Becky, Clare and I went to see Beyond the Barricade last night in Fareham. This was the fifth time I'd seen it, in a different venue each time - sounds excessive, I know, but the show is more of a concert and they vary their programme, so I've never seen the same line-up of songs (or singers, as the two girls are on contracts, usually of a year or so at a time) twice.
In my opinion they took a little while to warm up - I was terrified that it would all fall apart during Think of Me from Phantom of the Opera early in the first half - but after 3 or 4 songs where they were a bit tentative, they settled in and sang brilliantly. As well as Phantom, they performed songs from Jesus Christ Superstar, Cats, Sweeney Todd, Blood Brothers, We Will Rock You, Miss Saigon, The Lion King, Spamalot, Les Miserables and more. Nothing from Wicked, but maybe next time ;). Clare said that most of the second half was lost on her as she hadn't seen the original shows, and whilst I had seen most of them, it did make me resolve to see the ones I'd missed - and to see the others again! We all enjoyed ourselves and are now planning our next trip to the West End, trying to decide which show to see first...
Thursday 26 June 2008
Monday 23 June 2008
Regression
My foot seems to have got bigger again since Friday. It's not painful - as least, no more painful than it was 3 days ago - and I can still drive, but it's definitely more swollen. Rob has just suggested that I go into work every other day this week, rather than every day, to see if the days when I'm at home and off my feet help with the swelling, so I think I'll do that.
To cheer me up, and give you a bit of a laugh, here are some of the drawing exercises the DS has asked me to do over the past couple of days - the machine's example on the left, and my attempt on the right. A collie, Julius Caesar, Henry VIII, Tutankhamun and the Sphinx. I won't give up my day job...
To cheer me up, and give you a bit of a laugh, here are some of the drawing exercises the DS has asked me to do over the past couple of days - the machine's example on the left, and my attempt on the right. A collie, Julius Caesar, Henry VIII, Tutankhamun and the Sphinx. I won't give up my day job...
Friday 20 June 2008
Mission Accomplished
I got in the driver's seat of my car yesterday and tried pressing down on the clutch, expecting that it would still be too painful for me to start driving, seeing as I'm still limping quite badly. Wrong! I can drive!
I'm not using the clutch the way I normally do - I keep everything below the knee in the same position and the movement on and off the pedal comes from my hip - but at least I can get out of the house on my own! So I achieved my aim of being able to drive by the end of the week. However, Rob said this morning that going to the supermarket and back was one thing, but he wasn't sure about me going on the motorway, so he drove me into the office today. I'll be driving myself from Monday.
I'm making headway on the brain training as well - today my brain age was 29, 2 years younger than I am. The first time I turn it on each day, before the actual brain training exercises start, it asks me to draw three things because drawing from memory wakes up the brain. So far I've drawn things like a fire extinguisher, a tap (faucet for you yanks), an eel etc. Today I had to do a collie, a bulldog and an armadillo - they were all so bad I was crying with laughter. But yesterday was the worst - I had the Mona Lisa, Rodin's 'The Thinker', and one more that was clearly so awful I must have blotted it out of my memory. I wish I had taken pictures of them (the DS doesn't keep them) - my Thinker looked more like Quasimodo!
I'm not using the clutch the way I normally do - I keep everything below the knee in the same position and the movement on and off the pedal comes from my hip - but at least I can get out of the house on my own! So I achieved my aim of being able to drive by the end of the week. However, Rob said this morning that going to the supermarket and back was one thing, but he wasn't sure about me going on the motorway, so he drove me into the office today. I'll be driving myself from Monday.
I'm making headway on the brain training as well - today my brain age was 29, 2 years younger than I am. The first time I turn it on each day, before the actual brain training exercises start, it asks me to draw three things because drawing from memory wakes up the brain. So far I've drawn things like a fire extinguisher, a tap (faucet for you yanks), an eel etc. Today I had to do a collie, a bulldog and an armadillo - they were all so bad I was crying with laughter. But yesterday was the worst - I had the Mona Lisa, Rodin's 'The Thinker', and one more that was clearly so awful I must have blotted it out of my memory. I wish I had taken pictures of them (the DS doesn't keep them) - my Thinker looked more like Quasimodo!
