Simon's 21st Century Grand Tour of Europe!

Hi guys
As you can imagine after my last (quite personal) blog, I want to do a fairly safe...but interesting blog post this time! So I have decided to do this specific blog on travel, and in particular a 21st Century Grand Tour! Which in this particular case are places to visit if you are in Europe.
The places I list, are attractions I really have enjoyed visiting for one reason or another. You'll find that most have a historical significance of some kind, which may become a topic of one of my General Interest podcasts!

I say that because I haven't done that much travelling myself outside of Europe...so I can't do a worldwide list. Although as I write this I am thinking in future I may write a blog post about places I really want to visit around the world someday!!!

Minack Theatre, Porthcurno, England

Minack Theatre Stage

The first attraction on my Grand Tour should be very familiar to you all, as I have in fact written nine blog posts about it (up to this point in time!). I am of course talking about the Minack Theatre down in Cornwall.

Rowena Cade Memorial

 This is a place very close to my heart, because I have crewed (with my Dad) on two Surrey Opera (hi everyone at Surrey Opera!) shows since 2012. The Minack Theatre is unlike any other theatre, as it is so unique in it's design and location! Even it's origins are unbelievable, due to the sheer determination of its creator Rowena Cade!

Picture from Aerial Cornwall

For all those that don't know the theatre is located just outside of the village of Porthcurno perched on the top of a cliff looking out over the Atlantic Ocean.
The origins of the theatre date back to around 1931 when the amateur dramatics club she was apart of  decided to act out Shakespeare's "The Tempest". Looking towards the end of her garden (the gully above the Minack Rock) she said "I wonder if we could make a stage here?".
After 6 months of hard graft for her and two crafty Cornish craftsman the stage was set for the first performance of "The Tempest" in 1932. It was lit by batteries, car headlights and a weak supply of power brought down from Minack House (her house).
Over the years the theatre received improvements and extensions, making it the attraction you see today!
But the first time you look down to the stage you will become spellbound, like it did with me and Dad!!!

Pompeii,  Naples, Italy

 

Pompeii with Mount Vesuvius in the background

The second destination on my Grand Tour is somewhere I've visited twice with my Mum on holiday! It's also one of those archaeological attractions that you have to visit if you have any interest in history or archaeology!

 

The ancient Roman town of Pompeii is what I'm talking about! As if you're like me and you have a very strong interest in history and archaeology then you just have to fly over to Italy and explore it!

 

After it was destroyed and buried by between 4-6 metres (or 13-20 foot) of ash and pumice in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD (along with Herculaneum).
Pompeii, is somewhere that has an unusual history of being discovered and then being rediscovered. As it lost until 1599 when it was initially rediscovered...but it wasn't until it's second more famous rediscovery (in 1748) that Pompeii got put back on the map.
When the Spanish engineer Rocque Joaquin de Alcubierre discovered the town and started excavating. He discovered that the town and everything in it was perfectly preserved due to the lack of air and moisture.

A preserved loaf of bread from Pompeii

The objects that lay beneath the city have been well-preserved for centuries because of the lack of air and moisture. The artefacts the town contained provided an extraordinarily detailed insight into life of an everyday Roman citizen.

At this point I just want to point out that if your in anyway squeamish, don't read the next paragraph!

During the excavation, plaster of Paris was used to fill in the cavities in the ash layers which once held human bodies. Once the plaster of Paris had set allowed Joaquin and his team to see the exact position a person was in when they died.
 

A Pompeii street

 

A place well worth visiting (along with Mount Vesuvius) as it's amazing being able to walk in the same footsteps of everyday people (much like ourselves) from Roman times! An adventure well worth experiencing for yourself!!!

 



Titanic Belfast, Belfast, Northern Ireland

 

Titanic Quarter

The next country we're off to is Northern Ireland...and Titanic Belfast! This is somewhere else I've visited with Mum on holiday back in 2013 (hi Julie & Robert!).

