Dick Whittington - Holcot Village Hall

It's the morning after the final performance of Dick Whittington. There is a covering of snow on the ground, my throat is sore and there is a feeling of emptiness inside me. My Lord  Mayors Tricorn hat with it's feather at half mast sits redundant now a poignant reminder of what has been achieved over the last two days.

Holcot Village Hall

But it's not just about the last two days at all ,it's so much more than that. This has been my life for the past three months! So maybe it's understandable that I should feel so flat? Like the child feels once Christmas is all over and the tree and decorations have all been packed away maybe? I expected to feel relief and be glad it's all done and dusted. Instead i'm left  wanting more , the buzz and adrenaline rush of being part of something, a 'connectedness' that is no longer.

Me and Andy Willson backstage rehearsals

How did it all start ? All because of the man pictured above Andrew Willson, oh and alcohol...
We happened to be out one night when he told me that it looked as though he would probably have to play two parts in his upcoming pantomime. Quick as a flash I said ' I'll do one'. Quite a bold statement considering i'd never even been in a school play. Bravado some might say, madness others.

Pre-Panto interview Nene Radio with Andy Cole

Whatever there was no going back, despite reservations afterwards I felt that I couldn't let Andy down and looked on it as a huge challenge. So I decided to throw myself into it right from the first rehearsal in early November to taking on some marketing. This included a couple of Radio slots including Radio Northampton and Nene Radio with Andy Cole pictured above.    

Yours truly in 'the purple coat'

Backstage, wheres my dresser ? Still no blue M&M's!

I remember that first rehearsal all too well. The rest of the cast had been practising for a few weeks already so were quite familiar with the script. I felt a fraud as they all seemed very professional and I was pretty much blagging it. I did the read through and the Director David Walker must have felt sorry for me or just desperate as he offered me the part!I do recall him saying 'Peter, you've got something....' he never did elaborate on that. Whatever it was I left the Village Hall feeling ten feet tall and determined to learn the lines as quickly as possible. I enjoyed the rehearsing every Thursday evening and looked forward to it.

Look we did rehearse! I look in time for once....

 Learning the lines was a different matter and they just wouldn't sink in. It didn't help not knowing who was who and sometimes somebody else would stand in if there was an absence. It took me a month to differentiate between Dick and Dom which i'm sure they found equally frustrating. Having just about got my head around the amount of lines needed for the part of 'Boris Fitzwarren' Alderman or Lord Mayor of London a further surprise was in store. I was expected to take part in a song and dance routine, they don't tell you this when you sign up do they! Now i'm no singer or dancer come to that so how was I going to pull that off?

Where are we?

 Now Boris as well as being Lord Mayor of London only happens to own the worlds largest sweet shop, oh yes he does. He has a lovely daughter called 'Alice' who talks mostly in cockney rhyming slang. Someone and I think it is 'Dom' the hapless shop employee happens to mention that if Boris was in America he would be called 'The Candy Man' .... cue the music. I originally started off by trying to sing and dance properly in time with the other cast members on stage.

Confused Boris??

 I never quite made it so decided that as my character was loosely based on 'Boris Johnson' I would 'bumble' around deliberately getting it wrong. I did have a big finish however! This involved sliding on my knees to the front of the stage complete with 'big jazz hands' singing 'The Candy Man Can' at the top of my voice no holding back. I just about got away with it I think?

And now the timing has all gone.

I have to say I rather like my outfit. Originally I was only kitted out with the purple Lord Mayors coat so had to search round a bit to accessorize and adapt. This included borrowing the Mayor of Wellingborough's back up chains. In the panto the dreadful King Rat aided and abetted by his 'ratlings' and not forgetting 'Zit and Zog'are forever planning and attempting to steal.

Zit and Zog plotting ....

The Ratlings

 Most of my appearances are in Act 1 which is set in London. In the second half most have the cast have set sail for the Sultan of Morocco's casbah. Act 2 does involve a costume change for me no less. The reality is that I do only change my topcoat from the purple to a red one. The consensus did seem to be that the red one did suit me better and looked slightly more regal. On the Friday of the first performance I was there on the stroke of 5pm just as David was unlocking the venue. The last thing I wanted was to be late and rushing around like an idiot. Inside the first thing I spotted were the two barrels of beer.David suggested I might want to try them out, maybe he detected a few first night nerves? Anyway the beer flowed and tasted good an omen maybe? I had a nervous wait to make my appearance,some twenty minutes after the curtain goes up. I sat backstage anxiously reading through my lines for the millionth time. First on stage were the 'wandering minstrels' to warm up the audience.

