Based on the Victor Hugos novel, it has a very moving storyline... a love story set in the plot of the French Revolution with just the right combination of humour, pathos, love and loyalty.
The main storyline revolves around the conflict between two men - Jean Valjean, at heart, a good man, but a small crime and he is labelled a criminal for life, and Javert, a police officer who has unbending principles of justice and is hell bent on capturing his convict no 24601.
Their lives and those befriended and loved by Jean Valjean become inextricably entwined - the wretched Fantine, whose illegitimate daughter, Cosette, is cared for by the thieving, lying Thenardiers whose own daughter, Eponine, is destined to fall in love with idealistic student, Marius, who, in turn, is captivated by Cosette.
All this has been fantastically moulded together with breathtaking songs and a very imaginative and clever revolving stage... the barricade filling the stage, finally turning a full 360 degrees to reveal the terrible and shocking aftermath of the confrontation was amazing.
At this point, when the fighting has just stopped and all the men lie dead on the barricades there is a long silence – very effective and literally sends chills up your spine.
The Thenardiers were marvellously humorous and at the same time were genuinely dislikeable ...they played their roles so well.
This is the ONLY musical I have seen in which there is no simple dialogue...everything has to be sung!!!
The play begins with a work song – 'Look down' followed by 'On Parole', both of which highlight the plight of the people called the les Miserables in France at that time.
The actor playing Jean Valjean had the most amazing voice...so apt for the role. His delivery was excellent leaving one totally impressed. His rendition of 'Come to me' at the time of Fantine's death and 'Bring Him Home' were really beautiful...
Generally the singing was breathtaking …whether it was the patriotic fervour of 'Do You Hear the People Sing?' Or Fantine’s 'I Dreamed A Dream' or the Little Cosette’s 'Castle on a Cloud' or the humorous 'Master of the House' by Thenardier and Madame Thenardier...
30 July 2008
17 July 2008
11 July 2008
Robin Hood Events
For team building Logica organized an archery day out for the AON onsite team members...
A first look at the website for Robin Hood Events and I was totally excited and fully charged up for the day out.
It sounded like great fun...we don't shoot real animals or people - more the pity, because we could all think of a few candidates we would like to shoot!!!
Started in a coach from London at 7:30 AM, chocolates to munch on the way, general banter and chatting and before we realized we were in Canterbury by 9:30 AM.
This is a ’after a simple but yummy breakfast just before the event’ snap...
3 women – so we were divided into 3 teams...The Clueless led by Pam Lewis, The Little Johns led by Dawn Eyles and The Punters led by yours truly...
Equipped with our bows, quiver with 5 arrows each, protected with our finger tabs and arm bracers we started with 3 quick practice rounds on a normal target...one of the shots in the 1st session was a bulls eye...wish I had been able to shoot like that the whole day!!!
Competitive rounds of shooting different animals from huge bears to tiny owls followed this.
And not all targets were stationary…we had birds hanging with string and it being a windy day they were moving!!!
That’s our moving target
And then there was a speed round…15 secs to shoot the 5 arrows that we had. While in the other rounds we were shooting randomly (each one was identified by a unique combination of the cock and hen feathers on our arrows) and in the end checking the targets…for this round we were shooting as a team.
This is my team in the speed round…
The negative marking round not to be missed – a wolf and a coyote in the middle of several sheep. If you hit a sheep...lose points.
This is a picture with the hits on the wolf and coyote…at the back you can see the hits on the white sheep…
A hit or a kill – many animals had an area marked out…you hit in that…it is a kill. Anywhere else it is just a hit.
That’s a kill!
Volleys- pictures of people we would like to shoot had been provided to the organisers in advance. These were pinned to some of the animals and you had a volley if you managed to shoot them.
And this is a volley…its also Murali who managed to get into all the snaps irrespective of whether he managed to hit the target or not!!!
Finally a knockout round to decide the Archer of the day…that’s all of us competing for the title that was eventually a close contest between Luke and Simon.
The final scores
Clueless - 202
Little Johns - 184
The Punters - 183
A first look at the website for Robin Hood Events and I was totally excited and fully charged up for the day out.
It sounded like great fun...we don't shoot real animals or people - more the pity, because we could all think of a few candidates we would like to shoot!!!
Started in a coach from London at 7:30 AM, chocolates to munch on the way, general banter and chatting and before we realized we were in Canterbury by 9:30 AM.
This is a ’after a simple but yummy breakfast just before the event’ snap...
3 women – so we were divided into 3 teams...The Clueless led by Pam Lewis, The Little Johns led by Dawn Eyles and The Punters led by yours truly...
Equipped with our bows, quiver with 5 arrows each, protected with our finger tabs and arm bracers we started with 3 quick practice rounds on a normal target...one of the shots in the 1st session was a bulls eye...wish I had been able to shoot like that the whole day!!!
Competitive rounds of shooting different animals from huge bears to tiny owls followed this.
And not all targets were stationary…we had birds hanging with string and it being a windy day they were moving!!!
