Tuesday, April 03, 2007
Signitis
Had a further opportunity to review the spread on signitis on our road system. Two bad messages and one good. First bad is that I have discovered a new species in the form of a single sign which informs you both that speed is unrestricted and that there are speed cameras in the vicinity. Quite a lot of these on the A303 but they are spreading North. Another mixed message from the Blair team. The second is that, nature abhoring a vacuum, the M40, previously a nice quiet road, is now being decorated with many gantries, signs, cameras and other parephrenalia to make our journeys safer. One wonders what they all cost; presumably the brain children of another gang of consultants stoking up the signage industry. And so another bastion has fallen to the nannies. The bit of good news is that if you care to pay a £4.50 supplement to travel on the new Birmingham by-pass, you have the treat of 40 miles or so on a camera free - and fairly car free - road. Average speeds fairly high. Very large sign announcing presence of cameras more or less the second you come out of the toll zone.
In the course of all this made it to the penultimate performance in the big theatre at Stratford before it is rebuilt, of Coriolanus. Perhaps because it was the performance before what we assumed was some giant luvvy-fest in the evening and perhaps because it was a matinee, a bit patchy - and not helped by the auditorium being a bit hot. Casting patchy. Crowd scenes didn't really come off. Overall, a bit of a comic book production, painted in loud colours. Including some bits played for laughs which I thought should not have been and an ending which seemed to have taken leave of the script. And as happens rather too often, a bit of before-show revision would have made for a better experience. Language a bit dense to take in on the fly. But all in all, a good experience despite the moaning. Enough good bits to keep the thing afloat.
Car parks in Stratford quite reasonably priced - considering that one supposes the place to be one of the premier destinations in the country.
In the course of all this made it to the penultimate performance in the big theatre at Stratford before it is rebuilt, of Coriolanus. Perhaps because it was the performance before what we assumed was some giant luvvy-fest in the evening and perhaps because it was a matinee, a bit patchy - and not helped by the auditorium being a bit hot. Casting patchy. Crowd scenes didn't really come off. Overall, a bit of a comic book production, painted in loud colours. Including some bits played for laughs which I thought should not have been and an ending which seemed to have taken leave of the script. And as happens rather too often, a bit of before-show revision would have made for a better experience. Language a bit dense to take in on the fly. But all in all, a good experience despite the moaning. Enough good bits to keep the thing afloat.
Car parks in Stratford quite reasonably priced - considering that one supposes the place to be one of the premier destinations in the country.
# posted by Jim @ 1:58 PM 
