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Sir Tom Stoppard

November 30, 2025 in Life as we know it | No comments

Sir Tom Stoppard
1937 – 2025
RIP

<a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Stoppard_02.jpg" target="_blank">"This work"</a> by <a>Gorup de Besanez</a> is licensed under <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0" target="_blank">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>Those who are no strangers to rambling the raggle-taggle byways of this eclectic journal will doubtless have observed that I am in the habit of marking the passing of those who have – through their words, works or actions – had a significant impact upon my life and consciousness. For example, when Brian Wilson passed away earlier this year I wrote the following:

“Whenever I post one of these messages lamenting the loss of one of the great figures of my (or the adjacent) generation(s) I do so with sadness but also with gratitude for their influence as ‘hero’ figures throughout my formative years. My aim is to compose something that captures their personal importance for me. Sometimes, however, no words can be found that are truly capable of expressing the extent of the loss”.

That being said, until yesterday I had not experienced (since starting this blog back in 2012) the passing of one of the truly paramount figures that I have followed, whose influence has been as hard to calculate as their loss is impossible to comprehend. Some of our heroes just feel as though they ought to be immortal. Since hearing the news yesterday of the death of Sir Tom Stoppard the only term that I can think of that comes close to capturing my feelings on the scale of the loss of is ‘devastated’.

I first encountered the works of Sir Tom Stoppard – England’s preeminent playwright for considerably more than half a century – back in the mid 1960s. Tom’s breakthrough play – ‘Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead’ was premiered at the Edinburgh Fringe in 1966 and at the Old Vic in London in 1967. Faber and Faber published a playscript of the work in 1967 and I came across it in the senior school library at my grammar school when I joined the seniors back in 1968 or 1969.

I had never read anything like ‘Rosencrantz and Guildenstern‘ and it completely changed my then ingenuous view of what theatre could do and what it might be. Tom was a brilliant thinker and writer and had the facility of approaching difficult subjects in ways that gave the impression that the ideas concerned were much simpler than they in fact were. He dealt with intellectual topics with humour and a lightness of touch that carried audiences with him. Amongst his many awards his Oscar for the brilliant screenplay of the timeless ‘Shakespeare in Love’ was well deserved.

in addition to reading and attending performances of just about all of his plays, I have directed a number of them myself, including The Real Inspector Hound, Every Good Boy Deserves Favour and The Real Thing. I would have loved to have directed ‘Arcadia’ – perhaps his masterpiece.

I was fortunate enough to have met Sir Tom twice – at first night receptions for ‘Indian Ink’ and for ‘The Invention of Love’. On the second occasion – reinforcing the belief that one perhaps might best not meet one’s heroes – I embarrassed us both by declaring that I considered him to be a genius.

I am finding it really difficult to contemplate a world in which Sir Tom Stoppard is no longer living and working. A precious light has gone out.

Rest in peace Sir Tom.

 

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Repeating myself

November 27, 2025 in Flotsam and Jetsam | No comments

“There is no harm in repeating a good thing”

Plato

My last post to this forum was entitled ‘Making a Spectacle’- and related the tale of the efforts that I had been obliged to make throughout the year in order that I might make use of the shiny new pair of spectacles that I had purchased back at the top thereof.

Should the gentle reader have seen that post he or she will be aware that the loss of a tiny screw had rendered the glasses unusable – and that it somehow took four visits to the optometrist to obtain a replacement.

Subsequent to that posting I found myself looking back over my missives from this time last year. This I do from time to time – to remind myself of all the things that we have achieved as well as the various things that we have not. I am repeatedly reminded that my decision to continue blogging – even since so to do fell deeply out of fashion – has endowed us with a truly useful archive of arcana covering the last decade and a half.

Anyway… what should I find in the archive from the middle of December last year – but yet another post also entitled ‘Making a Spectacle‘. What are the odds?

Now, last December’s post was not on the subject of the state of repair of one of our many pairs of glasses (why does one require so many as one grows older?). It was more concerned with whether or not we could actually find the said item at the point at which we needed them (and indeed whether or not we were in fact already wearing them upon one or other of our heads!).

I feel that I should probably be apologising for the inevitable repetitions that seem to go along with advancing years. I am rather hoping that – since those surrounding us are also getting on a bit now – they in turn will be forgetting that we have already covered much of this ground – and treat each new adventure as though it were the first time.

Cheers!

 

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Making a spectacle

November 16, 2025 in Life as we know it | No comments

Back at the top of the year I found myself – for only the second time in my life – eligible for extended heath benefits… courtesy of the College by which I was then employed.

