Being watched

"I'm loving your blog!" said the friend (a singer) over a birthday (James’s) drink on Friday. I wasn't aware anybody other than a select few were following this blog so it came as something of a surprise. Sure enough, a quick check on “Google” showed that the blog comes up when searching OHP. So there it is, I’m in the ether and suddenly I am even more acutely aware of what I am saying. I’d better not mention waking up fully clothed in the bath after said drink on Friday.

As if to emphasise the point of behaving well in public, even on private time, we bumped into a person who works for our main sponsors Korn/Ferry at the birthday bash (which was in a normal public bar, not a private event). Fortunately, whatever deeds led to the later bath episode occurred after said sponsor representative had left. Cognitive thought was obviously at play since I had clearly taken the trouble to make myself comfortable but it was as divorced from my memory as it is possible to be. She emailed today to point out what perfectly behaved gentlemen we had all been. Ahem.

It was made acutely obvious to us during the 2006 season that the press love a good story about late night “luvvie” behaviour. A very late night episode of handbags between a singer and a director was turned into headline news. I had tried to point out that a special supplement had better be put aside for us if they wanted such stories because I have three arguments of far greater intensity per week. Or should that be per day? But it was a salutary lesson and we shall ensure the dancing girls only turn up at the really secret fight nights.

I think the theatre is coming together beautifully. I say “think” because I am not really sure such is the blizzard of paper and drawings. Mike H, our technical manager is taking more of the practical stuff over as contracts get signed. I hope that by April I will have been able to turn my mind to what I am supposed to be good at – which is selling tickets. On June 5th, when Nabucco opens, we’ll know how good I am at buying and building theatres as well as filling them. But the slaves’ chorus will be met by shouts of “you think you’ve got it bloody hard?!” from the wings.