A pocket of my life

July was a busy one for us, from theatre trips, days out and even a little trip away for me and Liam. July started with our first trip to the theatre, this was a pretty inpromptu trip as a friend offered a ticker for me to see 2:22 A ghost story  and wow what a show it was. The next weekend was our second, and last show of the month was one mainly for Olivia but enjoyed by all of us, Bluey's big show .  The next week was the lasy week of school, it been a hot tem and I was/am so ready for the rest. It was an emotional one leaving the children and moving to another year group but I am excited for the experience. Lilly took part in her sports day in the last week of term too and came home with 4 medals, a 1st in the 100m sprint and 2nd in three other events, she honestly smashed it. The first week of the summer holidays brought mine and Liam's minimoon to life, a night away in a shepards hut not too far from where we live. We took a walk together, had a tasty milksh...

I have loved anything to do with theatre for as long as I can remember, being part of an amauter dramatic group from the age of 4.  I have also seen a fair few shows over my years and I certainly intend to add many more to this list over time. This will be a blog post that will change with every future show that we watch. I find theatre such a world away from the worries for a while, you delve into someone elses story. So here is my list of show and when and where I saw them, enjoy.  Chicago - 29th June 2007 - The Cambridge theatre, London  Blood brothers - 10th May 2008 - Phoenix theatre, London Oedipus - 18th November 2008 - National theatre, London Three sisters - 3 February 2010 - The lyrics theatre, London Blood brothers - 24th July 2010 - White rock theatre, Hastings  Our house - 14th August 2010 - White Rock theatre, Hastings  Snow White - 23rd December 2011 - White Rock theatre, Hastings  Beauty and the beast - 21st December 2022 - White...

We saw Bluey and Bingo, for real life. On Saturday we took a trip over to The Brighton Centre to go an watch Bluey's big play. This is the first ever theatrical version on the show and is brilliant to introduce theatre to children. The show consists of the 4 main characters, plus an extra brought to life in puppet from, these are operated by 2-3 people depending on what the character is actually doing. Each character really does get brought to life with everything moving from eye brows to feet.  The set changed through the show with the garden, bedroom and living room being the main part. These are slid into place using cast behind, these were attached to a sloped rig with gaps for people to move between too. The shows running time was around 50 minutes with a bit of play at the end,  there us also an opportunity to join in some dancing too. We truly enjoyed the show and even Lilly was laughing along with the show. If you get a chance to watch this with you...

A warm, wholesome story with lots of toppings! If you are looking for a musical that can make you laugh one second and cry the next then Waitress is the one for you, it is currently touring the country to celebrate its 10th anniversary and I feel very luckily to be able to say that I have seen it.  Waitress is a musical created by Jessie Nelson and Sara Bareilles, It tells us a story of a Waitress called Jenna, who also happens to be an expert pie maker, craeating delicious pies with invenitve names. Her story isn't as sweet as it sounds though, with an abusive husband and a baby on the way she is looking for a way out, with the help of her two friends and collegues, Becky and Dawn.  Carrie Hope Fletcher takes the role of Jenna, she honestly blew my away with the way she portrayed her. The emotions though the show hit at every point, I felt sad with her, angry for her and loved every second of her story. The vocals on this women are something else and she w...

It BEAN a while since I've visited the White rock but what a Giant show it was! My last show of 2025 and this one did not dissapoint! The panto trip is now an annual event and one that I truely look forward to with the family. This years panto is Jack and the Beanstalk, a classic one that always brings joy with with the panto cow normally being cheeky, the dame showing off their outfits and the hero of the hour saving the village and winning over the princess. This years cast consisted of two soap starts, Clair Norris (Fairy Sunshine), who played Bernadette in Eastenders and Richard Blackwood (Jack) who played Vincent in Eastenders and Felix in Hollyoaks. We have the two show regulars who always managed to put a smile on our faces, Ben Watson aka Silly Simon, his comedy timing is brilliant and he always seems to be enjoying the show himself with giggles and audience participation.  Then theres Tim McArthur who was this years villian, Fleshcreep, making the audience boo ...

In my first post for this I said that I would revisit and it didn't take me long to do so. Yesterday we surprised Lilly with a trip to see SIX the musical in brighton, this was our second trip to this theatre to see this show and i forgot how beautiful it is. This time we booked the front row seats on the secon circle, these seats were brilliant and the view was perfect, but I would advise that the leg room isn't the best if you are tall. When enterting the theatre you are greeted by the merch stall with all kinds of treats from pins and t-shirts to crowns and charms, the box office is the other side when they can advise for anything, you can also request a physical tickets if you like at the cost of £2 per ticket, perfect for those who like the memory. SIX is based on the six wives of Henry VIII and tells there stories though a concert/competition style show with each queen beings loosely based off of modern pop stars. Each queen has there own song telling the story of there t...

