At school, the homophobic bullying was worst on the rugby pitch. But the Steelers helped me rediscover my love for the game – and myself‘Over time the Steelers won the respect of these straight burly British men because not only did they beat them on occasion, they showed them that we’re all pretty much the same.’
So you can imagine my surprise when years later, a rugby club would go on to change my life. Not just any rugby club, the world’s first gay rugby club, the Kings Cross Steelers in London.
I have previously written about my memories of going to GP for my first game. I managed to track down the game with the use of THE ENGLISH NATIONAL FOOTBALL ARCHIVE. I narrowed it down to the Boxing Day match in 1971.
Now I have found more information after buying book about Griffin Park.
From that I can see that it was a big match with a remarkably large crowd of 18,000+.
No one that I recognise
This also invokes the memory of once queuing for ages to get in with my Dad. So maybe this was the match and it was almost a family day out!
He was diagnosed with his cancer in early 2018 and unfortunately curative treatment did not work out for him.
The service was held within he limitations of the Covid-19 pandemic rules, do there was no function afterwards. One of the readings in the service makes you think about the important things in life:
The long running LesMis production has just moved to the Sondheim theatre in Shaftesbury Avenue. So Joe’s and my return to the show was at a different venue to the one that Shaz and I watched in last year.
As with these it events it was full. We were near the top rung again but not so high and uncomfortable as with other shows.
The show was great and the apparent innovations introduced worked very well in my eyes. The projection of the sewers and the falling off the wall of the policeman to his death.
A wonderful experience for both of us. I would happily see again.
The Christmas binge goes on and Friday night was Panto night at the Questors in Ealing.
A trio for five that was fully enjoyed. It was a different style of performance from last year when Shaz, Joe and I went to Wimbledon Theatre to see Paul Merton among others.
The actors were mainly children from the Questors young person’s school. There were lots of their mums and dads in the audience I think.
The Pantones was funny, good fun and beautiful. Very different from last years but good all the same and still the same classic format.
This was a second time visit and this time with the boys.
It is quite a different event with readings interspaced with music both of the easily recognised and the less typical.
The reading came from the Bible but also thought pieces on believe and religion. There readers were well known – in particular Celia Imrie and Clive Myrie ( BBC journalist) who both clearly are well practised in delivering words.
Mostly beautiful music in Latin, German and English. The traditional carols in English and a selection of others sung by the choir with a very beautiful combined voice. The German version of Silent Night, Holy Night in German (Stillest Nacht) was great. Not all the offerings worked but that is how it goes.
One more event in our procession of Christmas orientated events. Keep it going.
A lovely idea by the boys to treat me to a trip to the theatre for Father’s day. Four months after the event but so what. I was partly to blame as we are on holiday too often!
From the Guardian:
Fiddler on the Roof review – Trevor Nunn’s magnificent revival
Menier Chocolate Factory, London With antisemitism on the rise, Tevye’s struggles with the tsar’s thugs are powerfully topical in this note-perfect production
Thu 6 Dec 2018 13.53 GMTLast modified on Thu 6 Dec 2018 15.40 GMT
5 stars5 out of 5 stars.
Cruelly topical … Andy Nyman as Tevye at the Menier Chocolate Factory, London. Photographs: Johan Persson
Although much-loved and often revived, Fiddler on the Roof has been charged with excessive sentimentality and piety. As the poor Russian-Jewish milkman Tevye attempts to marry off five daughters, several of the songs have the form of prayers, and a startling percentage of the dialogue is delivered upwards.
We saw the performance at the Playhouse Theatre as the production had transferred for a limited run. I did my preparation by reading the synopsis and listening to the songs. Some were familiar and the story is easy to follow. The show was very good though the duration of sitting in the hot cheap seats with restricted leg room made a difference.
A great night out with the boys who also enjoyed the show. So all were getting out there to enjoy something new.
‘Over time the Steelers won the respect of these straight burly British men because not only did they beat them on occasion, they showed them that we’re all pretty much the same.’
