The genesis of Review From The House was my intent to consolidate my theatre, dining and travel writing in a single site. These musings on theatre, sipping and supping, and my travels, solo or otherwise, reflect the perceptions of a mature (not aged) retired urbanite with a literary bent, an addiction to puns, and a sense of humour appreciated by few.
I started writing theatre reviews and commentaries after I ranted once too often about small theatre companies playing to small audiences partly because few people had heard of the shows. The editor of Immediate Theatre challenged me to write about the shows I saw and I decided to do so from the perspective of a dedicated theatre "bum-in-the-seat". Thus was born "Rants, Raves and Reviews" which I wrote for two years for Immediate Theatre. These reviews can be found by year in the Archive section of this web site. I now write for Theatre Seen as Review From The House - ie. from the theatre seat. You can also navigate to these reviews via the As I See It button on the Theatre Seen page.
The Travelblogues began as an easy way to keep my family and friends up to date on my journeys, particularly when I was travelling solo. Although I have always written commentaries by email, it was only when I discovered blogspot that I consistently kept an electronic record of my travels. And for those of you whose memory, like mine is "maturing," you will appreciate that I find this record increasingly more useful when I try to remember the name of a special little restaurant or village only to find that that particular neuron was among the many neurons lthat disappeared from my brain.
The impetus to include the Sipping and Supping site came from several sources. I have long kept a personal record of dining experiences, specially when travelling. And as a friend pointed out, my theatre visits, here and away, are often preceded by a restaurant dinner. So as the site matures you will find cross-links between Theatre Seen, Sipping and Supping and the Travelblogues.
But what is with Gillian's Kitchen you may wonder? I am an enthusiastic foodie, and a mother, therefore for many years a cook - but certainly not a trained chef. In fact I am somewhat of a menace to myself in the kitchen. Have you ever heard of anyone burning their knee while cooking? But that's partly where the "life as I see" it comes in. In short it's less about what Gillian is cooking, than about "what's cookin' with Gillian." Thank you, Cale!
And thanks to Michael O'Shea for the photograph.
Your experience whether at a play, or dining in a restaurant may be different and I would love to get feedback. See the contact page for my email address or else add your own comments after my story.
