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Welcome to theopinionatedinternet.blogspot.com, a whirling hotpot of political opinion, poetry, prose, philosophy, reviewing, and other assorted wild ramblings! Here you will find: PWN, Grand Reviewer and assistant thinker; JAFHR, head of Philosophy, Literature, and Ambassador for France; JHWW, critic/comic materialist; and iTech, computer technician, pilot-in-the-making and co-politician. Fare Thee Well!


Pour les Francophones

Cher Lecteur/lectrice,
Nous vous souhaitons la bienvenue A notre blog, L'Internet Dogmatique. Vous trouverez ici tout votre bonheur- Literature, Philosophie, Politique, Revues, Technologie... Par dessus tout, vous trouverez des opinions. Ne manquez pas a publiez le votre!
Pour rendre tout cet Anglais lisible, traduisez simplement cette page en utilisant le gadget que vous trouverez sur votre droite, un peu en bas. Nous regrettons que cette traduction est rarement exacte; il serait peut-etre plus sage d'utiliser ce blog pour pratiquer votre Anglais.
Bien le Bonjour, Messires et Demoiselles,
JAFHR, le Fou Francophone.

Monday, January 30, 2012

Gilbert and Sullivan, and the Peak District


Inside the Opera House

In the summer of every year in the town of Buxton in the Peak district, the Gilbert and Sullivan festival runs from the end of July to the middle of August.  It is set in the recently restored (and very beautiful) Buxton Opera House, in the heart of a town the history of which dates back to the Romans.  Now, with the recent trend on this blog towards useful articles, those of you opposed to classical music (proper music, but that's another discussion altogether!) will wonder in what way this is helpful.  If you don't care about comedy, opera or acting whatsoever - it isn't.   Returning to the topic in hand, Gilbert and Sullivan wrote highly amusing and (even over 100 years on) in some ways politically cutting comic opera (light opera, operetta, whatever you wish to call it) which is often referred to in all walks of culture.  For example, Tom Lehrer's "The Elements" (doubtless on Youtube) is set to the tune of "I am the very model of a Modern Major General" (probably also on YouTube) which is from the Pirates of Penzance.  In short, in matters vegetable, animal and mineral, G&S pervades culture to this day.  What's more, if you do go to the G&S Buxton Festival you will also find many attractions in the town.  Part of the opera house is a small greenhouse, which I think is Victorian.  This contains a few interesting specimins.  There are the Pavilion Gardens opposite and a small bandstand.  In Roman times, the town was famous for its thermal baths.  While there are no baths currently open at the moment, plans are, I believe afoot to build some.  A very short stroll down the road from the Opera House is St Ann's Spring, which is the source for Buxton Mineral Water, sold across the country.  It is free to drink
from and fill bottles from.
St Ann's Spring
Also the town is nestled in the Peak District National Park, a beautiful area for walking.  If you prefer cycling, however, prepare for some hills!  Or you could visit the town of Bakewell, the home of Bakewell Tarts.  From my visit there are about four or five shops all of which claim to have the "original" recipe.  Frankly, it shows how varied recipes can be.  The Peaks are a beautiful place to spend a week or even a weekend/long weekend, and while there it is a perfect oppurtunity to soak up some culture in the form of light opera.

10 comments:

  1. Wha'dya mean classical music is proper music. If you want to do an "interesting article" you should tell everyone why you think classical music is good- that will create a good argument

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  2. Agree with guy above. Give us this interesting discussion on why classical music is so good

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  3. Yeah c'mon give us a good argument-and I think the title is fine, you don't reveiw a city do you?????

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    Replies
    1. The Review title isn't perfect. Any other suggestions are welcome.

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  4. Perhaps "opinion' it is called the opinionated internet.

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  5. If you want to go to a weird town/village in the UK, there's a town called cheddar somewhere in the southwest

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  6. Sorry iTech and PWN, but I changed the title again, to what I feel is right

    ReplyDelete