Paul in London

Scenes from Soho Friday 23:20 Originally uploaded by Pauly_ . Hot in the city...

Friday night I caught Turandot at the Royal Opera which was a good classic production of the opera. I gather from A that the ENO did a truly dreadful version a few years ago that prominently used old television sets for some unexplained reason so it was nice to see it performed in a largely standard way. This production now at least 20 years old is showing a few signs of age with clunky costumes and a stale take on Commedia dell'arte for the characters of Ping Pang and Pong, but overall it still looks good. Ben Heppner and Georgina Lukács were great in the lead roles but the biggest applause was reserved for Elena Kelessidi in the role of Liú. She had an incredible voice that would not be drowned out by the occasionally overpowering orchestra… This is a very accessible opera full of melodrama and soaring music… And also the aria "Nessun Dorma"… Discussing the plot of the opera later with A he suggested that the riddles were too easy for Calaf to get and that he should ...

American businessmen lost in central London. They didn't ask for directions so I couldn't tell them where to go...

Scenes from Leicester Square Tube Wednesday 22:00 Originally uploaded by Pauly_ . Descent into hell in this weather...

For those that are suffering withdrawals now that the World Cup is over, and you have already thrown away those polyester flags attached to your car, there is now an internet game for those fans who just can't get enough of Zidane head-butting Italians …

With the temperature reaching 36.6 degrees near Gatwick on Wednesday, it was not a day for bragging when one was in one of the few offices in the building with air conditioning (and sitting right under it). I stayed back late at work just to enjoy the cool. In this heat other anti-social acts include: Going out for ice creams and not coming back with enough for everybody Closing the ventilation windows on the tube trains claiming it is too breezy standing next to it Perspiring over fellow audience-members at a Proms Concerts (it was the Queen's 80th Birthday tribute tonight and the television cameras have picked up the audience battering programmes desperate for some movement of air) Forgetting deodorant and using the grab rails on a peak hour Clapham omnibus It is weather strictly for the Abercrombie and Fitch cargo shorts , a light t-shirt and flip flops… Incidentally thanks to global warming summer temperatures are expected to become more Mediterranean in London over the next ...

The mad dash to the hall to make the 18:30 start of the semi-staged version of the new Glyndebourne production of Cosi Fan Tutte - Prom 6 . The concert was great and showed to me that with a decent director this opera actually can have some life to it... The only problem is that Albert Hall is a bit warm when there is a heatwave... It was opera with your neighbour sweating over you... And your neighbour at a proms concert is more likely to be a shocker than a looker... Best avoid the concerts and listen to them on Radio 3 instead... All concerts are streamed live from the BBC website for a week from their performance.

Scenes from Piccadilly Sunday 01:15 Originally uploaded by Pauly_ . On the night bus to Trafalgar Square...

Ok it isn't a photo of mine, but there has been a bit of chatter on cyberspace about the rather phallic looking Florida peninsula that is prominently on display. I'm not so sure about that, but the religious overtones of the poster as well give you an idea about the film as well (which has also been dubbed as "the Passion of the Clark"). But anyway is Superman Returns a good film? Well after seeing an IMAX presentation of it, I thought it was great fun and had an interesting story to kickstart a new series of films. Of course seeing it in IMAX means that you feel like you are in the film at points, and it is loud, very loud at times. The latter is a good thing as it drowned out my exclamations of "Jezusfuckingchrist!" when it was all getting a bit too much (so the family audiences around me were none the wiser). Being a bit of a devotee to the first two Superman films I could appreciate many of the in-jokes to the film, such as when Lex Luthor steals Kryp...

I caught Topping and Butch Friday night at Central Station which is in N1 and a long way from SW4 (as I found out catching the night bus home). Still, it is good to get out and see the city, even if it is at 2am... But back to Topping and Butch. They have been getting better (and ruder) since I last saw them at the Soho Theatre and Comedy Camp two years ago. They were also trying out bits of their new show they are taking to Edinburgh Fringe next month. Their show is basically a mix of jokes about current affairs, other topical issues and smut. Naturally at a gay bar this goes down like a treat. As I was sitting in a comfortable leather lounge suite watching the show I was also a target for their banter, but fortunately for me they were gentle (my name was only referred to a few times during the show).  This was far less confronting than when I arrived at the venue and was greeted at the door by a lady who asked me if I was there for Club Fukk. That caused me to pause for a m...