Great time in High Wycombe!

Well would you believe it ICE TIMES - the latest version - was brilliant fun last night in the Swan Theatre in High Wycombe. Charlotte, Zoeanna and Stephen did a great job and the show was a success! Well at least that's what many people in the audience told me afterwards.

My legs are starting to ache today. I skated miles as we brought together a theatre show in the afternoon, rehearsing and then performing in the evening all on plastic ice. Nothing like adrenalin and focus to keep you going.

So from having no one to skate with to three with me in the cast and then remaking the show to fit this dynamic as well as incorporating what I developed on the cruise has been my week! The result - well Richard said it was brilliant with great energy and fun - and he's a strong critic. For me, well I think it's the best show performance I've ever done - so I'm a bit gobsmacked by that and it leaves me today feeling a sense of accomplishment. Adversity and keeping going really does pay dividends then... Of course you are only as good as your last performance but I'm encouraged now to get better and build on this baby platform.

Richard - who drives me and assists with the show was a star as ever - he had a Guinness on the bar for when I finished - I think this should be written in to my rider, if I had a rider! We got back at 1 am. I couldn't sleep so 3 am before I went to bed. Too much of the sports drinks to keep me going perhaps. Tiger then proceeded to wake me what seemed like every ten minutes until 6am... Joys of being a dad!

Now the next shows to sort out. But my idea of having the show not dependent upon a single girl has legs. It's full on in the show developing routines and the unexpected in there. But I thrive on all that and it keeps things fresh! As you never know what will happen next...

Love

N

ICE DANCE PARTNER!!!

I've just been away on a cruise to the Norwegian Fjords. Great except Christiane and Tiger couldn't come - he's not old enough yet. Did two presentations and they went down a storm. Deja vu to last year when the projector screen starts swaying as we sail across the North Sea. Thankfully it wasn't too rough!

And I get back to find I am partner less for my show this Thursday - again! What is this...? I need to change my deodorant - obviously. But what to do for this Thursday? So far I've trained up three girls spent a fortune and loads of time travelling the country and here I stand without a partner again. Nightmare... so having to invent a way whereby I can perform and the show is not dependent upon one girl! That's what I'm doing today, working out how this can be andI think I'm making progress. What's coming is the idea of making up routines - on the day, before your very eyes... Along with the rest of the show running at the same time. Dancing on ice you get a week - how about 20 minutes? What can be achieved in that timeframe? And I'm getting more skating ideas from Vauderville times as I face this challenge - I think we'll see some more fun on this tour yet...... and hopefully less stress!

How was the Basingstoke show? Well just OK from my point of view - I think the audience enjoyed it but the technical stuff all worked (for the first time) and it kind of got in the way. I played to the slides and visuals rather than being able to give full out to the audience. So - from my perspective - a 6 out of 10. Could be better... I was also a little freaked by the size of the theatre - huge... felt like I needed more to fill it although once the lights are down its like anywhere and I've played big arenas so don't know what was going on there.

Wish me luck for Thursday - I have a sense that a stronger, funnier and more robust show will come out of this adversity... It's certainly character building! I have 48 hours to rehearsal time to find a partner - n0 problem at all then.

Love

N

BASINGSTOKE ICE TIMES TOMORROW

Well tomorrow there's another show and I'm working on more visuals and music this evening. I'm excited about building some of the photo content with music from the period it was taken in so the audience gets a feel of the time. 

I have a partner for tomorrow too which is super. Since last ICE TIMES Louise Owen and I decided not to keep our partnership going. Louise Walden by the way, my first partner, had only agreed to do the first four shows and then review things - she is now training in France so I needed someone else.

I've had a busy couple of weeks visiting some rinks and Kathy Green from Sheffield is skating in tomorrow's show. She only gets to skate on the plastic ice before the show in the afternoon - she'll be fine! Actually I'm sure we're going to have a have a blast.

I fell head over heels today, sore shoulders and hip tonight along with bruised elbow - I love the war wounds... 

Skated in Slough today - cost me £18 for the two of us for an hour and a half! Ha ha... made us work hard whilst we were on the ice though.

Wish us luck for a great show.

Love

N