A night at the opera

3 out of 4 in a photo - about all you can hope for these days!

Back to work after another busy weekend, one where 3/4 of the household have the lurgy as well so I'm not heading back into the office feeling that refreshed. On Friday I was in Screwfix so it was a journey down to Yeovil which took longer than it should have done - the A303 is never an easy road. My cold managed to go from being OK to sounding almost like a version of the Corona Virus - much to the horror of the CEO who started reaching for his hand sanitiser as tears streamed from my eyes over our intro meeting - so much for a good first impression! Luckily I had at lest met him before so he knows that isn't my normal approach. After 2 nights of nights of not sleeping due to a sore throat, I then had a sleepless night due to coaching so at 4am I crawled into Abi's bed (she was in the shed of course - it's half term) to try and at least give Glenn a break if not myself. On Saturday morning, knowing we had a long day ahead and feeling pretty snotty I decided to be kind to myself, or more importantly my fellow yogis, and gave yoga a miss - something I hate to do. It did mean I could have a slightly more relaxed morning before dragging the kids out of their respective holes to get sorted to go to Cardiff.  

Our trip to Cardiff had been planned since last summer - meeting Mum, Amanda and the boys to go and see Queen Symphonic - a rock and orchestral mash up of Queen's back catalogue. Although we'd all seen the trailer we didn't really know what to expect and in particular, whether the kids would enjoy it. I do know they are always happy together though so it's a reasonably safe bet! What I hadn't planned for when I booked this was that it would clash with a 6 Nations home game at the same time - ugh! What should have been a relatively simple drive into Cardiff became very complex as half the roads were closed or restricted and so you had the choice of a) ignoring this and risking a ticket (Amanda's approach) or b) spending more time than you wanted to in the one way system only in the end to park somewhere completely different to the original plan (my approach). It didn't really matter as we all managed to get there about the same sort of time and so after a quick cup of tea we headed off to Mermaids Quay to eat before the concert. Cardiff is a melting pot of a city and the walk from the centre to Cardiff Bay takes you through some 'interesting' multi-cultural residential areas which proved to be quite an education for the kids (and parents maybe). We made it in one piece and got to the restaurant where the kids demolished pizzas before we turned to go back the same way with questions of "Is there another route?" By the time we headed back it was getting dark and so the streets, shops and little café bars were even more lively - much to my amusement and the kid's wide eyed interest. There is something about taking your children to places like these - we saw some girls in a shop doorway who didn't look much older than Abi - scary for me and the kids. It raised lots of questions, and a very clear statement from me that they should never feel that anything they've done is so bad that this should feel a more acceptable outcome than talking to me. 

We finally found the concert venue (should have been easy, wasn't) and settled into our seats for what

was a brilliant show. The music was fabulous, we all sang a long at the top of our voices and the second half in particular had us on our feet, hands swaying, kids pretty much word perfect. As I said to Mum, she should be very proud of the legacy she has given us of 3 generations loving these songs so much.  Izzy took some videos which made me laugh afterwards as all you can hear is her and Ben warbling along having a brilliant time. 

It all finished too soon and we went outside to set off in opposite directions to find our respective cars. Another eye opening experience for the girls - Cardiff city centre at 10.30pm after an International rugby home game. Lets just say there were all kinds of people out, some more inebriated than others. 

It was then a 2 hour drive home in the rain which wasnt as bad as it might have been - we didn't get snarled up in any traffic and Abi was brilliant company the whole way, checking I wasn't too tired. I even got 9 out of 10 for my play list which we had on as we drove. It's true that when you approach these events you also wonder why you thought it was a good idea and then when they are done you know exactly why - what a lovely evening to spend with family doing something a bit different. 

Sunday was a late start and a definite feeling of the cold catching up with us all. Izzy went to Mia's, I had a half hearted 10k run and then Abi and I drove up to Oxford to the reptile shop to ask some questions about Monty (who likes to starve himself - apparently its a thing for Royal Pythons) and Noodle (who I think is the reptile equivalent of a man of a certain age - he just wants to be left alone!). Conclusion, we probably shouldn't be worrying.  We were also introduced to a 6 month old female Royal called Penelope. Who'd have thought I would be as taken by these creatures as Abi is but the Royal's are such a chilled out animal and so beautiful. You probably have to have experienced it to appreciate it but I have become quite a fan. We really will have to stop adding to our collection though! We haven't bought her.... yet!