~Christmas~

Christmas is now over and done with for another year, and so the countdown begins to the start of 2012. Although I have been really poorly (lying in bed with a horrible sickness bug for Christmas Day, Boxing Day and today) I must say that the Christmas period this year has been the best I’ve had in a long time. I’ve been surrounded by friends, family and lots of laughter. I get to dance on stage with a group of people who make me smile every day. I really couldn’t have asked for much more. To top it off, on Christmas Eve I met up with my brilliant friends for our traditional festive catch up and drinks. It was a lovely evening. So when I look at the whole picture I would say it's been pretty good. I hope it has been a great christmas for everyone else.

The Doctor, The Widow and The Wardrobe

"Because every time you see them happy – you’re reminded of how sad they’re going to be, and it breaks your heart. Because what’s the point of them being happy now if they’re going to be sad later?
The answer is, of course, because they’re going to be sad later."  ~ Dr Who

Silly me...

It’s been quite a hard week this week, mainly because I have hurt my ankle.  On our show last Thursday I tripped over something in the wings and went flying. So there we go. I couldn’t care less that it was in front of everyone; I was just upset because it was horrible and painful. I ended up going to work and then dancing two more shows on it because I am - number one - stupid and number two - stubborn. I was just in that kind of mind frame of ‘It’ll be fine’ when clearly it wasn’t fine. I am an idiot at times! The good news is that it’s now Tuesday night and it is thankfully feeling a lot better.  I took a day off work and the show to rest it. I have a double show tomorrow so we will see how it goes...

December, December!

The decorations are out, the tree is up and the christmas CD is in the car. I must say it's all starting to feel quite magical....

"We left our country, for our country's good."

I took a trip to see Our Country’s Good tonight; a play which has to be up there as one of my all time favourites.  One of the main themes which I most identify with is the theatres potential to change lives. Theatre has certainly changed mine. I would be a very different person today had I never met my drama teacher at school. 

As Timberlake Wertenbaker says:

“It is a modern play. I’m trying to write about how people are treated, what it means to be brutalised, what it means to live without hope, and how theatre can be a humanising force.”

I could go on and on but I will restrain myself. If you haven’t seen this play, you should because it is a good one.

“The last word will be the play, gentlemen.”

Busy busy

I really should be in bed, wrapped up nice and warm now the weather has turned cold but instead I am wide awake, writing another blog entry.  We have now been open a week and it genuinely feels like it’s been a month. I have had a week of work followed by panto, or a show followed by a shift at work. Whichever way you look at it, I have been backwards and forwards trying to do everything at once.  Not that I mind at the moment. It’s nice to have something that I can really enjoy, in fact, I feel like I’m getting to a good place at the moment. 

Anyway, we had press night on Saturday which was a day later than originally planned due to a power cut outside the Theatres control. It might not have been such a bad thing though because the audience on Saturday were really good. We will just have to wait and see. 

Well I have a much needed day off tomorrow and I plan to make the most of it.

Night!

A small thought

This just popped up on my twitter feed...

"Theatre should always be about life, but will always be more than life. Theatre exists in the mysterious world between life and dreams."

Covent Garden

A little snap of Covent Garden looking ever so festive. I love Covent Garden. It has to be my favourite place in London, bursting with art, theatre and street performers. Just lovely.

And we're open...

What a week. I am shattered! Tech week was long and tedious. I think emotions were running high after such a stressful week but we did it! We opened on Friday night with a fantastic show and a brilliant audience. It was such a hectic day; we had our final dress rehearsal in the afternoon where all of the production shots were taken. By the time we had finished it was just before 6 which meant we had half an hour to quickly grab some tea and run back to the theatre to get into costume ready for the off at 7! Here are a couple of pictures from opening night… 

I was in London yesterday and met up with my best friend Becky for the afternoon before she goes to Austria for 5 months!  We had a lovely day, I am going to miss her so much but I’m sure she will have an amazing time. I will have to go out for a visit when it comes to our birthdays in February.  What a perfect excuse for a holiday!

5 days and counting!

Here's a picture of the panto set earlier on this week. We had our first walk through of the routines on the stage yesterday and it was our last day with David our choreographer. Tech week starts tomorrow and it's going to be a hectic one! I had better get some sleep...








                                                                            Picture - @harrogatepanto

Bright and Shiny

My run up to Christmas has officially started.  I am back doing Pantomime at Harrogate Theatre which I am genuinely so excited about.  I have a massive love for Panto and I adore Harrogate Theatre.  I consider it to be like my second home and it is definitely my ‘happy place’.