Today is world theatre day, a day I did not know existed until this year but hey. The theatre has been part of my life in one way or another since before I can remember. I have not only seen shows but have been part of many over the years too, my first appearance at the tender age of 4. I have always loved all types of shows including pantomimes, plays and of course musicals. I love the feeling of falling into a show and being immersed in the story.  Going back to performing, I have mostly been in amateur Pantomimes. Starting at 4 years old in the chorus and other small parts going to bigger roles and slowly growing to play the main role in shows such as Cinderella and Pocahontas. I have also done a play and have been part of a college course for BTEC in performing arts.  I haven't been in anything for many years but would love to again one day. I love being able to play someone else, to bring theatre alive and to just have fun.  I have also seen many shows, some more tha...

What an incredible show! Yesterday me and Lilly took a trip to the Congress theatre in Eastbourne to watch the tour production of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang which is currently touring the UK until May of 2025. Our seats were on the grand terrace in the front row and the view was great for the price. The production of the show was amazing from the costumes to the props, and everything inbetween. The stage itself has a framework round the stage with moving parts and lights to match parts of the show and the side curtains contained blueprints adding to the inventing side of the story. The scene changes were sometimes visible with the ensemble moving props about and other done either with the lights down or a scene curtian hiding it but every one worked well with the story.  The cast included some well known names and they certainly did not dissapoint, Adam Garcia played Caractacus Potts and he was perfect, his voice worked with every song he sang and he brought the right amout of humour ...

 I have been into theatre for as l can remember and have also been on stage a fair few times too in some amateur theatre shows but in the last couple of years my love for them has grown and I am making more of an effort to enjoy shows as and when I can. There are so many amazing shows and there are so many that I would love to see but I am making a list of the top 10 for me in hope that I can manifest them coming close to town or just getting he opportunity to see them. We have 2 shows booked up for the rest of the year so I will not mention them, me and Lilly have Chitty Chitty bang bang booked for November and we have booked to see our local panto in December too. In order from 1 being the show that I most want to see Dear Evan Hansen Mamma Mia Heathers The cursed child Wicked Mrs Doubtfire Billy Elliot Back to the future Matilda The Rocky horror show These are the main ones that I would love to experience, I have noticed that a few of these are childhood films of mine so they ob...

I have recently been thinking about things that I would love to do in the next chapter of my life, from the little things to huge travel plans, I really do want to make memories and do things that I know my Mum would have loved to do too.  Go to a big festival See Harry Potter and the cursed child in London  Do an escape room climb Snowdonia Scuba dive with the fish Ride in a helicopter Travel along the Glenfinnan Viaduct on a stream train Hug a sloth Visit the Eiffel tower Do a 5k run for charity  (Raced  9/6/2024) See Heather's the musical Drove through a safari Go to a sky dive tunnel See the Northern lights Participate in a colour run Hold a tarantula Go to a film premiere See dear evan Hansen See Wicked the musical See Mcfly in concert  (Seen 9/10/2024) Go to Disney land Go to London pride See Everybodys talking about Jamie  ( Seen 4/5/24) Visit America Get married Drive a racing car Go on a Norwegian cruise Go on the London eye...

 Three blind mice, three blind mice, see how they run..... Back in November I attended my first Who done it, The mousetrap which is the longest running play in the west end and the first non musical play that I have seen in my adult life. This was the 70th anniversary tour of the show making it that little bit more memorable.  The show is a small cast of 8 actors and is set in the 1950's. The show starts with a couple setting up there guest house for there very first visitors, who are travelling through a snowstorm. Slowly they arrive along with an extra mysterious character with a suspicious tale. News travels across the radio of a murder that has happened locally and soon the police arrive to question the guests but is the murderer amongst them? Slowly the story becomes more twisted which really makes you question every character, each played brilliantly.  The cast that I saw included two well know TV actors which was very surreal, firstly was Kathy Shipton, known for h...

                                             Wednesday this week was a big night for me, it was my first night out since having kids, yes I mean kids, I have not had a night out on my own since before I had Lilly just because I haven't had anywhere to go. Well this week I have an invite to join my friend to watch the Blood Brothers musical. This is a musical that has been part of my life since secondary school and one that I feel deeply impacted by, it has a huge place in my heart and I believe that its a very underrated musical.  It tells a tail of two twins who were separated at birth through a binding contract between the mother and her employer, there is a prophecy that looms over which says that if they ever find out they will die. The musical goes through there life where situations keep drawing them back together until a fateful day where they do found out the t...