tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3603541181839384612024-03-15T07:50:00.229+13:00Janette Miller's BlogThis blog is an experiment in social sharing.Janettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04528401017547533622noreply@blogger.comBlogger400125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-360354118183938461.post-68159703386636294112021-06-29T09:22:00.002+12:002021-06-29T09:22:46.586+12:00Covid 19 How New Zealand and UK differ in June 2021<p style="background-color: white; color: #0f0f0f; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCvqT41EVf5QrfODpfZROyUF_JlFcpzCCn6eMTEU25jrLGc1sFNUlcPEXc_ucLrAFmGet1OBsqdcLgxNg3aY_nZu5XBSED8e6-vZNwSm0O_6jJGmskEv1r44IlTOublRpNlld57Z61of8/s944/Screen+Shot+2021-06-29+at+9.14.32+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="752" data-original-width="944" height="319" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCvqT41EVf5QrfODpfZROyUF_JlFcpzCCn6eMTEU25jrLGc1sFNUlcPEXc_ucLrAFmGet1OBsqdcLgxNg3aY_nZu5XBSED8e6-vZNwSm0O_6jJGmskEv1r44IlTOublRpNlld57Z61of8/w400-h319/Screen+Shot+2021-06-29+at+9.14.32+AM.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-kerning: none;"><br /></span><p></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #0f0f0f; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #0f0f0f; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Living in New Zealand I have found the whole attitude to Covid 19 by the UK government unfathomable. It is as if our countries are dealing with two different pandemics. In one country hundreds of thousands of people have died unnecessarily and in the other, the citizens live a normal life with I think about 22 deaths which NZ feels were 22 too many.</span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #0f0f0f; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 17px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #0f0f0f; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The difference is that one country's government took Covid seriously from the first moment and still does and the other that this is a minor outbreak that will go away or the country will have to live with it and the misery that follows as its citizens and it seems ministers will not obey orders for the greater good.</span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #0f0f0f; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 17px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #0f0f0f; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Opening up the UK regardless of the fact that a new deadly variant is spreading fast seems to me folly but nowhere in the UK press except a small article by the leader of the opposition who suggests caution does anyone oppose this ridiculous statement.</span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #0f0f0f; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial;">If the world had done what NZ and later Australia did and shut down for a month the whole grisly pandemic with its millions of deaths would be over and yes we all could have done it. In wars, everyone does what they are told.</span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #0f0f0f; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 17px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #0f0f0f; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Instead, foolishly the wise politicians put the economy first, protecting sports, entertainment and holidays and still do. Is Wimbledon worth it? Is Formula One worth it? Not for the millions who have died unnecessarily or are left with the hell of Long Covid. It may be cheaper at first but it is expensive in the long run. Economies recover and live on the dead do not.</span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #0f0f0f; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 17px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #0f0f0f; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial;">If the virus transmission is stopped early it has nowhere to go. It disappears and life goes on. If not, well you can see the result. I cannot believe that the UK Health Minister believes the UK has to live with this and is opening up on 19 July. is this wise? Dreadful. I despair for the country of my birth. No wonder the rest of the world is shutting the UK out.</span></span></p>Janettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04528401017547533622noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-360354118183938461.post-73604554789370591602021-06-15T07:58:00.000+12:002021-06-15T07:58:00.981+12:00The Shortcomings of Long Rehearsal Periods! UK Guardian<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVa3gRO6JRvoaynD9Bscq2psa_sdKDY-7Rp5tKqFC7dRU1mam5XW9kqOqZZcJoYvnGYFaRtlk_73o3OsORcJErXpLz69cFUr3Wg-pzyrsWJmDqKuGsKoNk7cYHzEcri70OoP62JAhRlkc/s1194/Screen+Shot+2021-06-15+at+7.41.01+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Seven Deadly Sins directed by Janette Miller" border="0" data-original-height="788" data-original-width="1194" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVa3gRO6JRvoaynD9Bscq2psa_sdKDY-7Rp5tKqFC7dRU1mam5XW9kqOqZZcJoYvnGYFaRtlk_73o3OsORcJErXpLz69cFUr3Wg-pzyrsWJmDqKuGsKoNk7cYHzEcri70OoP62JAhRlkc/w400-h266/Screen+Shot+2021-06-15+at+7.41.01+AM.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="css-eipu8w-Comment" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; clear: left; font-family: GuardianTextSans, "Guardian Text Sans Web", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, "Lucida Grande", sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0.5rem 0px 0.75rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; word-break: break-word;"><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><i><b>"Bard day’s work: what I learned from eavesdropping on RSC rehearsals</b></i></span></p>
<p style="color: #0f0f0f; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"><i><b>The Royal Shakespeare Company is letting the public watch the usually secret processes towards performance – from clapping games to verse sessions". Michael Billinton, UK Guardian</b></i></span></p><p style="color: #0f0f0f; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p>
<p style="color: #8f714a; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 0.9375rem; font-stretch: normal; font-style: inherit; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 18px;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"><b></b></span><br /></p></div><div class="css-eipu8w-Comment" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; clear: left; font-size: 0.9375rem; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0.5rem 0px 0.75rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; word-break: break-word;"><span style="font-family: times;">This is a reply that I wrote in the UK Guardian on 13 June 2021 after reading the excellent article above. It was rather long and indulgent but after nearly 80 years of rehearsals, I think I am entitled to it. Sadly the Guardian rendered it almost unreadable because for me the paragraph spacing did not work. So here it is in a more readable form. </span></div><div class="css-eipu8w-Comment" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; clear: left; font-size: 0.9375rem; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0.5rem 0px 0.75rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; word-break: break-word;"><span style="font-family: times;"><i>( I have been very lax with blog entries this year! Must get going again. Oh dear, they have changed the editing format again, just like Prem Pro and Audition. Just get used to it and it is changed.)</i></span></div><div class="css-eipu8w-Comment" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; clear: left; font-size: 0.9375rem; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0.5rem 0px 0.75rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; word-break: break-word;"><span style="font-family: times;">I have been in theatre all my life from the age of 12. During this time I have been a ballet dancer with the Royal Ballet, an opera singer at Aldeburgh, a voice-over artist, a musical artist in London's west end and for the later part of my life a director and producer in theatre and TV. One has to be versatile to survive as fashions change. Most of my time was spent in the commercial theatre where life is very different to that of the subsidised theatre. I know about rehearsals. In the real world, rehearsals have to be short because until the event is produced there is no income for artists or management. </span></div><div class="css-eipu8w-Comment" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; clear: left; font-size: 0.9375rem; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0.5rem 0px 0.75rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; word-break: break-word;"><span style="font-family: times;">Sometimes the cast does not get paid. In my time the huge pantos had just 10 days of rehearsal during which the cast went unpaid. It is only in the highly subsidised theatre that one has the luxury indulgence of long and extended rehearsal periods. Rehearsals in the real world are meant to be short and professional artists get the hang of it very fast. They have to otherwise they would not get employed. With six weeks of rehearsal which could be done in days, the problem is what does one do with all this time? Rehearsing a Shakespeare play is not like a ballet. The ballet knows how to rehearse because it is necessary for everyone to do the same thing and to stay fit. Dramatic works are not ballet and because most dramatic works have many interpretations, it is necessary to have a director who can firmly say "Follow me chaps" and a cast that will follow his dream. To obtain this short sharp rehearsals are the best to achieve this. The worst outcome is for every member of the cast to have a different idea of what is wanted and time and encouragement to play around. Spending hours on hours on how to deliver one line can lead to disaster. Also, it leads to a lax attitude to learning one's part. When I was starting out I was a stage manager unpaid, for a director who was rich and wanted to experiment with this type of long rehearsal for a Goldini play. We had 4 weeks and he hired some wonderful actors for £9 per week, most of which are household names today. I will refrain from naming them. </span></div><div class="css-eipu8w-Comment" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; clear: left; font-size: 0.9375rem; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0.5rem 0px 0.75rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; word-break: break-word;"><span style="font-family: times;">The rehearsal period was lengthy, exercises with masks, long discussions of interpretation, long lunches in the pub and then production week in Welwyn Garden City. It became obvious to me that most of the cast had not learned their lines There were only two performances! As a stage manager, I was supposed to shout out the lines when the actors forgot as a cue but I thought as they had all been improvising for the whole of rehearsals and had been paid to do this, it was up to them to get on with it. The fuss when the curtain came down and they descended on an unpaid 18-year-old girl who had admittedly probably had as much professional experience as they had, having been a child in The Royal Ballet at Covent Garden where they did know how to rehearse!