August 29th - 30th

Sunday;
Today I was at home again. It was nice to see all my pets again I think Daisy and Dotty were very happy to see me. We had a nice lazy morning before I called my friend Sophie round to my house for a while so we could catch up on all the different things we like discussing. When Sophie went home I went to see Barbara and Martin, who live up the road from us, who said they were very proud of me. I then went to see granny who was glad to see me. Then I came home and and quite an early night.

Monday;
i wasn't needed in Milton Keynes today so I spent another day at home. I had a very lazy morning followed by a visit to town to buy all of my books and things for high school on Thursday. I am going to school on Thursday to have the first 2 days in high school to get used to it. There was a street party going on town and there was a hook-a-duck stall where we could win a fish. Mum, thinking that there wasn't a chance in a million of me winning a fish, said I could have a go. After a visit to town we all went home, by we I mean me, mum, dad and my 2 new pet goldfish. We set up a tank for the fish before we spent a few hours in the garden. Then dad and I took the dogs for a walk around the park. I will finish typing now and pack my case for the morning.

xxxxxx

August 24th - 28th

Tuesday;
The first show. We all got up bright and early ready for the first show. The excitement in the atmosphere was unbelievable. When we got to the theater We all got changed. I was playing Tessie for the end of the tech/dress and Lydia was Annie. The rehearsal wasn't too long or tiring compared to the others we had had. The orphans arrived at 2:00 ready for the full dress run when I would be playing Annie and Lydia, Tessie. It felt really good right at the end when I came down the stairs wearing the red curly wig and the famous red dress. Mum and Molly gave me a little cheer when I curtsied. Danny the dog was a pain in the apple seller scene because he just would not come I called him again and again but he sat there and scratched he came eventually though. I prayed he would come in the evenings performance. Before the show I saw Linda, Meg, Gran, Aunty Margaret, Mum and Dad who would all be watching the first performance. Also Chris Moreno, the producer, Rodger Hannah, the director, Richard Kort, a theatrical agent and the press were watching, no pressure then. I was terrified before I went on but as soon as I put down the bucket and said my line it felt amazing. The whole show went well. The audience gave me a huge cheer and Danny, the dog who didn't come again, got an even bigger one. After the show the whole cast went to the circle bar for a little celebration. Everyone congratulated me and told me I had done a great job as Annie. We got home late and went to sleep around midnight. Never mind I had a great day.

Wednesday;
We called at Tesco before we went to the theatre for nice fresh bread for our sandwiches, which we made when we got to the theater at lunch time. We then ate our creations and got ready. Mum and I sneaked in to front of house so we could watch the whole show. I found myself singing along to everything. Lots of people gave me funny looks and said to others they were sure I was in the show. It was nice to see the show for a change even though I knew it inside out and back to front. In the break in the middle of the shows we went to Wetherspoons for tea. After that we headed back and I got ready in my Tessie costume. It was nice to be an orphan again but I didn't get the thrill I did when I was Annie. We went straight to sleep when we got home and all I know was it was very late because I can't remember much past the point of getting into my pyjamas.

Thursday;
We had no show today until the evening so we went swimming in the local pool. From the outside it looked a bit iffy but it was ok in the inside. It had a small slide, three diving boards and a pool so it wasn't too bad. we spent a good hour there before we went clothes shopping in Matalan. Our mum's had allowed us to purchase 1 item of clothing. after a good while of hunting down bargains I decided on a pink floral 50's style dress. With our items bagged up we went to Sainsburys. The show was approaching fast so we grabbed a taxi to the Alhambra. I got ready to be Tessie again and the show ran smoothly again. We had got into a routine and went straight to bed when we got in.

Friday;
The day I had been waiting for. Today was the understudy rehearsal where the understudys played the parts they understudy. It was very interesting to see the different people take over the main parts. In the evening we prepared for the time I had been waiting patiently for all week. My second go at being Annie. Before I got ready I went down to stage door to see Grandma and Grandad who would be watching me. We gave the dog cheese so it would come to me and it worked very well indeed. I got another huge round of applause at the end. I was sad it had ended but it had been fun. Anyway I've got 4 months left yet so there plenty still to come.

