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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 London Bridge Thursday 18:22

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Scenes from London Bridge Thursday 18:22 Originally uploaded by Pauly_ .

Scenes from Liverpool St Station Thursday 17:35

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Scenes from Liverpool St Station Thursday 17:35 Originally uploaded by Pauly_ . Watching England beat Trinidad and Tobago ... At this stage no goals but plenty of beer... While I didn't watch the game you could tell how well England was doing by the silence. If there was a roar that dropped off instantly you knew there was a near-miss. A roar that continues means there was a goal... England are now through to the next round. Interestingly at a hardware store the other day I was offered one of those flags for cars for free. I told the lady behind the counter I would be just fine without one...

Scenes from the City, Thursday 17:05

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Scenes from the City, Thursday 17:05 Originally uploaded by Pauly_ . The streets were empty but the pubs were full...

Scenes from Noel Coward Theatre Wednesday 22:29

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Scenes from Noel Coward Theatre Wednesday 22:29 Originally uploaded by Pauly_ . Trekkie Monster and actor Simon Lipkin post Avenue Q tonight. It is still in preview until the end of the month but if the audience reaction is as strong as it was tonight for the show, then Avenue Q surely will be around for a while in the West End. A great show with an amazing amount of energy where twenty somethings (some real, some puppets) sing about life lessons such as "What do you do with a B.A. in English?" and "The Internet is for Porn". The latter song is where we meet Trekkie Monster... Of course humourous songs aside, this show has a real story and a lot of heart. It is warm and fuzzy on so many levels. If the Muppets grew up (and were not sanitised when Disney bought them out) then they would be doing shows like this. A show for the Miss Piggy generation if there ever was one...

Scenes from Liverpool St Tuesday 17:51

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Scenes from Liverpool St Tuesday 17:51 Originally uploaded by Pauly_ . Rush hour home...

Scenes from Clapham Common Sunday 18:27

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Scenes from Clapham Common Sunday 18:27 Originally uploaded by Pauly_ . Love on the common... Even in this heat and with the shopping...

Scenes from Clapham Common Sunday 18:21

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Scenes from Clapham Common Sunday 18:21 Originally uploaded by Pauly_ . That lovely light effect is the smog hanging over the city. Nevertheless as temperatures hovered near 30 this afternoon, the punters flocked to the Common thinking it was a lovely day for fresh air... Across London high moderate levels of ozone were measured and it is expected to get worse over the next few days...

One last look back at New York

There is just one more thing I will mention about my trip to New York. It involves an exotic dancer and getting lost in the East Village until the wee hours of the morning. Of course no illegal substances were consumed. Read on…

Scenes from N1 Saturday 19:10

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Scenes from N1 Saturday 19:10 Originally uploaded by Pauly_ . Post match patriotism flying from a Georgian Terrace.

Scenes from N1 Saturday 15:16

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Scenes from N1 Saturday 15:16 Originally uploaded by Pauly_ . It is going to be a quiet month if England do as well as expected in the World Cup . England's first match yesterday afternoon against Paraguay emptied the streets and filled the pubs. It also closed shops (such as this one). I was in a pub where the match was only on a 42" CRT television set so it wasn't quite such a focus of attention (a true sports pub should have nothing smaller than a standard issue plasma television nowadays)... Interestingly England's performance yesterday wasn't as crash hot as everyone was expecting . Their victory (thanks to an own goal by Paraguay) wasn't really celebrated on the streets of London. The reaction was more like relief... Assuming the team picks up their game, it is going to be a long month...