Those who are paying attention might wonder why I had not enjoyed this boon throughout the previous half decade of my unexpectedly lengthened working life. The simple truth is that I had to this point – like an idiot – repeatedly turned the offer down. No sooner was I finally equipped with the full set of benefits than the job rapidly followed their example and evaporated.

(I notice that one can – should one so wish – purchase a T-shirt bearing the apposite slogan – “I saw that…” – Karma).

Irregardless!…

Serving one final term at the College before being retired (again) I took the opportunity to avail myself of all of the benefits for which I qualified. I had some serious dental work done and – more relevant to the subject of this particular post – I purchased some new spectacles.

Now, it was not that I actually needed spectacles. Over the last decade or so my vision has slowly but surely improved to the point at which I really only wear glasses now for driving. I have several slightly cosmetically ratty but completely functional pairs which seem to meet my limited needs. Nonetheless, taking the opportunity to equip myself with some stylish new eyepieces seemed like a good idea…

…and very nice they were – for a couple of months. Then – one fine day – the right hand arm fell off. One of the little screws – apparently completely inadequate for the task for which it had been provided – had dropped out and, inevitably, disappeared.

I revisited the optometrist. Following an extensive rummage out at the back of the store the assistant returned and advised me that they would need to order a replacement screw – and that they would call me when it was in.

Several further months passed – as months do – and my phone remained ominously silent.

I revisited the optometrist – again. Following an extensive rummage… etc, etc… you probably get the drift. There was no record of my first visit having taken place and no replacement part.

Several months passed… yada, yada, yada… I revisited… etc, etc… no record of either of my previous visits!

How was this to end? Well, on my fourth visit a rather more senior assistant finally did the obvious thing… she found another pair of the same frames – extracted one of the screws and then restored my new glasses to a fully operational state.

Hoo – bloomin’ – rah, say I!

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A year grown old

November 9, 2025 in Life in BC, Photos | No comments

“She stands in tattered gold
Tossing bits of amber and jade
Jewels of a year grown old:
November.”

Zephyr Ware Tarver – “A Queen Makes an Exit”

November is upon us!…

Photo by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson Reid

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Hearing the music

October 31, 2025 in Flotsam and Jetsam | Permalink

“And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music”

Friedrich Nietzsche

Since The Girl and I moved (returned, in her case) to western Canada a decade ago the gentle reader might – on a number of occasions at this time of year – have found posted to this forum a glowing write-up of an evening spent in the delightful company of Barney Bentall’s Cariboo Express. Sadly – as reported last year – Barney and his peripatetic crew of musicians, writers and poets have decided that it was time to hang up their travelling boots and to stay at home instead. Since the Express had been making these charitable trips for some twenty years it would seem churlish to deny them the right so to do.

Fortunately that doesn’t mean that we will never see Barney again. His continuing popularity was all too evident during this summer, when he drew a sizable crowd to Butchart Gardens for a concert in their open-air series. We duly attended with friends and a splendid and joyous occasion was enjoyed by all. Barney and his band ended the evening with an entirely unrehearsed rendition of ‘American Pie‘ – during which the audience demonstrated that they too knew all of the words and required no rehearsal.

This weekend just passed The Girl and I attended another musical performance – this time at the Mary Winspear in Sidney. This seasonably appropriate event was a very different kettle of fish to Barney’s summer show and featured Vancouver folk band The Fugitives, with whom I fell in love with back in 2019 when they played at the Brentwood Bay Music in the Park. One of the two main songwriters in the band – Brendan McLeod – has recently spent a considerable amount of time studying the First World War Battle of Vimy – the which understandably looms large in 20th century Canadian history -and from this research Brendan and the band have created a one act monologue with music entitled ‘Beyond Vimy – featuring letters and songs written by the WW1 Canadian soldiers. Deeply affecting and bringing a tear to many an eye in the Charlie White theatre, the piece made a strong case for the importance of remembrance as an ongoing process that involves the whole community. Most impressive and moving!

In addition to these two fine musical occasions we also attended, this autumn, two further concerts at the opposite end of the scale – each taking place at the Save-on-Foods Arena in Victoria. Both of them featured sold out performances by Canadian icons.

Bryan Adams has decidedly achieved legendary status on this side of the pond – even if in the UK he is known mainly for for the rock anthem ‘Summer of 69‘ and the seemingly indestructible ballad – ‘Everything I Do, I Do it for You‘. Bryan was in good voice at the Save-on-Foods Arena, though there were few surprises. My enjoyment of the show was tempered somewhat by the sound being unnecessarily loud. I like the mix to be at a certain level, to guarantee an immersive experience, but I have grown less tolerant as I have grown older of excessive decibels.