Saturday;
I was Tessie again today. There was a matinee today and I wasn't on in the evening so after I had been Tessie I could go home. It was nice to be Tessie again and to be an orphan like last year when I was July. The matinee went very well for us all and I am sure everyone will be sad to leave Bradford in the evening. After the performance we had a nice light tea in the theater's circle bar where we went after the first show. The journey home took what seemed like forever because I was so keen to see everyone again because mum went home on Wednesday and I had missed the dogs so much in the last week. When we got home I spent some time up with mum and dad and my pets before retiring to my room for a good sleep at 10:00.

xxxxxx

note - This is a post for 5 days not 1! I am not writing an essay like this for one day!

Just to let you know

From now on due to time, or the lack of it as the case may be, I will be posting a few days at the same time a couple of times a week. I am sorry for any bother.

Day 15 August 23rd

Today I got up at a respectable time because we were going to begin the tech rehearsals. After a short bus journey to the theater we were ready to begin. We started with the sound checks making sure that the mics were on the right volume levels for our voices. Lydia was the one who tested the annie mic and Molly tested tessie's. Then we got into costumes. I was going to be annie and Lydia was going to be tessie. With our costumes complete, wigs and all, we began the tech.

The first and second scenes went very well even danny the dog came to me when I called him. But it was all going too well. It was too good to last. In the 3rd scene my wig had moved and pulled my mic tape off and my wig cap scrumple up under the wig. Susan made some adjustments to it before I went on to to the 4th scene but halfway through it began to slip off. It was halfway off my head before I had even started I Think I'm Gonna Like It Here. Simone sorted it out for me and in our coffee break we completley re did my hair and it stayed on perfectly.

After lunch I got out of costume and watched the rest of the rehearsal. We finished a bit earlier than schedualed which was good because we were schedualed to finish at 10:00. We went back by taxi and had an early ish night.

xxxxxx

p.s. the next few posts have been delayed because of the shows finishing late I will post the a.s.a.p. sorry.

Day Off 2 August 22nd

Our second day off. I was at home all day it felt so good to be back in my own bed. I didn't do much exciting but I just had a nice day visiting my family. Daisy and Dotty were very glad to see me and I was very glad to see them. I saw Dillis and Phyllis who had grown since I last saw them. I had missed everyone so much it was good to see people again.

Day 14 August 21st

I got up early today so we could catch the bus on time. We got ready and caught the bus on time. It was a double decker bus so we sat on top level right at the front. From our perspective it looked like the bus was taking up the whole road other lane and all.

We arrived at the theater ages before we were needed so we played with the dogs who must be sick and tired of 11 year old girls attacking them with cuddles every morning, afternoon and evening. I ran through the whole show as annie and I mucked up a few bits and bobs here and there but I won't do that again. The run went quite well but I am very nervous about playing such a big part next week! Dad arrived just as we went down to wardrobe to fit our costumes. After that we all said goodbye to Lydia and her mum because they went shopping. We went in the car back to the house where I packed some stuff to take home for the weekend.

We traveled home for an hour or so and when we got home I played around for a bit then gran came for tea. I will now stop typing and go to bed. Oh well no early night tonight. Well I'll have one tomorrow honest.

xxxxxx

Day 13 August 20th

Today we woke up in our new house. We had had some trouble getting to sleep last night because Lydia was scared because she thought there were ghosts. We needed to be at the theatre at 11:00 to polish up the bits and bobs that needed polishing.

We went through the parts with the orphans and danny the dog. We discovered that most bits were the same but hard knock life reprise was a little different. The dog was very good and came when he was called. Molly was annie all afternoon and Lydia was tessie so I sat and watched. I sat and played with the dogs. I got a chance to do the first scene but Rodger asked me to do the scene and I didn't know what on earth I was doing.

When we got home we mucked about a bit on our laptops before tea. Tea was nice again. I don't really what else to say about after tea. Well we had baths and went back on our laptops. Lydia and I helped Molly with some of the dancing in the 'Never Fully Dressed' because we weren't sure of some steps. We went to bed fairly late. I say once again we WILL have an early night tomorrow.

xxxxxx

Day 12 August 19th

Today we all got up early at our travel lodge to catch our train to Bradford. We packed our cases again ready to go. We arrived at the station an hour before our train departed so we went to McDonalds for breakfast. After we had our breakfast we went to Kings Cross to find out some more details of our train journey.

We had a 2 and a bit hour train ride before we stopped at Leeds to change trains. Then after another 20 minutes we arrived in Bradford where a nice taxi was waiting for us to take us to our home for the next 10 days. The house is very nice but it's very old fashioned and smells a bit musty. I think we can cope. Lydia and I decided we will be sharing a room on the second floor. It's an upside down house above a coffee shop. It's upside down because the kitchen and living room are upstairs and the bathroom and some of the bedrooms are downstairs.

