Theatre: Quality Street........

Phoebe Throssel lives on Quality Street, the bustling hub of a quaint northern town where she runs a school for unruly children.
Ten years since a tearful goodbye, an old flame returns from fighting Napoleon. But the look of disappointment on Captain Valentine’s face when he greets a more mature, less glamorous Phoebe, spurs our determined heroine to action. She becomes the wild and sparkling Miss Livvy, a younger alter-ego who soon entraps the clueless Captain.

As their romance is rekindled, can she juggle both personas? Or will her deception scandalise the town and wreck any future with the man she loves? J.M. Barrie’s delicious farce, written years before his now much-loved Peter Pan, was so well known in its day that it gave its name to the UK’s most popular chocolates, made in Halifax since 1936.

In Laurie Sansom’s directorial debut for Northern Broadsides, this rare revival also features a commentary from the Quality Street™ factory workers, whose own stories of hapless romance and growing old disgracefully give the show a playful Yorkshire twist.

============================

Well it's quite difficult to know what to say about this. This is a good story with a clever amusing script but I would never have described it as farce as it was far too slow and wordy. Daughter said "That ball seemed to go on forever". 

The introduction of the factory workers was confusing. Audience that were caught up in the play wasn't funny just annoying. And their having to keep explaining what was obviously going on was totally patronising. 

Mixing the old and new also spilled onto the set design with period furniture covered in crochet and walls of industrial metal poles. To make the connection between the Quality Street drama and the chocolates for the second half they decorated the metal poles with huge shiny flower shapes and dressed all those at the ball in shiny sweet wrappers. 

I also dislike the constant use of the dry smoke and as we were in the pit in row B our heads were level with the stage and breathing it in. 

And the final line by one of the factory workers was "So now you know why the chocolates were called Quality Street", and really they hadn't said why at all. 

Remember when the tin was this big? 

Oh dear that makes the whole thing sound a dreadful evening, but it wasn't. Overall it was a pleasant evening at the theatre and gave the three of us plenty to talk about all the way home.

On another plus note, we sat in the pit of the Theatre Royal, Bury St Edmunds and it's a beautiful old Regency theatre with the circle and upper circle as all individual boxes.

And that was over a week ago and the last out-of-the-house social event I'll go to until we get the coronavirus all clear. Stay safe everyone!
.

Itchy feet?......

In this instance itchy feet meaning can't sit still.....or no opportunity to 😉
We got back from our Spanish holiday in the early hours on the Sunday, our wedding anniversary, but we didn't celebrate apart from Hubby buying me some flowers when he went shopping. I processed a lot of laundry!

Then a call from Daughter, who was at Kentwell Hall performing in the month long Halloween Scaresville event. R was also there but had overdone the physical stuff chasing customers through cages while dressed in a rat costume (I'm only repeating what was told to me), so Hubby went to get her and she moved in here. She didn't have any clothes with her apart from what she was wearing, so I shopped.

Monday I needed a fasting blood test which meant crossing town during rush hour. 
Tuesday E messaged to see if we could pick her up from Ipswich train station after her all day journey back from Scotland. Hubby did and she moved in here too. Poor thing was suffering with a head cold. Hubby and I were out that evening with our usual Wednesday gang although yes it was Tuesday. To give one of these friends I needed a birthday present I hadn't actually bought yet, so R and I made a dash into town and it was bought wrapped and given within a couple of hours.

I checked that O was happy staying with M and as D was with them too and they were boys together playing techy stuff at the CCC lab they were more than happy to stay as they were, however, M said the dog wasn't as happy so Wednesday Tilly moved in here. Which also meant making R her bed on the floor downstairs.

Obviously there was plenty more laundry to do as E came home with a suitcase and R had a few changes now. There were meals to cook too. I was also backwards and forwards to my surgery as they are trying to control my very high blood pressure. Hubby is taking Tilly out for a very long walk (often with a bit of a run) every morning so she had been quite relaxed for the rest of the day, although not always this relaxed hahaha

M, D and O had organised to go to Comic-Con in London on Saturday and late on Thursday M contacted the girls to invite them along. E declined as she was still full of cold and R accepted, so we took her home Friday to gather up the previously prepared but unfinished costume. Between me and R we made the Garfield cat ears. She looked great, even though I still have no idea who her character is.

Sunday R seemed to sleep nearly all day and sounding like she's getting the head cold. E was up at a reasonable time and had a two hour driving lesson. Hubby was out most of the day with his blood runners team mates. And Son came for a visit arriving lunchtime and staying for a good chatty few hours.

