The benefit of a blog - a toast to oneself.
So I had a fantastic birthday ( notable - i don’t tend to normally enjoy myself on birthdays for some reason ) so i thought i’d better note this down! ( and many thanks to everyone for their kind wishes)
I was taken to see The Mousetrap at St. Martin’s Theatre. The West End’s longest running play - ( 54 years ) by Agatha Christie - and simply superb. I’ve been wanting to go to this for years and it was worth the wait - I think I laughed louder than everyone else. Brilliant. I would definitely recommend it.. Good ol’ Agatha - what a brilliant social observer she was and so incredibly witty.
The thing i never get though is why everyone has always been so keen to portray her as some old biddy ( maybe the whole Miss Marple thing?) - you never generally see any photographs of her as a young woman. I must scan in some photos, and one of these days I’d like to sit down and write a bit more about her - having been a fan of her writings from early days ( 20 years ago now! Gosh). Her autobiography and memoirs are intriguing: who was the person behind the books? She was certainly adventurous and unconventional - given the era she lived in as well she was pretty remarkable. Surfing in Hawaii and then jumping on the Orient Express to go off travelling on her own to the Middle East shortly after her divorce.
St. Martin’s Theatre ( finished in 1916) is a very small lovely old theatre : it’s exterior has recently been refurbished and been returned to its ‘original glory’. A vision in red velvet inside. There are some amusing sketches on the walls from bygone days. Along the lines of ..’i've been coming for 25 years and i still don’t know who dun it!” Heh heh. Originally the Mousetrap was performed at the Ambassador Theatre next door but was moved to St. Martins in 1974. How long it will carry on running for? As long as possible I hope, till everyone in the world knows whodunnit..
Happy birthday to you!
Why thank you
Comrade, Happy Birthday to you from Raja, from Amrevis and from the whole Raja family.
Happy Birthday!
Looks like I’m stuck with the Comrade title for ever now ( there goes my political career ;-)) Thanks everyone, much appreciated.
Happy B’Day Sonia auntie! Had my 17th on 14th Sept…
Many happy returns! Hope you had a nice day. Here’s a slice of virtual birthday chocolate cake. It’s the thought that counts!
happy b day!!
Happy birthday!
Sonia,
May you enjoy life at the ripened age of __?
aw shucks thanks everyone. ripened age of 29…
Amey ( i keep wanting to call you Vikrant) 17..sigh - those were the days!
yum yum virtual chocolate cake - oh yes i like the idea of that! next year i’ll have a virtual party!
( i keep wanting to call you Vikrant),/i.
You can.. i fact even i call myself Vikrant… the story of my two names is tad melodramatic!
Ah well you’ll have to share it with us then Vikrant!
I was born Vikrant Singh… Me dad’s a Rajput (i.e Rajasthani) while my Mum’s Maratha… Amey means “unfathomable” in Marathi while Vikrant means “victor
” in most Indic languages… So it goes my parents married when they were 20 and in uni! They divorced at 22… my mum got my custody and changed my name to very Maharashtrian Amey.. to my paternal relations i’m Vikrant Singh to my maternal relation i’m Amey Chaugule to meself i’m Vikrant Chaugule! Though my legal name is Amey Chaugule!
*sigh*
My mum is a Briton, I’m Indian, My step dad is American, My dad is Indian my step mum is Singaporean! Thats one globalised family.
that’s some story! thanks for sharing it - I admit I was curious.. So presumablly that’s why you do a lot of floating around? Where does your Mom live? I think your globalized family sounds fun
I think if you put this up on your blog people would find it interesting to know.
Happy belated Birthday!
I heard Mousetrap was good, my other (and may I say better) half went to see it recently and said it was excellent.:)
hey leon - thanks! you should check it out it’s so funny i bet your better half wouldn’t mind seeing it again…I can see myself going again and again ( well assuming i can find some cheap tickets ho ho)
Belated HAPPY BIRTHDAY to you, Sonia. This is my first day on your blog; very interesting. I live in NYC and love reading and watching Indian and Western movies.
Happy Birthday!
I hope you enjoyed the day to the fullest.
Potheek Aami
http://www.shuchinta.com
thank you Sunny and Potheek Ami - this is wonderful - so many birthday wishes :-)!!