7 Days to Christmas
Hi there.
Thanks so much for sharing all your Musical faves yesterday! So good to remember those great performances. I remember taking my Nan to see Cats with Elaine page in the 80’s. She was so chuffed to have front row seats. I will never forget that day with her.
Right. Ready for a run down of today? It was pretty epic!
Train up to London this morning. Wait for it: £12.90 cheap day return. I’d say that’s a bargain! I guess it gets even cheaper if you are in a group. It was tipping down when we got off at Charing Cross, so we walked straight through Leicester Square and China Town to the Gielgud. Got soaked, but it was ok. We splashed about a bit in the puddles. Great Italian right opposite the theatre for a light lunch. Blimming pricey. But I suppose you’re paying for the location. Then over for the Matinee of OLIVER.
GREAT SEATS, GRAY !!! Row K Stalls in the middle. Perfect.
Sold out to an excited and happy audience…
The musical? Friends. If you have the chance to get to London and see a show, do yourself a favour. Go see Oliver. The whole cast, the set, the vibe EVERYTHING. 5 star. Simon Lipkin as Fagin is pretty spectacular. Rather tasty too. Not what you expect of Fagin, if you remember Ron Moody either! So So good.
The theatre was previously known as the Globe, before being renamed the Gielgud Theatre in 1994 in honour of Sir John Gielgud. It’s a place that seems to breathe history. The domed ceiling is simply beautiful — the kind of detail that makes you pause, look up, and feel quietly grateful. Sitting there, you can’t help but think how lucky we are to have such magnificent old theatres in London, still standing, still loved, still doing what they were built to do.
After a standing ovation and a great singalong, we poured out into a busy Shaftesbury Avenue, and headed over to China Town for a bite to eat. You can tell the kids live in the States. Rather than read the menus outside and pick the first decent looking one on the corner, Mark checked the reviews on line, found the Best reviews, 5star restaurant, so we just followed him. Sure enough, Yiqi Pan-Asian Cuisine – on Lisle Street – served excellent food – and mostly Asian people were eating there. Always a good sign! Cheap too.
So we strolled back through the Christmas Market in Leicester Square, and caught a train back to Tunbridge Wells almost immediately. Smooth. Sang all our favourite songs from the musical, had a blast, and got home by 8.30.
Such a smashing day. It really was uplifting.
See you at 10 tomorrow. I haven’t had time to do any prep, but I’m sure I’ll rustle something up for you! Having way too much fun to work!!
Love and Clarity
Barb xxx
16 thoughts on “7 Days to Christmas”
What a lovely day you have all had! Lovely memories! Think you will all sleep well tonight! Will look forward to seeing what you rustle up tomorrow! Sleep tight.x
So pleased that you all enjoyed a wonderful time at the theatre with the family. A lovely photo of all your smiling happy faces.
Oliver isn’t a show that I have seen yet, maybe I will have to remedy that next year. My favourite show that I have seen was Charlie & the Chocolate Factory.
Wishing you all a Happy Christmas and a healthy New Year.
Sounds like you had a fab day. Spending time with the people you love is so much more important than work but i’m sure tomorrow’s show will be fun too.
Sleep well 😴
Zara xx
I remember going to see the original Oliver! for my sister’s birthday. It must have been in the early 60’s. I don’t remember much about the show but I do remember going to a Golden Egg for dinner afterwards!
Glad you had a good time today travelling up to London & seeing Oliver. The songs are going through my head now !! Having fun certainly beats going to work & you both deserve a break after the busy year you have had & what better than an outing with Mark & Grace.
Our visit to see Fiddler on the Roof didn’t go quite so smoothly. I had worked a route out using public transport so avoiding too much walking which went well until on the last train coming home. The guard came over the tannoy to say that because the line was flooded the majority of passengers needed to get off the train at the next station & wait for coaches that had been ordered to take them to the various stations along the route whilst the train took a detour along the other line. By this time it was the rush hour, still pouring with rain & traffic was at an almost standstill. No sign of coaches so we decided to catch the next train along the alternate route & get a bus to our starting point – car was in the car park. What should have taken around 45 minutes took us nearly 3 hours – thank goodness we had an emergency curry in the freezer. Still the music was good although I would say it was an old style musical if that makes sense.
See you in the morning at 10 – I am sure you will think of something exciting to show us xx
Hi Barbara
We have just got in from seeing a pantomime Cinderella in Bridgewater. What a night so funny do love a pantomime oh not you don’t. When I first started as a traffic warden I was posted to Covent Garden I love the theatre. In those days if the theatres were not sold out for that evening’s performance they gave the tickets to the police who sold them to us for 50p a pair. I would ring my mum up tell her to meet me in town and we would spend the evening watching a play or musical. Great days. I think the first one was Me and my girl with Gary Wilmot. Glad you had a good day and created special memories.
Love
Ruth and Jackie xx
I remember taking my nan to see that many years ago. I can still hear here singing along to doing the Lambeth Walk – Oy!!!
sounds like s great night with the family x
S pleased you had a good day. It looks like you had a lot of fun. Have a good night and will see you at 10am.x
Pleased you had a brilliant day out making great memories. My cousin usually visits on a Friday morning, so will catch up later if that’s the case. I’m sure you will rustle something lovely up. xxx
What a wonderful day you’ve all had and definitely a day to remember. A beautiful photo of you all 🥰 We do that when deciding where to eat too 😋 Looking forward to SHAC with you in the morning. Much love xXx 🦋💕
What a great day out – it sounds like you all had a blast. Although only being a short distance from London, and having the choice of trains going to Paddington and Waterloo, it just costs too much for me to go up to see a show now.
We regularly drive up to football in Shepherd’s Bush and it used to be an option to park at Westfield and tube into the West End, but even that has rocketed in price, with added charges.
Tomorrow is the opening night of our local panto in the school hall. I haven’t been in the cast for a few years but I help out FOH behind the bar and it’s wonderful to see everyone of all ages enjoying themselves.
Oh no it isn’t… 😜
What a fabulous day and evening! Perfect! xx 🌸🌼🌺
We saw Oliver many years ago and thoroughly enjoyed it. It looks like you all had a wonderful time!
Hi Barbara,
What a fabulous day! and what a lovely photo of you all….priceless, it will hold special memories every time you look at it. I remember taking my Dad to see Me and My Girl, he thoroughly enjoyed it, the day was just perfect. I also treasure that memory for ever too. xXx
Sounds like the Perfect Day and now I’ll be humming along to that all day