# That's it...I've done my penance...



## GMJ (Jun 24, 2014)

Yesterday I accompanied Mrs GMJ to the ballet...AGAIN!

It was Swan Lake.

Previously over the last 10 years I have had to endure The Sleeping Beauty; The Nutcracker; and Giselle!

Now that we have done 'the big four' I am pleased to say that my ballet days are over. Personally, I prefer rugby...

Graham :grin2:


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## raynipper (Aug 4, 2008)

Take a medal Mutley.!!!!:grin2:

Ray.


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## Drew (May 30, 2005)

Been there lots of times Graham and collected loads of tee shirts. I even went to see some female singing, all night long, same voice, same tune with different words. I can't remember her name, she played a harp and I believe she may have been Irish. Absolute purgatory.


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## nicholsong (May 26, 2009)

GMJ said:


> Yesterday I accompanied Mrs GMJ to the ballet...AGAIN!
> 
> It was Swan Lake.
> 
> ...


Graham

Some mates of mine at Richmond rugby club were once on TV dressed as ballerinas performing some ballet suite. It was very funny and a difficult memory to live down. Two of them are still living in my old stomping ground in Barnes where my house is and I see them occasionally when I visit.

Geoff


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## HermanHymer (Dec 5, 2008)

Sorry the ticket was wasted on you GMJ. I'd rather it had been me. Learned ballet for 10 years till my ambition exceeded my physical abilities. Another beautiful traditional ballet is The Firebird.


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## GMJ (Jun 24, 2014)

HermanHymer said:


> ... I'd rather it had been me..


Me too :grin2:

I can appreciate the music and also the fitness of the dancers (physical fitness that is) but as for the clumping about on stage...nah, really not for me!

Graham :smile2:


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## barryd (May 9, 2008)

I Went drinking years ago a couple of times with the Bolshoi Ballet girls (and their KGB minders, long story). For petite little things they couldn't half knock it back. I got free tickets once, thought it was fantastic but I enjoyed the after show stuff more


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## GMJ (Jun 24, 2014)

barryd said:


> I Went drinking years ago a couple of times with the Bolshoi Ballet girls (and their KGB minders, long story). For petite little things they couldn't half knock it back. I got free tickets once, thought it was fantastic but I enjoyed the after show stuff more


They were Russkis that I saw yesterday...

Very physically fit: there wasn't an ounce of fat on the blokes and the muscle definition in their legs:"quadzilla!

Graham :smile2:


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## nicholsong (May 26, 2009)

GMJ said:


> They were Russkis that I saw yesterday...
> 
> Very physically fit: there wasn't an ounce of fat on the blokes and the muscle definition in their legs:"quadzilla!
> 
> Graham :smile2:


I am a bit worried that you were eyeing up the blokes not the ballerinas

Oh I see, it was for 3/4 positons in you rugby XV - that's OK then.

[I assume you are a XV man and not XIII ]


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## GMJ (Jun 24, 2014)

nicholsong said:


> [I assume you are a XV man and not XIII ]


I played both Geoff but I'm more XV these days.

All the women were way too skinny for my liking :grin2:

Graham:smile2:


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## aldra (Jul 2, 2009)

When we returned from Israel
We took the kids to see a ballet, swan lake 

We had a front seat

At half time our youngest said, very loundly

Do they not have feet.?

You should have seen the rush to get her futher back for the second half

Sandra


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## HermanHymer (Dec 5, 2008)

GMJ said:


> I played both Geoff but I'm more XV these days.
> 
> All the women were way too skinny for my liking :grin2:
> 
> Graham:smile2:


No boobs too for the majority.

My former daughter-in-law was a prima ballerina in Netherlands. Like rugby all that serious training wears out your joints and you're a cripple by 40.

One exception being Darcy Bussell, but not 40 I'm sure! Well she certainly doesn't look it.


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## GMJ (Jun 24, 2014)

HermanHymer said:


> No boobs too for the majority.
> 
> My former daughter-in-law was a prima ballerina in Netherlands. Like rugby all that serious training wears out your joints and you're a cripple by 40.
> 
> *One exception being Darcy Bussell, but not 40 I'm sure! Well she certainly doesn't look it.*


48...and she is pretty good nick imho:smile2:

Graham:smile2:


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## HermanHymer (Dec 5, 2008)

GMJ said:


> 48...and she is pretty god nick imho:smile2:
> 
> Graham:smile2:


Wow, respect!