Hubby took the girls and the dog home after we'd all had dinner. The house seemed quite empty! But they were all back a few days later and again for Halloween.

The other reason for itchy feet is far more literal. As I've said we are trying to control my blood pressure, so the doctors have been tweaking the pills I'm already on, doubling dosages and also adding extra........so not only do I now rattle but I'm also getting side effects which include increased joint pains and some persistent itching mostly my scalp, hands and feet!
.

Theatre: In Loyal Company.......

Hosted by Red Rose Chain

In Loyal Company is the incredible true story of missing World War II soldier and prisoner of War Arthur Robinson, written and performed by his great-nephew, David William Bryan.

May 1941. Hitler’s bombs rain on Liverpool. Local packer, Arthur Robinson, joins up becoming a private in the 18th reconnaissance division. Deployed to Singapore, his ship is destroyed by Japanese dive bombers on arrival. Arthur is declared missing. This extraordinary true story of survival is a tour-de-force war epic.

========================================

I was so moved by this play last night. An amazing powerful emotional performance about a Liverpool lad, youngest of six, going off to war in WWll. He is captured by the Japs, shares with us the horrors of Changi and is worked hard building a railway. 

Very moving indeed. Nothing on stage but him and a chair and he made about four minor costume changes, however you were drawn in to every part of his life and his emotions. He also gave character and substance to many other people that were part of his story.  

The Liverpool Blitz is scarily brought to life by powerful sound and light effects, in fact all the way through one man on sound and light did a brilliant job from a very small technical desk at the back of the room (beside me).

This was visual storytelling at its very best.

I was the first to stand and applaud, however, I'm short and from one of the raised tiers he probably didn't notice I was standing hahaha.

It was the true story of his great uncle. Afterwards I told him it was also my dad's story who had also spent nearly five years as a POW, dad had been in Changi and built the Kawasaki Railway, David hugged me!

I didn't even know about this. It was one night only and Daughter had bought tickets for her and R but couldn't go at the last minute so I went with R. 

It was meant to be eh? 

.

Time Travel and Travelling on Time.......

It's time for Daughter to be her Tudor self again, starting today (Friday 16th August) for the next 11 days. Today she left home with E and E's friend and O. O will be there till Tuesday evening and E till Friday morning.

Before they left Daughter brought R and their dog Tilly who will our guests for the duration. Tilly came with more luggage than R did.
We don't want Tilly sleeping upstairs on beds and we don't want to stress her by making her sleep alone as she doesn't do that at home, so R said she'll sleep in the office with the dog as it's downstairs and has easy access to the garden.

Her bed was installed and she promptly did a wee on the blankets  (that's Tilly not R) which immediately went into the washing machine. Guess she needed to mark her territory!
When it's not bedtime, as usual the lounge windowsill is her favourite place.

Hubby took R to her theatre duties for 4pm and another friend is very kindly bringing her home. I'm out to dinner with friends so Hubby has the evening to himself and dog duty. 

Most days when R has theatre duties we start at home packing a picnic for her to take, this was a double as on matinee and evening performance days she's there from 10:30am to 10pm.

Although Tilly enjoys free movement in our garden, which is big enough for her to have a little run around, most days Hubby has taken her out for change of scenery. Because she doesn't go out for walks off lead at all Hubby has been running with her, so hopefully getting him fitter too. 

R's friend F is also doing some of the volunteer theatre crew shifts, so her mum and I have arranged swapsies where I've offered F sleepover nights to save them being in two places at once and in return they are giving R some lifts home to save Hubby turning out past his bedtime 😉 although on "end of show party" night he did do the pickup for both girls at midnight. 

We've also had O here for an overnight Thursday and all day Friday. E also came home early Friday as she is going to the Ed Sheeran concert being held very locally to us, she also slept over so she could be up and showered at 7am Saturday as she'd arranged a lift back to Kentwell. 

Ipswich has been full on with Ed's homecoming concert. TV, radio, local paper coverage and of course everyone having an opinion on social media (always some moaners but mostly good).

E went Friday night and said it was amazing. I heard that M had taken O Sunday night and they both loved it. Daughter&M's house is only about 10mins walk from the venue so M and O have listened to it all from their garden each night. 

Today is now Bank Holiday Monday and Theatre in the Forest finished last night. R and her friend F having a free day decided to invite a few friends, from here they have walked to Daughter&M's house so they can experience the last night of the concert, in audio. 

So just Tilly to collect when Daughter gets home. Meanwhile we are both happy relaxing with the doors open and the fan on. 

Birthday, Boat, Broads, Buffet........

