Wednesday 24 May 2017

Patience, Exams and a freezing shoulder......

I had a shortened day today what with illness, pre arranged absences and school exams this time of the year lesson regularity is often determined by those reasons - especially school exams ! Having taught in school in my early life I know how stressed pupils can become when these life determining exams loom. Many of my talented teens have been under that pressure this month ! They have coped very well and only missed rehearsals and lessons when they had an exam the follow morning - the rest of the time they have been very loyal to the cause ! What a devoted lot they are.

Our show rehearsals are going very well, it is Patience with a twist. Set in the Indian Raj with a barracks, a garden and the lawn of a colonial style house complete with furniture, a picket fence and a nurserymaid and small children. It is very complex - quite possibly the most complex show I have ever produced. In 'real' life, not stage life, daily happenings go on at all times, so fundamentally I have tried to have many of the cast going about their business, albeit in a slow paced way, whilst the main solos, duets, dialogue and dances etc are happening. It is hard to get the cast to understand that they must do their 'thing' at a very leisurely pace and in total silence, whilst never distracting from what the main character of the moment is doing.


Love it ! Just a perfect picture of the era.
 

So the officers drink sherry, and the privates eat lunch from mess tins, the ladies of the Big House drink cocktails and do embroidery whilst fanning themselves, and the love sick maidens lounge on the lawn drinking long glasses of lemonade........all whilst Bunthorne sings, comments and talks with Patience. It is a big ask but I am so proud of the whole cast, they have really given it a go and embraced the whole crazy idea with a will !

My frozen shoulder is giving me some 'gip' as we say in Yorkshire. Oddly, I can play the piano with no problem at all ( which is a blessing indeed since that's how I earn my living). There is no restriction of movement at all along the width of the keyboard, but attempting to lift something from a low or high cupboard, or sleep on my side is exquisite agony unless I plan the moves ! I have had it since last October and I know it can take a long time to recover, or thaw, so infact I now naturally 'plan' my moves, almost by second nature. It is wonderful how ones body learns to compensate relatively quickly so to avoid pain. Thus, I can almost get away with it if I am careful. I bought some pain relieving patches the last time I worked in Hong Kong at a traditional pharmacy and they really do work - they have a slightly clinical aroma which Gretel absolutely loathes ! I seem to repel her completely when I am patched up so to speak, so no cuddles for either of us !


Agh...........
 

My teaching week is largely finished now so it's back to trying more recipes in the Instant Pot - smoked haddock soup tomorrow which is very exciting, and possibly a shopping day on Saturday. Planning for a day in Inverness is great fun and I really enjoy the whole day out. We have a brilliant Co op here, but sometimes it's good to drive to the city and visit the larger shops and just browse. When I was at the JRAM I never ever had a Saturday free, so when I finally retired I loved the feeling of truancy when I ambled around shops at the weekend ! 

Such little things make us happy. 


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