Wednesday 18 June 2008
Present for Harry
This is one of the embroideries I did recently and framed yesterday. It's on its way to Clare and Wesley (and Harry); they'll get it by Friday. They don't have internet at home so this won't spoil the surprise.
I've framed the other embroidery too but it will be a while before it reaches its intended recipient; I'll post a picture of it when it does.
I've framed the other embroidery too but it will be a while before it reaches its intended recipient; I'll post a picture of it when it does.
Monday 16 June 2008
Brain Training
Rob bought me a Nintendo DS Lite on Saturday, to stop me from going stir crazy at home. I'm not much of a computer games fan, but Rob said the shop was doing a package deal on the DS with 2 games that he thought I would enjoy: Brain Training and My Word Coach, a vocabulary game, which I haven't played yet but which looks right up my street.
I set up the brain training one on Saturday afternoon. One of the tests it does to find out the 'age' of your brain is to show a word on screen and you have to say the colour that the word is written in - red, yellow, blue or black. What makes it difficult is that the word itself is a colour - so the word could be 'Blue', but the colour it's written in is red, so you have to say red.
The first time I did it, there were a couple of times when the colour of the word was blue, so I said 'blue', and it said 'Wrong, try again'. It took me a while to realise that the machine isn't all that great at differentiating between when I say 'blue' and when I say 'black'. So I had to enunciate to the point of hilarity - I was pronouncing blue more like 'bloooo' and emphasising the 'ck' on the end of black'; it's a good job no one was listening. I set my profile on the machine, then the next time I did that particular test it still told me to try again a few times even though I'd said the right colour, and at the end of the test it told me my brain was in its 80s... I managed to get this down to 39 by this morning, and even then I could have been better had the machine not mis-heard one of my answers.
I took the DS with me yesterday so I would have something to do while I waited for Rob, Adrian and Ben to do the Test Valley Tour, a 100km bike ride (which they all did brilliantly - well done guys!). Yes, that's right, I finally got out of the house yesterday! The start/finish point was at Hillier Gardens, and I spent the first couple of hours with Sara and the kids playing cricket on the grass (they played, I watched), then after they left I sat in the gardens training my brain.
I think I've turned the corner with my injury. The worst part about it is that every time I get up, whether that be first thing in the morning or just from the sofa during the day, blood rushes to my foot, settling just underneath my ankle bone, which is really painful, and I just have to stand up through the pain until it eases off, or sit back down again and do the same thing the next time - and the longer I leave it, the worse it gets and the longer it takes to ease off. Yesterday morning, however, it took about half the time it usually does for the pain to ease off, and today it took a little less time again. Most of the times I've stood up from the sofa today, it hasn't been particularly painful at all and I've been able to walk on it more or less straight away. I went to the doctor this morning to ask if there was anything I could do to make it get better more quickly, but she said no, I was doing the right thing in doing part-rest, part-exercise, and I just had to be patient. Also the swelling has almost all gone and the bruising has gone down - it's still very colourful but whereas before it was almost all purple, it's now about half-purple, half-greeny yellow, so I think I'm definitely on the mend. I've set myself a goal of being able to drive again by the end of the week.
I set up the brain training one on Saturday afternoon. One of the tests it does to find out the 'age' of your brain is to show a word on screen and you have to say the colour that the word is written in - red, yellow, blue or black. What makes it difficult is that the word itself is a colour - so the word could be 'Blue', but the colour it's written in is red, so you have to say red.
The first time I did it, there were a couple of times when the colour of the word was blue, so I said 'blue', and it said 'Wrong, try again'. It took me a while to realise that the machine isn't all that great at differentiating between when I say 'blue' and when I say 'black'. So I had to enunciate to the point of hilarity - I was pronouncing blue more like 'bloooo' and emphasising the 'ck' on the end of black'; it's a good job no one was listening. I set my profile on the machine, then the next time I did that particular test it still told me to try again a few times even though I'd said the right colour, and at the end of the test it told me my brain was in its 80s... I managed to get this down to 39 by this morning, and even then I could have been better had the machine not mis-heard one of my answers.
