Strangeness in Stoke & Nights out with Nyder

You may remember dear reader that you left me following a rather busy week of evenings out. Well this week seems to have been just as busy, as I have tried to squeeze a lot into my final week at home.

So, Monday saw me wander off to London, not Chiswick, but Ealing, to stay with Peter Miles. I've known Peter for about three years now and pop down to see him when I can. As is traditional when staying with Peter, Monday afternoon was spent in Pizza Express, updating each other on what we've been up to since we last spoke. We often manage to spend hours on end in there (we didn't leave until about 6.00 this time). That evening we watched a film that Peter had worked on (at my request) called 'Monarch' about Henry VIII, played by the late TP McKenna. Knowing Peter mainly from his Doctor Who work, it was nice to see him in something else in a splendid part.

Nyder after a bottle of champagne (Peter's caption)

We went out Tuesday afternoon/evening, to a local pub for a fantastic meal, before heading out to a local pub (neither of us were drinking I hasten to add) for an evening of jazz. Peter himself is a jazz singer and has been for years, so we often go to local jazz nights whilst I'm staying with him. This one was perhaps the best yet, as the musicians were second to none (I must admit to not remembering their names, as they were mainly friends of Peter's, so I know them only and Vaz or Nigel).

Wednesday soon came around, which meant I had to return home. I left Peter's and met up with Frank Cox. You may remember dear reader that Frank and I have been chatting for a month or so, but had never met in person. It just so happened that both of us were in London this week and were free, so we met up for a coffee (technically I had tea, but no one says "lets meet for a tea", or do they?). It was lovely to finally talk to Frank in person and it turns out that Peter and Frank worked together, although we're not sure what on. After meeting up with Frank I headed home, after a busy, but enjoyably few days in London.

Crewe was my next city of the week, on Thursday to see '39 Steps'. This was a four person version of the show, which has been touring for quite a while with rave reviews and I think both of us (Dad and I) could see why. The play was beautifully directed and cast, to allow for the numerous characters to be played by only four actors, often by simply changing hats and ascents (this is sounding like a theatre studies essay again!), but all with brilliant comic timing.

I ventured cross to Macclesfield on Friday, for the first time since Christmas, this time not to pop in and see how my old school was, instead to catch-up with a few friends and wander around (not much has changed really), although we resurrected 'Chippy Tuesday' (yes, I know if was a Friday, but still).

As ever I wandered off at the weekend, for not one but two events. Saturday marked my monthly visit to Chiswick, to see another great group of guests. Amongst them happened to be a graduate from Royal Welsh, so we had a lovely conversation about her memories of studying there and of Cardiff. Following on from my busy day, I slept pretty much all the way home, forgetting that I was on the same train as Clare, Trevor and Simon. Thankfully, I woke up just in time to get off (I was really lucky) and we gave them a lift to their hotel, ahead of a busy day on Sunday.

Stoke CON Trent was the second event of the weekend, although this time I was there as someone behind a stand, not a punter (although I did pop off to meet a few people). As I’d done last year, I helped with the stand for ‘Strangeness in Space’ (strangenessinspace.com). In case you don’t already know dear reader (shame on you) ‘Strangeness in Space’ is a free, crowd funded, comedy, sci-fi audio series written by Trevor and Simon. So far three episodes have been made, featuring guest appearances from the likes of Rufus Hound and Alexei Sayle. I had a great day with the Strangeness team, talking to fans of the series and also new listeners. It was interesting to see an event from the other side of the table for a change; it was just as much fun!

As I write this on Monday (I’m getting lazy), I can already say that next week (this week) will be an interesting and different week from the last (no swinging of pants this week I'm afraid).