I really wanted to do something a little different for this year's birthday as we normally get together for a family meal but as we all have varying dietary needs and some fidgit if we sit still for too long it can be challenging.

I mentioned this to a friend just in passing and she suggested hiring a day boat on the Norfolk Broads! I told Hubby, Daughter and Son adding that I'd like a picnic on board and everybody loved the idea.

Early gathering at our house, which daughter called Parental HQ, then because unfortunately a few family members couldn't come, we all fitted into Daughter's car. Just under two hours to get there. The boat handover at was really straightforward and efficient. We were kitted out with life jackets and Hubby and Son got on board for a guide to what's where and how it all works. Then we all installed ourselves and our stuff and we were off.

As you can see in the photos we had a really nice boat, very well equipped with two ring burner, kettle, plenty of crockery, cutlery and tea towels and dishcloths etc, we had a loo too!

Hubby and Son were in charge for all the busy areas or tricky moorings but O took the wheel as Captain for a lot of the time and quickly got to understand the delay in reaction time when steering and the drifting just with the water movement pushing on the boat. So a happy 10 year old makes us all happy.

We really didn't know how the dog would react as on land she will often bark like mad at other dogs or people. So having never done anything water based or boaty before would she bark at every goose, swan or passing boat? No! She seemed interested in everything, constantly going from one side to the other to look out, loved getting off each time for walks and happy each time to get back on board. So well behaved, although she was kept on a very short lead the whole time.

Daughter and Son had brought so much food and a birthday cake plus candles. When we got home M joined us too and we still didn't finish off the food hahaha.

Such a lovely day with my favourite people and good weather for a fun activity. Memories to keep forever.

The rest of the photos are HERE
.

June was worth writing about.....

.......but I just didn't. Guess nothing was amazingly, instantly, worthy of sharing. But there was a mix of highs, lows and just the normal plodding along.

M's Creative Computing Club moved into its very own premises and we had helped where we could with the building refurbishment to get it lab ready for classes (hubby far more useful than me). We were invited to the Grand Opening event, lots of people there and all saying lovely things about M and I even saw a couple of people I know. So very proud of M and Daughter too and all they've achieved so far, although I've a feeling there will be bigger dreams M wants to achieve. He was also honored by a BAFTA award for best UK mentor to young games designers! WOW

We've had the usual coffee morning and I've attended my monthly craft day where I've taken this black knitting for quite some time, well I finally finished the knitting (but sewn together in July).

With Daughter E has been doing uni visits. Some have needed sleepovers with friends nearby and that often means sleepover here too for O. R and Tilly like to spend their daytime here but we can't have the dog overnight so we take them home mid-evening.

I needed a third op for bladder cancer, thankfully this closer look found nothing that needed removal but they took biopsies anyway and they gave clear results. 😀

I've been playing with boro/shakio visible mending. This is a very old (and comfy) tshirt I sleep in.

Also in my bid to save throwing stuff into landfill I made some kitchen scrubbies from double thickness old towelling and the netting bag that satsumas come in. They seem to work quite well and regularly get thrown into the dishwasher so no chance of getting smelly.

SERV as a charity mostly using bike riders, have now decided all their riders need to be advanced level, so Hubby is now doing advanced rider lessons. Apparently he has a few minor bad habits that need correcting hahaha

Now summer events for SERV are in full swing I'm often alone at weekends when he's standing in a field/fete/supermarket entrance and some of Fridays when he's out filling the van or setting up mostly with M&S (not the store) hard working local volunteers and friends. Along with others he does talks and attends presentations too.

Daughter had 10 days at Kentwell, so we go into child+dog care mode. Daughter started the first four days with O as E was staying with friends. On the Monday Hubby took E to Kentwell and brought O back to stay with us. Meanwhile the whole time R and Tilly were picked up every morning and taken home every evening, and some days she was working at Red Rose Theatre so Hubby was constant transport and I was constant cook. Love having them here. Discovered our garden isn't totally dog-proof as she got out twice! Tilly likes a lot of attention

I had a lovely catchup lunch with friends made some 23 years ago when we did the art A level course. Two students and the teacher.
.

Theatre: Private Lives.....

Directed by Joanna Carrick
At Red Rose Chain Avenue Theatre

Here come the fireworks! And the martini cocktails!

It’s Noël Coward’s best loved and multi-award winning comedy – new and 

re-imagined! Private Lives follows the escapades of former lovers Amanda and Elyot as they suddenly reunite…while on their honeymoons to other people! But is it new love or true love? And can they really live with(out) each other? Featuring popular songs of the era, prepare to see sparks fly in Joanna Carrick’s interpretation of this wickedly funny Spring time comedy.

