Thursday, December 15, 2005
Guys and Dolls
Most of you know that I'm carrying on my thespian habits here in Canada, as I seem completely unable to stay off a stage for more than a year. The life of a luvvie, I suppose : )
Anyway, here's the photos of my first treading of the Canadian boards - as a Salvation Army band member with one line in Guys & Dolls...!
[Left: Me and my fellow band members, complete with evangelistic smiles : )]
[Right: Me and my South African friend Rinatha, shedding our holy image and enjoying a bevvie at the interval]
[Left: The scene in which I said my one line. Note the passion and sheer acting skill!! I'm the one on the far right, by the way]
Anyway, with my English accent, I should get a slightly bigger part in 'My Fair Lady' - I might even have a chance at the main part (if you squint really hard, I can pass for Audrey Hepburn - no really)!
By the way, if you've got five minutes to spare, you can also read my latest article:
http://thegrimsbylincolnnews.com/dec14_05/aaaGLNDec14Pages31-35.pdf Enjoy!
Anyway, here's the photos of my first treading of the Canadian boards - as a Salvation Army band member with one line in Guys & Dolls...!
[Left: Me and my fellow band members, complete with evangelistic smiles : )]
[Right: Me and my South African friend Rinatha, shedding our holy image and enjoying a bevvie at the interval]
[Left: The scene in which I said my one line. Note the passion and sheer acting skill!! I'm the one on the far right, by the way]
Anyway, with my English accent, I should get a slightly bigger part in 'My Fair Lady' - I might even have a chance at the main part (if you squint really hard, I can pass for Audrey Hepburn - no really)!
By the way, if you've got five minutes to spare, you can also read my latest article:
http://thegrimsbylincolnnews.com/dec14_05/aaaGLNDec14Pages31-35.pdf Enjoy!
No more poker
“Have you got any weapons on you?” This is one of the questions I sometimes ask when I man the door at the shelter. I asked one guy the other day because I knew the answer was yes. He always carries a knife on him – this is the same guy who stabbed someone in the hand during an armed robbery (see entry of August 18).
When he left, I handed the knife back, and half-jokingly asked him to wipe my fingerprints off it. Half-jokingly, because I half-know what he does with it. Just as I half-suspected his involvement in the recent spate of armed robberies in the city.
Every time I read a report of one of these robberies, I wondered if my poker buddy was involved. This morning’s newspaper told how two guys held up a store, threatening to kill the owner and almost killing his fourteen-year-old son who chased after them. Guess who one of them was.
Seeing as this guy is being charged with ten other robberies, I suppose it was bound to happen eventually. And of course he deserves jail. He probably deserves to get the crap kicked out of him by half the shop owners in the area. But I still can’t help thinking it’s such a waste. This is an intelligent and articulate person who’s made all the wrong choices. He could have got so far if he’d just made the right ones. And now he’ll be in prison for the best part of a year.
Anyway, this is just one of the many dramas I see every day, and I’m seeing more and more of them now I’m working five mornings a week as the shelter’s receptionist. It’s a lot of things, but boring is definitely not one of them.
When he left, I handed the knife back, and half-jokingly asked him to wipe my fingerprints off it. Half-jokingly, because I half-know what he does with it. Just as I half-suspected his involvement in the recent spate of armed robberies in the city.
Every time I read a report of one of these robberies, I wondered if my poker buddy was involved. This morning’s newspaper told how two guys held up a store, threatening to kill the owner and almost killing his fourteen-year-old son who chased after them. Guess who one of them was.
Seeing as this guy is being charged with ten other robberies, I suppose it was bound to happen eventually. And of course he deserves jail. He probably deserves to get the crap kicked out of him by half the shop owners in the area. But I still can’t help thinking it’s such a waste. This is an intelligent and articulate person who’s made all the wrong choices. He could have got so far if he’d just made the right ones. And now he’ll be in prison for the best part of a year.
Anyway, this is just one of the many dramas I see every day, and I’m seeing more and more of them now I’m working five mornings a week as the shelter’s receptionist. It’s a lot of things, but boring is definitely not one of them.
