Level 2 Chi Kung.
Tonight was Katie’s school’s turn to participate in Young Voices, a kind of massive multi-school choir. When we were first told about it, back in December, Katie didn’t seem that interested. So, given that spending three hours listening to 7,000 kids grind tunelessly through a primary school teacher’s idea of what constitutes ‘modern music’, in the soulless environs of the O2 Arena, is about as far from my idea of a good time as it is possible toget, I didn’t buy a ticket. By the time, about a week ago, that Katie started to talk as if Young Voices would be the most important night of her young life, the only available tickets were right at the top, in seats which (seriously!) have a health warning indicating that they are unsuitable for those with vertigo or a fear of heights. Inexplicably, these seats, which are usually heavily discounted, were, for this event, the same exorbitant price as the front row. To be a parent is to be vulnerable to all kinds of scams, the perpetrators of which (including schools… especially schools!) are confident in the efficacy of emotional blackmail.
It was time to throw myself on Nick’s mercy. I sold it to him on the grounds that:
a) he doesn’t suffer from vertigo
b) having no concern with social etiquette, and given that Katie would be unlikely to be able to see him so far away, he would be able to play Scramble on his phone throughout the performance, which would make the time go a bit faster.
I think it was point b that persuaded him! In any case I was grateful and the outcome was very positive:
– I didn’t fall asleep in the steep seats and plunge spectacularly to my death on the stage below (always good)
– Nick got some solid Scramble time in and admitted that the event was at least reasonably well-organised (surprisingly so for something involving the school)
– Katie enjoyed every minute of it – from the coach trip to the venue, through eating her ‘packed dinner’ at the O2, to the triumph of the performance.