The Weekend Starts Here

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After the significant events of this week, it was good to chill-out this weekend. Ralph and Karen came to stay, and arrived around tea-time on Friday. After a quick catch-up, it was off to the Shuckburgh Arms in Stoke Doyle for a meal – the photos below say it all! – a fantastic meal all round!!

The it was back to our for a night-cap in preparation for tomorrow’s trip to London.

SATURDAY
We had booked tickets to see We Will Rock You at the Dominion Theatre, so after a lazy breakfast, we headed for Kettering station and our timed train. After some confusion (all mine!!!) about the best Tube station to get off at, we arrived outside ahead of schedule and so took refuge in the Cafe Rouge next door. It looked like everyone else had the same idea as the place was heaving! Still, we were seated pretty quickly and the ‘cake-and-coffee’ offer solved the hunger pains (all mine!)

With just 15 minutes to go before curtain-up, we headed inside. For a show that was in its 12th year, it was still a very popular production – and that was confirmed when we got inside – the place was packed!

Curtain up on-time at 2.30, and we were soon into ‘Radio Ga-Ga’ with some tweaked lyrics to link with the storyline of a future-Earth dominated by ‘online-ness’.

..and the Queen tunes just kept on coming! Fantastic stuff!!! The cast did a superb job of all the numbers, and to say they ‘powerful voices’ would be a massive understatement –  they could certainly knew how to belt-out the numbers – good job there wasn’t any windows nearby!!!

The audience went wild when the curtain finally came down and I guess it was inevitable that Bohemian Rhapsody would be THE tune for the encore.

We left with slightly damaged ear-drums, but it was all worth it – A British Musical at its best!!!

We took the bus back to St Pancras, because there was a stop almost outside – a bad move as it slumbered its way along the Euston because of all the other buses and general congestion. We caught our timed-train with a bit to spare, although we were unlucky enough to get the ‘family-from-hell’ in the same carriage complete with shouty mother, shouty kids, whose volume, like the music at the Theatre was turned up to 11!!!… but in a BAD way. Yeesh! 55 minutes of family anarchy followed. Even more unlucky for us was that they didn’t get off until Wellingborough – one stop before ours!

On arriving at Kettering, We went straight on to The Vines for our evening meal. We all stuffed ourselves appropriately before returning home and collapsing in a comfy chair for a bit and catching-up with a bit of TV.

Phew! What a day – the highlight was definitely the Show.

SUNDAY
A lazy lie-in followed by a lazy breakfast and then Ralph and Karen said their farewells. It’s been a great weekend, but now I must turn my attention to another priority – the ironing!
 

Rick Wakeman 40th Anniversary Tour at The Albert Hall tomorrow with Ian – Rock on!!!