Ummm… I suppose that the good news is that we managed to do the show. In fact, I think it was a rather good evening. But…
Tyseley is still tied up below Osney lock. The lock keeper was adamant that it was not sensible to go through. Even though a couple of boats have passed us – but the only one of them that was a narrowboat didn’t get far. As far as I am concerned at the moment, the lock keepers know more about the river than I do (I have only done this stretch twice before), and if they say stay, then I will. But it is very frustrating.
Anyway – we decided at about lunch time that there was no way that they were going to take the red boards down today, so Adrian set off to Woolhampton to fetch the van. 4 hours of negotiating the ridiculous public transport system later, he came back. In the mean time, we had been witness to the drama of another narrowboat being swept downstream, and returning rather shaken, and without much interior fittings unbroken, under the supervision of a pilot. Perhaps we made the right decision to stay put.
We enlisted the help of a very helpful (and bored) neighbouring boater and loaded up the van. Which we couldn’t get anywhere near the boat, of course – it was one of those days. And then we set off for Woolvercote Green. And the most amazing storm was set loose. Hailstones and all.
Of course, by the time that we had arrived at the Plough, the storm had passed, and it was all looking very beautiful, except that the field that we usually perform in was now a bit of a quagmire. And after much umming and ahhing, we decided to go inside, in the room that they called the Library. It is a great room, with a wall of bookshelves, and a fantastic atmosphere. We knew that we were never going to match the 100 plus that we had had last year, given the precipitation, but we had to keep our fingers crossed that there were going to be enough seats.
In the end, there were almost exactly the right number of seats for the audience – and it did indeed chuck it down again as we started, so the right decision was made. And the show was great fun. Even if the group of American students did decide to leave just as we were finishing. I was a little rude about that in my speech, but then had to eat my words as it turned out that they did, in fact, all pay – through their tutor. So if any of you are reading this, then I am sorry for poking fun at you!
So, now we are waiting to see what tomorrow will bring. I don’t hold out much hope that the lock will be open, and I can only hope that Bablock Hythe will not be under water. Let’s just see, eh?
2 comments:
Daniel - You and your fello actors were absolutely fantastic! I'm part of the American group, and we're all really sorry about leaving early. Our professor had booked the taxies taking us back to Oxford for 10, I think, and the taxies were about to leave us stranded at the pub if we hadn't left just then. Sorry again, and thanks very much for a really fantastic show! I loved it.
Oh, and a few of us were wondering if you had made a recording of the songs - possibly for sale through Mikron's website? If you have, that'd be awesome!
That's ok! And thanks for the kind comments.
Yes - there are 2 live recordings available - although not from this year's shows, we haven't had time yet. But you can get them through the website. (www.mikron.org.uk, if you didn't get here from there already...).
It was great to see you all at the show, and I am glad you had a good time.
Post a Comment