Waiting for Godot

So, last night I attended the show Waiting for Godot. To be fair, when I booked the ticket I really didn't know much about the actual show, but the fact that Ian McKellen and Patrick Stuart are in made it all okay. The show took place at the Haymarket Theatre, which was a lovely old theatre.

So yeah, I saw the play last night. And it was awesome! You can read about it here. I got a wicked seat, which was 3rd row back right in the centre, so I got to see everyone up close.
Plus, I stuck around with about 20 other people after the show and waiting for said stars to emerge and sign things.
This is Simon Callow. He played Pozzo, if you are familiar with the play at all. You might also recognize him from the movie The Phantom of the Opera with Gerald Butler and Emmy Rossum. He played Andre, who was one of the owners of the Opera Populaire.

Look! It's Patrick Stewart!

And Ian McKellen!
And they signed my ticket! I'm not entirely sure what I'm going to do with it, I still stand by the fact that I think autographs are a bit creepy. But it was cool to meet/converse with both Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart briefly. And I also thought that it was better that I got an autograph, rather than just standing there blinding them with my overly powerful flash. Heh.

Either way, it was very cool - both to see the play and meet the actors. Well worth the money I paid!

Bristol Cathedral

This is the Bristol Cathedral. I tired to visit this church the first afternoon I was here, they were hosting someone important like the Pope, so they wouldn't let me in. Boo. I went back the next day, after seeing the Banksy vs Bristol Museum.

According to the pamplet that they gave me, a church has probably stood on this site for over a thousand years, although the current building can trace its roots back to 1140 when a dude named Robert Firhardinge founded the Abbey of St. Augustine. Of the original abbey buildings, only the chapter house and the Abbey gateway remain.
Yes, it was a bit stormy that day.

Apparently Bristol Cathedral is unique because the nave, quire and aisles are all of the same height, making a large hall.
Sure, large hall. Sure.

The organ contains pipes from 1685. The rest is mostly medieval, although they don't specify what part is and isn't medieval.
In
The seats and stalls are also medieval. There are a total of 28 misericords underneath the seats, which I took the time to look at. They were quite interesting.
These are the night stairs. These are the stairs down which "generations of monks entered the abbey for prayers. The monks prayed every three hours, day and night. Their dorimatory was at the top to the left." The stairs are so worn down that you could probably slide down them all like a slide.
This stone is older than any part of the Cathedral. It was redisocvered in 1831 under the floor of the chapter house. It is Anglo-Saxon work. It is designed to instruct in an age when most people learned by a picture. It would've been one of a series of stone-carved pictures illustrating sacred subjects, probably outside the church. Tres cool.


These three pictures were taken in the Berkeley Chapel. In the entrance there was formerly an over where the bread was baked for the service. The ceiling is a very unusual open-ribbed vault (whatever that means). Above the window here is also an unusual double-star arch, in which was buried in 1309 Joan, wife of Thomas, Lord Bereley.


This, apparently, is one of the finest Norman Chaper Houses in Europe. It dates from the founding of the abbey in the 12th century. Here the monks met to conduct their business. When the monastery was closed, it was used as the Cathedral library. In 1831 the Bristol mob broke in through the east wall and burned the books and manuscripts.

All in all Bristol Cathedral was also well worth a visit.

Bristol itself was an interesting visit. If it hadn't been for the museum exhibition, I probably never would've come here. Again, it wasn't a 'pretty' city, the way some of the other English cities are, but it has a fascinating history and was a neat place to see.

St. Mary Redcliffe Church

St. Mary Redcliffe Church isn't the main church is Bristol - that is the Bristol Cathedral, which was also a lovely church. This church was a bit off the beaten path, but is well worth a visit.

There has been a Christian church on this site since 1115 AD, although the oldest details on this church are from 1185. I particularily like all the faces on the outside of the church.
There were some very creepy ones, too.
This is the inner porch - the oldest part of the church. It dates from 1185.

