The Myths of Musicals

Musicals the Myths

I remember from being quite young enjoying musicals, in the early days, Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, Al Jolson in The Jazz Singer, then the big screen ones Oklahoma, Sound of Music, South Pacific, not forgetting Singing In The Rain. I used to love these all singing dancing romantic love stories that always ended up with a happy ending. More recently I enjoyed Oliver, Phantom of the Opera, Les Miserables, although these seemed to have a more serious theme, there are many more musicals and the one that first made me think about writing this was Cabaret, again some years ago but which is being revived at present.

My recollection of musicals was that they were happy, full of fun, romance, nice people with a feel good story line and lots of great songs, and everybody lived happily ever after, what I have now realized, even more so after discussion with friends, is that this is not true, that there is death, physical and emotional abuse, rape, even worse some of the main characters and situations are not as nice as we first think. Now most readers will be wondering what on earth I’m talking about, but have you ever really looked at the plots of many of these musicals and really looked at how people in them, despite all the singing and dancing are actually not very nice people.

Let’s see where shall I start, what about my favourite, Singing in the Rain, that’s a good one, well let’s look at it from a slightly different view, the main plot line is the change from the silent movies over to the talkies, the big problem in the film is that the leading actress cannot sing, so the studio goes to great lengths to cover this up, part of this being that they use a young naive woman to do a voice-over for her, her to so-called friends go along with this story, for whatever reason accepting the rude unpleasant manner of the main actress. What’s nice about that plot, because really everyone but the young actress are in it for their own ends, with little thought at first of how distressed it makes her. Admittedly in the end all comes out good, hang on a minute, it’s not really nice to show someone up in front of an audience even if they’re not the nicest person in the world, which is what happened in the end to the original leading lady, some food for thought about a fantastic film.

Which film shall we have a look at now, what about Oliver, we all know the plot, orphan, starts off in the workhouse where he and the other children are abused and starved whilst the staff are enjoying themselves. Our hero then works for an undertaker again he is abused. At long last he ends up in a jolly gang led by a nasty thief who trains the young lads how to steal, we have our heroine Nancy who is a lovely caring person and in a relationship with a nasty thug Bill Sykes, who is quite happy to beat up anybody and everybody who gets in his way. Despite all of this we have all the usual singing and dancing. Just by good luck Oliver is rescued by a kindly old man, I don’t want to give too much detail just in case you’ve never seen the film. Unfortunately Bill Sykes manages to capture him again, what then happens to Nancy as a result is not very nice at all. Nor is what then happens to Bill Sykes and the youngsters, well the good thing is that Oliver lives happily ever after, but hang on a minute what happens to the artful dodger and Fagin, obviously crime must pay because they danced their way off into the sunset. So much for a happy story

Now we can’t do better than Sound of Music, beautiful scenery lovely songs lots of children, romance. Now let’s rewind, Maria is a trainee nun, because she has a mind of her own the nuns decide to send her out into the big wide world to be a nanny. How nice, maybe not, she goes to this home where a naval captain controls his young children with a rod of iron they are taught to respond to commands by whistle, he shows no love to the children. Maria tries her best to befriend the children and they reward her by playing practical jokes on her. This does not put off so she tries to improve their situation, instead of the uniforms they wear she wants to obtain play clothes, but is turned down by the captain, it can’t be because he hasn’t got enough money, he lives in a beautiful big house, so she resorts to cutting the curtains to pieces to make colourful clothes for them, so now the children are happy, now I don’t know any children that would feel happy dressed in flowered curtains. Whilst all of this is going on there is a subplot to do with the changes going on in Germany and Austria. We see some of the not very pleasant threats made to the captain by the Nazis and the transformation of one of the children’s boyfriends into a member of the Hitler youth. Yes a really happy cheerful story, well at least is lots of singing and dancing in it. Again for those that have not seen the film I will not go into too much detail, but will mention the fact that the nuns behave quite inappropriately in various parts of the film. So yes again a much more complex story than the music and songs can truly describe.
What about Carousel, beautiful music and songs, great plot what more could we ask for. Girl falls in love with fairground worker, he gets her pregnant, despite the fact they are not married, together with his accomplice he then attempted robbery, in the process ends up being stabbed then dies, leaving the poor young woman to have to go through having a child as a single person and coping with the situation of bringing the child up in state of poverty. Eventually, about 10 years on it’s brought to his attention, that the young woman is struggling as is his daughter. Now hang on a minute, the film portrays him being in heaven, with his history what’s he doing there, well never mind he’s sent back to try to put things right again, which I suppose he does, the only thing is Mum and daughter are still struggling, maybe not a happy ending then.