The Wandering Minstrels

 They made several further appearances throughout the performance. I managed to forget to take my reading glasses off as I made my low key entrance stage right. In my haste to discard the glasses I managed to knock a tin of sweets off the table. I am happy to relax backstage for the most part of Act 2 as our heroes set sail for Morocco. But the voyage is ill fated as King Rat furious as not being able to steal my Lord Mayor's chain has vowed to bankrupt me.

King Rat in all her glory

Sheikh King Rat

In the Sultan of Morocco's Casbah

 With the chain safely stowed in the Tower of London he is sure to try and sink the ship and steal my entire stock of sweets. Not only that he has a Moroccan cousin 'Sheikh King Rat' who reeks just as much havoc over there. Sure enough the rats do there very worst and the ship is sunk despite the best efforts of Captain Hawkeye and his First Mate to stay afloat.

First Mate with Capt Hawkeye

Bring on the dancing girls

The Sultan is impressed

Sybil has a proposition for Boris

The cast are washed up on the beach and captured by the Sultan's guards and taken to the Casbah. Once the Sultan realises they are 'Fitzwarrens people' they are released immediately. The Sultan calls for his dancers and the fun begins! A plot is hatched to trap 'Sheikh King Rat',Dom falls in love with the Sultans sultry daughter 'Sultana' and 'Sybil' well is just Sybil.... All goes pretty much according to plan and the Sultan generously provides a ship for safe return to London.

A quick straightening of my feather(that isn't a euphemism by the way)and i'm back on stage again. This time in splendid isolation just me and the audience. I'm all ready to welcome back our intrepid travellers, but where are they? The audience soon let me know that Tin-Tin is back , quickly followed by Sybil and Alice. An emotional re-union soon takes place but all is not what it seems... Alice and Sybil have somehow swapped roles and it's all very confusing for poor Boris.

Sybil you seem somewhat different ?

Here comes the bride

Things get a whole lot more confusing when Sybil asks Boris to marry him! But they are not alone the hero 'Dick' gets his Alice and 'Dopey Dom' gets married to 'Sultry Sultana' so happy endings all
around

Our hero gets his Alice

.

Thank you all for coming

For me a fantastic experience and I think I just about got away with it? I would like to thank everybody involved in the production not just the performers but those behind the scenes who were very kind to me. I really hope it won't be the first and last Panto with the good people of Holcot. A considerable amount has been raised for charity, i've made some good friends along the way, had a lot of fun and that's what it's all about really!

See you all next year!

 I'm looking forward to the 'big screen premiere' of 'Dick Whittington' being shown to all those associated in the Village Hall shortly. Somehow think I shall need to take my own red carpet though. Finally just as we were all leaving snow was falling which did seem very appropriate. Yes 'Excellent indeed, and a celebratory drink is called for in the Mucky Duck' as Boris might say.

Nightwish - Wembley Arena

The last Nightwish concert of 2015 the hope and expectation was massive for the sellout crowd of 12,500 especially as it was the only UK show. But before the concert there was the small matter of going to meet the band! I was lucky to get pulled out of the UK Fan Club draw and we all gathered expectantly at the Holiday Inn. It was all extremely relaxed in the meet'n'greet room with everybody well behaved and nobody taking advantage of the freebies on offer. Had a chat with ever band member got a few bits and pieces signed and a few pictures and unfortunately all to quickly it was over. It was a lovely experience and it was clear that the band had been gearing up for the Wembley gig as the 'big one' and the highlight of the tour. We had good seats close to the stage and elevated I would have preferred to be on the barriers but no way was I going to start queuing early morning for that privilege. Finnish band 'Amorphis' were first on stage and were good. They were followed by Sweden's 'Arch Enemy' who are just not my cup of tea i'm afraid. Playing Wembley underlines just how far Nightwish have risen up the heavy metal ladder becoming the first Finnish band as well as symphonic metal band to play the venue. As soon as vocalist Floor arrived on stage she announced that the concert was being filmed for a live DVD next year. From the opening song 'Shudder before the beautiful' to the very end there was no let up in incredible display of pyrotechnics, lights and smoke. As you would expect a large proportion of the setlist came from the latest album 'Endless Forms Most Beautiful'. But there were some less expected songs such as 'Stargazers' and 'while your Lips Are Still Red' with Marco on lead vocals. It was good to hear 'Nemo' back in it's normal format. There is no doubt that both Floor and Troy have added a new dimension to Nightwish. Floor has brought to life many of the songs and Troy is now a vital cog in the Nightwish wheel with what he brings. The second half has its epic heavyweight songs too with the likes of 'The Poet and the Pendulum' and 'Ghost Love Score'. Generally with the odd exception the sound quality is good and the promised DVD is sure to be excellent. For me I prefer a smaller venue than the soulless Wembley but those days are in the past now. The final epic The Greatest Show on Earth‘ saw Richard Dawkins emerge out on stage to speak the final lines of the track was a fitting end to the show even for someone like me who disagrees with his views. A monumental performance that will live long in the memory!

