Wild Nights Out.... March

One of my challenges this year is to go out more of an evening. So far this month I have had two such expeditions. The first was to Shanklin Theatre to watch the hilarious Omid Djalili and his equally funny warm up man, Boothby Graffoe. The theatre was lovely and old fashioned, and the show was a hoot! The only downside was the lack of parking in Shanklin, but we found a side street with a parking space eventually.

Yesterday I attended the spring concert of the Isle of Wight Symphony Orchestra. This was sold out, as usual. The programme was music from Poulenc, Ravel, Franck, and Saint-Saens; the Ravel piece was 'Piano Concerto in G', with the soloist Viv McLean. This was performed beautifully, and Viv McLean's solo in the second part moved me to tears. Yes. Really. Wow, he was superb! I could see his face throughout and he was clearly enjoying every moment - a joy to watch and listen to. The concert ended with Saint-Saens 'Bacchanale from 'Samson and Delila'', which was played with skill and enthusiasm by the orchestra. Absolutely glorious.