Diary 10th To 12th February 2018

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Diary Saturday 10th February 2018 A fairly quiet day with only a short shopping trip to spice it up, along with a grim letter from the council tax who have revised my bill. Apparently I don’t owe them just £6.50 as they previously asserted. I now owe them £139.00 – Whoopee, thanks. The evening was much more fun. I attended and participated the Sally Vamp Burlesque at Preston’s excellent Stanley Arms bar. The theme of the show was ‘villains’. (I should have invited the Council). Comedian, Mike Keenan was our compeer, drawing his gags from life, Trumpism, Prosecco, and observation of the audience itself - he was very quick to pick up on one lady sharing her name entirely coincidentally with a character in my poem, and got an engaged young man near the front to lead the applause introducing each act. Sally Vamp provided health and safety advice with cautionary warnings of previous show audience members crashing through windows, maiming themselves slipping on glass, catching fire and facing other ghastly misfortune. It was a clever pastiche of patronising state the obvious clichéd OTT safety warnings. No one was of course hurt at this show or any preceding event. Liberty Belle presented the first dance, offering an evocative routine as Little Red Riding Hood, pursued by the Big Bad Wolf. My turn followed, with a poem themed around burlesque, centring on a performer unwittingly getting revenge on a sexist boss without even remembering him. Sally Vamp returned with a brilliant take on Fagin’s Reviewing The Situation from Oliver, which will never be the same again. Vicktorija Misunaite – Comedienne, shared a great routine exploring sexuality, risqué without being offensive. Gareth presented a moving monologue on the origin and plight of Count Dracula as he realized that he was no longer just Vlad Teppes Dracul, the Impaler. Great costume too. Sally Vamp closed the performances with a dance set to a Chicago show tune before the cast united to take our bows, with a promise of exciting future shows combining burlesque and open mic opportunities. A big thanks to Sally, Mike, the cast, audience and staff of the Stanley Arm too. Diary Sunday 11th February 2018 I set out early by bus to Preston, to catch a train to Manchester to meet with friends for drink and a meal to celebrate my birthday from Friday. The train timetable flashed up incorrect information that the train for Manchester was a London bound service, leaving everyone boarding wondering if it was the right one until the driver assured us that it was the right train. Fourteen friends joined me for beer and an all you can eat buffet, including science fiction fans, old work colleagues, (the work being old, not my friends) my landlord, and some Manchester based burlesque friends too. It was a great afternoon and evening. Thanks everyone, especially friends who let me stay at their place overnight. I got lots of great cards and presents too. Diary Monday 12th February 2018 My hosts and I got up early and one of them, Tim, offered to drive me home to Preston too, including a brief stop-over to visit my Mum in Manchester on route. Back home, I caught up with e-mails, got several paintings and posters hooked up on the walls, job searched, and generally relaxed after quite an extraordinary weekend. Thanks again to all involved. Arthur Chappell