 Full Setlist

• Shudder Before the Beautiful
• Yours is an Empty Hope
•  Everdream
• Storytime
• My Walden
• While Your Lips are still Red
•  Elan
• Weak Fantasy
• 7 Days to the Wolves  
• Alpenglow
• The Poet and the Pendulum
• Nemo
•  I Want My Tears Back
•  Stargazers
•  Ghost Love Score
•  Last Ride of the Day
•  The Greatest Show on Earth (Chapter I: Four Point Six; Chapter II: Life; Chapter III: The Toolmaker)

Fish - Birmingham Town Hall

Christmas had certainly arrived in Birmingham ! The Town Hall is smack bang in the town centre and the German Christmas Market is in town.

Being used to the token offering in Northampton it was quite a surprise and stretched on endlessly a  cavalcade of lights and sound.

I even treated us to a large German sausage ....

But we were not here for the sausage, or indeed the lager or anything else being thrust before us. Oh no we were here for a nostalgic trip down memory lane after some 35 years of it's launch. This would be the last time that the iconic and most well known of Marillion albums 'Misplaced Childhood' would be performed by it's creator as it was intended , in it's entirity. Fish himself came on stage to announce the support band 'Lazuli' warning those still in the bar that they were about to miss something special. Describing them as probably the best support band he has encountered during his career. High praise indeed! Lazuli are a French Progressive Rock band formed in Southern France in 1998 by Claude and Dominique Leonetti.I have to say they were very impressive !The set starts off with a sitar sounding electrical vertical guitar, I have no idea what such a thing is called? They sing in French and are an unlikely collection of multi instrumentalists. The set is completed with all 5 of them around an electronic glockenspiel culminating with a version of Marillion's 'Incommunicado'. Followed by a well deserved standing ovation. “You think you’ve brought a ticket to a gig. You’ve not.” We’re rolling back time Fish tells us. 30 years to be precise. ‘Misplaced Childhood’ Marillion with Fish on vocals was their biggest album reaching platinum status, straight in at #1 in the UK charts, 41 weeks in the actual charts themselves. Marillion only made one more album afterwards with Fish‘Clutching At Straws’ before he went his separate way. Of course Marillion have continued very succesfully since 1989 with Steve Hogarth on vocals. Fish takes the stage with his customary scarf around his neck. He starts off with some offerings from his solo career ‘Pipeline’ from album ‘Suits, followed by ‘Feast of Consequences.’ Of course there is the obligatory chatter, anecdotes and witty observations sandwiched between each song. By the time the opening notes of ‘Pseudo Silk Komono’ begin the audience has warmed up and gone from seated to standing. The fifty minutes flew by on a wave of nostalgia but it was more that that it was part of my growing up. There was still time for encores that included the crowd favourite from 'Script for a Jesters Tear' 'Market Square Heroes'.

 This might be the last chance to ever hear 'Misplaced Childhood' in full but Fish has promised to keep going for at least another two years.

