Cyrano De Bergerac

Yep it was that time of year again.

It's been one year since i performed a three night show of Wuthering Heights and it has now been a week since i performed a three night show of Cyrano De Bergerac- the incredibly famous french play about the 'ugly' poet with a very large nose. 

I've never done a proper tragic- comedy and i'll be honest with you, i was very apprehensive. The show is based around Cyrano. The other protagonists being Roxanne, Christian, De Guiche and Le Bret. The rest of the cast, which is a grand size of 12, is made up of six females who multi-role the rest of the parts. I was a multi-roler and therefore had five different parts to play, all with incredibly different characteristics but a challenge is always nice once in a while, so i thew myself into it.

Sister Agnes (one of the nuns who tell the story), Poet, Priest and Sentinel.

• Sister Agnes = a very stern lady who does not approve of the story telling that is about to take place.
• Poet = an incredibly comedic, male character who just wants to please his one and only idol- Cyrano.
• Priest = a funny man trying to stay serious and get on with his job, until Cyrano starts 'suggesting' things with his sword.
• Sentinel = (my favourite out of the four) an incredibly comedic man who hates being on watch duty and tends to reminisce about his school days whenever he can, forgetting to watch for the enemy lines every now and again.

The basic plot is that Cyrano is in love with Roxanne but because of his huge nose he doesn't believe that he'll ever be able to win her over. Roxanne, falls in love with the handsome but illiterate Christian. Cyrano being the good guy he is, offers to write letters to Roxanne, pretending to be Christian; Roxanne appreciates poetry more than anyone ever can. Roxanne soon falls deeply in love with Christian's 'words'. Then, war breaks out so Christian and Cyrano go off to fight- Roxanne is left in despair and, in a flurry of madness wanders through the battle fields to find them. When she finally reaches the camp her beloved Christian has been shot and dies in her arms, holding his last fake letter that she will ever read. 15 years pass and Roxanne and Cyrano meet again- Cyrano has been injured and has a serious head wound- this is when Roxanne learns that Cyrano wrote the letters all along- Roxanne realises that she was in love with Cyrano the whole time but it's too late, her second love also dies in her arms and the play closes.

I'm well aware that the plot description that i wrote doesn't necessarily lend itself to that much humour so you'll just have to trust me on that- it is a comedic tragedy, i promise!

I can't describe how much of an amazing experience it has been to be involved in such an amazing show. The cast became like a little family, as it always does and it was so nice to be able to experience that unforgetable feeling of walking on stage and performing to sold out audience again. 

For some people involved this was there last show. These are the people who i've been performing with since the age of 6, the end of an era is definitely looming but i suppose that can only mean that a new one is starting.

So as usual, i have some show photos that i would like to share with you.

See you next week, if not before.

The small islander x

Little Late- Leeds Festival

I do apologise!

I'm back for a short while again because the blogging bug seemed to catch up with me. With all my sixth form work completed.. for tonight anyway i couldn't help but feel guilty about my lack of communication to all you guys recently.

Life has well and truly caught up with me- after the most perfect summer that i could have ever dreamt of I've landed back into reality with a rather large thud and it's left a very distinct mark! So to back-track to the last little bit of  my summer- Leeds festival.

After getting off the train from the my trip back after being on the islands i was given nine days before i was back on all different modes of transport to get to my next destination, a campsite, for six days. Now I'm not going to lie to you all and say that i thought it was going to be easy, i am well aware that my camping experiences are very small if not non-existent; it depends whether you count being in your back garden with a cable connecting to the electricity cable, therefore providing you with fairy lights and a working TV- as camping. No? Yeah.. didn't think so.

Yes my bag was nearly as big as me!

