Journal Entries
Sleepless
Posted Dec 18, 2006
I've been having a really difficult time sleeping recently and have been feeling tired and exhausted most of the time.
At work, I need to obtain more grant funding for one of my projects, or one of my staff will be made redundant and on another grant-funded project, 100% of my staff are pregnant, and one of them is having a really hard time with morning sickness. I've been going to bed worrying about it, when I've not been worrying about how I'm going to sort other home-related issues. Oh, for a really good night's sleep!
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Latest reply: Dec 18, 2006
Trying to please everyone and pleasing no-one
Posted Dec 18, 2006
Oh isn't Christmas sometimes a difficult time. I've been putting off making arrangements because of wanting to please everyone and I've ended up pleasing no-one. Mum and dad wanted me to spend Christmas with them. Roy wanted me to spend Christmas with him and also New Year. Little wants to spend Christmas and New Year here. There are people I'd like to take time out to go and see.
In the end, I agreed to spend Christmas here, then travel to the Isle of Wight immediately after Christmas and come back on New Years Eve. No-one's particularly happy, least of all me.
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Latest reply: Dec 18, 2006
Fine and dandy
Posted Dec 18, 2006
I got to see both performances of 'Bugsy Malone'. The first night, little was playing some small characters and on the second, the larger part of the main baddy, 'Dandy Dan'.
The first night was on balance rather better. The child playing Bugsy Malone was absolutely superb, the other main characters were good, with the 'Fat Sam' being excellent. Little performed his parts well on both nights.
On the second night, the Bugsy wasn't so strong and there was a long break after he forgot one of his entrances, although the other main characters were generally good. Little was very good - confident, big voice, big gestures - and he looked good - except for fiddling with his trousers. They were a bit big, and I had put a safety pin in the back. The school changed it, and I think they left it a bit loose, so he was worried that they were going to fall down.
I sat there (with AR1 at my side) entranced. I would have paid to see it whether or not little was in it or not. Both nights got standing ovations and the headteacher really recognised the dedication of his staff and the parents who had put such a lot into the production.
After the second performance, little said he felt really sad. He really wanted to go on rehearsing and performing and I think it was rather an anti-climax.
No-one was allowed to take photos or a video because of copyright restrictions. Shame.
At the moment, he's come back from his school Christmas party and is throwing up in a bowl because of the amount of party food he's eaten/drunk. 
Oh well!
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Latest reply: Dec 18, 2006
Cirque Surreal and Cirque de Celebrite
Posted Dec 3, 2006
Little has never been to the circus - until this weekend, when he got to go twice. We got free tickets to Cirque de Celebrite on Sunday (today) and then we got free tickets to Cirque Surreal, which we went to see on Friday evening. They were both at the same big top on Woolwich Common. http://www.cirquesurreal.co.uk/
At the first one, we got really good seats - we were there with a party of 12 and it was great fun. Lots of really stunningly good skills and a nice clown - the fattest bloke I've ever seen in a leotard. http://www.cirquesurreal.co.uk/cirquecelebrite.html The women were absolutely gorgeous and extremely slim and supple and the chaps were pretty OK too. Little really enjoyed it.
Today we went to see Sky One's Cirque de Celebrite and we got the most awful seats - at the side where we couln't see most of the ring and none of the judging panel, so they were only voices. There was lots of waiting about and little got really bored and thought that their skills were really poor. They weren't - they'd done really well to be able to do that amount in only 10 weeks, but he could only see them in comparison with the performance of the professionals. What I did see, being rather sidelined, was the pride that their trainers had in their proteges.
Little was really upset that his favourite was dropped from the five that had made it this far. He was probably the better of the two that scored least, so I think that the one who was saved, was saved for political reasons.
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Latest reply: Dec 3, 2006
He's the very best at being bad!
Posted Dec 1, 2006
Little is playing Dandy Dan - one of the lead characters in his school's Christmas play - Bugsy Malone. He was really thrilled to get the part - he auditioned for it (and also for Bugsy Malone). HIs teacher thought it would bring out his character, but that the lead would be a bit too much for him to learn. A couple of times he left his script in school.
I think he's getting performance anxiety. I've noticed a pattern of not wanting to go in school - feeling sick - on the days that auditions are taking place and I had a full-blown tantrum last night. It took a lot of patience and firmness to deal with it. In the end, I sai in silence with him for a while, holding his feet (he sat on a chair facing me), until he was ready to talk, and even then he wasn't saying much. Sitting in silence was quite interesting. He said after a long silence. 'Well, aren't you going to say anything?' and I said, 'Do you think I should?' and then we sat in silence a little longer. In the end he came and sat on my knee.
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Latest reply: Dec 1, 2006
Zarquon's Singing Fish!
Researcher U182827
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