10-01-24 and the Nutcracker

 Hi, everyone.  So sorry this is late but I just didn't have time earlier this morning.  We didn't get back from London until nearly midnight - no hold-ups, but some were going to The Devil Wears Prada show instead and that didn't finish until later than Nutcracker so by the time I has scraped the car and driven home, etc, it was well past half twelve.
And I had to rush out to SW this morning - and the car needed another good scraping.  Ho hum.
It's still so cold now at around twelve, barely touching zero but with lovely bright sunshine that is keeping indoors cosy.

Nutcracker was lovely.  I was sat next to my coach pal, Pamela, which was good.  She was going to Prada though so, as I got off the coach near the Coliseum, a lady called Valerie came up and said 'Are you on your own because if you are, I am too' so we paired up, so to speak.

The Coliseum was open even though we were nearly an hour and a half early so we went into the 'bar' and Val had a cuppa.  I'd already eaten my picnic on the coach.
Turned out she was a bad back sufferer too, much more serious that I, and she had also been a nursery teacher so we had loads in common and had a must enjoyable hour exchanging whinges and moans!!!  lol

Our seats weren't together but we linked up after the ballet and wandered into a late-opening shop while we waited for the coach to puck us up.

On to the Nutcracker.

In the entrance, there was a rather lovely - in its own way - Christmas 'tree' made from dyed ballet shoes.  Very clever!  I expect that it will be taken down at the end of the Nutcracker run which is tomorrow, Saturday.

Inside the auditorium we were greeted with this . . .  It was one of those that could be faded so one could see the action behind which was used really well, I thought, for the prologue and at the start of the acts.

No photography was permitted, of course, of the actual ballet.
It was a different choreography to the classical one but I really liked it - Clara had a greater part to play and it was much more clearly her story both in action and in development.

I read that the nutcracker can be called a story in two parts, the first being all story and no dancing and the second all dancing and  no story.  I know what they means by that but this version certainly wasn't.  It was a much better mix.
The child dancers were fab, of course, as they always are.  What an opportunity for them.

The music, of course, was glorious, as Tchaikovsky's music always is.
All in all, I had an amazing time, despite the seating which couldn't be described as comfortable in a million years.  Even a dose of co-codamol didn't really help as much as it should but now to worry, it didn't spoil it at all.  It was bright, magical and sparkly - all the things you want from the Nutcracker.

Just a couple of other snaps - the ceiling is wow, of course, and my fridge magnet souvenir is of this taken from directly underneath.  I was pleased that the little shop had them!

And the surroundings were very posh indeed.

We were in the Upper Circle but close to the front of it so the view was actually really good.

Ray and Jan always put a copy of forthcoming trips  in with the ticket, coach seat number, etc, and I was interested to see that of the three trips I booked earlier this week, two of them are booked up - the trip to Rye and the afternoon RAH carols.  I'm glad I got in early!

I'm more than a bit weary today.  I've done my duty at SW and now I am home, warmed up and ready for a chill-out, probably snuggled in one of my throws.  Sounds nice, doesn't it?

I hope you are all managing to stay nice and warm today.  Have a good one, whatever you are planning to do.  xx