After a look around and a quick sit down we popped to Sainsburys for tea. We had spag bol which I hate so I had spaghetti and vegatables. I then had a bath in the lovely pale pink bathroom. In some rooms of the house when you are on your own you feel like you are being watched by someone or somthing. It's not too bad. You're never fully dressed without a smile!

xxxxxx

Day 11 August 18th

We had an 11:00 start so I didn't need to get up until later than normal. I had a hot chocolate, which I haven't had for a long time, for breakfast with my toast. The weather was nice this morning on the way to the rehearsal room for the last time in London then we move to Bradford o prepare for shows.

Not much was done in rehearsals today because Lydia was annie and Molly and I were orphans. It was fun to be an orphan again doing the reindeer and I got to do 'molly's' part and get lifted up by daddy warbucks in the last scene. We got to do a bit in the morning and clean up the routines but we just sat this afternoon. We had the schedule for the coming week including the shows and I found out that i am going to be doing the opening night to open the whole tour when Mr. Moreno. Mr. Hannah and the press come to watch.

We stopped off at Wetherspoons for tea where we had a call from the offices in Lincoln saying that we should have had all our belongings out of the apartment because someone was coming to clean it. We didn't know this and we thought we were spending the night there. Actually we had no accomadation for tonight at all. So we went back to the appartment to pack the rest of our things. We found out we would be spending the night in a travel lodge by kings cross station where we would catch our train to Bradford in the morning.

When we got to the hotel we were so close to the station we can hear the trains going past all the time. We are all upset and frustrated but at least we have a warm comfy bed, a roof over our heads and eachother. The sun will come out tomorrow!

xxxxxx

Day 10 August 17th

So much for an early night last night. I was last up today because I was so tired. We had been practising last night so we knew what we were doing during the day. The shorter route is far better than the old one because we go through the park rather than down the main roads. Jane, molly's mum has taught the others a rhyme to say when they walk so they can learn their lefts and rights.

We did far more today and I really enjoyed it because today we went through the whole show act 1 and act 2. I was pleased at this because we got to do my favourite numbers which are 'I Don't Need Anything but You' and 'I Think I'm Gonna Like It Here'. Luckily no one got dropped today. Lydia didn't get to do much today but tomorrow she will be annie all day. Roger, the director , said that all the orphan parts are the same as last year. Good job I've been practising with Bitesize. It was Henry's birthday today so we gave him a cake.

When we got back we did the same as always had tea had a bath or shower and got ready for bed. We practised the orphans parts and learn annie and tessie's parts. Right now it's raining and thundering outside and we are expecing lightning. I really don't like thunder storms I do hope it passes over soon.

xxxxxx

note: the photo on the right was taken on my mum's phone

Day 9 August 16th

Rehearsals started again today. An early start this morning. If there is one thing in this world I could live without it would be early starts! I suppose I don't really mind when I am getting up to start rehearsing for annie. Dada showed us a faster shorter route to the rehearsal rooms so we don't have to walk a mile every day now at 9:25.

We didn't do much this morning but this afternoon we went through all the bits and bobs we hadn't done in act 2.One of these parts was 'I Don't Need Anything But You' reprise which was quite fun. In the lunch breaks we now make a trip o the local tesco for 'supplies' so to speak. In tesco there is a gormet doughnut stand where we all get some doughnuts for after tea. We have all just realised that in a weeks time we will be starting the shows, uh oh.

After not doing much in rehearsals we went home and after tea we had a few hours learning what was scheduealed for tomorrow. We were planning on an early night which I can tell you didn't happen. I am sure we will be earlier tomorrow.(Although we have said that all week!)

xxxxxx

Day 8 August 15th

Finally the day we have been waiting for. Our day off! We had been planning today all week. We had decided we were going to the O2 arena.

I got up early-ish so we could go to Wetherspoons for a nice posh breakfast. After breakfast we went to the tube station. We got off the tube at Victoria station. First of all we went for a walk to Westminster Bridge so we could catch a tour boat to go to Greenwich. The tour boat was a nice relaxing trip down the Thames.

When we got off at Greenwich after seeing some of the fantastic sights of London, including the recreation of Shakespeares's globe theatre. Once we got off the boat we got on another tube to go to North Greenwich to go to the O2. We got off the tube and headed for the arena. On the way we found a fountain in the ground which dad decided o run through. As Linda and Bitesize would know dad and water are not a good combination! He got a bit wet.