Thursday, December 08, 2005
I'm becoming one of them! Nooooo!
'Them' being Canadians, that is. Becoming one of them isn't a bad thing in itself, but I do like being different to everyone else. It makes me feel...well...special.
Which is why I don't normally like hearing English accents when I'm in Canada, or bumping into English people, because then I feel diluted.
Yesterday was an exception though. We hung out with some friends of friends who've just come over from England for university (or 'school' as they call it here - no matter how old you are). The girl was from Essex so her English accent sounded even more English than mine (for some reason - I hope that doesn't mean I'm starting to sound Canadian).
The guy was hilarious - if somebody had asked me to draw a stereotypical English guy, I would have drawn him. He had one of those terrible shaggy 'haircuts', bad teeth, and a brown zip-up cardi. What is it with English twentysomething blokes and their brown zip-up cardies?? Is it supposed to be retro or cool or something? Sorry guys, but it doesn't work. You look like my grandad - and at least he wears cool hats.
Anyway, they were both fab people and it was great to be able to say what I wanted and be understood. I hadn't realised that I'd been subconsciously changing certain words just so I wouldn't have to repeat myself - things like 'trunk' (not boot), 'intersection' (not junction), 'shopping cart' (not shopping trolley) and 'gas' (not petrol). Within five minutes I was back to my English lingo again.
But the thing that made me think I was becoming Canadian was my reaction to something the guy said when I gave him a ride (not a lift!) home. He said his place was "Just over there, past the Tim Thorntons." Anyone even vaguely familiar with Canadian culture will know it's Tim Horton's (provider of coffee to 70% of the country - it's almost a monopoly).
I let out a peal of laughter and said: "That is so cute!" And I kept saying that until I realised Canadians had said that to me when I first arrived. Help!! The ironic thing is, I had absolutely no desire to keep my Englishness until I came to Canada. But now I'm 'the English one' and I never have to introduce myself twice, because I'm pretty much the only English one. I guess I'll just have to audition for 'My Fair Lady' next month, so I can not only keep my Englishness but also get a main part on the back of it.
Which is why I don't normally like hearing English accents when I'm in Canada, or bumping into English people, because then I feel diluted.
Yesterday was an exception though. We hung out with some friends of friends who've just come over from England for university (or 'school' as they call it here - no matter how old you are). The girl was from Essex so her English accent sounded even more English than mine (for some reason - I hope that doesn't mean I'm starting to sound Canadian).
The guy was hilarious - if somebody had asked me to draw a stereotypical English guy, I would have drawn him. He had one of those terrible shaggy 'haircuts', bad teeth, and a brown zip-up cardi. What is it with English twentysomething blokes and their brown zip-up cardies?? Is it supposed to be retro or cool or something? Sorry guys, but it doesn't work. You look like my grandad - and at least he wears cool hats.
Anyway, they were both fab people and it was great to be able to say what I wanted and be understood. I hadn't realised that I'd been subconsciously changing certain words just so I wouldn't have to repeat myself - things like 'trunk' (not boot), 'intersection' (not junction), 'shopping cart' (not shopping trolley) and 'gas' (not petrol). Within five minutes I was back to my English lingo again.
But the thing that made me think I was becoming Canadian was my reaction to something the guy said when I gave him a ride (not a lift!) home. He said his place was "Just over there, past the Tim Thorntons." Anyone even vaguely familiar with Canadian culture will know it's Tim Horton's (provider of coffee to 70% of the country - it's almost a monopoly).
I let out a peal of laughter and said: "That is so cute!" And I kept saying that until I realised Canadians had said that to me when I first arrived. Help!! The ironic thing is, I had absolutely no desire to keep my Englishness until I came to Canada. But now I'm 'the English one' and I never have to introduce myself twice, because I'm pretty much the only English one. I guess I'll just have to audition for 'My Fair Lady' next month, so I can not only keep my Englishness but also get a main part on the back of it.
Wouldn't that be loverly?
