My niece Amy's 21st birthday celebration!

It only seems like yesterday, but 21 years has gone by since my niece Amy was born. And what a grand lass she has turned out to be.

Family and friends celebrated last night with Amy, and we enjoyed a great party. For those who couldn't make it due to this nasty winter flu virus, you missed one hell of a night.

In true family tradition the party had a theme - Cowboys & Indians. Amy was a very pretty Pocahontas, I was Shania Twain, and Sat Nav was Calamity Jane.

We ate, drank and were merry. We did some line-dancing, well . . . we had to really, didn't we?!
We also did a brilliant Ooops Upside Your Head . . . and my sister and I did some amazing Greek dancing to Zorba the Greek - complete with plate smashing. Well, they were paper plates actually, so it was more like flying saucers, but you get my drift ;-)

I was very pleased to meet Chloe, a friend of Amy's and a fan of Beautiful Strangers.

Happy 21st Birthday Amy xxxxxx

Masham Musical Society 2008 Annual Concert

On Saturday night I had the pleasure of attending Masham Musical Society's Annual Concert. The concert was billed as Now and Then.


This year they had a new conductor Mr. Jonathon Heitler and a new accompanist Mr. Anthony Rudd. Not only that, but they also had four new members. One was Sat Nav (Gloria) who had been practicing not only at rehearsals, but also at home for weeks. Of course she had me singing along too. We Gathered Lilacs in the kitchen, Ruled Britannia regularly. Razzle Dazzled Katie (our horse) in the stable, and were sure our neighbours were wondering Why Must The Show Go On? But they must have been relieved to hear that Christmas is Coming.


But seriously . . . that should give you some idea of the content of the night.

I wish I had taken my Union flag to wave when they sang Rule Britannia, but never daunted Brian and I waved our programmes ;-)

Their performance was absolutely fabulous! If you were in the audience you should Consider Yourself very lucky indeed.
And I'm not just saying that because Sat Nav made her debut with the society - it's true!

Congratulations and well done to everyone.

Beyonce and her hairy armpits.

I simply couldn't let this one go by without a comment.

Why on earth were people so shocked and horrified because Beyonce hadn't shaved her armpits?

Maybe she hadn't shaved for a reason. There are important lymph glands in the armpit, maybe she had a medical reason for not shaving. And if she didn't, surely it's up to her whether she shaves or not.

What if every woman in the world had hairy armpits, and one celebrity shaved? Would the media then photograph the shaven armpit? No! I don't think so.

Why should a fuzz create such a buzz?

The Prisoner of Zenda

On Tuesday North Country Theatre came to Fearby Village Hall and transformed it into Ruritania.

You might ask why.

They came to perform Nobby Dimon's ingenious adaptation of The Prisoner of Zenda - a novel by Anthony Hope.

It was billed as 'An hilarious ripping yarn of swashbuckling romance' and it was right on the button.

The cast:
Rudolph Rassendyll - Josh Boyd-Rochford
Melbecks, Col Sapt & others - Nobby Dimon
Rose, Lady Burlesdon, Antoinette de Mauban - Vivienne Garnett
Lord Burlesdon, Kind Rudolf of Ruritania, Rupert of Hentzau - Simon Kirk
Heidi, Princess Flavia - Victoria Brazier

Audience participation is always a big part of North Country Theatre productions, and tonight was no exception. We were asked to show our support by choosing either a red or a black flag to wave at the appropriate times. I was a royalist so waved a red flag. Sat Nav (Gloria) waved a black flag in support of Black Michael (who incidentally was a puppet) . . . you had to be there! We also had a line to remember and this made us very much a part of the action.

The audience were in fits of laughter when the improvised horses appeared and galloped around the hall. And there were loud oohs and aahs during the sword fencing scene, which was extremely cleverly done.

This is the third production I have seen by North Country Theatre, and already I am looking forward to the next one.