#rollthevice

I'd like to apologise in advance because this post is going to be a million miles long (and I'm still going to forget a lot of things I'm sure). Anyway if anyone wants to ask me anything, please do, or wants me to clarify something I'll be more than happy to do so! Also I won't be posting it in the Whishaw tag for various reasons but I've tagged a few people who've expressed an interest in what I have to say (I love you guys).

So I travelled to London for the Australia and NZ Festival of Literature and Arts on Sunday. I'd bought tickets for two events, Once Upon a Time in Oz and The Song of Solomon (with Mark and Ben). In this post I'll mainly just cover the latter + Ben&Mark sightings and some of the shenanigans of myself and Annie (oh good Lord).

So I got to King's College London (which was the venue for the festival) at around 10:50 am while A Double Spring was still going on in the Chapel. The nice lady working there talked to me a bit about the festival and Ben while giving me a small tour (she said he was really lovely and it was easy to agree - this was the same lady that agreed to give Annie's friend's story to Ben - seriously she rocked); I asked if it would be okay to wait for my friend (Annie) outside the Chapel and she said of course.

I'd told Annie before that I might break down into tears at the sight of Ben, thinking to myself that it might be a bit of an overstatement because I've seen him before and didn't cry, BUT. We stood outside the Chapel chatting and waiting to see Ben coming out (not to approach him, but just to see him), but it took Annie's friend who isn't even a Ben fan to point him out to us! How embarrassing! And how did Mr Whishaw manage it in the first place is a big mystery, but he is a somewhat elusive person so yeah. Anyway, at the first sight of him (surrounded by fans as he were, and all I could see was his profile), that first glimpse of him actually did bring tears to my eyes.

I  had to tell myself to get a grip because if I was going to cry every time I happened to look at him I would spend the concert bawling. Ben left soon anyway (to the direction of the artists' lounge) and thankfully people let him go without any further drama. (It has already been pointed out that apparently some fans acted horribly disrespectfully after the first event, which we only learned about later).

We went out for a little while and spent some time in the park with Annie's friend, and came back to the campus for Once Upon a Time in Oz (with Julianne Schultz, Karen Foxlee, Kate Forsyth, Bruce Pascoe) which was quite interesting; there was a last minute change of rooms so we ended up running around a little bit, but were still in time (and happily took back row seats). The discussion seemed a bit general to me; I would've expected it to be more about the Australian aspect and tradition of story-telling? But like I said, it was quite interesting, even though I didn't quite undestand everything (the toil of an ESL person).

[Hoping for more Whishaw...]

After the event we had more than 5 hours to kill before The Song of Solomon, so I checked in at the hotel and then we headed to the National Portrait Gallery. Sadly enough we couldn't locate the elusive portrait of Mr Whishaw, BUT Annie showed me the portrait of Charles I and several other cool people so that was nice.

We had some dinner too and wanted to head back to the campus a bit after six because we knew that the closing event was sold out, and there would be a big crowd, and we didn't want to end up in the back of the queue and consequently sitting in the back row where it would be hard to see anything. We were a bit worried about looking suspicious and/or embarrassing loitering around (in hindsight I'm pretty sure we were neither) but there were other people too so that was nice. We were just crossing the foyer and I was almost on the stairs when I heard Annie calling my name and I stopped, and turned around just to see Mark and some other people standing in the foyer just a few metres from us. Some seconds later Ben joined them and we rried not to freak out, mainly because it was so sudden.

[Here I'll talk about how Ben and Mark looked so feel free to skip...]

Alright now so Ben was wearing his black leather jacket and a pair of slim black trousers. Odd thing; I was looking at him quite casually and then I was horrified at the thought of looking at his butt and had to look away. (Like wtf. Looking at somebody's butt isn't a moral failing but I COULDN'T. Seriously I'd watched Foxtrot just a few days before but still.) Annie was a better person than me anyway and didn't look at them at all. (I would've been upset with myself him myself if I didn't so I did.)

Anyway, back to Ben. His hair was short - having been cut for Suffragette and Lobster - and he was sporting a beard; not bushy but nicely trimmed. So whishawbendragon Ben wasn't sporting the fairy prince look we'd been imagining and hoping for beforehand but that was okay. Seriously I would have died otherwise so it's better this way. And he was beautiful anyway). Mark was wearing black trousers and a brown leather jacket. No beard for Mark. (And he was very cute. I've lamented a lot about the lack of info and/or pics of Mr Bradshaw online.) They both appeared pretty relaxed and happy and that was really nice.

