An Ashton farewell

Ashton's Evening
La Valse
This piece was beautiful and I look forward to seeing it again. The dresses were perfect prom dresses, just like every little girl dreams about growing up. The patterns were beautiful, although there were few lines that weren't quite straight bringing to mind the words of my dance teacher 'you wouldn't expect to see wonky lines at the Royal Ballet.' Overall this piece was my highlight of the evening.

'Meditation' from Thais
In the midst of the evening this one I struggle to remember. I do recall that on the empty stage Leanne Benjamin and Valeri Hristov looked so small.

Voices of Spring
Alexander Campbell and Yuhui Choe provided a real highlight for the evening. Scattering the stage with white petals Choe and Campbell were a joyous pairing. They not only looked like they were having a lot of fun, making me want to dance too but gave a flawless performance. I'll be looking out for Campbell / Choe pairings in future performances as I want to see more.

Monotones I and II
The costumes were a little off-putting and in monotone I the dancers looked a little frog like. Overall I wasn't too keen on this piece, especially Montones I. In Montones II Edward Watson and Nehemiah Kish seemed to be doing their best to tie Marianela Nunez into knots, but she proved to be remarkably flexible and Montones II picked up.

Marguerite & Armand
A farewell for Tamara Rojo and Sergei Polunin at the Royal Ballet. I'd not seen this ballet before and I have to admit I didn't particularly like it and wasn't sure it showed either Rojo / Polunin off to their best. In particular I felt like Polunin was not on form at the start of the performance, although by the end his dancing was impressive. The evening finished on a high with more curtain calls than you could count, a cameo appearance from Carlos Acosta and a mountain of flowers thrown from the boxes. A better farewell a girl could not dream about.

Wrapping up 2012

So it turns out I neglected my blog and reading towards the end of the year so here's a whistle stop tour of what I read for the rest of 2012, just for completeness.

Keeper of the Light by Diane Chamberlain
Another good read from Diane Chamberlain. When Annie dies on the operating table as Olivia operates her world unravels. Olivia realises her husband was in love with Annie and life will never be the same. As she dives deeper into what happened behind her back Olivia uncovers all kinds of secrets, no murder but mystery none the less.

A Storm of Swords by George R.R. Martin
The third of the Game of Thrones books and more of the same. I'd like to finish the series and see how it ends, but I'm not sure I want to read any more war circles and characters dying just as you decide that they are the one you want on the throne. Maybe i will reach the end but I suspect that it will be like Robert Jordan's series, stretched too far for me.

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern (Book Club)
I loved this book which I might not have picked up off the shelf myself. It is a magical tour through a dreamlike circus that is only open at night. Although elements of the story were entirely predictable, the style of writing and descriptions meant I finished the book wishing I could visit the night circus. I've added this book to my shelf I will read again.

Ryan's Return by Barbara Freethy
A typical chick-lit, girl meets man falls in love, doesn't realise it, nearly loses him and ends up happy with him. The verdict if you need an easy beach read and don't mind chick-lit then this is worth packing in your case.

The Spare Room by Helen Garner (Book Club)

This was an interesting choice for book club and told the story of a woman who offers her spare room to her friend who has terminal cancer. When her friend arrives and checks in to the local alternative therapy clinic the effects are devastating and a wedge is driven between the friends as they disagree about the validity of the treatment. I found this a fascinating insight into what a person could put themselves through when they have lost hope in medicine.

A Fly on the Ward by Michael K Chapman
Another hospital, blog type book, but this one is written from the point of view of a patient. The description made me think I was in for a good laugh out loud read. Although that is what the author attempted to achieve I didn't find the stories as amusing as they are from the other side and the laughs were few and far between.

It Shouldn't Happen to a Midwife by Jane Yeadon
Jane trained in Belfast in the sixties and her escapades with her fellow midwifery students was an amusing read.

Monday to Friday Man by Alice Peterson
Another chick-lit read to pack for the beach.

The Lost Daughter by Diane Chamberlain
I love Diane Chamberlain's writing and as Picoult does Chamberlain's stories are never quite what they seem.

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn (Book Club)
We read this book at book Club before it hit the billboards here in the UK. This book was perfect for me with a huge twist in the middle. When it becomes clear that all is not as it seems you then try and untangle the clues that are left. The truth leaves you baffled and at book club there were plenty of discussions about whether we liked any of the characters. A good read especially for someone like me who enjoys a good murder mystery.

Luke and Jon by Robert Williams
Luke and Jon is a lovely book about two young boys. Luke's mother is dead and his father doesn't speak any more and escapes into the bottle. Then Luke meets Jon, a boy who doesn't fit in and has a secret. The boys bond and support each other, helping Luke's father with a huge project. Together Luke and his father uncover Jon's secret and offer him an escape, a truly heart warming read.

Tom, Dick and Debbie Harry by Jessica Adams (Book Club)
This was a dull book, set in Australia a British girl goes out to marry an Australian (Richard), has an affair with his best mate Tom while Richard's brother lives out his obsession with Debbie Harry. I didn't really care about any of the characters and nothing particularly interesting happened, I won't be reading this book again and I wouldn't recommend it, not even for a light bit of reading on holiday.

Safe House by Chris Ewan (Book Club)
The Isle of Man isn't where you would expect to find a twisted thriller to be set, but that's exactly where Chris Ewan set this book. when Rob comes off his motorbike and wakes up in hospital his first thought is to ask about his travelling companion Lena. But Rob was the only on picked up by the ambulance, there was no Lena, where did she go? Was Lena a figment of Rob's imagination and then Rebecca turns up asking questions about Laura, Rob's sister who recently died in a car accident, or maybe suicide. The story unravels and draws you in as it progresses and Rob takes on a new role as investigator, very different from his day job, plumbing. A good read, although I don't think Rob will be featuring in more murder mysteries in the future.

Gin O'Clock by The Queen of Twitter
@Queen_UK is one of my favourite twitterers and this was an impulsive purchase on the Kindle. A fun book to read over Christmas, linked to the twitter account this gives you a little more, you could fool yourself into thinking that you really are reading the Queen's diary and she does have a great sense of humour.