I find it enjoyable going to the theatre or seeing comedians whilst dressed, both on my own or accompanied by my wonderful SO Maureen. This time it was a solo trip and for a change I thought I would use the Nottingham tram and park out of the city, as a bit of a test, as I hadn’t used public transport dressed.
The tram was reasonably full so I stood, trying not to catch any ones eye. Two stops later and three young women got on and one made a beeline to me saying, “Hi, didn’t I see you at Alicia’s party” and I said “no you must be mistaken” and she wandered back to her friends.
I alighted from the tram directly outside the Theatre Royal Nottingham and I followed two chaps in through the wrong door. We were redirected to the Concert hall side by a staff member but it did involve threading through one of the bars. My seat was on the balcony so I climbed the stairs and was somewhat taken aback to find a woman in my seat, with a gentleman on her left and an empty seat to her right. I double checked the row and the number, but she didn’t seem unduly concerned and I certainly did not want to get into an argument so I plumped for the empty seat and her final comment was “unless you would prefer sit next to my husband?” to which I politely declined. I was a little worried that some third party might pitch up to find me sat in their seat but thought I would just have to cross that bridge if it happened. Thankfully it didn’t and I had a most enjoyable evening except for one major worry. Normally comedians seem to finish their shows around 10pm but the signs said this one went on till nearly 11. This spooked me somewhat as I had visions of an empty tram and a dark deserted car park. I had to ring Maureen, in the interval, for reassurance.
In the end the tram was actually full, with people heading home, either chatting or checking their phones and nobody paid any attention except one student, resplendent with coloured hair and piercings, who gave me an extra look up and down and the merest hint of smile, before turning back to her group.