We went to pick up Bertie yesterday. He is on medication.
When the vet brought him out he was not, as I expected, pleased to see Robert, or me for that matter. He was thrilled to see the car and just wanted to jump in and go home. He is on the road to recovery but his treatment only started on Tuesday afternoon. His sores have stopped suppurating and have become scabs. Steroids are making him hungry and thirsty so he has to go out for a pee every couple of hours. Robert is taking him back for a check-up and consultation at The Ralph on Monday. I expect Bertie will be reluctant to get out of the car although he behaved well while he was there: “a lovely dog and a perfect gentleman”, his vet pronounced. But she was probably referring to Bertie and Robert.
Earlier this month I was taken to a new play at Bridge Theatre: Straight Line Crazy. You may have read about it because it is written by David Hare, directed by Nicholas Hytner and has Ralph Fiennes in the main role. Any one of them would pull in the punters but the trio is a theatrical dream team. A Saturday matinee was packed and the theatre sits 900. The play tells an interesting story but I leave it to you to read up on that. It joins a pantheon of new plays I have seen over many years. Some of William Douglas Home’s plays were premiered as House plays at Eton. I think it’s about time for a WDH revival; so Downton Abbey, so Jermyn Street Theatre. Unfortunately or not, the majority of new plays, some well received, seldom reappear on the stage.
Now opera is a different matter. First, opera houses (Covent Garden, La Scala, Palais Garnier, etc) have standing room to accommodate the maximum audiences. Secondly, their repertoire is repeated with an occasional nod to new works so long as there is a tax payer funded subsidy.