You disgusting wine bibber!!

This is a quote from a Vincent Price film called "Theatre of Blood" which involves a rejected actor killing theatre critics using some rather Shakespearean modus operandi.

It is also something that my friend, Philip, used to quote a lot. It was his version of Withnail. However, I will never hear Philip call me a disgusting wine bibber any more.

He died of bowel cancer last week. 

I hadn't heard from him or the friends we used to hang out with for a couple of years. Then, our mutual friend, Vince, got in touch with the bad news. Philip had cancer and the chemotherapy hadn't worked. I was fortunate to see Philip in his hospice shortly before he died. It was as if all his personality, as well as his body had been sucked away. He lay exhausted in his bed and it was clear that he had accepted that the end wasn't far off. I don't know if he managed to start reading any of the Dr Who books I'd taken along.

However, I'm glad that I had the chance to say goodbye to him.  Top  Philip quotes/memories. You may not understand all of these. Apologies. We were members of a profit share company called Moonlight Drive, so most of these are theatrical.

1, Seeing him Malvolio in Twelvth Night.
2, So we decided we'll do.... The Monkey's Paw!
3, Out! Out! Out! (Quoting some politician)
4, He was the only person to turn up to one of my birthday celebrations. (That seems to be the annual average!)
5, Ah Cannon and Ball, the yardstick of British comedy.
6, Ah, sherry!
7, Ah, time for a nice cup of TEA!
8, Watching Laurel and Hardy with him one New Years Eve.
9, For him, Tom Baker was the only Doctor.
And of course... the quote in my blog title.

RIP Philip. Miss you.

A sorrowful, but unrepentant wine bibbing, Bunyip.

Romeo and Juliet - Take 2!

Hello,

Finally, something good happening on the acting front. I didn't get cast in the play that Network decided to do when they couldn't get the rights to "Breaking the Code". However...

I've starting attending an Acting Gym every Saturday. It is a series of hard core acting workshops run by a professional director, Gavin MacAlinden culminating in a production of Romeo and Juliet. After weeks of full on movement, scene interpretation and iambic pentametre, I have been cast as Friar Laurence, (or as I'm calling her, Reverend Laurence)!!!

Biggest role I have ever had. A key character who drives the plot in Acts 3,4 and 5 and three, possibly four, monologues. Wow! Oh and its set in a night club! Still trying to decide what a priest is doing in a night club. I think I'm going to be a bit of an earth mother. (Her first monologue is all about herbs and plants.)

The only problem is that the performances may coincide with the birth of my niece/nephew in June. Am seeing my sister on Sunday for a Mother's Day lunch. She says that she is now as big as a house!

In the meantime, it is my favourite season. As I posted this time last year, Spring is finally springing:) Am loving the blossom on the trees down my road.

Have started using Pinterest, (mood board website. More visual then Twitter. If Twitter is words, then Pinterest is pictures.) Been repinning pix of Glastonbury and Silence of the Lambs so far. I think that it will be an interesting way of exploring my personality.

Till next time.

A happy Bunyip

Can a machine think?

I'm going to an audition for a play called "Breaking the Code" on Tuesday. Its about Alan Turing who invented digital computing and was persecuted and arrested for being gay. (Its set in the 1950's when being gay was still illegal.) Alan's big question was "Can a machine think for itself?"

I met a computer last year called Elizabeth who was programmed to have conversations with people and react to whatever they wanted to chat about. She came up with some strange answers!

Anyway, I'm going to see if I can get cast in the role of Alan Turing's mum! She's typical old school, embarrassing mum at first, then she's really supportive. Fingers crossed because I've had three auditions since my last blog post and didn't succeed in any of them. Hmph.

Christmas was mainly good. Had a nice time in a posh hotel in Hampshire with my Mum, stepdad and friend, TJ. Then went on to my sister's, then my Dad's. Got some cool pressies eg a Canadian yeti, a signed John Barrowman photo, some cocktail mixers and a handdrawn picture of an orangutang:)

Did some improvised filming down in Brighton for a comedy series on YouTube called Happy Feet. I played an underqualified Podiatrist and a sister with a dark secret. Twas fun especially the unicorns:)

As for the unrequited love, still hurting. Wish I could stop hurting and get over them. Easier said then done. Wish Valentines Day didn't exist.

Take care,

An Angry with Cupid Bunyip.