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Monday 16 September 2013

Ghost the Musical

Last Saturday we went up to Bristol to see Ghost the Musical at the Hippodrome. My other half had wanted to go and see it as part of her birthday present.
We set off at lunchtime and had a bit of a delay filling the car with petrol. The garage at the supermarket nearest to us, and on our way out of town, had closed down all but 3 pumps and the one we then had to go to had a big queue due to all the cars trying to get back out and having to contend with the traffic light system as well as McDonalds and supermarket traffic. Eventually though we were on our way.

The journey to Bristol was reasonably quiet and we reached my other half's Aunt and Uncle's house so that she could pop in and see them.

Having made a fair attempt to slice a large part of my face while shaving, well more of a decent nick on my lip but there was lots and lots of blood, I'd gone with boy mode for the day so that there I'd be able to pop in and see my in-laws (which is something that wouldn't have happened if I'd gone as me).

The chances of me doing something like that again are very slim. The visit was OK but on the drive up I found myself feeling really, really sick. The sense that I was going out for the day and presenting as something that I'm not was incredible. I've had to spend time in boy mode (in fact most of the weekend has been spent that way because I have electrolysis on my face this evening and so have 2 days worth of facial fuzz) but the sense of being wrong has never been so bad. The sick feeling did pass eventually so I could enjoy the trip.

My other half's Aunt and Uncle were their usual selves and we chatted with them for a lot longer than we'd planned before heading into central Bristol for a wander around the shops.

We made a couple of stops in shops to look at clothes and for me to pick up so foundation make-up.
I use Estee Lauder foundation and the store I get it from has a branch in Bristol so we popped in there. The assistant that served me started taking my details down for a new online system they have that notes your purchases. After she'd finished entering my details the assistant told me that either I or the person that I'd given the details for (remember I was in boy mode but had given my name and address) could simply give the name and postcode at any of their stores and they'd be able to see what had been bought so that someone else could get the make-up that I use if they want. For some reason I had to put her straight and said "that is me". She wasn't bothered at all and continued with out missing a beat.

Dinner was at one of the Giraffe chain restaurants. My other half decided on a half rack of baby ribs, something that she really likes, while I had a stir fry.

After dinner we made our way to the Hippodrome to see the show.

On arrival we bought some drinks for the interval, as designated driver I was on soft drinks, my other half ordered a large white wine (well they don't come in a smaller size as far as she's concerned). We checked about buying merchandise as going home with either a mug or the CD with the soundtrack for a musical is something she always does. The chap that was serving us told us that they sold merchandise before and after the show but not during the interval. We opted to pick something up after the show rather than before.
This is the point that things went a bit wrong with the evening. During the interval we couldn't find our drinks and when one of the bar staff did find our drinks it turned out that a red wine had been ordered which would have been find for me but not my other half. Still they swapped the wine for the right one.
After the show as we were leaving we made our way to where they were selling the CDs only to find that everything had been packed away as it was the last night the show was on there. As a result they weren't selling anything and so we had to leave without the usual memento, a bit of a disappointment to her. Still its something I can remedy by getting the original cast recording as a Christmas present.

So what about the show itself. Well it was excellent. The cast were brilliant, the songs entertaining, there were some fabulous moments with the Oda Mae Brown character (very reminiscent of Whoopi Goldberg in the movie) and the nun's reaction when she gets handed a cheque by Oda Mae was priceless.
Both of the leading men managed to have scenes where they removed their shirts to reveal some nicely honed chests and muscles. I found myself studyng the muscle definition in the lead "bad guys" arms when he removed his shirt. Very impressive and must involve some serious gym work to maintain. As an athlete I can appreciate the effort that goes into developing a body like that :-)
The lead actress also managed to go topless, revealing a rather fetching black bra and a bosom that I was definitely jealous of. I do feel sorry for the men in the audience as they didn't get to appreciate that as much as us ladies got to appreciate the guys physiques.

All too soon the show came to a close and I found the geek in me raising her head.

When the cast as they came out for their final bows the audience applauded and I found myself noting the randomness of the clapping, however, after about 30 seconds something interesting had happened. As I was clapping I could hear a bit of a few other people clapping and adjusted the way I was clapping to be in time with them. Slowly everyone's clapping began to change until the entire audience was clapping in time. Quite amazing really and not something I'd noticed before at a show unless there was a definite beat to the music being played.

I'd not been sure about going to see the show to be honest but I'm glad I did as we both enjoyed it immensely. With our son away with our church for the weekend it was also the first time in ages that we've been out as a couple without having to worry about arranging for someone to look after him and keeping one eye on the time.

And just to give you an idea of what we saw here's the trailer for the show.



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