(no subject)

[fajrdrako]

I saw Dickens' A Christmas Carol at the National Arts Centre tonight - and a delightful show it was, too. Familiar though it is, they tried to make it different. Best things about the show: the performance of Stephen Ouimette as Scrooge, and the staging. Worst thing: the pacing. And I wasn't thrilled with the Victorian songs. But sometimes they emphasized a good line or passage from Dickens that isn't usually played up. And Ouimette had a wonderful spirit for it, especially at the end.

I got my replacement tickets with no trouble at all, not even a line-up at the Box Office. The opening curtain was delayed, delayed enough that the director, Peter Hinton, came on stage to apologize, saying they were delayed by a mishap backstage, and he promised the play would start in a couple of minutes. It was longer than that. We were all speculating as to what the mishap might have been. Even before that, before the curtain should have been, Peter Hinton was on stage trying to sell us the English Theatre Series now that the NAC has an English Theatre Company again after twenty-five years. And about time, too, I say.

My afternoon tea went well. I was still making sandwiches when Marion and Vicky arrived, but that was all right. And the meal itself was great. explodedteabag came after work, and a good time was had by all. Marion brought a wonderful dessert of fruit and custard sauce. Their Christmas presents to me were a set of two pieces of Egyptian papyrus art, and a 2010 Peter Wingfield calendar. I'm thrilled.

Afternoon tea is fun. I want to do it again.