As the names suggests is a museum all about preserving the memory of all the people on board the ill-fated (and Belfast built) maiden voyage of the White Star Line RMS Titanic. The museum also discusses her sisters ships (RMS Olympic and HMHS Britannic) also built at the nearby Harland and Wolff shipyards (including the famous world famous Samson and Goliath cranes).

Titanic Belfast forms the centrepiece to the Titanic–related heritage sites in the very apt "Titanic Quarter" of Belfast!

Other sites include the Harland and Wolff shipbuilding offices (including headquarters and drawing offices), the SS Nomadic (the last surviving White Star Line ship).

The Titanic–related sites doesn't stop there as you can also visit the Titanic's Dock and Pump house and...the Titanic and Olympic slipways.



Me standing at the bottom of the Titanic's Dock  (and Pump house)

All are nearby via a short walk...but I would recommend buying the Combo Ticket, which includes entrance into Titanic Belfast and Titanic's Dock and Pump house. This is because I believe it gives you a better idea of just how big the ship was when it was completed. Another clever way the designers of Titanic Belfast interweaved the scale of the Olympic-Class Ocean Liner is by constructing the building to the same height (126 feet or 38 metres) as the hull!

Titanic Belfast

Titanic Belfast doesn't have any of the artefacts taken from the ship, as a sign of respect to all the people who lost their lives on the 14th April 1912. It still manages to really capture the story of the ship's construction between 1909-1911 to eventual rediscovery of the shipwreck on the 1st September 1985...73 years later.

The Shipyard Ride scale replica of the Titanic '​s rudder

The highlight of Titanic Belfast is The Shipyard and the Ride at the end of Shipyard Exhibition, where you board a six-seater car which takes you on a ride through a recreation of the Harland and Wolff shipyards. Making you feel as though the ship is being constructed around you...what is incredible about this ride is that the car actually moves through a scale replica of the Titanic '​s enormous rudder.

...so if you have any interest in Titanic I would recommend that you start planning your visit to Belfast and to Titanic Belfast, you won't regret it!!!

 



Anne Frank House Museum, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
 



Anne Frank House Museum

The next country we're visiting is The Netherlands, and the Anne Frank House Museum! Which is situated in the country's capital Amsterdam. 

 

The Diary of Anne Frank BBC Mini-Series cover

I visited here with Mum all the way back in 2011....after my interest flourished watching the BBC production of The Diary of Anne Frank. The 5 part Mini-Series was produced in 2009, and Elle Kendrick  performed the lead role.

After watching that I then decided to read her diary (also known as 'The Diary of a Young Girl')...which I really enjoyed! So much so, that I ended up reading it for a total of three times in quick succession. But what I wanted to do, more than anything was to visit the museum!

 

Anne Frank

To all those that don't know who Anne Frank is here, is a brief summary of what happened to her and her family.

Anne's Franks original Diary

Anne Frank was a Jewish girl who forced to go into hiding because of the German occupation of The Netherlands during Second World War. Together with seven others (including her family) she hides in an secret annex in Amsterdam, and writes about her experiences in a diary.



The Diary of a Young Girl 1947 first edition cover

Almost 2 years after going into hiding, they are discovered and deported to concentration camps. Anne’s father  (Otto Frank) is the only one of the eight people to survive from the Secret Annexe.

After the war Otto Frank gets his daughters wartime diary published in 1947...since then it has been translated into 67 languages with over 30 million copies sold worldwide!

A place well worth seeing if you have an interest in the Anne frank and the Second World War, as it is one of the most interesting places I've ever visited on my holidays!
Making well worth visiting...as you won't regret it for a second!

 



Imperial War Museum, London, England

 

Imperial War Museum

For our final destination we're heading back to where our Grand Tour began...England! Where my absolutely favourite museum in the world is situated, I am of course talking about the Imperial War Museum!

Before the Foster and Partners redevelopment

It has recently re-opened (17th July 2014) after two years of redevelopment and £40 million pounds of investment, so that the museum could better fulfil it's aim 'to provide for, and to encourage, the study and understanding of the history of modern war and "wartime experience".