An object lesson in how to obtain a perfect sound at the arena was provided a few weeks later by the wonderful Sarah McLachlan. Over the past decade and more I have been led on multiple occasions and by diverse means to this hugely talented artist and I have long desired to see her live. Last year she set out on a worldwide tour to celebrate the 30th anniversary of her classic album, ‘Fumbling Towards Ecstasy‘, but we were unable to get tickets for the shows because they sold out so quickly. Unfortunately the tour was postponed when Ms McLachlan lost her voice completely but we were better prepared when the rescheduled concerts were announced this year. The revised tour started in Victoria, but I see that, sadly, Sarah seems to have suffered a recurrence of her vocal issues some ten concerts in. We wish her the very best for a speedy recovery.

As for the concert itself – it was sublime! I have attended many shows over the years but this one I immediately identified as my new second favourite concert – ever! – just behind my equal first number-ones – Peter Gabriel’s ‘Secret World – Live‘ in London in 1993 – and the Peter Gabriel and Sting joint ‘Rock, Paper, Scissors‘ show in Edmonton in 2016.

If you think you detect a theme developing here, then you do. As the echoes of Sarah’s final encore died away and the audience started reluctantly to head for home, what should be played through the PA but Peter’s ‘Solsbury Hill‘.

Tingles!

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…and then it’s gone!

October 22, 2025 in Life as we know it | Permalink

“I like the ephemeral thing about theatre, every performance is like a ghost – it’s there and then it’s gone”.

Maggie Smith

This post brings up to date my recent communication regarding the theatrical events that we were lucky enough to attend this year.

Back in the day – a goodly period before The Girl and I finally relocated to Victoria – we had, nonetheless, commenced a series of visits to British Columbia as part of what one might consider a softening up process prior to actually getting down to the business of emigrating.

On one of these expeditions we spent a few nights in Vancouver and took advantage of the opportunity to attend a performance at the annual Shakespeare event – ‘Bard on the Beach‘ – which takes place in Vanier Park overlooking English Bay.

On a few select nights of the year the performances co-incide with the spectacular “Festival of Light” firework displays over English Bay – and one may so order things that the performance of the play (“A Midsummer Night’s Dream” in this instance) might be book-ended by a thoroughly decent repast and the joyous release of pyrotechnics.

This we duly did…

In the ten years since we moved to Canada, however, we had not – until this year – repeated any part of that experience.

The reasons for this come down largely to logistics and the expense of the trip. Vancouver is close enough to us as the raven flies (or as the orca swims) but when one factors in the show itself and eating and the time it takes for everything to happen one usually ends up booking a hotel room for a night or two and making a proper junket of it…

…which all costs money!

This year our attention was drawn to a production of “Two Gentlemen of Verona”  re-set in the 1980s. Reviews were good and – even though we could not make any of the firework evenings work – we decided that we wanted to see the show. The Girl being who she is she immediately applied herself – and came up with a cunning plan!

It worked like this:

We would drive to Swartz Bay (10 minutes) and park the car. We would then sail to Tsawwassen on the mainland (90 minutes) – as foot passengers on the ferry. Having arranged for an Uber to pick us up at the terminal we would be whisked to Vanier Park in time for a quick lunch at the festival site and a matinee of the show. Afterwards it was a simple matter of reversing the process (eating on the ferry home) and turning a major expedition into a mere day out.

Well – everything worked out exactly as planned and we found ourselves still pleasantly fresh upon our arrival home.

“But what of the show?” – I hear you cry…

The show was a lot of fun and, as I say, the reviews were positive. These extracts are from from Julie Hammonds (author of ‘Blue Mountain Rose‘):

  • The Play: The Two Gentlemen of Verona
  • Hot Quote: “They do not love that do not show their love.”  ~Julia
  • The Company: Bard on the Beach, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
  • The Stage: An elaborate set in a walled circus tent, with a view of distant mountains and sky. The audience sits comfortably in padded chairs on risers, with excellent sightlines.
  • Memorable for: The ending, which I won’t spoil. I want to! But I won’t.
  • With apologies to all the excellent human actors, the Scene-stealer Award goes to Mason the Dog (playing Crab), who yawned during Launce’s first long speech and brought the house down. I suspect dogs have been stealing this show since the first performance.

