Well, we didn’t end up at Nylon Soundz- it was just a bit too out of the way for us. I only fancy spending over an hour on a bus if I’m going somewhere unmissable. As we didn’t really know what the musicians would be like, & there were grey clouds collecting overhead, we decided to instead relax at home. Excellent choice for us as it did start raining & rumbling- I woke up at 3am to a bit of lightning.
Lately we have been watching ‘Full Metal Alchemist’, a really awesome Japanese Anime that Bodra… found. That has kept us pretty chilled & relaxed this past week- we watched the final episode (I think there were over 50 episodes) before going out to Henley-on-Thames yesterday afternoon. We caught a train out there, changing at Twyford, taking about 25 minutes. HoT seemed to be a really quiet, restful village. The River Thames passes directly through it, so as Bodra & I walked along the streets we could peer into peoples luxurious barges. There are some there which you can hire, driver included, & they were all decked out with wine & yummy nibbles & candles.
We wandered through the village & were both quite impressed by the atmosphere & the setting of the village. Walking past a row of homes which have a tiny strip of flower space separating them from the footpath before being hemmed in by wrought-iron gates. There was this really traditional looking hotel, with the white walls & dark wood inserts & a frame roof. I always thought they looked Swedish- you can just picture a windmill beside them.
Indian was on the menu as well as a rose`- pretty expensive all up but definitely yummy. Then we went off in search of the puppet barge. We heard a donging coming from the direction of the barge, so scurried over. We crossed a platform onto the barge & were let in to the dimly lit barge where the puppet show had already begun. We sat on school assembly seats that were luckily slightly padded on the seats & back (students would be so lucky!). We had a good view of the stage, perhaps it was seven seats in front of us, but the seats were raised to the back. There were perhaps six puppets being manipulated on the stage as the characters sat around discussing the play & the parts they were being given. ‘Bottom’ was the arrogant dramatist, trying to out-act the other characters.
The next act was between King Oberon & Titania the Fairy Queen, their debate over Robin Good-fellow. Their fairies were little balls of soft glowing light with tufts of hair or nature pieces like leaves or cobwebs. Oberon puts his love-in-idleness spell on Titania to make her fall in love with the next thing she sees when she wakes, however ugly it may be.
& she see’s Bottom, with a Donkey’s head! I think it was a trick that Puck did to change his head.
During intermission we enjoyed a tiny thimble of apple juice for 50p each. We were able to see all the puppets collected by the family who had ran the Puppet Barge, as these were strung up all over the barge. The gong was sounded & we returned to our seats. I must admit, I was feeling quite tired so could’ve been happy to miss the last part, but Bodra thought it would be a bit disrespectful. I was glad we stayed though, as I just kept thinking it was such a unique experience. The last puppet show I had seen was when I did Tai-Chi & one of the students entertained us with his puppet antics from his suitcase. But that wasn’t on a barge!
It was about 9:30pm when we came out & the village was starting to get a little more lively with people wandering around the cafes, bars & restaurants. We checked on when our train would depart then went to a bar for a cooling Hoegaarden. The air was a bit muggy still. The atmosphere in the bar was very student-like, loud Indie Rock music, so loud I could barely talk to Bodra. Heaps of testosterone fueled males & about seven females including the bartenders. Bodra helped me polish off my pint (I didn’t realise they were THAT big!) then we returned to the station just in time.
Today we’ve been for a mission around picking up necessary home items- like a frisbee & Nag Champa incense (couldn’t fine either!). We were treated to two Native Indian musicians on the main street. They were dressed up real cheesily with like an animal head with horns on their head. But they had some pretty cool instruments, a massive set of pan-pipes, probably a metre long. We also saw this huge percussion band, playing Brazillian drums, the kind you get really physical with, bouncing around as you play them. Unfortunately, they only had one song they were playing repeatedly, that super-cheesy disco song ‘Can You Feel It?’
We’ve discovered a comedy bar in the town called Jongleurs so we’ll check that out maybe next Friday. Bodra will be off to Las Vegas in a couple weeks for some conference thingy. I won’t be accompanying him but 45 degrees heat & casino’s galore isn’t much of an attraction for me- just as long as he brings back one of those ladies in the Ostrich dresses or a gambler… heheh!
It’s cloudy but warm here… I wonder how long Summer sticks around for in the UK?
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