The Menier Chocolate Factory have done it again with the musical Sweet Charity. It was great to see this bitter sweet musical. Sweet Charity is the story of a American dance hall hostess. It was based on the Italian film by Fellini, The Nights of Cabria,. It was described as a dark version of the Cinderella story without the traditional happy ending. Fellini described the central character ‘ Cabiria is fragile, tender and unfortunate: after all that has happened to her, and after the collapse of her naive dream of love, she still believes in life….in spite of everything Cabiria still carries in her heart a touch of grace…. anyone may be Cabiria. That is a victim. Bob Fosse, the original director, saw the film and thought it would make a good musical The original musical opened on Broadway in 1966 and was an immediate success. It ran for over 600 performances. The book was by leading playwright Neil Simon and has the classics “Big Spender” “The Rhythm of Life” and “There’s got to be something better than this.
This production captures the style of the 60’s. Tamzin Outhwaite captures the naivety and hope of Charity. She is also a great dancer and is hardly off the stage.
I am pleased to report that it is another production from the 150 seat Menier Chocolate Factory that will transfer to the West End. It is going into the Haymarket Theatre.
Another production to look out for is a revival of ‘Aspect of Love’ the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical directed by Trevor Nunn at the MCF in the summer.

Exciting News and Practice Update

I am Moving to beautiful new premises at No45 Dental practice Chichester

The goal of any dental business is to continuously improve both the level of clinical care and customer service – and it is with that in mind that I am delighted to announce my decision to join the existing team at No45 Dental Practice in East Street, Chichester with Dr Matthew Ogden from the 3rd May 2010. (www.no45dental.co.uk)

Aesthetic Dental Practice in Bognor Regis will be closing on the 30th April 2010.
 
Whilst change is always challenging, I am excited in the prospect of working in a highly skilled team and further developing my skills and services I can provide for you.
 
No45 is a new purpose built practice that first opened over a year ago. Matthew Ogden is a clinician who has gained his skill in numerous countries including, New Zealand, Australia, USA and the UK. He has built a small team around him. Consisting of an orthodontist, restorative dentist, implant surgeon and a hygienist. 

I will be joining that team and continuing to offer the treatments that were previously provided in Bognor Regis. It is “business as usual” in newer and nicer surroundings. We will notify you if we have to change your appointment time, otherwise it will be the same time and date you have already booked.
 
He believes as I do that we work to provide the patient with the best experience of visiting the dentist, from initial greeting to final goodbye.
 
You will also be sent, over the next few weeks, details of the No45 Privilege Membership Plan that gives piece of mind, including insurance cover, and 10% discount off general treatment. This is the same as the Aesthetic Dental Practice Plan and so when I move it will continue as the No45 Privilege Membership Plan, without any payment changes.
 
During April I will be arranging open evenings at No45 so that you can see the new surroundings. I will be sending these invitations out in March.

I would like to extend an invitation to you – I would be honoured and delighted if you would join with me as a patient at No45.

6 Month Smiles (6MS) is a relatively new orthodontic process based on tried and trusted techniques. The process involves clear plastic brackets and tooth coloured wire so that is virtually invisible. The benefit for the patient is that treatment is over in 4 to 9 months, compared to 2 years for conventional orthodontics. The reason it is shorter is that only the front  upper and lower are corrected. Another benefit is that if the teeth are very crocked and discoloured and the treatment is going to be veneers, by straightening the teeth first there is much less preparation of the teeth and so the teeth remain stronger and last longer. There is no worry of involving the nerve.

The normal investment in this treatment is £2900, but up until the end of March 2010 I have been able to arrange for the investment to be £2400. This can also be paid by 10 months interest free credit at £240 a month.

If you are interested booked yourself in for a no charge consultation now.

The web site is http://www.6monthsmiles.com/

Once again it was a lovely day when we went to the Goodwood Revival. This meeting is more enjoyable than the Festival of Speed there is so much more to see. Not only is there the cars but also the planes and music including swing and rock and roll. This year it was Sir Stirling Moss’s 80th birthday and he was visible in variour places signing books. Mr Bean also made an appearance.

