I’m currently sitting in a really nice Café in Sidcup called the Walnuts while my Land Rover gets its annual service. It’s a complimentary breakfast that makes me feel good about paying dealership prices, however I’m sure it’s all in the price in the end, right? Having survived the rigors of January, the most depressing month in the year, February has been more interesting and far less depressing.
The month started with my God children’s 6th birthday party. My little darlings Harry and Emily are really growing up fast and with very distinct personalities. It really doesn’t seem that long ago that I was holding them in my arm for the first time but I guess it was 6 years ago. Blimey, where does the time go? I was asked by my friends to take some pictures of their party that I gladly agreed to do. The party was being held at Partyman world of play in Essex, which is primarily a series of pipes that children can crawl inside and slides. As this was a small persons party many of the parents attended too.
It didn’t take long for the adults to have more fun than the kids. Throwing soft balls at each other, running around and pushing children out of the way and stealing their pocket money. Okay, the last bit might be an exaggeration. It was more shoving than pushing, but the whole afternoon everyone was having a really good time and the staff were excellent hosts. I’m not sure my next birthday won’t be there.
GOING TO THE DOGS
Another birthday in February but this time it was a more adult themed event. I was invited to attend a night at Wimbledon dog track which I’ve never been to before.
I’ve been to the track at Romford a few times and really enjoyed myself but I’m always struck by the amount of really shady characters that work and attend these places. I always put bets on every race and choose to do this with the old guys that have Totes near the track side. These men with long coats and flat caps that never look you in the eye and whisper to each other, dealing with them always feels a little dangerous. While trying to put a bet on a three-legged dog called Lucky Boy that was 1000/1, a man walks up to the bookie and says, “£300”. The bookie says “£200”. This exchange goes on for a while and I was starting to think both of them were hard of hearing and needed subtitles to continue but eventually the gambler was given £300 from the bookie with a final, “Is this for the boys?” “Yeah” I must say I was surprised and a little concerned about what I’d seen but didn’t feel confident enough to try it myself and just put my 50p bet on Lucky Boy to win. It didn’t! I did however manage to break even with my betting and have a great night out with friends which I think makes for an excellent evening.
TREE
Towards the end of this month I was invited to the Old Vic to see a play called Tree. I didn’t bother to find out anything about it and was intrigued to discover while waiting to collect the tickets it was a 90-minute play without an interval and a comedy. The last time I went the Old Vic was to see Patrick Stewart in his one-man play of ‘A Christmas Carol’ in 1993. This play has just two actors, so I’m doubling up my actor account. The theater seating surrounded a big tree with no other set to distract the audience and my seat was virtually on the stage with a great view of the exchange between a man waiting for someone in the park (Tim Key) and a man who lives up a tree (Daniel Kitson, Writer & Director). It was really funny and engaging with a constant stream of banter and jokes that took the audience on a journey about life, love, honesty and integrity.
I always wish that I spent more time going to the theater and I can honestly say that this play was the perfect excuse. As the exchange of perfectly timed conversation played out, I found myself doing a sort of tennis head looking up, looking down as each character spat a verbal ball at each other. Occasionally the expected return caught me off guard and I was looking at the wrong person that meant I was watching the intricate performance of someone just waiting and listening for a reply. A truly great play and well worth a getting a ticket to experience yourself.
Now, time for another coffee!
Roll on March.
M