Our love-struck stars of Much Ado About Nothing – Fizz Waller and Ricky Oakley – reunite this March! Joined by multi-talented newcomer to Red Rose Chain Harriet Leitch alongside Red Rose Chain favourite Ryan Penny (The Elves & The Shoemaker, As You Like It, Treasure Island).

Also introducing Rei Mordue from our youth theatre as Louise the Housemaid.

============================

  

This was so good Daughter and I saw it twice!
Actually we bought tickets for first night as this is R's debut in her first professional play, then Daughter was invited to press night and I was her guest.

As this is an arena stage or theatre-in-the-round (which is more square than round) we sat on opposite sides of the stage each time and got very different perspectives.
I'll not say too much that might spoil it for anyone who hasn't seen it yet and I hope you do get to see it.

First night on Tuesday was very funny and we both thoroughly enjoyed it. R was brilliant, of course, and made the wonky trolley wheel look like it was meant to be a bother to her. Very proud Grandma 😊
Press night on Thursday was packed with invited guests who are not all press. It started with a reception in the foyer with drinks and nibbles. The actors seemed more relaxed into their characters and the audience were loudly enthusiastic. Another hilarious performance by them all.
After Thursday's we were also given a performance by members of the Youth Theatre called 'Marvellous Moments' based on memories of those living with dementia. The young actors had gathered the information by visiting local care homes and talking to dementia sufferers then writing their own script. R was part of this too. It was very moving. I'm not sure if this is being performed again or when.

More very proud Grandma moments when I read the reviews. Here are links to just two of them and they say lovely things about R 😊
Ipswich24
Theatre Cat
.

Ends and beginnings......

Although there was the tricky (medical) start to December and I had to cancel some social events the rest of the month saw plenty of friends, family and celebrations.

Two lots of meeting friends for lunches. Our Wednesday group of friends celebrated twice, we had our posh hotel dinner as an annual usual but this year we ended the night back in the pub to see a friend who couldn't make it to the meal and of course so the men could play pool. Us ladies felt a little overdressed for the pub hahaha. The following Wednesday friendM cooked at home for us, we were told to dress in a suitable fashion hahaha, it was a delicious three course roast. Yummy!

I went with neighbours to our annual Eastern Angles Christmas performance, Fenland Screamers, and I've been with Daughter and O to see Alice in Wonderland. Both brilliant.

Hubby and I had a last minute trip into town as he had fundraising money to pay in, and the bank teller kept a cheery smile on her face as we held up the queue and she dealt with a mountain of coins. Then we had a mad dash throughout town looking for vegan jelly crystals and with so many shops telling us they sell it but we're sold out we eventually got what I believe were the last four packets in the whole of Ipswich!

Christmas day was at our house with Daughter, M, R, E and O. And if I say so myself dinner came out really well 😆 even the vegan trifle. It was of course a day of eating, unwrapping, board games, more eating, tv etc.

Boxing day was just as good with Daughter&co plus Son&fiancé here too! Yep lots more eating 😅

Sadly early in December one of our neighbours died. She was in her 80s and mostly stayed at home but she was always the first to arrive at coffee morning, sitting at the head of the table and enjoying all the conversations. I hadn't heard from her after I'd been in hospital and alerted another neighbour who holds a spare key and he went in and found her. 😔

New Year's Eve was also the morning when another good friend lost her battle. She had been in hospital for just a couple of weeks but had deteriorated quite rapidity. Sad times! 😔

The year ended on a very big high. Our house was open for....
Family day/NYE party/Daughter's 40th!
Starting about noon family arrived, think the total count was 25 including 3 teens, 3 children, 1 toddler, 1 baby and a dog! Have to say Daughter's dog Tilly was so well behaved considering how different it must have all been for her.
Most of the family had to leave early evening although Son&fiancé and sisterS&bilK stayed to soon be joined by 60+ of Daughter's friends to see in the new year and celebrate her big birthday. We were even joined by dinosaurs!

A fantastic party and lots of help with the clearing up which was fantastic. We played host to some sleeping over guests and Daughter did the same so breakfasts and brunch with extra company to start the year off.
.

Christmas has started......

Yes I know it started about two months ago in shop windows and adverts etc but I try so hard to ignore it until I'm ready, well this weekend I bought all my Christmas cards and wrote them all (I send a lot) but of course I'll not do anything with them until it's December.

Saturday O and I went to our first Christmas Fair and end of term show at Red Rose Chain Theatre Company. We started with a look around the stalls, O had a hot chocolate and cake and he also paid a visit to Santa in his grotto.