</span></div><div class="css-eipu8w-Comment" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; clear: left; font-size: 0.9375rem; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0.5rem 0px 0.75rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; word-break: break-word;"><span style="font-family: times;"> I stood my ground and pointed out that if I shouted out the lines the audience would know they had forgotten them and I was happy to resign at that moment as I was doing this for the experience. Lesson! I learned then was that a shorter rehearsal period and actors concentrating on learning their lines would have resulted in a better performance. You have to be good at learning lines and no rehearsals as I was to find out in future. In opera, you have to know the part before you start this is not necessary for drama, in fact, it is easier to learn lines as you go along but at some stage, you do have to learn them. </span></div><div class="css-eipu8w-Comment" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; clear: left; font-size: 0.9375rem; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0.5rem 0px 0.75rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; word-break: break-word;"><span style="font-family: times;">I did have just one production with a long rehearsal period and by then I was experienced enough as a director to cope. I had a government work scheme and had to fill in about four weeks with a production of "The Seven Deadly Sins" by Kurt Weill. I had a small but tight opera ballet company who were used to working with each other in a rep situation. They knew each other well. My first attempt was a disaster, I got it wrong. This Weill was not Brecht and gloom but Hollywood and fun. My seven balletic <span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: italic; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Little Sins</span> were most attractive and the real world the grimnosties.</span></div><div class="css-eipu8w-Comment" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; clear: left; font-size: 0.9375rem; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0.5rem 0px 0.75rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; word-break: break-word;"><span style="font-family: times;"><span style="font-style: inherit;"> It had to be played like a souffle. The work gave every artist an opportunity to shine. I gave the cast seven wooden triangles and they came up with some brilliant ideas. We had fun! You can see a snatch of this on </span><a href="https://youtu.be/E-TAfaxud80" style="font-style: inherit;" target="_blank">YouTube</a><span style="font-style: inherit;">. But it was </span><i>my dream</i><span style="font-style: inherit;">, the cast understood this, they liked me and trusted me, this is important, and it worked. </span></span></div><div class="css-eipu8w-Comment" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; clear: left; font-size: 0.9375rem; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0.5rem 0px 0.75rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; word-break: break-word;"><span style="font-family: times;"><span style="font-style: inherit;">Artists are at their most vulnerable during rehearsals so the shorter the better for all concerned when they just have to get on with it. I am so glad I do not have to do this anymore. I am sure Shakespeare felt the same.</span></span></div><div class="css-106mbhu" style="-webkit-box-pack: justify; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: flex; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; justify-content: space-between; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="css-gup2gr" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(18, 18, 18); color: #121212; display: flex; flex-direction: row; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="css-1o9412m-Comment" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></div></div><div class="css-gup2gr" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(18, 18, 18); color: #121212; display: flex; flex-direction: row; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="css-1n6my13" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 16px;"></div></div></div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" /><p> </p> <iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/E-TAfaxud80" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe>Janettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04528401017547533622noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-360354118183938461.post-38179824611502908542021-01-01T09:50:00.004+13:002021-01-01T09:50:34.352+13:00New Year 2021 Janette Miller<p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3nl-oYWSQ23XZkhmsb91gIcDddTkLEk9mdr0R2QBaOeZQdn2DcC5mYFLdix36j9h6OuInUKemPmNvvqN6VmNllMCHsYmxUUkeYvwMRtN-VORx3SA4NiZkvzhXsnuq7gpqE5tU_zPbdP0/s1259/Painbox+Mod+2020.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="920" data-original-width="1259" height="345" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3nl-oYWSQ23XZkhmsb91gIcDddTkLEk9mdr0R2QBaOeZQdn2DcC5mYFLdix36j9h6OuInUKemPmNvvqN6VmNllMCHsYmxUUkeYvwMRtN-VORx3SA4NiZkvzhXsnuq7gpqE5tU_zPbdP0/w472-h345/Painbox+Mod+2020.jpg" width="472" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Watercolour swatches </td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><br />Welcome, 2021! I think I can safely say that most of the world will be pleased to greet you. Your predecessor was a hell of a disappointment and life for many, including me will never be the same again. Covid-19 has changed many lives mine included and without it I should not be here today. <div><br /></div><div>I began this blog in 2010, eleven years ago and for a few years, I was very keen. Then I discovered Facebook and In the early days I loved it and I gave away my blog. FaceBook then was very different from the FB of today. It was fun, you met your friends who you hadn't seen in yonks and we chatted and it was delightful. Gradually as FB became monetised it has changed to what it is today which to me is a platform for unwanted advertising and political comment. The content of the latter grew and grew and my friends although they obviously read my comments hardly ever commented back except perhaps for the occasional like. With FB algorithms being as they are I expect many friends never saw my posts.</div><div><br /></div><div>Corvid-19 was the final straw for me. Living in New Zealand which took a very tough line on the infection right from the start, Covid-19 is under control and life here is almost normal. This has not occurred in many countries, although it has in the East. I find reading about the horrors of the USA. EU, UK, the country of my birth unbearable because it is absolutely obvious that if firmer leadership and self-restraint had been shown by both leaders and citizens the disaster now being experienced should never have happened. Regretfully many FB friends took a dim view of the fact that life for me was <i>perfectly normal </i>when life for them became <i>increasingly inconvenient</i>. I just did not know what to comment so I have decided to give FB a rest until Covid-19 is over.</div><div><br /></div><div>But Covid-19 has altered my life too. I am elderly and I live entirely alone as my family lives on another Island. I have been alone for much of my life as my job as a performing artist meant that my life was constantly changing and it was hard to make long-lasting relationships under these circumstances but until NZ's first lockdown I had no idea of what "<i>Alone"</i> meant. I found out.</div><div><br /></div><div>In NZ there was no notice about the lockdown. Our PM went on the TV and announced that it had begun. A few hours were given but for all over 65 the lockdown started at that moment. No dashing out to the shops for a few rolls of toilet paper and a bottle of milk. Somebody would have to go and buy it for you. Well, l I had the bog roll but no milk.</div><div><br /></div><div>I had no idea at that moment how alone I was and how hard it would be to get a bottle of milk. I rang five of my neighbours and friends and to my horror and surprise not one them would go and buy me a bottle of milk and a few eggs. Each just said "NO"! Each of them could have gone as they were not in the forbidden age bracket and each of them knew I lived alone and had no family in Auckland but such was the panic not one of them would initially. It was a shock.</div><div><br /></div><div>I was not alone in being alone, a very dear friend I met at croquet was in the same position. She lives alone too. She had no eggs. I had a very bad night. The next morning I rang my MP to find out if there was an organisation that could help people in my position. My MP was brilliant and gave me the link to an organisation of young volunteers who might help and if that failed he would buy the milk for me himself. However this is election year in NZ and his opposition candidate was on the button and their candidate rang me, asked if I was OK and actually went and bought the bottle of milk for me himself and did this for a few days until I got fixed up with a delightful young helper.</div><div><br /></div><div>My friends and neighbours on this occasion were useless but two felt guilty and eggs and milk arrived on my doorstep the next day but I can never forget their immediate rejection. When the chips are down I am on my own. There is no doubt at all I was not in their lifeboat. </div><div><br /></div><div>That was the beginning of months of isolation. No one entered my house for months except for two emergencies. All my shopping was done by a young stranger for whom I am extremely grateful I did not know but unlike my friends and neighbours helped me. She even emailed me to make sure I was alright but I never met her when she came to my house as we had to maintain social distance. When I tried to give her a gift she refused to take it. When this is truly over and even in NZ it isn't over yet I shall take her out to dinner at the best restaurant. </div><div><br /></div><div>I was not in anyone's bubble and I have learned to live with this and as the months went on it became easier and easier and now I like it, in fact I love it One can live alone. It is not necessary to be one of a crowd. I think I have always known this but I believed the myth. I still enjoy my firends and neighbours even if not one of them gives a thought about me. I do care about them. After 45 years of living next to four large families, I should like to be included sometimes say for Xmas or anniversaries but I am not and that is how it is. It is not their fault and in truth one cannot pick one's neighbours. I am not their responsibility but the good news is I have learned to live with it. I used to think people would help me because I was there but thanks to Covid-19 I don't any more. At 77 I have grown up, I have to be totally self-reliant. Help is there from outside if I ask for it and it is up to me to ask for it and it is my personal responsibility to look after myself.