One out, all out

Sad to see Terry Pratchet go...he was a wonderfully imaginative man, and alzheimers is a nasty, long road to reach a grave.  Awareness of alzheimers and other debilitating age-related mental illnesses has reached anew high, and I read the other day that doctors are being overwhelmed by middle-aged people worried that they are succumbing.  It appears many simply don't realise how forgetful we all are at any age, and we all get a little bit more so with each passing year.  That won't stop me remaining paranoid everytime I misplace my keys or can't remember someone's name.

Before I forget, I just want to write down that my three favourite sounds in the whole world wide are:

• Seagulls
• Church bells (especially those in the German or Austrian Alps)
• The sound a two-stroke scooter makes of an evening in a distant street

Can't think why, but all those make my stomach jump (in a good way) every time I hear them.  Clearly it jumps a lot when we're in Brighton, or when skiing in Kitzbuhel.  I wonder if other people are moved quite so much by such simple sounds?

You may remember that we're having building work done at home.  That has been going on since October and has caused much misery as these things do.  We've been without any form of cooking facilities, save for a kettle and a microwave, for about three weeks now.  It's no fun.  So invitations for dinner (and breakfast and lunch) will be gratefully accepted.  Microwave recipes will not be cordially received.  At some stage I will properly blog about it...well it'll probably just be a picture story, but that will have to wait at least a week when the windows are due to be installed. I bet you can't wait.

In contrast to some of the high-brow theatrical nonsense we go to, yesterday we went to see Made In Dagenham.  It was entirely my choice, although I don't think The Cat's Mother was anti.

We had both enjoyed the film which managed to turn a significant piece of social history into something that was eminently watchable, amusing and indeed educational.  Although the musical has been reasonably well reviewed, neither of us had particularly high expectations, but we were confounded.  We absolutely loved it.  A great story (we knew that already), a remarkable set, some fabulous performances including Gemma Arterton as the main protagonist, Rita O'Grady, and Mark Hadfield as Harold Wilson and some truly terrific songs throughout.  We had a wonderful night out.  There were only to tragedies really.  One, the theatre was half-empty, and two, the whole thing is closing on April 11th.  I know I say it too often but if you do get half a chance, grab this whilst you can..it is a great night out and you will have a ball.  I promise.  The Cat's Mother is planning to get a group of friends together to see it later this month when I'm away.  It's that good.