Sarah Millican In Conversation

What
Sarah Millican talking about her new book How To Be Champion

Where
Tyne Theatre & Opera House, Newcastle Upon Tyne

When
7pm, Sunday 15th October 2017

Cost
£12.50 or £25.50 with a signed copy of How To Be Champion

One Word
Champion.

Before it Started
I met a friend in a coffee shop around the corner, and we were early for the event so were some of the first through the doors. I had bought my ticket in store at Waterstones so after I collected my signed book I had to go to the ticket office and claim a seat.

I have to admit I hadn't been expecting this, and although it meant I couldn't sit next to my friend, I was only two rows in front so it wasn't all bad. I got a seat in the stalls with a good view of the stage. and I suppose you don't really need to talk when you're watching an event.

First Impressions
If you have never been to the Tyne Theatre & Opera House one thing to have to know is that it's a bit... Weird.

It is a Grade 1 listed building, and the theatre is breathtaking, the corridors, bar and toilets not so much.

First impressions were  "Well it's a bit shabby, isn't it?" and so when I went to actually take my seat I was serious surprised. It is the most stunning venue I have ever had the pleasure to watch something in. Soft blues, white, gold gilt. Extremely comfortable chairs. I was quite glad I had arrived early so I could sit and just stare at the architecture.

The Main Event
It was a full house. I couldn't see a single empty seat, there was lots of excited chatter, a lot of people flicking through the book before the lights dimmed.

I was sat with strangers on either side, and one of them drank a lot (and all I could smell was vodka) but they didn't bother me and didn't encroach on my personal space, which is always a plus when you're stuck with people you don't know.

Once the lights went down, there were a few (a lot) of mishaps with the mics but it added to the hilarity of the evening. It worked, it woke everyone up, it made everyone laugh, it got everyone engaged.

Both Sarah and her interviewer were enthusiastic and passionate and funny. I loved the anecdotal stories and the character Sarah put in to reading out passages of her book. Her personality really comes across in How To Be Champion and even if I hadn't seen her read from it herself, I would still have read it in her voice.

Overall
The event, venue and book were excellent! It is one of the best In Conversation events I have been to, not a moment was dull.

The event made me even more excited to get stuck in. And I have to say that the book is wonderful! Check back soon for a full review, but if you like Sarah Millican in any way, shape or form, go out and get this book!

Living in Reiver Country

All of my life I have lived in the what is sometimes termed Reiver Country. Basically it's the South of Scotland, the Borders and the North of England (like proper North, well above York) where the Border Reivers lived, fought, and plundered. It's a place that has switched between being Scottish and being English as wars were fought, and even now I'd say that the lines are pretty blurred. Let's just call it British (and proud).

I was actually born in the South of Scotland and it wasn't until I was around two years old that our family moved to Northumberland. Despite the big move, we were still Home. We recognised the landscape and the language, there was still plaid and pipes, and Pit Yakkers pretty much sound the same wherever you are (unintelligible).

Growing up my mum taught me to be proud of my heritage. I love that I have these violent, feuding ghosts that came before me, the scars they left on the landscape. I love their resilience, how their very existence was all about surviving. Within a mere five miles of where I live there are numerous ruins of fortified dwellings, castles, towers, bastle houses, pele towers. Thick walls with no ground floor door. Entrances ten feet up a wall. Narrow windows. Steep ditches and towering walls.

One of my favourite things to do on a bright, cold morning is to walk up to the nearest ruin and just stare at it, imagining all that has come in the past.

I have MS (MS Diaries)

So I have MS. Multiple Sclerosis.

What does that mean?

I don't know.

Let's start with the story of my surprise diagnosis.

Last year, part of my face went numb. There was much panic, a CT scan, an MRI (without contrast because I had a panic attack when they came to stick me) and lots blood tests difficultly drawn. Four days after all of the tests I met with my neurologist and it was put down to a lipoma tucked away next to my brain stem pressing against a nerve.

Then came an incidental "Oh look, we found some lesions in a different part of your brain. Probably nothing to worry about, some past inflammation, but we'll keep and eye on them and give you another MRI in six months".

So I didn't really worry until that next MRI. I'd had a small Google of what an MRI scan's capabilities were, and knew that a contrast agent would show up everything better.

I had words with my mum and dragged her along to the scan with me. I told her and the operative and the nurses that I had a huge fear of needles and that they would have to hold me down and not listen as I screamed a blood curdling "NOOOOOO" when it came to stick me. Then I proceeded to traumatise my mum as she helped hold me down so they could stick me.

I don't think any of them realised exactly how petrified of sharp pointy things I am. But we managed and the contrast was injected.

Skip forward another month and I meet with the neurologist. My lipoma is the same, but remember those accidentally discovered lesions..? Well not only were there more of them, but the contrast showed an "active" one. Active? It meant it was actively inflamed at the time for the scan.

And these lesions they'd incidentally found while looking for something else? "Have you heard of MS before? I'm going to sign you off of my care and refer you to a MS neurologist."

And so my MS journey begins...