Toms View of the World

Well, I finally decided to go see Starlight Express - my first time at the Millennium Centre in Cardiff. Superb venue - not as claustrauphobic as many theatres can be.

As for the show, well, it was the same production and cast as the Bristol performance I saw a year or so ago - with one major difference - no understudies playing the roles. The result, the show was as sharp and slick as it should be - no hesitations or nervousness from the cast - absolutely superb, and the “polish” of the show meant it was far and away more enjoyable than last time round.

The staging was slightly different this time, no “runway” out into the audience, and a much “tighter” staging probably helped the performance - they clearly have 2 versions of the show for different styles of theatre - this one was much much better.

Update: According to this comment from Stu - this is a scaled-down version of last years tour (which explains the staging differences)

Warning: getimagesize(/usr/home/tomtvotw/public_html/blog/wp-content/myfotos///tumbs/tmb_) [function.getimagesize]: failed to open stream: No such file or directory in /usr/home/tomtvotw/public_html/blog/wp-content/plugins/mygallery/myfunctions/mygalleryfunctions.php on line 178

Well, what more can I say, than to simply show this picture - yes, that is the first drop on Speed at Oakwood.

Today I was fortunate to be able to visit Oakwood park, for the opening celebration of their all-new coaster, the very beyond-vertical coaster, Speed. (more…)

A story from the BBC shows that “young” people (under 50!) from what they’re terming as the “flat pack generation” are totally incompetent at basic household tasks and repairs - like unblocking a drain or wiring a plug.

Good grief.

I thought everyone could manage such basic things as wiring a plug, changing a fuse, knowing what to do with a sink plunger (although even I’ll admit, should I need to unblock a sink, I’d have to go and buy a plunger first… but I wouldn’t hesitate to do so). I’d have no worries tackling slightly more major jobs (like changing a light switch, or replacing a tap washer).

However, I agree with the comments that repairing a major appliance (like a washing machine) is just not economical any more once the warantee expires the costs of parts and labour for, say, changing the drive motor, wouldn’t be far off the cost of replacing the entire appliance - but that’s the result of modern production techniques, and the global labour market, I wouldn’t expect the average householder to tackle a job in that scale.
If people are now getting into the habit of calling an electrician to change a fuse, maybe I should consider a career change - charging someone £50 to do a job that takes 5 minutes sounds like a way to make money to me…

I’m currently trying to decide if I want to go and see Starlight Express (again) - the touring show is in Cardiff for a few weeks, but it’s not as if I’ve not seen it before…

I just can’t see myself asking around at work to see if anyone wants to go with me - just doesn’t seem their kind of thing, and I really don’t fancy going on my own..

However I’ve never been to the Wales Millennium Centre to see a show, so there’s that aspect to think about too…

Decisions… Decisions…

The ECC have just posted some up-to-date photos of Speed, plus a few very spectacular aerial photos of Oakwood. It’s very much worth a look!

Update - 97degrees also have some photos of early rides - which appear to be of the commercial shoot.

Update - 97 degrees now have a video of the ride in action, taken during the ECC Preview event, and it looks totally insane…

Yes, named after the Island from the movie “King Kong” - the secret to Peter “Lord of the Rings” Jackson’s loss of 70lbs (5 stone) is simply this - dump the fast food, and eat yogurt and museli.

No fad diets, no points, no calorie counting - just dumping unhealthy food in favour of healthy. See the story and more links on Starling Fitness

Now, a question for you - is Supermarket fuel a false economy - will “branded” fuel get more better milage to the gallon than supermarket fuels?

With prices again hurtling upwards (4p this week alone around here) when will Pipeline get their discount card out?