Bring on more cheap theatre tickets and I'll be back every night

It was on at the Kings Theatre in Southsea last week, so I had a look on the website to see if there was any chance I could find a cheap ticket.

And what do you know? The theatre had reduced view seating for £15 a pop. Brilliant – but only one seat in a row full of strangers.

Not one to be openly afraid of aloneness, I rose to the challenge and confidently plonked myself on the Billy-no-mates seat in the middle of two groups.

I wonder if, when people book, they deliberately leave a buffer, so to speak.

Perhaps they fear the spread of other people’s knees and thighs, or maybe they want a chair to strategically fill with coats (especially pertinent in this apocalyptic weather of snow first thing, followed by burning sun, a roll of thunder, some juicy hailstones, a bit more sun, topped off with snow).

So there I was, in the coat chair, feeling small and a bit lonely, but secretly marvelling that the view was pretty good.

And then it started. People talking to me. For all this nonsense that’s spouted about the British not speaking to each other, I’d like to set the record straight. We do, all the time.

We get laughed at as a nation for constantly talking about the weather (see paragraph above). It’s our national opener.

But we want to talk to one another. We want to be social, we want connection.

The family on one side of me were back to see the show for the second time, as they’d enjoyed it so much when they’d seen it days before. How’s that for a ringing endorsement?

And the couple the other side were there as a birthday present – a surprise one – and they’d never been to a theatre before. We may have been there to see American Idiots, but in a truly British way we shared our uniqueness within a few moments of meeting. I loved that.

The show itself was okay – I embarrassed myself by not knowing many songs and failing to get a grip on the plot, but the pace and choreography were stunning. Bring on more cheaper tickets and I’ll be back every night...

GAME OF THRONES RETURNS - AND NOW IT’S AVOIDANCE TIME

I’m delighted that Game Of Thrones is back on the TV for a new season – but for me, now the games of avoidance begin.

You see, I like to store up a whole season and ‘binge-watch’.

Waiting around all week for a show, then having to contend with family life to watch it in peace, is too hard.

So binging over a day when everyone else is out is definitely my preference.

But now it’s avoidance time for reviews, comments on social media, adverts for the next show and conversations in cafes.

I can imagine this is what it’s like if you plan on watching, for example, a football game after it’s been played.

A lot of ducking and diving involved to get yourself ready for the action without already knowing the result.

I’LL BE SAD WHEN THOSE SCOUT CAMP TRIPS COME TO AN END

My daughters were both away at Scout camp last weekend.

I’ve been transporting children to and from the fields in Lyons Copse for so many years now, I hate to count them.

And you know what? I’ll be sad when it ends. I can’t begin to express the pleasure that my children have got from the Scouting movement and the opportunities that it has given to them.

They’ve camped, cooked, sailed, teamed, first aided, walked, climbed, shot, bounced, axed and much, much more. We’re so privileged to have such wonderful areas where the Scouts can explore the world and so many wonderful people who give up their time to facilitate that. Thank you Scout (and Guide) people, you’re all awesome.