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Post by Craig Herbertson on Apr 2, 2009 6:51:02 GMT
Scraps? No. I think this was not quite a boy thing. Psychologists would have a lot to say about it nowadays. To think Vaultofevil being reduced to this...
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Post by David A. Riley on Apr 2, 2009 7:29:34 GMT
I don't know. They look pretty scary to me, Craig.
David
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Post by Craig Herbertson on Apr 2, 2009 8:56:46 GMT
I know what you mean David - I suddenly thought 'story?'
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Post by carolinec on Apr 2, 2009 11:07:35 GMT
Hmmmph! I've only got Mr Palin's autograph on my Python Scriptbooks, Dr Fegg's Nasty Book of Knowledge and Around the World in 80 Days - all signed at the same session, 20 years ago (Crikey!) when he asked if there were any other books in the shop I fancied having signed too, "Biography of Churchill? Book on Napoleon?" Oh, and the lovely signed photo, "With best fishes", that he sent after I sent him a Desperate Dan T-Shirt (guess which comic I'd just started working in then!) Haven't met any of the other Pythons - my favourite one's dead, anyway - but I did once make John Cleese laugh during a live online chat session to promote the Meaning of Life DVD. Good grief, Lurker, you've got more signed Palin things than I've got! I do have The Python Diaries from a book signing he did a few years ago though, and a signed photo too. I gave my signed Himalayas to a charity auction - and then I regretted being benevolent after all ... Jones is the only other one I've met (seen Palin three times in all). They both - totally unprompted - said extremely nice things about Graham Chapman in the interviews I've seen. Did you know that Cleese really wanted to play Brian in Life of ... and Jones had to talk him out of it, knowing that the part was just made for Chapman? Would love to meet Terry Gilliam next if at all possible ... Anyway, scraps ... oh yes, I know what you mean now! Definitely not a boy thing - very much a girly thing. Never mind chaps, I used to do lots of boy things when I was a kid. It looks like most of us here were pretty mixed up when we were young doesn't it?! (probably still are!
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Post by David A. Riley on Apr 2, 2009 11:15:16 GMT
Mixed up? Never mixed up! David
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Post by The Lurker In The Shadows on Oct 22, 2009 18:01:45 GMT
Good grief, Lurker, you've got more signed Palin things than I've got! I do have The Python Diaries from a book signing he did a few years ago though, and a signed photo too. I gave my signed Himalayas to a charity auction - and then I regretted being benevolent after all ... Jones is the only other one I've met (seen Palin three times in all). They both - totally unprompted - said extremely nice things about Graham Chapman in the interviews I've seen. Did you know that Cleese really wanted to play Brian in Life of ... and Jones had to talk him out of it, knowing that the part was just made for Chapman? Would love to meet Terry Gilliam next if at all possible ... I knew I'd been banging on about Python round here somewhere... Well, I'm in a very silly mood, as I'm heading off down to London tonight to see (most of) Monty Python at the Royal Albert Hall! They're having a 40th anniversary celebration by taking part in Eric Idle's oratorio, "Not The Messiah". Eric, Michael and the two Terrys are going to be there (John is otherwise engaged, and Graham persists in being dead... though he still might be there, judging by other reunions), and Michael Palin will be compering in drag, as Mrs Betty Parkinson - which was the clincher for me (as if I needed one). I've been a massive Python fan since 1987, so this is a big occasion for me, as I never thought I'd get the chance to see the Pythons perform live. Strolls off singing The Lumberjack Song in German...
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Post by carolinec on Oct 22, 2009 19:10:17 GMT
Oh wow, Lurker, I'm so jealous! Have a great time (I'm sure you will) and tell us (or me, if no-one else is interested?) all about it when you get back. LATER EDIT: Oh, and did I mention this before? I've now got my Life of Brian video signed by both Palin and Jones. Pleased with that. And now I've got The Lumberjack Song on the brain too ...
