Baby Shower

Ok so that was how the play was received, but I thought I should give you a performer's eye view of the production. First though, the week before the play, I had one last little surprise to throw.
I had been organising Laura's baby shower since February, more or less, and the Saturday before the play Laura was intended to arrive at 2pm and get a surprise 'shower'. For the uninitiated a baby shower is a party where the mum to be gets showered with presents and traditionally get a hamper of baby goodies. Here is how it went down...
On Friday night I cooked sultana squares, a semi-healthy cake for people to nibble... Laura was diagnosed as diabetic during pregnancy so I tried to find a sweet recipe that wasn't loaded with sugar. This used a purée of dried apricots as a sweetener and was very nice. I also made guacamole. Me and Al hung out and I cooked intermittently; it was a really hot summer night, one where normally I'd have done anything possible to avoid the cooker and stay in the garden. I reorganised the layout of the kitchen dining room and tidied up the downstairs. I started to realise how much work, cooking in particular, I'd given myself to do - I'd been off work in the week with some kind of bug and was just getting my energy levels back (i'd felt really wiped out), but there was enough time I thought. I did take a short cut and chose not to make my own ginger beer, opting instead for shop bought... booo.
The saturday morning kicked off at 8am when cooking began in earnest. I made bacon koftas, patatas bravas, soda bread, little mini pizzas and sorted out the treasure hunt for Emma to play. Everything I cooked later went down very well and I got asked for the recipes. In fact they got munched so quickly that I didn't get photos of the blighters, but never mind! Emma, Laura's friend, arrived at 11am ish, although now I think there was some heavy traffic and she was late but as so was everyone else that morning it all worked out. Emma had brought a baby shower and streamers and balloons and began decorating and helping out. I was still cooking furiously when Cath and Teresa arrived (and brought their own chairs, bless them - good move, too). Between them and Emma they got the Baby Photo Gallery up on the wall, mounting each photo on some blue card on the wall in the extension. They also helped wrap presents. Claire arrived with her beautiful cake. All that was left was for me to sort out Emma's Treasure Hunt - I got in a pickle with the order of things. Bernadette (Nath's mum) arrived, and god love her had been the Mum in the situation bringing salad which she duly set about preparing and napkins and she'd brought coleslaw and all kinds of dip. If ever there is an emergency I reckon Bernadette is a good woman to have around, she strikes me as very capable!!!
At the last minute Vanessa (Lau's sister) and all of the rest of Nath's family; LC, Leah, Pippa, and Anne got held up by a combination of buses and bad traffic and husbands so when Nathan phoned he interpreted my squeaky voice correctly and calmly said "OK so we'll see you at half past 2 then, yeah?" - with Laura standing next to him on the phone we'd managed to delay proceedings without causing any suspicion. It even allowed Bernadette time to collect the family and park the car off our rd so that Laura wouldn't see her personalised number plate! Everything was set and we waited.
Alex, who'd been roped into blowing up balloons and who hadn't allowed in/near his own kitchen for the last 12 hours was getting hot and narky. Everyone was waiting. And it was boiling. Brad from next door was going from a drink with Al and Nath as he's on the same football team shouted down from the window - 'are you ready yet?'. It was 2.45. It was 3 o'clock. Are they coming? Perhaps something's come up... can anyone see their car?
Finally Al shouted that he could see them, they were walking down the road and Emma was on her scooter, so they were walking slowly... Finally Al let them in, there was a delay then Laura's 'Oh my God!' and we all shouted 'SURPRISE!!!!!' as loudly as possible from the garden. Laura, bless her cottons, promptly burst into tears. After greeting everyone and cuddling Emma they boys made themselves scarse.
The afternoon followed in a swirl of heat and food and games and chatter. The food went down well, as I said. The games were fun too. We had to guess the number of Smarties in the baby's bottle (no one came close) and predictably Emma got to eat all the Smarties. We all played Guess the Baby's Name, as a kind of reverse sweepstake - my favourite was Kermit. And we played Smell the Nappy. Yes, you read that correctly. I had four nappies and filled them with monstrous looking fillings that people had to guess at by smelling and licking if necessary! The fillings were guacamole, marmite, mustard and peanut butter and excited plenty of yuks and euurghs and the like as you can imagine. Much fun!
We moved into the extension where it took the combined forces of Laura and Emma a good ten minutes to open the 3 hampers and bags of goodies! Then some more chilling and the photo gallery where we all got to giggle at our baby selves. Then LC and Leah went home and suddenly, like an idiot, I realised I'd not taken any photos... So here we all are, minus LC and Leah unfortunately. Next post is the play, I promise...

