The Cardiff expedition
Jan. 12th, 2007 01:36 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
burntcopperIn which it turns out that me and Cathy can now claim the role of 'geekier than other torchwood fans' due to being the first people to seek out the Pearl of the Orient and Bilis Manger's shop and take photos.
And that John Barrowman has the worst problem of corpsing known to man.
Also that when a tattooist says 'most people start shivering around the 2 and a half hour mark' that he's impressed by your endurance levels.
Anyway. Got to Cardiff, went location spotting, kristen giggling at what we were doing and talking about the weirdness of seeing people enter one street and come out somewhere completely different, whilst Cathy obsessively took photos and cooed over her new camera whilst I took artsy ones of the fountain in the sunlight. Got to the Pearl of the Orient (chinese restaurant Owen takes Diane to in Out of Time) and then decided we were starving and poked the menu. *So* recommend this place - great taste, large portions, food sans drinks was about 7/8 quid a head, and their fruit juice is to die for. And then asked the manager if we could take photos at the table. From there to other places and the arcades, where shoes and jewellery were drooled over. And we all gave thanks that we have feet that shoemakers don't like and therefore our wallets were safe.
Popped into Waterstones, where not only did they have the american guide to britain pamphlet, they had the british to french and american to australian. And then the bastard booksellers found me the pilots guide to flying a spitfire and the Good Housekeeping guide for GI brides. Evil, evil mean scum.
Panto, Cathy and I squeed terribly. The female lead could sing and act and dance! (a shock in panto, I know) Comedians and dame hysterical. Torchwood and Dr Who jokes flying thick and fast. Villain and good fairy unfortunately not up to much, but we did jump everytime they used the bang for the fairy's intro. No slapstick, alas. I think a good half of the action was singing. All done very well, though the henchman singing 'Toxic' was *scary*. John corpsed.... :counts fingers: many times. Special mentions of note had to go to the conkers line, where entire audience started laughing, the guy playing his brother was grinning evilly whilst watching John, and John was wailing that he couldn't make that kind of joke, this wasn't Torchwood. Then the time he collapsed on the cow due to losing it. Bedroom scene with Pooh bear. And then of course, near the end where he doubled over and couldn't get up. I think the rest of the cast were having a competition to see how many times they could make John corpse. Other special mentions : The Trott family getting up and saying 'morning' to James (your usual poor sod in the front row), Dame Trott and Jack of course milking the suggestiveness for all they were worth. The birthday list, where Simon Trott took the piss out of John not being able to pronounce welsh and him yelling 'I'm trying, okay?'. Anything involving the cow.
Scrum at stage door... not actually that bad, just rather large. Most people very polite. Cathy's idea to get the American-British pamphlet signed. 'Um, can you sign it to Heather from Captain Jack Harkness?' He checks the front, goes 'coool' 'What, you don't want my signature?' 'oh, I've got that plenty of times.' 'Can I sign it as well anyway?' :sigh: We love John.
Went for drinkies after with a couple of Cathy's mates where we squeed over Torchwood some more. Also Combat ep.
Big Sleep hotel recced for anyone going to Cardiff - ridiculously modern, v. central, rather nice, 50 quid a night. Which is cheaper than the other places around there.
Morning, set off for tattoo, where whilst I killed time before the tattooist opened by getting a pic of the Bilis Manger shop and the arcade ceiling, it was confirmed by the girl opening the shop next door that I was the first Torchwood fan seen and that apparently someone's planning Dr Who tours.
Tattoo - worked out design, had it sketched on, found that there is actually a numb point of your spine and that anything at the top of your back feels more like a burn. Second session after lunch, by about hour 3 or 4 the shivering sets in. This is apparently due to all the endorphins from the pain wearing off and you're basically going into shock from the constant pain. Stopped around 4:30 due to a) constant shaking, and b) because tatooist want it to heal and the black to fade some because he wants to see what the colour scheme he did on the stalks looks like so he can decide what to do with the leaf colouring. My back will be making friends with cling film for the next few weeks. Also, have found that the first hour or so after tat, you will have the most perfect posture ever (it's now just sore and prickly) due to not being able to bear putting the slightest pressure on the skin of your back. But even without the leaves being coloured in yet, it's very pretty. photos later.