</div><div><br /></div><div>Today most of us have to learn to live by ourselves if we are to remain safe. The vaccines may eventually halt the infection but until then some form of isolation is the only answer. Humans are adaptable creatures and when one door closes they soon find another. I found my watercolour paintbox and my garden. Both been a revelation and so far have not disapointed. </div><div><br /></div><div>But I do enjoy sharing my very strange life and believe me my life has been <i>very strange! </i>I have a special blog for my granddaughter for her to read in the future when she grows up and wonders about her eccentric grandmother.<a href="https://janetteheffernan.blogspot.com/2013/01/introducing-janette-millers-strange.html"> Janette Miller's Strange Life</a>. This gives my history and I do have one or two projects that might be of interest. My world of live theatre and music has collapsed but something needs to replace it. The question is what?</div><div><br /></div><div>Now I am off to enjoy my day, my garden and my watercolours. I wish everyone a <i>Happy New Year</i>, wash your hands, wear a mask and keep your distance till this has gone. I might even begin blogging again. Janette</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><p></p></div>Janettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04528401017547533622noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-360354118183938461.post-19148545262008058952020-10-06T10:29:00.003+13:002020-10-06T10:29:36.766+13:00The magic of a paintbox<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRNIBabPA2yaBlfDlnkYGIvcYG1dAszjg8CjgxmmZnxBoaGkY5sxlELhUHn8gXbejS6EOf_ov1v72ba8Ia_tDTgwhHv1BiVi2a3XZIyYQGEZgx-LfEkZPZ_AqA58sG2aY5ITJex-E8ugE/s1280/Janette%2527s+paintbox+2020.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRNIBabPA2yaBlfDlnkYGIvcYG1dAszjg8CjgxmmZnxBoaGkY5sxlELhUHn8gXbejS6EOf_ov1v72ba8Ia_tDTgwhHv1BiVi2a3XZIyYQGEZgx-LfEkZPZ_AqA58sG2aY5ITJex-E8ugE/w400-h300/Janette%2527s+paintbox+2020.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> <span face="system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif" style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-size: 15px;">I love paintboxes. They say so much about a person. Each has its own personality. The above is the paintbox I have been using throughout the Covid-19 isolation. It is very cheap but I like it. </span><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-size: 15px;">This box came as weekly additions to a watercolour magazine and was really good value. You can fill the pans up from tubes and the stickier the paints are the better.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span face="system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif" style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-size: 15px;">I have two others and all are old. Watercolours last forever. Corvid isolation seemed a perfect time to give this another go. Watercolours if you have not tried them have a mind of their own and you never know what is going to happen.</span><span face="system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif" style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-size: 15px;"> </span></span></p><span face="system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif" style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-family: helvetica; font-size: 15px;">I had no idea just how expensive these little pans of colour have become. To buy separately about NZ$10 each! That's NZ$280 today. Paint boxes like this sell for around $300 +.</span><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-size: 15px;" /></span><span face="system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif" style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-size: 15px;">The joy is one only uses a few of these colours and a little goes a long way.</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-size: 15px;" /></span><span face="system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif" style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-size: 15px;">One Xmas, a long, long time ago I received a Rowney black tin paintbox as my major Xmas present and in 2018 I bought an example of the first The Winsor & Newton 1840 wooden paintbox and the paints till are useable although I don't use them.</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-size: 15px;" /></span><span face="system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif" style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-size: 15px;">I am not a competent watercolourist but l enjoy dabbling in the hope that one day I shall get the hang of it</span><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-size: 15px;">.</span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-size: 15px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span face="system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif" style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-size: 15px;">When I do something I feel comfortable with I'll share. It may be a long wait.</span><span face="system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif" style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-size: 15px;"> </span></span></div>Janettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04528401017547533622noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-360354118183938461.post-20899194579747368192020-08-23T10:00:00.000+12:002020-08-23T10:00:36.491+12:00Garageband for Accompanist for singers Janette Miller<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/oUQvv_HwETk" width="560"></iframe><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">This is an excellent article on </span><a href="https://nathaliedoucet.live/2020/08/22/choosing-your-vocal-coach-pianist/?fbclid=IwAR2NjQ3rDMbb18vPeV9U5HiOgcM3djP_JB-RVUCcvPG9AZgRz-AINJ7ATEc" style="font-family: inherit;">Choosing Your Vocal Coach-Pianist</a><span style="font-family: inherit;"> but this relies on finding and being able to afford this luxury. This is a big problem for singers especially like me if you cannot play the piano. It can also be expensive and sometimes impossible to find an accompanist who can play difficult accompaniments. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I could never find one to play "The Songs of the Auvergne". My answer was to make sure I married a man who loved music and could play the piano. He was not perfect, could not transpose and was not "performance proof" but every day for 30 years we sang together. He could not manage "The Songs of the Auvergne".Then he died. I lost my husband and my accompanist. I did try with the locals but they were expensive and you have guessed it could not even start on "The Songs of the Auvergne". This was in 2002 and I thought I should never sing again either in private or in public. Then a miracle happened. Computers arrived in 2007 and Garageband. I started to play with the "loops" and one day I added with great difficulty one or two notes of my own using The Keyboard and the Piano Roll. It as not until a few weeks later that I thought if I can write out a few notes, then possibly I could write out a Schubert Song. I tried first using the conventional notation but found the Piano Roll easier. It was a success. It took me over a week but I had an accompaniment, one that did what I wanted exactly. No wrong notes, right tempo and could transpose at a click and is on hand when convenient to me. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I have never looked back. Garageband could also handle "The Songs of The Auvergne". I wrote it out as a piano accompaniment at first but then I decided to orchestrate and bingo! It was easy. It now takes me about 2 hours to write out a song. I put up</span><a href="https://youtu.be/oUQvv_HwETk" style="font-family: inherit;"> "The Songs of the Auvergne" on YouTube</a><span style="font-family: inherit;">. Yes, it was a challenge but if I had had this tool when I was young it would have made all the difference. It is difficult when you can sing but for reasons cannot play an instrument. It means one can learn difficult roles and learn with the orchestration. I had to learn "The Turn of the Screw" for Britten at the age of 15 with no help from anyone. I then had to sing it on British TV live with only one orchestral rehearsal. That was truly scary. Had I had Garageband and could have written out my part and practised it when I needed life would have been better and my fear of performing made easier. I could not find an accompanist who could tackle this is 1959. Today one can get many classical songs as midis. You just have to know how to use them. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Obviously, a real pianist is preferable but they are expensive and not always available but worth it if you are like me who loves to sing but needs an accompanist. Then when you find a wonderful accompanist, mine was Britten we sang Schubert together you can enjoy it. He let me sing in English and was willing to transpose when needed or even when I didn't know as he chose keys for me!</span></div>
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Janettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04528401017547533622noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-360354118183938461.post-50692127016015023932020-08-21T19:23:00.004+12:002020-08-21T19:23:47.639+12:00Sir Bob Elliot a tribute from a grateful patient.<span style="color: #050505; font-family: , , "blinkmacsystemfont" , ".sfnstext-regular" , sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
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<span style="color: #050505; font-family: , , "blinkmacsystemfont" , , sans-serif;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2020/08/pioneering-child-health-researcher-sir-bob-elliott-dies.html?fbclid=IwAR0FKiOupGJl6Gkl7dGSQscrMIR8zhOPUkwUDmrt4KNLBUq6wyUDIjfdQbk" target="_blank">Sir Bob Elliot died today</a></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #050505; font-family: , , "blinkmacsystemfont" , ".sfnstext-regular" , sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">This amazing man has just died. I have to thank him for saving me from becoming a Type 1 diabetic. I never met him but about 20 years ago I was put on one of his research programmes to prevent diabetes. Both my parents and my cousin have diabetes and so I qualified for this research. When I was tested it was found that I had a six out of ten chance of becoming a Type 1 diabetic but Sir Bob thought that large amount of Vitamin B3. Nicotinamide could prevent this. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #050505; font-family: , , "blinkmacsystemfont" , ".sfnstext-regular" , sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">For three years I took huge amounts of B 3 each day and slowly like a miracle my platelet levels returned to normal so normal that I have a 99.99% chance of not becoming a diabetic. I kept all the lab test results so you can see it happen. Sadly this has not been taken up universally by the medical profession who were very jealous of his success and NZ hates "tall poppies" but it did work for me and I was so lucky as he has saved me from needles and injections for life. How many other pre-diabetics could be cured?</span><br />
