In Buxton: August 4-5, a day of rest and a day of non-rest

Sunday was a day of rest. No rehearsal was called for the morning, and the afternoon was prinnies only. Apart from putting a bit of thought into our non-Derby-inspired recasting of Ruddigore we did practically nothing until 10pm when it was time to give the costume ladies a hand getting Pirates out of the Opera House. Then it was Festival Club time - but by the time we got there, not only had our Table Within Reach Of A Power Point been taken, but so had every other table and chair in the whole place! Standing was no fun so we went upstairs and watched the projected image of the stage instead of the real thing. First it was switched off, then it was in reverse... then one of the techs came and fixed it for us.

Everyone cleared out when the cabaret was finished so there was really no reason to hang around. I wished to get back home to consult my new book of British trains as to how much time I should spend upon them. I had noted down that a tourist railway had been given a grant to run a regular service for the public using their heritage stock. Google google... argh, due to start in 2015. Never mind, there's plenty more choices! And I have only four gunzelling days left!

So on Monday it was back to the round of rehearsals. We did two runs, a full one in the morning and one with a few numbers cut (to save people's voices) in the afternoon. It's getting serious, we don't have time for mucking around, but the new levels of characterisation are keeping the level of fun happening. Phoebe and Wilfred (for instance) are quite a pair. When we bring the DVD home we're going to have a fun evening with it.

Slowly my score is getting more complete. Backstage calls are in (I called them during the morning run, just for my own peace of mind), but I haven't used the highlighters yet. In any case, they're of limited use unless it's a quiet show and I need to be woken up when a cue approaches - and this isn't going to be a quiet show!

Chris skipped out of the afternoon rehearsal to see if he could find a better spinning wheel, and also to see Savoy Ghosts. So I had to be my own crew - which was actually quite useful, because it proved that one person can be the whole crew, provided he is very fleet of foot like Aslan herding Shasta and Aravis together.

The weather turned cold about half way through the afternoon, and all the windows were open to let the cast breathe. Especially Jack Point, who has to run around and get pushed over and stuff. So I started to get that ominous tickle in the back of the throat that says something's coming...

That night, Harrogate G&S Society's Mikado. It was very traditional, with the Little List rolling all the way across the stage and the Three Little Maids hissing instead of giggling. Katisha was yelling for most of the Act 1 Finale, which didn't sound all that good.

As a pre-emptive strike against my throat I elected not to go to the Festival Club but to try for an early night. That meant I could hang around for the adjudication, just for the novelty value. Boy he talks slow! No wonder it always seems to take ages before Chris comes and joins me at the hastily claimed TWROAPP [see above].

Of course I didn't go to bed much earlier than otherwise - Top Gear's Youtube channel and the blazingly fast WiFi here prevented that. Still, I was warm and properly hydrated.

As I finish this post on Thursday the temptation is to skip forward and tell the most exciting bit of the story now, but no, the thought is madness. At all costs I will do things in chronological order.