When I was younger I always loved going to the Pantomime; it was our family tradition to get slightly dressed up for a night together at the theatre, laughing at the lame jokes and having to have Dad talk us into clapping and shouting out "He's behind you!" (secretly I always wanted to join in but would never admit it).
So this year, when my Scout group asked if I wanted to go with them, I jumped at the chance. In many aspects it was the same - the ritual handing out of sweets along the row (there were 6 members of my family so it really was a case of passing the sweets along); only the adults joining in; some terrible actors (and a few good ones) and the well-loved character of Buttons. Although, this time Buttons was played by Basil Brush (yes, you read that right) who materialised from a mini TARDIS and the songs were well-known and slightly irrelevant including You Are Not Alone (as a Michael Jackson fan for most of my life, I absolutely abhor the idea of other people singing his songs as they tend to butcher them) and Right Here, Right Now (I don't mind a bit of HSM but when the actors in the film sing it better, you know you have a problem).
Overall though, I thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to revisit a childhood tradition (I still can't quite work out when it died out) and you never know, I may have made a new tradition for myself by going with the Scout group each year.
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