Puss in Boots

Whilst I was in Catford, I picked up a leaflet from the library issued by Lewisham Council, which gave details of all sorts of things that were happening in the borough, including a pantomime at the telegraph Hill Centre.  

When we left the Horniman Museum, we had oodles of time to get to the Telegraph Hill Centre, although finding out where exactly it was and how to get there was a different matter.   Everyone we asked said something different, and we hopped on an off buses without really getting anywhere.   Finally, we got on a bus which we'd been told would take us there, but had no idea where to get off - or whether it really was going to Kitto Road.   it's no use asking the bus drivers, as few of them have a clue.

But I saw a young chap looking at maps on his mobile phone, and asked if he would be awfully kind and look up Kitto Road.   It turned out he was going there himself!   And the bus stopped just a matter of yards from the centre.

Telegraph Hill Centre is literally on top of a hill.   Yo can see for miles, and on a dark night, it all looks wonderful, with lots of twinkling lights everywhere.    The Centre is in fact part of a church.   There is a community cafe attached, but they are not normally open in the evenings, and all they had in the way of food was  beam stew or a small - very small - selection of rather expensive little cakes.    We had one with a cup of coffee just to keep us going.

The theatre was tiny, and we were lucky to get seats, as they were sold out.    However, they did squeeze us in, and we had quite a good view as we went in as soon as the doors opened.

As usual, the pantomime included lots of local references, and I gather all the actors were local people.   The Dame was great and so was Puss - she really looked the part, even in her costume.

Instead of proper scenery, they had a series of large panels, where were turned round to provide the different backgrounds, and everything took place on a very small stage - you certainly couldn't get too many people there at once.

I was lucky enough to get talking to the lady sitting next to me, who was local, and told us that we could get trains home from Nunhead Station, which was quite near where she lived.    So there was no problem getting home, as the trains one way go to Blackfriars and the other way to Bromley South, where Janette lives.   Luckily, neither of us had to wait long for a train.

From Nunhead you also have a wonderful view -it really looks rather a nice place to live.   I also saw a tame fox sauntering along the path beside the railway line - he obviously wasn't afraid of people.