Of all the unlikely guises ...

Three years ago, when keeping a diary, I became conscious of a need to try out new things if writing new entries (to say nothing of reading them years later) were to retain some semblance of interest for me. It almost makes me regret that I'm not keeping one now, as later this month, I'm taking on a challenge quite unlike any other I have attempted.

If you're among that small number of regular readers I have, you will know that Edinburgh is in the midst of Festival fever. I'll bet you never thought the British première of a major ballet would see me on stage ...

To be honest, Die Zauberflöte (which also needed extras) was a lot more tempting, but that required trained dancers (ha!) and ten days' rehearsal, which was never going to happen. To be in Don Quixote, on the other hand, it's just a matter of having stage experience, by which I understand not looking like a rabbit caught in headlights - among other things, I get to be shackled and lead across the stage in the prologue, and later on I could well be a pallbearer.

This ballet is the very reason my mother's coming over, so she's going to get an extra thrill (I hope) from my involvement. That said, I'm having to find other people to accompany her to some of the concerts we had planned to attend as I will have a number of rehearsals.

Pictures will be published here, assuming anyone takes any.