That’s our moving target
And then there was a speed round…15 secs to shoot the 5 arrows that we had. While in the other rounds we were shooting randomly (each one was identified by a unique combination of the cock and hen feathers on our arrows) and in the end checking the targets…for this round we were shooting as a team.
This is my team in the speed round…
The negative marking round not to be missed – a wolf and a coyote in the middle of several sheep. If you hit a sheep...lose points.
This is a picture with the hits on the wolf and coyote…at the back you can see the hits on the white sheep…
A hit or a kill – many animals had an area marked out…you hit in that…it is a kill. Anywhere else it is just a hit.
That’s a kill!
Volleys- pictures of people we would like to shoot had been provided to the organisers in advance. These were pinned to some of the animals and you had a volley if you managed to shoot them.
And this is a volley…its also Murali who managed to get into all the snaps irrespective of whether he managed to hit the target or not!!!
Finally a knockout round to decide the Archer of the day…that’s all of us competing for the title that was eventually a close contest between Luke and Simon.
The final scores
10 July 2008
09 July 2008
27 June 2008
The Lion King
Finally...after several attempts managed to get tickets to see The Lion King last weekend. The couple of times I tried earlier, it was always sold out. Which is not in the least bit surprising...considering the show is brilliant...it has a magical escapism about it...
The show begins with a procession of animals that make their way down the aisle to powerfully rhythmic African-style singing. It's a wonderful spectacle with a giant elephant, baby elephant, giraffes, zebras, antelopes and many more animals brought to life by some stunning costumes, masks, puppetry and special effects.
I found myself smiling with glee just like the kids sitting next to me...
It was all so imaginative...especially they way they tried to depict a herd of antelopes and flocks of birds. For antelopes several actors had a headgear in the form of the antelope plus they had wooden antelopes in their hands and so each person depicted 3 antelopes...when 3 such actors galloped across the stage the effect was magnificent...
The life-size giraffes - stilted cast members - were quite convincing too. Infact the puppetry around all the animals was amazing...The hyenas actually came across as meanies...
The stage was quite simple ...but came alive with the special affects ...the sun, trees, plants made on curtains which fell down at appropriate times...
The way the mountain was done was brilliant too...steps that would roll and come up on the stage when needed and the floor would open and it would rotate and go under the stage when not needed...quite good technically.
At one point when Rafiki gives Simba the courage to go back to the pride lands, in the backdrop of "He Lives in You" Mufasa's face appears behind a waterfall...abso stunning...
Simba's high energy "I Just can’t wait to be King" and Mufasa's "They Live In You" were both brilliant. 'Circle Of Life' was good too though "Hakuna Matata" & "Can you feel the love tonight" I felt could have been better...
The farting warthog Pumbaa and the rubbery meerkat Timon are puppetry at its best...also the bird Zazu character was also brilliant...they way the actor moved the bird's body and the mimicry was hilarious...
The masks were incredible...more so because they were capable of movement...so as the actors would stretch, the masks would move and it would look just like the head of a lion when a real lion stretches...
Like it says on the posters..."This is a dazzling show with the heart of a lion."
The show begins with a procession of animals that make their way down the aisle to powerfully rhythmic African-style singing. It's a wonderful spectacle with a giant elephant, baby elephant, giraffes, zebras, antelopes and many more animals brought to life by some stunning costumes, masks, puppetry and special effects.
I found myself smiling with glee just like the kids sitting next to me...
It was all so imaginative...especially they way they tried to depict a herd of antelopes and flocks of birds. For antelopes several actors had a headgear in the form of the antelope plus they had wooden antelopes in their hands and so each person depicted 3 antelopes...when 3 such actors galloped across the stage the effect was magnificent...
The life-size giraffes - stilted cast members - were quite convincing too. Infact the puppetry around all the animals was amazing...The hyenas actually came across as meanies...
The stage was quite simple ...but came alive with the special affects ...the sun, trees, plants made on curtains which fell down at appropriate times...
The way the mountain was done was brilliant too...steps that would roll and come up on the stage when needed and the floor would open and it would rotate and go under the stage when not needed...quite good technically.
At one point when Rafiki gives Simba the courage to go back to the pride lands, in the backdrop of "He Lives in You" Mufasa's face appears behind a waterfall...abso stunning...
Simba's high energy "I Just can’t wait to be King" and Mufasa's "They Live In You" were both brilliant. 'Circle Of Life' was good too though "Hakuna Matata" & "Can you feel the love tonight" I felt could have been better...
The farting warthog Pumbaa and the rubbery meerkat Timon are puppetry at its best...also the bird Zazu character was also brilliant...they way the actor moved the bird's body and the mimicry was hilarious...
The masks were incredible...more so because they were capable of movement...so as the actors would stretch, the masks would move and it would look just like the head of a lion when a real lion stretches...
Like it says on the posters..."This is a dazzling show with the heart of a lion."
24 June 2008
Sometimes...
