An A-Z of Me - R

Rent – I first saw this musical back in 1998 when I was 15 on an overnight GCSE Drama school trip. We saw Rent in the evening and then a matinee of Cats the next day. Can't say I was that impressed with the furry felines but Rent was just spectacular, one of those shows where you're so transfixed by what's on stage that you honestly have no idea there's anyone else sat around you. The majority of my classmates fell in love too and we all spent the next few years singing every song from the show and reciting lines at each other. I've seen the show 17 times since and even now, 17 years after I first saw it, I can still sing (albeit very badly) each and every line.

 

Rowena Cade – If I had to write a list of inspiring people, she'd be pretty near the top of it. The force behind the Minack Theatre in Cornwall, the very fact that she conceived such a magical and amazing place whilst building it well into her eighties makes her one cool lady. If you've ever been to Porthcurno, you know those 90 steps from the beach up the cliff to the theatre? Yup, she helped build them and even carried 15ft beams of wood and allsorts up and down that hill. The Minack definitely does have an amazing atmosphere and you should definitely try and see a show there at least once in your life.

Rocky Horror Show – Another fabulous musical. Also in my list of top 5 musicals to see, although of course you do have to dress up in something themed and shout all the taglines ("slut", "arsehole", "that'll be a first", etc. etc).

 

Railways – I've always liked journeys, anything where I can be nosy and watch the world go by is fine by me. I do like long train journeys though and had a dad who liked steam trains so it was a bonus that Andrew was a fan too. Andrew knows a lot about the history of railways in Somerset as well, our ill-fated Somerset and Dorset line was shut by Beeching in 1966 but the local town was immortalised in that classic Flanders and Swann poem 'Slow Train' written in 1963.

 

Recipes – I can follow a recipe pretty well (in fact following any sort of instructions are good for me) and I have a habit of collecting bits and pieces from magazines and books, more things than I'll ever have time to actually cook. I have a large box file with all my recipes sorted by type and I use that to meal plan and do our fortnightly shopping. Give me a bunch of random ingredients and ask me to make something though and I'd be completely lost.

Red – My favourite colour, with green being a close second.

 
 

Running – I did complete a beginners 5K running (more like jogging) course about 5 years ago and managed to do the circuit in a fairly okay 41 minutes - not amazing but not bad for my first time. I have a sort of love/hate relationship with running though - I love the idea of just being able to step out from your front door and go but I hate the reality actually doing it when it's too rainy, too dark, too cold, too sunny, not enough time, etc, etc. Me and Andrew have started the NHS Couch to 5K course in the past but have only managed to get as far as week 3 before the excuses start creeping in. We had started it again just before I broke my ankle but when I spoke to the physiotherapist, she said it'll be "a long time" before I do anything like that again. However the whole concept of finding an exercise you love because you'll stick to it for longer is completely true - I love swimming and could happily do that forever, apart from the fact that (unlike running) it costs money, also (unlike running) you have to go during set sessions and again (unlike running) our local pool is always really busy in the evenings and weekends, meaning that you have to take it in turns to swim one length. Of course, none of those reasons apply with going running. I reckon the solution to all this is just to move to a house that has a swimming pool!
 

 

What 'R' things sum you up?

For the rest of the alphabet click here!