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I am so grateful to this man I have never met.</div>
Janettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04528401017547533622noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-360354118183938461.post-2172677002785310722020-07-30T09:34:00.003+12:002020-07-30T09:34:52.097+12:00Ditch Overseas Travel and Eliminate Covid 19 in UK<div dir="auto" style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">
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<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/jul/29/britain-ditches-overseas-travel-coronavirus-spanish-covid-19?CMP=share_btn_fb&fbclid=IwAR2LMtikKCaPJzNCUSDEuaglJWqeTWjAN4Whj0uXwSX2a4257teZvAv6dgM" target="_blank">UK Guardian 30 July 2020 </a></h3>
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At last! The first commonsense article that I have seen about how to deal with Covid 19. in UK, eliminate it! </div>
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UK is an island like New Zealand where I live. NZ has eliminated Covid 19 and let me tell you life here is normal, very normal. NZ is now taking its holidays at home for the immediate future but no masks, no social distancing and life as normal.<br />
The UK could do this as it is an Island and at last, even a very slow Boris has got around contemplating doing this too. A bit late but it can still be done. Do it UK! Then I can come home and visit you and you can visit me. You can't at the moment. You are all too dangerous for NZ, in the nicest possible way. </div>
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It takes about five weeks. It does mean going to abroad for holidays is <i>out </i>for a bit till other countries get their Covid 19 under control but the benefits are enormous. No more 30,000 deaths and masks and the inconvenience of it all. I have never had to wear a mask, I feel safe and I can go and shop anywhere. NZ just has to police those coming in as they bring it and if the UK cannot see it yet that is where the infections come from. One infected passenger is one infection too many. I realise lots of my FB friends have homes in France and Spain and have visited but one has to make a few sacrifices. NZ did this. It was tough but the rewards are worth it. If everyone is in the same boat it is not so bad.</div>
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So if elimination of Covid 19 is suggested and not just control, go for it otherwise your life is going to be ghastly for the next few years and UK theatres, sports and cafes will never get going again.</div>
Janettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04528401017547533622noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-360354118183938461.post-76940430478899383292020-07-29T16:08:00.001+12:002020-07-29T16:08:16.795+12:00What is Received English? Janette Miller<div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="483bh" data-offset-key="85ql1-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">
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<span data-offset-key="85ql1-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">Received English. </span></h3>
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<span data-offset-key="85ql1-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">Who speaks it these days. I do but I am one of the last to do so.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The UK has lots of regional accents but the strangest of all is known as Received English which foxes everyone. It is the typical BBC English which is going out of fashion but it what I speak. In my day you had and it is "strange"!</span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="cc757-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">Why?</span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="aa75-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">I have only just found out. </span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="ajs55-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">You have to learn this accent. In my day it was taught in schools. It hides brilliantly your social class and in a class-ridden country like UK this is very useful. </span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="af0uc-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">Today Received English is taught in language schools and weirdly many expats children who never set foot in UK speak it too. Richard E Grant is one and Freddie Mercury. It is absolutely impossible to tell which class they belong to.</span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="7uge4-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">So does my accent hide my class? Yes it does. To a lower-class person I sound "posh" but to aristocrats they cannot place me, they know by the way I say "often" and "cat" I am not one of them but am I upper-middle or working class? I could be either.</span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="22fgc-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">So what am I? I am not sure. I was raised in what I thought was a middle-class household but my grandfathers were of the people who rose from the working class and to succeed both families spoke "Received English". I am me! </span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="22fgc-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">Possibly "Trade" which was unfashionable, did not do to be a banker but now is very fashionable. Both the working and upper classes look down on "Trade"</span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="48tdq-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">So now you know.</span></div>
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Janettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04528401017547533622noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-360354118183938461.post-55053787276505696852020-07-29T16:04:00.000+12:002020-07-29T16:04:30.273+12:002009 Falstaff Verdi Covid Live Streaming from Glyndebourne in 2020<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Just watched a totally "delicious" Falstaff, 2009 Glyndebourne. This was Verdi's last opera, written at the age of 80, his only comedy and for once a decent libretto and what a difference that made. There are sections when Verdi could not resist "I'm a scale going down, I'm a scale going down" but it is very high class, quality and according to Britten and my husband and they certainly should know Verdi's best opera and the only one either would deign to go and see. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This production is set in Windsor in about 1947 just after the Second World War with loads of cabbages in the garden and very dull clothes.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">No coupons for clothes or furniture at that time and no bottles of Scotch either. I was born in Windsor so I know and love it well and was leaving nearby in Taplow at that time and our garden was full of cabbages that none of us ate. I lived in that type of Middle-class house too so it was very nostalgic. The curtains looked rather new though. Nobody had new curtains until after 1953!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The "Falstaff" was superb. Best I have ever seen and I have seen quite a few and I liked the resetting. It worked very well. </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Loved the production, no clinging to the furniture, perhaps just once but on this occasion allowable.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I could even take the stuffed, puppet cat on the counter which was quite cute however there were two more stuffed cats possibly more later on that failed to amuse. Please note one stuffed cat is enough.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I could happily watch this again as it was so enjoyable and I probably shall. That is praise from me indeed. Bravo Glyndebourne and a big thank you for making it available to those of us who could never get in in better days. </span><br />
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Janettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04528401017547533622noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-360354118183938461.post-74550786812869823402020-07-22T09:09:00.000+12:002020-07-22T09:09:18.548+12:00Metropolitan Opera New York's magnificent response to the Covid 19 Virus 2020<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Metropolitan Opera New York's magnificent response to the Covid 19 Virus 2020</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #f9f9f9; caret-color: rgb(3, 3, 3); color: #030303; font-family: Roboto, Noto, sans-serif; font-size: 14.000000953674316px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: #f9f9f9; caret-color: rgb(3, 3, 3); color: #030303; font-family: Roboto, Noto, sans-serif; font-size: 14.000000953674316px; white-space: pre-wrap;">This virus is a tragedy for opera and opera lovers. The live performing arts have taken the biggest hit and it will take a tremendous effort to recover. The<a href="https://www.metopera.org/" target="_blank"> Met</a> is doing a fantastic job. I live in Auckland, New Zealand and I am impressed and grateful at the Mets swift action and generosity. The last weeks have been a feast for me and I have watched an opera virtually every day. The Met has allowed me to "catch up" in a way that I could never have imagined at the beginning of this year. </span><br />
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This week is no exception with a feast of operatic masterpieces including Gounod's "Romeo & Juliet" which is one of the few operas I have actually seen live at the Met. I am not sure if it is the same production that I saw. We shall see.</div>
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I was in New York to sell my Children's Ballet series<a href="http://www.dancetalesstoryballets.com/home.html" target="_blank"> "Dance Tales Story Ballets" </a>made with the help of the Royal Ballet Covent Garden and the BBC but I could only afford the gallery which was tremendous as I could go every night to an opera for 10 days. In the interval, I went to buy a souvenir from the stall on the first-floor foyer and the woman who served me got into conversation. I told her about my visit and gave her my business card.</div>
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She asked where I was sitting, the gallery and immediately I was invited to watch the rest of the production from her box! It was dead centre but one to Stage Left. I have no idea who she was and she would not give me her name but it was a truly wonderful gesture, one which I shall never forget.</div>
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The next interval I was invited into the special room to see the special guests meet but really only just to look not to mingle. Pity because my project could have done with a bit of help. So Gounod's "Romeo & Juliet" has very special memories.</div>
