Swan Lake - Matthew Bourne's Adaptation
Photo: Bill Cooper, from http://swanlaketour.com/media-gallery. Obviously we couldn't take our own photos. |
For anyone considering skipping a show because they can only afford the "cheapseats" - definitely go ahead and book those anyway! We were seated at the very last row and there were only two disadvantages 1) It was SO HOT because our "restricted view" was underneath the second gallery overhang and the air doesn't circulate well there and 2) We couldn't see the orchestra and at times, I really wondered which instrument they were playing for some of Tchaikovsky's pieces, but couldn't see!
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Logo from stefsitalian.co.uk |
Thankfully, we were sitting a few tables away from the table of drunken teenagers/uni students who proceeded to (at 8pm) throw up all over their table. Gross. You can't even hold your liquor in until you get to the bar? I felt bad for the restaurant owner, who chased them out yelling that they were the worst table they had ever had (you could tell he really, really wanted to yell in Italian).
So, our ingenious plan to "beat the rush" and catch the bus back to Oxford to celebrate at Raoul's cocktail bar was a FAIL. Turns out while buses to London run until 3:30 am, the local buses stop at 7pm. SEVEN PM. Eek. So, our planned £6.5 cocktail would have turned into a £22.5 drink. After scoring the cheap-seats in the ballet and the cheapest NYE 3 course meal we could find (Mango Tree, a thai restaurant which I've been dying to try, was going to charge us £55!), we really couldn't justify it. So, we walked home in the pouring rain!
Ironically, guess where Sean and I ended up? Sitting around our house, clinking glasses with a couple people and watching the fireworks online. It was lovely, though!
The Resolutions
I'm not much of a New Year's resolution girl; I like to set my goals every 3 to 6 months, to keep me focused. However, here are the highlights of the year ahead, in case you were wondering:- Get a youth work visa while on my two week trip to Canada and love my new contract job in Oxford, which starts in February . Make enough money with that and tutoring to love and enjoy London, and pay back student loans before they charge me too much interest!
- Get into a funded PhD place this September or October term in either England, Holland or France (I better get cracking on the French applications!)
- Get my 2010-2011 body back in time for Julie's wedding in August, and Pam's wedding in November! I've started at a new gym and am loving it! Martial Arts is still a possibility - I really miss it, but after breaking my leg last February, I'm a bit skeptical. Especially since 7 year MMA champion Anderson Silva just broke his leg, too, but much worse.
- Get back into writing (something, anything, perhaps poetry?) and hopefully read a couple books that aren't textbooks
- Get better at German (my exam is in February, and then I'll be at first term second year university level!) and improve my pronunciation and fluency in French
- Get back into photography and find a lighting class I can afford on a British wage!
Here's to a wonderful 2014 — the one where all my dreams come true, and yours too! Happy New Year, loyal readers!
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