"I really should see more shows...."

I've never been a big fan of musicals. Growing up I watched the occasional kids' musical movie, but Disney animations aside, I don't list any musicals within my all time favourites. People find it hard to believe that I've never seen The Sound Of Music. (Yes, never) I think I've seen parts of it, but never beginning to end  - apart from the Queen's Speech, my Christmases are not marked by scenes of rolling hills and political messages.

London's West End is world renowned for its stage productions, rivaling that of Broadway across the pond. Many times the conversation comes up about how "we really should see more shows.. tourists come from all over the world to see these, yet we hardly go to any". In my teens I saw Joseph and the Technicolour Dreamcoat purely because a boyband member I liked was playing lead role. Hmm.

When I landed a job working in Covent Garden, at the heart of London's Theatreland, I was surrounded by numerous theatres within a stone's throw of the office door. Within a few minutes walk, more historic theatres, more glitzy lights, more post-dinner pre-theatre excited crowds filled the streets. Yet I can count the number of shows I saw in my five full years there, on one hand. (Yes, terrible, I know)

I saw Mamma Mia! and cringed throughout at its hideous Abba-tastic cheese - that put me off for a long time. Chicago with its scantily clad women and American accents I couldn't decipher didn't convince me either. Though on the flipside, The Lion King was spectacular, Sister Act was fun and Priscilla, Queen of the Desert had me smiling all throughout - though, this was largely down to the Australian theme. Ghost impressed me with its staging, if not much else.

I'd like to think I'm an open-minded person and having enjoyed some of the shows I've seen, I'd like to see more but the ticket prices can be hard to justify - upto £100 per ticket for some, or cheaper seats with often compromised views and the rest. Then comes the problem of convincing someone to go along, which at that price, is not easy. I understand shows are costly to produce and run, but high pricing is making theatre trips exclusive rather than inclusive to the majority - it is unsurprising London theatres are struggling.

This Summer, I spent two days in blazing hot London sunshine on Trafalgar Square, in the audience of a free London event called "West End Live" - a showcase on a giant stage of around 40 West End musicals, including favourites from the past and new upcoming shows. I am surprised at quite how much I enjoyed it and thinking about it now is still making me smile. The atmosphere on the Square was fantastic, the crowd friendly (mostly) and the performances were great. I liked the the way it gave the audience a taster of so many shows that are running, showing the range of themes - from 60s and 70s music, kids' stories with hilarious adult undertones in the lyrics, and more.

I could say the event entirely changed my viewpoint on musicals, but instead it separated the "I really don't think I could see two hours of that show" from the "I really want to see that now", mainly for shows I had an inkling before that I'd like.

London as a city is intimidating and overwhelming in a way that makes "locals" feel bad for not being embedded in its heaving richness of culture and arts. But I'm beginning to realise you should do something because you want to, not because everyone else is doing it. Sounds so simple doesn't it?

What's in a name?

I always envisaged my blog would have a significant name to draw people in - relevant, meaningful words, lyrics, a quote, that kind of thing, describing what would of course become a treasure trove of amazing writing. 

Thinking of a name is partly why it's taken me so long to start this whole thing. Just some I considered over the years:

"Living In The Moment"  - a happy, upbeat Jason Mraz song I use on many occasions to lift myself up when I need to. But to anyone who doesn't know the reference, it would imply awesomely exciting things about living life to the fullest, jumping out of planes, that sort of thing. Plus the fact I may write about things from years ago isn't quite living in the moment!

"There's Something About..." - I pondered this for a long time, as a title and the start of every entry. A handy way of allowing me to talk about anything and everything. But there was just something about that title that didn't stick.

"The Rock and the Tide" almost made the final cut - the title of one of my absolute favourite albums, by American musician Joshua Radin - an album that came about in my life at a time where not one but many of the songs and lyrics just seemed to ring very true.  The title also coincidentally and quite aptly describes a country I hold close to my heart, Australia. This pretty much sealed the deal until a few weeks ago, when I went to the cinema...

