Made in Argentina – Slideshare

via slideshare.net

Made in Argentina – Slideshare…

How to grill a chorizo sausage…

I was given a serious lesson on the parilla grill from my new mentor…in Montevideo last Thursday. You can see the sausages racked up behind the smoking char grill. The Morcilla or beef blood sausage slowly sweating away, not unlike myself as the heat in the market was unbelievable and the real fire grill very hot indeed.
Still the large circular sausage was thrown onto the flames and within five minutes of turning, prodding and poking, and then cutting off the required length, I came up with a smile on my face…

Back to the office today in York. So I will keep smiling and take in the Alfajores and some Mate and some knick knacks for the office…Will report back later

Mx

Hasta la victoria siempre!

Home now / coffee / curry later / sleep

Plans enough now…and for those who know me well will know why this trip has been so important for me, and for those who don’t, I will tell you.

From September last year to January this year I have been in and out of doctor’s and hospital waiting rooms. I was ill last November and missed some weeks at work and as a result have had endless tests, probings, cameras and such – the details of which I will spare you.  The results of all these finally came through on February the 7th, and suffice to say I was eventually given a clean bill of health.  This was the day we booked the flights for me to go. Being told you are well again after a protracted illness is totally amazing and liberating.

The last six months have really given me a call, and more than a wake up one. That not only is the time we have here short, but in that time we must make the most of every available opportunity. This adventure, and it has truly been one, has given me not only a new insight to a beautiful part of the world, but more importantly a new group of people I worked with, whom I can now count on as friends. It has made me focus on the things that are truly important in life, and to be true to your principles and beliefs.

So as a last sign off on this project it seems fitting to use…”Hasta la victoria siempre” which was the sign off used by Dr Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara. It means…’forever, until victory’

So onwards and upwards my friends and I will keep in touch on this blog with the next installment of the adventure…

Ciao Ciao Cicos….

 

Mx

In praise of Addison Lee…

landed / 16 hours on aircraft / no tube Piccadilly line closed / Heathrow Express queue a mile long / Addison Lee / probably the best taxi service in the world / welcome home / next stop / King’s Cross / coffee / York / coffee / home / bed

Mx

Brasil….the journey so far…

How much for excess baggage? That’ll be 50 dollars Mr Romer. An old sweatshirt and some rather rank trainers ended up in the bin to bring down the weight of my bag.

Unpacking your carefully packed, shoe wrapped, freshly pressed and laundered clothes at the front of the queue in a hurry is not funny.

But still, sans trainers and sweatshirt it cost me 50 bucks or nearly 300 pesos.
Thanks BA please put it in the tin.

A very bumpy flight to Sao Paolo and yep the plane is jam packed full. Also watching ‘up in the air’ with George Clooney in it only made me feel more queasy…not good. And not helped as we were given a soft doughy sandwich with a cheesy filling. A bit like the movie…

So refuelling here and the on board maintenance have come to fix my wonky table.

Twelve hours flying time to Heathrow from here, but good news. The show reports from The Fever Chart in London show that we are picking up more audience – go team Pilot!

So off grid for a while till early doors in London. Just found our the Piccadilly line from Heathrow is closed today and tomorrow. So deep joy dragging the now slightly lightened case onto the replacement bus service.

TFL…Obrigado…

Mx

Adios mis amigos

Adios y ciao ciao chicos

I am at the airport and am about to board the BA flight to Sao Paolo, then onto London.

Will try and send a picture as we fly over that enormous city and let you know whether the cabin crew are ex pilots ex marines or whatever…

So a final view of Avenue Cabildo this morning as I headed out for coffee and tres medialunas – well it is going to be a long flght!

A big thanks to Maria Ines, Carlos, Solange, Julian, Celeste, Laura, Pato, Luz, Cynthia, Ricardo and the whole UPB team for making the show with me.

Have a great show tonight and enjoy the two month run, and we look forward to welcoming you to York when you bring the show over in May.

See you on the other side

Mx

Tango from Buenos Aires before the internet ran out…

via audioboo.fm

Before the internet ran out in the club I was able to get some of the sounds for you…Oh and check out the picture of the shoe cabinet on the previous posting – for those interested in Tango shoes…

things I have seen…and done in Buenos Aires

Whilst I have been in Buenos Aires I have…

1)
Seen a large coke bottle waiting to be attached to a shop lying on the pavement of our street
2)
Directed a show in another language
3)
Been here for 28 days
4)
Travelled to Uruguay
5)
Opened a show in London at the same time (with Katie Posner and the whole Pilot Theatre team)
6)
Walked on average 5km every day
7)
Travelled to Tigre
8)
Seen Coldplay at River Plate Stadium
9)
Posted a blog every single day on here
10)
Taken 600 photographs
11)
Made 10 videos
12)
Made an audioboo podcast each week
13)
Listened to 6 Music a lot online
14)
Used Spotify. A lot.

15)
Walked the length and breadth of the city, so must have covered over 150 km in total
16)
Been interviewed by the Press equivalent of The Guardian
17)
Given a presentation to directors from Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay, Brazil, Argentina and Mexico on new technologies
18)
Spoken another language more properly than ever before
19)
Got a red Converse All Stars’ Star
20)
Mixed music using my mac and created the soundscape for the show
21)
Eaten more steak than is surely good for one human being
22)
Bought leather Converse All Stars, but not real leather.
23)
Skyped and chatted to people all over the world
24)
Finished an article for Arts Professional Magazine and sent it off
25)
Backed up my work on an external hard drive every day
26)
Watched Alice in Wonderland in 3D and Castellano at the cinema in Belgrano
27)
Been to a Tango bar and danced
28)
Answered all my emails every day
29)
Bought a La Boca shirt for someone who sent me a request on Twitter. I have never met them.
30)
Shaken hands with the hand of God…
31)
Been on the bus to La Boca
32)
Got a silver star in my ear
33)
Run a tech rehearsal in Castellano…almost
34)
Looked out into the South Atlantic
35)
Had an early 2010 Summer here
36)
Found the best coffee place in the world
37)
Discovered Dulce de Leche
38)
Seen Eva Peron’s tomb
39) Tracked down the magazines for Kit Monkman with the KMA article about Great Street Games
40) Received my own Mate and Bombilla as a present from the team
41) Posed for Tango photographs with several people
42)
Been given some of Maria Ines Falconi’s books to read on the journey home
43)
Had a chat about visiting Sao Paolo
44)
Eaten Havanna Alfajores biscuits
45)
Nearly packed my suitcase
46) Gone to bed for the last night in 1238 Amenabar

