Spamalot

We went to see a play last week called Spamalot, it is a rip off of Monty Python's Holly Grail. It was very funny, with lots of the original story and a few extra bits and pieces which were humerous and entertaining. It was fun and quite exciting to have our first ever Broadway experience. We hope that we will have many many more. Now though, as always I have to describe my preparations for the event and the very near dissaster that almost caused us to miss the play altogether.

I had met an Australia girl here for a few months with her Aunt after finishing year 12 last year. I quickly secured her for baby sitting and she calmly and cheerfully arrived to look after our three angels and baby Tom. Although she went slightly pale at the thought of changing a nappy - I said, "come on, how many can one baby do in one day" (I had forgotten now that my angels take care of all of that nasty business all by themselves - except M, who with glee calls out to mummy or daddy "I need you" for help with the paper work) It seems that small babies can transform food at a rapid and rather efficient rate and well, enough said - the baby sitter was safe though, I was right he was totally empty.

About 3 minutes before K was to arrive I set about finding something to wear, ironing it, dusting the lint off and then scrounging around for some make up. Do any of you remember the days of a nice leisurely bath (or even a speedy shower) then application of scented moisturiser, powder, at least a 15 minute make up job (I think I used to take longer at times) well, now imagine a quick spray with deoderant, a rough flannel rubbed around the face, a 1 min 30 second make up job (it helps that I don't bother with eye shadow or blusher these days). Then I had to waste time fixing my hair that got messed up by the head band during the face wash and powder)...I was ready and glowing in my new red coat - made all the difference. I decided that (when I heard L clopping around in boots) I would wear my most inappropriate for walking foot ware, we did not have that far to go really - only about 10 blocks I think!

We left my angels and baby Tom in K's capable hands after instructions about dinner of course (I had made two sauces for paste - cheese for M and bolognaise for the rest, there was a horse prepared for Tom's dinner, K just had to boil the pasta).

The drive to the valet car park ($10 all day or night as the case may be) went without hicup, it is not very far but since the American's seem to have a thing for traffic lights it can take a while. We parked, the fellow assured me I would have acces to the car at midnight and we climbed the stairs, crossed the road and descended stairs to the platform (I mention stairs for a reason). J went to buy the tickets, we had 9 minutes until the train (the next would be 45 min after that) and that was when I realised that I had left the tickets to the play on the pin up board in the kitchen - at home. I ran along the platform, up the stairs, across the road (not at the crossing) down the stairs, across the carpark, I drove home through the village, through inumerable traffic lights and for some time following a police car, called K from my Mobile and had her meet me at the door with the tickets, back again to the car park, then I RAN across the car park, hoping that the car park attendant would recognise me from 7 minutes ago and not ask me to stop and pay anpother $10- (the money I could live with but I just did not have the time), Up the stairs, waited at the road side for the traffic to stop so I could get across saying worried things under my breath to the ammusement of a couple of young local fellows on the other side of the road, ran across the road down the steps and 15 seconds later the train pulled in. Of course now my left knee(the reconstructed one that has just never been the same) was giving me hell, my toes were killing me and my right knee (the good one) was begining to complain about all the running in shoes that should not even be walked in. BUT, we were on the train, we had seats and we had tickets to Spamalot.

D met us at the clock in Grand Central Station (oh, did I say GRAND CENTRAL STATION) just being there, where they filmed such things as Madagascar is EXCITING because there is only one GCS and it is in NEW YORK CITY. Big breath, we walked to the Mariott Hotel in times Square (there I go again...TIMES SQUARE...there is only one of those too) for dinner at the View restaurant. Food good, drinks outrageously expensive, view amAZing. It is a revolving restaurant on the 48th floor, very cool.

We walked out of the hotel, crossed the road into Shubert Alley and there was the theatre - the Schubert Theatre, famous and old aparently.

We could not take photos, how dissapointing. I do have one of me buying the little play poster in a frame from a street vendor, just had to do it, was my first Broad Way play after all.

(Oh, I do realise that Madagascar was annimated, but that is my favourite thing to say about GCS, cos, it is obviously such a blonde thing to say).

Love Ya

Jxxxx