Middleagedad thinks I am a gay man trapped in a middle aged woman's body and he may be right. Amazon seem to think so too, as all their personal recommendations wouldn't look out of place on any of my gay friends book or CD shelves.
Much to my families horror (even teen daughter who has inherited most of my camp characteristics) there is nothing I love more than musicals. I had them embedded into my psyche from a very early age, when on car journeys my Dad would make (yes make) us listen to all the musical greats. South Pacific, West Side Side Story, Annie Get Your gun, you name them, he loves them.
Not only did we have to listen, we also had to join in! Each person was allocated a part, as my Dad conducted from the driving seat. Today's Health and Safety Police would have been horrified. The dog lay on the back window ledge and my brother and I leapt around the back seat without seat belts, yelling 'I'm going to wash that man right outa my hair.' Actually my brother really should be gay, but sadly no, he is a married father of two!!
My love of all things musical has never gone away and still sees me through good and bad times. What better to cheer you up than a quick blast of Julie Andrews singing 'My favourite things,' when you are having a bad day. 'If they could see me now' from Sweet Charity is perfect to celebrate a promotion or moving into a new house and what could be more welcoming than a quick rendition of 'Getting to know you' from the King and I, when meeting new your husbands new boss. Well actually, no that would be quite quite mad, but I would really love to do it!!
I also highly recommend watching musicals and singing along as a great way to raise children, Mary Poppins has a song for every situation, tidying rooms, taking medicine, going on a feminist march, they're all there. Chitty Chitty Bang Bang has seen us through many a rainy Sunday afternoon when the children were little. Snuggle up under a duvet and sing along, there's nothing better. And if your children are being a little selfish or ungrateful, stick on Annie or Oliver to make them glad they have such a lovely mum!!
The arrival of the new tween musical has seen a renewed interest in the genre and I have heard many mums of tweens wax lyrical about how awful they are. But not me, oh no, I love them all, Troy Bolton, Sharpay, Gabriella. The storylines and emotions are exactly the same as the golden oldies; unrequited love, geeky girl, handsome bad boy, evil baddy and it all comes right in the end, but not without a lot of singing!
On long car journeys, I try to continue the family tradition and stick on the double CD of 'The Best of the musicals.' Only to be met with loud crys of 'Please mum no, not that, anything but that, we don't even mind if you listen to Kate Bush (their other most hated passion of mine) So for now I will have to be content with sharing my guilty pleasure with the boys in the office. Many an afternoon, around three o'clock, we make a cup of tea and log onto You tube for a singalong.
If only real life were like that…………..
