Fifty things to do before I'm fifty, The Ballet



At the start of my year of challenges, one of the things I was keen to do was share experiences with as many friends, family  members and acquaintances as possible. I wanted to re-connect with people I  hadn't seen in ages. The kind of people who, when you get to my age, you only get to catch up with at funerals.
I was truly delighted when my cousin volunteered to join me at the ballet and we managed to set a date. We were never really close as children; victims of overly competitive grandparents, we were foisted on each other at family events, never really given the opportunity to find common ground. Since adulthood, we've had polite conversations at the aforementioned funerals and a couple of other events but never have we gotten to know each other properly.
I think we were both nervous meeting up, I certainly was! I really wasn't sure whether we would be able to find anything to talk about although food is always a great ice breaker!


As it turned out, we got on like a house on fire. V was wonderful; funny, intelligent and wise. We were at ease in no time at all laughing about family members in common and the daft perceptions we had of each other. We managed to catch each other up on our lives over the last 30 years or so. Not only that, we ended up having a real heart to heart as well. I never expected to open up to her so quickly and easily. We even turned up to meet each other in nearly matching outfits!

I was almost sorry to leave the restaurant for the ballet but the tickets cost a bomb so it would have been a waste to miss it. We saw Sleeping Beauty at The Coliseum, a spectacular building with breathtaking ornate decoration. I was in awe of the place. The ballet was absolutely beautiful to watch. The costumes were stunning, truly opulent. A visual feast!





So, a tick on my list for the ballet. A beautiful experience which I would happily repeat, although I think the bar was set pretty high with Sleeping Beauty. The biggest highlight of my evening was re-connecting with V and making a new friend. What a joy!

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