If you follow that link you can read that Red Rose do amazing community work by making theatre inclusive for everyone and run groups for disabled and educationally challenged too. All the groups were represented in this show with 60 performers on stage. 

Daughter has been helping out with her Tudor music and teaching a group Tudor dances to add to their version of the Princess and the Pea story.

Another group did a very lively version of The Tinderbox story, but unfortunately I haven't got a photo of them. 

And the Youth Theatre did a great job of showing us what happened to the characters after we saw them in their Dread Zeppelin play, with a few of them doing all the research and writing the scripts. R was part of the script team and that's her playing the accordion, proud Grandma moment☺

There was a preview song by the cast of Alice which is the theatre's Christmas show and then all performers got us singing along to Rudolf the Red Nose Reindeer. 

Brilliant!

.

Daughter's Tudor Tavern.......

Emma Mordue and Melford Hys Companie present
A Night at The Red Rose Tavern

Join us for an immersive evening of music, plays, food and dancing from the alehouses of old. From bawdy songs to morality plays the event promises to bring hearty laughter and full bellies, and the true flavour of 16th Century Ipswiche.

Local early musician Emma Mordue performs at music and dance workshops and events up and down the country, and as part of The Kentwell Players, at the Great Tudor Re-creations at Kentwell Hall. Playing a range of historical instruments, she can often be seen at festivals and events portraying a variety of historical and mythical walkabout characters as well as hosting informal renaissance music evenings at both private parties and public events.

Melford Hys Companie have been performing together for 25 years, portraying  a company of travelling entertainers in the Tudor and Medieval periods. In historically accurate dress, with props, instruments and accessories of the time, they portray life on the road through well developed characters with authentic names, histories and speech. At a Melford Hys Companie event you will be entertained with music, dance and plays from the period. Some plays are funny, some more serious, but whilst there may be a moral to the tale you can be sure the actors will tell it with infectious enthusiasm and a good dose of healthy irreverence.

Both Emma and The Melfords have a common aim – to have fun and pass this on to audiences along with accurate historical insight. Participation is positively encouraged, though not obligatory.

We are pleased to have period caterer Gerry Rhodes providing dishes of the era.

=================================

I'm so very proud of Daughter (= Emma Mordue) who undertook for the first time to organise a whole event in a theatre. It was a great success. Almost non-stop entertainment as they only allowed themselves a 15min interval in just over three hours. Musicianship was brilliant and the Mummers' plays were hilarious.

I'd taken friendKK as she's great for getting into the spirit of this sort of thing and it was just like old times when she would come with me when my very talented musician Daughter gave performances as a child/teen with school or consort or solo.

Both Granddaughters were also there, E as a Tudor came out to dance with Daughter and R as always was in her Red Rose Chain sweatshirt working front of house and waiting tables with the other Youth Theatre volunteers.

Yes I'm very proud indeed ☺
.

Theatre: The Lovely Bones......

The stage premiere of the world-famous novel.

Susie Salmon is just like any other young girl. She wants to be beautiful, adores her charm bracelet and has a crush on a boy from school. There’s one big difference though – Susie is dead.
Now she can only observe while her family manage their grief in their different ways. Her father, Jack is obsessed with identifying the killer. Her mother, Abigail is desperate to create a brighter future. And her sister, Lindsay is discovering the opposite sex with experiences that Susie will never know. Susie is desperate to help them and there might be a way of reaching them…

Alice Sebold’s novel The Lovely Bones is a unique coming-of-age tale that captured the hearts of readers throughout the world. Award-winning playwright Bryony Lavery has adapted it for this uplifting play about life after loss.

================================

WOW this was amazing and had me laughing a little and crying too but mostly just wide eyed amazed!

I was totally drawn into the whole story powerfully told.

Some clever simple effects like the salt drawn boundaries, or climbing through a wooden frame to represent going down through the tap door. Not so simple was the set which was actually made up of a huge screen which together with the lighting was mirrors so some of the time we could see through them and some of the time the whole stage was reflected upside down, like heaven looking down on life.

They totally deserved our standing ovation!

Once again R used our spare ticket and she thoroughly enjoyed it too.
.

Theatre: Trial by Laughter.........

Following critical acclaim for The Wipers Times, Ian Hislop and Nick Newman have once again taken inspiration from real life events for their new play Trial by Laughter. 

William Hone, the forgotten hero of free speech, was a bookseller, publisher and satirist. In 1817, he stood trial for ‘impious blasphemy and seditious libel’. The only crime he had committed was to be funny. Worse than that he was funny by parodying religious texts. And worst of all, he was funny about the despotic government and the libidinous monarchy.

