Isn’t it great, no matter what age you can give the girls a ring and meet up for a little Christmas cheer. The boys do it all the time so leave them to stuff the turkey when the time comes and do your thing.
Television viewing last week included Harry and Megan – boring. Pity there has been much written about it in the papers, just get over it and get on with life. Viewing figures only 2.4 million; Lady Chatterly’s Lover – double boring, she and he are just so unattractive, bring back Sean Bean
And then there was the English match last night – boring!
Dry your tears! All eyes on Morocco now
However, Hamza to look forward to tonight on Strictly Come Dancing, what a man.
The Grand Opera House 2022
So Christmas has been officially declared. Pantomimes abound and we’re getting into the mood as I discovered at the Grand Opera House on Tuesday. A couple of hours spent in the company of Fairy May, Dandini and Cinderella herself and you’ll forget your worries and your woes – for a couple of hours anyway.
This year the staging seems more colourful than ever, Fairy May McFettridge swings in from the rafters on a glittering half moon and we’re off. She lands in Belfast town where the craic is great, the prince (Conor Headley) is having a ball, his friend the lovable Dandini (Gyasi Sheppy) is there to assist and the excellent dancers are getting excited. One minute they are dancing with polar bears – well it is cold enough – and the next they take on the heads of pumpkins. However, the ball promises some glamorous costumes and head of wardrobe Marina Diamantidi doesn’t let us down. Buttons (Adam C. Booth) is full of beans and in love with Cinders and he involves the audience in his feelings of frustration when she doesn’t want to have him as her boy friend, so we’re sighing when he sighs and cheering when he cheers. There are a couple of unnecessary double entendre and a bit too much thrusting; I imagine these will be toned down when audience reaction is noted. Baron Hardup (Paddy Jenkins) loves his daughter Cinderella (Kia-Paris Walcott) and gets very cross when the ugly sisters try to stop her enjoying life and lock her away when the prince comes looking for the foot to fit the silver slipper. The ugly sisters! Vindicta (Jo Donnelly) and (Manipulata) Jolene O’Hara are superb, coarse and creepy, brash and nasty with good voices and great moves to a number of pop songs, I would like to have seen more of their antics. And Fairy May as usual has the audience in the palm of her hand – she had us in fits of laugher as, with her friends, she tackles the 12 Days of Christmas, different items for each day – at one time flinging half a dozen toilet rolls on a rope into the audience. On purpose? Who knows!
And the orchestra. From the first notes the shivers of anticipation go down your spine and these six musicians never let up.
Highlight? Undoubtedly the arrival of the elegant glass coach to transport the beautiful Cinderella to the ball. I think we were all fooled into thinking the two creamy coloured horses were real as they came on stage. They pranced and they pulled the coach not only across the stage but out into the audience trotting high above the boys and girls in the stalls and then off to the castle as the curtain came down on Act One.
When I told someone I was going to the pantomime she said: “I couldn’t do that, all those screaming children. No thanks.” I feel sorry for her, she’s missing something special, just to see the delight on children’s faces and to hear them shout – “it’s behind you”, is a joy.
Cinderella runs until Sunday 15th January 2023 and there are more details at www.goh.co.uk
BE AWARE.
No idea if this is genuine or not but it was sent to me in good faith so worth passing it on even though it’s obviously from America.
It’s something of a mystery. Why and how is an unanswered question. What to do is yet to be resolved. Fibromyalgia affects somewhere in the region of one in 20 people, seven times more women are likely to get this condition and children are not exempt.
Those who suffer this are in chronic pain which often turns their lives upside down, inability to get a good nights sleep results in tiredness, stiffness, digestive issues, headaches, anxiety and depression can follow. Unlike acute pain which allows an injury to get better with time and medical attention, there is no such hope for fibromyalgia, it’s treatable to a degree but there is no cure.
