So we enter February, the shortest month. Much as we love January (or not!) it's good to see the back of it. It's encouraging to see the sunset time edging forward and the evenings getting lighter.

I am wondering what to do with my Thursday evenings now that the pantomime is done and dusted, something we have been rehearsing and planning since September last year.

It’s a bit strange now it’s over, but a great experience to be part of the RAT’s Addlestone Sleeping Beauty panto, making friends and memories to last a lifetime.

One of the most surreal panto experiences for me was during a dress rehearsal when I was sitting in the dressing room chatting to my castmates Richard and Alex.

We were all in costume so we had a king, a skeleton and a tree all making conversation as we waited to come on stage hoping not to miss our cue.

I didn't realise until I wrote that sentence how strange it sounds, but it’s all the magic of panto, right?

I was dressed in the skeleton costume for the monster mash song in the show. I needed to get something from my car and I had to walk around the front in the skeleton costume, which caused a few bemused looks from the people of Addlestone!

There is a lot to this panto lark but it all came together in the end and I hope the audience who came to see one of the two performances enjoyed a bit of late January panto magic!

In between rehearsals I went to see another panto – Pyrford Little Theatre’s production of Robin Hood, which featured my Radio Woking colleague Rob Day as Just John.

Of course, knowing some of the cast meant that when they wanted the audience on stage to sing the Robin Hood song I was one of those selected! I was on two different stages on one day having just come from the RATS rehearsals.

I also had my birthday on the Friday (30 January) and during my birthday week Emma and I got to go to Cadbury World to satisfy my sweet tooth. In the Midlands we also visited my friend Mark, who I haven't seen in a while and Emma got to meet him for the first time.

I love a road trip, which always starts with a McDonald’s breakfast at a service station, carefully planning the journey so we can be in there before the 11am breakfast-time cut, and also hoping to beat the traffic, which is always a fun game to play especially when it involves the M25!

Also, we ensure we have a good supply of car sweets and snacks - and make sure I don't eat them all before we get out of Woking!

Listen to my radio shows on Radio Woking: Sunday 9am – noon, Wednesday 7-9am.

You can hear Emma and I on Surrey Hills Community Radio every second Monday at 9pm and Life on the Edge with Edge Disability Consultancy airs every first Monday at 10am.

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