The Shoot Horses in Worthing, Don't They?

It's a bloody long drive from Hereford to Worthing, but the Indian Summer which seems to have arrived with us makes it worthwhile. Like the Berwick Maltings and the Lawrence Batley, the Connaught is a new venue for me; although it's the slightly faded grandeur of the Chatsworth Hotel which I find more arresting at first. Not your normal digs...
Although we (well, Kate and Aidan really) cobbled together a solution for the final night in Hereford which went easy on Jamie's injured shoulder, a more permanent solution is essential. So whilst Michael takes Aidan, Matt and Jamie through the new moves, the rest of us are free to explore. Worthing is famous for a few reasons; it's why Jack Worthing is so named in "The Importance of Being Earnest" because Oscar Wilde stayed there in 1895; and ...er...that's it. That's why it's well known.

Shame really. It's got a cracking pier:

Probably not so lovely in the rain, but still...

and this!

Home of the Brown Derby. Forgotten but not gone.

When we get back, there's a new climax to Act I. I can't remember whether it was Besson or Tarkovsky who compared losing favourite moments from artworks to killing their young, but the golden child which was Big Horse has been murdered so New Horse could be born. Matt and Aidan have both found it difficult to let go, but there's little visceral impact lost in this revised version - and what the audience haven't seen, they don't miss.
It's a great show. Afterwards we mingle with Karen (Michael's partner) and her kids, Paige and Joe. It's the first time Joe's seen the heads since he helped paint them in Colliers Wood and he's well impressed. Paige is more concerned with settling a fashion score with Michael - something which has obviously rankled all night.
"You see, Dad?" she protests, pointing at a chunky girl in a very short skirt and no tights "that's slutty. Not trousers".