Time For A Laugh

You know how people who are retired tell you that they don't know how they found time to do everything when they were working as they're run off their feet now? We're finding that it's actually true and there's rarely a spare minute at the moment. The Tesco diet isn't helping as the shopping for and preparation of the meals is taking up a fair chunk of time but it is bringing results and on our first scheduled weigh in (five days into the diet) we've lost six pounds between us. If we carry on at that rate we can pack it in in a few weeks.

Yesterday I went to Stowmarket to continue the business mentoring that I am doing with a small business. We've been working together for six months now and have reached the end of the business's first financial year. I was really pleased to see that the turnover and profit both exceeded targets and we're now working on the budget and targets for the new year. It's good to be able to share some of my experience and I'm looking forward to getting a second business to mentor soon.

Last night was opening night for the latest production from FADS (Framlingham Amateur Dramatic Society) and we headed to the college theatre not quite knowing what to expect. The play Third Week In August was about a week on a caravan site and, having lived on such a site for over six months last year, it was of particular interest to us. The huge crowd was perhaps swollen by the Wednesday night pensioners' concessions as Marion and I were two of the youngest in the stalls. What a night the audience had; I don't know which was funnier - the play or the audience; the woman behind me was in hysterics which I found infectious especially when, every five minutes, she forecast (usually correctly) what was going to happen. If I had a pound for every time she told her neighbour that she'd never seen the theatre so full I could have bought everyone a glass of wine in the interval.

Boring Neville  (Peter Turner) and his strident wife Mary (Claire Harries) have been visiting the same site every August for twenty odd years. Their lives are dull but this year they have company in the shape of Mary's twice divorced sister Liz (Kathy Churchill who jointly runs the excellent Aboutfram weekly e-newsletter). Sue (Alison Podd) has booked a peaceful week in a caravan and plans to spend it writing a play. Her neighbours on the pitch alongside are Tony (Glenn Hurlock) and Jenny (Jane Manning). 

It's an evening of comedy as Neville and Mary (who really don't want to interfere) and the other caravaners find themselves embroiled in the very glamorous Jenny and her not so glamorous partner Tony's relationship problems. Mary tries to offer poor and put upon Liz some sisterly advice. Onlooker Sue gets dragged into the situation as it develops into pure, caravan hopping, farce. There were a few first night nerves but the cast got over them well and provided us with some memorable scenes that brought the house down. It runs until Saturday so, if you're in Framlingham, get down to the Headmaster Porter Theatre. I'm sure that you will laugh.

Today we've been to the gym and then went to a local resident's house and did a bit of pruning for her in her garden. We volunteered for the Framlingham Hour Community whereby you offer your skills (or lack of in my case) for an hour or two to help someone who is unable to do a job themselves. A shoulder injury made pruning difficult so we were happy to help. We're now looking forward to our next assignment.