My annual ‘pilgrimage’ to Shopwyke near Chichester to visit my aunt and uncle, Jen and Colin, is always a real pleasure and this year was no exception.
They always come up with wonderful things to do during my visit. I’d barely arrived before we set off for the Chichester Festival Theatre to see a production of Kiss Me Kate, on its way to the West End in a few months. It was really wonderful and it’s no surprise that so many productions are shown at Chichester before they go on to London. The standard of singing and dancing was really exceptional.
And the next day they’d invited a friend of theirs to lunch. This was a lovely surprise because Prim had been the captain of the Broxbourne hockey club where I played in the 60s and 70s and here she was, 52 years later, and we hadn’t seen each other since she’d left the club to coach overseas. What a treat!
The weekend weather was kind and, with the Festival of Speed was taking place at Goodwood, we were treated to a number of flights over the house by a variety of ‘flying machines’ including the Red Arrows.
And on Sunday we set off for Portsmouth where their daughter, Caro (in orange), who’s the Director of Portsmouth Theatre, was running a day of music and dancing on the Portsmouth waterfront.
It was a huge spectacle involving so many of the local communities and would have been enjoyed by a vast number of people.