Paul in London

Scenes from Soho Friday 23:42 Originally uploaded by Pauly_ . A man in a bear suit on a bike (with a bear). It is going to be one of those weekends...

The theatre reviews for Avenue Q have been surprisingly tepid. Basically the papers seem to be saying that the show lacks balls and compare it unfavourably to Jerry Springer The Opera. I thought this was interesting as after seeing the show a few weeks back I found myself discussing the merits of Jerry Springer The Opera with one of the creators. He was under the impression that the show was shit. I did suggest he take a look at the show ( which is on DVD ) and see for himself...

Tonight I caught Fool For Love which is a play Sam Shepard wrote in the 1980s. It is a very compact play that lasted less than ninety minutes and where the main characters – played by Juliette Lewis and Martin Henderson - air some family issues. Shepard's themes are always the same but the way they are written are so entertaining and engaging. Juliette Lewis , known more for her rock singing than her movie roles nowadays, seemed to be a little off tonight. Maybe there have been too much throaty singing of late which was a pity as you got the impression she thought she was projecting. The Apollo Theatre isn't the most pleasant of theatres to be in on a warm evening. The seats are too small and the air conditioning is non-existent. There was also a series of unnecessary delays to pick up tickets and curtain-up was fifteen minutes late. Part of the problem I observed was that the agent to one of the cast members was trying to pick up a comp seat and figured that he was important ...

Scenes from Covent Garden Tuesday 19:50 Originally uploaded by Pauly_ . Despite the overwhelming popularity of mobile phones, phone boxes persist in London as a place where you can smoke your crack pipe in peace or where purveyors of erotic women can advertise their wares...

A book is now being kept about words that I use. Apparently they are not used by everybody so I thought I might add some of these to the blog on a regular basis. One that I heard on television tonight was: Furkid – a pet that is a substitute for a child. Usually furry with four legs. Hmm I know a few people with furkids…

Late Night Soho Originally uploaded by Pauly_ . What London nightlife is really about... Waiting in a very long line to get in anywhere...

British Museum Originally uploaded by Pauly_ . I found myself at the British Museum at 10pm Saturday evening (finally) catching the phenomenally successful exhibition of 90 or so of the drawings Michelangelo made in his lifetime. Studies for his painting of the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel were a significant part of the exhibition. The exhibition brought together three separate collections and provided a rare insight into the great artist. To cope with demand the Museum remained open until midnight every Saturday in June. It was great idea to see it late as there weren't the tourists or the pushy pensioners who must have all been in bed by then. Pushy pensioners are a problem at every exhibition. I guess they figure they survived the war so they are not going to let some thirty-something block their view so they prod you and push you until you get out of their way. It was still crowded but it was a much more considerate crowd. Here's hoping they continue to do this for futur...

SW4 Dusk Originally uploaded by Pauly_ . Dusk over the neighbourhood...

The annual summer fete was a time for people to enjoy the sun and meet the neighbours. The streets were closed around Abbeville Road and there were the usual stalls and family events. And speaking of neighbours, a conversation I overheard went something like this: Lady with children (to two scruffy-looking men with beers) : Excuse me do you live in the flat upstairs from us? Scruffy Man #1 : Uh yeah... Lady with children: Um you were a bit noisy last night, is it possible to keep the noise down? Scruffy Man #2 : Uh sorry yeah there were all these people that just came over for like a party and it sorta got outta hand... And there is an insight into part of the demographic make up of the little part of Clapham that I live in: Bugaboo parents and scruffy types... Incidentally I only knew what a Bugaboo was after my sister got one . Only then did I realise that all these parents in my street with these prams bearing the same distinctive logo on them were not part of a cult... Or maybe the...

There is something about the audience at Evita , the new version of Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical hit from 30 years ago which reminded me of the audience at a dreadful Elaine Paige concert I happened to see in 2004. There was a certain age and a certain style about the people. They didn't look like they were regular theatre goers but they would go to this. I wondered where the hell they bussed this audience in from. I am not exactly a fan of Andrew Lloyd Webber's musicals (nor Elaine Paige) so it did dawn on me what the hell I was doing at this show. Well it probably was the promise that it was to be a new look at a (tired, dated, sanctimonious) old show. As for what was new in this show… Well there were new orchestrations, but for the most part they sounded more like the ring tones on my mobile phone. Unusually for a Lloyd Webber show, the set didn't fly in or out in spectacular fashion or be projected oddly (although there was one exception for Don't Cry For Me A...