Kinky Boots

I was lucky enough to go on another matinee trip into London with Martin Wood Events (Formally TAP events) and this time it was Kinky Boots The Musical.

We had an interesting journey into the capital. Because of the horror this week in Manchester, London was a hotbed for police and army activity. I was thankful for the added protection but I couldn't help feel on edge watching armed police on the streets.

I had taken the trip with my lovely friend Lauren since our journey had been a long and slow one, we had a quick hour in Zizzi's for lunch and a skinny Prosecco (yes that is a real thing!).

Founded in 1806, Kinky Boots is held at the Adelphi Theatre (which is completely accessible with very helpful and attentive staff), which was beautiful with stunning 1930's art deco decor. The show is based on the 2005 film starring Chiwetel Ejiofor and is about a failing shoe factory in Northampton, which, after a chance encounter with a drag queen, has a second chance which is ultimately based on a true story!

The factory owner, clueless and lost Charlie Price was played by understudy Paul Ayre, an endearing character portrayal that carried the quieter chunks of the show with some sweet solo's and real heart but as soon as wonderful Drag Queen Lola, played by Matt Henry (of The Voice fame), enters the stage, all eyes were on her. With a quick wit, sharp moves and legs to die for, Henry is a joy to watch driving the lively and colourful numbers with style.

The whole show was supported by a brilliant, lively cast and ensemble - high energy and humour in spades and I have to mention Elena Skye who played Lauren, this is Skye's debut in the West End and she was hilarious, like a cheeky Northern Amy Poehler.

The show's score was written by the incomparable Cyndi Lauper and you can hear her influence in all the songs, astute lyrics, playful beats and the ability to draw emotion and connection in her words. My personal favourites were "Sex is in the Heel", "What a woman wants" and "Raise Up/Just Be".

Kinky Boots The Musical is just fabulous, a heartwarming, jovial and unique show that you leave with a huge smile on your face, I will be back to see the show as soon as I can and I'm off to purchase the soundtrack now!




Until next Wednesday!
L xxx

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In case you missed last weeks vlog click here or wach the video below

Tapping to Wicked

I’m sorry I’m a day late! To be honest, Monday and Tuesday were pretty much written off with pain and sleep, and yesterday (Wednesday i.e. blog day!) my sister, Nicola, and I went to see the West End show Wicked and by the time we got home, I was in enough pain to warrant a dinner and bed!

Wicked!

Wicked, the hit West End/Broadway show is mesmerising and about to go on a tour. The storyline hones in on the unlikely friendship between the infamous Wicked Witch of the West, Elphaba, and Glinda the Good from the epic Wizard of OZ books/films. 

Speaking of unlikely friendships, our trip to see the show largely came from my own one. You see our day out was planned by TAP Events who organise matinee outings to big shows in London. TAP is owned and run by Martin and Karen.

I've known Karen for 16 years, and the reason our friendship is an unusual one, is that Karen is my ex-boyfriends Mum. My ex and I split up 12 years ago and yet Karen and I remained friends. Some think it's a tad odd but Karen is one of my closest friends who I love, respect and enjoy spending time with, however unlikely our friendship is!

Anyway...

Getting to London is a sore subject with me. I adore our capital and city of my birth, but getting around in a wheelchair is difficult in such a historic and busy place. The excellent thing about Tap Events is that being a Southend local company, they collect patrons at pick up points all around town and they're happy to take wheelchairs! 

I was treating my sister to the show, as her Birthday present, as I've seen the show before. The coach dropped us right outside the theatre but we had a couple of hours to explore, get lunch and shop. 

At 2:30, we were greeted at the theatre doors by Kara, Victoria Apollo's, assistances coordinator, who explained where we were seated, where the disabled loo's were, and then took us in via platform lifts to our dress circle seats, where we had an amazing view of the whole stage.

The show is no less incredible than the first time I saw it. In fact, Wicked get better each time, I think I was so enthralled the first time that I didn't fully take it in. The music, the voices, the costumes and set design were all mesmerising, I adore the way Wicked plot weaves effortlessly into the well known OZ tales and I found myself getting a tad emotional in parts because it is such a beautiful, emotive funny show. 

Luckily, since this was Nicola's Birthday gift, she loved the show, which by the way was her first foray into the West End, and said that she has caught the theatre bug. When I asked her what she thought of the show she simply said Wicked... what more can you say?

Nicola and I

After the show, the lovely Kara came and escorted us through the theatre back outside into the chilly February night, where our coach was waiting for us and although by this point I was exhausted and in agony,  we were both on the wonderful high show's like Wicked put you on. 

A huge thanks to Martin and Karen at Tap Events, I cannot recommend their service enough, they look after you every step of the trip, competitive prices for the shows are standard and you don't have to faff around on the trains and tubes. You do have to be able to take a few steps on and off the coach but every one helps to you and let you take your time (and boy do I take my time). I'll be using their services a lot in the future.