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What happened to "Dance Tales"? Well, it was made and shown all over the world but not in the USA as I was told patronisingly by CBS and ABC that USA television only did cartoons for children! Nobody was interested in live ballet! I was suitably humbled by this experience. The series did finish as a finalist in the LA Monitor Awards for best-edited programme so it did deserve to be seen but not in USA as it appears ballet is not suitable for children. We never saw USA Tv in 1986 so I had no idea that this was the USA policy.</div>
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The three USA TV channels did love a character in my project which I have yet to present to the world and went quite mad about it. I was taken out to breakfast at The Hollywood Hotel on the strength of it. It was and is that good but that is another story.</div>
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I had no intention of writing this, this morning but now seems a good time. Please continue to review as it is so good for opera. Reviews like this take time and effort and I am, for one extremely grateful.</div>
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Janettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04528401017547533622noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-360354118183938461.post-88442307121174441102020-07-21T09:59:00.000+12:002020-07-21T10:01:39.191+12:00Separating the art from the artist" BBC World, Y-Factor Presenter Edwina Pitman<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>"Separating the art from the artist" BBC World, Y-Factor Presenter Edwina Pitman.</i></span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><a href="https://www.blogger.com/goog_1210161042"> </a></i></span><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/w3csytzbS">https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/w3csytzbS</a></span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Yesterday I heard this<a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/w3csytzbS" target="_blank"> programme </a>on the BBC and the presenter, Edwina Pitman explained so beautifully exactly how I have felt about artists real lives and their work ever since I read the appalling behaviour, child abuse misogyny practised by Beethoven who if he did today makes Epstein look like the Archangel Gabriel!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Beethoven's unacceptable behaviour is well documented in the official court papers and in his communication notebooks so it is all true. Many find this hard to believe but the evidence is there in black and white. Read<a href="http://Beethoven and his Nephew" target="_blank"> </a>the book<i> Beethoven and his Nephew f</i>or the whole grisly tale. You will never be able to hear the music in the same light again knowing how Beethoven got the effect.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This year, 2020 Beethoven has been worshipped again as it is an anniversary but would people enjoy the "Ode to Joy" so much if they realised that Beethoven stole his nephew from his mother, stopped composing for years and only wrote the 9th Symphony when he had won his case against the mother. The "Ode to Joy" corresponds with this tainted victory over a woman </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The whole discussion brings this strange human trait into focus. It is happening all the time.</span></div>
Janettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04528401017547533622noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-360354118183938461.post-37810328613143961422020-07-10T08:30:00.001+12:002020-07-10T08:30:33.399+12:00Cosi Fan Tutte on The Abuse of Women.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Still watching an opera a day and this is about my third Cosi in the Covid 19 world.<br />
I love the music, but it is such a cruel, abusive piece. Tricking two innocent women into being unfaithful and then palming it off as a joke may have been acceptable in Mozart's day but not now. My favourite Spanish version ends in tragedy for the young women and young men. It is a horrible way to win a bet.<br />
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Beautiful traditional production but one could tell none of the singers was happy performing it as is shown in the commentary at the end. They have to do this to live. The Dorabella was very unhappy when the young women are made to apologise for an indiscretion that was forced upon them and their abusive boyfriends get off scot-free. It is an appalling piece. With hindsight, it is rather grisly to see the fawning. on the now known to be flawed James Levine. Maybe we should change the end as they did in Madrid.<br />
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Janettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04528401017547533622noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-360354118183938461.post-73787588704712443132020-07-05T12:50:00.000+12:002020-07-05T12:50:14.263+12:00"A Room of my Own" Virginia Woolf was right about girl's education<div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="5h9bt" data-offset-key="7tcme-0-0" style="caret-color: rgb(28, 30, 33); color: #1c1e21; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Janette Miller aged seven</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">School days! They ought to be the happiest days of one's life but my first school, for me was a nightmare. The photo above brings it all back to me and at 77 I feel I have the right to feel cheated.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have been rereading Virginia Woolf recently since I watch the wonderful Royal Ballet's production "Woolf Words" and I do so feel so related to her. In "A room of her Own" she was very annoyed, well furious, that she had been denied the education supplied to her brothers. Woolf just did not get one. She had to self educate and when I look back at this photo, you can see then </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">in the background I was 7 and the nuns had still not taught me how to read or even add up! </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I was taught to believe in invisible friends by being made to stand on my desk for three hours till I said I could see a gnome sitting on the French windows. I refused! I gave as good as I got, I gave up on God at that moment as I realised that he was possibly a figment of the sister's imagination too. It took three hours of me standing on my desk before I gave way and I still regret doing that. I was amazed as everyone else in the class including sister could see him. This gnome followed me for the next 4 years.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The friend in front in this photo remembers the occasion well and has written about it saying the experience was brutal and cruel so I am not making this up. I never told my parents. I should have done as my father would have removed me as he did when I was 13. I had come first in class but because I was a non-catholic, I was the child of a mixed marriage and brought up as an RC, it would never do for a child who had not been formally baptised and the child of an excommunicated mother to win the RC prize so the nuns just lost my exam papers and instead of first I came close to the bottom of the class. My father said all my brains were in my feet and sent me to ballet school! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Fortunately, at seven years old. I managed to learn to read quite soon after this and from that moment on I was self-taught., like Virginia Woolf. My grandfather had a TV in 1947 and the BBC really went for "educate, entertain and inform". I had seen most of Shakespeare and Shaw by the time I was 10. He also had a marvellous library and my mother bless her took me to art galleries, the ballet and opera. However, I did not get any science, or sex education! I gave up on God. I was right about this as when DNA turned up I realised there was No Adam & Eve and thus NO Sin! The God of the Bible was as imaginary as Red Cap and I could prove it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My father had gone to the best schools himself and yet had sent me to be educated by young Irish Catholic nuns. Like Virginia Woolf, I still feel bitter. I missed out on a university education which even the nuns thought I deserved. Having put me bottom of my class for religious reasons, they had the nerve to say to my father that "It was a pity that Janette was leaving for a ballet school because she was clever enough could have gone to Oxford." My father did not relent.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">However, the school was an architectural delight hence my love of architecture. I should indeed have loved to be an architect or a farmer and I ended up producing opera and ballet which I love too. I now have a "Room of my own" but a bit late.</span></div>
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Janettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04528401017547533622noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-360354118183938461.post-22723872639468144142020-06-29T22:03:00.000+12:002020-06-29T22:03:01.666+12:00Mozart's Magic Flute and the Abuse of Women.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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A stunning production of Mozart’s <a href="https://youtu.be/6s3Vsf9P0hE" target="_blank">“Magic Flute” by The Met. </a><br />
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It ought to be the perfect introduction to opera as it is easy to listen too and gorgeous to watch. It is a beautiful, classy pantomime. Mozart had to do it and was not the first or last composer to have lower his artistic standards to please his philistine masters and pay the rent but and it is a big “But” the content is really unacceptable today and if it were not by Mozart it would be condemned by all the “Me Too” followers for it condones the abduction of a girl child from her mother simply because all women are evil, not to be trusted the men know best!<br />
This attitude was common in Mozart’s time. Removing children from their mothers was an everyday occurrence. Beethoven did it successfully. He stole his nephew from his mother who had done nothing to deserve it and did not have to give him back.<br />
Pamina loves her mother. She tells her father so but Daddy knows best even though his wife has already chosen a lover for her, of whom he approves, saved Tamino’s life and given him his Magic Flute that will keep him from harm.<br />
Pamina is left at the door of the Temple that would be defiled if a woman entered. She is kept in the dark about her future. It is so humiliating and puts every woman in her place. Then her father bad mouth’s her mother in front of everybody just like Donald Trump and his daughter is told if she wants to marry then she must reject her mother and do what she is told by her husband for the rest of her life. No wonder her mother is slightly annoyed about this. I would be too.<br />
The only good part is The Queen of the Night is the most memorable character in the opera.<br />
If the opera were not by Mozart it would not be produced. There are many operas, operetta’s and musicals in this class and sadly most fairy tales would not cut the mustard either. Time for them to go?<br />