The O2 arena looks like a village inside with restraunts and shops inside, we thought when we saw it from the outside it was a big tent witha few bits and bobs inside. First of all we made our way to the music experience museum.

The museum was awesome. We went to the ineractive room where we could play gutairs and drrums. I was bad at both but it was fun anyway. After that we went into the dance booth where we recorded us doing the twist. That didn't do mum's knee much good. We then walked around the music through the decades rooms where there were lots of old things such as hand written lyrics from 60's song and costumes worn by the spice girls.

We spent a good couple of hours there before we went further down the indoor 'street' where we came across some aqua globes. For those who do not know aqua globes are sort of blow up hamster balls that you go inside that allow you to walk on water. Lydia and I went on them they were so amazing I wished we had more time in them because we were only allowed 5 minutes.

After we had finished we went for tea in a restraunt. We had a tasty tea before we caught a tube to come back to our apartement. The train line we needed to go on was closed so after quite some negoiation we got home.

xxxxxx

Day 7 August 14th

Today we got up quite late and we were all rushing around to get ready in time. We needed to get to the rehearsal room at 11:00. Although we had a later start we felt like we had hardly any time at all. We are all used to the walk now but we still feel like we are tired before we start up.

Rodger Hannah, our directer, wasn't there today so the dance captain took the rehearsal. We did a dance clean up to make sure everyone was spot on and perfect with the dancing before we moved on. They were running behind so we didn't start doing anything until later on. We started on 'Hooverville' then we had a lunch break. Mum and Lydia's mum went to Tesco to buy all the stuff we needed. After lunch we did 'I Think I'm Gonna Like It Here' when the men who pick us up dropped Molly, which made Lydia and I feel slightly nervous. Our dads came down today to see us which was really nice.

After another horrible walk through the rain we got to our apartment where we got changed to go to a restraunt for tea. We had a lovely tea and now we are home we gave Lydia's dad a concert because it is his birthday tomorrow. Lydia and I are going to sleep on the airbeds in the hall tonight so our dads can have the beds. I am sorry I havn't posted until so late today but I have been otherwise occupied. Missing everyone at home!

xxxxxx

Day 6 August 13th

I was up early this morning, before everyone except my mum. Lydia's mum let me have some of Lydia's cereal for breakfast which was very kind of her. We thought this morning we were going to have lovely weather today. Hmmm. We had the 10:00 start today again so we started on our mile walk to the rehearsals.

We started on the second act today. We blocked the 'White House Scene" and the 'Radio Scene'. It may sound like we didn't do much today and we didnt! After we had blocked those scenes after lunch everyone else went home and we went through the 'Bundles Scene' with Su Pollard (that's when the photo above was taken with me and Su swapping glasses) We have all decided that Su is absolutley awesome!

We are now home after a walk through the rain and are about to have some pasta and veg for tea. Later we are planning to have an early night because so far we have been going to bed at 11:30 each night and we are shattered. I can safley say that I think I am thouroughly going to enjoy the next few months even though I am going to miss everyone.

xxxxxx

Day 5 August 12th

I got up second to last today, which is still very good for me! We had even more terrible news this morning because Molly's mum text saying that the hotel was horrible and they hated it. We all felt very sorry for them both! We had the early 10:00 start this morning so Lydia was like a zombie when she eventually got up, It felt like we had changed musicals to thiller!

We blocked out the rest of act 1 this morning, except for the first scene, and this afternoon we 'staggered' through act 1. The dancers must have been so fed up because we had to do every scene 3 times so each of us annies could have a go. We got to sing 'Tomorrow' today and all the cast gave me a big clap at the end of the song. We had to do quite a bit of sitting around but we did the most we have done all week.

Now we are back at the apartment Lydia has got a friend round who was an orphan last year. We had a nice tea and I had two chocolate eclairs for pudding so i am now very full. For the first time Molly is going to be able to sleep in our apartment because the production company has bought an airobed for her and her mum. We are all really enjoying it and we cant wait to start the performances!

xxxxxx

Day 4 August 11th

Today I wasn't up last, which is a first, because it was the first, and most likely the last, lie in we get. We didn't have to go to rehearsals until 12:00 so we had some time to ourselves, which was nice. Molly was meant to come to the apartment this morning before we went but she made her own way instead.