Baby Shower

Recipes

Rosemary and olive soda bread

Mix sifted flour (200g, self raising) with bicarbonate of soda (1/2 tsp) and stir in chopped olives (30g) and chopped rosemary. Stir in 100g natural plain yoghurt with a knife to make a clean ball - add a little water if necessary. Mark into wedges with a knife and press some olive spigs into these score lines. Bake in a preheated oven at gas mark 7 for 20-25 minutes or until it sounds hollow when you tap it from underneath. Yum.

Bacon Koftas

Place 225g rindless back bacon into the food processor (if it isn't large you might need to do this in batches) with 75g breadcrumbs, 2 chopped spring onions, some parsley,, lemon rind of 1 lemon, an egg white and black pepper. Process until it is finely chooped but not pureed, it just needs to bind together. Divide the mixture into 8 evenly sized portions then shape around bamboo/wooden skewers. Sprinkle with paprika. Cook under the grill or on the bbq for 8-10 mins, turning occasionally.

Patatas bravas

Not a family recipe this is from a book so this might not be everyone's way of cooking them...

Heat 2tbs olive oil and add a finely chopped onion. Cook on a medium heat, stirring, until softened. Add 2 garlic cloves, crushed then after 30 seconds add 50ml sherry or white wine (I used sherry) and bring to the boil. Add 400g chopped tomatoes, 2 tsp red wine vinegar 2tsp crushed chillies, and paprika and simmer until it forms a thick sauce. Blend with a hand held blender once cool. Then fry your potatoes and voilà!

We survived!

Lord above, there was a split second there when I doubted but for all the drama of the week before the performance we survived, the show went on and it was a good one! It's not printable, most of it, so ask me in person and I'll give you all the gossip. Only know this; we were magnificent! Here is the review and some of my photos - they're not very good but as soon as I get my hands on some official ones I'll post them. Read it carefully - I did get a mention!

Potential for laughs realised ***

Comic Potential - Billesley Players - Old Rep. Birmingham 

UNLESS you can’t manage it in the half-light, read the programme note before curtain-up. I omitted to do so, with the result that for the first few minutes of my first sighting of this Alan Ayckbourn comedy I was thinking that the acting around the hospital bed was a bit on the slow side.

I did work it out for myself before too long, but a few words here may help anyone planning to see the show on Saturday, its second – and last – night.

The point is, the action is in the future and actors are androids – or, indeed actoids, as became apparent from the terminology surrounding them. They are creatures of wire circuits, nano-serbas –  or something like that – and bits, and those involved in a daytime soap now being shot are worth £1.7 million.

These nuggets of understanding, plus the fact that the nephew of the owner of the television station falls in love with an actoid, are sufficient to provide a basis for enjoying the action.

Apart from one unplanned extended first-night hiatus, Iain Neville’s production coped well with the three scenes before the interval and the ten that followed it. When furniture and props had to be shifted, they were shifted swiftly. Efficiency was in the air.

INNOCENT AND IRRESISTIBLE

Efficiency was treading the boards, too. Michael Nile came lugubriously but alertly to his duties as Chandler Tate, director of the epic that was unfolding before our eyes, and Leigh McCarroll scored as Adam, nephew of the owner of the TV station and would-be author of his own drama.

This was centred around Jacie Triplethree, the innocent and irresistible actoid with an unpredictable tendency to shriek without warning, to speak intermittently at a rate of knots and to switch accents between Brummie, Yorkshire and the Deep South without pausing for breath.

Jacie is delightful. In her bleaker moments, she manages to tug the heartstrings. She is played by Anna Downes, who has fashioned for her a piping voice, a walk of tiny steps and a wide-eyed matter-of-factness in the face of life’s little problems. One of these inconveniences is that she needs to be emptied every so often.

She is very amusing when she performs Here Comes the Hot-Stepper, and hilarity peaks again in the restaurant scene which finds her anxiety about being emptied being met by Mr McCarroll by dint of diving under the table and following her instructions to turn something one way or the other, while fellow-diners look on with ill-concealed interest, compounded when he eventually emerges with a half-filled plastic container.

CUSTARD PIE MOMENT

Interestingly, the actoid innocence is set in a play in which Ayckbourn abandons his customary high standards of language a couple of times. This is another surprise in an evening that is not exactly short of them. There is even a good old-fashioned custard pie moment, superbly executed by everybody’s favourite actoid and received nobly and with the requisite consternation by Patricia Hands in the guise of Carla Pepperbloom, regional TV director.

Gemma Harris and Samantha Broome are a good pairing as the television show’s backroom girls, Leon Salter is Marmion, who acts as the larynx of Lester Trainsmith (Tony Nock), the station owner who eventually finds his voice to deliver a substantial speech from his wheelchair.

