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There’s a slight, oh so slight, gap in the journal entries. I’ve just been so busy! And it’s been quite eventful.
On Monday 21 August I flew down to Stansted on a distinctly dodgy little plane. It seated 18 passengers and was really tiny. The flight was reasonable. Just a little bumpy and it feels much more dramatic in a smaller plane. It was also in the aftermath of the Concorde crash and, whilst I subscribe to the theory that when your number’s up, it’s time to go, my first choice wouldn’t be in a plane!
On Tuesday Jake arrived. I went over to my Mum and Dad’s in the evening to pick him up. And we had a merry time playing with Thomas and the other trains. Over the course of the next few days we spent a lot of time in Heaton Park, climbing on lions and “tigers” (lionesses), riding in yellow trains, going on roundabouts - that was Jake more than me. And we ate a lot of ice cream! We had a morning at Whacky Warehouse which was great fun and a couple of afternoons at a friend’s house where Jake played on the trampoline.
The following Tuesday I headed off to London for a meeting. It had been at the back of my mind to try to see “La Cava” as Oliver Tobias was starring in it. On impulse I went to a ticket booth to see if there were any spare tickets. There were. So, that evening I headed off to the theatre, spotting Lionel Blair outside a Covent Garden cafe en route.
I should explain some of the background to my interest in Oliver Tobias. I’ve been a fan since I was 9 when I saw him in “Arthur of the Britons” and “Luke’s Kingdom”. Even then I was a hopeless romantic and loved all the swashbuckling. The sword fighting was pretty impressive too. Later I saw him in “Smuggler” which was in the same vein. Around the age of 15 I wrote for the first time requesting a signed photo. When I was 18 I saw Oliver in “Pirates of Penzance” and met him at the stage door afterwards where I said Hello and asked him to sign my programme. I also wrote and asked if I might have the ribbon he wore in his hair during the performance. And he very kindly sent it to me. 18 years later I still have it!
I was pretty thrilled at the prospect of seeing Oliver on stage again. It’s been quite some time. La Cava is very different to anything I’ve seen. The music is very different too - very Moorish. (I’ve just ordered the CD). It was an interesting story too, based on history and legend. Of course, I loved seeing Oliver on stage and hearing him sing. That was just great. I loved the set too and the use of these stunning pink and purple cloths that draped from the ceiling. They were just gorgeous. Paul Keating who is in LLL was fabulous. He has an amazing voice. Afterwards I went round to the stage door. It was fun watching all the cast coming out and trying to spot who was who. A lot of them look so different out of costume and make up. After about 30 minutes I heard Oliver’s voice as he came down the stairs and he came out. There were four of us waiting and we asked to have our programmes signed. I also asked if I might take some photos and he very kindly said yes. I’m really pleased with the way they came out. He was very nice. It’s a bit of a blur really. I always try to take in so many things and the meetings are fleeting and rush by. As usual, I did my immortal words thing and told him that “itwas18yearssinceI’dlastmethim” and I even told him I still had the ribbon from Pirates of Penzance. I still can’t believe I said that! Yes, I may be 36 but I’ve really not changed much since I was 18. I asked him about his web venture too. And then he disappeared off into a white cab and into the night.
It was just lovely to have been able to see him again. And to be able to take some photos was a huge bonus.
Last weekend was pretty busy. Went into Manchester to check out an exhibition. There had been some publicity on television last week and it looked interesting. There were photos of Bono, Nick Cave, Martin Scorsese … Very moody pictures with a gorgeous blue tint. They were stunning - as was the price !!! The cost of an individual photo was a deposit on a car. So, I reluctantly passed up on that opportunity. I really haven’t the wall space.
Had a look at the new Corn Exchange which is now complete and open. The shops are lovely. And the building is really light and airy.
Got home about 6 p.m. and I have no idea where the evening went but it flew by.
Sunday, my Mum and I went back into Manchester for lunch and shopping. She wanted to see the new Corn Exchange. We bumped into a Battle of Britain commemoration parade and I took lots of pictures.
Then it was home again and another evening that just whizzed by.