I was watching a video on Insta about the largest gap at Bank station (can't find the post as it vanished mid read (you can read about it here though) and then recalled an embarrassing incident in my first month of blogging. No one commented on the original post.
Mind the Pigeon!"
I had two embarrassing mishaps yesterday! 1.) I was entering City University for my Gamelan rehearsal and think I held the door open too long, as a pigeon seemed to fly through the door with me. I attempted to sneak up on it as it stood in the corridor looking at me, and then it decided to fly down the corridor with myself in hot pursuit. We reached the stairwell before the music office where it perched on the banister, where I knew all was lost if it went downstairs! I approached it from the other side, and it flew into the computer room, followed closely by myself.... And was greeted by a class of students, I looked at them, and looked at the pigeon who had flown up to the pipe at the top of the room (and who was blatantly thinking "ner ner ner ner ner"), and just collapsed into laughter. I just slowly backed out of the room and made my way to my rehearsal. Wonder where it is now... 2.) Wending my weary way from the rehearsal later on, after a lovely chat with Gamelan friends in the pub, I made the dash up the spiral stairway at Bank, to run to catch the Central line eastbound. We London-dwellers, must all have grown used to the Dalek-like voice which orders one to "Mind the Gap". Well, I must have been away with the fairies, and most certainly DIDN'T mind the gap, and found myself falling straight into the gap beside the train. I looked at the ankles of other late-night commuters in silence, and as someone hauled me out of the gap, burst into raucuous laughter. I ask you, How is one supposed to regain one's self-respect whilst reading a Famous Five book, clutching an R2D2 handbag surrounded by witnesses to such an embarrassing mistake?!
Last Christmas, my Stepmum and Dad bought CBC and I a really cool present together with my sister and her boyfriend. A voucher for us to visit the Crystal Maze Experience in London.
For a child of the 80's/90's, this is the ultimate excitement!
In case you don't know what I am talking about, the Crystal Maze was a game show which began in 1990. The premise of the game was that a team of 6 were quickly hurried through four adventure zones by a Maze-master. The four zones were The Medieval zone, the Industrial zone, the Futuristic zone and the Aztec zone. In Later series, the Oceanic zone replaced the Industrial Zone.
In each zone,the team's elected captain was asked to select the type of game they wanted to play:
Physical, Mental,Skill or Mystery.
They then selected one of their team to play it. The team member was then grasped by the host/Maze Master and then taken to a closed door. They were told they had either 2minutes, 2 and a half minutes or 3 minutes and thrust through the door whilst the rest of the team watched through a window or a screen.
The selected team member then had to figure out how to solve the puzzle/challenge with help from the rest of the team shouting out.
If they were successful, they would win a crystal which would be grabbed and the team member would then bang on the door to be let out.
Beware though, if you didn't get out in time, you will get locked in!!!
The only way you could escape from the locked room would be if the team sacrificed one of their precious crystals.
The first host of the game was the wonderful mercurial Richard O'Brien, Creator of the Rocky Horror Picture Show! He was wonderfully eccentric and really created a brilliant atmosphere. After several series, Richard O'Brien left and was replaced by Ed Tudor-Pole.
The game was revived a few years ago with Richard Ayoade as host.
Back to the present, finally, it was hugely exciting to know it had been made into an experience that everyone could have a go at but I'd never got around to investigating it!
It was so exciting when we received it as a present but we didn't really get around to booking it.
We finally booked a date for last Sunday but sadly, last minute, my sister's boyfriend couldn't make it as he had a job interview about 4 hours drive away. Luckily, my stepmum came in his place.
So...what was it like?
We arrived and were sent to wait in Figaro's bar upstairs, a really pretty and attractive place to wait. You can just go there for drinks if you want.
Teams were fetched and asked to leave their belongings in a locker. You aren't allowed to take phones or cameras with you, to keep the maze secret.
We were then ushered into a vestibule where they played the theme music and credits on a screen and our maze master appeared through a door!
Our host was called Byron and he was really sweet and fun and had all the energy necessary for a Maze Master.
We went into the Medieval zone first.
We'd selected my sister as Team Captain and me as Vice Captain.
The first game was a mystery and I offered to go first.