I took the DS with me yesterday so I would have something to do while I waited for Rob, Adrian and Ben to do the Test Valley Tour, a 100km bike ride (which they all did brilliantly - well done guys!). Yes, that's right, I finally got out of the house yesterday! The start/finish point was at Hillier Gardens, and I spent the first couple of hours with Sara and the kids playing cricket on the grass (they played, I watched), then after they left I sat in the gardens training my brain.
I think I've turned the corner with my injury. The worst part about it is that every time I get up, whether that be first thing in the morning or just from the sofa during the day, blood rushes to my foot, settling just underneath my ankle bone, which is really painful, and I just have to stand up through the pain until it eases off, or sit back down again and do the same thing the next time - and the longer I leave it, the worse it gets and the longer it takes to ease off. Yesterday morning, however, it took about half the time it usually does for the pain to ease off, and today it took a little less time again. Most of the times I've stood up from the sofa today, it hasn't been particularly painful at all and I've been able to walk on it more or less straight away. I went to the doctor this morning to ask if there was anything I could do to make it get better more quickly, but she said no, I was doing the right thing in doing part-rest, part-exercise, and I just had to be patient. Also the swelling has almost all gone and the bruising has gone down - it's still very colourful but whereas before it was almost all purple, it's now about half-purple, half-greeny yellow, so I think I'm definitely on the mend. I've set myself a goal of being able to drive again by the end of the week.
Saturday 14 June 2008
Something to do!
A few weeks ago Natalie and I made arrangements for her to come down to Southampton for the day from London, but I had to postpone it the other day because my foot hasn't got any better yet and I can't drive anywhere, so it would be a bit of a wasted journey for her if we couldn't do anything when she arrived.
So, I am stuck at home again with nothing to do. At least Chelsi tagged me, which has given me something to think about for an hour. Thanks, Chels!
1. Five things I was doing 10 years ago:
So, I am stuck at home again with nothing to do. At least Chelsi tagged me, which has given me something to think about for an hour. Thanks, Chels!
1. Five things I was doing 10 years ago:
- Spending a month in Perugia at the end of my year abroad from university (the rest of the year I was in Florence)
- Watching almost every match of World Cup 1998
- Looking after one of the guys who was with us in Perugia when he got gastro-enteritis
- Listening to an eclectic mix of music, including Romanza by Andrea Bocelli, 5 by Lenny Kravitz, Quello che Voglio by Alex Baroni, Supernatural by Des'Ree and anything by Eros Ramazzotti
- Losing weight - it was so hot in Italy that I didn't have much of an appetite and I was the thinnest I'd been since the age of 13. Ah, those were the days...
- Do three loads of washing
- Try and get some, if not all, of the ironing done
- Find a space in the back garden for the plant that Ali brought me on Tuesday
- Persuade Rob to take me to Hobbycraft to buy picture frames
- Once they're bought, frame my two embroideries
- Cheese & crackers
- Geobars - specially the chocolate ones
- Home-made cherry & coconut granola
- Cadbury's Buttons
- Anything with coconut in - like macaroons, mmm...
- Give up work (actually it would take a lot less than a billion quid to persuade me to do that)
- This one's too difficult
- Everything I think of seems lame or contrived
- Maybe I would give it all to charity
- Then I wouldn't have to think of ways to spend it
- Stockport, near Manchester
- Salford, the other side of Manchester
- Hull, while I was at university
- Kirklevington, near Yarm, where I was brought up
- And finally, Hedge End, near Southampton, where I am now.
Wednesday 11 June 2008
Things I can do with only one leg
1. Play the piano
2. Watch TV
3. Surf the internet
4. Order takeaway food
5. Read
So I've been doing lots of the above.
