The show opened with James Bond, and ended
with Love and Mercy. Again.
Extra fundraising this year was provided by
the little legs of Steve Hutchison running all 26 miles of the Edinburgh Marathon. We also
had near-impossible quiz sheets produced by Robert Walker which raised £500, and a really
fun Eighties' night which raised another £500.
Andy Johnston was given an award for his
charity work by his employers', Standard Life. (Yes, he does have a real job as well).
All of the above meant that this year's
donation to Macmillan was a record breaking £15,000!
No year seems complete without the stunt man
approach to leaving a rostra, and this year was no exception. At the finale of the
matinee, the treads leading into the wings collapsed just as Emma Wilson was stepping onto
them, nearly creating a pile up of Sopranos and ballgowns in the wings. Thankfully, no-one
was badly hurt, and Emma carried on to (aptly?) sing No More Tears in the evening
performance.
On the opening night we celebrated AJ and
David's tenth year with cake and champagne, and also presented the first Showcase Long
Service Awards.
Life Membership was awarded to the completely
unsuspecting Susan Galloway, thanks to a change in the constitution which meant the
incumbent president could receive the honour.
After Show party was at Miller Hall again.
Special mention to AJ for his reworking of Like a Virgin.
Mid week show meal was back at Dario's,
which, quite frankly, stays open far too late!
Changes in health and safety legislation over
the last ten years meant James Bond and Queen without pyrotechnics. Boo.
A minor typo in the programme (which the
editor will always point out went past three proofreaders) meant that the opening number
was wrongly credited to Andy McGarry rather than Keith Kilgore. Best write up Andy McGarry
has ever had from Thom Dibdin.......!
