A surprise evening!

Having stayed in the valleys on Sunday night, woke up to 3" of snow Monday morning, had to be dug out, skidded on black ice during my journey back to the city, (no damage) I arrived home to find my phone ringing furiously. When I eventually thawed out enough to investigate who was calling, it was another friend from the valleys asking if I would like to go to the ballet that same evening!

The person she was going with was snowed in (I'm not surprised) and would I like the ticket - no charge. I said that I would be delighted and that's exactly what we did. The ticket had cost £40 and the seat was in the third row from the front, right in the middle of the stage. We were almost in the orchestra! It was a lovely production of The Nutcracker by The Russian State Ballet of Siberia. This has to be one of the worlds most famous ballets and it was performed by a very young company just starting out on their careers.

The ballet was in two acts with prologue and apotheosis. The set design and lighting was magnificent. It was all set in an old German town in the 19th century where snow is falling and the whole town is filled with cheer for Christmas eve. All superbly done and was magical for me and my lovely companion. A really great evening.

On a sadder note, my friend has cancer and she looked pale and frail tonight. It almost broke my heart.

God speed you my lovey friend through Christmas and through 2010. I am cherishing all these lovely moments together as you help me to rediscover the world of the arts. Thank you xx.