Based on a true story, the movie "Tracks" follows the journey of a young girl who decides to walk halfway across Australia with only her dog and three camels for company. I found the film really moving, simply done but so effective. This may sound dramatic, but I felt like I could relate to it. Not literally, of course - as much as I love Australia, I have never felt the urge to take on an extraordinary feat with four-legged creatures as companions. The sweeping arid landscapes, sights and sounds of Central and Western Australia (which I've been lucky to experience in more luxurious ways than the film) and the characters brought back so many memories. The journey, the independence and loneliness, the stepping out into the unknown, the achievement. Achievement as I mentioned in my first entry that we don't give ourselves enough credit for - we sweep things under the carpet as small and insignificant when really we should be beaming with pride and telling the world. 

I ambled distractedly home from the cinema that evening in autopilot mode, lots of images and thoughts going through my head. I probably smiled at everyone on the way home. Smiling? In London? She must be mad.

But my mind was ticking away. All I wanted to do that night was somehow magically put down every good experience, adventure and achievement down "on paper". And I wanted it all to have a name. 


"I can't call my blog Tracks, can I? Hmm. I guess it's cooler than Footprints..."


"If anyone's seen the film they'll expect my experiences to be that dramatic."


"What about something implying achievement a smaller scale... Tiny Tracks? No that sounds like a baby's toy, or worse, a baby blog."


"Small Steps. No, no Neil Armstrong quotes. Or giant leaps."


"Wait, actually, tracks is good. I like how it subtly relates to music, and there will definitely be a lot of music stuff on my blog. Ok.. keep thinking..."


"Big universe, small achievements, little things... "


"Little Tracks? Little Tracks... That's it! Little Tracks."


So, here we have it. My blog is finally born, with a name, a significant name at that, relating to exactly what I want it to be.

Little Tracks. Travel. Music. And everything in between.

The Rock And The Tide

"I'm always the last one, never ready for the fast ones, well it's time to change.

So we make our plans, set our sites on a new land, one that's kind of strange. 

You say, someday, we'll know where to go but we don't know..."


I wonder if musicians ever realise quite how much a song or an album can hold significant meaning to people. I guess that's why fans frequently gush excitedly about how music has touched their souls.

I didn't understand that before, now I think I do... now I get it.  Anyway, one day soon I will write about that topic and about "The Rock and The Tide" some more, giving it the attention (I feel) it deserves...but for now back to blog names..

Welcome to my retrospect

Despite good intentions and enjoying creative writing, I've never been good at keeping a diary or blog. Partly laziness, though more not finding the hours in a day, or energy at the end of a long, busy and eventful day worth writing about, to sit at a screen or hold a pen to write something legible. There is proof of this, in the many little notepads of incomplete scrawl I still have. I wouldn't be able to tell you what the words say, perhaps I should have learnt shorthand as a teenager.

I also never thought I'd ever do anything in life worth telling other people about and I'm yet to decide on where I sit on the debate about whether blogs are self-indulgent. Though the former wins over the latter here. 

Life in all its turbulence with the bad times has sent a lot of good experiences my way, a lot of great experiences in fact. Things I have shared with others and things I've done on my own which no one knows about, nor will they know about unless I find a way of sharing. I love socialising and talking to people though I'll never be someone who drops in "There was this one time in..." stories, unless it somehow comes up in conversation.

More and more recently I find myself realising we need to give ourselves credit for things we do and achieve every day, rather than putting them down as insignificant when they are a big deal. Life is too short to worry about negative opinions of peers. Plus, with the age of travel and the internet, sharing and appreciation doesn't have to be limited to immediate social circles, instead open to friends (and strangers) everywhere.

I don't think this will be a regular or frequently updated blog -I'm sure by starting it, I'll tempt fate and nothing fun will happen for a while! Rather than always being an "in the moment" blog, I envisage this as a place where when I have some time, I'll write about "this one time in...". I'd love you to stick around and read the posts, as and when they appear - if I know you in person, I won't judge you for not being an avid follower of my ramble. Sometimes I don't follow it either!  

Posts might end up being short and slightly miscellaneous, others longer and much more reminiscent... who knows, some may even sound familiar, almost as if you were there, some might say. Let's see how it goes.

Welcome to my retrospect.

Post coming soon: What's in a name?