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Belters and bohemians: Opera Locos @Sadlers_wells

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At the start of the Opera Locos performance, the announcement says that they really are singing. You could be forgiven for wondering that, given the amplification turns up the backing track and the voices so loud that you can't always tell what's real. But this is a mostly harmless and slightly eccentric blend of opera classics fused with the occasional pop classic. However, recognising the pop tunes would help if you were over a certain age. The most recent of them dates back twenty years. It's currently playing at the Peacock Theatre .  Five performers play out a variety of archetype opera characters. There's the worn-out tenor (Jesús Álvarez), the macho baritone (Enrique Sánchez-Ramos), the eccentric counter-tenor (Michaël Kone), the dreamy soprano (María Rey-Joly) and the wild mezzo-soprano (Mayca Teba). Since my singing days, I haven't recognised these types of performers. However, once, I recall a conductor saying he wanted no mezzo-sopranos singing with the s
Scenes from a Japanese Restaurant in Soho American guy on a date (looking over at Paul's meal): Heeey that looks good. What's that? Paul: Chicken Katsu AGoaD: Where's that on the menu? Paul: Over the page... There... Chicken Katsu Curry AGoaD: Aw it's a curry. I can't do a curry...
Idle chatter Monday afternoon in the office Colleague #1 (to Paul): Beryl called to speak to you so you might want to give her a call... A tinkle... Paul: Hmm... I would prefer to just give her a call
News: Cruise Control All the talk today was around the short squirt (of water) to the short squirt (that's Tom). It turns out the stunt was for a Channel 4 show which will most likely never see airtime but the clip of the stunt is here . Channel 4 is going to miss out on Tom's future press junkets, but Tom should take heart. He is the only movie star to spend so much time meeting fans and giving interviews in Leicester Square, and he still looked good while being embarrassed. And that's really all that matters surely?
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Scenes from Victoria Station Saturday 17:43 - Waiting for the train to Streatham Hill... It was late...  
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Scenes from Fitzrovia Saturday 15:34 - If there was one thing consistent about the weekend, it was that it was hot and bright. With the hottest June temperatures since the 1970s it meant that thousands flocked to the outdoors and to the beach... Sunday evening at 23:00 the temperature is still 26 deg...
News: The freakshow is wet Something interesting for once happened at a premiere at Leicester Square. Tom Cruise gets drenched with a water doing his usual meet the fans and plug the movie opening of the War of the Worlds. The freakshow otherwise known as Tom and Katie were in town (after frightening most of the States with their antics) for today's premiere. Of course as today was the hottest day this year with temperatures hit the mid-thirties the water was probably a welcome addition...
News: That's cheap And on email banter, all the news on Friday in London was about a senior Lawyer who asked a secretary to pay for his dry cleaning bill after she accidentally squirted ketchup on his suit. The story got out because he sent a reminder to her asking her for the £4, and she copied her response to him to many other colleagues. Those colleagues then forwarded it on to people, and then those people then forwarded it on and suddenly it is a hot story... Not as good as the infamous Claire Swires blowjob story from a few years back, but still a tad amusing
Silly Friday Afternoon Email Banter -----Original Message----- From: A Sent: 17 June 2005 12:17 To: Paul Subject: I just found a hot SA man on the 10th Floor!!! he's a temp accountancy assistant. Not bad at all! A -----And then ----- From: Paul Sent: 17 June 2005 12:24 To: A Subject: RE: It all happens on a friday on the 10th floor... So what made him hot? I once dated a SA... He was part english part african and part queen so my friends called him the South African Queen. He had the most hideous voice I have ever heard, but nice broad shoulders so you have to weigh these things up don't you think...?? Paul -----And still then----- From: A Sent: 17 June 2005 12:26 To: Paul Subject: RE: It all happens on a friday on the 10th floor... He has tanned skin, brown eyes, short dark hair and nice chiseled but not harsh features. He looks like a man. Yeah and they're arrogant fookers... hey as long as he doesn't speak much we should be okay right? Unfortunately he met me when