The Music Man, well at least this starts off differently to lots of other musicals, in that the male lead is quickly shown to be a conman, fleecing naive people in the towns that he visits and telling absolute lies about his knowledge and skill and how he can help people. As usual lots of singing and dancing, a naive young woman and even more naive township who are totally gullible. They give him the money to create a band, silly young woman falls for his charms and then supports him despite the fact he has lied and cheated and stolen from people who can’t afford the money. As usual I don’t want to spoil the story, but all the lovely songs don’t justify this inappropriate behaviour.

If I now move to a more modern musical, appropriately called Les Miserables as a friend of mine once said “The Glums” again great songs, beautiful settings, what could be better than France, heroes and heroines. Let’s try again, it starts by telling us that one of the lead characters is an ex-prisoner, another character, is a young single mother who has to resort to prostitution to feed her child, but very early on in the story gets killed off, leaving her poor child behind. I know what about the jolly innkeeper and his wife, well I dare not tell you about all the goings-on that occur in their in, what is worse is that they sing about it and are proud of their lifestyle, of cheating and abusing people. Well there are some good bits, in the fight the barricades one of the heroes is killed as is the little boy, plus lots of other people. From start to finish most of the film when you look at it objectively is about doom and despondency, what’s happened to the feelgood factor.

I know let’s go to an even newer film that’s a musical, Mama Mia, the songs of ABBA, beautiful scenery, a pretty young woman looking forward to a forthcoming wedding, what could be better than that. Firstly her mother is a single parent, nothing wrong in that, until she finds her mum’s diary, which explains that she had slept with three different men in a brief time period and therefore doesn’t know who the father is. Again without trying to spoil too much of the plot the young woman invites the three potential dad’s to the wedding. Mother has also invited her two best friends, who turn out to be predatory, embarrassing and causing general chaos in the town. Mums house is falling apart through neglect and the young woman seems to be more interested in the wedding than how she really feels for her fiance. At least on this occasion the end is much happier with lots of singing and dancing, but at no time does it really tell us about good old morality and values, at least nobody gets killed in this one.

I think this is a good time to finish this blog, at least for now, if you start thinking about the real plots of the musicals you may never see them again in the same way, I am sorry if I have destroyed your illusions in the same way I’ve done for me, I will still continue to watch them and admire the scenery, the plots and all the fantastic songs and try to forget about the negativity, I do hope you have enjoyed reading the blog.

An Update on My Blog and Life September 2013

I have just been looking back at some of the statistics to do with my blog, I had forgotten that I first started it back in 2006, it was a way to share some of my life with family and friends and also to talk about subjects that I felt may be of interest to others, such as my holidays. From reading the statistics I was quite surprised to see I had posted 109 posts and that the post had been viewed over 5000 times by people in different parts of the world. So I would like to thank all you readers for the time you have taken reading the blog and your comments, by the way I have now opened comments up to anybody on the blog, but I am also pleased when people email me to say they have just enjoyed it also.

This year I seem to have had a fair bit of time in hospital, first to do with my prostate, then my nosebleeds, let’s hope that’s the end of these, in a couple of weeks I am trying a course called breath works that is supposed to help me make the most of my health it will be interesting to see what happens with this. My physio also tells me that if I really wanted to, more could be achieved with my neck and spine to stop the deterioration, the only problem would be that I would have to have intensive work for at least three months and spend much more time in maintaining my health. At present I am unsure whether or not I am that committed and with all that is going on in my life, unable to decide whether I would go without the lifestyle I have now in the chance that my posture would improve.

