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Two Ladies: La Bella Bimba at Barons Court Theatre / Canal Cafe Theatre

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T hey sing. They dance. They clown around. They even wash clothes! Such is the story of La Bella Bimba, part of the Voila Theatre Festival, which highlights new and emerging artists. A tale of two Italian ladies who land in 1920s New York, trying to break into Broadway without speaking a word of English. It’s harmless, primarily even if a little nonsensical, and is currently playing as part of the Voila! Theatre Festival .  I caught the performance at the Barons Court Theatre , where the intimate setting created an evocative atmosphere reminiscent of dark New York alleyways. The space was almost claustrophobic with a distinct smell of rising damp, making you feel immersed in the story of two Ladies hanging around the theatre doors of Broadway. On the plus side, the theatre has some of the most comfortable seats you will find in any pub theatre in London. As the naive and hopeful singers, Co-creator Lucrezia Galeone as Carlotta and Sarah Silvestri as Cecilia are fine singers with co...

Scenes from Harrods Saturday 16:30.

The last day of the Harrods sale brought all the punters out for an extra 20% off.

A wanted to get some more dinner plates, but not these ones after I suggested that they looked like you could get them at John Lewis. He settled for something much smarter. Later I bought a couple of shirts, so a sensible round of shopping was had by all.

It was actually the first time I set foot in Harrods, so A was keen to give me the grand tour (but I declined the offer to see the Dodi and Di memorial). While it is a tacky Egyptian bazaar with clothes, crockery, this and that piled up on top of each other in no real sense of logic or organisation, it still does have a certain charm about it...

Still as one sees the fading grandeur of the building and the cracked and dirty tiles in the food hall, it seems like there is a (very) small part of English shopping history that is slowly decaying away... And nobody really seems to notice as they snap up the Harrods bags and bears.Posted by Picasa

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