The bruising on my foot got worse during the course of Sunday, but it has gone down again and it's now back to the stage it was at when I took the photo in the previous post. So no real change after 3 days. I'd like to be able to say that walking gets a bit easier every day, but it doesn't :(. I don't think I'm walking any better now than I was at the weekend, but the doctor did say to give it time.
I've been part-working, part-resting this week - ordinarily I would ask the brilliant Clare to deal with anything that came up, but she's on a course this week (typical) and there are things that won't wait until she gets back. Fortunately the office is quiet this week, with lots of people at SpringOne, so my not being there hasn't really affected things all that much.
Rob is one of those who's at SpringOne, so I'm on my own until Friday morning. I'm slowly but surely making my way through all the episodes of Spooks from the beginning. That should keep me busy for quite a while...
2. Watch TV
3. Surf the internet
4. Order takeaway food
5. Read
So I've been doing lots of the above.
The bruising on my foot got worse during the course of Sunday, but it has gone down again and it's now back to the stage it was at when I took the photo in the previous post. So no real change after 3 days. I'd like to be able to say that walking gets a bit easier every day, but it doesn't :(. I don't think I'm walking any better now than I was at the weekend, but the doctor did say to give it time.
I've been part-working, part-resting this week - ordinarily I would ask the brilliant Clare to deal with anything that came up, but she's on a course this week (typical) and there are things that won't wait until she gets back. Fortunately the office is quiet this week, with lots of people at SpringOne, so my not being there hasn't really affected things all that much.
Rob is one of those who's at SpringOne, so I'm on my own until Friday morning. I'm slowly but surely making my way through all the episodes of Spooks from the beginning. That should keep me busy for quite a while...
Sunday 8 June 2008
Injury Update
Yesterday wasn't a great day, but today has been better so far. Friday night I woke up every time I rolled over, and was so sick of it yesterday morning by about the 15th time that I just got up - it was 06:15, so not too much earlier than my usual getting-up time - but earlier than my usual Saturday getting-up time. I mentioned in my last post that I was told to keep walking on it every so often to stop everything from seizing up: well, after being horizontal for 9 hours it had seized up pretty badly, and the pain was appalling when I tried to stand up. This started a vicious circle of not wanting to stand on it because it hurt so much, thereby making it longer since I'd walked on it and more painful the next time I tried. In the end I fell asleep on the sofa for a couple of hours and then made a concerted effort to walk on it when I woke up again. I also spent much of yesterday with my foot in a washing-up bowl full of cold water, which has helped a little bit with the swelling.
I took a picture of my feet yesterday morning, and I just know that you're desperate to see it, so here it is. As you can see, my left foot and ankle - even my toes - are quite swollen, and during the course of the day yesterday, the bruising really started to come through, so now the outside of my foot, my toes, the inside of my ankle and up the outside of my lower leg are all a lovely purple colour. But where's the picture, I hear you ask? Of course I wouldn't deny you such a beautiful sight, so here 
it is, taken this morning. I wasn't woken up so often last night, and it took less time to get going this morning, so that's a good sign. Rob brought one of our walking sticks down from upstairs yesterday to help me get about - my arm muscles were killing me from holding on to doors, tables, counter tops, stair rails etc while walking round - but I haven't needed it all the time today; just for the first few steps until I get going.
Being unable to get about has meant that I spent most of yesterday finishing off two embroideries that I've got on the go at the moment. I'll post pictures of them once they're framed.
It looks like this weekend is accident weekend. Rob and Ben went out for a ride this morning and Ben ended up in a hedge at the side of the road after swerving to avoid a car coming towards him on his side of the road. He's OK, barring a few nettle stings, but his bike was fairly badly damaged. Rob called me, and because I'm in no position to drive at the moment, I called Adrian to go and pick them up, but he wasn't in. They then called Andy, but there was no answer at his house either, so Rob rode 15 miles home and drove his car back to where Ben was, then they took his bike straight round to the shop to get it repaired. The car driver was a woman, just like mine was on Friday, but unlike my accident, she didn't stop. Just adding fuel to the 'women are bad drivers' fire...
