As I get older, I have learnt that buying experiences as Christmas presents works really well. It means you have to commit to seeing each other and it also means you get to join in. One of my Christmas presents to my family was a 10 person outing to see La Soiree on Friday evening, two days before they finish their season at Leicester Square until they hopefully come back again in November. I’ve seen them before and the whole show is Sensational. We hired one of the booths so that you can squeeze 10 people in.
The show seems to just get better and better. A proper cabaret with an amazing selection of incredibly talented artists all doing their thing. Which was either amazing feats of acrobatic skill, strength and balance intermixed with thought provoking and/or hilarious sets. You should expect a lot of beauty, some very hot men, some nudity, some rudeness, a lot of laughter, some awe inspiring moments and a loud and raucous two hour extravaganza.
We all loved it and skipped out feeling very jolly indeed. From there we wandered off to have a Chinese meal just around the corner and then I drifted up and down Gerrard Street knocking on random doors looking for the Experimental Cocktail Club in Chinatown. It’s a speakeasy style basement club hidden behind a random door so my children thought I had gone mad. Eventually we found a door with some men who looked like they could be bouncers hanging around outside and managed to get in. Very dark, very cool and very expensive. We had to pay £5.00 entry fee each and then the cocktails were £12.00 each – and when I’m out with my grown-up children I have the privilege of paying for everything times four. Probably not ideal for a group like ours – it’s very couple orientated, but worth it just to show off to the children that I can still find cool places to go (well, that was after not finding it for some time, but whatever).
Needless to say we didn’t stay for a second round, but went instead to an arts club nearby that my brother used to go to years ago. They didn’t really want to let us in as it was members only – I stayed outside with my other brother as we decided it would be better not to all go in at the same time. So whilst we waited I attempted some of the more difficult manoeuvres that I’d just witnessed during La Soiree. I was hugging a tree and trying to stick both legs out at right angles which obviously wasn’t going to work at all. I also tried the lamp post and attempted to emulate the incredible “Singing In The Rain” pole act by a man with the most incredible body and extraordinary strength. Again, not a good look – so when my son was asked to point out his mother to the bouncer he had to say “she’s the one outside hugging a tree with her leg up in the air”…..unbelievably they still let us in.
So a hugely successful great night out in London and a reminder that us oldies can still find the cool venues for the youngsters…and the trick is, if you keep on offering to pay, then they will keep on coming. Nothing like merging the young things with the older ones for a fun night out like that to warm the cockles of your heart. Especially in January when we all need cheering up!
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