So my birthday is now complete and I can now fill in the gaps of the birthday weekend between Saturday and Monday!
The match report for Bournemouth can be found below so I won’t go into more detail about that but there’s so much more of a story to tell from there. On the morning of the game we went for breakfast, obviously at Weatherspoons, and I received the first of my presents. Jamie and Anna kindly bought me tickets to see the Kaiser Chiefs in December at the Brighton Centre so that should be another great night to add to my list of gigs to see!
Also, Ti got me some tickets for Monday night to the Globe Theatre to see The Merchant of Venice which was another awesome gift and set up a day out in London yesterday. I was beginning to think that people were buying me tickets to things away from Southampton to get me out the way!
Before that though was Bournemouth and a nice sunny day was combined with a good game and ice cream on the beach! We then headed back for an evening in the capital of celebration huts, The Frog and Frigate. Hungover the next morning, I had a meeting in Hamble with the Hamble Players theatre group so with a heavy head I managed to make it and meet some of the members as they built the set for tonight’s play which I’m going to see.
With a relaxing Sunday evening behind us, we headed for London for the show. Unfortunately Ti couldn’t make it herself so Jamie came along instead and we had a good day before hand in brilliant Camden Town. I’d never been before yesterday and it’s well worth a day out…you can very easily get lost there and I loved the random little shops and stalls around the town.
So then it was on to the show and The Merchant of Venice didn’t disappoint. The Globe itself has been magnificently restored to keep the feel of its past glories and with a ticket in the standing area, it made for a genuinely unique theatre experience. A few years ago I went to see Hamlet at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford and though that was a good show, the Globe wins hands down in terms of all round entertainment. Take away all the fancy lights, sound effects and roof and you’ve got as close a thing to real theatre as you’ll find in the world today. It was an incredible show and I will very likely return.
They say you grow wiser with age so what have I learned from this weekend? Well not a lot really, I’ve just had a couple of things confirmed that I sort of already knew.
I’ve learned that theatre is well and truly the place I want to go with my writing. Coming away from the Globe last night with a smile on my face and seeing the genuine excitement of those around me made me confirm to myself that that’s where I want to be. I want to see first hand people laughing at my jokes (or “jokes” if you know me well enough!), I want to see them mesmerised as a plot takes a turn and I want to make people feel moved by something I’ve written. The quality of theatre is that it enables actors and producers to see the delight of the audience right away and that’s something I really want to one day see for myself.
I’ve also had it confirmed, though it didn’t need to be, that my friends are the best in the world. I know I sometimes get a bit cheesy in these blogs but you really can’t beat the feeling of having a group of people setting up a chase just for you around town before meeting you for a drink and pizza, coming with you to share in a passion, even though they probably wonder why you care so much about a football game, and just being around to make you feel so comfortable and happy in life.
It shouldn’t take a birthday to say this but thank you to everyone, not just for the amazing weekend, but for generally being around and changing me from someone who was just another quiet face in the crowd to being able to gain my own identity and be proud of it and not judged by anyone.
May there be many more years like this last one!
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