Thanks for some friendly remarks about my posts

[LONDONER]

[emoji3] have a great time

Many thanks. I'm sure I will. My agenda is filling up more and more.

[LONDONER]

Many apologies. I've just seen that in my post number 18 written hastily this morning, trhe YouTube links don't work. I should have checked but I was running late for an appointment. I hope these work:

[Lhan28]

Interesting... Have fun with your vacation LONDONER.

[ChadCoxRox]

Let us know how you liked the movies too Simon. I am looking forward to The Imitation Game.
Safe travels!

[LONDONER]

Let us know how you liked the movies too Simon. I am looking forward to The Imitation Game.
Safe travels!

No problem, I'll try to report on just about everything with the exceptions of my visits to the ophthalmologist!

[ChadCoxRox]

No problem, I'll try to report on just about everything with the exceptions of my visits to the ophthalmologist!

I see.

[LONDONER]

OK, "The Book of Mormons".

I hadn't booked this. It was booked for me by the person who accompanied me. She had no idea what it was about and neither did I and we just went on the fact that it had been a roaring success and received very good reviews. My friend is not prudish by any means but she doesn't like what she describes as "the F word". How unfortunate then that "The Book of Mormons" is littered with them!

It was loud, irreverent, blasphemous and very, very funny. It is as you might gather from the title, about the Book of Mormons and concerns two Mormons or "Elders" who are sent to Uganda to "spread the word", convert the unbelievers and baptise them. When they arrive they are greeted by a group of Elders who have failed miserably to convert let alone baptise anyone.

So, the story revolves around the two newcomers doing their best to do the work they came to do. One of them is not shy about misquoting the "Book" to convince the natives. He eventually wins round one young girl by his own particular means of "baptism" and she in her turn wins over other members of her tribe. Unfortunately they also have to put up with a warlord who goes by the name of General Butt Fucking Naked who threatens to circumcise all the girls of the village and it is General Butt Fucking Naked who butt rapes one of the two Elders!

I won't say how it ends because I don't want to spoil it for anyone who might get to see it.

You can see why it is irreverent and blasphemous. What I don't understand is why the Mormons themselves have not made any objection to the work and in fact published an advertisment in the programme that said: "Now you've seen the musical, read the Book".

If you haven't seen it already then try to. It's worth it and is a great evening's entertainment.

[LONDONER]

This is almost becoming a blog!

Things are getting more and more hectic. Yesterday I went to RIBA (Royal Institute of Britich Architects) to see an exhibition of black and white photographs by a famous British photographer Edwin Smith.

http://www.architecture.com/Explore/Exhi...chive.aspx

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/photo...atory.html

I am a very, very amateur snapper (daren't call myself a photographer) and I was impressed by his work. One photo showed a single woman hanging out her washing in a rather bare landscape with obviously a stiff wind blowing but probably the work I liked best was a photograph of an old, abandoned garden bench with stinging nettles growing up through the slats.

Black and white photography is a difficult art. One has to eliminate all colour from your thoughts and concentrate of the image and the design it creates. You can see some of Edwin Smith's work here:

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=edwin+...d=0CCAQsAQ

Today my friend Sandra and I went to the British Museum to see the exhibition about Ming.

http://www.britishmuseum.org/whats_on/ex...ing-1.aspx

Most people (myself included) associate Ming with wonderful porcelain but the exhibition went much further that that and included examples of jewellery, gold and silverwork, paintings, funiture, porcdelain, clothing and by no means least, calligraphy. Of the clothing there just two examples of silk garments from the Imperial Court that had survived almost 700 years.

Until now I had no idea how much Chinese art was influenced by the Middle East from countries like Turkey and Syria. The Chinese of that time had an enormous maretime fleet and travelled widely and traded with many countries. I had never even though of the Chinese as a maretime nation. The examples of calligraphy were exceptionally beautiful even though I couldn't understand a word, looking closely I could see that it was perfectly executed. What little I know about calligraphy is that it is achieved with the wrist and not by movements of the arm.

Walking round exhibitions can be exceptionally tiring especially if you try to absorb all the information. I suppose that we were there for about two hours and by that time I couldn't absorb more. Quite apart from that, one of the pills I am taking for my diabetes, is having a curious side effect; it is causing me to have an absolutely ravenous appetite and at that stage I was so hungry I was shaking. We left the museum and headed for a vegetarian buffet restaurant where I eat three loaded plates before I stopped shaking!

Not content with the agenda I set out in my first post, we have now added the unfortunately but appropriately named "Urinetown"

http://www.timeout.com/london/theatre/urinetown

I received an e-mail the other day from the National Gallery of which I am a Member, asking to to apply for tickets for a Member's private view of the "Late Rembrandt" exhibition. I replied immediately and was lucky and was allocated tickets. Even though we have to be there at 8.30AM on Monday, it will be wonderful to see this exhibition without the Gallery being crowded.

http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/rembrandt

I'm certainly getting my culture fix!

[LJay]

Seeing the Turners would be amazing!

[LONDONER]

Seeing the Turners would be amazing!

Yes, definitely my favourite British artist and as I said in my earlier post, he is the father of Impressionism. No one, not even Canalleto painted Venice like Turner:

https://es.images.search.yahoo.com/image...r=hp-avast