Go see Wicked!

Until next Wednesday,
L xxx

Be:Fit Review

I’ve been a bit of a coward! I wrote the preview to the Be:Fit show here. As you could tell, I was very excited and full of praise. Sadly, this was all very unnecessary.

Since I went to Be:Fit, I didn’t want to be mean a write a bad review, but I’ve come to the conclusion that I must be honest with my readers, even when my opinion isn’t good, how else are you guys meant to trust me?

BeFit

On March 28^th my Mother in Law Andrea, came to pick me up from Southend to go to Sussex, so that we could leave for Be:Fit bright and early on Saturday. Saturday was also my Mike’s home coming date (he’d been in California for work for two months). I was very excited for the weekend ahead!

By 7am Saturday morning, Andrea and I were on our way to my Sister in Law Emma’s house in Henfield. We had a few minutes to play with my nieces; Bethany and Abigail, before my Brother in Law Andrew was on Daddy Duty taking the girls to Ballet class.

We were meeting three of Emma’s close friends; Prue, Laura and Becky and we all headed to Horsham Train station, none of us were daft enough to even contemplating driving through London on a Saturday!

Laura had hired cars to take us to lunch (posh eh?!) at Wagamama’s (not so posh!) we had a glass of wine, some great fresh food and a big catch up, as we only see each other for the kids Birthdays. All of us, apart from me, were Mummy’s so they were relishing in faster eating/walking speeds and the joys of pressing the buttons at traffic lights and in lifts!!

When we got to Old Billingsgate, there were lots of people sat outside, we saw the hussle and bussle as a good sign of things to come.

Oh how disappointed we all were. For the last 4 years Be:Fit was called the Vitality Show and as you’ll have read in my preview, they were great, fun day’s out with lots to do and see and it was held in Earls Court.

Old Billingsgate, although an iconic and exquisite building, is half the size of Earls Court and as we walked in we saw a lot of SOLD OUT signs, not a great start. The stalls were tightly packed together and there was not enough room between them for people to comfortably move past each other. I spend the entire time saying “excuse me please”, “Sorry can I just get passed”, “Hello, Hello, HELLO!!” this was incredibly tiring and frustrating.

The stalls that were not already sold out, were very low on stock and because it was so crowded we didn’t feel we could stop and fully check out what was on show.

We did find a few lovely companies; Yurbud earphones, these are made with exercise in mind, Yurbud come in lots of colours and sizes for a perfect fit.

Little Miracles Tea's were giving out free bottles of their drinks, they've converted my views on Green Tea. For years, everyone has said how green tea helps with dieting, cleansing the body and lighting up the mind. What people never tell you is that green tea is vile! Little Miracles green tea with ginseng, pomegranate, acai and agave are refreshing and delicious!

Last year at the Vitality show I had a facial by the Neal Yard Team, since then I've been an avid fan and they had a stall a Be:Fit. I spent 10 minutes trying on all their gorgeous lotions and creams, they never disappoint but there were no facials available this year - boo!!

Half way through Be:Fit a lady practically jumped out at us holding clear and orange tubs of what looked like frog spawn and it included a spoon?!? We added the pots to our bag with Mike announcing that he would not be trying it at all.

We all know I'm a greedy bugger, up for anything, a real foodie who is always on a diet but I tried the frog spawn and it was so tasty! The company was called The Chia Company and Chia seeds are a flowering plant which is part of the mint family. The pots we were given were chia seeds, coconut milk and banana - simple but very yummy despite it's appearance, would highly recommend these as breakfast pots or dessert instead of calorific rice pudding.

Not frog spawn, yummy chia seed and banana pudding!

After getting around the ground floor in 30 minutes, we decide that we’d have a look upstairs. 

We went to a lift, we were told they had been turned off to stop people crowding them (bad excuse, the press office knew I was coming and that I was in a wheelchair). We stood for 15 minutes waiting for them to be put on. 

We eventually got upstairs, not via the customer lift but the dirty, foul smelling service lift, which we couldn’t even get in until they’d cleared half a dozen black sacks in the doorway.

Upstairs was as dire as the lower floor, too packed, empty stools and very uninspiring.

After 50 minutes we gave up. Deflated, disappointed and annoyed we decided to leave. The only two highlights of the show were when Athlete Denise Lewis walked passed and said Hello and when half way through, my boy Mike arrived with a huge beard, looking very jetlagged and completely out of his depth at a women's exhibition!

Andrea, Emma, Prue, Laura and Becky made my day; laughing, joking and gossiping, especially as I was suffering and in a lot of pain, but sadly, my party and I were not impressed at all by Be:Fit, I will remain on their mailing list for next year, but whether I go next year or not is debatable, it's such a shame they had a great show and have ruined it.

