Ever waited for a bus for ages and then three all arrive at the same time? Perhaps that’s the wrong opening sentence to follow my title 😂 I’m married – I’m talking about theatre.

That’s what the last few months has felt like. After a horrendously long period of restrictions and seemingly very little to do, the last few months have been full of fun and interesting things that have made me stop at times and wonder if the last year-and-a-half actually happened. 

As you can probably tell from my recent posts there has been theatre. Lots and lots of theatre. It’s been bloody marvellous – going from seeing nothing in over 450 days to then watching eight shows in about two months has uplifted the soul. I’m so pleased for them – the theatres, performers and everyone in between – the entertainments industry was one of the hardest hit and took the longest to return, and I’m delighted that it is all up and running again. Long may it continue!

There has also been my 40th birthday trip to London, which consisted of four days of eating amazing things and exploring parts of the city that we hadn’t experienced before. It was awesome but in order to see and do everything that I wanted, it was meticulously planned. It’s not uncommon for me to do that if The Bloke and I go away somewhere for more than 24 hours – I hate the idea of missing anything and so will map out exactly what to do and where to go in advance so as not to waste time. It’s great, but admittedly can be exhausting – sometimes I forget to stop and take a minute to be present in the moment when I’m there instead of running round and doing ALL THE THINGS because I’m conscious of limited time.

So, The Bloke and I decided to have an impromptu date night the other Sunday. A friend offered us tickets to see comedian Chris Ramsey at Symphony Hall – she and her husband had it booked ages ago and then sadly couldn’t attend because she was ill, so we thought it would be a good opportunity to take things at a slower pace and just enjoy an evening out together. 

We had a wander round the shops. I had some Lego vouchers that were in-store only and so The Bloke went a bit nuts and got all the latest sets that he had his eye on. It always makes me smile – I have zero interest in Lego itself, but I get so much enjoyment from watching The Bloke build his collection. We decided to call in at Fox and Chance, a new cocktail bar on Pinfold Street that has recently opened in the city. We know one of the owners – I used to teach him and he has used some of The Bloke’s photographs to display on the wall of the bar and it was so great to catch up with him (and feel incredibly old in the process). It’s a nice place – lovely vibe, great staff and nice cocktails.

We then went to our favourite tapas place in The Mailbox, and then wandered over to Symphony Hall as the sun was setting. It’s been forever since I was in Birmingham at night and I had almost forgotten how pretty it is when everything is lit up. It’s a great city – I have lived here for twenty years and now consider myself an honorary ‘Brummie.’ Birmingham is hosting the 2022 Commonwealth Games and so lots of the city is being redone and built on, causing seemingly endless amounts of chaos, but it’s absolutely beautiful.

Chris Ramsey’s show, supported by Carl Hutchinson was pretty good. I don’t often go to live comedy shows so this was a nice change. I wouldn’t say I was completely familiar with Chris’s style before we went – I had seen him on some of the standard comedy TV quiz shows but hadn’t seen any of his stand up, and he had moments of comedy genius which made me laugh out loud. Carl was really funny too.

What about you guys? What have you been up to recently? Let me know in the comment section below!

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