More by coincidence than anything else, this year seems to of been filled with holidays and short breaks, plus a range of other activities that have included joining U3A which is opening up a whole range of other interests and activities. The latest of these is joining a photography group and attending the general meeting once a month, with talks by a female racing driver, about how the ability to laugh can help us to maintain our health, I look forward to the future meetings with great interest. The local branch is doing work to keep better records of the membership, so I have become involved in creating a database for this very task, it is a reminder that we can always change our direction and develop new skills.

Unfortunately the case I have been involved in for over two years, was lost but some useful things have come out of it and hopefully other people in the future or benefit from the lessons learnt. I am still acting as advocate in the same case regarding the funding by the NHS for continuing care, I am hopeful of a positive outcome eventually, but so far I do worry about the obstacles placed by the NHS in the way of people who seek continuing care funding from the NHS, even more worrying is the shortage of agencies who can advise and support people on this path, when they other people who are being cared are coping with serious illness or disability and find they have this huge amount of stress to obtain resources that should be made much simpler to obtain at the time when people are in the greatest need, rather than a process which appears designed to protect the budget rather than the individual and their nursing needs.

On a brighter note this year I am planning to go to Malaga with two friends over the Christmas new year period as a change from the usual routine, am hoping that the weather is kind to us and there is no rain, I will be taking my tablet and hopefully recording our adventures, at present there is discussion about a trip to Madrid and/or North Africa within the time we have.

Debbie and Jeffs Story Final episode 2013

Hi folks looking back through my posts I realised I had never given an update on Jeff and Debbie’s story for a long time, in fact it was 2009 when I last wrote about us. Unfortunately the dream has come to an end, over 12 months ago we finally split, it was very sad for both of us and the reasons are quite complex, I feel to be fair to both of us it is better not to discuss them on here.

What I can say is that we had a fantastic four years of fun, caring and sharing our lives and I would never have missed it, we have agreed we would like to remain friends if that is possible but that we have both now moved on in our lives, who knows what the future holds

Our Trip To Fistral Beach 21st August 2013

Today was a free day, so we discussed what we should do, I thought a visit to Fistral beach could be a good idea because of the fact it was more popular with the surfers, so we could take plenty of action photos of the surfers and the waves, Andy wanted to go into town for some souveniers also, we debated on the best way to travel and decided we would try with Andy walking for a while but take the wheelchair also. We set off on our travels, it was a pleasant walk in initially, its surprising what you see when you have the time, such as this young lady, she must of been very hungry and I am sure all that salt was not good for her

we continued through the town, stopped for a drink at a lovely little cafe and a rest, then on with the trip, we made steady progress, eventually we reached the beach, err well not quite because there was a steep slope down through the carpark, the cars did not seem to be bothered that we had a wheelchair, there was obviously plenty of surfing they may miss if they slowed down for us. Finally we got to a seating area, Andy and Brian felt they did not want to walk out to the sea(the tide was out) so they stayed whilst I went off to take some incredible photos, there were many surfers but going by how many kept falling off their boards they were still learning, not sure if the lack of large waves made a difference

there were a couple of more skilled people who managed, but nothing like we had seen on films, well it was a long trek back to join the others

they were both pleased to9 see me as you can see by the photo, we then had the trek back up the hill, well no there was a small motorised vehicle we could use, well no as it was to high for Andy to climb on, you would of thought there would be some way to help people withy mobility issues to get back up the hill, instead we slowly climbed to the top and then had a walk into town, where we tried a real Cornish pastie, it seems it was Andys first ever, we had a rest then back to our walk, it was very busy in town, maybe because was the bank holiday weekend, also the sun was shining. We walked back to the hotel, well Brian pushed Andy and I walked along supervising and taking photos

then back for a shower and rest before our evening meal and a further trip after to take more photos

this was a jellyfish some young girls found it was quite large, we also took more photos of the sunset, there seemed to be more people about this evening

there were also a number of surfers out as well, tonight was the first night of Celebrity Big Brother so I said to Brian that I wanted to have a look who was in it this time so we agreed I would go back earlier, I have to say I was disappointed with the people I saw go into the house that night