Still, I have watched three different 'Flutes' in the last few weeks this is the one I liked the best but I always feel uncomfortable when it is finished. Incredible standard. I just hope that Covid 19 does not damage this wonderful company.<br />
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Janettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04528401017547533622noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-360354118183938461.post-39346185530554351472020-06-27T09:18:00.000+12:002020-06-27T09:18:18.493+12:00Bournemouth's Corvid 19 crowded beaches<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiEPG2bMH3NIDbaSXQfnoTFZLSposr_KheJsxg1wAp1ckgYjsSJney_3IPMygN_WFB4NGOoRaZzQnFHEYD-jJywuglpfO1sZt466uMvB8_5OivFYvh1mFXNwtfPNAiWbsrNLB7wlkuXXg/s1600/Screen+Shot+2020-06-27+at+9.11.24+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="524" data-original-width="954" height="218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiEPG2bMH3NIDbaSXQfnoTFZLSposr_KheJsxg1wAp1ckgYjsSJney_3IPMygN_WFB4NGOoRaZzQnFHEYD-jJywuglpfO1sZt466uMvB8_5OivFYvh1mFXNwtfPNAiWbsrNLB7wlkuXXg/s400/Screen+Shot+2020-06-27+at+9.11.24+AM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #1c1e21; font-family: , , "blinkmacsystemfont" , ".sfnstext-regular" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Bournemouth! My family loved Bournemouth. I got taken there every year by my grandparents and I hated it but I did learn to play croquet and table tennis. My parents hated NZ and retired there! Bad choice as they learned to hate it too but, wow I never saw the beaches like this before. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #1c1e21; font-size: 14px;">This comes from having a lockdown and stopping this lot from going to Spain! In desperation, they have all come to Bournemouth. I cannot for the life of me understand why Spain wants them back!</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #1c1e21; font-family: , , "blinkmacsystemfont" , ".sfnstext-regular" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Watch this space for another spike of the virus in two weeks time. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #1c1e21; font-family: , , "blinkmacsystemfont" , ".sfnstext-regular" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><a href="https://www.stern.de/gesundheit/gesundheitsnews/briten-baden-bedenkenlos--abstandsregeln--ach-wo--9313518.html?utm_campaign=stern_fanpage&utm_medium=posting&utm_source=facebook&fbclid=IwAR00RC8zCHRWAzPAzhMuGYy9WB-b4GYQVo9Nl-Vsk9eNjBVA1nQtnmtiLto" target="_blank">It even shocked Germany!</a></span>Janettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04528401017547533622noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-360354118183938461.post-35307913370334441502020-06-27T09:10:00.000+12:002020-06-27T09:23:02.931+12:00How to grow Slipper Orchids in Auckland<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #1c1e21; font-family: , , "blinkmacsystemfont" , ".sfnstext-regular" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #1c1e21; font-family: , , "blinkmacsystemfont" , ".sfnstext-regular" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">The second orchid of the year is my magnificent Slipper Orchid with 17 slipper orchids. Three are hidden.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #1c1e21; font-family: , , "blinkmacsystemfont" , ".sfnstext-regular" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">This year it has excelled itself after a few disappointing years where it has produced just seven or eight and once five.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #1c1e21; font-family: , , "blinkmacsystemfont" , ".sfnstext-regular" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">I have had it for 18 years and was given to me by a neighbour who was about to die. It is her memorial and I think of her every year when it flowers</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #1c1e21; font-family: , , "blinkmacsystemfont" , ".sfnstext-regular" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">To get them to flower well is very difficult but this year I found t</span><span class="text_exposed_show" style="color: #1c1e21; display: inline; font-family: , , "blinkmacsystemfont" , ".sfnstext-regular" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">he right place for it to thrive. </span><br />
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="color: #1c1e21; display: inline; font-family: , , "blinkmacsystemfont" , ".sfnstext-regular" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">In Auckland, it goes like this. It likes the morning and early afternoon sun outside for the summer and no watering just the occasional shower. Keep it dry. It does not like being disturbed so no cutting for friends or repotting as it will sulk for years. A small feed and watch for slugs all the time as they eat the bugs. This is the moment I would reach for the slug pellets if I had them. </span><br />
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="color: #1c1e21; display: inline; font-family: , , "blinkmacsystemfont" , ".sfnstext-regular" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Water from February on, that is autumn here The moment it starts to flower usually in June, bring indoors and enjoy for a couple of months.<br />Next year it will possibly rest and it will be back to seven but aren't they gorgeous.<br />The secret of a nice garden is <i>"never move!"</i> Stay in the same place and learn what flowers for you. Takes about 45 years but what a reward.</span>Janettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04528401017547533622noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-360354118183938461.post-79950219058766143592020-06-25T14:21:00.000+12:002020-06-27T09:10:29.164+12:00The Sad Tale of Patch the bunny<div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="flic4" data-offset-key="dfvu4-0-0" style="caret-color: rgb(28, 30, 33); color: #1c1e21; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Patch" of Northcote Point NZ</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span data-offset-key="dfvu4-0-0">I </span>have acquired a bunny! </span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="dfvu4-0-0"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I do not want a bunny but it seems the bunny has decided it likes me. His name is Patch and it is a really sad story. A few months ago some very thoughtful neighbours decided they no longer wanted their pet bunnies and as they were moving let them go!</span></span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="1sotm-0-0"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Bunnies however cute are not wanted in NZ and one is only allowed to keep them under special conditions however NZ being sensible if they are spayed and people do not object they can live wild if they can!</span></span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="bq3sc-0-0"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This bunny has been eating my young plants. A well ago it ate my new expensive young rhubarb and a few others and I am afraid I was as enraged as Mr MacGregor of Peter Rabbit. I used to chase them out but about 10 days ago two nasty red setter dogs who were not on leads caught Patch's mate and killed it!</span></span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="9pqn6-0-0"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Bunnies are not supposed to have feelings but this one lingered saw where is mate was buried and tried to did her up! It was heartbreaking. It is winter so I have decided to feed the bunny. At first, he ran a mile as he knew I would chase him but gradually over the past few days he has responded with rabbit pellets and carrot and he let me stroke him.</span></span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="8t6ib-0-0"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So now I have three tuis, two doves on with a sore wing and a bunny! I am not supposed to have animals but he is so cute.</span></span></div>
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Janettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04528401017547533622noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-360354118183938461.post-13258422666910444242020-06-22T18:53:00.000+12:002020-06-22T18:53:40.414+12:00"Satyagraha " a Corvid19 treat from the Metropolitan Opera <br />
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Having had a go at "Akhnaten" at the Met yesterday I thought I would have a go at "Satyagraha " today. Both operas are by the minimalist Philip Glass. Having now experienced two of the most fabulous staged productions I have to admit my husband was right. It is like watching grass grow. <br />
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The little trailer is about 4 minutes long and really that is it but the whole opera takes nearly 3 hours. A few cords, a very basic vocal line mainly grunts and without the brilliant production a very boring evening. I cannot see these operas ever being given a concert performance! This one is made even more incomprehensible as there are no subtitles on purpose. Even Wiki did not come up with any useful programme notes. Act I was a few simple chords and grunts, ditto Act 2 but in Act 3 we got a couple of scales and lots of sellotape.<br />
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<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/PCGmbzRz9Ws" width="560"></iframe>Janettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04528401017547533622noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-360354118183938461.post-57608659598411313782020-06-12T19:49:00.001+12:002020-06-12T19:49:33.382+12:00Ghost of Versailles Metropolitan Opera 1992 Director Colin Graham<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I have waited a long time to see the original 1992 Metropolitan Opera, New York production of <i><a href="https://youtu.be/ot7UZWynn6w" target="_blank">The Ghost of Versailles </a></i>and it was worth it. What I did not realise is that the director was Colin Graham who was the director of my first opera "Noyes Fludde" in 1958 at Aldeburgh. We children, well Michael Crawford used to call him "He of the tight trousers"! I was so lucky to hit Colin as a director when I first started as he was punctilious and controlling down to the last eyelash. His 45 minutes of "Noye" was packed with intricacies. It took him 6 weeks to perfect.<br />
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Colin is the perfect director for this production which is packed with special moments and he pulled it off magnificently. He was really never truly appreciated in UK opera circles even by Britten who overlooked him on many occasions. I remember congratulating him on a particularly wonderful "Orpheus" at The Royal Opera House. His sad reply was "They haven't asked me to do anything else!" which was really all our loss as he was a truly great opera director as this production is evidence.<br />
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Still, this is a worthy finale. He ended up for a while as a monk is a strange cult in the Bible belt USA but left after a year. I am so glad the Met gave him this 20h Century grand opera. He gave them their money's worth.<br />