Thanks to everyone who commented, e-mailed or phoned - I really appreciate your concern.
I took a picture of my feet yesterday morning, and I just know that you're desperate to see it, so here it is. As you can see, my left foot and ankle - even my toes - are quite swollen, and during the course of the day yesterday, the bruising really started to come through, so now the outside of my foot, my toes, the inside of my ankle and up the outside of my lower leg are all a lovely purple colour. But where's the picture, I hear you ask? Of course I wouldn't deny you such a beautiful sight, so here 
it is, taken this morning. I wasn't woken up so often last night, and it took less time to get going this morning, so that's a good sign. Rob brought one of our walking sticks down from upstairs yesterday to help me get about - my arm muscles were killing me from holding on to doors, tables, counter tops, stair rails etc while walking round - but I haven't needed it all the time today; just for the first few steps until I get going.Being unable to get about has meant that I spent most of yesterday finishing off two embroideries that I've got on the go at the moment. I'll post pictures of them once they're framed.
It looks like this weekend is accident weekend. Rob and Ben went out for a ride this morning and Ben ended up in a hedge at the side of the road after swerving to avoid a car coming towards him on his side of the road. He's OK, barring a few nettle stings, but his bike was fairly badly damaged. Rob called me, and because I'm in no position to drive at the moment, I called Adrian to go and pick them up, but he wasn't in. They then called Andy, but there was no answer at his house either, so Rob rode 15 miles home and drove his car back to where Ben was, then they took his bike straight round to the shop to get it repaired. The car driver was a woman, just like mine was on Friday, but unlike my accident, she didn't stop. Just adding fuel to the 'women are bad drivers' fire...
Thanks to everyone who commented, e-mailed or phoned - I really appreciate your concern.
Friday 6 June 2008
I hoped I'd make it at least a week...
... before suffering any significant injury on the bike. Sadly, that was not to be: As I was cycling to work this morning I got hit by a car.
I was only about a mile from home, riding along a main road through a traffic-light-controlled junction, which was on green when I rode past the lights but which turned to amber just after I rode through. The junction is quite long, and I remember thinking that because I was slower than a car, by the time I rode past the minor road on the left-hand side, the lights could well be on green for traffic to come out of that road and onto the road I was on. A woman came down that road, slowed down when the lights were red but because they turned to green before she'd stopped, she accelerated and turned right, just as I was riding past. If I had had another second to realise what was about to happen, I could probably have cycled faster and she would have missed me, but unfortunately I didn't have that second and the nearside front corner of her car hit my back wheel and sent me flying a couple of feet through the air.
I landed on my hands and knees, facing the direction I'd come from, and was immediately aware that I had cramp in my left toes. The woman got out of her car and came over to me as I was trying to shake out my cramp. It wasn't until I got rid of it that I realised my legs had turned to jelly and my left ankle was killing me. It took a little while for me to get enough feeling back in my legs to hobble to the side of the road and sit down. The woman called Rob - who had originally planned to do a long ride this morning, but then decided a few minutes extra in bed were preferable, otherwise he might not have been in - and he put the bike rack in the car and came to pick me up. The bike didn't seem to be damaged, other than a few scratches on the pedals etc.
We drove home and took the bike off the car, then we went to the hospital for some x-rays to make sure nothing was broken. I've heard people say that a sprain hurts more than a break, and my ankle was hurting like hell, so I hoped that was a good sign. Turns out I didn't break anything, but I tore the ligaments in my ankle pretty badly. I have to do the usual - rest, ice, compression, elevation - but make sure to keep exercising it so it doesn't seize up too much. When I stand on it after sitting down for a while, it really hurts for the first couple of minutes but then eases off after that.