In rehearsals we did some blocking of a scene which was quite fun then we had a lunch break at 1:00 to 2:15. After lunch we spent the next few hours blocking some more scenes. Now, more or less, we have completely blocked the first half in 3 days! That's taken some really hard work I can tell you! We were dismissed at 4:50 rather than 6:00 so we were quite happy about that.apartment

Now we are back at the apartment and we are all on our lap tops we are about to prepare our tea, which will be haddock and chips. We have just had some terrible news, because we can't fit another bed in our apartment Molly and her mum have to move out and go to the hotel for the rest of the rehearsals so Lydia and I are a bit upset. After tea we are going to watch 'Little Shop of Horrors' and have some popcorn before bed.

xxxxx

p.s. the picture is of me and Lydia that my dad took when we were on i-chat.

Day 3 August 10

I got up at 8:40 ready to go to the second rehearsal. Everyone else was up before me, which isn't unusual! We had a spot of breakfast and a bath before we packed our lunch bags. We have to walk about a mile to get to the rehearsal room from our apartment, which will take some getting used to twice a day, but I'm sure will manage.

The rehearsals were not as bad as yesterday because this morning we sang our solos which are 'Maybe' and 'Tomorrow'. We then had a break after which we the blocking for scene 3 with 'Hooverville' which annie has a couple of lines in. We had a lunch break when we went for a walk down the street to Tesco Metro where we bought the ingredients for my tea. After lunch we went through 'I Think I'm Gonna Like It Here' where annie has to do 3 lifts. in the middle of it we smelled smoke because one of the buildings near by had caught fire! Luckily we were all fine.

We came home at 6:00 and are going to have a lovely roast chicken dinner. After that we plan to play on our computers and genrally do stuff. I am quite tired now but I think that's because we had a late night last night. I am really looking forward to the rest of the rehearsals and shows!

xxxx

Day 2 August 9th

Today I got up at 7:30 in our travel lodge. We pottered around the room for a while before getting dressed and going down for our breakfast at 8:00. After our very tasty continental breakfast we went back to ou room to get our cases so we could travel to Islington for my annie rehearsal at 10:00.

At 10:00 it began! I met the cast, including the other girls who will be sharing the part of annie with me, Lydia and Molly. We were very bored at first because the musical director, Mark, was going through 'Hooverville' with the adults, which annie doesn't sing. But after a 15 minute break we sang 'N.Y.C.' which annie has a solo line in!

When we had sung that we went on a lunch break at 1:00. I went to Mc. Donalds and had a cheese burger. After lunch we went and met up with Lydia and Molly to go for a walk around. We headed back to the theatre/chapel where we were rehearsing at 2:00 to carry on. In the afternoon we went through several songs that annie is in before we had another break. After the break annie wasn't needed so we all loaded the car and walked to the appartment we would be sharing for the rehearsal period in London.

The appartment is really cool but there aren't enough beds at the moment so Molly and her mumhave to go to a hotel by kings cross. Lydia and I will miss her but we will have lots of fun. We are having tea then we will g to bed for a nice, well-deserved rest!

xxxxx

Day 1 August 8th

Today I got up at about 8:30 ready to go down to London. After a visit from my Uncle Mark we began to pack the car. We then set off to get petrol and drop the dogs off at my Gran's.

After a 3 and a half hour trip and a pit stop at the service stations for snacks we finally made it to our travel lodge in Barking. We brought in our suitcases then we walked to Barking Station where we got a tube train into central London.

We got off the train after 30 minutes at Westminster Station where we headed for Tesco Express for lunch. On the way we past Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament AND The London Eye! When we had finished our lunch we went for a walk around London when we spotted 10 Downing Street, the horse guards parade, Nelson's Column and Trafalgar Square, we went through the Marble Arch into St. James' Park and up to Buckingham Palace.

A short while later we headed back down the mall and we saw Clarence House and St. James' Palace. We went on to Trafalgar Square and Leicester Square and we saw the Odeon where the film premiers are held and we went to a resteraunt called 'The Mermaid's Tail.'

After tea we went through Covent Garden Market and past lots of grand west end theatres.We walked to Temple Station and got back on the train to come back to our hotel for a nice cool bath and nice warm bed.

xxxxx

Just before we set off on the Annie tour

On Saturday the 7th August 2010 just before we set off to London, I went to Chester Zoo with my mum and dad, and my friend Sophie.

This is me and Sophie acting daft !