Portobello Street Market (June 2009)

Pina Bausch (1940-2009)

Ich muss in der Oberstufe gewesen sein, als ich zum ersten Mal ein Stück von Pina Bausch gesehen habe. Viel zu spät. Ich glaube, es war Wiesenland. Dann, während des Studiums, Nur Du. Und letzes Jahr, im "Heimaturlaub" in Wuppertal, Nelken.

Menschen reisen aus der ganzen Welt nach Wuppertal, um das Tanztheater Pina Bausch zu sehen. Sie füllten Theater in New York, London, Paris, Tokio. Und wir Wuppertaler waren stolz auf sie, auf unsere Pina. Pina Bausch und ihre Truppe haben Menschen bewegt, manchmal geärgert, immer Gefühle geweckt, oft glücklich gemacht.

Heute ist Pina Bausch verstorben.

Waiting for Patrick Stewart

Just came back from a day in London town, the afternoon of which was spent watching Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen in 'Waiting for Godot'. And what an amazing production it was. Quite sad though, but I like it when theatre evokes emotions!

Afterwards, I joined the crowds outside the stage door. Erm, when I say crowds, I mean about a dozen of people! This is seriously nothing compared to what I experienced when David Tennant was on stage in Stratford!

Anyway, we spent a little time waiting, and then lo and behold Captain Jean-Luc Picard himself (oops, Patrick Stewart) came outside and patiently gave autographs to all of us.

I even managed to have a serious in-depth conversation with him!

Me: "I loved the play, it was amazing."
Him: "Oh great, thanks" (turns away)

Afterwards, Sir Patrick walked down the road, to boldly go to somewhere else, all hidden behind his baseball cap (I have the same one!) and shades. Oh, and he's a Guardian reader, if anybody is interested (you should be).

Everything will be ok

I know, it's just a silly commercial for a bank, but still. Quite hearwarming.

Ludlow (March 2009)

Another daytrip with my adorable little car, this time to Shropshire. Here are some pictures of Ludlow Castle:

... Shropshire from up high.

Sorted

Got my outfit for my friend's wedding in May sorted:

Click on the link to see my new favourite dress by Ted Baker - it's a British designer, I did my bit, you see!

Update:

Just in time for the wedding, I found my new favourite shoes (they are purple, how can I not love them?).

Hay-on-Wye (April 2006)

Over the Easter holidays, I finally made it to Hay-on-Wye - having my own car really helps sometimes! 66 miles one way from Birmingham to Wales, quite a long drive! I even managed not to get lost when the police had closed of part of the road on the way back, and redirected me through the Worcestershire countryside (I can now say I've been to Great Witley)!

Hay was great, but ever so slightly disappointing as I thought it would be more like Fontenoi-la-Joute in Lorraine/France, which I visited a few years ago. Hay is much larger than 'le village du livre', so some of the atmosphere gets lost. Still, Hay is the original book village and it was a fab day out!

I bought a London guide book from 1956 (see my earlier post) - very entertaining reading!

The British Museum (Feb 2009)

It's been a while since I last posted pictures from my favourite museum in the world (the Met is a close second place), so here you go:

Das schöne Wuppertal

Düsseldorf Airport, passport control. I give my passport to the border policeman. He notices I'm from Wuppertal.

Policeman: 'So what's the best thing about Wuppertal?'
Me: 'Erm, the Schwebebahn?'
Policeman: 'No - the road out of it.'

Hahaha. Very funny. Not.

(Why do I always live in the cities that are the laughing stock of the nation?)