Under the Gaslight - under the pump.

If you've never heard the expression 'under the pump', it means working under extreme pressure - and that's what's been going on for the past week or so down at The Old Mill. Here I am, sore and extremely weary, but also very happy indeed to have pulled it off yet again, and just in the nick of time too. As I left this afternoon to fall tiredly into a taxi cab, the floor was still wet, as were last minute touch-ups - but . . . IT'S FINISHED! Many people popped in and lent a hand at times in the last week - Joe McCabe, Tony Ridout, Robert Vincent and others. Thank you all! And my biggest thanks go to Hywel Williams, to whom no problem is too big to be overcome and who is, as always, an absolute pleasure to work with - which is just as well considering how much time we spend together down there at our second home. Sally Barendse too, has been a pleasure to work with - although she does tend to panic a bit! Do come and see Gaslight, won't you? I've been there for several rehearsals and can tell you it's a top quality production with some very fine performances. The leading lady, Mia, gives one of the most extraordinary performances I've seen in a long, long time - and if she doesn't pull a Best Actress nomination for it, then there's no justice in the world. Anyway, I must dash. I'm now showered and freshly shaved (even found time to get rid of my mad professor long hair!) and am expecting the imminent arrival of the taxi cab to take me back down there. I expect that the floor should be dry by now! Cheers, Tim Prosser.