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Janettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04528401017547533622noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-360354118183938461.post-13237306430290502422020-06-10T10:06:00.001+12:002020-06-10T10:06:02.449+12:00Four Children and It" - Independent Film Julie Baines BBC World 2020<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrYsD8fejbHueBobWpY5RzmRQ7kfG82KM9_J-o8pEhbulKusdYaiyB-Bu7GWeKl63EpI2T4a8O-QJmHtsTEfcX_E0iqmyVi6EHOCDHRkn0Jbok4TX9fkFca4MTNkU1Ww2xAa4hp_vxGqc/s1600/Screen+Shot+2020-06-10+at+9.33.48+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="722" data-original-width="930" height="310" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrYsD8fejbHueBobWpY5RzmRQ7kfG82KM9_J-o8pEhbulKusdYaiyB-Bu7GWeKl63EpI2T4a8O-QJmHtsTEfcX_E0iqmyVi6EHOCDHRkn0Jbok4TX9fkFca4MTNkU1Ww2xAa4hp_vxGqc/s400/Screen+Shot+2020-06-10+at+9.33.48+AM.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Four Kids and IT produced by Julie Baines</td></tr>
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I listened to Julie Baines the producer talking about her film <i>Four Children and IT </i>on<a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/w3cszvb8" target="_blank"> BBC World</a> this morning and how it took 8 years of her life. It was fascinating and informative. Like the BBC interviewer, I was touched by her enthusiasm and tenacity. I have loved this story since I was a child a long time ago. I remember seeing it on BBC children's TV in black and white.<br />
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Because of Covid19, this film has been denied its theatre exposure. That was just such bad luck but as I live in New Zealand and I also live next door to an art cinema I may get the opportunity to view.<br />
For her sake, I do hope so as without it the backers may not get their money back.<br />
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Was this a wise choice because another film version <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five_Children_and_It_(film)" target="_blank">Five Children and It </a>was made in 2004 and rather well too looking at<a href="https://youtu.be/moZugdUFBXw" target="_blank"> the trailer.</a> E Nesbit published the story in 1902 and it would have been out of copyright. That is 6% of the budget saved.<br />
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You can tell a lot from a trail. Gone are the days when the audience just had to take what was given. The audience is now an expert and very choosey.<br />
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Casting is crucial too and it has to be right. I think Russel Brant is one of the greatest Shakespearean comedy actors ever but even in the few shots in this trail you can see this is not his forte and Michael Caine's voice is not right either.<br />
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Will I go? Although NZ is supposed to be Corvid19 free I am still anxious but I wish her the best.<br />
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It doesn't help when Julie Baines does not have a Wikipedia entry either. Nobody has thought in the film world to give her one, you cannot write your own. No male producer would put up with this.<br />
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The world needs people like her to have dreams even if they don't always work out the first time as the may the second.<br />
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<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/gH2qKK52E3k" width="560"></iframe>Janettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04528401017547533622noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-360354118183938461.post-46440188934943495402020-06-07T09:40:00.000+12:002020-06-07T09:40:14.820+12:00"Candide" Bernstein Glasgow Opera BBC production 2018 YouTube<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS-2NI8jVOWv3DcN4Xlz2m8ao9zaFlZckgERxSpxbX_6nquHDxlu0nClXOahSRpwp28l6AGzjNz6sXTzN0DYw4YDLP2K_1s5_DjGPh_KSzMFpbb5GF2HRFHM_pnr3B4W-mbnMgEBNwu9w/s1600/Screen+Shot+2020-06-07+at+8.06.06+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="870" data-original-width="1270" height="219" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS-2NI8jVOWv3DcN4Xlz2m8ao9zaFlZckgERxSpxbX_6nquHDxlu0nClXOahSRpwp28l6AGzjNz6sXTzN0DYw4YDLP2K_1s5_DjGPh_KSzMFpbb5GF2HRFHM_pnr3B4W-mbnMgEBNwu9w/s320/Screen+Shot+2020-06-07+at+8.06.06+AM.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://youtu.be/uQEQNuY6waw" target="_blank">"Candide" Bernstein Glasgow BBC production</a></div>
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Found this last night! I have never seen a staged production only very good concert versions but they still were concert versions. This one filmed by the BBC is all I need. Wonderful staging, singing and acting and believe me "Candide" needs very professional performers. Bernstein oversaw this production and is sitting in the audience with minor Royalty so it has his mark of approval.</div>
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I never realised it is so long and I haven't finished it just yet. It is about 2hr 45 min.</div>
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T<span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline; font-family: inherit;">he design features oversized furniture. I used huge furniture in my production of "Die Fledermaus" in Wellington and Auckland. Not sure it was right for me. The scene designer did not tell me that the furniture was oversized until too late and I was not happy as it makes the actors look like puppets and my characters had to be larger than life but that oversized furniture in the correct context is fine here as the characters are in fact the puppets of fate. Never be employed as a director if you can help it. For me, it was a horrible experience from which I have yet to recover.<br /></span><br />
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline; font-family: inherit;">Miles, my very knowledgable GP husband Oriel Oxford, always thought that as an opera composer Bernstein was very poor G&S and one can see that here in the numbers for <i>Dr Pangloss </i>of which there are quite a few. Bernstein was really a fantastic musical composer and this is a musical style which is still going strong today in "Hamilton". I love musicals by the way and performed in many but they are different from opera.</span></div>
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Janettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04528401017547533622noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-360354118183938461.post-32283115190967723842020-06-03T10:25:00.002+12:002020-06-03T10:27:30.957+12:00Glyndebourne Opera appeal for donations Corvid19 2020<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG_HyRdlD05xT03EiMNpa_VEKvp1sr84gKeW8ARTv1P3beJBmftySjsET-_zIe6GRyby5NPIpaWmWxR_OmYyes0xJeGWjYQIiWCzcAMf68VH2QZPLfThTpz-XIvwiFJ8_L7YmPJ486V2o/s1600/Screen+Shot+2020-06-03+at+10.10.51+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="887" data-original-width="1600" height="221" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG_HyRdlD05xT03EiMNpa_VEKvp1sr84gKeW8ARTv1P3beJBmftySjsET-_zIe6GRyby5NPIpaWmWxR_OmYyes0xJeGWjYQIiWCzcAMf68VH2QZPLfThTpz-XIvwiFJ8_L7YmPJ486V2o/s400/Screen+Shot+2020-06-03+at+10.10.51+AM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<span class="style-scope yt-formatted-string" dir="auto" style="border: 0px; color: #030303; font-family: "roboto" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span class="style-scope yt-formatted-string" dir="auto" style="border: 0px; color: #030303; font-family: "roboto" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
<span class="style-scope yt-formatted-string" dir="auto" style="border: 0px; color: #030303; font-family: "roboto" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
<span class="style-scope yt-formatted-string" dir="auto" style="border: 0px; color: #030303; font-family: "roboto" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; white-space: pre-wrap;">I love opera and have been going to The Royal Opera House since I was 9. I used to queue for tickets all the time I lived in London and could always get it but never to a Gala as I was not on <i>the list.</i> You had to on <i>the list f</i>or getting Gala tickets. I did go to A Gala because I was in the ballet. The point is I could get in, to Covent Garden but Glyndebourne Opera? No never. Glyndebourne did not want the likes of me. Aldeburgh? Yes. Glyndebourne? No. "Not even for ready money" as Oscar Wilde put it so succinctly.</span><br />
<span class="style-scope yt-formatted-string" dir="auto" style="border: 0px; color: #030303; font-family: "roboto" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
<span class="style-scope yt-formatted-string" dir="auto" style="border: 0px; color: #030303; font-family: "roboto" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Now in the midst of the Corvid19 catastrophe for the Arts Glyndebourne needs me to make a donation by offering its productions online on YouTube for a month. </span><br />
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It is such a pity that with so much to offer Glyndebourne has been such a horrible place to visit. Every time I visit I am met with a feeling that Glyndebourne has to put up with me but would rather be left alone. I am not the type or class that is welcome at Glyndebourne. I am actually upper middle class in the scheme of things but with touches of Trade. I married on Oxford educated GP and even he was not good enough for Glyndebourne either He went to the opera once a week either ENA or Covent Garden but he too never got tickets for Glyndebourne.<br />
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<span class="style-scope yt-formatted-string" dir="auto" style="border: 0px; color: #030303; font-family: "roboto" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
<span class="style-scope yt-formatted-string" dir="auto" style="border: 0px; color: #030303; font-family: "roboto" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; white-space: pre-wrap;">The last time I visited was with an ancient aunt who was dying who lived in Brighton. I live in New Zealand and as she lived in Brighton she wanted to visit Glyndebourne but unfortunately had never been able to buy tickets. It seems she and I were not on the list of preferred customers and as she had never seen it so I drove her as a treat. It was out of season so I drove in at the gate so she could get a better look. The huge car park was empty. </span><span class="style-scope yt-formatted-string" dir="auto" style="border: 0px; color: #030303; font-family: "roboto" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; white-space: pre-wrap;">
</span><span class="style-scope yt-formatted-string" dir="auto" style="border: 0px; color: #030303; font-family: "roboto" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; white-space: pre-wrap;">