=================================

We had tickets for the matinee and one of our four couldn't come but a message to R got her out of bed and a quick shower and food and she came instead. Hubby drove me, R and T to the theatre as parking during the day is tricky and expensive.

First impression was I loved the set, solid and dark wood as I'd imagine a courtroom of the age. Later it revealed some of the panels cleverly pulled out to make various furniture formations, desks, dock etc.

Interesting that this is based on real life people and events. All the actors were great at quick changes into many larger than life characters. The script was fast and very wordy but our main criticism was it was all one level, no highs or lows which unfortunately made it so flat and boring that our other two friends left at the interval and never came back. R and I saw it through to the end. Not the best but plenty to talk about afterwards.

Then Hubby came to collect us and while we were waiting out in the cold and dark I met someone from our babysitting circle days of about 35 years ago! Then home dropping R at her drama group on the way, where they are having final rehearsals for the extra performances of their recent sell out run of Dread Zeppelin. Think this Youth Theatre could teach professionals a thing or two sometimes.
.

Theatre: Dread Zeppelin.......

Red Rose Chain youth theatre presents an explosive new show packed with local WW1 history, drama, terror, espionage and romance… Bet you never knew so much had gone on in sleepy old Ipswich!

Researched by our young people with historian Mandy Rawlins, Dread Zeppelin is a brand new history play written by Joanna Carrick to mark the Centenary. Supported by Heritage Lottery Fund and starring a 26-strong cast!

=========================================

I cannot praise this performance enough, yes I'm a little biased as my granddaughter R had one of the lead roles!

A large cast of wonderful individual characters, singing, dancing, accordion playing and a script all based on real life local events in WWII. They totally deserved the standing ovation.

This is the review they got in our local newspaper.......

http://www.eadt.co.uk/what-s-on/review-red-rose-chain-youth-theatre-dread-zeppelin-ipswich-1-5735608

Like Piccadilly Circus.......

This has been Daughter's main summer event as a Tudor so as usual we are here for any grandchildren that remain in the 21st century.

Daughter went off on Friday with E and O and now O is bigger he's having a go at being a Page to the Gentry.

R is staying with us for the duration (11 days) and as she is working (voluntarily) for Red Rose Chain while they put on Much Ado About Nothing at Jimmy's Farm, Theatre in the Forest we started our substitute parenting by collecting her at 10:15pm as we did every night after, dropping her there for 4:30pm. I say we but actually Hubby did every run apart from Friday night collection. 

She/we had Sunday and Monday off (Hubby was out all Sunday fundraising) then as a last minute thing R tells me she really needs a 1930/40s style costume for the following Sunday as they are holding a street party for the audience before the final performance. She had a look in mind and what she really wanted was a beige knitted tank top and had looked in the charity shops in Ipswich without success so Monday we went to Felixstowe as they have an abundance of charity shops and a lot of elderly residents so if not there then I doubt we'd find one anywhere. Well all we found was a very washed out beige long-sleeved jumper which I restyled for her and paired it with a white shirt and black skirt still in the wardrobe from her mother's teenage concert playing days (see I knew they would be useful one day).

She chose not to wear the belt

Also R had wished she'd brought her devil sticks with for something to do, so on the way back from shopping we called into home but her key wouldn't work, second attempt M let her in but she couldn't find the sticks bag, third attempt after messaging her mum asking if she'd left them in the car and told she hadn't they were found yippee (I drove a lot of miles to get them considering they only live 5 minutes away).

Monday evening we had a phone call from Daughter to say E wasn't feeling very well and will probably benefit from a couple of days rest from camping so Hubby went to get her. While here she ate well and slept well but did very little all day Tuesday, I'd started the day with my weekly physio circuit training session so was pleased they didn't need me to do more than sort meals and make packed food for R to take with.   Wednesday E got motivated to get arty and creative and needed me to hunt out art materials at various times, she also needed Hubby to sort computer/scanner/printer etc. 

Meanwhile I finished knitting a cotton top which unfortunately turned out far too small for me and although knitted all from one cone seems to have a shade change across the front! I was given the cone of cotton so no costs lost so I'll put this into a charity bag and maybe someone will love it. 

Very early Thursday Daughter arrived to grab a shower and collect E to get to college and pick up her exam results (two very good passes) she then took E back to Kentwell with her and had intentionally left O behind as he'd had enough. His Tudor shift was covered in clay and he told us he quite enjoyed being a page but hated having to wait until all the Gentry had eaten before the servants were fed, so he gave that up and spent lots of time in the pottery. 

