It's been that marvellous day when I declare to the world, well anyone who might listen, that I am 23 (my stage-age) once again. 18th September is as good a day to have been born on as any so why not celebrate the day on which you were born, despite dramatic greats like Harold Pinter believing that celebrating birthdays was a very strange thing indeed. Rupert has taken the celebrating of my birthday very seriously though and has made me chuckle several times today.
A very sleepy Rupert managed a "Happy Birthday Daddy" at 6.00am this morning before the daily weetabix fest and journey to school. Shortly after my 7.00am arrival in Drama Land my marvellous colleagues greeted with me wine and chocolate brownies, the latter we munched through along with blowing out flaming candles at break time. (The wine awaits for another occasion.) The deputy head who is in charge of cover decided that the best way to mark my birthday was to give me a special present, an AM registration cover, and to show how generous she was she also added in a Positive Education Cover (what used to be known as Personal and Social Education) too for good measure. As I set about blundering through the concept of mindfulness, the theme for the lesson, the class's teacher ambled in and, knowing it was my birthday, took over. A really great pressie indeed.
My year nine class helped celebrate my birthday in a marvellously violent way by tackling stage combat with great enthusiasm. Energetic slaps, punches, jabs and hair pulls flew all lesson and were made more dramatic by the suitably exaggerated grunts and growls. Good fun was had by all.
After planning my Grease rehearsal the Drama Gang and I had lunch together. We normally gather on a Friday lunchtime and talk all-things-Drama over bowls of excellent Japanese food, but decided to move it one day earlier this week to cater for my birthday and one of the Gang's dentist appointment tomorrow. A sort of win-win.
The biggest battle of the day was with the rights owners of Grease. My school WILL be paying the necessary performance rights and costs for obtaining official copies of the text and music, but it not that easy. I applied to Grease's New York office to gain the approval to do the play, and now have it. But I have been told that I need to apply to Australia to get the texts and music, but could also apply to New York too. New York email stuff out, Australia send out paper copies, but Australia is cheaper, but then New York is quicker, possibly. It feels a bit slapdash, leaving me in Kuala Lumpur confused. The rehearsal went well though and paperwork has a habit of getting done and sorted put eventually, especially when money needs to change hands.
Just before the rehearsal Rupert dashed up to Dramaland to wish me happy Birthday again, very nice, despite the fact that I was sitting on the Dramaland loo at the time. It is the first time that I have had anyone knock on the door while I was 'attending to essential matters,' but a sixth sense told me that it really could only be Rupert who would have thought that disturbing a moment's peace to wish me complements of the birthday variety was the right thing to do. All very sweet, I suppose. All Lawrence Sprogs and I departed for home at 4.30pm, just a 9.5 hour day today.
After a pressie session, thanks loads, we departed for my birthday tea at Al Safa Restaurant for plates of grub. My tandoori chicken, garlic naan and chilli pineapple salad was all great. And then dinner was finished with coffee and cake at Desa Park City Waterfront, followed by a really good skype natter with the unofficial leader of Walsall.
All in a pretty good birthday. Thanks everyone. Same again tomorrow?