With a set splashed in bubblegum colors, costumes straight from the Jane Fonda Workout, and visual references to movies like Say Anything (1989), Vancouver’s Bard on the Beach delivers a joyful, nontraditional take on The Two Gentlemen of Verona. A 1980s aesthetic infuses the production. Boom boxes pound out the Billboard Hot 100 circa 1985. The female leads, Julia and Sylvia, wear long, curly side ponytails that would make Madonna proud. The hilarious Scott Bellis plays Launce as Doc from Back to the Future.

The male leads, Proteus and Valentine, are teenagers on their first trip away from home. Love and loss, friendship and jealousy are in play, but the stakes seem low because unlike in other Shakespeare plays, these aren’t kings and queens. They’re just kids taking risks, disobeying their parents, and learning that we can hurt people we love with our words and actions.

Angie Rico of ‘Stir‘ adds this with regard to the play’s troublesome ending:

One of the queasier legacies of vintage teen movies is how often they brushed past consent for the sake of comedy. The original ending of the The Two Gentlemen of Verona carries a similar kind of whiplash: a near-assault, quickly forgiven, and everyone paired off like nothing happened. This production, without adding a single line to the ending, shifts the whole tone subtly but decisively, and to more satisfying effect. 

So – good show all round!

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It’s there…

October 15, 2025 in Life in BC | Permalink

“I like the ephemeral thing about theatre, every performance is like a ghost – it’s there and then it’s gone”.

Maggie Smith

As promised but a few posts back – herewith a brief disquisition (please forgive the contradiction in terms – it feels longer than it is!) on our theatrical experiences thus far this year.

Regular attendees to this forum will be well aware that The Girl and I have always been avid theatre goers. Indeed, one of the things that we really do miss from the Old Country is the sheer extent, variety and boldness of the theatrical fare on offer in London and elsewhere in the UK.

With a considerably smaller oeuvre upon which to call it is perhaps inevitable that, on occasion, we find ourselves a little disappointed by the quality and vision of the offerings here in Victoria. We are enthusiasts for The Belfry Theatre and continue to hold season tickets there, but we find the programming to be, on occasion, uneven and the theatre’s perhaps understandable emphasis on contemporary Canadian writing to feel somewhat parochial.

We did, however, enjoy Anosh Irani’s “Behind the Moon” back at the start of the year and, even more so, the most recent production; Michael Healey’s clever political comedy, “1979“. This brilliantly written and acted piece would have been entertaining regardless, but to one such as I – a neophyte when it comes to Canadian political history – this examination of the political career of Canada’s youngest prime minister, Joe Clark, was fascinating and inevitably prescient. As a theatrical device I particularly enjoyed the manner in which the projected captions had a voice all of their own.

Arguably, the best production that we have seen at the Belfry thus far this year was not one of their own at all. Two Victoria companies – Puente Theatre and Blue Bridge Repertory Theatre – joined forces to launch the ‘Great Works Theatre Festival‘. Of this venture they say:

“The Great Works Theatre Festival is a ground-breaking new initiative dedicated to bold interpretations and adaptations of the world’s great theatrical works. By joining forces, both companies aim to enrich Victoria’s cultural landscape and foster artistic collaboration through fresh takes on timeless classics“.

The festival’s inaugural season featured two works, staged at The Belfry; Federico García Lorca’s ‘Blood Wedding‘ (in a new version by Mercedes Bátiz-Benét) and David Hirson’s 1991 comedy, ‘La Bête‘ (‘The Beast‘). We saw the latter back in August and were mightily impressed. Of the production Christine van Reeuwyk wrote in the Peninsula News Review:

“David Hirson’s 1992 Olivier Award-winning comedy is set on the estate of Princess Conti in 1654 Languedoc, France. The play is an homage to the man who is considered France’s greatest playwright and satirist Jean-Baptiste Poquelin – better known by his stage name, Moliere. Revolving around the attempt by a royal patron to introduce a megalomaniac street performer and playwright into one of France’s most respected theatre ensembles, La Bete is a contemporary comic masterpiece that skewers a world that has gone mad with the thrall of ego“.

“Audiences attending La Bête will experience a virtual hurricane of words,” director Brian Richmond said in a news release. “Thoughtful words, complex words but, mostly, hysterically funny words placed in a structure of perfectly rhymed couplets that mirror the form and practice of the French theatre of the 17th century. Although utilizing the lush scenery and costumes present in France at the height of its power, we could have just as easily set the production in the City of Babel or modern day Washington, DC, so timeless is its satirical focus.”

