Our first week on the road. And what a week it was; we’ve seen a large portion of the U.K. in such little time! Team Harry compromises of Rebecca Daltry, Matthew Davidson and Sophie Delin, actors hailing from all over the country themselves. The first stop was with Forget Me Not Children’s Hospice, where we helped out with Christmas party festivities and got everyone in the mood and finding their Christmas Spirit.
The next few days saw us travel up further North and included a stop off at the Daltry’s for tea and Local Betty’s Tearoom cakes for a little refuel after having performed at Wetherby: Martin House Children’s Hospice. Stand outs from that show included a young William determined to be on stage with us the whole time, dressing up as Santa for our pre show walkabout and even getting involved with some pie-in-the-face-throwing (SPOILER ALERT - It’s Nutcracker who gets pied every day).
Up through Newcastle we went, where it would have been rude not to have stopped off at the Fenwicks window for their Christmas story; and the following days took us up to Edinburgh, travelling through beautiful countryside, especially at this time of year, a little frost over the hills and so much fresh air in our lungs. Sophie saw her first “Highland Coo”, a moment of true excitement. Our most northerly stops were also some of the loveliest shows we’ve had. Being able to include not only children on respite into our shows, but also cater for children who are receiving end of life hospice treatment has been a privilege. To provide some light relief, if only for an hour, from the unimaginable difficulties these children are facing gave us a stark reminder of why it is we do what we do.
Going back down into England afforded us a well deserved day off and to the Lake District we went. As it was Sophie’s first experience of the Lakes, we could not miss Lake Windermere and it truly never disappoints. The Davidsons hosted us this time, and we were able to recharge our “Christmas Cheer Spreading Batteries” for the next leg!
- Rebecca Daltry, Team Harry
Comments