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Post by The Lurker In The Shadows on Oct 23, 2009 0:13:13 GMT
And now for something completely AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!!!!
It's... all gone horribly wrong!
Tonight has been a total nightmare. I was booked to travel from Dundee to London by Megabus. Not that I was looking forward to 9 hours on a bus, but because I'm perennially skint, £36 is more affordable than £120-ish for the train.
Just getting ready tonight when I discovered at 21:15 that my Megabus at 22:40 was actually at 20:40! Don't know how I misread the ticket, but I did.
And I wept.
Frantic internet searching for a later Megabus yielded nothing. Best option is a not-remotely cheap bus at 8:15 from Glasgow tomorrow, which would have been fine if I'd realised my f*** up earlier, as I could have gone to Glasgow and kipped at a pal's or at my parents' place, but Dundee is not overly blessed with transport facilities, so that was out.
Was issued with an e-ticket, but I'm out of ink so I couldn't print the ticket. I thought I would be able to get into the office at work to use the printer there, but got into town and discovered they've discontinued the night shift, so nae luck, pal!
Then discovered the 23:51 train to Glasgow, which would be there in time for the London bus is actually the 23:51 to Perth, with another 5 hours between trains.
So, home now, after heading to all night Tesco to buy ink, and I'm having to take a taxi to Perth at 4:00am (discounted since the driver's one my girlfriend regularly uses) to avoid a 5 hour wait on the platform on a Scottish October night.
So, all in all, on top of what I originally paid for the ticket, I've now shelled out a lot more than the train fares I'd dismissed as too pricey... and I STILL have to take the Megabus back, so I don't even get to travel back in comfort.
If this wasn't Python, who I've been dying to see live for a couple of decades, I'd have said forget it! So, rather appropriately, as George Harrison's financing of "Life of Brian" is often referred to as "the most expensive cinema ticket ever issued", this has been the most expensive Megabus ticket in history.
One day I'll laugh about this - albeit maniacally.
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Post by allthingshorror on Oct 23, 2009 8:14:32 GMT
Oh you poor, poor bastard. If I was you, I'd stick out my thumb - you'd probably get there quicker than a Megabus bus! Hope you have a brilliant time!
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Post by dem bones on Oct 23, 2009 9:35:46 GMT
after all that trauma, i sure hope you had a brilliant night, lurkio. Don't know if you caught it, but Franklin recently added to his impressive catalogue of Vault exclusives by landing an interview with long-term Terry Gilliam collaborator Lucinda Cowell.
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Post by carolinec on Oct 23, 2009 11:34:24 GMT
Oh no, I hope you got there OK after all that.
I know how you feel though. There have been a few times when I've been really looking forward to something - a must-see event - and then it's all got buggered last minute.
Here's hoping you made it and it was all worth the hassle.
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Post by The Lurker In The Shadows on Oct 25, 2009 0:36:53 GMT
Well, I made it there and back in one piece. And it was worth it. Definitely worth it! Will post details tomorrow, as I'm utterly done in after a 13 hour bus journey (NEVER AGAIN!!!!), but I'll lapse into unconsciousness grinning having fulfilled an ambition that I never thought would come to pass, to actually see Monty Python!
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Post by franklinmarsh on Oct 25, 2009 13:57:57 GMT
Excellent stuff Dan! True dedication. A few year ago it's something I'd have loved to have gone to but those days are nearly over. The only one of the team I've ever seen in the flesh was Terry J. A friend and I made the trip to London to see Life Of Brian as there was some debate as to how wide a release it would get. We were having a laugh with the ticket girl who was telling us that the cinema had been visited by a protesting bishop the day before, when my pal nudged me and pointed out a familiar looking figure in a Warner Brothers jacket. Neither of us had a pen to hand so we dashed out to a nearby department store, eventually got one, but by the time we got back the elusive TJ was gone.