The street performer – Valere – was played in this production by the extraordinary Britt Candide Small, who won a well deserved ovation for her delivery of the stunning 30 minute monologue in iambic pentameter which is the centrepiece of the first part of the show.

The blog – ‘Haska’s Haunt‘ – says of the production:

“Where audiences have so often seen pared down, two-hander, black box shows, the richness of this production feels almost surprising, but every detail included was utilized. Every bit of stage magic, every piece of costuming, every character was there with purpose, and it all contributed to a work that can easily be revisited and has so much to enjoy”.

“Hear, hear” – say I!

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The diplomat

October 4, 2025 in Life as we know it | Permalink

“A diplomat is a man who always remembers a woman’s birthday but never remembers her age”

Robert Frost

My last post (on the subject of the respective anniversaries of my first meeting with The Girl, of our subsequent wedding five years later and of the completion of the purchase of our splendid west coast home a decade ago) made no reference to yet another very important and particular celebration that occurs at this point in the year… that of The Girl’s birthday! The omission was because – as of the date of posting – the day concerned had not yet arrived.

Well – it has now done so and indeed the day has come and gone, with appropriate festivity and indulgence. As is usually the way with such events, however, a single day is nowhere near enough to squeeze in all of the necessary celebration. We are currently, therefore, traversing the well-deserved ‘Birthday Week’ with its full program of gatherings, visits and general good cheer.

Hoorah for the Birthday Girl, say I… and many, many happy returns!

Happy birthday!

 

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Like birthdays

September 29, 2025 in Life as we know it | Permalink

“Anniversaries are like birthdays: occasions to celebrate and to think ahead, usually among friends with whom one shares not only the past but also the future”.

Zbigniew Brzezinski

Before I get stuck into the list of subjects that I have been ignoring for the past couple of months (as discussed in this last post) here is one more topic that I really should have touched upon before now.

For The Girl and I, 2025 is something of a year of significant anniversaries. When we moved to Canada back in 2015 we stayed initially (and for for several months!) with friends of ours here on the peninsula. This gave us the opportunity to search for a new home of our own – but also gave time for the shipping container loaded with all of our worldly possessions to traverse the globe before catching up with us here on the west coast.

During the summer of 2015 several months of feverish but abortive house hunting left us wondering if we were going to find ourselves with a container full of treasures but nowhere to put them. Several offers on properties fell through before we finally placed an offer on what is now our lovely home, following a single viewing on the very day that the house hit the market

A glance back at my calendar for the period reveals an event on the 29th September that is simply titled “House!“. Yes – this very day is tenth anniversary of our moving into our Canadian home.

Back at the end of July this year there was another significant celebration for The Girl and I – that of our fifteenth wedding anniversary. That event is irrevocably tied to yet another celebratory occasion – this year being the twentieth anniversary of our first having met.

I firmly believe that it is fitting to acknowledge our great good fortune by marking these milestones – even though it does also make one realise just how quickly the time is passing.

We are most grateful to have things to celebrate – and friends with whom to celebrate them – in the face of all of the troubles in this precarious world.

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But wait – there’s more!

September 27, 2025 in Flotsam and Jetsam | Permalink

OK – so today’s post-topping quote might appear at first glance to be apropos of nothing at all, but a moment or two’s reflection would surely reveal that it is, after all, entirely apposite.

I was – as usual – hunting online for a suitable aphorism with which to head this post when I came across this little gem. It made me chuckle, which is – at the end of the day – the most important thing, so in it goes!

Now – what is the post actually about?

Regular consumers of the Immigrant’s scribblings will not have failed to notice that the past few months’ worth of postings have been focused pretty much entirely on photographs of our splendid trip to and through the glorious Rocky Mountains. Given that The Girl and I have been back in Victoria since the end of June there must – clearly – have been a fair bit else about which I could – and probably should – have written.

Time to catch up. There is a fair bit to tell.

Over the summer and into the autumn we have organised for ourselves a smorgasbord of cultural experiences. Future posts will touch upon a number of theatrical events at which we have been present. The musical scene must also to be considered and reported upon. More on both of these subjects in future posts.

We are fortunate in that we have been able to spend more time in our garden than has been feasible in some recent years. Good friends have obliged us by accepting our invitations to join us in enjoying the facilities. This is, after all, the reason for us having them.

I think it would probably be a good idea for me to glance back through my calendar to check that I am not missing any other important topics. I can think of at least one matter upon which I should report – and which has been overshadowed by my  all-consuming focus on waxing lyrical about The Canadian and the Rocky Mountains.

More to come soon!

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