Joan McParland set up a support group based in Bessbrook in 2011 and gained charitable status in 2014. Hope4ME&FIBROMYALGIA is run by patients and volunteers, there is no core government funding relying entirely on small grants and voluntary donations. Joan is working with health professions to establish at least one dedicated clinic for sufferers and, through advocating and liaising with relevant bodies, she is raising the profile of both ME (Myalgic encephalomyelitis, also called chronic fatigue syndrome) and Fibromyalgia.
For years those suffering Fibromyalgia symptoms have been told to ‘take a chill pill’, to get over it, it’s all in the mind. Thankfully today there’s a realisation that this indeed is a condition which needs addressing and understanding and that every case is unique, to accept if a friend suddenly cancels plans because she is tired or can’t come into work because he has pain all over his body or someone who just can’t keep up or concentrate with what’s going on because of ‘fibrofog’. Somedays might be better than others but in general this is an ailment like no other. A husband told me of the frustration of explaining to friends that although his wife looks fit and healthy she is far from it and might only get half way up stairs before collapsing in pain.
For Joan it’s two hours on, to tackle her daily life, and two hours off to rest. Her advice is to learn how best to live with chronic illness. “Work within your limits,” she advises, “the danger is overstepping your abilities, I am no longer employable, I miss by job as a school meals supervisor but I had to retire through ill health. The lines are muddy, there’s misdiagnosis, this illness is stigmatised, we’re told there’s no such thing, certainly ten minutes with a GP won’t sort your life. Being told to be more positive isn’t any good and it’s not surprising that suicides are five times higher with these patients. We are not depressed ,” she adds, “we are desperate.”
It’s a bleak picture but many are living with fibromyalgia thanks to management like exercise and relaxation. There are therapies and medicines to reduce pain. The exact cause is unknown but may be related to abnormal levels of certain chemicals in the brain affecting pain messages carried around the body; is it something to do with the genes inherited from parents? In many cases it appears to be triggered by physical or emotional trauma. All theories, no positives. There is no age limit but usually between 25 and 55 years and mainly women, it’s been suggested that as many as one person in 20 could be affected. It’s all very vague. There’s no test for the condition but the good news is that research is going ahead and it’s being taken more seriously by health professionals including Dr. Michael Stafford MD who is based in Belfast, a consultant anaesthetist with special interest in chronic pain management. There is much useful information and advice on his web page both general and specific. (drmichaelstafford.com)
In America there’s a theory that wearing green tinted glasses will ease anxiety levels but as far as Joan is concerned getting involved with groups like hers will give much more needed support. With last year’s Queen’s Award for Voluntary Services, Hope4ME&Fibomyalgfia is making a difference. All trustees are patients so they know what they are talking about and what is beneficial and together they host educational conferences for both patients and professionals and bring world renowned scientists and physicians to Northern Ireland. As Joan reports: “We used to have face to face meetings and in a way the pandemic has been a God send as we now meet through Zoom reaching hundreds of patients and their families in Northern Ireland and the RoI with our specialist speakers.
I talked to a physiotherapist about the condition and he confirmed that physio treatment can help through relaxation and breathing techniques, exercise and counselling. I also spoke to a reflexologist and again it was the same response, no blood test to help with diagnosis but relaxation is important. Easier said than done when you are in extreme pain and dreadfully frightened about the present and the future. Where it used to be thought this was all in the imagination, thinking today has progressed, it’s not a case of mind over matter but a positive approach is important.
Find out more at hope4mefibro.org where you’ll find much relative information and ways of talking to others experiencing this debilitating illness and sharing lifestyles that may help ease the suffering.
Also, Fibromyalgia Action Uk is a charity that offers information and support to people with fibromyalgia. If you have any questions about fibromyalgia, call the charity’s helpline on 0300 999 3333.
Art for Art’s Sake
The 141st Royal Ulster Academy annual exhibition is proving a big hit with the general public and there’s still time to visit the Ulster Museum to view. It runs until 3rd of January 2023 and there’s something for everyone from sculpture to film, printmaking and photography and for the first time entries from video artists. Both established as well as new artists are on show alongside work by RUA Academicians. This is a free exhibition no need to book just turn up and enjoy. Details at www.royalulsteracademy.org.
