Going with the flow doesn't come easy to me. I seem to be hard-wired to sticking out my chin and fighting, but I'm learning. Partly from thinking how Gretchen at the Happiness Project would deal with things. But then, of course, she'd Be Gretchen (number one on her happiness commandments) and I need to Be Sarah, which does seem to involve sticking out that chin of mine.
Still, I managed last night. A busy busy busy day teaching at Sussex, then busy busy busy drive home to pick up daughter and off to London to busy busy busy meet husband and son to go and see .... THE PROCLAIMERS!! Maybe you have had to live in Edinburgh to fully appreciate them, but oh boy, my family are serious fans. In fact, we were looking forward not so much to hearing them sing, but to sing along with them. Actually - if the truth really be told - we could have just done it at home (and yes, OK, we do that a lot) but sometimes you do need a bit of background music.
Anyway, no sooner had we got our plastic pints of beer (in every way) and sat down, then this woman stood up a couple of rows in front of us and started waving her hands around. Maybe it would have been all right if she'd been in time or if it was Madonna we were watching on stage or anyone who moves around a little, but these boys stay still (apart from when they're having a nice quiet sit down in between choruses, that is). We tried to stand up too, but it was too early in the night for that, and besides all four of us had developed an irrational hatred for the woman which meant we preferred sitting down and muttering to each other about her. As did the three rows between us and her. There was quite a lot of subdued hissing which strangely reminded us of Edinburgh so at least that was nice.
Anyway that's when I channeled Gretchen - don't be Sarah, be Gretchen, just for now at least - and it worked! By the time we got to 'I'm on My Way', the woman's madly waving arms out of tune to anything that resembles life on this planet were not just charming, but essential to our enjoyment. Besides we were all on our feet then, and the Scots amongst us were crying out - baying actually - for Flower of Scotland so we were far more annoying than some randomly arm-sawing English woman. I even nearly went to join her.
Huzzah! And when we emerged out of the Apollo - 500 miles later and then some - England were through to the Final. So we won - on all nationality counts.
2 comments:
Simillar thing happened to us last year at Stones gig in Cardiff.
But it actually ended up in fisticuffs...4 folks were determined to stand on chairs, therefore blocking everyone's view...SO: water was splashed at them plus a few choice ( very!) descriptive words splashed liberally about this selfish forsome...!
Heaven knows what the stewards were up to...
Wow, Jan. And what were the Stones like?
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