Setlist: Pipeline (Fish – Suits)
Feast of Consequences (Fish – Feast of Consequences)
 Family Business (Fish – Virgil in a Wilderness of Mirrors)
 The Perception of Johnny Punter (Fish – Sunsets on Empire)
 Misplaced Childhood (Marillion) in it’s entirety:
 Pseudo Silk Komono
 Kayleigh
 Lavender
 Bitter Suite
Heart of Lothian
Waterhole (Express Bongo)
 Lords of the Backstage
Blind Curve Childhood’s End?
White Feather

Encore: Market Square Heroes (Marillion – Script for a Jesters Tear)
 The Company (Fish – Virgil in a Wilderness of Mirrors)

The Steve Rothery Band - The Stables MK

Guitarist and founder member of Marillion, Steve Rothery is touring his long awaited solo album “The Ghosts of Pripyat”. As you would expect the album is packed with his trademark guitar solos.An instrumental album taking the listener on an epic journey through demonic dreams, to an eerie post-Chernobyl ghost town via oceans and icy wastelands. The band is made up of some extremely talented musicians including fellow guitarist Dave Foster (Mr So and So).Dave also released his own solo album 'Gravity' in 2012. The first half was compromised of the first 5 tracks from the new album 'The Ghosts of Pripyat'.

1 Morpheus
2 Kendris
3 Old Man of the Sea
4 White Pass
5 Summer's End

 For the second half the band were joined on vocals by Martin Jakubski from the Marillion tribute band 'Stillmarillion'.

The set was made up of the classic album 'Misplaced Childhood' in it's entirety. It's amazing to think that the album was celebrating 30 years since it's release in 1985. The album was the band's "most accomplished" and "streamlined" work to date, while Ultimate Classic Rock has called it "the cornerstone of the entire 'neo-prog' movement". I have to say that I do however prefer the first two albums; 'Script for a Jester's Tear' and 'Fugazi'.  

Misplaced Childhood

Pseudo Silk Kimono
Kayleigh
Lavender
Bitter Suite
Heart of Lothian
Waterhole (Expresso Bongo)
Lords of theBackstage
Blind Curve
Childhood's End?
White Feather

The encores were an absolute treat for any fan of the 'Fish' era Marillion.

Encore 1  

Cinderella Search
Sugar Mice
Incubus

The second encore was an even bigger treat with part of  the rarely heard epic 'Grendel'

Encore 2

Grendel (Final guitar solo)




 

Autumn Colour and Carpetbaggers

 It was a nice sunny Autumn Sunday afternoon and just about perfect for a wander in thee countryside. Using a local map we set off from the car park at Draughton village next to the Brampton Valley Way. The route would criss-cross the old disused railway line that runs to Market Harborough initially taking us up to the village of Maidwell.

Always a favourite time of the year for me as the leaves begin to lose the fight but their farewell provides a fantastic array of colour before the ground takes them. The journey continued uphill and the hum of the ever busy A14 (M1-A1 link road) which itself rises to a pounding roar as we navigate the perimeter fence.

Autumn Leaves

Walking away from the A14 we soon came to the Carpetbagger Aviation Museum at Harrington. Operation Carpetbagger was a general term used for the aerial supply of weapons and other supplies to resistance fighters in France, Italy and the Low Countries by the U.S. Army Air Forces that began on 4 January 1944.
 

 In late 1943, the 22nd Anti-Submarine Squadron of the Eighth Air Force was disbanded at RAF Alconbury and its aircraft used to form the 36th and 406th Bomb Squadrons. These two squadrons were placed under the provisional 801st Bomb Group at RAF Harrington at the beginning of 1944 and the first "Carpetbagger" missions were carried out. In April 1944, the group moved to RAF Harrington (Station 179), a more secluded and thus more secure airbase.

 

 It's a cracking little museum with photographs, maps and exhibits and unique film footage describing the secret missions flown by the Harrington Airmen. Other displays show the vast secret agent and supply network masterminded by the British Special Operations operated from RAF Tempsford. Alongside the Carpetbagger Aviation Museum is the old Paymaster General's Nissen Hut and the Northants Aviation Museum. This museum contains the remains of recovered World War II aircraft including parts of a Lancaster, Hurricane, Wellington, Tiger Moth, B17 Flying Fortress, B24 Liberator and other WWII aircraft.



Leaving the museum we walked back along the old runway which eventually took us back in the direction of the Brampton Valley Way. Lots of unusual funghi on display as you would expect at this time of the year. With the clocks going back last night the afternoon was drawing in quickly and soon got cold. A really good walk of about 5 and a half miles!