I hadn’t been to Rainham since 1963 when I went to a school friend’s birthday party in Parsonnage Road, so when the satnav told me to turn into Parsonnage Road it took me back 60 years. My friend was someone that shared my love of ballet; we danced together at school and both got our dancing colours. I don’t know if she carried on dancing or if her path was different to mine. I wonder!
The women were a very fun group; a really great atmosphere in the hall.
My visit to Leigh Estuary U3A was a return visit. I gave one of my earliest talks to them in 2014 and then a ZOOM talk in 2021. It’s always good to be invited back. They were a very welcoming group. I do think that the very hot weather must have deterred a lot of people from venturing out, although the hall was very cool. My talk “A View from the Stalls” is my least popular, although always well received. My aim is to make ballet more accessible and appealing to those who might not previously have any experience of it. Feedback was very positive.