Our trip home 23rd August 2013

We had an early start,but when I looked out of the window there was a beautiful sunrise so I took a photo, then went out trying to get better ones but the houses obscured it

up at 6am packed then an early breakfast before setting off, finally we were all loaded,  10 minutes into the trip John the driver announced we were turning back because he had forgotten some paperwork,  did this then back off again, the traffic was much worse because it was a bank holiday weekend,  when we stopped it was crowded at the service area, but also the drinks were dearer than on the way down, which seems very odd. I nodded off for a while, the traffic was travelling very slowly,  there was a serious accident on the other side with miles and miles off traffic backed up. We had a further 3 stops before we got to our first drop off and another couple of accidents seen along the way, all the service areas were busy, Andy and I chatted part of the time and I also tried to catch up with my blog as well as reading a little more of the William novel until the battery ran down. The traffic was still busy, eventually we got to Oldham, Andy rang to check about the taxi, finally we reached the centre of Manchester and the street we should of gone down, the only problem was the bottom had been closed off for some reason so I told John to carry on a little longer on main road, we quickly unloaded,  but where was the taxi, finally we spotted him down a side street, we loaded up then off home, first Brian,  then me and finally Andy.  When I got in, back to reality sortede out my case and loaded the washer, looked at the clock it was 8.30pm it had taken over 12 hours for the trip, dont think I will be doing that sort of trip by coach for the foreseeable future, now just need to have a rest and relax over the weekend.

Our trip to Truro and Falmouth 22 August 2013

Our trip to Truro and Falmouth 22 August 2013

We set off on the coach bright and early it was already getting warm, we had a pleasant drive to Truro, today it was a different driver, seems John has to have 2 days rest so so we had Steve who is a local relief driver instead, he had good local knowledge with humorous stories about local characters, before we got to Truro he explained that we had 2 options either to continue to Falmouth on the coach or to go on small excursion boat down the river Andy said he preferred to go by coach so Brian and I discussed what we should do, we agreed we could not leave Andy on his own,  Brian kindly agreed tl stay with him. I went off with others to bus, down to boat, lots more people joined before we reached the boat, fortunately I got a seat with a good view so I could record anything for Brian later, as far as I remembered it was to be half hour long,

the boat gently went on its way and the captain described land marks and places, it was so peaceful relaxing and quiet I felt quite guily that the others could not of joined me, there were a range of boats and ships that we passed along the way including one that was used in the film Mama Mia, (I must have look when get home)

we stopped every so often to drop off and pick up passengers,  there was a chain driven ferry at one point that took cars wanting to cross the estuary,  I had not realized that Falmouth was such an important shipping port or that it built ships.

we finally reached Truro,  so went looking for coach and travelling companions,  all of a sudden I heard someone shouting it was Brian,  they had been down to the harbour looking for me and the boat we walked up to coach I checked out toilets at Weatherspoons as usual they were clean, read other blog for more detail of this and others.  we then travelled back to Truro,  had a look at the cathedral plus took a few photos

,  then off to BHS for a drink, unfortunately it was my turn to buy so although I knew we had agreed to a Cornish cream tea later I spotted a carrot cake so being greedy had to try a slice, it was delicious,  we wandered back to the coach then another drive to the cider farm for our cream tea, well we had 2 scones each with lashings of cream and cherry jam unfortunately they only provided one cup of tea rather than the pot I hoped for to help wash it down I am beginning to think I need to explore my dietry needs when I return home and reduce my cake input considerably LOL, we had a pleasant ride back to the hotel.

After a shower and rest e had another enjoyable evening meal, I was very impressed with the quality of the food as well as the service, after Andy went to bed and Brian and I went out taking photos of yet another beautiful sunset

there was a young couple oblivious to everyone who made a romantic picture, sorry quali

ty is not that good though, we carried on and came across a beach that was lit up with lots of people enjoying themselves

The Eden Project at last 20 August 2013

An early start today on our coach trip, after our breakfast and buying some sandwiches and drinks for later consumption, the trip was through pleasant countryside and took about 30 minutes, when we arrived,  at the Eden Project, the staff were great at sorting out Andy,  they came with a vehicle to take us to the visitor centre, once there he was provided with an electric wheelchair, I was surprised how noisy and busy it all was at the Visitor Centre, so off we set on our trip to the tropical area first. There were all sorts of interesting plants and flowers to look at and take photos of as well as some rather interesting pieces of art.

