Pedalling On

 Yesterday was a turbo training day and we try to find something special to help us through these times when every day seems the same while we run or turbo on alternate day and are missing our swimming so badly. A change is a good idea now and again, and so Steve found something he knew that I would be only too keen to watch again.

Amongst the hundreds of recorded shows, concerts and sports events there for the taking on our TV

He found the Exhibition Gala at the end of the Figure Skating events from the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in Pyeong Chang.The gala is always so happy and relaxed after the pressure of such top-level competition.

 

It is also interesting that even when the years of training, and the most testing of competition is over, how very few have the nerve to give a comedy performance for the most important Gala on the figure skating world circuit. The Gala is made up from the medal winning competitors but sometimes opened with a few performances from young skaters who may well be the stars at a future Olympic Games, as was this one; a few moments of promise.  The first international star to dare to lift the mood was Spain’s mega star Javier Fernandez with his super hero routine. The only other notable performance in the comedy entertainment genre was the Italian pair Valentina Marchei and Ondrej Hoterek with their fun and skilled Barbie and Ken routine. We pedalled our way through the entire Gala, showing all the medallists.

 

Having been deeply into a couple of hours evening crime drama before bed time lately, including The Black List and The Prodigal Son, series that we are still working through, we thought we could take a break from crime and not so much punishment and go for something different last night. Steve had found, completely by chance, a live performance of Barber of Seville from The Norsk Opera and Ballet company. Steve usually hates it when a traditional opera has been moved to a modern setting, but this was most enjoyable and in addition to a splendid cast, it also had the most astonishing multi-faceted, huge revolving scenery block that turned into a different set with each revolution and could be closed up in any number of ways, until it finally looks like the biggest most impressive Ikea demonstration you could ever see. That sounds a bit mean, but it was enormous and yet so neat, a great invention, feather in the cap, of a brain box set designer. Thoroughly enjoyable.

 

his morning we took a five mile turn around our local woodlands whilst nature did some showy mood changing from bright sunshine, to a vast stretch of a misty fret that came from totally the opposite direction that this phenomenon usually appears from. It usually slips in with the tide, but our prevalent wind is from the south west, and this came from the east. There were breaks in the mist when the sun shone through here and there.

 

We had a useful workout and as always loved the ever changing scenery in Angmering Park Estate.