So lets start again.. I'd never been camping before and thus had no idea what to expect, although i knew that if i was told to take 2 packs of jumbo wet wipes that i was going to be in for a shock. On arrival i felt rather optimistic, we had the early bird tickets so we got the tent all set up (in the sun to my surprise) we then had out first night to explore the massive, almost village like set up. By the second day i soon realised why wet wipes were an essential, along with dry shampoo and mouthwash, i also quickly learnt how to use a compact mirror effectively (which is much harder than you think). 

The Thursday was GCSE results day for me and although i was having a wail of a time at Leeds there's nothing worse than the thudding pain in your chest as you discover whether all your hard work has paid off- i believe that mine did and i certainly celebrated! I will admit, festivals are by far the best place to celebrate an occasion!

So by the time we'd reached the Friday I'd plucked up enough courage to attempt to wash my hair- it took two people and never in my life have i hated my hair for being so long, after an hour of washing, combing, re-washing and drying i was finally ready for the music to start. I should add that this was my only hair wash day, the experience was enough to put me off for the rest of the weekend.

As you can probably tell, although i say i settled into the festival lifestyle i missed my home comforts a lot, the simplicity of a full body shower and somewhere cushioned to sit is most definitely taken for granted these days! I also ended up living in wellies, not because it was bad weather but because they were the easiest things to put on and when i say i lived in them i mean they were on for around 14 hours a day and then i slept with 3 pairs of wellie socks on every night. no exaggeration!

Pre- music chills.

Anyway, so the first night was Blink 182 as the headliner with Paramore and the 1975 following on the Saturday and then Imagine Dragons, Jake Bugg (I GOT ON THE SCREEN..TWICE!!) and finally the Arctic Monkeys. The last day was certainly crazy; a constant mosh pit for four hours took it's toll on my body leaving me with plenty of bruises as proof of one of the best weekends of my life. 

The most iconic festival photo!

Getting to see so many live acts all in one place is amazing and being able to spend it with some of your closest friends is perfect. You not only get to meet so many new people but you get to listen to so many different types of music, whenever you want.

I can't explain how much i loved this weekend.

The toilets may just be holes in the ground and the food may be so delicious, yet so unhealthy, that you dream of fruit for 5 nights but it's oh so worth it. I would recommend it to everyone, music lover or not, after a festival it's guaranteed that you will come back appreciating the world of music so much more.

I hope you enjoyed reading about my experience at Leeds and that you managed to have a giggle at the idea of me struggling to cope with only my little hand sanitiser to get me through the daily toilet troubles.

LEEDS FEST 2014

See you next week, if not before!

The small islander x

6 Weeks of Summer

  So admittedly this blog post is going to be long but i shall try and include as many photos as possible to break it up. As you all know i have been on holiday for 6 weeks, trying to make the most of my extended summer thanks to the joys of GCSE's. This post is basically summing up all of my adventures that occurred throughout the 6 weeks so i do hope you enjoy!

Arrival

Afternoon walks

  Getting to an island at the other end of the country isn't the easiest of tasks but it's so worth the effort. After one lengthy train trip, an overnight stay, two boat trips and a short walk i arrived and i suddenly felt as though I'd never been away and i can't think of any other place where I'd rather go for six weeks.

And with views like this how can one fail to love the place?

Constant Change

  On a small island any change is always massively noticeable and due to advancing technology the island has to change (in multiple ways) to prevent it from becoming completely cut off. There's no 3G and the Wifi that is available, in places, is slow but i prefer it that way. I strongly believe that society is almost forcing us to fall into a huge hole of technology and now that we're so far into it it's becoming almost impossible to get out, so to be able to escape this hole for a while, is quite nice. For a few days after a severe thunder and lightning storm the signal mast on the main island broke and i was completely out of service, admittedly at first i did the typical teenager thing of freak out because i was going to effectively be stranded on the island without any way of contacting anyone but then as time passed i got used to it and started to rather like the limited contact, i found myself appreciating things a lot more. It scares me to think how easily distracted i can become just because i have the option to sit on my phone! It also meant that i got a chance to spend some quality time with my sisters, without any distractions which then led to me jumping at the chance to take as many photos as i possibly could.