I've felt quite emotional all day - anyone who knows me will tell you I'm a crier. I didn't cry when it happened, but I bawled while I was sitting in the car and Rob was putting the bike on the rack, then I cried when I got home, then when I told the triage nurse what happened, then I welled up a couple of times while I was waiting for a doctor to check my x-rays, then I got home and read Ben's post about what happened and cried again, then again when my Mum called to find out if I was OK, and a couple more times throughout the afternoon. I keep saying to people that I should just go upstairs and cry myself out, to get it out of my system, but I haven't done it yet. The cleaner came round this afternoon and I didn't think it would be a good look to be sobbing uncontrollably while she was here!
The doctor says it will be a week to 10 days before it will start feeling right again, but as soon as it does, I'll be back on the bike.
I was only about a mile from home, riding along a main road through a traffic-light-controlled junction, which was on green when I rode past the lights but which turned to amber just after I rode through. The junction is quite long, and I remember thinking that because I was slower than a car, by the time I rode past the minor road on the left-hand side, the lights could well be on green for traffic to come out of that road and onto the road I was on. A woman came down that road, slowed down when the lights were red but because they turned to green before she'd stopped, she accelerated and turned right, just as I was riding past. If I had had another second to realise what was about to happen, I could probably have cycled faster and she would have missed me, but unfortunately I didn't have that second and the nearside front corner of her car hit my back wheel and sent me flying a couple of feet through the air.
I landed on my hands and knees, facing the direction I'd come from, and was immediately aware that I had cramp in my left toes. The woman got out of her car and came over to me as I was trying to shake out my cramp. It wasn't until I got rid of it that I realised my legs had turned to jelly and my left ankle was killing me. It took a little while for me to get enough feeling back in my legs to hobble to the side of the road and sit down. The woman called Rob - who had originally planned to do a long ride this morning, but then decided a few minutes extra in bed were preferable, otherwise he might not have been in - and he put the bike rack in the car and came to pick me up. The bike didn't seem to be damaged, other than a few scratches on the pedals etc.
We drove home and took the bike off the car, then we went to the hospital for some x-rays to make sure nothing was broken. I've heard people say that a sprain hurts more than a break, and my ankle was hurting like hell, so I hoped that was a good sign. Turns out I didn't break anything, but I tore the ligaments in my ankle pretty badly. I have to do the usual - rest, ice, compression, elevation - but make sure to keep exercising it so it doesn't seize up too much. When I stand on it after sitting down for a while, it really hurts for the first couple of minutes but then eases off after that.
I've felt quite emotional all day - anyone who knows me will tell you I'm a crier. I didn't cry when it happened, but I bawled while I was sitting in the car and Rob was putting the bike on the rack, then I cried when I got home, then when I told the triage nurse what happened, then I welled up a couple of times while I was waiting for a doctor to check my x-rays, then I got home and read Ben's post about what happened and cried again, then again when my Mum called to find out if I was OK, and a couple more times throughout the afternoon. I keep saying to people that I should just go upstairs and cry myself out, to get it out of my system, but I haven't done it yet. The cleaner came round this afternoon and I didn't think it would be a good look to be sobbing uncontrollably while she was here!
The doctor says it will be a week to 10 days before it will start feeling right again, but as soon as it does, I'll be back on the bike.
Thursday 5 June 2008
Show Time Again
Clare from work shares a flat with a guy who's not into musicals. Anyone who knows Rob knows that ordinarily, he's not into musicals either (with the exception of Wicked, and I'm hoping to persuade him to see a couple of others after the success with this one), but that means that Clare and I can now go and see stuff together and leave the boys at home.
Clare got an e-mail from the Mayflower Theatre in Southampton on Tuesday, offering her two-for-one tickets for Hello Dolly!, which is only playing this week, so we decided to go. I saw this musical years ago and I remembered the title song and something about 'It only takes a moment' (one of the other songs), but I didn't really remember the storyline, and I wouldn't class it as one of the musicals I simply have to see, but it seemed silly to pass up half-price tickets!
Turns out it was a good move because we thoroughly enjoyed it. On the face of it, we had great seats - row F - but rows A to G are on the same level; it isn't till row H that the incline starts. There was a tall bloke in front of Clare and the woman in front of me wasn't exactly tiny, so we had to strain our necks a little to see what was going on. Still, we've learned from our mistakes, had a good look at the layout of the theatre and will know for next time to pick seats no further forward than row H.
