News: Abercrombie and Fitch

Abercrombie & Fitch, originally uploaded by 8lettersuk.

The new Abercrombie and Fitch store has opened as of Thursday and the signature features of a flagship store are there: low level lighting and two male store greeters with washboard stomachs (if you look hard they are in this photo from a Flickr user 8lettersuk).

A&F has been big here for a number of years (particularly amongst gay men) thanks to e-bay and online orders. Will be interesting to see if classic American tailoring with a twist now explodes across London... Particularly on Savile Row which is not known for its casual wear... Mental note: must get Fierce. Have run out...

Early week bar conversations...

Man in a bar: You have great teeth...
Paul: Are you a dentist?
Man in a bar: Uh... No...

Overheard on Old Compton Street Sunday

Man #1: Nooo, noo. I've had pills I don't want to eat anything!
Man #2: Aw come on...
Man #1: Nooo I've had pills...

Music: Thomas no Bryn and Susan no Sarah

You know you might be in for an interesting evening when the director for the Barbican addresses the audience before the start of the concert apologising for the every-changing line-up.

Originally it was Thomas Hampson and Susan Graham who were appearing in this concert with the BBC Symphony. In February it was announced Hampson was withdrawing for personal reasons (a curious euphemism up there with gardening leave) and Bryn Terfel was stepping in as his replacement. Curiously the Barbican expected loads of people to get rid of their tickets at this point and offered replacement. I held on to mine. Then on Friday came the announcement that Sarah Connolly was stepping in to replace Susan Graham. By this point I had lost all interest in the concert, but since I hadn't seen Terfel sing live I figured it was probably worth still going to see.

Terfel is a great performer and even in the circle row seat which had some unusual acoustics (you could hear the orchestra like it was beside you but the soloists sounded like they were in the bathroom) it was great to see. The programme was a bit of mixed bag, but given the ever-changing line-up I suppose one should be grateful the concert ever happened...

Scenes from Waterloo Bridge Saturday 16:19

Scenes from Waterloo Bridge Saturday 16:19, originally uploaded by Pauly_.

One fine day in March... Bare arms have now been spotted in London...

Good housekeeping

Tonight while I have had a quiet night in, in between playing "Rear Window" with the neighbours in the properties opposite my bedroom window, I have made some minor changes to the blog layout including setting up being able to Subscribe to Paul in London by Email... So Mum and that other guy from Wichita who reads the blog can know when I update...

Scenes from a rehearsal at Haywood Gallery Thursday 18:29

Scenes from Haywood Rehearsal Thursday 18:29, originally uploaded by Pauly_.

Good quality mineral water and loads of fresh towels... Who could want anything else?

Rehearsal 101

Wednesday evening I took part in rehearsal for a concert the London Gay Mens Chorus is performing at the Hayward Gallery as part of An Evening of Radical Singing. I am not sure how radical it is to sing "Come Fly with Me" and "The Rose" (although I do tend to get the lyrics about the Rose mixed up and get my seeds and bleeds confused so that could sound a bit radical). We will also be doing something interesting involving a bit of movement and free singing with "Wade in the Water" a classic spiritual song. It should put the variety back into Thursday evening anyway...

Theatre: The Glass Menagerie

Tuesday evening I caught the excellent production of The Glass Menagerie starring Jessica Lange. I thought it was a superbly staged, acted and directed show. For over two hours I was kept alert (no falling asleep in the stalls tonight). Lange was great to see on stage. A simple stare seemed to convey so much. And when in the second act she puts on her best outfit for a gentleman caller you can't help but feel horrified and pity for her as well.

The rest of the cast were just as good. There was Ed Stoppard as Tom - the son who always seems to be going to the movies and coming home late (one time with a red handkerchief in his back pocket... Say no more). And Amanda Hale as the Laura the crippled daughter too nervous to face life and its disappointments... It may not be Tennessee William's best play (some of the flashbacks and the narration is jarring and unnecessary) but there is so much in this story to ponder over (at interval and at the bar after, on the tube home) that it is easy to overlook these minor flaws.

It was a pity this great production isn't playing to packed houses. Across the road, some guy who has done a few Harry Potter films is starring in a play about the psychology behind poking the eyes out of horses. He appears completely naked and it is playing to packed houses. I gather the only impressive thing about the play is the six-story billboard outside the theatre... Although the publicity shots look a bit smashing... Go figure...

Scenes from a South Bank subway Saturday 16:46

Scenes from a South Bank subway Saturday 16:46, originally uploaded by Pauly_.

Art: Gilbert and George and poop

As a tribute to the Tate Modern's excellent Gilbert and George exhibition I thought I would include some imagery of their less confrontational shitty art. An entire floor has been devoted to their work and it isn't hard to do this since as they progressed through the years, they really went for large scale stuff. Some of it is quite impressive, but the period where they were fascinated in bodily functions seems a little quaint these days.