…so as we stepped out of the Tango class…

Passed the showcase of Tango shoes…

Julian and Celeste said their goodbyes…

…and Solange and Laura were locked in a serious discussion…well they have a show to do tomorrow night, and I won’t be there…

So the sound and projection will be teched tomorrow, but all seemed fine this afternoon. We made the rounds of goodbyes and farewells and made our way out into the bustling streets

So I too will bid you all goodnight and hope I make my alarm call as I still have some laundry to collect

Ciao es Buenos Noches mis amigos

mx

Singing on the boat from Montevideo to Buenos Aires

via audioboo.fm

The soundtrack to the closing credits of my day yesterday – on a trip from Buenos Aires to Montevideo across the River Plate – a group of old boys started to sing – after some bottles of wine and created an impromptu performance. Their sound is quite magical…

A Tale of Three Cities…

An early start at the port terminal in Buenos Aires, we were heading over to Montevideo in Uruguay on a three hour fast catamaran. The river is wide as the boat takes 5 hours then there is a two hour bus ride. So we opted for the 6 hour round trip on the catamaran. Dirk, Odette and I were taking a day off. Or so I thought…we pulled out at 8am from a recently awoken city and headed across the Rio de la Plata. The ship is fully enclosed with no deck or chance to go outside so as the windows steamed up we wave adios to Buenos Aires, and handed ourselves over to the the instant coffee, muzak and one toilet for about 200 of us…

The journey was eventful for two reasons – first the wifi enabled me to check my emails and secondly as a result of this I was then psychologically and electronically connected to London, the third city in this story. The Fever Chart, our other show running at the moment is running for a month at Trafalgar studios, Trafalgar Square in the heart of the capital. The reviews have been strong for us and the actors, but less so for the content, which has come as a great surprise to me. So as we sailed across the River Plate a flurry of emails between the good office of Pilot Theatre in York we came up with a plan to mail and to send out a campaign on Twitter. Asking for people who wanted to see the show that night in return for a free ticket would write a review on Twitter for us. We wanted to get the word of mouth ‘on steroids’ in action. So Katherine and Sarah were on the case for this, and meanwhile Bec was in London at a meeting and she has come up with a great e-flyer with ATG and I have posted this on here too. >http://emarketing.atgweb.co.uk/AmMail/thefeverchartreview/>

So what does this all mean? Connection across the world, and an ability to communicate in ways that were unthinkable a couple of years ago. We docked into Montevideo at 11.30 am and after talking ourselves out of the whole day guided tour and stops at craft shop we headed to the Ciudad Vieja – the old city…I now know the way…

If you need to know the way to San Jose – of course here in Montevideo, here is a map link just for you…<http://bit.ly/agL5dd> we headed to the central Square after this…and had a rest and photo opportunity or two

Sitting in the central square looking at the building opposite me it was a real case of a tale of two cities here. The weather was a little overcast following the previous night’s thunderstorm. The building I was looking at is here below…

A certain beauty about the random placement of the air conditioning units, and a real sense that Montevideo was a very different place to Buenos Aires indeed. We headed for some proper coffee and some food and we came across the rather amazing market. An absolute must, with stalls and grills and people eating and drinking, shouting. singing, but above all with such a sense of bonhomie and warmth. The people here in Uruguay spoke the same castellano, although it is slightly softer, and were so welcoming and friendly.

Here is a map link to the market <http://bit.ly/bDNo9g> and the picture is below…

And let’s be honest where else would let me come behind into the kitchen area and cook chorizo on the parilla barbecue? Oh and the xipperones were the best I have ever had in my life. With a spring in our step we headed to the sea…and spent some time thinking and staring out onto the South Atlantic. My mind was focusing on returning home, not just for work of course, as that is something that I have still been doing here, but more back to the UK and to see friends and family. Looking out east to the horizon reminds me of our long walks and trips to the East coast to stare at the North sea. Looking at the horizon empties your trash, deletes all the crap files and refocuses your mind back onto the important things in life again. So here is the horizon of the South Atlantic from Montevideo harbour.

Heading back to the port we saw people working and again reminding me that with all the worries and stresses about our jobs that we think we have it is nothing at all, ever, compared with the what some people do to survive. We can be connected across the world with our fancy phones, but in reality it counts for nothing in the grand scheme of things. Looking after you family and loved ones, making it work, getting through, and keeping going are what keep us alive…

On the boat back, an impromptu singing performance from a group of old boys
on their way home was strangely moving and special. They provided the soundtrack to the closing credits of the day. I recorded one of the songs they sang as the night fell and the sun came down on Montevideo as we headed back to Buenos Aires. I got the show report from London and news from the show here in Argentina and suddenly the world felt very close.The link to the audio is here…<http://boo.fm/b107202>

Back here at the apartment…only to find my flight has gone from confirmed to estimated as the BA strike begins to bite. My time here may be longer than I had planned….

 

I will let you know

 

Mx