OLIVER

Yesterday I was let out after dark to go to the theatre. I rarely go into the centre of Bristol in the evening and it was quite an eye opener. It was a chilly if not a really cold evening but I still decided to wear a winter coat even though I knew it would be very warm once we were inside the theatre. However, I could not believe the number of women, heading for the various nightclubs, who were in very skimpy strappy tops, bare mid-riffs, short skirts with no coats. My rather more worldly (by this I mean much younger not an old stay at home like me) friends knowlegeably informed me this was because you have to pay to hang your coat up and it takes so long to check in and out of the cloakrooms. Last time I checked a coat in you just left a tip on a plate on the counter, clearly things have changed and I'm out of touch with reality of modern-day city night life and showing my age.

We were heading for the Bristol Light Opera Comany's production of Oliver which was being staged at the Bristol Hippodrome. A friend of mine is in the cast, the productions are always highly professional and very entertaining and so much effort goes into each performance it's amazing for an amateur group. The songs are familiar and all the principal characters have strong voices. Fagin and the Artful Dodger were particularly good and it was clear the cast were having a good time. We were a party of twelve including some friend's children and it was a really enjoyable evening. I was also able to catch up on news of ex-colleagues and what was happening in my old job and yes I'm still glad to be away from all the stress of the workplace.