The title role was played by Anita Dobson of EastEnders fame, and she was fantastic. Darren Day was also in it, as Cornelius Hackl, and he was good, but I don't like to compliment losers, so I'll say no more about him, except that he has put on some serious weight...
Actually, after Anita Dobson, the people I was most impressed with were the 8 men who played the waiters (and various other parts, but this scene in particular was amazing) - they had a mind-boggling dance routine to do, and they did it brilliantly.
A great evening's entertainment - specially for only £14! Next on the list is Beyond the Barricade (a collection of songs from various West End musicals performed by 7 singers and musicians - a bit cheesy but well worth it) on 25 June, then we've resolved to see Blood Brothers when it comes to the Mayflower in October. Clare hasn't seen it before; I saw it in Manchester about 5 years ago and am desperate to see it again.
Clare got an e-mail from the Mayflower Theatre in Southampton on Tuesday, offering her two-for-one tickets for Hello Dolly!, which is only playing this week, so we decided to go. I saw this musical years ago and I remembered the title song and something about 'It only takes a moment' (one of the other songs), but I didn't really remember the storyline, and I wouldn't class it as one of the musicals I simply have to see, but it seemed silly to pass up half-price tickets!
Turns out it was a good move because we thoroughly enjoyed it. On the face of it, we had great seats - row F - but rows A to G are on the same level; it isn't till row H that the incline starts. There was a tall bloke in front of Clare and the woman in front of me wasn't exactly tiny, so we had to strain our necks a little to see what was going on. Still, we've learned from our mistakes, had a good look at the layout of the theatre and will know for next time to pick seats no further forward than row H.
The title role was played by Anita Dobson of EastEnders fame, and she was fantastic. Darren Day was also in it, as Cornelius Hackl, and he was good, but I don't like to compliment losers, so I'll say no more about him, except that he has put on some serious weight...
Actually, after Anita Dobson, the people I was most impressed with were the 8 men who played the waiters (and various other parts, but this scene in particular was amazing) - they had a mind-boggling dance routine to do, and they did it brilliantly.
A great evening's entertainment - specially for only £14! Next on the list is Beyond the Barricade (a collection of songs from various West End musicals performed by 7 singers and musicians - a bit cheesy but well worth it) on 25 June, then we've resolved to see Blood Brothers when it comes to the Mayflower in October. Clare hasn't seen it before; I saw it in Manchester about 5 years ago and am desperate to see it again.
Monday 2 June 2008
The weather permitted...
... so I rode into work this morning, and back again this afternoon. Surprisingly, I quite enjoyed it.
The journey to work includes a mile's worth of uphill climb - nothing too steep, but it just seemed to go on forever. On the way back this afternoon, though, it took no time at all to do the same stretch of road in reverse! Then there's a much shorter, but much steeper, uphill climb on the way back, which I found really difficult, but preferred it to the longer uphill this morning - at least it was over more quickly!
We were almost home when we stopped at a junction, I put my right foot down, got cramp in my toes, lost my balance and fell over - which wasn't the most glamorous thing I've ever done, but I'm sure given time I'll have worse falls than that.
Padded shorts were my lifesaver this afternoon - I'm pleased I'm not riding again tomorrow. Need to give my bum some time to recover!
The journey to work includes a mile's worth of uphill climb - nothing too steep, but it just seemed to go on forever. On the way back this afternoon, though, it took no time at all to do the same stretch of road in reverse! Then there's a much shorter, but much steeper, uphill climb on the way back, which I found really difficult, but preferred it to the longer uphill this morning - at least it was over more quickly!
We were almost home when we stopped at a junction, I put my right foot down, got cramp in my toes, lost my balance and fell over - which wasn't the most glamorous thing I've ever done, but I'm sure given time I'll have worse falls than that.
Padded shorts were my lifesaver this afternoon - I'm pleased I'm not riding again tomorrow. Need to give my bum some time to recover!
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