Burton ballet

Saturday was getting ready for Kerry's family night out in London. Unfortunately, the careful planning of Kerry's day went straight out of the window thanks to Railtrack. She was supposed to have her haircut in London just before the meal whilst I would drive up there later. No trains from the South Coast could reach Waterloo. Reached Leicester Square in good time before the others and had a few drinks in the restaurant, Palais du Jardin in Convent Garden.

I'm always a bit hesitant with fancy restaurants especially fish based ones as my taste buds are as adventurous as a panda. The other worry was the expense. Across the bar from us sat Jane from Rod, Jane and Freddy which was totally bizarre and most of the diners had an air of luvee-ness and a hint of fame-connected recognition.

I took a bit of a gamble with the main course going for Sea Bass with parsnips in vanilla cream sauce which amazingly paid off. Previously, cod, scampi and scallops were the only fish I would consider plus discovering asparagus at Xmas opened up a whole new avenue of food to choose from. The starter was a bit too sweet with smoked chicken, mango and pou pou (I think). When the bill came, it came with a sobering silence from everyone. Amazingly, top bloke bro-in-law, Neil forks out the £500+!

Line of the night was asking the waiter what beers they had. "Kronenberg, Becks and Fosters" - "I'll have a vodka and coke then please".

Sunday was collecting Neil's Bose system and Sky box so we now have 2 boxes - doh!

Valentine's Day was a little surprise for Kerry. Took her to see Edward Scissorhands at the Mayflower theatre in Southampton. It was a ballet based on the Tim Burton film and stuck pretty close to the story with just a bit more poncing around. It was slightly surreal as the dancing was quickly accepted whilst the costumes, excellent scenery, lighting effects, orchestra music and (especially) the see-through screens for rain and snow effect made the show a classic. Humour was evident throughout the performance with Edward perfecting the awkwardness of the scissored-handicap against the classic American suburban background. The supporting cast were cleverly dressed as family stereo-types such as the reverend had a wife and children of pale complexion being gothic at times, whilst another family had the air of working class, porkpie hat and fag for the dad. Props were vital to the atmosphere and the production didn't disappoint. The pruned, shaped hedges, the ice-sculpture, poodle dog and amazing haircuts were all there. Slightly creepy but cleverly done was the magical garden sequence (see pic) where dancers disguised themselves as moving hedges which would scare the crap if you'd taken anything before to enhance the effects (see pic above). A good night with only the local car-park taking 15 minutes to escape from!