L x

P.S My next blog will be from Australia! Mike has a work commitment there and we had just enough time and money to go to Oz a few days earlier to catch up with family and friends. It's very last minute, we booked it 4 days ago, we leave in 2 days - I cannot wait!

Be:Fit London

Some of you may remember that last year I went to The Vitality Show. For those who don’t; The Vitality Show is a women’s health and fitness festival, where you can buy and try new and innovative beauty, fitness and health products. Watch or participate in exercise classes, listen to experts and celebrities do talks on everything women related; from sex, weight, nutrition and illness. Plus you can indulge in massages, manicures and facials. A fabulous girl’s day out.

This year the festival has been renamed Be:FitLondon, and my third time visiting. I always come home, happy, relaxed and with a lot of new goodies to try! Last year alone I had a facial, bought new candles, had a hand massage, and bought an array of new snacks and drinks to try. I bought several cosmetics too but the amazing thing about this festival is that all the vendors treat Be:Fit customers to discounts and marked down goodie bags with a ton of samples!!

TV Presenter Kirsty Gallacher, Olympic Cyclist Victoria Pendleton, Athlete Denise Lewis and model Jodie Kidd are this year’s Ambassadors, exciting and inspiring these are well worth attending!

Insanity, Nike and Reebok are holding fitness classes alongside yoga & Bootcamp sessions plus a Beyonce Workout class – who wouldn’t want a body like Mrs Carter?

Be:Fit Vendors this year include, Better you, the natural food/supplement company, Lorna Jane – the Australian work out clothing brand, Harper's Bazaar magazine are joining in and the awesome Less Bounce bra company too. To see a full list of vendors go here!

I’m visiting on Saturday 29^th, so, if you see a dark hair girl in a pink wheelchair holding a ton of bags and a huge grin – that’ll be me, come say Hi!

L x

The Rest of January 2014

After the long day at Paradise Wildlife park, I had to rest for three days, as my body was spent - agony does not describe the pain, but on the 4th day we had a trip back to London!

18 Months ago, Mike and I bought tickets to see the band Maroon 5 at the O2. We were meant to see them last June but they'd postponed the gig for 6 months - lazy so and so's!

We got to the O2 a few hours before the doors opened, so we could go for our usual pre gig dinner at one of the venue's many restaurants.

We chose Las Iguana as neither of us had tried them before. Sadly we were a tad disappointed;  the staff were rather rude and dismissive. On gig nights the restaurant does half price cocktails - which were lovely, but the food was flavourless and only lukewarm, in fact as I write this, I can't even remember what we had!

As I am an O2 mobile customer we were given access to the O2 V.I.P cocktail bar. I had two very strong Mojito cocktails - which made up for the lack of food in my belly.

Happy and a tad tipsy, we made our way to the disabled seating section, which is basically a wide platform with ramps just to the left of the main stage. I do see our great seats as a bonus to our disabilities - there has to be a silver lining to everything! There are few bonus' to being ill but front row tickets is a big perk!

I'm always astounded by the size of the o2, every time I go, I cannot believe I'm joined by 20,000 people. Those at the back, look like ants from the front. I'm not sure I'd would bother going just to see the big screens, I love to perv  actually see the acts in the flesh.

20k People at The O2

Supporting Maroon 5 was a guy called PJ Morton a singer/song writer from New Orleans, who is also currently standing in as Maroon 5's keyboard player too. Being a little tispy and excited, I spent most of his set watching other people filing in, holding their "We Love You" signs.

The main support act was Robin Thicke, yes, he of 'Blurred Lines'. I know there is a large consensus of people that feel the song was inappropriate and an advocate of sexual assault, but I can't imagine Mr Thicke or his band/family/record label would have release the song otherwise. I do believe it was meant to be tongue in cheek and a fun record.

Robin Thicke

Anyway, Robin Thicke was brilliant and an effortless performer, who really got the crowd going and what got the biggest applaud? Blurred Lines, of course!

When Maroon 5 came out the crowd erupted into a frenzy of cheers, feet stomping and whoops. Of course I love my Mike, but lead singer Adam Levine is so bloody HOT!...

Levine!

The band were fantastic, playing from their entire back catalogue, including hit's such as; "She will be loved", "Makes me wonder", "Payphone" plus an incredible rendition of "Moves like Jagger". Mr Levine played on his sex symbol status, wooing the ladies with a sexy little hip wiggle and an empty promise of taking his top off, all whilst being the envy of all men present! 

By 11:30pm our voices hoarse from singing and the show was over in a confetti canon conclusion.

Despite not getting to bed until 1am, the next day was our friend Mikes surprise 30th Birthday party.

Amazing Night

We had made a photo montage comprising of Mike's "best" moments.... i.e. naked baby pictures and drunken wipe out photos!