</span><span class="style-scope yt-formatted-string" dir="auto" style="border: 0px; color: #030303; font-family: "roboto" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; white-space: pre-wrap;">As I stopped the car a well-dressed woman who was obviously someone in authority strode over to the car and tapped on the window. "Get out" she screamed in her very upper-class English voice. I timidly said that my aunt just wanted to see the opera house even from a distance. This was met with "Get out. We are not open! Go away! We are closed" So we did. We did feel like naughty children from the village who did not know our place. We certainly got the message that we were not wanted. I was so embarrassed that I had put my aunt in such a position. It was very hurtful and not necessary.</span><span class="style-scope yt-formatted-string" dir="auto" style="border: 0px; color: #030303; font-family: "roboto" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; white-space: pre-wrap;">
</span><span class="style-scope yt-formatted-string" dir="auto" style="border: 0px; color: #030303; font-family: "roboto" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; white-space: pre-wrap;">
</span><span class="style-scope yt-formatted-string" dir="auto" style="border: 0px; color: #030303; font-family: "roboto" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; white-space: pre-wrap;">I had tried to book tickets for many years with no luck. It was almost impossible to get tickets. You had to be on the list of approved. I was certainly not. The only time I went was by myself when I was given a ticket. It is rather a lonely place by oneself in the long interval with just an apple. The only time I bought tickets was when the box office made a mistake and advertised for one day only that tickets were available from the Glyndebourne office so I dropped everything and went down to book. It is a long 54-mile drive from London. When I got there the box office was not open and I was greeted with horror but as it was advertised they had to sell me two tickets as it is the law. The ad was changed the next day to keep the riff-raff out. </span><span class="style-scope yt-formatted-string" dir="auto" style="border: 0px; color: #030303; font-family: "roboto" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; white-space: pre-wrap;">
</span><span class="style-scope yt-formatted-string" dir="auto" style="border: 0px; color: #030303; font-family: "roboto" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; white-space: pre-wrap;">
</span><span class="style-scope yt-formatted-string" dir="auto" style="border: 0px; color: #030303; font-family: "roboto" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; white-space: pre-wrap;">I now live in Auckland so going to Glyndebourne is out of the question. Now with the larger house and more tickets to sell, I hope they are more welcoming.</span><span class="style-scope yt-formatted-string" dir="auto" style="border: 0px; color: #030303; font-family: "roboto" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; white-space: pre-wrap;">
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</span><span class="style-scope yt-formatted-string" dir="auto" style="border: 0px; color: #030303; font-family: "roboto" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; white-space: pre-wrap;">This production looks rather good but it is only because of a catastrophe at the end of my life that I am allowed to see one. Now it sadly seems that Glyndebourne is willing to accept my money that it has rejected for most of my life. </span><br />
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When I was at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama I never realised that the life one of my colleagues would be made into a ballet performed at the<a href="https://youtu.be/qDdo6P8LnFE" target="_blank"> Royal Opera House,</a> Covent Garden as we sat drinking tea out of huge white china cups in the local Fleet Street workman's cafe. In those days Jacquline du Pre had very short cropped red bobbed hair but she was already "special" and it was no surprise that she won the Gold Medal for musicians in the same year that I won the GSM&D Production Prize and Michael Jayston won the prize for Drama. We were a very talented lot but this would have surprised us all.<br />
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I am not sure what she would have made of it but I was surprised and delighted at the result even though I think the true story which was not all roses for her and her family could have been even stronger if this could have been postponed a couple of years until all the supporting cast could be portrayed more realistically. Regretfully the ballet leans on sentimentality which is not a bad thing as it touches us emotionally at the moment of performance when not a dry eye in the house seems fitting but later one when one gets a grip on oneself I always feel slightly annoyed as I did after watching "Song of Bernardette". Du Pre's life, glittering career though it was and full of promise, ended up in tragedy for all of us.<br />
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Lovely choreography, dancers were wonderful as usual and splendid production. Well done! Took some courage to mount this.<br />
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PS. I was glad to see that the Royal Ballet gave the young dancer who played the youthful Du Pre the correct curtain call. She deserved it but also could have deserved a bouquet too! The Royal Opera House should have a few spares on these occasions. Fonteyn used to have a standing order at the local florists for her bunch of pink roses, not red, from her missing husband. I feel sure the budget could run to it.<br />
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Well worth watching!Janettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04528401017547533622noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-360354118183938461.post-6116000752607215302020-05-28T18:57:00.000+12:002020-05-28T18:57:03.551+12:00David Hockney and the Camera Obscura of 1420<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOfWzI5hg_VfjLiEwWubZL7F57F-_ymiwtsbqnEMqLrv9LtLdHuqbJYhZ4xeye5uu2Cv9rNj1j5cE0fx272D-sASISwT-QvJhOtHPPo9gvifH0pulu85rljrcwQZ6LlMJpwhsWNSavF5c/s1600/Screen+Shot+2020-05-28+at+6.51.27+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="928" data-original-width="1416" height="261" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOfWzI5hg_VfjLiEwWubZL7F57F-_ymiwtsbqnEMqLrv9LtLdHuqbJYhZ4xeye5uu2Cv9rNj1j5cE0fx272D-sASISwT-QvJhOtHPPo9gvifH0pulu85rljrcwQZ6LlMJpwhsWNSavF5c/s400/Screen+Shot+2020-05-28+at+6.51.27+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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Saw this<a href="https://youtu.be/JKbFZIpNK10" target="_blank"> BBC documentary </a>a long time ago in 2011 and I found it again by accident today in 2020. This documentary made me appreciate just how brilliant David Hockney is.<br />
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Ever since I saw this type of painting in my youth, my mother always included a sojourn at the National Gallery when we went up to London by tube, I was fascinated by the problem of how the artists did it. The intricate lacework on the ruffs seemed impossible to achieve. <br />
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It never occurred to me when I was nine it was <i>traced </i>as today we trace in Adobe Illustrator. Hockney's explanation is so simple and his evidence conclusive.<br />
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All these pictures are about 32 cm square as that is the size that the subject comes into focus. When shown in black and white they all look like photos. This all happened about 1420. Yes, it can be dated.<br />
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Enjoy.<br />
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<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/JKbFZIpNK10" width="560"></iframe>Janettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04528401017547533622noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-360354118183938461.post-12194385116373454002020-05-28T10:43:00.000+12:002020-05-28T10:47:00.408+12:00Janette Miller The Adobe Products I use in 2020<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFko9_NIXRp8xPa2ytrfDyIw3SqUfhyoUWvQXBnrQ4QGTLbL7odXkSv_OD3meD6GPoM6yUAj8unM9VsdWFlVnbvg-RxmUwSddByJTXioDgW-IJwZK73eqOk1uiEORFFW7FKKq0De8-w1o/s1600/Screen+Shot+2020-05-28+at+10.32.54+AM.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="206" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFko9_NIXRp8xPa2ytrfDyIw3SqUfhyoUWvQXBnrQ4QGTLbL7odXkSv_OD3meD6GPoM6yUAj8unM9VsdWFlVnbvg-RxmUwSddByJTXioDgW-IJwZK73eqOk1uiEORFFW7FKKq0De8-w1o/s400/Screen+Shot+2020-05-28+at+10.32.54+AM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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I use Adobe products. </div>
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They are all <span style="text-align: center;">challenging to use and take some learning and there are so many of them that I enjoyed this video. </span></div>
<h1 class="title style-scope ytd-video-primary-info-renderer" style="border: 0px; color: var(--ytd-video-primary-info-renderer-title-color, var(--yt-spec-text-primary)); font-family: Roboto, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: var(--ytd-video-primary-info-renderer-title-font-size, var(--yt-navbar-title-font-size, inherit)); font-variant: var(--ytd-video-primary-info-renderer-title-font-variant, inherit); font-weight: 400; line-height: 2.4rem; margin: 0px; max-height: 4.8rem; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; text-shadow: var(--ytd-video-primary-info-renderer-title-text-shadow, none); transform: var(--ytd-video-primary-info-renderer-title-transform, none);">
<yt-formatted-string class="style-scope ytd-video-primary-info-renderer" force-default-style="" style="word-break: break-word;"><a href="https://youtu.be/7W0ISI3yqwo" target="_blank">All 50+ Adobe apps explained in 10 minutes</a></yt-formatted-string></h1>
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<span style="text-align: center;">It must have taken an age to make and it is only one of three made by this maker<a href="https://youtu.be/7W0ISI3yqwo" target="_blank"> humtog </a>but it has had over 3 million views and I can see why. </span></div>
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<span style="text-align: center;">I use Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Auditon, Muse, ( Now obsolete but still the best web design programme) Premiere Pro, plus an awful lot of others on my iPad and iPhone. </span></div>
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<span style="text-align: center;">If I don't use them for a bit, like now when I have been watching the Metropolitan Opera I get out of touch and have to revise.</span></div>
Thinking of reading another audiobook. I lost my voice due to hyperthyroidism but now it is coming back. I shall use Audition to do this as for sound enhancement there is nothing else like it. Maybe the novella "The Turn of the Screw" by Henry James. I'll see.<br />
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I have had to relearn how to use this blog too as I gave up on it it appears when I took to FB but I think I shall give it another go.<br />
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Janettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04528401017547533622noreply@blogger.com0