Good news, I realized that my other converter, which isn’t a universal one, it’s just for UK/US, and which has been plugged into the wall behind the bed for my CPAP machine, has 3 prongs. So my laptop is happily charging. Travel problems, every day a new one, but glad I remembered that I had a solution for this.

Also, Marisa expressed amazement that I could remember detail about specific days now that I’m so far behind. The answer is that every day, I babble about my day into a Google Doc, and then use that to refresh my memory when I write the post. Technology – our friend!

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Wed 7/31 will be a quickie, because it was pretty much a day off. First morning in Buxton – yay, of course they have in-room kettles and coffee and tea and biscuits here. So had my coffee and read my internets and got cleaned up and went down to breakfast.

Oh… it’s basically a buffet. (every other time I’ve been to the festival, I’ve stayed in a place where they made your breakfast to order) Juices, cereal, plain yogurt and fruit to put in it, mushrooms, fried eggs, black pudding, sausage, bacon. You toast your own bread. All doable and fine, but how disappointing. The waitstaff brings you tea or coffee – I ordered coffee. They bring it in a french press, something I don’t normally use, so it took me pouring a cup of grounds to remember that you need to push the plunger down first. So… adequate, but not delightful, breakfast.

Next order of business was to get a load of laundry done. I’d completely sweated through everything I’ve worn up to that point, and Buxton was equally sunny and humid, oh great. The laundromat is on the other side of the big hill, but you can circumvent the hill using the Broadwalk, the pedestrian walk along one side of the park – and then up a (little) hill. The laundromat is open 7 days a week (yay!) but closes at 3:00 (boo! inconvenient). Dropped the laundry off, then went shopping for more incidentals.

Stopped in at the church where the principals were starting rehearsals. Everyone was busy, so I didn’t get to do more than wave and skedaddle. But this year we’re rehearsing at Trinity Church, which is where we rehearsed my first few shows, including my very first Savoynet show twenty-one years ago. So lots of memories in this dumpy church basement.

More shopping, then stopped in the tea rooms around the corner – very sweet and cute and I’d never been – for an iced coffee and fizzy water while I read.

Rested up (it was too hot and sunny to go poking around, and I’d walked everywhere for the whole weekend) until it was time to go get the laundry – an easier process than bringing it, since it was largely downhill or straight. (Whine whine – I could have easily put the laundry in rolling luggage or even taken a taxi, but not worth the effort.) Back to the room for more resting, reading, unpacking, and then cleanup.

We had our usual gathering at the Old Clubhouse pub right by the opera house for our cast to meet and greet. Typical Buxton experience – I showed up ten minutes early and no one I knew was there, making me wonder if I’d been pranked. But then Robert, the director, showed up. Happy reunion – last time I’d seen him, we’d been the directorial staff together for Patience. And since then, we’d both lost our husbands – him only a few months ago – so there was commiseration there. I bought him a drink and we grabbed a table in the back and then people started showing up and there was much hugging and rejoicing.

Quite a few people were seeing the show that night, but quite a few weren’t and about eight of us went to what I mistakenly called “the barbecue place” – it’s really “Tex Mex”, it’s called The Lone Star, and it’s right down the alley from the opera house. We got two 4-tops next to each other and got tacos and burgers and stuff. I didn’t particularly like my burger – overseasoned and overcooked – but it wasn’t awful. Now that the Wegovy is kicking in, I need to be aware that ordering the way I usually do will probably result in half the food not being eaten, so I’m learning to keep it light.

And we went our separate ways to go get sleep and get ready for the first full day of rehearsal.