And that John Barrowman has the worst problem of corpsing known to man.
Also that when a tattooist says 'most people start shivering around the 2 and a half hour mark' that he's impressed by your endurance levels.
Anyway. Got to Cardiff, went location spotting, kristen giggling at what we were doing and talking about the weirdness of seeing people enter one street and come out somewhere completely different, whilst Cathy obsessively took photos and cooed over her new camera whilst I took artsy ones of the fountain in the sunlight. Got to the Pearl of the Orient (chinese restaurant Owen takes Diane to in Out of Time) and then decided we were starving and poked the menu. *So* recommend this place - great taste, large portions, food sans drinks was about 7/8 quid a head, and their fruit juice is to die for. And then asked the manager if we could take photos at the table. From there to other places and the arcades, where shoes and jewellery were drooled over. And we all gave thanks that we have feet that shoemakers don't like and therefore our wallets were safe.
Popped into Waterstones, where not only did they have the american guide to britain pamphlet, they had the british to french and american to australian. And then the bastard booksellers found me the pilots guide to flying a spitfire and the Good Housekeeping guide for GI brides. Evil, evil mean scum.
Panto, Cathy and I squeed terribly. The female lead could sing and act and dance! (a shock in panto, I know) Comedians and dame hysterical. Torchwood and Dr Who jokes flying thick and fast. Villain and good fairy unfortunately not up to much, but we did jump everytime they used the bang for the fairy's intro. No slapstick, alas. I think a good half of the action was singing. All done very well, though the henchman singing 'Toxic' was *scary*. John corpsed.... :counts fingers: many times. Special mentions of note had to go to the conkers line, where entire audience started laughing, the guy playing his brother was grinning evilly whilst watching John, and John was wailing that he couldn't make that kind of joke, this wasn't Torchwood. Then the time he collapsed on the cow due to losing it. Bedroom scene with Pooh bear. And then of course, near the end where he doubled over and couldn't get up. I think the rest of the cast were having a competition to see how many times they could make John corpse. Other special mentions : The Trott family getting up and saying 'morning' to James (your usual poor sod in the front row), Dame Trott and Jack of course milking the suggestiveness for all they were worth. The birthday list, where Simon Trott took the piss out of John not being able to pronounce welsh and him yelling 'I'm trying, okay?'. Anything involving the cow.
Scrum at stage door... not actually that bad, just rather large. Most people very polite. Cathy's idea to get the American-British pamphlet signed. 'Um, can you sign it to Heather from Captain Jack Harkness?' He checks the front, goes 'coool' 'What, you don't want my signature?' 'oh, I've got that plenty of times.' 'Can I sign it as well anyway?' :sigh: We love John.
Went for drinkies after with a couple of Cathy's mates where we squeed over Torchwood some more. Also Combat ep.
Big Sleep hotel recced for anyone going to Cardiff - ridiculously modern, v. central, rather nice, 50 quid a night. Which is cheaper than the other places around there.
Morning, set off for tattoo, where whilst I killed time before the tattooist opened by getting a pic of the Bilis Manger shop and the arcade ceiling, it was confirmed by the girl opening the shop next door that I was the first Torchwood fan seen and that apparently someone's planning Dr Who tours.
Tattoo - worked out design, had it sketched on, found that there is actually a numb point of your spine and that anything at the top of your back feels more like a burn. Second session after lunch, by about hour 3 or 4 the shivering sets in. This is apparently due to all the endorphins from the pain wearing off and you're basically going into shock from the constant pain. Stopped around 4:30 due to a) constant shaking, and b) because tatooist want it to heal and the black to fade some because he wants to see what the colour scheme he did on the stalks looks like so he can decide what to do with the leaf colouring. My back will be making friends with cling film for the next few weeks. Also, have found that the first hour or so after tat, you will have the most perfect posture ever (it's now just sore and prickly) due to not being able to bear putting the slightest pressure on the skin of your back. But even without the leaves being coloured in yet, it's very pretty. photos later.