Before we'd gone in, they all knew I didn't want to do a physical if possible as I am very clumsy and uncoordinated!
When I ran into my first game, I was DELIGHTED as it featured a set of different sized bells on the wall, all tuned to a different pitch with colours. Those colours were the same as my glockenspiels as my school instruments!! I took one look at the first set of colours and named the tune without playing it as it was one I actually taught to my kids this week (and I use the colours on my work sheets!). The third one I just sang to check what it was. The second tune was a little harder to know without playing it so I played it on the bells and my Stepmum named it! I won my crystal!
Next, CBC played a Skill- which was IMPOSSIBLE! No crystal! My sister followed with a Physical- also hard- no crystal! My stepmum played a Mystery and won her crystal!
There are always new teams going through the maze behind you so they move you on quickly. You get 4 games in each zone, the zone is subdivided into two parts so they can move another team in. There are lots of rooms- I was itching to know what was behind all the other doors!
The Medieval zone had really cool decor and I really did feel nervous and scared like it was the real TV show!!!
Going between each zone was really fun with some active crawling or climbing, sometimes in the dark!!
Next, we went to the Futuristic zone where we had 4 games- each of us had one. I had a Skill which was sooooo close- I ALMOST completed it but for dropping a kidney at the last minute! CBC won a crystal with his mental- we helped alot! My stepmum did well again! My sister did a skill one and hit all the targets - we all helped with morse code but we couldn't work out the anagram!!! My sister did another physical which was an automatic lock-in- she aced it!!!
The futuristic zone was really cool and modern with and lots of space themed games! We had to crawl through
In the industrial zone, I had a mental game- AHGH!!! It was a mental game where you had to press buttons to light up a board. BUT, some of the buttons switched off the lights and you had to begin over and over again! I had a terrified feeling about getting locked in but didn't!!!
Frustratingly, I got down to ONE LIGHT!!! No crystal! My stepmum did amazingly with a mental game and skill game as did my sister- another physical!
Our final zone was the Aztec zone. You had to go down an incredibly cool slide to get to it!!
We all played a game there except my stepmum- my sister played her one instead, as the last game!
CBC did a mental game but we didn't get the crystal. My sister did a physical again (oops, we made her do them all except one!) - I managed to guess exactly what the game was before they opened the door! She got her crystal!
My game was a skill featuring a prop from the original series! It was IMPOSSIBLE!!!! No crystal!
Luckily, I managed to help answers to 2 riddles which helped my sister win the final game which was a mystery!
Total:9 crystals = 45 seconds in the Crystal Dome! 7 is the average apparently!
I could have predicted that outcome. My skill and coordination skills are very lacking. Mental and Mystery were my only hope for getting a crystal. However, I helped with other games, so I helped in some useful way!
The final stage was going to the Crystal dome!
It was very cool to get in there! It was bigger than I thought and it was really hard to catch the tickets! You aren't allowed to pick up any from the floor!
We managed to collect 129 gold tokens! Sadly, not a record, but considering we were only a team of 4, this was good apparently!
It was actually much better being a small team because we all got to play 4 games (stepmum gave one of hers to sis) rather than just 2! They really have done a good job on the experience and I DEFINITELY want to go again!!
It is located on Shaftesbury Avenue in Piccadilly and costs anywhere between £60-100 per person. A lot but it really was fantastic!
I found this wonderful documentary on Youtube you can watch about the show and below, I have linked to the very first full episode of the show!
After that, my stepmum and sister had to get home sadly, but CBC and I went to Bali Bali, also on Shaftesbury avenue for dinner. I'd remembered it was there. Bali Bali serves Indonesian cuisine
We ordered the Indonesian platter:Lumpia- Spring rolls, crab claws, breaded prawn, chicken wing and sate on a bed of prawn crackers- scrummy but v filling!
For mains, CBC ordered Nasi Lemak which is boiled rice with a lovely coconut- based sauce and sea food bits with picked veg on the side.
My mains were Cap Tjai- a dish of vegetables in a sauce and Tahu Goreng- fried tofu in peanut sauce and crackers on a bed of pickled vegetables. They were pleasant BUT I was a bit disappointed with them as Cap Tjai was my favourite dish in Bali and it wasn't the same at all. I am used to it in more sauce, much spicier, the vegetables cut much smaller and with egg in it.