These carvings just to the right of the main entrance door are the oldest in the church, also dating from 1185.
Each of the gold figures on the ceiling was completely different, ranging from men to flowers to mazes. Oh, apparently they are called "roof bosses' and there are more than 1200 of them.

The brightly colored stained glass at the bottom of the wall is new and more modern. I like it - it lets a lot of light in.
Along the bottom of the wall you can see the recesses in the wall meant for tombs. They are called 'stellate tomb recesses' and they are unique to a couple churches in Bristol.
This was on the ceiling. I though it was interesting.
It was nice being in the church, mainly because it was empty.
The tower is 13th century and had its spire restores in 1872. It is 292 feet tall.

It was hard to get a full view of the church because it faced a rather busy highway. And it was covered by trees. Still, well worth a visit.

Graffiti around Bristol

I'm not sure if Bristol is known for its graffiti, but I did find it a very 'rough' town. It's not the quaint English beauty that Stratford or Salisbury had. It was industrial and a bit scary at time. Lots of burnt-out buildings and dirt. Some of the graffiti was quite interesting, though, so enjoy.

Haha! Go Paddington Bear!


This appeared to be some type of church. I didn't get too close... it was a bit odd.
Nom nom nom.

Yes, by calling something a "Cultural Quarter", rather than "don't-come-here-after-dark-or-get-mugged Quarter", it makes it much less scary...
It was an interesting area to be in, but not one that I would linger in.

Bristol also had two lovely churches, but I will post information and pictures about them tomorrow when I've had more time to research them. Stay tuned!

Banksy vs Bristol Museum

Okay, so I'm going to assume that most of you know who Banksy the graffiti artist is. If not, click this link here and read all about it.

However, before heading to the museum I took a walk around Bristol to find of the graffiti that he is famous for.

This picture of what appears to be death is on the side of the Thekla social boat that is moored in the Bristol habor.
The next piece is one of the more famous ones, although it has been defaced recently, with the addition to this little paint-balling guard.
You can see the obvious blue paintball marks, but the idea of the picture still stands.
Apparently this peice drew complaints from guys who knew about guns since this guard isn't holding his gun correctly.
This is another famous one, called "Mild Mild West". The teddy bear seems to be throwing some sort of molotov cocktail. Heh.
Here is the start of the Banksy vs Bristol Museum exhibition. The beginning of the museum showcased some of the art/stencils that he is famous for, while the rest of the exhibition's peices were hidden among the rest of the museum - to appear as if he had defaced some of the art.
You can't read this, but the horribly-drawn man is saying "You have GOT to be kidding me."

This was made up to either mimic or represent some kind of studio - it showed some of the stencils for some peices, as well as a sweater that reads "Thug for Life".
The woman is saying "Where did you ge that hat?", while the man is responding "The same idiot that drew your shoes."







There is an asterix right at the top of the mountain, and at the bottom it reads: "Subject to availability for a limited period only".
If you haven't already seen there is also a hole inthe painting where the guy's junk would be. A place to put yours, perhaps?

The man on the left is saying "Does anyone actually take this kind of art seriously?", while the man on the right is responding: "Never underestimate the value of a big gold frame."
This part of the exhibition was done up in like a zoo, only with some strange 'animals'. This 'bird' and her two chicks are in fact, CCTV cameras - as I'm sure you realize. They all moved, too - everything was animated, which made it all very lifelike.
Yep, those are chicken McNuggets, dipping themselves in their sauce.
A bunny trying to be 'beautiful'.
And a tweety bird that appears to have been sitting there for quite a long time.
Instead of an information desk, here is a burnt out icecream truck, complete with Metropolitan Police officer in riot gear riding a playground horse.

Ooops... somebody better hit CTRL-ALT-DELETE!






You can't tell, but this money has Princess Diana's face on it, instead of the Queen.

And, on the exit, your own mini-Stonehenge out of port-a-potties. Good lord.

This was definitely one of the best parts of Bristol - a very good exhibition and at a good price, too (FREE!).