With a bright cloudless sky, we made a good start at 10:30, going down to West Drayton station - we could have walked but it will be dark when we return and some of us might be a bit tired! Whilst Christine and the girls bought train tickets, Mike went to park the car. The nearest is beside Wilkos but run by the local council. Parking is cheaper for residents but, for what we needed, visitors have to pay £8.70! Although he had taken all available change it was not enough so he had to go in search of more coins. In Wilkos he bought a new washing up brush for £1 so was rewarded by a pile of coins which he proceeded to feed into the machine in exchange for a ticket.
The train into Paddington was straightforward but Andrew had suggested that, if we had time, we might check out the mooring situation in Paddington Basin. this we did but alas it seems well packed out with several boats double moored at the end.
It was a bit early but we called into the M and S cafe beside the basin for lunch. Jess opted for a sandwich but the rest of us had soup. Not everything was finished before tummies were full and Christine managed to charm one of the staff into providing us with a box for the sandwich, a cup (with top) for the soup and a bag to carry it all in!
On then to Edgeware Road station and a ride down the Bakerloo Line to Charing Cross - we actually emerged on Trafalgar Square. A short walk along the Strand and then up a side street to Covent Garden. We were a little early so we wandered around the market stalls - the street entertainers were not too interesting and alas we had just missed the singers inside.
Alice was struck by the lights and Mike was amused by the board listing the regulations when this was once a fruit and vegetable market. Even then the greengrocer's spelling for potatoe was in use!
Time then to make our way into the theatre and find our seats. We had an excellent view in Row J. The seats quickly filled up and it was time to begin.
The show was amazing - shadow puppets were a strong feature. Never before have we seen images created both from the front and the back of various screens. Some creative use was made of old style overhead projectors and coloured films.
The music and the action flowed along, telling the story of Lila who desperately wanted to be a firework-maker like her father. Although she had some understanding, she was missing a key ingredient: royal sulphur. Another important character was Hamlet a white elephant and his scrubber who, according to the command of the king, kept the animal shining white at all times.
The orchestra were seated around the back of the stage so we could see all the different instruments as well as the conductor. The girls were pleased to note that the conductor was a woman, still less common than it ought to be.
During the interval we went out to the foyer for ice creams - delicious - but soon the bell rang to summon us back to our seats. The action started once more with a long scene showing a couple of foreign firework-makers competing in a kind of strictly competition with judges raising up cards with their scores.
Although they did well, when Lila was summoned on - the rest of the characters thought she stood no chance - her firework-making easily won with a final score of 17 and a half, beating the 9.999 of the others!
In the final scene all, as in the best stories, was reconciled and sorted out with even the elephant (who had earlier been sentenced to prison in order to release the firemaker and friends) living well in a zoo, finding a partner and having several baby elephants.
Show over we walked back to Trafalgar Square - it was now well past sunset. We took time to have a closer look at the huge illuminated Christmas tree close to Nelson's Column and looking almost as tall!
Back down the Underground to Paddington and then we found the next train back to West Drayton. After collecting the car and returning to the boat we had our evening meal - nothing exotic and a chance to use up some of last night's left overs as well as sausage and chips - with baked beans especially for Alice and a fresh tomato for Jess.
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