Just a brief update ahead of our Chengdu posting to say that we have finally conquered our photo gremlins and managed to add photos to each of our previously published posts.
Happy viewing!
Great to see photos to accompany your always informative and entertaining narrative.
I love your description of A Night at the Opera, and I remember the evening I spent at the Beijing Opera on a trip to China in January 2001. A real mishmash of acts, and the high-pitched Chinese version of a young Katie Boyle linking the whole thing not at all seamlessly.
That occasion reminded me of some of the shady nightclubs we used to frequent in Cairo years ago....belly dancers, conjurers, magicians, mind readers, and most people's favourite, the pouting woman with the snake. The heavily made-up woman with wig and monocle on the door was really the madame, the entertainment a mere front to entertain the mostly Gulf Arab audience and poorer westerners. I was lucky to see some of the top Egyptian belly dancers of the time perform, and they were graceful, but the entertainment value was less in some ways.
Not sure how this works, and I seem to be appearing as my City Lit student alter ego.
I particularly enjoyed the one with you both in your pink plastic macs.
ReplyDeleteHi
DeleteGreat to see photos to accompany your always informative and entertaining narrative.
I love your description of A Night at the Opera, and I remember the evening I spent at the Beijing Opera on a trip to China in January 2001. A real mishmash of acts, and the high-pitched Chinese version of a young Katie Boyle linking the whole thing not at all seamlessly.
That occasion reminded me of some of the shady nightclubs we used to frequent in Cairo years ago....belly dancers, conjurers, magicians, mind readers, and most people's favourite, the pouting woman with the snake. The heavily made-up woman with wig and monocle on the door was really the madame, the entertainment a mere front to entertain the mostly Gulf Arab audience and poorer westerners. I was lucky to see some of the top Egyptian belly dancers of the time perform, and they were graceful, but the entertainment value was less in some ways.
Not sure how this works, and I seem to be appearing as my City Lit student alter ego.