London 2012 Handover Party & Notting Hill Carnival

Well London is basking in the joy of hosting the next Olympics in 2012. The Beijing Olympics have just finished, controversy and all. But hey, you gotta give it to the mainlanders for putting on a magnificent, captivating, flawless opening ceremony - lip synching, aethestically-pleasing child and all. It was all executed with military precision. Hang on! The performers were subject to a gruelling military schedule.

Well, comparatively it's better to be subject to such a schedule and have a guaranteed roof over your head than being scooted out of your own home or being a 'problem resident'. Good on China too for having the best medal tally - suspect-aged gymnasts and all. Need I mention the sell-out venues too? Even if the spectators were rent-a-crowds. Oh but of course! I jest, I jest!! If you want to learn more, here's a good summary

The Olympic coverage over here was a bit random. But I guess each country will televise the sports that their countrymen are participating in, hence the obscure-why-is-this-a-legitimate-Olympic-sport coverage. I'm used to seeing swimming dominate the first few days, but nope, nothing of the sort unless a Brit was competing. Fair enough. I do have to hand it the Brits for their medal tally. For a country usually renown for losing sporting events, yep it sure is a good effort. The media had (several) field days.

Anyway, I digress. The handover closing ceremony was today. It all looked like a bit of fun. Andy Lau was there. Jackie Chan was there. Both were part of the closing song - "Beijing, Beijing, Wo ai Beijing" - cheesy and annoyingly catchy. The handing over to London and the showcasing of the next host city was a bit...embarrassing and tacky? There was something a bit last minute and Rock Eisteddfod about it. I guess the Brits have conceded that they would never equal the sheer perfection of the Beijing games ceremony.

London itself celebrated the handover with a street party near Buckingham Palace.

It was a ticket-only event but we arrived and hey, security was lax and we mingled our way into the crowd. McFly were playing and did a version of ABBA's "The Winner Takes it All". M-People performed! Or at least the lead singer from M-People was there performing her song.

A couple of fighter jets (me thinks) flew by and left their mark.

It was a jolly good time and to mark the occasion I got some exclusive souvenirs.

One day... one day... people will envy my mug and t-shirt!!!!

"Oh, were you at the London Olympics handover party?"
"Yes, indeed I was."
"Wow, that is so darn, freaking cool."

Or something like that.

The party broke up and so we made our way to the Notting Hill Carnival. Probably similar to the carnivals held in Rio and the Caribbean (not that I've been), this was a colourful and noisy affair. I'm getting old; at times, I felt it was a bit too noisy. There were a lot of teenagers loitering around, trying to pick-up members of the opposite sex - again, I'm showing my age.

We missed the parade but saw a few trucks bleating carnivale-type musik.

(T-B, L-R) I was here to try the Caribbean food! Jerk chicken skewers. Jerk chicken and rice. I can't remember why it's purply. I think it's the beans. Fresh coconut juice. Chicken being cooked in a drum. I think it's the convection currents.

At one of the stalls. Yes, I am eating my skewer near a giant bin.

Yes that is Notting Hill in the backgroudn. Ignore the boarded up stores and graffiti. It's not a permanent fixture. Just protection from the rowdy crowds!

Smoke fills the air with all the chicken-y goodness.

Another pit stop for a coconut juice.

Well, I'm pretty glad to tick off the Notting Hill Festival on my to-do list. The only reason why I hadn't been before it is held on a long weekend and I'm usually not in London!

Jersey Boys (again!)

Well after the hoo-ha of Jersey Boys the first time around, Kt and I couldn't get enough. We HAD to go again. And so we did. Tonight in fact. Hehehe.

This time we dragged along four others.... and a fake microphone and home-made (ok, I did it when I should've been working) lyric book. I'll also mention that the songs were listed accordingly in chronological order :D

We happily settled for the cheap seats by which we were assigned the back row of the upper circle. I wasn't too fussed having already seen it second row from the front first time around. The view actually wasn't bad because the rake was surprisingly not as steep as other theatres. The view got even better when an usher announced that the theatre wasn't full and that we could all move forward. Yay! *clap clap*

No one was seated behind us so we happily bopped in our seats. No one could hear us, so we happily sang at the top of our voices, microphone in hand :D

I can't wait to watch it AGAIN!!!!

Hairspray

I haven't watched the Hairspray movie; neither the 2007 or the 1988 version. Two reasons why: - I didn't know what it was about and secondly, because I didn't know what it about, it didn't interest me. I knew that John Travolta was in drag in it but that's it.

Well since being in London, I realised that the movie is based on the Broadway musical, so in turn I avoided watching the movie when possible. Not difficult to do given that the movie wasn't exactly in yer face.

Watching this was on my list but not terribly high. I could live without having gone seen it. Our cheap seats were in the upper most tier... and you all know how I feel about upper tiers. But this theatre wasn't too bad and I didn't have to strain my neck. The production is bright and chirpy. Big hair, colourful sets. The music is very similar in style of Jersey Boys - 1960s dancey, pop-y, rhythm and blues-y. I can see why it was made into a general release movie.

The plot is set in the 1960s around Tracy Turnblad, a teenager who becomes famous overnight after dancing on TV. Ooooh but she dances like a 'negro' (scandal!) and ends up a campaigner for racial harmony. I have to admit, I didn't expect morals to be so central to the plot in the musical. Not that it's a bad message (hey, who doesn't want to punch a racist?) but all the other musicals I've watched are either fairytale-esque, love/sob stories or just purely entertainment.

