As can see I have not posted for a while. this has been due in some part to pressure of work but mainly due to huge amounts of family stuff from weddings, illness through to funerals [... continue reading 'My Theatre Review (including bars)']]]> As you know my blog and website are centred on and around dogs. However sometimes I like to take a quick wander to other things that come into my life.

As can see I have not posted for a while. this has been due in some part to pressure of work but mainly due to huge amounts of family stuff from weddings, illness through to funerals so a bit of everything really.

The best bit was the wedding of Richard, my youngest son which was a super wedding and meant that we stayed for a couple of nights at a very nice hotel near Winchester. As a result of this I was forced to have two of the biggest cooked breakfast imaginable but hey, if they’ve gone to the trouble of cooking it it would be churlish to refuse.

As we’d had a fairly manic time my wife and I paid a visit to the theatre for a bit of light relief. We quite often go to live theatre. Sometimes locally but more often in London’s West End. I thought I’d just give you a quick personal view of what’s on now and recently that we’ve seen. It might save you some money.

Our latest visit was to see ‘The 39 Steps’ at the Criterion at Picadilly Circus. It had a cast of four all playing a variety of roles and an arm (playing an arm) it was fast moving and brilliantly funny, just what we needed to lighten our spirits. If you ever see anything advertised by The Reduced Shakespeare Company go and see it. I defy you not to come out of the theatre with a smile on your face. They perform such things as ‘The Complete Works of Shakespeare in 90 minutes’ or ‘The Bible (Old and New Testaments) in 90 minutes.’

The Mousetrap. London’s, and probably the world’s longest running play now in it’s 56th year. A good old fashioned who dunnit played tongue in cheek. You musn’t be the only person who hasn’t seen it.

Stomp. Very clever, talented percussionists but more worthy of a ten minute slot in a variety show than a theatre all to itself. There are only so many ways you can hit something. Save your money

While I’m on the subject of Stomp it brings something else to mind. Theatre bars. Now I know that they’re going to be over priced. they’ve got you. Either you pay their price or go thirsty, but why, when they know how many people they are going to be serving and at what time they will arrive, do they only put the bottles in the fridges as they open to the public? When we saw Stomp we arrived in time to get a drink and also order our interval drinks. On walking into the bar (on a very hot day) we found that we were the only customers and there were two members of staff. One was a very slim petulant looking oriental male who would have made the Pet Shop Boys look like Royal Marine Commandoes. the other staff member was a female whose previous job had obviously been as Morale Officer on the Titanic. I approached the male member of staff, banknote in hand. He ignored me. “Excuse me.” I said apologetically. He turned and walked away without a word, it must have been pressure of work that caused him not to notice us. I approached the female member of staff and after speaking to her twice she glanced in my direction. I believe she was French with all the Gallic charm and love of the English that this brings. Being French she knew how to deal with wine to bring the best out so when I ordered a glass of white wine for my wife she knew it was best served in a less than sparkling clean glass at slightly over twice blood temperature. Well it does stop people drinking too much. As it was such a hot day I decided to have a lager. When I first asked she just looked at me, no response. I tried again “A lager please.” Sullen silence. one more time then. “What lagers do you have?” At this point she slammed two bottles down in front of me, one of Guinness the other Strongbow Cider. At this point I decided on that famous brand of lager, Diet Coke.

We Will Rock You. This got a kicking from the critics but everybody I know who has seen it agrees with me that it’s brilliant and it’s funny. It’s not Shakespeare, it’s not meant to be. If you like the music of Queen you must see this, if you like the writing of Ben Elton then you must see it.

The Woman in Black. Not bad, not a lot of laughs

The Woman in White although not currently on in West End as above

Buddy. Great live rock n roll a fun show (and about the only theatre with cold drinks)

Spamalot. Another fun show although you need to be well up on your Monty Python to get all the jokes. Heavy merchandising before during and after the show.

The Producers. Not currently on, my wife enjoyed I found it OK but wouldn’t rush to see it again.

One play which had a very short West End run was Telstar. The story of Joe Meek. This was particularly interesting to me as when Joe Meek was alive I was playing in a group. Friends of mine in another group (and much better than us) were targeted by Meek with promises of stardom. It probably had nothing to do with the fact that they had a very good looking bass player. It’s probably only coincidence that when Roger, an unfortunate name in the circumstances, made it very clear that he was a devout hetrosexual that their potential chart topping status finished. I digress. It was an enormously enjoyable play and has just been made into a feature film of the same name due to be released soon. I will be seeing it without fail. There are some laughs but it’s in essence the story of one talented mans rush to self destruction but hey the music’s good.

For Bonfire night and the period of firework displays around it. You will hopefully already have a system in place to keep your dog safe and as relaxed as possible while all the noise [... continue reading 'A Stressful Time For Dogs']]]> We are now approaching the time of year that puts dogs (and other family pets) under more stress that at any other. Halloween, Bonfire night and then the run up to Christmas.

For Bonfire night and the period of firework displays around it. You will hopefully already have a system in place to keep your dog safe and as relaxed as possible while all the noise is going on. If not, perhaps you’d better arrange a consultation with a dog listener before next year. Of course that is not going to help your dog now. If your dog is not concerned with the noise then that’s fine, just carry on as normal. If your dog sees you unconcerned he’ll be relaxed. Under no circumstances comfort your dog. you will give him the signal that you are terrified too and he is right to be frightened. If he does show signs of fright or stress just take him by the collar and hold him at your side with no speech or eye contact. He will at first continue to shake or bark. Ignore it until he relaxes. How long will this take? Who knows? Every dog is different but relax he will. You can then silently release him. It may be that shortly after there is another loud bang and your dog gets stressed again. Repeat as above. Each time you hold him by your side the time it takes for him to relax will decrease.

The upside of this, probably as a result of the credit crunch, is that here we are in late October and I’ve yet to hear my first firework. It won’t last of course so stay calm.

Halloween, that wondrous time of the year when gangs of small, and not so small children travel from house to house demanding protection money. “OK old woman! What’s it going to be, the sweets or your front window?”

The temptation is to go to the door with your dog. Bad move and potentially very dangerous for the dog. He doesn’t know it’s Halloween and when he goes to the door with you and is confronted by loud, squealing, strangely dressed creatures, he may well fall back into defence drive. All your dog, any dog knows, is how to be a dog. When a dog is threatened, angry, frightened or just hacked off; they don’t call their lawyers they bite. It’s called survival.

If your dog bites, or even has a near miss with a child on your doorstep, even if the callers are at fault. You will be looking at a lot of grief and potential fatal consequences for your dog who after all only did what he thought was right.

When you answer the door at anytime, but particularly at times like this. It’s a good idea to put your dog in another room first. After all it’s not your dogs job to decide who can or can’t come into the house is it? Play safe and nothing can go wrong for you, your visitors or your best friend.

Which only leaves Christmas, another stressful time. So much to do, so little time and it’s started already. Money is in short supply, tempers get frayed. By the time the big day arrives in some homes it’s a war zone. Rowing parents, unwanted relatives, spoilt children and burnt turkey. it can be bad for the humans and we know what’s going on. The poor old dog just wants to be left alone. Give him a bit of peace if you can, somewhere he can just go and chill out.