When we got to the dome it was quiet busy already,  but we managed to negotiate round the dome, stating the obvious it got warmer and warmer as time went on, plus the humidity was quite high there, we saw all sorts of plants and flowers and the occasional butterfly we took, well I took plenty of photos,

after this we had a break for a drink and something to eat, before moving on to the Mediterranean area of the dome, many of the plants and flowers I recognized from my trips abroad to Spain Greece and other countries, again there were all sorts of works of art in metal,

bark etc plus there were areas for storytelling and other activities, just for a change we took plenty more photos, then went for an ice cream, the queue was long so we abandoned this and set off back to the visitor centre, somehow as usual we managed to lose Brian,  plus we also got lost ourselves along the way, there seemed to be lots of signs to various attractions but a distinct lack telling us the way to the visitor centre or way out, the good thing was we therefore saw even more than we would of

, Andy tried texting Brian,  seems he was waiting for us, but when got to the visitor centre at last no sign of him, we returned the wheelchair then had a ride back to the coach, low and behold there was Brian, who said he had followed us, he could tell it was me by my hat, I explained that I had not been wearing it, he had walked back quicker than we could on transport, what an athlete!

On the way to to the project it had taken 25 minutes therefore why did we travel for more than this to the next stop which was a shopping centre, for a change I visited the toilets,  they were terrible, we then carried on to the hotel went for rest, then meal followed by more time taking photos at dusk

Our trip to Newquay and the Eden Project 19 August 2013

I could not sleep the night before as was worried I going to miss the taxi or not be ready, in the end got up showered packed and had breakfast, Andy texted me to say he was on his way, we picked up Brian then off to town, the roads were clear so we were there for 6.30 although the coach was not until 7.20.so rested in coach station,  at 10 past went out, taxis kept arriving to drop people off, eventually the coach arrived,  err umm no wrong one,  just as well as driver looked miserable and was abrupt when someone asked, he pointed to the sign on his coach, very rude, other coaches came and went but no sign of ours some time later ours came loaded up including Andy's wheelchair at last we were on our way, err uumm no we then went to various other locations to pick people up, we by now realized that we could of had at had another hour in bed and got taxi elsewhere,  at long last we finally set off driver introduced himself as John seemed pleasant, 

We went down M6 to services where we stopped for a break, place was packed,  could not understand why McDonald's was so busy until saw how much more expensive everywhere else was, settled for Cornish pastie and a drink then on coach, pattern continued as we travelled south, 3 or 4 stops later we finally arrived.

I forgot to say earlier the coach was modern,  seats comfortable, air conditioning worked well as very warm out, Brian had decided to sit at the front Andy and had aisle seats opposite each other so chatted about all sorts of subjects along the way but also we had peaceful periods when I slept, lol

it had taken most of the day to get there

The hotel was pleasant we waited for others to book in then realized that another coach had arrived, so joined the queue,   none of the rooms had a seaview Andy and I were on the same floor but on different corridors, Brian was on the floor below, then up in the lift with wheelchair to Andy's room, got him settled then finally to my room,it

was well laid out, plenty of storage space,  had shower so decided would have that first and unpacked, had rest then was time for evening meal, all staff there pleasant good choice of food on menu, service good. After Andy decided that would have rest and go to his room, Brian and I went out to take photos of the beautiful sunset, was out for some time before got to dark, back to hotel for early night as tomorrow we were off on coach trip.

My Trip To London to See Chorus Line and Meet with London Friends 16 August 2013

Trip To London to see Chorus Line the Musical and meet Ex Saga friends 16 August 2013

I had been planning this trip since I had heard that chorus line the musical was returning to London, my plan was to go sometime in September or October when things had gone quiet, but suddenly out of the blue I read that the show was due to close in August, I already had a holiday booked with Brian my travelling companion and Andy another friend for one week, so I agonised whether to go not, fortunately many friends suggested it was something to do, because who knew what was round the corner and maybe I would never get to see it again if I did not go now.