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## aldra (Jul 2, 2009)

I’m not sure whether or not I love ballet 

I’m far to lazy to go to see it live now 

And although I can afford it old habits die hard 

And I struggle with the ticket prices 

I’m not of the new era 

We really had to be careful to make ends meet , and what I would have gone without to give the kids that experience 

I wouldn’t do for me , even though I wouldn’t need to do without anything now 

The kids will inherit well because of my reluctance to spend 

But it just might be that once upon a time , I found I didn’t need anything , and since then the need creeps up 

Sandra


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## patp (Apr 30, 2007)

Darcy Bussell 48?! How does she do it? Mind you 48 is the new 38 nowadays I suppose.......


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## aldra (Jul 2, 2009)

I suppose she may just one of the lucky ones who maintain their suppleness by hard work!!

Some of the yoga and Pilates instructors , and pupils I’ve known retain their flexibility until well into their 60s and 70s 

A combination of exercise and genetics I guess

Sandraj


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## barryd (May 9, 2008)

Mrs D is 52 and could probably still pass as a Ballerina. I cant get her to wear a Tutu though.


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## nicholsong (May 26, 2009)

barryd said:


> Mrs D is 52 and could probably still pass as a Ballerina.* I cant get her to wear a Tutu though*.


Well since she does a lot of her excercise with long hikes in the Alps and Pyrenees, that might be just as well.:surprise::laugh:

Oh Dear, I have pictured it now - sorry Michelle.

[Barry get back to Fruitcakes where you belong]


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## patp (Apr 30, 2007)

Pilates is fabulous for staying flexible. Both Chris and I go to "Clinical" Pilates classes held at our Physiotherapist practice. They have equipment there to add interest and to make it more challenging. All very controlled with no competitive edge to the classes that you can find in some places. Just doing as much as you can and no more.
Chris has had a bad back for twenty or thirty years and it has cured it. Same with my sciatica


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## aldra (Jul 2, 2009)

It is pat

Sadly I can no longer get down to ground 

Well maybe I could, but I couldn’t get back up again 

I’m stiff, so stiff and in pain. 

At night I wake constantly because the side I’m asleep on , means my arm is dead, and takes time to work out the dead feeling, the pins and needles in my hands 

Before I turn over and it begins again in the other arm 

My hands struggle with a knife and fork

They go into cramp , chopping veg becomes a work of art 

But hey I’m still alive 

But life as I once new it is slipping away 

Sandra


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## patp (Apr 30, 2007)

Did you ever get referred to the Pain Clinic, Sandra?


Arthritic dogs are now referred for massage, physiotherapy, hydrotherapy, acupuncture on top of all the pain relief medication they take.


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## aldra (Jul 2, 2009)

I should have been born a dog then 

No I haven’t 

I’m left pretty much on my own to get on with it 

So I do 

Sandra


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## greygit (Apr 15, 2007)

Re the ballet, I prefere modern ballet as the tutu bits seem so silly to me.


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## HermanHymer (Dec 5, 2008)

I know this is a British thing, that people generally don't think about spending money on private medical treatment/care. 

But the thing to bear is mind is that the NHS, broadly speaking of course, offers only a basic health care plan (with extras for things like cancer etc etc). It is not an all-encompassing service and if what you have doesn't fit their box of tricks, they are inclined to ignore your plight unless you throw a major tantrum.

However, out there, there are other modalities for all sorts of complaints, just for the asking and paying. If it can be afforded, why not explore what can be done to provide comfort outside the realm of the NHS?

Sandra, maybe there is something that is available that could ease your discomfort and disabilities. YOU ARE WORTH IT!!! I guess you might feel that it all sounds like too much hard work, but relief from pain is a joyful feeling worthy of pursuing.


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## patp (Apr 30, 2007)

Well said Jan!


Chris and I have both felt real relief from back, hip and knee pain due to attending Clinical Pilates classes run by qualified Physiotherapists. Yes we have to pay but the benefits are worth it! A physiotherapist assesses you, first, to determine your needs and then directs you to the appropriate weekly sessions. We attended the rehab sessions as we both had pain. The physiotherapist, that runs the weekly sessions, knows your problems and devises a personal plan, within your capabilities, to help you overcome them. If anything is too painful they tweak the exercises or change them completely. After six weeks there is a review and your exercises progress to the next level suitable for your problems. No two people do the same set of exercise.
Several of our friends have, on our recommendations, attended the sessions and cannot praise them highly enough.
Acupuncture is another treatment that is amazing.
On tv, only last night, they had a little piece on how acupuncture helped a woman who suffers terrible migraines on an almost daily basis. She now has not had an attack for months, since the treatment.


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