It gives you a light, happy night out which puts you in a smiley mood afterward. Definitely enjoyable with catchy songs. My favourites were 'Good Morning Baltimore' and 'I Can Hear the Bells'.

Macho men might not enjoy it. But then again, if the movie version has Zac Efron *rolls eyes*, then they're obviously not the intended audience.

Thorpe Park

My love affair with amusement rides began when I was about 12 years old in my final year of primary school. We celebrated the end of the school year by going to Luna Park. I have no clear memories except for the Gravitron, but I do know that I repeated the joy in my first year of high school. I lined up for pretty much all the rides, even the lame-ass ghost train (yes, even as a 12 year old, I thought it was lame) and queued again for the ones I liked most. The last time I went to an amusement park was two years ago and it was high time I go again :D

Fear of heights, motion sickness? Nah, not me. (Ok, fine, I would be scared of heights if wasn't safely strapped in a chair). The closer I am to the start of the queue, the more excited I get :D I do pity those who are unable/refuse to experience the adrenalin rush. You really don't know what you're missing out on! It's a DRRUUUGGGGGG.... *happy sigh*

When Baoey suggested we go to Thorpe Park, I was like an American cheerleader going in for battle - BRING.... IT...... ON!!! Woo hoo! 2-for-1 tickets made it all the much better :D

Thorpe Park wasn't too far from central London, just a 30 minute ride from Waterloo into Ali G town (Staines) and then another 10 minutes or so on the shuttle bus. A not-so-long line greeted us on arrival. Pretty good considering it's the school summer holidays. I practically ran inside after getting my ticket.

Our first ride of choice was the Stealth - f**k yeah! With claims it is the fastest rollercoaster in Europe, it better be damn good. Well it wasn't so good lining up for 90 minutes before getting on the ride. Nor was it reassuring that the engineers had to do a spot check. Once strapped in, the ride began with a countdown and then an explosive rush to reach the 80mph (128km/h) maximum speed within 2 seconds. Wooooh! Oh yeaaaaaah.... The entire ride lasted a whole.... 30 seconds. :-s

Unfortunately this was the pattern for the whole day. Average queuing time was about 80 minutes. Grrrrr.... I don't remember having to queue this long for Movieworld or Dreamworld! If I ever go again (any takers? :D) I'll buy a Fastrack ticket to skip the queue.

Queuing for the Colossus me thinks.

A few rides here and there later, then the rain started to pour :( Not the best time to do the water rides but hey, if you're gonna get wet by the rain, might as well get wet from the rides too.

The rain all became a bit too much and thus ended our trip to Thorpe Park :( Anyone going again? Let me know!

Book Review: Diary of a Young Girl

As mentioned previously, I'd never read Anne Frank's diary. I figured it was about high time I did after visiting the house she'd hidden in during the Nazi occupation. I guess this is not so much a book 'review' per se. How is it appropriate to 'grade' another someone's journal, especially that of a person who perished in the Holocaust? Whilst Anne made it evident she was re-drafting parts of her diary in anticipation that she would submit it for publication, it is still a personal memoir which one feels compelled not to critique.

Despite that feeling, it was difficult to do so anyway. While I could understand why as a child I found the book boring; as an adult, I was amazed at the depth of her writing and how articulate she was for a 13 -15 year old. Obviously, the version I read is an English translation of the original text. However, I doubt the translator would have embellished or manipulated the memoirs beyond recognition.

The diary reads... as a diary would. Entries were detailed in their depiction of the (at times) tense relationship between the tenants of the annex - something quite unexpected for girl barely into her teens.

It's a book that should be read by all at some point in life. It's nothing arduous. I'm not gonna go on and on about the atrocities of WWII but yes, history like this should be acknowledged. It's a shame to hear that studying History in the UK is declining. Ok, I never majored in it either, but at least I found it fascinating!

Quality of Content: 5
Readability: 4 - 4.5

Jersey Boys

Oh yeah, this was a musical I was really looking forward to. Jersey Boys had set up shop in the old Mary Poppins theatre. I did have a poke around at getting tickets in New York last year, but unlike the West End in London, Broadway doesn't seem have the same type of cheapie tickets deals. Kt and I both really wanted to see it, but given that it was a new production, tickets were very much in the steep end. The tickets, one of which was Leesh's birthday gift (but she didn't join us because of the Kylie concert!) were erm... second row from the front. Maybe a little bit too close but hey, we were more than happy to watch spit fly from the performer's mouths.

Kt and I prepared for the big day by dancing and singing to the soundtrack, annoying everyone around us. Yes indeed, we did.

For those of you unfamiliar with the story, the musical is based on the events surrounding the band Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. At this point, a lot of people might ask, 'Who?'. But I will bet $100 - hell, make it £100 - that you've heard at least one of their songs. Lemme list you a few - Oh, What a Night, Sherry, Stay and Can't Take My Eyes Off You. Still don't know? Lemme jog your memory:

Ok, I admit, I am quite biased. This musical would have had to be VERY shit for me to not enjoy it. But how shit could it have been? The music! The petty criminals! The blue collar background! The story writes itself.

The production is slick, the performances polished (we had an understudy for one of the supporting leads but you couldn't tell), the music... well that goes without saying - it is freaking awesome! Once in a while, Frankie's lead nasal tones might get to you, but hey, that's what makes the Four Seasons.

You can really tell how behind I am with updating. This is the London cast performing at the Royal Variety Show.. four months after the date of this blog entry. Either that or Jersey Boys are time travelers!