There were so many more amazing dishes on the menu I wanted to try- but I hope to go back another time!
The Tofu was in peanut sauce which I didn't realise and I'd already eaten lots of it for my starter so it was a bit too rich and sweet for me at the time. I definitely had food regrets!! Luckily, I had brought containers with me and I took lots of my two dishes home- CBC and I appreciated them for dinner the next night!
My first proper gig of 2021 (AKA performing to the paying public) took place last Saturday on Clapham Common at the Colourscape festival.
If you're not sure of what Colourscape is, I have taken the liberty of borrowing some information from their website:
Cwmni Colourscape is the partnership of Peter Jones and Lynne Dickens, who create Colourscapes. Peter Jones developed the first Colourscape structures in 1974. Colourscapes were preceded by 'Spaceplaces' from 1963, which were installations of coloured surfaces made inside buildings. In 1970 they became open-air structures. Experiments with air-inflated sculpture gave new possibilities of working directly with colour. Early structures used large primary colour chambers interconnected by tubes. Subsequently, many different Colourscapes, have been made, growing more complex in colour relationships. Cwmni Colourscape have several Colourscape structures, which they show at festivals and other events in the UK and abroad. Cwmni Colourscape also creates and makes other structures - tensile canopies, wind sculptures and giant bubbles, all of which have generated and been part of many events. Many people have been trained with Cwmni Colourscape to make structures, to develop colour workshops and to run Colourscape shows
Eye Music:
Eye Music Trust (formerly Nettlefold Festival Trust) was founded by composers Lawrence Casserley and Simon Desorgher. In 1984 they founded a contemporary music festival in south London, the Nettlefold Festival, which was particularly dedicated to live electroacoustic music and music theatre. In 1988, seeking to expand the scope of the festival and to reach new audiences, they formed a charitable trust to oversee their work. One of the most significant moments in the development of their work was the start of their collaboration with Cwmni Colourscape, which lead to the first Colourscape Music Festival, which took place on Clapham Common, London, UK in 1989. Since then the Trust have presented many Colourscape Music Festivals, numerous other events involving structures created by Cwmni Colourscape, and hundreds of educational workshops for people of all ages throughout the UK and abroad.
In 2005 the Trust was restructured as a Charitable Company Limited by Guarantee (Reg No. 05466017) - and the name changed to Eye Music to reflect the connections between music and visual art. In 2008 Eye Music Trust became an Arts Council Regularly Funded Organisation.
I was performing with my Balinese Gamelan group- Lila Cita, on a beautiful Balinese Gamelan Angklung called Kembang Kirang which is owned by SOAS. Angklung is actually ceremonial music for Cremation but it is the most cheerful, bouncy-sounding music.
It's about the 4th Colourscape festival I have performed at, but it's been a good 10, possibly more years, since I did one, I suspect. I forgot HOW amazing it is to walk and play in those brightly-coloured structures. The colours are so mesmerising and you go on journeys throughout the chambers and see different shapes. As you can imagine, it is a joy to photograph. We had a really appreciative audience who sat and listened to us for their allotted times as well as dancing through the chambers and delighting in the colour and light interplay. A couple of times, I turned round from my suling (small Bamboo flute) to see a group of people in a far off chamber...or not so far off.... making up their own dances to music, I saw a small child leaning comfortably against an inflated wall looking content as he listened to us and when I smiled at him with my eyes, whilst playing, he smiled back in a way that suggested all was well with the world.
We played about 4 sets of music and paraded through the structure twice with our Baleganjur (street parade) music.
If you ever get the chance to visit, I strongly recommend it. It's wonderful. I had a break where I leaned against a wall and read my book and it was so relaxing. I feel so lucky to have been able to take part in this performance.
And now, I will leave you to have a look at my photos of different views from Colourscape. You might even find a video in there! Enjoy!
On Saturday, I stepped out of the doors of Holy Trinity Church, Sloane Square where I was playing in a concert. It was time to go and fetch some dinner. As I waited to cross the road, I was struck by the bright lights of the Routemaster bus that was approaching me...
"Hmmmmm, that's a new one!" I thought as I examined the bright lights donning the front.