The show is ‘Beauty and the Beast’ this year - Oh yes it is! We are currently half way through rehearsals and I am trying to juggle it around my job at H&M (which turns out isn’t as easy as I first hoped!) My days consist of a lot of rushing about - going to work, running down the road for rehearsals with the main cast followed by dance rehearsals with our amazing choreographer David Lee. When we get to the shows I will also be chaperoning the younger dancers so my life is super busy at the moment.  I know I have probably given myself too much to do but that’s me all over. I prefer my life to be busy.

I went to see Michael McIntyre last night at Leeds City Varieties which was awesome. It was a ‘work in progress’ show where he tested out some new material to use in his Christmas day TV programme.  Although the show wasn’t particularly long, I don’t think my sister Sophia and I have ever laughed so much in our lives. It was lovely.

So yes, I’m feeling good.  As Meredith would say on ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ I am now “Bright and Shiny”

What a wonderful feeling.

Lovely Harrogate

Charles Dicken’s visited Harrogate in 1858 and noted 

"Harrogate is the queerest place with the strangest people in it, leading the oddest lives of dancing, newspaper reading and dining".

Crazy...

"A crazy life is the only life I know how to live" 

The best ever quote from the beautiful Tanya Beetham. I love it.

A turn up for the books

In about two weeks time my life is going to get very busy, very crazy and right now I couldn’t be happier. In fact, this is the most excited I have felt in a long time and it is such a nice feeling.

Also, my older sister is pregnant again, so I will soon have another little niece or nephew to spoil!

Happy days

"Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish"

Here are a few quotes from the speech Steve Jobs gave the graduating class of Stanford University in 2005. The whole thing is too long to write in a blog and our poor quality internet won't allow me to upload it.

The entire speech can be found here and I recommend you watch it: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UF8uR6Z6KLc&feature=player_embedded

This speech really struck a chord with me and I find it very inspirational. RIP Steve Jobs.

“You can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.”

“Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don't lose faith. I'm convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did. You've got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don't settle.”

“Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”

“Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.”

Sunrise

What can I say. As I woke up incredibly early the other morning to go and visit my best friend this was the view that greeted me. Absolutely stunning. The sun rises and sets every day - most of the time it goes un-noticed, over shadowed by our busy lives. It was lovely to be able to sit, watch and appreciate just how beautiful it is.

Endings and Beginnings

"It might seem strange to start a story with an ending. But all endings are also beginnings.  We just don't know it at the time."

~ The five people you meet in heaven. 
Mitch Albom.

This feels very relevant to me at the moment...

And most of all I will not grow up...

It’s Autumn. It most certainly is. As I was pottering home from work the other day I had a moment where I just couldn’t resist picking up a few conkers on my walk. I had a minute of being a big kid and it made me feel weirdly childlike and happy. It was lovely. I recommend it! Conkers are still awesome even when you are 22!

"Time may change alot but some things may stay the same
And I won't sit down
And I won't shut up
And most of all I will not grow up..." 

~Frank Turner, Photosynthesis

Brilliant song.

A million little pieces

'It is not complicated unless I make it so. It is not difficult unless I allow it to be. A second is no more than a second, a minute no more than a minute, a day no more than a day. They pass. All things and all time wil pass. Don't force or fear. Don't control or lose control. Don't fight and don't stop fighting. Embrace and endure. If you embrace, you will endure.'  
~ James Frey. A million little pieces. ~

Sent to me by Tanya, it deserved a post on my blog.  I think the quote itself says it all.  

Let it be

So it is coming to the end of August, we are nearly in September which means my sister will soon be going back to uni and leaving me.  This makes me sad and I am not looking forward to being on my own here without her.

I went to Leeds Fest on Friday. This is the first time in 4 years I haven’t been for the whole weekend – never mind! I had to work on Saturday and Sunday and to be honest I needed the money.  My friend Lily and I spent the day getting soaking wet and freezing cold from the horrible wind and rain; it was so worth it though. Frank Turner were great, Elbow were brilliant and Muse were absolutely incredible! I find music such a powerful thing, especially when it’s live music. There is not much else that can make you feel so alive.

I had a lovely chat with my beautiful friend Tanya last night, managing to talk our way through the whole of my car CD. I have so much love for this girl, she always says the right thing.  I really do have the best friends ever.  

I find that a lot of the time I seem to spend too much time looking back at the past, or wishing my life away wanting something else to come along. I need to start living in the present, just accept what has happened and appreciate the here and now.  So our new motto is to just ‘let it be.’   I think this is going to be a good thing to keep reminding myself.

00:00

What is 'happy'? Is there really this constant thing people call 'happiness'? I don't know.

"Happiness depends upon ourselves."   ~Aristotle

Recent events...

I have always loved England, it is my home.  However it saddens me to see the destruction and senseless violence being caused by some people around this country.  What gives someone the right to act in such a way? I am just relieved to know that all my friends are ok and staying away from the riots.  I feel sick watching the news at the moment.  What has happened to this country?  Sort yourself out Britain.