The new layout was designed by Foster and Partners, who are also responsible for construction of The Canary Wharf Underground Station and the American Air Museum at the Imperial War Museum's Duxford branch. Which won Foster and partners the Stirling Prize in 1997!

After the Foster and Partners redevelopment

The history of the Imperial War Museum goes right back to 1917, when the Cabinet agreed that a National War Museum should be created in order to collect and display material relating to the Great War, which was still being fought.

Imperial War Museum at The Crystal Palace

The Dominion governments (countries under the crown in either the British Empire or the Commonwealth) also took an interest in the Cabinet's project...so the name was changed to the Imperial War Museum. Three years later in 1920 an Act of parliament formally established the museum and elected a governing Board of Trustees. Later that year (9th June 1920) the museum was opened by King George V in The Crystal Palace.

Imperial War Museum at The Crystal Place poster from 1920 (by P I Rixon)

Between the years 1924-1935 it was housed in two galleries adjacent to the former Imperial Institute, located in South Kensington.
One year (7th July 1936) after it closed in The Crystal Place the Duke of York (who later become King George VI) reopened the museum in its present home...
which in a former life, made up the central portion of the Bethlem Royal Hospital (also known as ‘Bedlam’). This change of postcode was all down to the generosity of Lord Rothermere.

St Paul's Cathedral during The Blitz

At the outset of the Second World War the Imperial War Museum's terms of reference were enlarged to cover both world wars. From September 1940 to November 1946 the museum was closed to the public, and vulnerable collections were evacuated to stores outside London.

Short seaplane

Most of the exhibits survived the war...but a Short seaplane (had flown at the Battle of Jutland) was shattered when a German bomb fell on the Naval Gallery on the 31st January 1941. In the same blast some naval models were damaged.
Since 1953 the museum's terms of reference have been extended again to include all military operations, where either Britain or the Commonwealth have been involved with since August of 1914.

It an amazing museum, which takes an interesting look at the history of warfare. By displaying the artefacts in an exciting and unique way...acting as a memorial to all the people that have died because of war.
Influencing (and inspiring) people to stop wars from ever happening in the future, which is something at the heart of the Star Trek franchise and ideology, making it somewhere you just have to visit!

This is Simon from The Engage Podcast, saying You Only Live Once (YOLO)!
Signing out!!!





Minack Theatre Advice Day 8- Dad set a course for home!

Hi everyone
Before you all say it, the last couple of posts have been a little bit late. Ok I'll be fair...they are very late! As this post was originally meant to be released after getting home on the Sunday night!
Although I think you'll (hopefully) agree with me here, I've got some very good reasons and excuses why:

1. Due to the lateness of "The Get Out" and after show party on the Friday night (18th July). Which lasted until the early hours of Saturday morning.
2. The journey all the way back to Essex (around 339 miles).
3. The thunderstorm knocking out my computer on the Sunday Night (20th July), and not being repaired until Thursday (24th July). Making it impossible to post anything...although it wasn't completely impossible due to a visit to Jamie's!   

In our time at the Minack we've had a power cut due to a farmer driving a farm vehicle into a power cable, the most amazing thunderstorm (which stopped the performance 2/3 through due to safety concerns!) and a pod of dolphins with random seal. I thought that it was pretty ironic that on Tuesday night we didn't have enough power for the show...fast forward to Friday night, where god seeing us struggling on Tuesday gives us more power than we can muster. By giving us the most tremendous thunderstorm. Making it an 'interesting' if not ironic experience for Surrey Opera this year!!!

View from the top of the Minack Theatre

But as my Dad said back in 2012, that just adds to the magic of the Minack Theatre! So my last tip for the Minack is that the theatre will become one of those places you will never forget, it starts when you look down at the inviting sea from the top of the countless stairs! Your show may go without a problem and may not be as dramatic as our time down there...but either way the Minack Theatre will always be apart of you!!!

