Fancy Dress

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And, if you missed them, here are links to the shows where Jessica Lee Morgan and Dan Tiernan joined me in the studio.

We saw a few birds later on in the fields and woods, but none as close nor as impressive as this one in Wilmslow. Asher’s book ticks these boxes, speaking also to the passion for learning and DIY that abounded through quarantine – see the crochet, the knitting, the baking. We picked Martha and William up from their home and we drove to Catalyst near Widnes, a science experience centre and museum that we’d taken them to years ago. Liesel went for a walk in Heaton Chapel but I was quite happy to stay behind and pursue my own interests. It’s another good example of a rich-looking costume built from humble materials: the skirt tiers are made of crepe paper (Asher claims you can sew it onto lining fabric with a machine; I’m skeptical).Later that day, Liesel met up with a friend, Audrey, in Didsbury, for a quick chat, lasting several hours. The pier is 90% amusements and the thing that always amuses me about the word ‘amusements’ is that it has the word ‘semen’ contained within. Bambi and Brett are very lucky to have such a wonderful auntie (and babysitter) in their orbit, and I’m sure, if Helen has anything to do with it, young Gypsy will be well pampered! I’d anticipated walking around a stately home and then enjoying a cup of coffee with a huge slice of cake. This one for example is from a little-known version of "The Fly", where instead of Jeff Goldblum a medium-sized dragon is in the transmogrifier together with a fly.

After taking far too long to work out some sort of itinerery, we went online to book a flight, looking for the cheapest, quickest, best airline, do we stop over half way or not, how much luggage allowance do we need, where do we want to sit on the plane, a million and one decisions. Such a notion has a precedent: “After times of wartime or strife or pandemics in the past, there has always been a move; the Roaring ’20s, disco in the ’70s,” she adds.

We waved, they waved back, but we don’t really know if they were the perpetrators of this particular crime. Russell Kane on the other hand, well, he ran up and down the stage, he performed all his own stunts, all while talking and telling jokes and interrupting himself and making valid points about today’s society. By the time we got home, we were glad not to have the extra weight, it was warm, hot even, almost like a proper Summer’s day. It was a lovely day for a walk around the city, we really should spend more time just mooching around aimlessly.

In more watery news, we went to watch the children’s swimming lessons, and we are blown away by how good they both are. Jane Asher herself, quarantining in the UK with her family, heard about her new Twitter fame from her daughter-in-law and from staff at the National Autistic Society, of which she is president.

And then, over a week or so last month, people across the globe united to obsess over a 1983 book, Jane Asher’s Fancy Dress, which promises “Over 100 costumes for children and adults and how to make them”. In the end, William picked up the longest item, something off a car, while Martha picked up the largest single item, a hub cap, again, off a car. I sent a two-hour show to Wythenshawe Radio as usual, but I uploaded a much longer edition of the show onto Mixcloud.