Come out of the shadows

Always behind

Never in front

Always afraid

Don’t be so blunt

Try as they may

To push me back

Trying to climb

No holding back

Chorus

Come out of the shadows

Come into the light

No longer in the background

Try as they might

It’s your time to shine

Your dreams in sight

Come out of the shadows

You are now the light

Always bottom

Never on top

Always the side

A simple prop

Try to adjust

Try to be clear

Thrive for the best

Live without fear

Bridge

As darkness approaches and the light is fading

Reach inside and allow the torch to shine

Reconnect

I saw you standing there

Perfect in the frame

The sun lighting up your golden locks

A smile is all it took

Our eyes met briefly

If only I could turn back all the clocks

Too many questions

Not enough answers

Feelings that I had returning back

Too scared to ask you

Knowing the reply

Believing you’re on a different track

Tried to stay away

At times it was hard

Just a simple message to say hello

You were the right one

The timing was wrong

Too fast, I should have taken it slow

Mistakes I did make

I’m not going to lie

I just wanted it to be perfect

Hoping that one day

Maybe given time

We will have the chance to reconnect

My path has led to you

I was treading water in the middle of the sea

Looking around there was no-one there for me

Suddenly a boat came out of the blue

On the boat there was only one person – You!

Someone was looking down on me that day

I didn’t believe but I thanked God anyway

Chorus

My path has led me to you

I know what I have to do

I’ll give you all of my heart

I’ll love you from the very start

My path has led me to you

I hope you feel the same way too

All the searching has finally gone

Our paths our now only one

Bridge

Is our life mapped out before our very eyes?

Is someone working their magic above the skies?

I was searching for something that I could not find

Life was tough and love was leaving me behind

Then cupid fired his arrow straight into my heart

You arrived like it had been planned from the start

When I thought it was over it had only just begun

Fate has taken over and my old path is finally done

I’ll wait for you

These feelings I can’t hold inside

My heart is exploding with pride

I’ll wait for you

I will not see you everyday

There’s no rush in seeing this play

I’ll wait for you

You and I have crossed paths before

Our lives now ready to explore

I’ll wait for you

A week or so and we won’t meet

Heart grows stronger with every beat

I’ll wait for you

Circumstances keep us apart

We’ll go back to the very start

I’ll wait for you

A simple text; it’s all worthwhile

I wish that you could see my smile

I’ll wait for you

A morning call; a kiss goodnight

Where there is dark you are my light

I’ll wait for you

These first steps I’m trying to gauge

A new chapter let’s turn the page

I’ll wait for you

Happy Place

 My heartbeat in harmony with a ticking clock

Driving slowly my mind taking stock

My mouth begins to dry not knowing what to say

Today could be my greatest day

A beep of my horn and you opened the door

You looked stunning; my jaw hit the floor

I couldn’t believe you were going out with me

I wanted to shout; I wanted the world to see

Chorus

A simple text or your beautiful smile

Takes me to my happy place

A simple joke or your infectious laugh

Takes me to my happy place

A simple touch of your perfect body

Takes me to my happy place

Why?

Because you are my happy place

Each day I ask you how you are and wait for your reply

My biggest fear is you run off with other guy

The time we spend together means more than you know

I’m not sure what’s happening or where this will go

All I know is that this is the happiest I’ve been in a while

You’ve allowed me to open up my heart after years of denial

I thank my lucky stars that fate brought us back together

I’ll cherish this time, this moment, now and forever

Bridge

How can I tell you how you make me feel?

Wanting to tell you how you make me feel

I Remember

I remember when people used to get along

But something somewhere went drastically wrong

Now people are aggressive and want to fight

Is it too hard to try and put things right?

I remember when people cared for their community

Now fragmented and no time to show unity

Saying good morning to a neighbour is in the past

Can we change?  Can we change fast?