Going through the exhibition, a highlight was watching one father point out to his two young sons the bright green and pink buttocks and testicles of the artists in a piece titled. the City Fairies. Judging by the looks of other punters in the gallery they seemed to think this was a bit inappropriate. I guess with parental guidance anything goes these days...

All told, it is nice to see that their latest works have moved away from bodily fluids and to the big issues of the day such as terrorism, intolerance and extremism. Besides, turds on a giant scale look like bread rolls... The exhibition runs through to May.

Film: The Good German

The Good German poster, originally uploaded by Daryl Van Horne.

At one point during The Good German I turned to Ad and said to him, "Forget it Jake it's Potsdam". There was a hint of Chinatown about this movie. The only difference was it wasn't as well acted, directed or with an intelligible story.

But there was plenty of confusion as Clooney plays a character called Jake who spends most of the film chasing Lena (Cate Blanchett) all over the American and Russian sectors of 1945 Berlin. Why he pursues a woman with such a badly fitting wig is anyone's guess. She spends most of the movie pouting and talking in slow, low and deliberate voice. Her line "Yuu shud naht huv cum bahk to Berlin" evoked memories of Meryl Streep as Karen Blixen in Out of Africa "Yuu have mede me barrhen"...

Tobey Maguire also has a role. He gets to say very non film noir words such as "fuck" and "cunt" in an unusually high pitched voice. Fortunately he gets "done in" early on and we are left wondering who did it for all of five minutes... Well war is hell... So is the peace it seems too...

Idle dinner chatter...

Vegetarian: You don't mind eating vegetarian?
Paul: No not at all. I eat vegetables so what's wrong with eating a few more?
Vegetarian: Oh...
Paul: Besides, any place called Mildred's is my kind of restaurant...

Word for the day

Furphy. To divert attention away from main issue. Until I checked I didn't realise it was more slang from my peoples.

The week that was...

In a packed week I only found out on the weekend that I was quoted in this month's GT. Alas it isn't the Gin and Tonic but the Gay Times - a glossy magazine that for the most part is pretty unreadable advertorial and filler. Fortunately my quote is tucked well into the magazine so I don't expect anybody to be quoting me back anytime soon. I didn't even say something funny (or try to at least)... Such a waste...

Film: Belle Du Jour

Rather than catch a university revue while I was in Cambridge, there was a new print of Belle Du Jour playing at the local cinema, so I had to see that. Last time I saw the film I didn't quite appreciate the boredom of Deneuve's character with her perfect life. With the new print it (along with those cable-knit jumpers) all seemed to be much clearer...

Scenes from Cambridge Saturday 14:01

DSC04511, originally uploaded by Pauly_.

Ok I spent most of the weekend out of London in Cambridge where there were rowers and loads of bi-cyclists... It's that sort of town really. And only 45 minutes from London (assuming you don't get the train from Kings Cross that goes via Stevenage)...

Film: The Science of Sleep

Thursday evening while trying to get over some weird head cold I picked up this week I caught The Science of Sleep went with Mandy, who also had a cold. It was a bit of a trippy film that we both wondered whether we should have been under the influence of something stronger than pseudoephedrine hydrochloride to enjoy it. At various points we looked at each other in the film and asked whether the characters were on drugs.

Still it was quite an enjoyable and fun tale, with some very imaginative set pieces with the two leads. There was also full frontal nudity of Gael García Bernal which is always good for the punters... I also appreciated his bad haircut and quirky beanies, even if I wasn't convinced that he was supposed to be this timid dreamer (he is too charismatic for that)...

Scenes from outside Criterion Theatre Piccadilly Tuesday 21:41

Scenes from outside Criterion Theatre Piccadilly Tuesday 21:41, originally uploaded by Pauly_.

Theatre: The 39 Steps

Catching up with all the theatre I hadn't yet seen but should have, on Tuesday night I caught The 39 Steps, which is a sort of sillier version of the Hitchcock classic film from the 1930s. It has been playing for some time and possibly should continue for a while. There is a line at the beginning about the main character feeling bored so he thought he would go for some mindless entertainment in the West End... The jokes keep flying thick and fast as four actors play all the roles.

As a bit of a fan of the film, I wasn't quite sure whether I liked this story being treated this way, particularly since the laughs all came from the acting and staging rather than any clever scripting. In the end however I succumbed to the silliness... Adding to the intrigue (well at least for me anyway) was the gay couple to my right. The one next to me seemed to enjoy invading my personal space. Not doing anything to encourage or discourage this, fights for the armrest ensued all throughout the first act... By second act suspect partner caught on what was going on the seat over so there was none of that...

Conversation at Monday's rehearsal

Tenor 1: Where have you been... All my life?
Bass: Well, I've been in Luton...