He took up his usual position on the floor by the door, as there are sockets available there, and gets stuck into his technology (making music this time).

He stopped for a while when an experiment came to mind of "how can I position mirrors up and down the room to reflect images remotely like watching tv round corners". He was thrilled to see we had saved some mirror tiles under a bed for just in case!

This had to be an ongoing experiment and the mirrors had to remain in place for days! 

Thursday we also had a visit from sister-in-law who hasn't been here for years so it was lovely to see her. She came by bus and then train and Hubby picked her up from the station. We all had lunch together and later tea and cake then Hubby had to take R to Jimmy's Farm for theatre of course and O wanted some extra computing stuff from home so by the time he did that he was almost late for taking SIL back to catch her train so a bit of a rushed farewell.

R was telling O about her theatre work and all about this Shakespeare play in the forest and so O said he really really wanted to see it. So I booked us a couple of tickets for Friday night. I've given our night out it's own blog post. 

Friday M opened R's post as requested by R and gave her her exam result via messenger, also a good pass. 

We had arranged for R's friend F (who also volunteers for theatre) to sleep over Saturday night as they have the end of show party for cast and crew till midnight and a last performance Sunday. I've known F and her mum for years as they are friends of Daughter. Twin beds in R's room so no problem. Then Saturday evening R sends a message do I mind if two more girls stay over as well. Of course I said they could and gathered plenty of bedding for them in the lounge to use the four recliners as beds. Hubby had to wait ages for them in the car park and they got back at nearly 1am and I could hear them chatting for ages. 

Unfortunately O had a bad evening not being able to get to sleep so I was up and down, then when I'd seen the girls home I got into bed with O and stayed there till morning, each time I tried to leave he cuddled up so I couldn't. 

All up and breakfasted and then Hubby goes out for the day with his friends which had been arranged ages ago. So I cleared away all the bedding, done two loads of washing, and made packed food times four for them to take to theatre. Because of the forecast really wet weather the forest had been cancelled and moved to their much much smaller Avenue venue so R got a message could her and the girls come at 2pm instead as the whole set needs rebuilding. 

Now of course I've the "fox-chicken-corn" situation with a five seater car, driver plus four girls plus O. It's now raining really heavily, thankfully it's so close that I made two trips. 

So O now had me all to himself and first request was baking

followed by board games at the table. 

Bank holiday Monday and I'm home with Hubby R and O and nowhere to rush to! A much quieter day, O happy to watch tv or sit with his ipad and headphones. R didn't even get out of bed till 3pm. Ending the day with a full roast dinner and thought Daughter and E would be back to share dinner with us before taking the children home. But they were running really late so we gathered all their stuff, and there was lots, and I took them home. 

.

Theatre: Much Ado About Nothing.....

Who says romance is dead?…Well that might have been Beatrice and Benedick during one of their legendary skirmishes of wit, but luckily the lovebirds Claudio and Hero have a cunning plan…So what could possibly go wrong? This year’s Theatre in the Forest brings Shakespeare’s hilarious comedy of courage and courtship to the beautiful woods of Jimmy’s Farm!

MUCH ADO features some of Shakespeare’s most iconic couples and we’re over the moon to have a cast full of familiar faces this year, who will be lending their extraordinary musical talents as we take you back in time to the 1940s!

===============================================

R is living with us while Daughter is away and is working voluntarily for Red Rose Chain Theatre company while they are doing this year's Theatre in the Forest, so we can be transport there and back (and making sure she's fed).

O arrived on Thursday sleeping over till Monday and really wanted to see this. So I booked tickets for the two of us for Friday night and R very kindly reserved two front and middle of the raised seats which are probably the best seats to have.

It was all great fun, very lively actors making Shakespeare’s dialogue fit with post war characters and even some song and dance thrown in. There was also a lot of audience inclusion some of which was hilarious and the audience responded well with loud applause or laughter or clapping along or cheering whichever was appropriate at the time.

Then just before the interval it started raining and unfortunately never stopped. The interval was cut short and the second half started amid people sorting their coats and extra giant rain ponchos we'd been given. The show went on of course and the cast brilliantly ignored the weather apart from a few ad-lib comments. Unfortunately audience enthusiasm was definitely dampened! Overall though O and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
.

Comes around every year.....

Yes I've had another birthday 😊
Lots of lovely presents including another me

from Hubby, so no excuse for clothes that don't fit properly because I can't pin them on myself. I need to spend some time getting her to my size. Think she needs a name too. 