My thought was I did not want to travel on my own, so I asked various friends and acquaintances and even asked on the websites that I visit, the were people who would have liked to go to see the show but were busy at the time I was planning, I also couldn’t decide whether I was just going for the day much as I had done with Proms in the Park last year or whether to stay overnight. I then started looking for coach trips, but no success there, so next decided to sort out trains and a hotel, when I started adding up all the cost without even buying the theatre ticket this was going to be a very expensive trip.

Eventually I decided that I would go and stay overnight, I went in travel agents to ask about packages and they could do one going on the Friday and returning on the Saturday by train for £40 plus believe it or not a hotel near to Euston at only £32, I quickly went and had a look at trip advisor, it had mixed reviews but it was suitable for my needs for one night, so I went ahead and booked, I then started trying to work out about the theatre ticket, Friday night seem the best time to go, but I didn’t seem able to find a ticket at the right price in the right place, eventually I found an agency that was selling discounted tickets that suited my needs, how Ward that they could charge less than the actual theatre was doing.

I had mentioned on Facebook to some of my friends who live in London but I was coming down for a visit and how I would look forward to meeting up with them if any were available, fortunately the two Janes Maris and Pauline said they were able to meet me and will take me for a trip down the Thames, I wasn’t quite sure if they were going to throw me in LOL, one or two others said they would have loved to have met again unfortunately it clashed with other arrangements they’d already made, so now I was really looking forward to the trip.

On the day I drove into town because I realised it was going to be late evening when I returned on the train so it was better to have the car at the station, the trip down was uneventful, I always struggle to understand why when it says quiet no mobiles on the train, there are always those that ignore it, why don’t they go instead into one of the other compartments instead, otherwise it was pleasant trip. The hotel was only a short walk away, not the most attractive, when I got to reception it was 1:45 PM, I said was it possible to obtain no sorry you cannot do until 2 o’clock, not sure the reasoning behind this, went to room it was basic but okay, even had to your coffee making facilities if you wanted them, so I unpacked had a wash and change, I forgot to say that it was shared toilets and bathroom, but they were not far away and were clean, so I then went out, originally I decided I was going to have a look at the London Eye before returning to get ready for the show, then realised it may take too long, so I consulted my guidebook and set off for the British Museum.

There were no problems finding my way there, it was a little bit busy on the roads, but what a surprise when I got there, it shows how long it is since I must visited a museum because there were hundreds of people outside, undeterred I went inside I could not believe the number of people and the noise, I always thought these were peaceful quiet places, because I was time-limited I only looked at certain exhibits, I don’t know if it is because I am getting old, but some people were quite rude, pushing in front of you to make sure they missed nothing or standing blocking the way taking photographs, I wandered back downstairs, I went to have a look at the drinks and snacks, those that know me well are aware that I love carrot cake, that I paid 5 pounds when in Norway, well readers believe it or not, a slice at the British Museum which was not that appetizing or big, cost £4.50 so I decided to wait. I wandered back towards the hotel and found a pleasant garden with an empty bench to sit and watch what was going on in the peace quiet and tranquillity, an elderly gentleman approached and sat down, oh no he got out his mobile phone started chatting, so back to the hotel I went, had a rest before getting ready to go out.

I went downstairs to have a meal in the hotel, it seems they no longer do this, so went to Euston station, to somewhere I’d use previously, unfortunately they were full, and I just hope Brian is not reading this, because I ended up going to Burger King, must say their burgers are much bigger than McDonald’s, then on the bus to the theatre, I had definite instructions on where to get off, informed the driver of my destination, I could not make out what he was saying, actually he was telling me that it shows on the board and is announced.