We'd seen Mike and Lauren for dinner earlier in the week and how Mike had no idea what we were all up to, I don't know. Both Lauren and I mentioned the party a dozen times, I can only conclude Mike hears white noise when Lauren and I waffle on!

The surprise party was a complete hit, and my Mike and I were the last ones standing, (or sitting in my case) along with Mike, Lauren and our friends Sarah and Mark - boom!

New Memories....

...and new photos for the drunken blackmail voult!

It was noon on Sunday before I surfaced, although I was void of any hangover, my body hated me. My feet were curled in spasms, purple, frozen and the rest of me didn't fare much better, but I was on a mission.

My last task of the week was to bake chocolate Muffins, as our friends Steve and Sarah were visiting for tea and cake that afternoon. I bore everyone with the Steve and Sarah tale.... so why should my readers miss out?

I've known Steve for 10 years, I used to go clubbing or to the pub with him and all his boys, summers were filled with BBQ's, bars and swimming in the Thames.

These days the boy's have grown up got wives and have or almost have children. When my youngest sister turned 18, she, our brothers and I all invited our various friends for a big night out. I invited Steve and my brother Steven invited his school friend Sarah.

A few days later they had been on a date and Steve had sent Sarah a huge bouquet of flowers. Fast forward 6 years, they've married and in two months their little boy James will be born. Although this union was a complete fluke, in my mind, I'm cupid!

Steve and Sarah

L x

Ode to Erin

As I said in my Valentine’s post, last weekend I was at a family do. I’ve mentioned my extensive family before but on my mum’s side alone I have 34 cousins who so far have had 8 children themselves... can you imagine if each of my cousins had two babies?

Some of the Family

Luckily very few of us send cards or give gifts I would be permanently skint! My Nan used to send each of us £10 for our birthdays and Christmas.... with me, my 4 siblings plus the 34 of my cousins that’s a lot of cash – not even counting the cards to send them in!

So when there’s a Wedding, Birthday or Christening, very rarely does it work holding a house party. Before the last 15 of my cousins were born we used to gather at my Nan’s 3 bed East End terrace for New Years Eve. My cousin’s Lee, Terry, Scott and I used to hide under the buffet table or in the garden just to breath!

I loved these parties; UB40 on the stereo, a Tesco bought spread and crates of Bacardi... I can’t even smell this particular rum let alone drink it now – and weirdly I never have despite all my drunken nights out; it’s the drink of my Aunts.

Last weekend’s get together was in honour of my cousin Erin. Erin’s Dad and my Mum are brother and sister. She’s 21 and had never met any of us before – some might say she’s lucky, we’re a rowdy, annoying London family but I felt for her. I hardly get to see most of my family any more but least I have the Bacardi fuelled memories.

Erin lives in Sydney, Australia and from her stories she has a lovely family, great friends and work mate’s, a degree to look forward to and to top it off she’s beautiful – not a bad life at all – No, I’m not feeling so bad for her now either!

The party in Erin’s honour was held in an old pub in Leyton, there was an Iceland’s buffet and I made my infamous “mixtape” CD’s. The party went really well and I think Erin felt welcomed if not a little overwhelmed!

Erin and I

On the Sunday there were 10 of us at my Aunts house and we took our time getting up and ready, with a breakfast of sausage rolls, sandwiches and chicken nuggets – you guessed it – leftovers!!

Erin, our cousin Lee and I decided to do the tourist thing and explore London’s most famous sights, first stop St. Pauls Cathedral, all three of us were in awe of such a splendid place but Erin was horrified to find out that neither Lee nor I, both London born and bred, had ever been there before – the shame!

From there we visited Fleet Street, The High Courts, Australia house, Convent Garden; where the Bafta’s were being held that day, Nelson’s column in Trafalgar Square, the Olympic Countdown Clock, up to the House of Commons and Big Ben and lastly a trip on the London Eye. On such a grey winters day London looked very old, mysterious and almost as though we’d gone back in time.

BAFTA's!

And do you know what? No matter how many times I go on the Eye, walk through Convent Garden watching street performers and take a million and one photos of Big Ben; I never get sick of London. I love it! I love that I was born there and even though I only lived there for 6 years, if I say I’m from Essex in front of my cousins I get told off!

London

My day was marred by public transport’s lack of consideration for those less able like myself. I was travelling back to Southend on my own. We had to try two different stations to let me get on their trains, then the second of those didn’t know where their ramp was and there was nowhere to buy a bloody ticket so I fretted all the way home that A. There would be no ramp to get off and B. I would be fined for the lack of tickets. I made it home after a tearful phone call to my Mum and Dad. Sad when something so simple like taking a direct train home leaves you feeling that vulnerable!

Still, despite the ending I had a brilliant weekend and cannot wait for the next gathering in May when the first of my cousins is getting married!

L x