A little bit of sisterly love

Morning relaxation and sunbathing before work

Lunch break sunbathing as well!

Social Sickness

  On the theme of change and technology there is always a time when I'm away from friends that i get 'social sickness'. However, I've met that many lovely people this year that leaving the island has led to an even stronger pang of social sickness compared to what leaving the mainland did, it's most likely because i know i won't see many of those people for a whole year if not more, which makes leaving people from up here, for six weeks, sound like no time at all! It's knowing that so much can change so quickly whilst your away from your friends that brings on the feeling but after my time away i am most definitely now a strong believer in the fact that you don't appreciate the best things without experiencing a time without them, at some point.

The Island Hotel opening night with Lily

Sand, Sea, Sunsets and Stars

  The Sand, Sea, Sunsets and Stars could be a blog post all on it's own but i didn't want to bore you with endless pictures of golden sand, the bright blue sea and beauteous sunsets, so I'll just keep it as a sub-story. I've already mentioned the beauty of this whole place so i won't dwell on that too much either but due to the fact that there is no artificial lighting on the islands, such a street lights, it means that, as long as there are no clouds, the stars are visible almost every night. This therefore means that shooting stars are far from being a rarity and on my late night walks home from working i would quite often just stop and stare at the sky and then finish my walk at an increased pace so that i could get back home and snuggle under my duvet outside to watch the stars until i fell asleep. Ultimate relaxation time if you ever get the chance to do it. 

Just one of the many late night photos i ended up taking.

Sibling Stories

  As previously mentioned me and my sisters have been reunited after far too long apart and the stories that have merged from this holiday will remain ingrained in my mind for a lifetime. In the mornings i would get up and go for a run and without fail Jessica would tell me to "run really fast" and then ask me if i did well enough once i got back. She also got great pleasure out of undoing my shoe laces whenever she got the chance. Amelia is currently at the stage of nearly walking so instead of crawling she sort of half walks so that she's using both hands and feet without her knees touching the floor which is all very cute and the big smile that ALWAYS covers her face adds to the cuteness level by a large amount. 

See, they're both just so smiley!

Beach Bonfires

  It wouldn't be a successful summer holiday without plenty of beach fires/parties and this year was no exception! Beautiful days led into beautiful nights and i met so many perfectly, amazingly, lovely people who i seriously hope i see again next year and also stay in touch with. The beach fires just seemed to get progressively better each time. The moon lighting up the sky, the fire keeping us all warm and the music giving the general hubbub of conversation a background. I have quite easily had some of the best nights of my life with the people i met on the island this summer, staying in contact with them all and of course seeing them again would be a dream come true!

A beach fire looking ever so nice

Memories

  The memories that i have made this summer will last me for a lifetime. I've learnt so much about living and taking up experiences that i normally wouldn't go for, i feel as though I've gained so much life experience and it's left me feeling so happy and content. I also feel as though I've learnt a lot about myself which i think is a necessity for people my age, especially with all the huge life decisions that have to be made very soon. The memories that I've made with the people I've met are most definitely unforgettable for all the right reasons.

Thinking and decision making time is best at the beach

Homebound

  Homebound is a weird feeling for me i definitely got settled back into the whole island living lifestyle again and I'm incredibly sad to leave, even though i get to see people who I've been separated from for such a long time, i can't help but get excited for my next trip down there and the experiences that are yet to come with hopefully many of the people i met this summer and more.

Well that's it... Six weeks summed up into one blog post.

See you next week, if not before.

The small islander x

 

 

Weekly Update- Island extremes

So most people hate the idea of a thunder and lightning storm because to them it means rain, extremely frightening flashes of light and rumbles of the most horrendous sound of thunder but the storm i whitnessed last week didn't really fit into that category. 

