Long Overdue

I have just realised that I haven't posted a blog since May. And before that it was early April. Shame on me, lol! The problem is that during the quiet times of life I have nothing to write about, & during the times worth writing up I am too busy. So here I am, at the end of my first term of the BA(hons) Theatre course wondering where to start.

Not a lot happened in May, June, July, & August. I did pluck up the courage to register with a dentist. Facing my biggest fear! Thankfully I got a good one who is very sympathetic to my phobia. I even managed to let her do a root canal! Sadly I have to go into hospital in the new year to have major dental surgery. That is going to be very hard for me, both before and after.Mind you, if I can get through that I can probably get through anything!

My health issues are still a struggle. I have fallen anaemic a couple of times, & my thyroid is still being balanced. My thyroxine dose has gone up a couple of times. Hopefully it will soon begin to help.Unfortunately the progress I had made on my fitness, with the help of my brother who is a fitness instructor, has gone downhill through the intensity of the physical things at uni being too much too soon for me. If I could have continued at my own pace I would probably be in a better situation now.

As for my personal life, sadly because of the long distance, the amount of changes, and other issues, things didn't work out for me & J. We are still on friendly terms though. Our lives were just going in different directions.

In September we suffered some devastating news. We unexpectedly lost Christos (my stepfather, for those of you who don't know) to cancer of the pancreas. It was completely out of the blue & shocking. No-one, including the doctors, realised how ill he was until the last days. It was believed that he had a minor digestive problem. It all happened so quickly. At least this way he didn't suffer much. It happened between my second and third weeks at university, and because of the speed in which things happened I was not able to get back to Greece in time. I must take comfort from the fact that he didn't suffer, & strength from hearing how proud of me he was about going to university. That has kept me fighting through the tough times here, particularly throughout late September & early October. So here's to Christos, who will never be forgotten.

Spring sprang, then sprung off again.

Well, another month & not a lot happening. The few days of spring were nice but it seems we have gone back to cold & rainy. Everything is still on track for university. I have four months to go. I need something to fill my time that isn't books or Facebook, so I am thinking of taking up a musical instrument. Or two, I have plenty of spare time. I had keyboard lessons at school, & I used to play basic guitar, so they are possibilities. I am also thinking of the ukulele, just for a difference. When I mentioned it to my father, he automatically thought of George Formby. To me, the ukulele makes me think of Hawaii & beach parties.

We already have a keyboard here, & as my brother is a former guitar teacher & music student there are plenty of guitars. Unfortunately there are no acoustic ones, but I could always pick up a cheap one at a later date. My father also has a double neck 6 & 12 string guitar, & a lap steel guitar, but they sound too complicated for me! At least for the time being.

I've been looking at ukuleles online. I'm only looking for a cheap basic one for now. I had to smile though when I saw a book called The Ukulele Rock Playlist & a flying V shape ulukele! Rock on! Anyway, I've found an interesting package which includes a soprano ukulele, case, 2 books, & an electric tuner. Sounds like a good starter package.

I seriously don't have anything more to write about. The village is as quiet as ever, & it's not easy to escape if you don't have a car, lol! Here's hoping the weather improves again so I can practise ukulele in the sun!

Spring may have sprung

Another few weeks with nothing much to post! Quiet times still. We have had quite a bit of nice sunny weather down here in Cornwall. We're not counting our chickens for a sunny Easter though, the weather's changeable here t the best of times! We've been enjoying it while we have it though. A couple of days ago I went to Fowey with my cousins. The breeze was cool, but apart from that it was like summer!  I overdid it a bit & was exhausted & aching afterwards, but on the plus side, it shows that the thyroxine increase is working. There was no way I could have done it a couple of months ago!

We started off at Readymoney Cove (great name!), passed the huge house that supposedly belongs to Dawn French, walked into the town centre, &  had a past on the harbour, all the time being watched over by a seagull. He was wasting his time though, we did not share! They are very arrogant looking birds, aren't they?

 

Yesterday I met an old school friend in town. It was strange at first, we hadn't seen each other for over 20 years, although we keep in touch over Facebook. Despite feeling a bit nervous at first, it was a good laugh. It was good to catch up, & have a girl day out. It was a surprise though to discover she had just become a grandmother despite being m age! I still feel as though I'm still in my 20s, not late 30s!

