"Standing at the Sky's Edge" Crucible Theatre set

This short drone movie , moved me so very much tonight. 

It was sent to me by a dear friend who I worked with on Spinal Injuries with the note 

“ this will make you cry” 

And it did

And it sort of captured the pride I have for a city I no longer live in , but which I adore so very much.

I had a lovely time touching base with old friends yesterday and this afternoon. 

Tea and cake in Kathryn’s cosy front room with Vince just as sweet as sitting smiling at John H holding court with me and Mike in All Bar One and Jane running through the sodden Sheffield streets with our umbrella giving up the ghost.

Standing At The Sky’s Edge

 

I’m in Mark’s having a coffee. 

Just enough time for a sausage ciabatta and a blog before I meet the others.

Standing At The Sky Edge is a lovely Sheffield own musical. cleverly staged and impeccably acted it explores three generations in the history of one of the Hyde Park Flats In Sheffield. A listed building built in the 1950s  as a “streets in the sky” panacea to slum clearance . 

And so we meet 1960s young couple Harry & Rose . She a loyal housewife , he an idealist foreman in the steel industry, they move and laugh and love in their flat in the sky alongside an 1980s Liberian immigrant family and 2017 Poppy an unhappy lesbian from London in search of a new life in the recently upgraded and trendy housing complex. The three stories unwind on stage together and it takes some very clever choreography to keep the action going and storylines precise and clear but Richard Hawley and Chris Ode for the most part carry the whole thing off admirably .

Of course the in jokes were lapped up by the packed Sheffield audience 

A character brings a bottle of Henderson’s relish as a housewarming gift, the spicy contents loved by the Liberian family who think all English food is not seasoned enough whilst another character slags off Leeds to cheers from the audience, all jokes being lost if the production shifts to London.

I did enjoy it, and was incredibly moved at some of the visuals and memories it evoked. The story of regeneration, hope and positivism balancing the real backstories of urban decay , poverty  and misguided  local government decisions . 

The ensemble cast were wonderful

They even managed to bring in the prop of the I love You Sky Bridge which didn’t leave a dry eye in the house when it appeared 

https://disasterfilm.blogspot.com/2011/08/i-love-you-bridge.html

Sheffield

 I’m leaving for Sheffield. I’ve walked the dogs and fed them and Trendy Carol’s hubby will be collecting them soon.

I’ve eaten a shop bought sandwich with my bucket of coffee because I hadn’t shopped and have just booked my hotel in a slighter rougher part of the city.

I’m travelling by train and should be ‘ome around 3pm.

This afternoon , I will meet my friend John who is dealing with an illness with all of the arch of Barbara Stanwick at her very best and Mike who deals with everything with a laid back attitude typical of a Yorkshireman who is seldom bothered about “ owt”

Tonight it’s theatre at the Crucible with Jane  and tomorrow after a lie in Vince will pick me up and we will drive to see Kathryn for lunch in Derbyshire . I’ve known both since my student nurse days.

Hey ho

After all the shenanigans with the trains I was just about to give Aviva Trains a bashing , but a new 22 century train arrived on time and looked sleek and clean and fit for purpose.

Bit Between Our Teeth

 

The Trelawnyd Community Association of which I am now a trustee has recently taken over responsibility for our village hall, which is at risk of closing

The Memorial Hall is an impressively large building for such a small village and was commissioned at the turn of the century by the deliciously handsome Michael Antonio Ralli. 

Ralli, a Russian from Odessa who was the Greek Consul in Liverpool, strangely made his home in Trelawnyd with his wife Mia and knowing that many of the local men were in need of work , he commissioned a large hall, so that more men would be employed. 

Ralli

With fuel prices high, the Hall being a listed building and overheads as they are, the association has volunteered to take on a rather big job, but with a new committee of volunteers, we will hit the road running so to speak 

One of the first events was my idea, a large noisy, good natured, alcohol fuelled Village Céilidh, a celebration of a new hall management team and a new era 

Noodles

 I’m reducing myself to the old Facebook ploy of photographing my lunch.

How sad…..mind you my Thai noodles from a stall in the new Chester Market were bloody lovely, and have brightened a much dark and depressing Tuesday..

I wrote my letters and have drank coffee in the Storyhouse, this morning

And all is ok with the world 

This evening I caught up with some of the members of the TCA for an impromptu catch up and haven’t laughed so much in ages

My House Keeper

 

If I had ever lived in a large house. 

I would have loved to have a house keeper .

She would be one of those long suffering , loyal cinematic type of house keepers….wise cracking, opinionated and always there….with a pithy comment, a gentle smile and bowl of soup. 

Think Miranda Hobbs’ Magna in Sex and The City….. Arthur Bach’s Hobson in Arthur or Karen Walker’s Rosario in Will and Grace.

Mine will be a Rosemary Harris lookalike whose always unseen husband will be keeping the garden up to standard . They live in and never had any children. 

We’ve never had a serious heartfelt conversation 

We’ve never had to.

Tomorrow I’ve set aside 2 strict hours 

I’ve completed my college work, I’ve caught up with my finances, I’ve done my online training for work ….so this is 120 minutes to sit with a coffee and write old fashioned letters to a few old friends I’ve not previously made time for. 

And so I will take the dogs for a long walk, feed them and set them up to sleep in the kitchen then I will  drive to Chester to sit in the Storyhouse to do some proper, unhurried letter writing with my coffee.

My old friends deserve this 

I deserve this too

I’ll go to Chester to stop real life intervening 

My New Best Friend

 

It’s going on midday and the bucket of coffee is out.

I want no noise and no movement for a while and the dogs sense that,

My night shifts were challenging but kept sane by an experienced support worker called Tracy who knows her stuff. Bluebell’s gear stick broke loose again as I left the Hospice and I had to drive home in third gear and in need of stopping for dog and cat food.

Well I just about managed it, ( Looking rather like like Mr Magoo) and called the RAC out to fix the problem and the chirpy Terry turned up again with lots of stories about his family and how he worked in Japan as a young man .

He exhausted me , but I felt in good hands as he said I was one of the “ Good uns “

Apparently he could tell a Good un” from 50 feet.

I didn’t ask how

Terry indeed proved to be a good un himself, for, half an hour later when I called him back after locking myself out of Bluebell when down at the shops in Dyserth, he turned up again with is gizmo to sort it as cheerful and as happy as a chattering otter.

Subsequently I had no daytime sleep yesterday , so flagged and went to bed early. I was never going to watch the Harry interview anyway. I slept heavy and woke late with back ache, so missed Albert leaving a vomit pile on the landing which I stood in, in bare feet. 

After that, everything else is a blur what with a trip to the bank( no parking) dog walk, and only an hour’s break before I promised to take a neighbour for a hospital appointment .

Hence the quiet time now with my coffee.

The cold sick is still sitting on the landing with my footprint inside it ……

I will get there later, I promise

 

ABBA Voyage -

I think I’ve given my sister Janet a bit of a flavour for London for her Christmas gift to me was a ticket to see the ABBA voyage concert at the old Olympic park in Stratford .

Of course she’s going with me ( that’s the beauty of such gifts ) and in a similar vein I’ve got her a ticket for Les Miserables for her Christmas gift , with the proviso that I go too…..

A great result either way.

The kick off is February 

Let’s hope the trains are running