I remember being shown by adults how to behave

Morals and standards I’ll take to my grave

There doesn’t seem to be the respect around anymore

Thus crime and abuse has continued to sore

I remember spending time with family for special days

To a field or beach with a ball and everyone plays

Families now working 7 days a week, no longer together

Children at home on gadgets, no matter what the weather

I remember being grateful for getting some pocket money

Now if it’s less that £10 children look at you funny

We have to move forward but take something from the past

Or the world that was once loved will definitely not last

Cloud Nine

I’ve got this feeling

A feeling I have not felt before

When I see you

The sea has finally found the shore

We walk together

My beaming smile I can not hide

You said goodbye

A small part of me slowly died

Chorus

You make me feel like I’m on cloud nine

You touched my hand; I took that as a sign

I’m standing here at the front of the line

One day I know you’ll be mine

You make me feel like I’m on cloud nine

When there is darkness you continue to shine

One day I know you’ll be mine

You make me feel like I’m on cloud nine

When I see you

I sometimes don’t know what to say

Later I text you

And our flirting is underway

We head out

And I’m as proud as can be

We carve our names

In the bark of our favourite tree

Bridge

If my heart was worth a million pounds

I’d give it to you for free

We have a voice

You’ve been suffering for far too long

You see your weakness but you are strong

Life has been hard, there is no point lying

Together as one; there’s no denying

When others walked I stood with you

Strength in numbers through and through

Walls were built and we slowly climbed over

We’ll keep fighting, this isn’t over

Chorus

We have a voice

A voice to be heard

A voice we’ll use

Even when we’re scared

We’ll stand side to side

When others will leave

We have a voice

We’ll fight for what we believe

There were times when it was hard

This fight others would discard

Knowing we had each others backs

Kept us together on the same tracks

We won’t give up; we won’t rest

Strong enough to conquer our quest

Join our journey and begin to fight

Fight for what we believe is right

Bridge

We all have a voice that comes from deep within

We refuse to lose; our voice will win

One Night Only

 I hadn’t heard from you in an age

Suddenly a message out the blue

An easy way in to begin to engage

Your initial message a way in for you

You asked how I had been doing

Searching for a specific answer

I asked you the same

You told me you just split from a dancer

Chorus

Give me one night to prove it

One night to prove it

One night to prove my love

All I need is one night to prove it

One night to prove it

One night to prove my love

You know how I feel about you

We’ve been down this road before

Every couple of months

You come knocking at my door

Not wanting to come in

But knowing I’m always there

I‘ve told you time and time again

How much I really care

Bridge

One day you’ll come knocking and I won’t be around

It will only take one night

To make you laugh out loud

Laughter is all I have

As I don’t stand out in the crowd

But with you things will be different

I’d stand six feet tall

People will notice me with you

Just make that one call

Peter Pan - At Epstein Theatre

Peter Pan - At Epstein Theatre

Wow! They say save the best for last and we certainly did! Saturday morning, I took my nieces to see the latest offering from Panto season – Peter Pan at the Epstein Theatre.  Now I’ve seen many pantomimes over the years, each one slightly different, giving their own slant on a traditional or familiar story but this production was summed up perfectly by both my nieces ‘It was the best ever’.

It begins with the only way a Panto involving Claire Simmo can begin, glitter, glitter and more glitter.  I think she has a contract with some glitter company but nothing has been confirmed!  She sparkles on to the stage giving the audience the perfect start - full of life, full of personality and full of sparkly!

We are then taken into a dance routine with the young dance troupe, who never let down any of the dance routines they did, and there were quite a few.  The dance routines were very well choreographed and to give that much effort after 20 odd shows is a credit to the team.  Shortly afterwards, we see the beautiful Joanne Harper as Wendy.  Joanne has an unbelievable singing voice and demonstrates how good it is on several occasions.  How she keeps singing while flying through the air is a testament to her singing strength. I had never seen Joanne perform before and I’m delighted to say I would definitely see her again, especially if she is singing.  She is soon followed on stage by another new performer for me, Lewis Pryor or Peter Pan has he was better known. He again is a strong performer who looks so natural on stage and had very good chemistry with Wendy (Joanne).  He mastered flying through the air and even managed to give us a summersault. 

Of course, no pantomime is great unless the baddie is great and Dane Bowers proved to be a hit. He certainly took the bad guy routine up ‘Another Level’.  His side kick, Smee,  gets a special mention for this performance as he was only asked to fill the role in the early hours of the morning and boy did he do a great job and squirting my nieces with water was, of course, an added bonus!

Every pantomime should have a dame character but in Peter Pan there isn’t one.  Not a problem for this production – create your own character.  I’m not going to lie to you but I loved Dame Betty, played by Michael Chapman.  In some productions, the dame can look too much like a woman.  This was not the case for Dame Betty, who was clearly a man.  He worked the jokes brilliantly.  The jokes were predictive, poor (Like they should be) and sometimes very risky!  Michael delivered them with a charm and the accent worked brilliantly with the manly walk!

Last but certainly not least, Tiger Lily, played by Georgia Austin.  Georgia can sing, dance and act and I would like to see her in more challenging roles.  There is something about scouse timing when delivering lines and Georgia delivers her lines with real sassiness!

If this was the standard for the Christmas Pantomime, then I would urge you all to book your tickets now for their Easter pantomime.  One of the best things I like to see is the fun the cast have on stage.  They made the audience feel part of the show and I don’t care what anyone says, there is something magical about pantomimes and this was certainly magical!

Thank you

Darren Partington

A New Year (War is over tune)

Start of a new year

Let’s learn from the past

No more hate around us

Why not give love a blast

And so it’s a new year

A time for a change

Our love should only last

One world for all

Here is hope for the future

At the start of the year

We can’t go on like this

Pray for love not fear

And this is a new year (Love will conquer)

For good and for bad (If we want it)

Positive not negative (Love will conquer)

Be happy not sad (Now)

And this is a new year (Love will conquer)

For culture and race (If we want it)

For young and for old (Love will conquer)

The world a better place (Now)

Here is hope for the future

At the start of the year

We can’t go on like this

Pray for love not fear

Start of a new year (Love will conquer)

Let’s learn from the past (If we want it)

No more hate around us (Love will conquer)

Why not give love a blast (Now)

And so it’s a new year (Love will conquer)

A time for a change (If we want it)

Our love should only last (Love will conquer)

One world for all (Now)

Here is hope for the future

At the start of the year

We can’t go on like this

Pray for love not fear