Hopefully things may be progressing in my student accommodation quest. The university has means to help people with deposits for those in difficult situations, as long as we are applying for university run accommodation. I saw the on-campus accommodation when I had my tour, and although it's not as nice as my first choice, it looks pretty good. Certainly better than most universities, & all the rooms have en-suite bathrooms. It's set up in flats of around 6 rooms as opposed to halls, so we don't have to share kitchens with too many people. I also had the option to request a flat with other mature students & people who would prefer a quieter flat. I have been accepted for a flat, I just need to wait for confirmation from the other office before I finalise it. All in all, the accommodation office has been very helpful.

Anyway, I hope everyone has a nice Easter. It's going to be very weird not to be in Greece for Easter. It's the main festival of the year, like Christmas is in UK. It's going to be strange not doing anything. I hope my friends in Greece put up lots of photos on Facebook for me. Καλο Πασχα Ολους! Χρονια Πολλα!

Accommodation Angst

I haven't done a blog post for nearly a month. All has been so quiet, nothing has been happening. I've had nothing to write about, apart from making progress on getting my health issues sorted, & that doesn't really have much to do with university or theatre. Except that hopefully I will be a lot better by then!

Things might start to get stressful now though. Two days ago, applications for student accommodation opened. When I started my application to uni, the accommodation office said I wouldn't need to pay a deposit until I received my student finance. Unfortunately I was given the wrong information. Deposits need to be paid as soon as you are offered accommodation. I am rather annoyed. They need to get their information correct as the mistakes cause problems. How they expect people with no income & no rich family to manage, I don't know. I am currently in negotiations with them.

I have also started looking at private sector accommodation. Yes they also want deposits, but not usually as much as the university. Uni accommodation would be a lot more convenient in many ways, but it may turn out not to be an option. It is rather frustrating though, many of the 1 bedroom flats I've clicked on turn out to be 1 bedroom in 6 bedroom house or something similar. Their adverts seem to be made to purposely mislead. Grrr! I am particularly looking for a self-contained place as I have Asperger syndrome & am not good at sharing. Also, most of these houses that are supposed to be for 6 people seem to be a case of 6 people as long as you're the size of a 5 year old. Seriously, the accommodation process is more stressful than the finance process. It doesn't help that I can't get down there to view anything.

On a non-uni note, we had some sad news this week. A friend of ours passed away. Glyn Jones was well known in the theatre world, & for his books & screenplays, amongst other things. H first met him, Chris, & Douglas in Greece back in 1998 when I was a cheeky young 21 year old. He certainly had a unique senso of humour, but wouldn't suffer fools gladly & could put me in my place merely with a raise of an eyebrow! My thoughts go to Chris & Douglas. I'm glad I went to see them before I came back to UK. We all certainly had a laugh that day! As I am not that great with words, I add the tribute written by Greek director Theo Papadoulakis:

Yesterday our beloved Glyn Jones passed away. He was the protagonist of one of our most successful spots, «All the World on One Island - Crete», which I directed as part of the Cretan tourist campaign last year.
Glyn Jones was a resident of Vamos for the last 20 years and roommate of our wonderful associates -Chris Beeching and Douglas Foote. 
Glyn had many talents. Not least as an author of numerous books, films , theater and television scripts. Screenplays for shows such as «Doctor Who» and «The Double Deckers», one of the most successful American television children's series (20th Century Fox), were undoubtedly loved by worldwide audiences.
The last time I saw him, four months ago, he was engrossed in his computer, putting the finishing touches on his latest novel. 
I feel very lucky to have met Glyn.
He was a magnificent man and will be sorely missed. Goodbye Glyn …
http://vimeo.com/70407010

Quiet times

I haven't done a blog post for a couple of weeks, as I don't really have much to write about. J & I went up to Devon to stay with his brother, which was a good laugh, now J is back in Crete & I am here in Cornwall.It is strange being back, to say the least. It is extra strange being so far away from J. Settling in is going to take time. I think I've just had one of my longest weeks!

On the plus side, my student finance is all sorted. I was expecting to make my application & then wait for months before I get a decision, & possibly be asked for all sorts of extra information. I was wrong! I made my application on the Monday evening, by Friday there was a letter saying it was all approved! I was definitely pleasantly surprised! I definitely recommend people do their finance applications early, instead of waiting until the summer. Applications for accommodation open in April, so that will be my next thing.

Now I need something to do until August/September. The job market down here is not good. I've joined some extras & casting agencies, but at the moment I am very limited with transport. That's the problem of living in the back-arse of nowhere with no car. Public transport is not good in these rural villages.