They stood around for a while chatting with their (musician) friends; I drank down half of my water bottle out of sheer nerves. (Ben had ofc a big water bottle under his arm and that was oddly reassuring.)

[... and more Ben. Actually I talk about his looks here a lot so please skip if that's not your cup of tea]

The concert started a bit late, perhaps a quarter part 8 pm and we'd been standing in the queue since before 7 pm so the wait felt like forever. The Chapel was really beautiful though, and we got places from the fifth row I think.

In the Chapel I noticed Ben in the sidelines when he stood up and took off his jacket and I realised he was wearing some kind of sleeveless top underneath, and no shirt. Now. I'm a fairly excitable person overall (haha) but things don't usually make me feel like I'm going to die. A BARE-ARMED BEN WHISHAW MADE ME FEEL QUITE CERTAIN THAT I WAS GOING TO DIE (I might have told Annie this like a dozen times). Did I mention bare arms? Did I mention a lack of undershirt or any other shirt? Just a sleeveless top/waistcoat/Idek showing off his shoulders.. I'm actually surprised I'm still alive tbh. Good Lord. Now it was a warm day and it was warm inside the Chapel but.

[The Song of Solomon...]

sidneypots wrote a very thorough and lovely review of the music here - f you haven't read it already I suggest you do!

I'm not smart about music at all so I won't be able to say much about it really, other than I thought it was a bit jarring at times (although meant to sound that way) and at times it just felt like it was flowing through me - I loved it. The poetry of course is very sensual, and I love that Ben is so clear when speaking because he's so easy to understand. And he was obvs very much into the poem which was lovely; looking up into the light at times and intermittently at Mark whenever he wasn't speaking.

I couldn't see Mark from where I was sitting (I know, what a disappointment) but I could infer his location from where Ben kept looking. I do know that Mark looked very happy and pleased after the concert when they were taking the bow. Seriously it was excellent and over way too soon.

[About fans... my apologies if I'm beating a dead horse]

So other people have already posted about how some fans acted very rudely and disrespectfully after A Double Spring, not only torward Ben but also toward Juliet Darling (which I admittedly didn't witness in person but heard about only afterwards). However we did hear before the concert that Ben was a bit worried and concerned about how the same fans would behave at the concert and we were very embarrassed on their behalf. Like way to go to make Ben feel awful and uncomfortable. He shouldn't have to even think about such things ffs.

1. If you were only allowed to eat a specific meal for breakfast for the rest of your life, what would it be?

I'm actually really partial to corn flakes w/ milk. I really enjoy a lot of breakfast foods so if I could choose I would just eat breakfast stuff all day long every day. Now there's a dream..

2. Would you rather be young, rich and lonely or old, poor and loved?

Well no-one's young forever so with option a I would be old, rich and lonely before long. I really need a lot of love in my life and I've never been rich so I'll go with 'old, poor and loved'.

3. If someone points a gun at a person/animal you love, are you prepared to take the bullet?

For a person that I love, yes. For my cats, maybe not, but I would try and tackle the person that threatened them and kick their ass big time.

4. If you were forced to relocate to a city of your choice and remain there for the rest of your life, where would you go?

Oh my goodness, what a tough question; I'm v v tempted to go with a foreign city but since I want to be close to my family I'm going to be boring and choose a Finnish one (Helsinki).

5. Are you open to ever having plastic surgery and/or botox in the (possibly distant) future?

In all honesty, yes - but it would have to be nonintrusive and not really noticeable, if you know what I mean. No botox, since I love having an expressive face, but I wouldn't mind having fewer wrinkles I guess.

6. Which type of pet would you prefer and why (you must choose one): cat, dog, rabbit, parrot, lizard, fish, guinea pig.

I am a cat person through and through; I love that they're independent and clean, and fluffy and smell nice. I'm quite partial to rabbits too even though I've never owned one (and likely never will).

7. Do you prefer cold weather or warm weather, and why?

There's a Finnish joke about our summer being short but not very snowy; basically we have a pretty cold weather for most of the year. I prefer warm over cold, but not too hot; if it gets over +25 degrees Celsius I'm not going to have a good time. (We went to Sicily on our honeymoon and it was around +35 degrees Celsius when we got there and I almost fainted and felt very ill for a few days before my body adjusted.)

8. Do you prefer blue jeans or black jeans?

In theory I prefer black jeans but for some reason blue jeans look better on me? I don't really own any black jeans which is actually a bit odd.