Dad Advice 2012- Day 7...again!

Minack Theatre Advice Day 7- "The Get Out"

Hi guys
Today's tip is a lovely bookmark to my week of advice, as it is all about "The Get Out". In my first blog I spoke about how you can prepare for "The Get In" by getting the help of a Vulcan to lift more of the set and props.
http://theengagepodcast.blogspot.co.uk/2014/07/minack-theatre-advice-day-1.html
In that blog I hinted about having a rich diet of carrots, which refers to the urban legend about seeing in the dark after eating large amounts of carrots. As "The Get Out" is done after the last performance this ability can be quite helpful!!!
The origins of the legend started back in the 1940's during the Battle of Britain. When the Royal Air Force circulated the story, attempting to cover up their use of radar technologies in engaging German planes.
So my seventh tip for the Minack is to make sure you bring plenty of torches with you, or hail one of the hunters from Rogue Planet to borrow some of their night vision technology. As they will make it easier to see when all the lights get turned off!

Dad Advice 2012- Day 7

Lightning and computer problems!

Hi everyone
As you may be aware recently over in the United Kingdom we've had some dramatic weather...which has caused alot of damage.
BBC News article
One of the unfortunate casualties from all the lightning is my computer.It is suffering from a power surge, that it acquired Sunday afternoon. The surge has knocked out my computers power supply, memory chips and the motherboard. Along with the power supplies to our home phone and our internet router.
Until it is 'hopefully' repaired tomorrow I have come around Jamie's to make use of his laptop and internet.
Once I got home from Cornwall I was going to write my final Minack Theatre Advice blog posts. As I didn't get a chance to write my seventh or eighth posts...so I am going to write them once my computer is up and running!

Minack Theatre Advice Day 6- Rules!

Hi everyone
Today's tip is all about stage rules, because things at the Minack don't quite happen like they would in a conventional theatre...but I'm sure you'll have realised that by now!!!

At the Minack all the rules you would use in a conventional theatre go out the window, as none of them would work here. So you have to put in place rules that work solely at the Minack. Think of it as being the mirror universe of theatres!
In a normal theatre you don't have to worry about small props, as they are neatly laid out on a props table on either side of the stage...before being moved back to the props table.
Whereas here at the Minack you have consider whether they will be blown away by the wind or props getting rained on.
So my sixth tip for the Minack is to come up to the Minack before your show starts, as this will put you in a good position when you finally have to put your show here!


Dad Advice 2012- Day 6

Rescue 2012

Minack Theatre Advice Day 5- Stairs!

Hi guys
Today's tip is all about the world famous stairs of the Minack Theatre... they just seem to go on forever!!!
By this point in the week you'll have gone up and down the Minack stairs enough times that everything aches...to the point where you can't face walking up or down them ever again!
But today only being Wednesday of course, you have to as there's still another 4 shows to do (and "The Get Out") before you are finished. The Minack stairs are "an opportunity that would bring great advancement" just like Ferengi saying about the Latinum stairway.
So my fifth tip for the Minack is to definately do some stair training before you arrive, as if you don't you will struggle with them, whilst feeling regretful for not doing the training.

Dad Advice 2012- Day 5

Minack Theatre Advice Day 4- Sunshine!

Hi everyone
Today's tip is all about sunshine, as you are likely to get (at least) one superhot day. I imagine the weather today is much like the weather you come to expect on Risa due to the Weather Modification Network!Two years ago we had loads of them, "The Get In" was the first...and because me and dad have never done the Minack before. We didn't know what to expect... or to be more precise I didn't what to expect!
Which meant that not long after started to helping with "The Get In" I got heatstroke, an experience which I really wouldn't like to relive!!!
So my fourth tip for the Minack is to drink loads of water, put on tons of sunscreen and if your wearing black (like we are) stay in the shade for as long as you can!

Dad Advice 2012- Day 4

Minack Theatre Advice Day 3- Wind and rain!