One thing I'm considering is Avon. No-one does it in this village any more. My main issue would be the walking. The village is very hilly, & my walking is not good at the moment. We wll see. In the meantime you can look (& order) at my Personal Online Brochure. I can deliver to people in the village, but elsewhere will have to pay p&p.

Well, I can't think of anything more to write at the moment. Now I'm off to find out how J's first rehearsal for the new play back in Crete went today.

Uni Tour

Yesterday I went for my tour of the university. I have to say I was impressed. All the equipment is state of the art, industry standard stuff. There are major theatres, recording studios, motion capture rooms, dance studios, all sorts. Professional theatre groups, musicians, dancers etc come in to work with the students or to put on performances. They also have casting agents, directors & producers come to watch student work. The course is very industry based, & covers a very broad spectrum of theatre arts. And the place was massive! I am definitely aching from all the walking yesterday. And we only saw one part of it!

                                                 A small section of the Performance Centre

                                                                   The entrance area

As you can see, it was a typical Cornish winter day! We had a while to wait, so we were sent into the restaurant/ bar area, where I had a pasty the size of a small aircraft carrier! Tastier though, I imagine! We also went to see some of the accommodation. We saw the on-campus accommodation, & also The Sidings up near the station. The Sidings would definitely be my first choice, particularly one of the self-contained studios. That would be so much better for me due to my health issues, my Aspergers, & the fact that I will be nearly 20 years older than most of the other students!

                                                    The Sidings student accommodation

                                                            Campus Accommodation

I didn't take any photos of the inside of the performance centre, I was too busy looking round! I am rather nervous about going, hoping I can live up to it all! The student ambassador showing us around said that the uni was very selective in who they took, so hopefully that's a good sign that they think I'm good enough!

Journey

Well, here I am back in Cornwall. I've had my first pasty, & bought a creme egg for later. We set off in the morning of Valentines day, being seen off at the airport by mum & Christos, & J's parents. The air part of the journey went by pretty well & uneventful, except for my carry-on bag being searched in Athens. The flights were good, although the landing at Heathrow was rather wobbly! That was the first time I've ever felt sick on a plane. It was all fine though, & London was not too cold.

The coach ride from Heathrow down to Cornwall, now that was a journey & a half! It was half an hour late getting to Heathrow due to traffic & the weather, but that wasn't too bad. However, the weather got worse! As we were driving down to the Westcountry, we could heel the gales blowing at the coach. The driver was fighting hard to keep it straight! Unfortunately, because of the delays, his permitted driving hours were running out & we had to swap drivers at Exeter.

Now this new driver was an old Cornish boy. The first driver was so careful, this one put his foot down & went like a bat out of hell! Somewhere between Exeter & Plymouth we heard a mighty bang & felt a jolt. A traffic cone had been blown into the road & we had hit it, causing it to get jammed in the front of the coach, making an awful racket. The coach itself wasn't damaged though. He tried to remove it at the next stop, but it was well & truly jammed. He couldn't get it out until Plymouth bus station, where he had some help.

Just before leaving Plymouth, way behind schedule now, he dropped his bombshell. He warned us that we might not make it very far into Cornwall as there was a tree down across the main road at Lostwithiel, & he couldn't go the other route because the bridge was out. He decided to go for it though, & we were lucky. The road had been cleared. We arrived in the village with no problems, albeit nearly 2 hours late. My father collected us from the bus stop, & we soon got home & warmed up (Cornwall being decidedly colder than London).

We are on our second day now, & Justin seems to be getting on with my father & brother. They seem to have bonded over talking about guitars, guns, & zombie movies! It's a shame he couldn't meet my youngest brother too, but he's up in Manchester. We also went to see my aunt & cousins, & J has found the local pub!

We have no particular plans for the week, apart from on Wednesday when we have a tour of the university & the accommodation. On Saturday we will go up to Devon to spend a week with J's brother. I have never met him before, so I'm a bit nervous. Hope it goes ok!

Nearly Time!

It's just hit me that I only have 2 & a half days before I travel to England. That has come around so fast! Cue slight feelings of panic that will no doubt increase over the next couple of days. Th weather report for the UK & Cornwall doesn't help. They are now forecasting new storms to hit on Friday, the day we travel! It's lucky that I had booked to travel from the airport by coach, as the main rail line into the county is still hanging in mid air, & the other route is submerged in the floods of Somerset. We have had such lovely warm sunny weather here in Crete over the past week that it is difficult to imagine.