9. Think about your earliest memory. Approximately how old were you when it was created?

I must have been around 2,5 years old maybe - my family had gone to the sauna thinking that I was asleep and would wake up only after they came back; well I woke up while they were gone and somehow managed to open the door (which was locked) and go to the sauna (which was in a separate building) demanding to know why I'd been left behind.

10. Name an individual you look up to/who inspires you.

My mother, actually - I know she's not a saint but she's the best person I know. I wish I was more like her tbh.

11. What is your favourite spice (cinnamon, nutmeg, pepper etc. and yes, you can count chilli and garlic as spices if you want)?

If you were only allowed to eat a specific meal for breakfast for the rest of your life, what would it be? Toast with butter and dulce de leche. (that was fast)

Would you rather be young, rich and lonely or old, poor and loved? loved means you do not actually get to want for anything because people who love you will give you a hand so that you don't starve (hopefully!) so.... old, poor and loved.

If someone points a gun at a person/animal you love, are you prepared to take the bullet? Prepared? No, not really. But I've always thought it was instict rather than a conscious decision, so I have no idea! 

If you were forced to relocate to a city of your choice and remain there for the rest of your life, where would you go? London. (that was fast, too)

Are you open to ever having plastic surgery and/or botox in the (possibly distant) future? I'd love to be able to afford plastic surgery without putting a mortgage on my house. Maybe then I would be able to test my own determination.... I like to say I don't even think about it seriously because of the money, but I honestly think I would not do it, I'd chicken out....

Which type of pet would you prefer and why (you must choose one): cat, dog, rabbit, parrot, lizard, fish, guinea pig. Dog. I miss having a dog.

Do you prefer cold weather or warm weather, and why? Cold because you can always wrap up a bit more. In hot weather (and I mean Buenos Aires hot not normal hot) there's only so much you can take off without it being illegal. Or unpleasant :)

Do you prefer blue jeans or black jeans? Skirts. Long skirts. I've never even thought about getting into a pair of jeans for over two years now.

Think about your earliest memory. Approximately how old were you when it was created? Three. 

Name an individual you look up to/who inspires you. Professionally, I could name a couple of teachers and former teachers. As people, there are several things I admire from different people, but I cannot say I look up to. Unless Sakura Kinomoto counts? 

OHMYGODDDDD

1. Name of a celebrity crush that you wish more people knew about?

Well this is going to sound ridic on Tumblr, but... Ben Whishaw. No-one I know in RL seems to have ever heard of him. :( Many have seen him in Skyfall, and the Hour and Richard II have been on the telly but yeah, he's still pretty much unknown in Finland.

2. If you could be a part of a tribe or an ancient civilization, which one would it be and why?

I always thought ancient Egypt was cool. All the technical accomplishments and stuff has always piqued my interest. So ancient Egypt. :)

3. If you could meet one historical figure from any period of time, who would it be and why?

Oh, a tricky one! I think Jeanne d'Arc. Not much is known of her as a person and I've always been interested in her.

4. And what would you tell them?

I think I would just be so full of questions! I guess I would just say that I'm super impressed and intrigued about her life and her as a person.

5. Have you ever slept under the stars?

I've slept in a tent, but not directly under the stars, no. (Not a wise thing in the summer, because you're going to wake up all blotchy and itchy from all the gnats.)

6. Have you ever taken a midnight bath?

Not a bath, but I've gone swimming. :D

7. Would you prefer to have toes instead of fingers, or an eye on your tongue?

I think it would be more practical to have an eye on my tongue. Although eating would be a bit difficult and salty things would be horrible. :( Anyway I couldn't type with my toes, so that's pretty much ruled out for that reason alone.

8. Who's the most famous person you've ever talked to?

I just realised I haven't talked to anyone famous. Buuuut the most famous person I've ALMOST talked to is Ben. haha

9. Describe your favourite smell.

I love my cat's belly fur. It smells clean, and warm, and just so goddamn cosy I want to press my face into it forever.

10. Describe your relationship with the last person you texted without telling who they are or how you're linked to them.

We are very close, and share most things in life. I'm very happy to have them in my life and will do my best to always keep it that way.

As for questions of my own...

1. Are you a morning person?

2. What's your dream job?

3. What's your favourite means of escapism?

4. What brought you to Tumblr?

5. Who is your favourite person?

6. What makes your day?

7. Shoes on or off inside the house?

8. Are you interested in sports? Do you have a favourite team or an athlete?

9. Do you daydream a lot?

10. Which do you prefer; a night out with friends or a quiet night at home with a book?