Bat Walk

Posted on 11/5/2008 by WeatherGrrrl

Last night we joined a group of locals on a walk through Colchester Castle Park led by members of the Essex Bat Group and park rangers. We leant much about the life cycle of the different species of local bats.

Bat detectors were handed out at the beginning of the walk so we could try and identify where to look to see the bats. They’re tricky little buggers to spot and being able to make their sounds audible helped us look in the right direction. At first nobody picked up anything on the detectors but as we walked around the park and the light dimmed the detectors registered more and more signals. By the end of the night the detectors were constantly sounding as the bats swooped around us and we were able to spot at least one bat every minute or so. It was quite something and well worth going along for the 1.5 hour walk around the Castle Park.

Current temperature: here 20C/68F, there 55F/13C

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Journey’s End

Posted on 8/5/2008 by WeatherGrrrl

Another Mercury Theatre production. (We’ve been incredibly lucky to live in a community that has its own professional repertory company.) Based on the play by R. C. Sherriff it is set in an officers’ quarters in the trenches during World War I. I found this particular play more engaging of my intellect rather than my emotions which was a little disappointing. The problem for me was I’ve seen all these characters before, they came across more a cyphers than fully rounded human beings. The greatest impact for me came from the scenery which was incredibly. The claustrophobia that was created was intense. The stage at the Mercury is both tall and deep yet the production managed to make the space disappear. The final dénouement managed to be quite shocking even though it was entirely obvious how things would end.

Current temperature: here 21C/70F, there 54F/12C

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Iron Man

Posted on 8/5/2008 by WeatherGrrrl

Enjoyable. Robert Downey Jr as a superhero rocks! This movie was great popcorn fun. I didn’t feel like falling asleep once which is always a good sign. We even got to watch with a fairly full auditorium which isn’t usually the case and that amped up the atmosphere. Plus I was finally rewarded for my obsessive habit of staying to the end of the credits. Can’t say that I found the movie entirely consistent, arms maker/dealer forswears weapons of mas destruction yet uses weapons of war to fight the good fight. Hmmm? Yeah.

Current temperature: here 21C/70F, there 54F/12C

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A Happy Buzz

Posted on 1/5/2008 by WeatherGrrrl

So I’m feeling very virtuous right now as I’ve done my civic duty and voted in the local council elections. It’s been so long since I’ve had the opportunity to vote in an election I’m quite giddy with delight.

There were four candidates to chose from though in reality only two I would consider voting for. X marked the spot.

I’m all for the old fashioned sheet of paper and pencil. This is one realm where we need to resist the creep of modern technology and it’s aptitude for corruption.

Current temperature: here 13C/55F, there 61F/16C

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Control

Posted on 1/5/2008 by WeatherGrrrl

Fascinating. A very cool movie about the lead singer of Joy Division. Another exploration of the disintegration of a human being. Great insight into the creative process. Loved the music.

Current temperature: here 13C/55F, there 61F/16C

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Habeas Corpus

Posted on 30/4/2008 by WeatherGrrrl

We had the opportunity to see a production of this Alan Bennett play at the Mercury Theatre. Although very much in the ilk of a British farce, Alan Bennett’s version of this traditional form had an added level of depth that engaged the brain as well as the funny bone. The cast was as excellent as ever. We had previously attended the Front Row discussion related to this production and learnt more about the play and the company’s methods of rehersal. It was an enlightening ‘presentation’ and it was quite remarkable to see the transformation between actor and character.

The production was excellent and kept our rapt attention to the ‘goings on’. The stage design was extremely sparse but perfect to concentrate the audience’s attention on the players and their interactions.

Current temperature: here 9C/48F, there 57F/14C

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Son of Rambow

Posted on 30/4/2008 by WeatherGrrrl

Sweet. This movie was so much fun. The main performances were very good. A very enjoyable way to spend a couple of hours.

Current temperature: here 9C/48F, there 55F/13C

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Mo Movie Measure

Posted on 25/3/2008 by WeatherGrrrl

I just came across the Mo Movie Measure. Sadly, almost everything I’ve seen recently fails by a huge margin. Most of the half way decent movies just lately seem to be about individual men psychologically disintegrating with nary a woman in sight. *sigh*

How hard would it be for a screenwriter to write an interesting story about an interesting woman? There are plenty of interesting women in the world. Perhaps the screenwriters aren’t up to the job?

To summarise: to be worth watching, a movie should have:

1. at least two women in it
2. who talk to each other
3. about something besides a man

Posted in What the heck?, Writing | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

As I walked to meeting today I saw …

Posted on 23/3/2008 by WeatherGrrrl

… big fat wet flakes of SNOW!!!!!!!!

And here’s the evidence. (I’ve posted more photos to a Flickr set.)

JumboinSnow (P1030523)

WeatherGirlinSnowColchester01 (P1030519)

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Brief Lives

Posted on 10/3/2008 by WeatherGrrrl

We went to see Brief Lives at the Mercury Theatre staring Roy Dotrice. It’s a one man performance based on the writings of John Aubrey. The reclusive antiquarian takes a nostalgic journey through history, telling tales, “including the bits the the history books leave out.”

It was a very enjoyable performance filled with humour and pathos.

Current temperature: here 6C/43F, there 30F/-1C

Posted in Live Performance, Sabbatical | 1 Comment