Berkhamsted chillout

The Phantom of the Opera

This charming man was starring in the film i saw this evening. A horror film from 1925, directed by Rupert Julian; The Phantom of the Opera.

Normally i don't watch films older than 15 years - yes, u can throw stones at me because of this -, but this one was shown in the Palace of Arts, whats more, Thierry Escaich supplied the background music during the show: live organ improvisation.

Well, the word 'background' music is not really apt in this case, as the music was as gripping as the film itself. Or even more. The advantage of listening to concert while watching a film is that it is guaranteed that u concentrate on the show. U r forced to it if u like. Sometimes i get distracted by my thoughts if I listen to a gig, especially if it's a solo improvisation, but if the story is on the screen, ur attention is always occupied. At the same time this is the drawback as well: I really like using my imagination, letting the music evoke feelings and thoughts in me, figuring out what the musician is trying to tell me. In this show the message was in front of my eyes.

Nonetheless, Escaich perfectly caught every moment and used effects to raise tension, his music created a special atmosphere, completely matching every action in the film. In other words, Escaich resonated with the film. It was very interesting to observe him with one eye how he synchronises his play with the film.

The film was an interesting experience as well. Firstly, because i've seen the musical version of The Phantom a few years ago, which i enjoyed very much. However, it was a completely different experience, even the story was quite different. This film, being a horror film of that time, lacks almost every scent of romance, whereas in the musical version - according to my memories - the Phantom manages to raise sympathy in Christine towards him.

Anyhow, a 1925 horror film in 2007 makes the audience laugh sometimes. I mean the effects and scenes that are meant to scare the viewer. The threshold of sensation certainly rose in the last couple of decades because unlike a horror film is supposed to be today, it never made me frightened, not even excited. I was watching it as a work of art, as it was. A co-production of arts.

Thierry Escaich

Cheddington still life

Here are some snapshots from Cheddington so that u won't think that we are drunkards.

Booze Cruise

in my last short stay in England i visited a few places in and around Bletchley with Poziomka. on one of these trips Peter gave us a company. i believe he didn’t mind to come with us, not only because of the pleasent chat we had but also we popped in to a local pub in Cheddington which sells beer for at least four centuries.

i must say i had one of the best ales there i’ve ever had in England. black sheep. with the pub in the background. note the thatch roof. it really gives a traditional look to the pub. there are a few thatch-roofed houses in that area, without them, the whole place would look so much poorer. just like Szigliget and a few more villages in Hungary with old cottages. anyhow. this ale was yummie, i can only recommend it. light, tasty, fresh, with a soft barney taste.

the next stop in our booze cruise was the Three Horseshoes pub. well, the Hobgoblin (ale) wasn’t as fine as the previous one, but we found a treasure: our passports.

This is my passport:
This is Emese's passport - cheers :) -:
And yeah, i just cannot stop myself from showing this to the public. A unique drink from Hungary: Unicum.

i guess you, Dear Reader already figured out that this Booze Cruise is nothing more than a quiz game usually played in pubs. well, here's my favourite question:
it seems like hungarian is an exotic language :)

places in this post:
Bletchley, Cheddington

place to come:
Berkhamsted, Caldecotte