There are vigorous cameos from Tracey Bolt, as a prostitute, and Iain Neville, as the man who discovers an actoid in the seedy hotel which he regards as his own for his girls’ purposes. There are lively lines: “What do you know about anything at all? You’re an accountant.” There is laughter galore, particularly in the second act. There is an abundance of honest endeavour. It’s fun. To 29.5.10.

John Slim

 BOX OFFICE: officeboxoffice@birmingham.gov.uk  0121 303 2323 

The Theatre

Trudi & Prim (aka Sam and Gemma)

Breaking down the set - the old troopers - hung over

In 2 weeks time it'll all almost be over

The preparation for the play continues apace. With less than 2 weeks left it kinda has to... In 2 weeks time I'll be hours away from the 2nd and last performance and nearing the complettion of over 5 months' work. We did our last day of set building today and all the pieces look great. Doug the set designer has done himself proud once more. Today we painted and last coats and fitted shelves. I helped to build the hotel reception desk and painted, sanded and helped clear up. My birthday present from auntie Shelagh, a flask, came in very handy again during the tea break and it was good fun. After a couple of rum cocktails A La Nathan last night I wasn't feeling all that motivated this morning but actually it was fun. My parents came to see the rehearsal on Friday and it was a bit awful, mainly thanks to a couple of people being missing from the cast and the background noise created by a particularly loud group eating just outside of our practice area in the Billesley Pub. Could have been worse, I suppose, but the noise was a real distraction. Getting really excited about the performances; just a last reminder, if anyone wants to come and see the play it's at the Old Rep next to the station on 28/9 May:


Friday 28th and Saturday 29th May 2010, 7.30pm
The Old Rep Theatre.
Tickets £8.
Pre book from 0121 303 2323
Or download the booking form

A Surprising Few Weeks

I meant to write this up weeks ago but we've been making the most of some sun here in Britain, and anyone who knows Britain knows to make the most of good weather while it happens and not sit in front of a computer...

On March 20th Alex dropped me off at Mum and Dad's and we waited for her 'chauffeur', my lovely best friend Danielle, to arrive and drive us to an 'un-named location'. She discovered upon arrival that it was Ardencote Manor Hotel and Spa, in Claverdon, Warwickshire. Hilarious journey as mum tried directing Danielle - fortunately Senor Tom Tom knew the way!

When we got there a lovely lady called Nicky set about making us feel welcome. All the staff had been brieed and the spa was good as gold in not letting on to mum subtle details like prices or itinery. We were shown to a posh room to complete our health questionnaires then given a tour of the facilities. Mum didn't stop smiling and I couldn't help but feel it was going rather well!

We swam in the pool, used the sauna then I walked mum to the next bit of her surprise, a massage. It was all very luxurious and even me, constantly planning and thinking ahead, couldn't help but feel relatively relaxed. When mum came out of the massage in her bathrobe she looked like she'd been to heaven, bless her! I led her back downstairs from the elegant manicure room towards the pool but instead we went to the outdoor hot tub. Divine is the word. As Nicky walked past the window giving another client a tour she signalled 'five minutes' to me so I knew we were on schedule. A few minutes later she arrived with a chilled champagne bucket. And because she approached from behind mum she really didn't suspect a thing until she was literally handed a glass! Sat there in the fresh air, the clouds slowly parted and we enjoyed a glass of champagne sat in the warm water and got a taste of how the other half live!

It was a really nice morning, full of surprises but also quite relaxing and a chance to catch up properly which was nice. After the hot tub we got changed and walked across the site to the lunch room where we enjoyed a tasty lunch of chicken and pasta and even indulged in pudding. I say even because I knew what was coming!

I explained that that was the end of the surprises and we'd be heading back to the bar to be collected by Danielle. Then when we walked in 15 friends and family members were awaiting and she got another big shock! Lots of coffee and cake ensued and I left mum to be in the thick of it for the most part. Life and soul of the party, bless her.

The next week it was Alex's birthday. That man never makes a fuss so I thought he deserved a bit of a surprise for his big 30th birthday. Nathan Laura and I took him to the Hare and Hounds and told him he we'd have a curry just the 4 of us. He seemed perfectly happy with the plan... :)

Me and Laura said we were going to the toilet and capitalised on the fact that girls always take ages in the loo to pop over the road and check that everything was going ok at Sylhet Spice, the curry house we'd asked everyone to meet us at. It was all going to plan. Alex walked like a lamb into the curry house without the slightest suspicion! There were 18 of us in the end. Milly and Rob made it over from Bristol, bless them. Alex was blown away and we all had a lovely night. After the curry we went to the pub and back to ours for a chin wag, a drink and finally a bit of Guitar Hero for the last people standing; Nath Al, me and Phil. 

Much fun was had!