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Gig: Rachel McShane and the Cartographers

I went to see this band one quiet Thursday evening with a friend, at Quay Arts Centre, Newport. We were both surprised by how few people were in the audience given the reputation of the band.

Rachel McShane sang, and played both violin and viola, and was ably accompanied bon the melodeon by Julian Sutton, and on acoustic guitar by a chap who wasn't the advertised Matthew Ord! All three were exceptional musicians, making everything look ridiculously easy, while entertaining us with a good variety of songs, making us join in choruses, and making us laugh between songs. This was an excellent night out that I would happily do again.

Book: Summer Water by Sarah Moss

This book came highly recommended by a friend. It is a collection of short stories told by different people staying in a remote, dilapidated holiday village in the Highlands of Scotland. It gives an insight in to the everyday misery and monotony of ordinary people and families. There is, however, a darker undertone threading through the book to the last chapter; I could only skim-read this as I stupidly read the last paragraph and couldn't bear to read the chapter properly! I recommend this book.

Film (no decent theatres locally): Death on the Nile directed by Kenneth Branagh

This was a visually stunning film with excellent cinematography, acting and locations. If I hadn't read the book or seen the Peter Ustinov version, I could not fault it. However, it is far from the original story, with characters amalgamated, missing, or utterly changed; for example, the grumpy old writer with a put-upon niece became a middle-aged blues singer with a much-loved iece who fell for a nice young man who was not in the book, and managed to get himself murdered! Poirot was far too sentimental as well. I may have been spoiled by David Suchet's portrayal.

Book: Fragile Things by Neil Gaiman

I had clearly wanted to read this collection of short stories and poems badly enough to own teo copies. The collection did not disappoint; written in Gaiman's trademark twisted style, many stories wither had a dark twist partway through or left you guessing right until the end. "Monarch of the Gen" was a novella from the "American Gods" story and well worth reading.

The poem "The Day the Saucers Came" was lovely, and, sadly, believable. A book to be read again and again with each part a standalone gem.

Musical: Hamilton

I watched this on Disney+  as they had a film of the stage performance in New York. I wasn't sure what to expect as it is many years since I have watched a musical in a theatre, and this one has been very hyped up. The opening song was excellent, and drew me into the story straight away, as did the incredible costumes, which only got better as the performance continued. There was a good mixture of more traditional harmony singing and rap; I don't entirely like the 'Broadway Belters' style of singing but it worked well here! The songs were all well written and excellently performed. The story was by turns emotionally charged, humerous and sad. I particularly liked the occasional appearances of King George III, whose part was an excellent caricature. 

Although I enjoyed this musical, I felt that it went on a bit long; this could be due to my limited attention span while watching the TV though, and I might be absolutely fine in an actual theatre. Definitely worth watching.