Who is this woman imitating Julie Walters?

Our local paper, the Spalding Guardian, ran a competition last week to win tickets to see our show, Acorn Antiques - The Musical. To accompany the piece was this delightful photograph of me, Miss Berta, Miss Babs and Mr Clifford. Thankfully our names were not included so I was hoping people might not recognise me. Fat chance. The lady in the paper shop was the first one to give me a nod and a wink.

If you ever thought the world of acting was glamorous, think again. The hairnet, pinny and gurning face are bad enough, but when you have to make your own Dowager's Hump with an old cushion and some velcro, plus sew varicose veins into tights using thick blue wool, you know your days of strutting around the stage in high heels and suspenders are over.

Spalding Amateur Dramatic and Operatic Society will be performing the musical next week at the South Holland Centre: opening night is Tuesday 21 May. We have come a long way from the auditions in January, there have been ups and downs but mainly an awful lot of laughing as the script, written by Victoria Wood, is witty, clever and downright silly.

Martin, our director, is a stickler for detail, the nuance of every word has to be just right. Anita, who plays the baddie, Miss Bonnie, will, I imagine, be having nightmares about the cadence required in the sentence, "How wide, approximately, is your soil pipe?" Meanwhile Clive, who plays Mr Clifford, is losing sleep over the innocuous line "neither of you seem very likely to get married". As for me, I must stop adding words that aren't there: apparently there is a world of difference in the line "his private parts went up me kick-pleat" and "his private parts went right up me kick-pleat."

Craig, our musical director, has spent many weeks teaching us the songs and their harmonies. We think we have them sussed until Abi, our choreographer, adds moves to the songs. Of course what happens then is we all focus on the dancing and forget to sing. "Harmonies! Diction!" our MD shouts over the top of our efforts so we try hard to concentrate on the music, only to forget the steps. It's the yin and yang of amateur dramatics and has our directors and choreographer tearing their hair out. Last night we seemed to get the singing and dancing to combine but, unfortunately, the concentration required to do that was so immense, we forgot to smile. "Tits and teeth!" our dance captain, Charlie, implored.

Tap dancing has been a revelation for us all, even with Abi's 'simple steps' (fibber!). My character, Mrs Overall, gets to tap dance too, dressed in the most unattractive combination of tights, leotard and leg-warmers which have to be seen to be believed. Dancing with a stoop is, I have discovered, quite an art.

Sunday is our 'get in' - theatre luvvie lingo for moving set, props and costumes to the theatre. After the week's run we have the 'get out'. I'll leave you guessing what that means. From Sunday onwards I will take up residence in one of the dressing rooms, probably with Miss Berta, Babs and Bonnie for company and we will have an emotionally-draining week trying to keep things on an even keel at home when our minds are permanently at the theatre. It's going to be stressful, stomach-knotting and exhausting but the exhilaration and adrenalin rush should remind me why I auditioned in the first place. The smell of the greasepaint, the roar of the crowd....

Art comes to Holbeach with Transported

Miracoco Luminarium 

In a weekend which saw the demise of the Spalding Flower Parade, at least in its current form, it was somewhat bittersweet to be present at the launch of a new initiative for the region. Transported is the 'Creative People and Places' programme for the residents of Boston and South Holland, designed to encourage participation in arts activities.

Backed by a £2.6m Arts Council funding, the vision, over the next few years, is to 'inspire creative journeys'. In the short term 24 specially commissioned artists will bring art to local communities and the iconic 'arts van' - a converted ice cream van- will bring creative treats to towns, villages, youth clubs or factory canteens.

The launch in Holbeach last Sunday provided a glimpse of what is to come, the highlight of the day being the luminarium 'Miracoco' by Architects of Air. A huge, inflatable sculpture was erected in our local park. Crowds flocked to go inside and be immersed in a sensory feast of colour, light, sound and touch: a surreal experience but unexpectedly relaxing.

Throughout the afternoon the residents of Holbeach were treated to a variety of experiences, all free of charge. Conedancers from The Dream Engine delighted visitors with an aerial display on an 8 metre high air-filled cone, stories and puppet shows were held in the arts van, 'yarn bomber' Carol Parker was at work encouraging people to have a go at knitting and urban artist James Mayle got busy with the spray cans to create bold images around the venue. Music and dance were provided by The Ukebox Ukelele Jukebox, Hip Hop Crew and Peterborough Polish choir, Cantus Polonicum.

Local school children were also involved. A junkband from the secondary school showed their talents in percussion using a variety of recycled containers while primary school children had made woollen pom poms which could be seen hanging from the trees in the park: a 'blossom forest'

It was an inspiring afternoon, providing local residents with bursts of creativity not often seen in the town. Indeed, the town itself, which has suffered in the recession, was given a boost as artworks from local artists, such as Fiona Gurney's mosaics, could be seen in shop windows in the days leading up to the event.

I'm hopeful this one sunny day in Holbeach will not just be a one-off experience for residents and that Transported will continue to stimulate the community in the following months and years. But I'm also pondering the fact that the Spalding Flower Parade will no longer be held due to lack of funding. Surely there is something to be learned here and, with some creative thinking, a well-loved historical spectacle can be retained alongside the development of new artistic ventures?

The Gallery - The Weekend - Spalding Flower Parade

 

Float for the Flower Queen and her attendants

It was the end of an era for Spalding this weekend. The 55th and final Flower Parade was cheered through the town centre: more than 30,000 people lined the streets of this Lincolnshire market town and enjoyed the spectacle with a somewhat heavy heart. 

The Spalding Flower Parade began in 1959 although growers in the area had celebrated Tulip Week since 1948, holding tours of the tulip fields which covered the region of South Holland in a blanket of vibrant colour. The creation of huge floats, decorated with tulip heads, led to the Flower Parade itself becoming a world famous event. 

In recent years the tulip fields have reduced in number and although bodies such as the Rural Development Programme have supported it, the recession has meant that council money and assistance from sponsors has dwindled. Unless something can be done to inject the event with more cash, it would seem that 2013 was the final year. 

I remember being part of the parade for three years, as a member of my AmDram group, Spalding Amateur Dramatic and Operatic Society. I recall sitting in a huge shed for a couple of days, laboriously pinning tulip heads onto our float before dressing up in costume and singing songs from our musical shows as the parade travelled through the town. It was a fantastic experience, seeing the crowds and being part of the community for such a special occasion. 

On Saturday I was in the crowd, cheering everyone else on, enjoying the floats and the marching bands. The poor weather in the previous weeks meant that tulips were in scarce supply so feathers, foil, ribbons and balloons were drafted in to complete the sculptures. Although I missed seeing huge swathes of velvety tulips on the floats, creativity won the day and the theme of  'Let's Celebrate' was a fitting way to bring this historical event to a close.

Here are more images from the parade: the front and back end of the dragon (representing Chinese New Year), 'It must be love', birthday cake and the Carnival of Venice.  

To see more entries for this week's Gallery, click the badge above. 

Travel round-up for BritMums - Easter Bumper Edition

For this month's travel round-up on BritMums there are plenty of ideas for holidays and day trips. It's a bumper edition with blog posts featuring theme parks in the UK and the USA, canal boating and campervans, London, the Lake District, Switzerland and Scotland.

Here's the link to find all the posts:

http://www.britmums.com/2013/05/travel-round-up-the-bumper-easter-edition/

Thank you to anyone who voted for me to reach the short list for the Brilliance in Blogging awards. I am very grateful that people take the time out to vote. The voting continues until 12 May so if you would like to continue to support me, just click on the badge on the right hand side and that will take you through to the form.

Many thanks.