On the Road Again!

When we got back from the panto yesterday, at abut 6pm,  I turned on the laptop.  Logged into the Marlowe Theatre Peter Pan booking page for the 23rd December 2026. We like the 2.30pm performance so we can use the park and ride - see earlier blog. WHAT!!! I like the circle. There is less chance of being singled out for "audience participation". This year a guy called Matthew was picked and ended up on stage in one stage routine!  Not for me. Sadly, there were no seats together that wouldn't leave one unused seat! So I couldn't book in the circle. We are now in the upper circle where there were also few double seats left! But we are in the front row. So no one standing up in front of us!

Yesterday, December 23rd, was my 70th birthday!  The day my new driving licence kicks in and I can no longer drive vehicles over 3.5t.  I doubt I was going to anyway! We decided that as we were going to the panto in Canterbury that we use Molly instead of the car. It would mean we could dump the accumulated grey waste and get the park and ride bus into the city centre.  We would have used the park and ride in the car. Parking in Canterbury is a nightmare in any case.  Plus, they have had no thought at all into providing car owners and visiting drivers with roads that keep traffic flowing.  In the end there are three park and rides.  Luckily, Canterbury City Council are quite forward thinking in another area as one of the park and rides is home to a dedicated "motorhome aire".  This is at New Dover Road. There is a grid for both grey and black waste, cassette cleaning and grid washing down water and further back, a fresh water tap where y...

 My annual birthday outing to the panto at the Marlowe in Canterbury.  Another superb performance.

This year's pantomime at the Marlowe Theatre in Canterbury was Aladdin. Apart from COVID years we have been every year since 2013. There are only a few pantomimes that can be performed, and so we probably seen a version of Aladdin before. Each year the format has to fit the story but within that there are many things they can do with the script. Of course Ben Roddy was back to play the Dame. If you want to know about panto, Google it. As usual the music was managed by Chris Wong, the musical director for 29 years. Again there were the usual gags, plus many new ones, some for kids and many only the adults would understand. Next year it will be Beauty and the Beast! So we get good seats I have booked for my birthday again! I was amazed how many seats were left for the matinee performance - 8. The theatre seats 1200!! Luckily there were two in the circle with an aisle seat!

Cancelled last year so tickets rolled over to this year.  I didn't bother cancelling and getting a refund as I was hoping that this year that covid would have been defeated.  Of course it hasn't and we have a new panic with the Omicron Variant. This year it is "Jack and the Beanstalk" - the tale of an everyday thicko that becomes a hero. So we have to hope that after being vaccinated three times and back under the Government's Plan B that sitting in a room with air blowing through and wearing our coats and hats and of course, masks, that it will still go ahead. Thursday is my birthday as well. So I am hoping to have a good day out at the matinee and maybe some non Slimming World approved food!

This year's panto at the Marlowe Theatre in Canterbury is Mother Goose. We usually buy tickets as soon as we can to ensure we get our favourite seat but this year.... Oops.  On a shopping visit recently we dropped in a bought them.  Panto Website Photography by Pamela Raith

Yesterday was panto time at The Marlowe in Canterbury. As it was my birthday Claire emailed so that when they did the birthdays I got a mention too. Luckily not my age. 62. So this year it was Peter Pan. Superbly done as usual. Great scipt as usual. And music a perfect match. The two "soap" stars this year Wendi Peters and Shawn Williamson were good and could both sing. Essential as pantos are musicals. Next year. Cinderella.

Panto. I don't know if other countries have pantomime as part of their theatrical tradition but here in Great Britain it is a major part of the Christmas season. Many towns and cities will have their own; from local amateur dramatic productions to big all star cast productions. A recent trend has been to attract "big names" from the world of TV to star in the productions and bring in the audiences. The soap opera world in particular. This year at the Marlowe Theatre in Canterbury the cast was headed by Stephen Mulhern, who we know as a game show host. In Ben Roddy we have a superb dame. If you don't know what a panto dame is, Google it. Don't bother.... Here's the wiki definition - https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pantomime_dame This year the panto was Dick Whittington. The tale of the young man coming to London to seek his fame and fortune. This Dick achieved his fame and won the girl of his...

e Theatre Panto 2013 - Jack and the Beanstalk  Panto! This afternoon Claire and I went to the pantomime at the Marlowe Theatre in Canterbury.  We parked in the park and ride as Canterbury could be a nightmare at the best of times. The panto this year was Jack and the Beanstalk. An old tale about a dim boy that becomes a hero by killing the nasty giant ogre and all the trials and tribulations of getting that far. Fee fie foe fum and all that.  It starred Samantha Womack (Janus) from TV. Currently she is in the long runnng (and depressing soap opera EastEnders on the BBC) and a guy that the kids knew from Cee-Beebies. There was a reasonable amount of smut and innuendo, as per the rules of panto. Plus loads of sign-alongs and children's favourite songs and of course, a Princess to be saved and a man playing the Dame. Excellent all round family entertainment in two and a half hours...... http://www.marlowetheatre.com/page/3040/Jack-And-The-Beanstalk/4...