained across the region until Fred got to work (but more of him later in the season!).

Yes William, you are correct when you say the women members of the cast take the honours from this one, but perhaps they simply have more stage time. I thought Mrs Dorbell was perhaps the pick of them and, again, I remember lots of her in my neighbourhood when I was no'but a lad on Vernon Street where I grew up. How Susan Twist transformed herself into Mrs Dorbell I do not know!

I thought Mrs Hardcastle was underplayed. Her reaction to the news her young son brought her was surprisingly subdued and didn't reflect the shame that I think went hand in hand with that news at that time. However, Mr Hardcastle played that just right, I thought and I also thought he gave the performance of the night in the final scene when he fell apart and showed us some real shame.

This is the fourth time I've seen Kieran Hill now. I like him a lot! This was perhaps the weakest role I've seen him in but he played what he had and was very good at it. I look forward to seeing him again.

Clare Foster? Wow! You are spot on William. A really powerful performance and no doubt she stole the show. Lots of grimacing from her when angry and lots of that thing she does where she leaps forward to make a point. I do like an angry redhead.

Was this a Streetcar topper? Not in my book and Streetcar remains my favourite production of the season so far, which surprises me given the local flavour of Love on the Dole. The former left more of an impact on me than this production.

Don't get me wrong though, I loved it, and I'm sure Bruce will too. Almost a full house. I saw a family of six were the last to arrive and take their seats just a second or two before the lights went down and that family disappeared at the end of act two. Perhaps they didn't hear the announcement that there would be two intervals and thought that was it And for the first time ever in my experience someones mobile went off and they had to do the walk of shame to the exit. She didn't come back either.

[William the White]

Last night at the Bridgewater Hall for a concert of 20th century Eastern European music - Shostakovitch King Lear Suite was magnificent; Bartok's Violin Concerto was very well played but puzzling; Rachmaninov's 3rd Symphony was played with gusto but is far from a great work - moments of real grandeur, some excitement, some sentiment and no real sense of transition between them.

But I'm still enjoying my return to classical music.

[thebish]

I was part of a three-choir concert on Friday night in Germany. My choir comes from Dagenham - the town has been twinned with Witten for 50yrs - as, indeed, has a town in Russia - Kursk.

so - to celebrate - a three choir festival...

anyway - just to say, the Russian choir was hands-down the best - and (William) - if you have not sampled the glory of Russian choral music - then it is a rich seam to explore..

they usually sing acapella - mixed male and female - and (famously) with impossibly low bass sounds - basso profundo - which has to be heard live to be believed!

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and this is my tonic for getting beaten by Liverpool... Orthodox music bleeds pathos and the crushing life of an oppressed people...

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[TANGODANCER]

Last night at the Bridgewater Hall for a concert of 20th century Eastern European music - Shostakovitch King Lear Suite was magnificent; Bartok's Violin Concerto was very well played but puzzling; Rachmaninov's 3rd Symphony was played with gusto but is far from a great work - moments of real grandeur, some excitement, some sentiment and no real sense of transition between them.

But I'm still enjoying my return to classical music.

I'll forgive you Rimskakorsikov (bit too early), but no Borodin?

[TANGODANCER]

[quote="thebish"]I was part of a three-choir concert on Friday night in Germany. My choir comes from Dagenham - the town has been twinned with Witten for 50yrs - as, indeed, has a town in Russia - Kursk.

so - to celebrate - a three choir festival...

anyway - just to say, the Russian choir was hands-down the best - and (William) - if you have not sampled the glory of Russian choral music - then it is a rich seam to explore..
they usually sing acapella - mixed male and female - and (famously) with impossibly low bass sounds - basso profundo - which has to be heard live to be believed!

No quips this time. That was lovely.

[William the White]

Stunning thebish...

I have some Russian liturgical music (on cassette!) and agree with your comments about its spiritual centre...

I presume you know Thomas Tallis' amazing Spem in Alium...

A you tube offering that I like - gives it real drama...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ncsqIe-S ... re=related

[Bruce Rioja]

Just booked my Love on the Dole tickets for tomorrow evening, and get this - I could only score two together for on the balcony, on a Wednesday

[William the White]

Just booked my Love on the Dole tickets for tomorrow evening, and get this - I could only score two together for on the balcony, on a Wednesday

Can't say you weren't warned...

Enjoy... you will... Got some good socialist speeches in it...

[Bruce Rioja]

Just booked my Love on the Dole tickets for tomorrow evening, and get this - I could only score two together for on the balcony, on a Wednesday

Can't say you weren't warned...

Enjoy... you will... Got some good socialist speeches in it...

True enough, Will, but theatre-buddy suffered a family bereavement last week.

Aye, I'm preparing myself for the guff.

[William the White]

Just booked my Love on the Dole tickets for tomorrow evening, and get this - I could only score two together for on the balcony, on a Wednesday

Can't say you weren't warned...

Enjoy... you will... Got some good socialist speeches in it...

True enough, Will, but theatre-buddy suffered a family bereavement last week.

Aye, I'm preparing myself for the guff.

Did you enjoy, Bruce?

[hisroyalgingerness]

To watch Jason Manford in Dirtburn

[Bruce Rioja]

Just booked my Love on the Dole tickets for tomorrow evening, and get this - I could only score two together for on the balcony, on a Wednesday

Can't say you weren't warned...

Enjoy... you will... Got some good socialist speeches in it...

True enough, Will, but theatre-buddy suffered a family bereavement last week.

Aye, I'm preparing myself for the guff.

Did you enjoy, Bruce?

Thoroughly, thanks, William. Thacker and a superb cast deliver the goods once again.
Though if put against a wall and made to choose then I'd have to say that Streetcar edged it for me.
I can't really add to that that's already been said, except for that once again Clare Foster's performance was absolutely stunning. I hope that she'll be sticking around for a few more.