Sir Stirling Moss

Smile Strips are a very simple way of enhancing your smile. They are thin flexible and coated with a tooth whitening gel containing 6% Hydrogen Peroxide and are designed to fit around your teeth. You wear them for 30 minutes a day and you should see a difference in 3 days. Each pack contains 14 days supply. As with other whitening the strips do not whiten crowns or fillings and can cause temporary sensitivity.
The colour change is not as great as with other methods of whitening but they are very convenient as you only wear then for 30 minutes and be used to brighten your teeth for a special event.
With all these methods it is best not to drink black coffee red wine or eat curries or anything else that is highly coloured during the whitening process as you will be quickly re staining your teeth. Smoking will also re stain your quickly.
The Smile Strips are £45 for a box of 14 and for further details they are on the website www.smilestrips.co.uk

May I introduce Whitening Wednesdays. Since July I have been using the Zoom whitening system. I was dubious about this system for many years. To me it seemed like a gimmick. I have now used it on several patients and have been very pleased with the results. Spending just over an hour and going out with an immediate smile is an amazing instant benefit. You can of course made you teeth even lighter by using the gel in the provide trays for a few nights. This contrasts with 3 week of wearing trays for at least an hour a night.
With both methods there is a risk of sensitivity which if a problem can be cured by using the de sensitising gel in the trays. The whitening does not whiten fillings or crowns which will have to be replaced to bring them to the new colour of the teeth.
This is a great way to give an instant improvement to your teeth taking years of staining and discolouration away. You will want t smile more.
So on Whitening Wednesdays I am offering this whitening process at half price. Thats £240 instead of £480. There are only limited spaces on the Wednesdays so do not leave booking an appointment just before a special event as you could be disappointed.

May I recommend the film The Soloist. This is a truly lovely and thought provoking film. It is directed by Joe Wright who also directed Atonement and Pride and Prejudice. He manages to steer clear of the sentimental traps that a film like this could have. It also feature two of the best performance I have seen from Robert Downey Jnr and Jamie Foxx. Downey plays Steve Lopaz, a Los Angeles Times columnist who in 2005 starts writing a series of articles about the musician Nathaniel Ayers, played by Foxx. He was once a Julliard cello prodigy, but suffering from severe schizophrenia did not complete the course and ended up on the streets. Lopaz feels he can help Ayers by getting him into LA’s Lamp Community providing shelter and medication. But this is not the best way to help him. During the film you ask yourself is Lopaz just trying to exploit Ayers for his own career or genuinely trying to help him. At the end of the film they both gain something from this symbiotic relationship, but is perhaps Lopaz who has gained the most. There is a real communication and bond between the characters, who can never truely connect.
The film also gave the shocking statistic that their are 90,000 homeless in LA a town that has at the other end of the spectrum so much wealth.
The score was also excellent with music by Dario Marianelli.

This film was a disappointment to me. I had read the book over the summer. It was a book I could not put down much to the annoyance of my wife. The book was a love story over time, but also much more. It had elements of Lolita and was quite violent at times. Its ending was very tragic. The film although very beautifully shot lack a soul. I could not believe in the characters as much as I did in the book.

Rachel Mcadams was good in the part but I hate to say it, but I grew tired of her smile. Eric Bana played the part in a daze. The children who played the part of the young Rachel and their daughter were excellent. The film began to drag towards the end and it seem longer than the 107 minutes. Benjamin Button which dealt with the passage of time much better and the 166 minutes seemed to go much quicker.

This film has had some good review, but to me it was no Ghost. The ending did not have the impact that the book had for me

A very moving and well performed play. It is perhaps the best thing I have seen at Chichester for a long time. Everything came together to give a stunning evening. The acting was superb. Christopher Timothy played the part of Pa Joad. Portraying the anguish and futility of his life excellently. The dusk bowls in Oklahoma were caused by the farmers themselves, by the intensive farming methods. How much they new then that it was their fault I do not know.

The large cast of 22,  made great use of the thrust stage and used it is such a way that you felt the play is going to be diminished in a normal theatre. You wanted to feel their hope in looking for jobs, but knew that it was a scam to pay the least amount of money to each worker. You could say it ended on a high note, as a death was put to use in helping another human being live. It was a sad play in that it showed how those that have exploited those that hadn’t. It also showed the shear determination of the human spirit in adversity.

Finally the set and water effects were amazing. The backdrop was used part as a billboard showing old adverts which added comment to what was happening on the stage and also as an optical illusion to disconcert you. By the end of the evening you would swear that they had tipped the stage so you felt that the audience were walking downhill to the exits!

All in all a very good evening.

It was a glorious weekend at Goodwood. I attended with my son on both the Saturday and Sunday. On the Saturday we spent the time going round the F1 cars and other various supercars. On the Sunday we were in the stand opposite the house watching the cars on the hill track. Highlights were Peter Fonda on a replica of the bike he had in Easy Rider. Born to be free was blasting out from Goodwood House as he rode up the track. Lewis Hamilton, Jenson Button, Sterling Moss, Derek Bell and many others were there. The event celebrated 100 years of AUDI. The sculpture in front of Goodwood House was amazing, as you can see from the photograph.

?

We also were able to hear and see Jenson Button

It was a great weekend. Unfortunately I was not able to take home a Buggatti Veyron!