Sometime you gotta runaway
So you can see who will run after you,
Sometimes you gotta talk quieter
Just to see who's listening,
Sometimes you gotta step up in a fight
Just to see who's by your side,
Sometimes you gotta make a wrong decision
To see who's there to fix it,
Sometimes you gotta let go off the one you love
Just to see if they love you enough to come back.
So you can see who will run after you,
Sometimes you gotta talk quieter
Just to see who's listening,
Sometimes you gotta step up in a fight
Just to see who's by your side,
Sometimes you gotta make a wrong decision
To see who's there to fix it,
Sometimes you gotta let go off the one you love
Just to see if they love you enough to come back.
23 June 2008
20 June 2008
Lies
What do you do if you find out that someone you really trust, more than anyone else ever before, has lied to you about something? Should you confront them? Ignore the lie? Or ignore them?
Did they realise that you would be devastated when you found out? And if they did and still lied...does it mean they don’t care?
It could be a small lie...but small lies only turn into big ones. How will I know what to believe and what not to? Am I supposed to be forgiving?
It just seems ridiculous to me to lie, especially when I know that eventually the truth will come out.
Did they realise that you would be devastated when you found out? And if they did and still lied...does it mean they don’t care?
It could be a small lie...but small lies only turn into big ones. How will I know what to believe and what not to? Am I supposed to be forgiving?
It just seems ridiculous to me to lie, especially when I know that eventually the truth will come out.
Money Making Scheme
If I had a 1£ / Rs 100 for every time a married person asked me (first thing, before asking anything else) how come I am STILL not married (emphasis on still) ...I'd be a rich woman!!!
19 June 2008
Loo of the year!!!
It’s not like what it seems…I am NOT obsessed with toilets!!!
I know…the earlier post on the revolutionary toilet seat and now this picture makes one wonder but...a 'Loo of the year' award could not be left ignored :-))
I know…the earlier post on the revolutionary toilet seat and now this picture makes one wonder but...a 'Loo of the year' award could not be left ignored :-))
18 June 2008
Feelings Poem...
Have you ever read a poem that made you laugh…and then if you gave it some thought you realised that had your situation been different, its one that could really make you cry?
There must be a wound!
No one can be this hurt
and not bleed.
How could she injure me so?
No marks
No bruise
Worse!
People say 'My, you're looking well'
…..God help me!
She's mummified me -
ALIVE!
There must be a wound!
No one can be this hurt
and not bleed.
How could she injure me so?
No marks
No bruise
Worse!
People say 'My, you're looking well'
…..God help me!
She's mummified me -
ALIVE!
~ Spike Milligan
17 June 2008
13 June 2008
Illusions - Richard Bach
I just finished reading Illusions by Richard Bach...for the 2nd time if I don’t count all the times I have just opened it on a random page and started reading it.
Once again Richard Bach emerges a star as this book helps clear up my mind...helps me address all the apprehensions and concerns I have been facing lately.
There are 2 parts in this book that are my favourites. One is when Don is on the Radio Show and the way he insists that we have complete freedom to do just what makes us happy, is really inspiring.
The other is when he talks about the typical rant that we all hear in our lives –"I do unto others as I would have them do unto me but..." The results are never as we expect ...are they? His explanation as to what makes us think that the other people want to be treated like that, in the first place, makes one rethink all the times we wonder what went wrong?
A few of my favourite quotes from this book…
If your happiness depends on what somebody else does,
I guess you do have a problem.
**********************************************************
Don’t be
dismayed at good-byes.
A farewell is necessary before
you can meet
again.
And meeting
again, after moments or
lifetimes, is certain for
those who are
friends.
**********************************************************
You are
never given a wish
without also being given the
power to make it true.
You may
have to work for it,
however.
**********************************************************
Your
conscience is
the measure of the
honesty of your selfishness.
Listen to it
carefully.
**********************************************************
There is
no such thing as a problem
without a gift for you
in its hands.
You seek problems
because you need
their gifts
Once again Richard Bach emerges a star as this book helps clear up my mind...helps me address all the apprehensions and concerns I have been facing lately.
There are 2 parts in this book that are my favourites. One is when Don is on the Radio Show and the way he insists that we have complete freedom to do just what makes us happy, is really inspiring.
The other is when he talks about the typical rant that we all hear in our lives –"I do unto others as I would have them do unto me but..." The results are never as we expect ...are they? His explanation as to what makes us think that the other people want to be treated like that, in the first place, makes one rethink all the times we wonder what went wrong?
A few of my favourite quotes from this book…
If your happiness depends on what somebody else does,
I guess you do have a problem.
**********************************************************
Don’t be
dismayed at good-byes.
A farewell is necessary before
you can meet
again.
And meeting
again, after moments or
lifetimes, is certain for
those who are
friends.
**********************************************************
You are
never given a wish
without also being given the
power to make it true.
You may
have to work for it,
however.
**********************************************************
Your
conscience is
the measure of the
honesty of your selfishness.
Listen to it
carefully.
**********************************************************
There is
no such thing as a problem
without a gift for you
in its hands.
You seek problems
because you need
their gifts
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