It was broad daylight when it began, the rumbles of thunder were loud but more intriguing than frightening and the lightning flashes were too beautiful to be scared of as they lit up the sky in such a way that it began to turn pink and purple, almost as if it were a sunset.

I so wish i could take credit for these photos but i can't, however, they are amazing and must be shown off. 

So here a thunder and lightning storm can be made beautiful, along with a sunset. It's well known that it's most definitely worth going down to the beach to sit and watch the sunsets here. It becomes really quite addictive as well, you want to come back each night and see what colours the clouds will turn. 

These photos i can take credit for as well!

Kayaking round to see the sunset is quite possibly the most relaxing thing ever, so if you get the chance, i highly recommend it.

See you next week, if not before

The small islander x

Weekly update- Island living

So with living on an island there are certain, little things, that you learn to get used to like the unpredictable weather or the fact that you have to plan all your day trips around tide times. They probably sound ridiculous but it's amazing how much we all take for granted being able to just hop in a car one morning and decide to just go somewhere different for the day, here it's a little less spontaneous but so worth it!

2 weeks have almost passed and i'm most definitely settled back into the island living lifestyle. 

Of course there are the positive and negatives of living on and island which is what this blog post is about. 

Negatives: I'm the type of person who always wants the bad news first, just so i can get it out of the way, so we'll start with these negative points. Not that there's many! 

1: Food. There are crazy amounts of food and drink that just don't exsist on an island of this size and all things Costa is most definitely one of them. It's only been two weeks but a caramel latté cooler sounds like heaven right now and maybe even a meal from Café Tirreno.

2. Online shopping. This is just a disadvantage because post takes SO long to get here, it's so mad. Things from Boohoo can be here within two days but and online shopping order from Amazon can take over a week but i guess it's not a massive deal in the grand scheme of things.

The positives however come in large amounts.

The view. No matter what time of day it is or what part of the island you're on there's always a beautiful view of the sea or a beach and it just brightens up your day. 

The people. I have a lot of family down here who i don't get to see that often so coming down is always lovely as it means catch ups are most definitely needed. It's good to see friends as well, of course. 

The beach. So it's kind of impossible not to mention the beaches here as they are so wonderfully beautiful; white sand and bright blue seas just make up the beauty of this place.

The hidden gems. It's also nice to just be somewhere were a lot of people have not been before and it's nice to know where all the hidden gems of the place are like, where the best view of the sunset is and where the least windy beach is to get the best tan. It's just nice to know the secrets of the island! 

So that was the positives and negatives of island life. Hope you're all enjoying your summer! 

See you next week if not before.

The small islander x 

Weekly Update Island Style

As you all know i have been reunited with the sisters which is just perfect as i'm able to spend quality time with them both and watch as they grow up in front of me, even in this reasonably short amount of time.

Work has officially began and my summer has started. I am loving it. For my weekly update this week, it is a photo of the view that i get to look at every day.

There's not too much to say this week, not because nothing has happened but because it's been that busy that daily photos have really taken a back seat.

So to leave you with something to think about i shall say this.. Stop and appreciate what you have and what you see around you because i am quickly learning that it's the most simple and smallest of things that make you the happiest.

See you next week if not before.

The small islander x 

Weekly Highlight- Reunion

So i've always known that this weeks highlight was going to be easy because it was always going to be that me and my two younger sisters have been reunited. It's been 9 months since i saw them last and of course with my youngest sister only being 2 weeks since i last saw her, she has of course, changed dramatically and as for the middle one out of us three well she's all questions and spends most of her time awaiting answers.

It's scary what time can do; it can change things, make things, break things the list goes on. With me being here for 6 weeks i'm excited to witness all the things that time can do. I'm looking forward to the possibility that i could also be there when my youngest sister takes her first steps, which is a big deal to me as i've missed a lot of her 'milestone moments.'

These 6 weeks have the potential to be very good and i'm looking forward to seeing what comes out of them!

See you next week, if not before

The small islander x