Surprise!!

Hi folks.

Today has been a lovely day - Charlie was trying to guess his surprise all morning, and after a few unsubtle hints on our part, leading him in completely the wrong direction, was convinced that we were taking him to see some farm animals.

We drove into Cardiff, and he was trying to work out where the farm is in the centre of the city! Even as we were walking up the steps to the door of the arena, he was still wondering out loud when we'd be seeing the animals.

His face was a picture when Pete gave him the tickets as we went through the door and he realised we were at the Doctor Who Live Show!

His reaction was priceless - he was almost hysterical with excitement (I know just how he felt too, having been to Les Mis at the beginning of this month!). Pete and I couldn't stop smiling. There's something so wonderful about giving your child an experience that you know they will absolutely love.

We had great seats - right at the front and on the aisle, so when the monsters from the programme started marching up the middle, Chas was right on the spot to see them all! He was face to face with all of his favourite baddies - Cybermen, Judoons, Silurians, Smilers and many more. Every time someone new appeared, he'd nudge me frantically and an enormous grin would appear on his face.

I thought he was going to explode when all of the new daleks (which I've been making for his birthday cake!) trundled onto the stage, with another levitating by some trickery right in front of us.

There was a brilliant orchestra playing all the music from the series, and the conductor/musical director was fantastic - playing keyboards and conducting simultaneously. It was Ben Foster, the same guy who conducted at the 'Dr Who at the Proms' concert.

It was the icing on the cake when Charlie was able to meet him at the end of the show, and he kindly signed Charlie's programme for him.

I'm attaching a few pictures from the day - I think you can see from the smile just how much fun Charlie had! (There aren't any pics of the monsters though, I'm afraid - you weren't allowed to take pictures during the show.)

Chas had such a fantastic time - he hasn't stopped talking about it all the way home! A perfect start to his birthday week!