"Aha! This is no ordinary bus!" But what was it?
Afternoon....
Ooooooh, an Afternoon tea Bus tour!!!
That's a new one. I am most intrigued.
Apparently, it is a venture from B-Bakery and you can find out more here. I am intrigued, I must admit...
Over a week ago, on the Sunday, CBC and I had made plans with his brother to fulfil our Olympic water-based ambitions.
So duly, on Sunday afternoon, we headed to the Olympic park to go to Moo canoes aboard the Milk Float to hire some Canoes for a few hours.
The Milk Float is a narrow boat which doubles up as a bar and eatery as well as hiring canoes.
On top of the Narrow boat, it is covered with fake grass, deck chairs and bunting so you can relax in the sun. CBC and I arrived first, so we snagged ice-creams.
Our partners in crime arrived...
We spotted the Boat's cat!
And looked out at the pretty views..
Cat began to wash its bum as they do when you watch them.
Next, we went to fetch our canoes and made our way along the Lee River until we reached the pub, the Princess of Wales in Stoke Newington where we moored up and had some lunch.
That's why they are called Moo Canoes...
The Princess of Wales was rather popular.
I dressed for the occasion and wore my Seaman's cap adored with pin badges.
I regretted wearing CBC's waterproof coat as the sun was out.
The other members of the party partook of beer.
I ordered some curly fries with pulled pork and sour cream and the veggies ordered these lentil and beetroot burgers which I ended up eating some of.
The bar had some really fun decor such as Books wallpaper, these fun typography tiles and
A fox lampshade!
Soon we realised that we would have to return back along the river as we had a deadline for returning the canoes.
I've never canoed on a river with narrow boats before (or stonking great craft like this), so I was rather disconcerted by this one arriving. That said, I have sea-kayaked with a dirty great Ladrolinja ferry behind me in Croatia which I recall was terrifying so maybe not so bad! They have right of way so you always need to go to their right. As they were already on the right, we just stayed still...
But we had to sit in the mire...
I made sure I had my camera on me on the return journey as it spent the way there in the waterproof bucket. The journey continued pleasantly along the river and we zoomed ahead of our companions!
There were many vessels along our journey which we ogled with great interest.
Ahoy there!
We passed under several bridges.
Passed yet more narrow boats.
Many examples of of intriguing graffiti pervade the area. These robotic owl twins seemed to fix us with beady eyes as we passed.
I enjoyed the Silmarillion- a Tolkien fan no doubt!
We loved Boaty McBoatface the second!
More graffiti adorned the underside of this bridge. I was intrigued by EdwineGums!
I'll choose to ignore the addition to the sign!
There seem to be lots of teeth in the graffiti!!!
A serpent with a Santa hat? Why not?
And here we saw the Olympic Stadium as we reached the Milk Float again.
The runners-up in the race!
After we'd returned our canoes and I'd removed my aqua shoes and donned my gold Toms shoes, I looked for CBC and found Red Riding Hood on the bench.
Next, we headed to the Crate Brewery for a drink and some food (in some people's cases) where we saw the next lot of Grafitti artists in action.
The Kashmiri Dhal pizza was really tasty although I only had one slice to try it as I was still full of curly fries. I honestly don't know where those boys put their food!
There was the finished Graffiti after we had eaten.
Next, we headed to the Olympic Aquatic Centre where we had booked for a 7pm swim.
The pool looked really big and exciting. Whilst we were there, there were some Team Life Guard competitions going on in the other half of the pool.
Unfortunately, I discovered I had left my swimming costume somewhere and ended up buying a Speedo one from the shop which I wasn't best pleased about. Idiot!
The swim was good but we all could taste Dhal pizza as we were doing it- not the best choice before swimming. The lanes are divided according to speed but I couldn't seem to find one to match me. Dead slow was too slow, but the next lane was too fast! Alas.
As we walked back through the park to reach our car, I glimpsed the Doctor Whoesque Toclafane again above our heads
FYI, if you are interested, Moo Canoes are quite expensive and cost £50 for 4 hours each. The Olympic swim session cost £5. I enjoyed the canoeing but I did think it was rather overpriced. Nonetheless, I am glad we did it, seized our last bit of Summer sunshine and got out there and got active!
