More culture

Had another spot of culture this weekend with a trip to London to see the Manet exhibition at the Royal Academy and the English National Opera's version of The Mikardo. Since a friend gave us a gift of becoming friends of the RA for a year we have become regular visitors and the quality of exhibitions is first rate and well worth a visit being a short stroll along Picadilly from Eros. The Mikardo was also great - about the closest to pure opera that I can manage although the performance was not helped by a young Spanish girl next to me who felt it necessary to spend most of the first quarter messaging on her blackberry until asked to stop. Fortunately she did not reappear after the interval but it does make you wonder why anyone would want to buy some decent( and expensive) West End seats and spend the whole time texting twittering or whatever, with little consideration for this around her.