Hi guys
Today my tip is all about weather! This is because earlier we were "trying" to preset the stage for act 1...but we were having problems with the wind. It was attempting to blow of all the props on our altar.
Now it has just started to mizzle, which is a combination of drizzle and mist. Fortunately in the United Kingdom we don't have 178 different words for rain like they do on Ferenginar!
So my third tip for the Minack is to weight down loose with as many stage weights as you can get your hands on. But I echoe what dad said about the topic two years ago:

So if it is likely to blow away tie it down, if you can't tie it down - hold the b****r down. If none of that is possible get rid of it - because if you don't, the wind will do it for you!!

For rain my tip is to set the loose props last, otherwise they will fly away forget very wet!

Dad Advice 2012- Day 3

Minack Theatre Advice Day 2- Practise, practise, practise!

Hi everyone
Today's tip will be in relation to rehearsals, as we are just waiting to start the 3rd and final rehearsal (dress rehearsal) for today. Earlier (at 10am) we started with a technical rehearsal, before moving onto the other dress rehearsal!
My second tip for the Minack is bring something to keep yourself preoccupied between scene changes, as each act will take longer than usual. This is due to the planning involved. So make sure you bring along a Vic Fontaine cd or the latest technial manual!

Dad Advice 2012- Day 2



Minack Theatre Advice Day 1- "The Get In"

Hi everyone
My first tip for the Minack is to train with some dumbbells before you come... as you will definately find it harder to help with "The Get In". I would also recommend adding alot of carrots to your diet. But I'll explain why towards the end of the week!
If you can't do some training before you come down, then make sure you become friendly with a Vulcan (3x the strength of a human). Who can hold more of the set and props, leaving you with less work to do!!!

Dad Advice 2012- Day 1

Dad set course for Cornwall! Minack Theatre holiday 2014!!!

Tosca Poster

Hi guys
I'm sure you'll be able to guess from the title of this post, I'm going down to Cornwall with my dad for a holiday (of sorts!). I say this because it will be a working holiday, because my dad has many hobbies... but his interest in Amateur Dramatics is the reason why we're going all the way down to Cornwall for a total of nine days!
My Dad and I work as part of the backstage crew for Surrey Opera, this years show is Tosca which has already been performed in Surrey. Now the show is being moved down to the world famous Minack Theatre!

Minack Theatre Stage

As I say will be spending the majority of my time working backstage (with my dad) on Tosca. But we will also get some time to spend away from the show to go and explore... strange new worlds. Sorry about that it just sort of came out, what I was meant to be saying was to go and explore Cornwall!!!
This year will be the second time that I'll have helped my dad backstage at the Minack, the last time was back in 2012 when we (Surrey Opera) performed Die Fledermaus to packed audiences.

While we were there my dad came up with seven pieces of advice for putting on a show at the Minack. My dad posted at least one piece of advice for each day the show was performed.
The seven topics my dad talked about were stairs, the wind, sunburn, rain, the changeable weather, upstaging and the magic of the place! In homage to my dad's advice from 2012, I am going to do the same. So if you want to find out what advice I've got then make sure you check the blog for new blog posts between the 12th-20th of July!

Once I've posted this it will mean that we are in a hotel in Okehampton (near Exeter), after travelling (250 miles) all day from Essex. Tomorrow morning we will have around 92 miles left on our journey before we reach the Minack Theatre, at the tip of Cornwall.
When we get there we will begin (what my dad calls) "The Get In". This involves getting the set and props down to the stage (and backstage area) from the van via a people chain. After "The Get In" the construction of the sets will start in anticipation for the rehearsals to start on Sunday morning. After all the practicing the show will begin at 8pm on Monday evening!!!

For those interested in seeing the show, it can be seen between:
Monday 14th to Friday 18th of July at 8pm,
Matinees on Tuesday 15th & 17th of July at 2pm!

If you want to find out more information about the Minack Theatre, Tosca or Surrey Opera please visit:
Minack Theatre Website
Tosca Webpage
Surrey Opera Website