Ann Summers party.

Last night I went to a Ann Summers fund raiser party for Breast Cancer Care with my friends Libby and Fiona. What a fun night it was . . . as you can imagine there were plenty of toys with batteries. There were rampant rabbits in all colours even a 'rainbow' one (what a speed they went, in my opinion these are excellent for anybody with arthritis) and sexy lingerie. You'll never guess who modeled the sexy Santa outfit . . . you got it, it was mwah! And didn't I look good ;-)

But it wasn't all batteries and bra's - but hang on . . . perhaps it was.

We played games . . . a lady from each table had to collect specific items i.e. a gold earring, a stiletto, a chocolate willy, and a bra. Libby represented our table and when it came to the bra she whipped hers off quicker than Hyacinth could (from under her top of course). And then she ate the chocolate willy!

Then it was Ruby Diamond's spot - an absolutely fantastic drag comedienne.
Ruby's songs were raunchy, original and performed with great panache - as always. The audience were in total awe and the applause was tremendous.
If you ever get the chance to see Ruby's show, don't miss it.

But on a serious note, the night was well attended and I understand raised a substantial amount of money for the breast cancer charity. And I mustn't forget to mention the tasty supper we enjoyed.

The Cat's Away

It's been a week of drama for Sat Nav and I. First the Magic of the Musicals, and then Masham Players (our local amateur dramatic society) were performing their autumn production of 'The Cat's Away' on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. This was directed by our good friend and fellow myspacer Brian, who described the play as 'a comedy of a misconstrued situation, misplaced intentions, an over-bearing mother-in-law, and broken garden ornaments!'

The first few rehearsals didn't go well at all, and we thought the play was jinxed. It certainly was a case of the cast pulling everything together at the eleventh hour. In amateur dramatics time is a huge commitment with everybody giving up their valuable time. One of the cast ended up on antibiotics two days before the opening night, another had a sore throat, but carried on valiantly. And the lines . . . well they just refused to be learnt :-) So much so that we thought we were going to have to send Brian for therapy lol!

Ticket sales for Friday and Saturday were very poor because Friday clashed with children in need and Saturday clashed with a musical event happening in the church, so in line with that Sat Nav (business manager) didn't bother to order any extra ice creams for Saturday night . . . big mistake as it turned out. But she is blaming Fiona for that because she talked it over with her and their decision was unanimous lol!

Thursday night we had almost a full house. I was usherette and sold ice cream with Sat Nav and Fiona. My, don't I live the high life. On Thursday nights the cast and crew prepare and serve the audience with an after show supper. You have to be quick on your feet and get out of the way of the stampede down to the supper room at the end of the show.

Friday night I am happy to report we had almost a full house too, I am happy to say that word had got around just what a great production it was. The cast and crew all signed a programme, and so did the writer Ian Hornby who had traveled quite a way to attend. Brian auctioned the programme for children in need and raised £30 which Sat Nav will be banking for them tomorrow. Ice cream sales went well, but going on past performances Sat Nav and Fiona still decided there should be enough. Wrong!

Saturday night sales started very slowly and then whoosh . . . almost a full house again and guess what? They ran out of ice creams. Sat Nav was mortified.

So congratulations to the director Brian who pulled it off in the end and to the cast and crew.

It makes me realize how much I miss treading the boards. Maybe next time. Whoops! I can feel a song coming on.

Masham Players Spring 2008 Production dates 13th, 14th, 15th March.

The Magic of the Musicals

Last night Sat Nav and I were excited.
We were braving the traffic and heading up the A1 again, in the dark ugh, en route for Darlington to see The Magic of the Musicals Show at the Civic Theatre.
For once the traffic was a breeze so we arrived early but, when we got to the theatre, it was under siege. This was obviously a very popular show.

Settled in our seats in the front row of the dress circle - and coincidentally I was sitting next to a fellow author - we waited expectantly for the show to start. Wish the seats were a bit more comfortable though, and, we could have done with more leg room.
At 7.30pm the curtain went up and the theatre became alive with The Sound of Music (and so did Darlington), then together we Climbed Every Mountain, loitered High on a Hill with a Lonely Goatherd, and rode along in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Bliss.

Next up were two of my favourite Abba songs, Waterloo and Mamma Mia. Well . . . I had to sing along, didn't I? (Don't worry, I'd already asked the people around us not to throw their Malteasers at me when I sang!)

Along the way we had some Summer Loving from Grease and lingered for a while on The Street Where You Live (Sat Nav's favourite).

This was one hell of a show. Melanie Stace was the female lead vocalist, and gave a cracking performance. Dr. Hyacinth would have loved her glittery purple dress.
Robert Meadmore was the male lead vocalist. He kindly encouraged the audience to sing along with him - which we did with gusto!
The charismatic Wayne Sleep surprised us all with his vocal talents and his brilliant dancing. He is just so clever . . . his funky version of Swan Lake was brilliant.

We had the absolute joy of live music from The Magic of the Musicals Orchestra (Sat Nav is now seriously considering finding time to go for those Sax lessons she has been talking about for ages . . . I've ordered cotton wool for myself and the dogs to protect our ears!).
Then there were the singers and dancers who were very much a part of this show. What can I say about them except that the girls were as sweet as a Spoonful of Sugar . . . lol!
And my God they must all be really fit to sing and dance at the pace they do.

So, Sat Nav and I applaud them. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and if you can get tickets to see the show . . . GO.
There aren't many performances left as the show finishes its UK run on 19th November at the Alexandra Theatre in Birmingham.
BUT, it is in London at the Palladium for one show only on 18th November at 4pm. Don't know what the state of play is with tickets but you might be lucky.
Flying Music presented the show so you might like to check out dates and venues on their website Flyingmusic

Got to go now . . . I need to be On My Own for a little while . . . Sat Nav is going out so I will be Master of the House till she gets back . . . lol!
Wait a minute . . . I forgot to tell you what their finale was . . . very appropriately the entire cast performed I Am What I Am . . . and the entire audience joined in. Terrific stuff.