I reached my destination and walked to the theatre, it was already filling up inside but for some reason they did not open the doors to the seats for some time, as it was a special occasion I paid for a full programme, the photos were good, but where was all the information about the cast. Fortunately I had been given good advice about where to sit in the theatre so had a very good view, the show started and I just sat and enjoyed the full two hours, the stage is a very simple one for the show, the only thing that is different at certain times is a range of mirrors behind the actors, their acting singing and dancing was really good apart from, gosh I can’t remember her name now, but the character couldn’t sing, there was humour in the show, sadness and lots of fun, one of the problems is I now struggle because some of the songs will not stop going round my head, I had forgotten how the show ended, but found the last little bit before the final song a little odd, other than that a fantastic show I would go and see again maybe when it is touring. I then returned to the hotel.

One of the things I forgot to mention, was how noisy London is, with the basic traffic but even more so with the constant sirens of emergency vehicles, I had made a mistake and my room was on the front of the hotel, if I closed the window it cut the noise down, but because there was no other ventilation and it was quite warm it then got too hot, something to remember for another time, I did not sleep well but I normally don’t anyway.

The next morning I got up had a shower went down for breakfast, which for the price of the room was quite good, then got ready to go out, remembered to take everything as I would not be returning, then went over to the underground, with my next set of instructions, to meet my friends at the embankment. First shock trying to work out how to use the ticket machine, eventually acquired ticket, I could hear constant announcements being made bought was not quite sure what the relevance was, went looking for the Northern line, that was the relevance it was closed, at least for the part that I needed, so now we had hundreds or thousands of people lost trying to work out how to get to their destination, after about quarter of an hour I finally sorted it out, it took an extra change at Victoria before I reached my destination and finally met my friends at the barrier.

They had decided with my consent that they would take me down the Thames on one of the clipper boats to Greenwich and then we would plan from there, on board the boat we sat in the rear as the weather was quite good at that time, and they showed me various points of interest, I took a few photographs but it was difficult because of the speed and ever-changing view to get that many good ones, we eventually reached Greenwich we had a walk around, went from meal then carried on as I had mentioned wanting to go on the cable car across the Thames, we bravely did that, one of the Janes initially struggled but later on see more relaxed, from our viewpoint we could see across London, including people walking across the top of the O2 stadium, don’t think I’m that brave, eventually we set off back to the embankment on the boat again. This time I knew the route I was taking, Pauline had by now left us, the others saw me safely onto the tube before leaving me at the next stop, the timing was perfect there was a train to Manchester within quarter of an hour, the trip back was uneventful, the only shock was the car parking charge of £21, it seems weekend starts on Saturday not Friday, that’s when I would have got the cheap rate.

This trip was a good reminder that we should do the things that we want to while we can, because if we’ve enjoyed them we can always do again, so thanks to everyone who encouraged me and the fantastic company

Our Trip To Salford Quays and Media City 10 July 2013

The day started well I had had a good night sleep plus it was a little cooler, my nosebleeds had ceased for the time being, picked up Andy then met Brian in town, when by tram to media city, we found it was a great place to take photos of all different shapes and buildings, I remember when there was nothing in this area at all, in fact if we go back far enough, this was once a very busy dockyard many years ago but nothing apart from the cranes seems to have survived,

one of the interesting things was all the people we name badges, well nearly all were young pretty people.

We went into the main building after taking a few photos, for a drink amongst other things we had a look round to see if we could see any celebrities, but there were non visible, Then I noticed a map so went over to have a look at it, whilst trying to work out what it said two young women approached us one with the obligatory clipboard, I explained that the board was to describe some work that they were planning to do to encourage people into doing more to do with the wider background in theatre, this was far too good a chance for me, so I regaled/bored them of my history in amateur dramatics backstage, they listened politely and then asked if they could take our photo, very reluctantly we rushed to pose, don't know if or when it will be seen.We then had another wander around taking photos of the various buildings, before coming across the blue Peter garden,

they have Petras statue and Sheps paw print in concrete, they must have moved the whole thing up from London, we then took the Metro to Salford quays and took a range of photos again of buildings, plus a man on waterski using an electric hoist, took the metro back home until large groups of schoolchildren, it had been quiet until them, now look forward to the next adventure.

sorry I forgot to mention whilst wandering round we cam across a pair of swans and their cygnets totally oblivious to all that was going on around them as we went round the quays