This past Sunday I had a leaving do. Not a big one, just a few friends at our house. It was a very enjoyable afternoon, but tinged with sadness too. It may be a long time before I see them again. Thank God for Facebook & social networking, so I can keep in touch with them. On the plus side, I'll get to see friends in UK again. It works both ways.

In addition to seeing friends & worrying about my packing (I'm still having issues getting my trunk transported) I have also modernised my hair. A new start deserves a new look, that type of thing. I needed something to boost my confidence, as all this change makes me feel a bit insecure. So I went for the chop, & have got a hairstyle that highlights my eyes & cheekbones, & distracts from the bits I don't like. I've also refreshed the colour. I am very happy with the results. I just hope I can find a hairdresser in the UK who can do just as good a job, without charging a small fortune.

Oh well, I'd better get back to the tidying, packing, & panicking. The next blog will probably come from the UK, unless I can get a quick one in before I go. In the meantime, maybe I should look for a pair of these shoes:

Packing up.

It's a gorgeous sunny Greek day, the temperature is well into the 20s, so it feels rather weird to be preparing all my warmest winter clothes. This time next week I will be on my way to the UK, & I think I will seriously need them! Over the past few days, via the news & Facebook, I have seen photos & videos of my home county being bashed & battered by storms. It's a good job that I booked the coach to go down from the airport to cornwall, as the sea wall was destroyed on the train line at Dawlish, washing away the foundations of the tracks & leaving a stretch suspended in mid air!

That is going to take a while to fix! With more storms forecast for this weekend, work will not be starting soon. This is the main route into Cornwall. I hope they get it fixed rather than finding a different route, as the Dawlish/Teignmouth section is one of my favourite rail journeys. I've heard that they're considering changing the route & opening up lines closed over 50 years ago.

I've booked a tour of the university, if it hasn't been blown away by the time I get there! Falmouth area got hit badly too. Basically all of Cornwall was battered, but especially the coastal areas. Here are a couple of pics of stormy Falmouth:

And a little bit further along, ridiculously large waves in Porthleven. Scientists were studying the waves here using seismometers amongst other things! Believe it or not, there is a harbour under those waves.

It looks like I'd better make the most of the weather here! It's going to be a bit of a shock, as we have had a mild winter here. I hope everyone affected by the storms stays safe. Anyway, back to my packing. Now where did I put my fur-lined waterproofs..?

What's In A Name?

Here I am again, back from spending a couple of days with my Devon boy. At the moment, I am trying to arrange to be shown around the university for when he is in Cornwall with me. I'm trying to arrange it so that we can see the university, the performance centre, & the student accommodation all on the same day. We shall see!

In addition, I am looking up casting agencies & extras agencies to join. It's all experience if I can get some parts, & any earnings will help when I'm a penniless student! I have never been any good at bar work or waitressing, so I hope something might come of it, no matter how small.

I have learned on the Equity website that I can join as a student member, & upgrade to full member when I graduate. This may be a good idea. The only thing is though, that I need to come up with a name, as there is apparently already someone with my name. So I'm looking for something catchy. I want to keep on using my first name, so I am looking at surname possibilities. I thought about Greekifying my surname, changing Peters to Petres, Petras, or Petrakis (I have been living in Greece). I decided against my mother's married name as it is one of those Greek names that can leave people looking blank when you tell them. Not good in the Theatre world, I want something that people can remember! And pronounce!

The next options I thought of was looking to my ancestors. There's my grandmother's maiden name, Spargo, which is quite unusual. Or maybe my great-great grandmother's name, Tresidder. A good Cornish name! There's also Connelly, which is my grandfather's name, but people may assume I'm copying Billy Connelly.

Mum suggested I use my middle name, Robina. She meant as my first name, but I wondered about using it as a surname as I want to keep using my first name. I ruled it out afer I mentioned it on Facebook, & someone came back with the comment "Ooh, that sounds fruity!" Damn those blackcurrants! So the search for something catchy, memorable & interesting goes on.

I have just realised that I have not added any photos to this post. There isn't really anything that goes with the theme, so here's a completely unrelated one of me photoshopped into a scene from Sense & Sensibility, with Alan Rickman.

Hmm, Natasha Rickman...