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Post by The Lurker In The Shadows on Oct 25, 2009 19:39:03 GMT
After the nightmarish mess-up in trying to get to London, followed by the running about trying to find the right bus from Victoria, and walking past my hotel 5 times before finding it, I made it in time to buy a programme and get settled in before the show. And it was all so very worth it. I've never been to the Royal Albert Hall before, but it's amazing inside. What a venue. I spotted a few lumberjacks, Gumbies, pepperpots and the like scattered throughout the audience. And I had a fantastic seat in the stalls, close enough to see the performers' expressions. The "Not The Messiah" oratorio was wonderful, telling the story of Brian to music, accompanied by a full orchestra, choir, bagpipes and sheep. The musical genres encompassing everything from Welsh choirs, Gilbert and Sullivan, Opera and Bob Dylan. It was great to see Eric's long-time collaborator John Du Prez conducting, and I loved the inclusion of the choir and musicians in the gags, donning miners' helmets, Mexican gear, harmonicas... And the soloists were all wonderful, and brought out the fun of the lines. Tremendous singing and great comedy performances. Michael was brilliant in ballgown and Thatcher-wig as Mrs Betty Parkinson/Palin ("Why do they titter so?"), transvestite mother of Sarah Palin, and it was wonderful to see him reprise his "Brian" roles as Pilate and Nisus Wettus ("Crucifixion? Out of the door, line on the left, one cross each..."). Jonesy was splendid as the Welsh/Roman miner (I spotted him laughing at himself after the first verse), and as a Mexican. Terry G looked amazing and imposing in his tuxedo as he stood waiting to deliver his only line ("I'm not") and took his bows, and he was also a very naughty Mexican. Carol Cleveland was very funny as the shepherd with the singing sheep (three life-size puppet sheep attached to her costume), before returning as a Mexican dancer who had her Zapata moustache ripped off before being ravished on the floor by Signor Gilliam. Neil Innes was the third Mexican, and a Mountie, alongside the other Pythons, Andre Jacquemin and Sanjeev Bakshar (who was recently King Arthur in Spamalot). Eric was great as the baritone/Stan or Loretta/Ben/Mr Cheeky and Bob Dylan, and brought the whole show together. There were too many highlights to single things out, but there really was something magical about the entire audience, electric candles held aloft, singing "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life", and to follow that with Michael throwing off (thwowing off) his Pilate costume to reveal his lumberjack outfit... One of the happiest moments of my life, after waiting several decades to see Monty Python live, here it was, happening in front of my eyes. And, as if that wasn't enough, I waited till 1:15 outside the stage door, met some nice fellow Python fans, and had a fascinating chat with Andre Jacquemin, Python Album producer and one of the Mounties on the night. I also met Carol, who was lovely and very kind and really hoped everyone enjoyed the show, and Eric, who was also lovely and signed things, posed for pictures and chatted, even though he was trying to get home with his wife. There are already loads of clips on YouTube, despite the "no camera" policy. Here's a good one of the finale - www.youtube.com/watch?v=RrLTo1lXKs8 Unfortunately, I hadn't worked out the zoom function on my girlfriend's camera, so my photos from the show aren't great, and my video of "The Lumberjack Song" is marred by some manky Scots git singing along close to the camera (till I realised and shut up), and I look strangely pissed off in the photo of me with Eric (I think I was talking to him at the time, and it was just an unfortunate moment to click), but as the whole thing was filmed for a DVD release - next Easter, according to Eric - and was recorded for broadcast on BBC Radio3 at Christmas, I'll have a record of the entire show to treasure then... not that I'm likely to forget it.
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Post by dem bones on Oct 26, 2009 12:07:11 GMT
Thanks for sharing your blow-by-blow account of the night's proceedings, Lurks. Your enthusiasm and enjoyment really comes across and, for once, i'm very glad for a story to have a happy ending. hope that what sounds like an impromptu party at the stage door made up for all the trauma you went through!
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