It's not all work work work

American companies don't seem to have the same attitude toward the days before Christmas that British companies do: There's no gradual wind-down to the holidays, complete with alcohol-fuelled Christmas parties, Secret Santas, and a generally tinsle-y attitude. No, it's meetings and work up until the last minute, one day off, and then back to the grindstone. As a result, I decided to create my own relaxing final few working days.

First up, Wednesday afternoon's trip to the RSC to see Much Ado About Nothing. Great plan, lovely theater, excellent performances from Tamsin Grieg (Green Wing!, Black Books!!!) and Joseph Millsom (er, Peak Practice!?) as Beatrice and Benedick. But. And there's always a but. It was the final day of school for the year, it was a matinee performance, and it was Shakespeare -- of course there were going to be hundreds of teenagers on school "treats". To be fair -- and I rarely am -- the children that surrounded me in the Grand Circle were generally well-behaved. They seemed largely engrossed in the action and applauded wildly at the end. The funniest things though were their reactions to the Shakespearean sexual innuendo/kissing, and the occasional swear word. Despite being worldly wise, street-smart kids, they let out a collective "Ew!" as Beatrice and Benedick kissed, and there was a sharp intake of breath and furtive, shocked whispering as Benedick spoke of the "bastard Don John". I'm sure these kids swear like troopers every other word, but the apparent transgression of respectable grown-ups swearing still shocked them. I wonder if actors get special training in dealing with these school-dominated matinee performances? At the very least, they should get danger money.

Then, after a somewhat tedious journey back to Stokey, it was off to an open evening at the studios my sister works in. This was an opportunity for all the different artists who rent space there to show off their works. Herbalists, book-binders, musicians, makers of soft furnishings, "proper" artists, and high-class lingerie makers all welcomed in a motley assortment of proud parents, hippy friends, and -- in my sister's case -- the fetish demi-monde. Miss Katie's corsets looked amazing, and to our delight she sold one of the peg to a visitor. Vince Ray also sold some of his masterpieces, we chatted to lots of lovely, friendly people, and I've got some new links to put on my blog. Looking for saucy jewellery? Check out Prong. Or go for a ride with Pandora Pitstop. Fun, fun, fun.

And then, yesterday afternoon, twas the London office's Christmas party. Given that the first rule of blogging is don't blog about work, I won't reveal what happened there, but it was very entertaining. And was followed by chips/veggies/dips in our hotel room while watching Criminal Minds and Father Ted -- a relaxing (near) end to a tiring week.