millionreasons | Xmas in January

My life has been un-full recently, weekends spent shopping (returning Christmas presents), swimming (huffing unfitly over 20 lengths), painting (the hall, not landscapes) and eating breakfast at the Hoxton Bar and Grill (indifferent staff, pre-salted food (ironically, one presumes)). We did go and see Josie Long, the only comedian to welcome you with Swiss roll, find you a chair and advise you on which toilet to use. She also invited people to join her in a trip to a National Trust house. Interactive comedy.

Anyway, last night we went for our Christmas treat to see Giselle at the Colliseum. The ballet was preceeded by a short dance by Men-y-Men, whereby lightly muscled topless men in black tights performed pas de deux in a very masculine way. David looked askance at his dream of 'pretty ladies dancing for my pleasure' being dashed. As there had been a B-dance, we did wonder if there would be trailers as well. "In a world of mice, only one nutcracker can kill the king." "Swans. On a lake."

I much preferred the second half of the ballet when all was floating shimmering butterfly wraiths dancing men to death, rather than the plot-driven first half which was rather hard to follow from our spot.

We were in the second-cheapest seats (i.e. upper circle rather than balcony) which was peopled by OAPs spending their heating allowance on entertainment (when I'm old, I'm sure that pensioner prices will be twice the normal price as a tax on still being alive) and posh people in their twenties, many of whom sat checking their mobile phones all evening. I think I may go and see The Road and view it as a vision of utopia.