This birthday seems to be a continuous eating out celebration. 

Last Tuesday was a Mexican birthday dinner with my girl friends. 

I eat out every Wednesday night anyway.

Friday lunchtime we had a birthday lunch with Daughter, M, R, E and O. That pub was chosen mainly because it had a great outside play area but unfortunately it was raining so O nerve got to use it. 

Saturday (my actual birthday) Hubby took me out and after a couple of rainy days all day Saturday was sunny and very warm. 

We started at Thorpeness and had a good walk around 

Lunch was by the boating lake watching ducks, swans and the various techniques of the rowers.

We then took a drive to Aldeburgh (normally we could walk from one to the other but my knees were objecting). As I'd said it was very sunny and warm and Aldeburgh is a very popular place so nowhere to park! Driving on we made a stop at Snape for another walk around, along the river, shop, gallery and museum.

Last stop was into Woodbridge and a walk along the High Street and bought a few bits including the last two fresh scones in the bakery so just had to supermarket for some clotted cream and had our own cream tea when we got home. Well you have to have cake in your birthday right?  Half was cream then jam, the other half jam then cream so as not to offend either the Cornish or the Devonians.

Sunday (today) lunch was another pub with Son&fiancé.

And amazingly I've lunch Monday and Thursday and dinner Tuesday and Wednesday at different venues with different friends still to come this week hahaha. 

Birthdays are fun! 

.

So, what's been going on here......

And in no particular order, some of the stuff that's kept us busy.....

Finally finished knitting this jumper (ongoing project most of the winter) which was a prototype to get a top-down pattern that's my size. I like baggy but not hanging off my shoulders or sleeves for an orangutan. Neck is too wide but great with a shirt under.

Corrected the neck and knitted another. 

My friend has just bought a beech hut so I made her a present. This is a doormat made from ties and t-shirt. The ties were taken apart and the outer fabric cut into strips and twisted into cord. The cords were then finger crocheted into chains to make them wider. The chains were then hand stitched together. The outer border is a single crochet chain of t-shirt yarn. It's very wonky but my friend was thrilled to receive it.

More upcycling. This stripey top used to be a jumper but it had a very low v-neck and wearing something else underneath made it a bit snug so I never wore it. By adding the collar and front panel cut from another top I rarely wore it's now a lightweight cardigan/jacket which I think will be ideal for my holidays, although I keep wearing it now anyway.

A pretend black layer stitched underneath meant I could open the sides of this top layer. Making it looser and longer (but not warmer) all because I love the sleeves

Hubby and I went with Daughter for a pub night were she was Tudor busking. The chef at the community owned pub Daughter knows from Kentwell so they both thought they'd give a Tudor night a try and he cooked pottage too. Only a small audience but really appreciative and Daughter kept us all entertained with stories, descriptions, a rude song and of course her magnificent musical talent. 

R had managed to fit in a ride on the back of Hubby's blood bike. She'd love to go out with him lots more but never enough opportunities. 

Our beautiful girls have had another birthday! Sweet 16  :-)

R and friends have gone to Comic-Con again this year and were busy making their costumes. Kodama is the character name if that means anything to you. 

Daughter and E were going to Kentwell Through The Ages as visitors and I invited myself along. Beautiful weather, hot, sunny with a gentle breeze. Daughter knows so many participants so it was lots of stopping for long chats that she would never get the chance to do when she is her normal Tudor self. E was taking the opportunity to play with a retro film camera. I was so pleased at the end of our busy day that I'd walked around for nearly 7 miles (according to my phone app), the most I've done since damaging my knee, so I'm considering myself mended (although I'll still keep on with the physio).

Daughter came over to sort out all the camping kit needed (as it's mostly stored in our shed) and O decided he wanted to make the cat-cakes he'd read about on the Internet. Took him ages to find it, then announcing he must save it as a word file for next time, turns out it wasn't a receipe he'd just read a description of "fluffy white cake with whiskers painted on and shards of chocolate for ears, they were yummy" So I found him all the ingredients for the vegan sponge and suggested we could improvise as I didn't have any chocolate. Half the batch had chocolate digestive ears and vegan biscuits for the others and amazingly I found a very small tube of black icing that hadn't dried up. O used to be a very enthusiastic cook but recently he seems to come up with ideas, make a half hearted start then walk off leaving me to it. So I made these and Daughter and I decorated them together.

And last but definitely not least, I've had my 6 month post-op CT Scan with results of internal scar all healed and clear with no signs of cancer! Blood test showed no decrease in kidney function, in fact a slight increase! 

.