Falmouth

It's been a long time since I've been to Falmouth. I always remembered it as the beach town, as I spent a lot of my younger childhood on Gyllyngvase beach. The last few times I was there, however, it felt as though the town was dying off. There was no life, most of the shops were closing down, it felt empty, it was sad. I've since heard that the rise in popularity of Falmouth University, which was granted full university status last year, has breathed new life into it.

My mother was there recently, and said it's becoming lively again. It certainly seems so, from what I have seen on the town's websites & Facebook pages. There seem to be events all the time now! The Falmouth spring festival, a sea shanty festival, tall ships festival, the list goes on! This is not including all the student events! I hear there are a lot of new, unique little shops & cafes opened up too. One of the first on my list will be Picnic Cornwall, who specialise in local Cornish produce. Mum said that although it is small, it is full of character & that the people are very welcoming.

Some of the things I'm looking forward to (apart from university) are:

Falmouth Week, which usually includes the Red Arrows, who I absolutely love.

And sometimes includes time travellers!

Tall Ships festival

The Maritime Museum (where my uncle works)

Visiting the beaches of my childhood, Gyllyngvase beach & Castle beach

And I simply must visit Glendurgan Gardens with their maze. I've had a thing for mazes ever since I saw the film Labyrinth as a child.

There are many other things I want to do & places to see, but far too many to list here! I'm glad that the town has been given a new lease of life. I just hope I can summon the strength for it!

All photos are from the official Falmouth website & the Maritime Museum website.

Toneel Drama Group

I can't do this blog without mentioning Toneel drama group of Apokoronas. Despite being interested in theatre since I was a very young child, being involved in a drama group when I was a teenager, & studying performing arts at college, Toneel has given me the confidence to go for it, I learnt skills I didn't have before, and I believe I have improved with each play. I have been a member for the past three years, in which time I have been in 6 productions. The first one was Lucy in Alan Ayckbourn's Mother Figure:

followed by Kathy in Mike Harding's Comfort & Joy:

Pauline in Sandcastles by Bob Larbey:

Suzannah in Ayckbourn's Bedroom Farce:

Then the one-off Kefalas charity event where I played two completely different characters in two separate plays. First was Polly in Ayckbourn's Between Mouthfuls:

followed by stroppy teenager Melody in Mystery Tour by Colin Calvert:

And finally, channeling  Alison Steadman for my largest role to date, Beverly in this winter's production of Abigail's Party by Mike Leigh:

Please excuse the fact that I was wearing boots in the last photo, that was our first dress rehearsal & the shoes hadn't arrived.

Toneel usually do two plays per year, one in the summer & one in the winter. Last year there was also a one-off in Kefalas. They make regular donations to local charities with the ticket proceeds. From Abigail's Party, for instance, we were able to give E500 to Χειρα Βοηθειας/Helping Hands, who distribute food & essential things to those in need in the area.  

I have thoroughly enjoyed my time with Toneel, & will miss being a part of the team. They are a great bunch of people, & do a very professional production. We usually have a lot of fun, although of course there are hard times too! I have made some very good friends in the group. They needn't think they've seen the last of me though, I will be popping back to Crete as often as I can manage it!

Starting up!

Ok, here goes! I'm not much of a writer, as you'll soon see, but I thought I'd give this a go. In September I will be starting a Theatre degree at university. I thought I'd start this now, to include the run-up & preparation involved.  I currently am in Greece:

Church of St Nicholas, Georgioupoli

but will soon be returning to my native Cornwall in order to sort the necessary paperwork & arrange accommodation. and probably many more things I need to do that will pop up all the time!

I was originally offered a place starting September 2013, but due to health, accommodation, & financial reasons I had to defer to this year. I am a mature student (I'll be 37 by the time I start - eek!) so it is going to be strange. I have already joined the university's Facebook group for mature students, so it won't feel as though I'm plunging immediately into the deep end. I have also joined the Quidditch society! In addition to muggle quidditch, they do things such as modified versions of Hogwarts lessons (potions class is making cocktails, things like that), film nights, and a Yule Ball. I've already thought of a class I can give when I'm there! Oh God, I'm a geek! Now, I wonder if anyone will start a Doctor Who society before I arrive!

Anyway, I'd better get back to sorting my stuff. It's not easy to pack for 3-4 years! And then I have to sort out the things I'm leaving behind, & make sure they're stored. I will of course be coming back here for as many of the holidays that I can afford. And for half of the second year we are expected to study abroad. Hmmm, now where is there that I know a theatre group & can speak the language...