On Thursday, April 24, Garway and Friends "Av a Go Panto" Aladdin opened in Garway Village Hall. My grand daughter and five year old great granddaughter had arrived from Ireland in the late afternoon, so after a quick bite to eat, we took ourselves off to Garway. We were among the first arrivals so we took seats at the front. It was a wonderful evening - for the first time in years I was seeing the performance through the eyes of a delighted child! As it was the first night, things moved a bit slowly through the first half - but this didn't matter at all to Chloe. She was enthralled. She laughed and chuckled and hissed and booed in true pantomime form. The camel was lovely and the Arab Traders very purposeful. Everyone put so much into the performance and the costumes were spectacular. Tea, squash and biscuits were served during the interval and the raffle was drawn then. Chloe's ticket was the first pulled out of the hat and off she went to choose her prize. She came back to her seat with a box of Maltesers, absolutely thrilled.

The Panto is on in Skenfrith Village Hall on Saturday May 3. It will probably be a more polished performance by then but Chloe is back in Ireland now and I shall miss her enthusiasm and excitement as I watch Aladdin for the second time.