One of the great things about my car is that the digital clock always runs a little fast. Of course, I can’t let it get out of hand completely. Every few weeks I have to put it right again but on the whole it does mean that if I’m heading for a meeting and I’m worried about being late I usually have a few minutes in hand.
Having a watch which is always a few minutes fast is nothing new. It is said that Winston Churchill always set his watch 5 minutes fast so he would always be on time for special meetings…especially lunch!!
Always 5 mins early
In the military it is often quoted that 5 minutes early is on time, and on time is late.
I get it. Being on time shows you have respect for the people you are going to meet. You can get a reputation for always being late and after a while people get annoyed. People understand the occasional delay. You might miss your bus or trying to find somewhere to park can lead to delays. I’m sure they wouldn’t want you to take risks just because of the clock… better to be 5 mins late in this world than be 20 years early for the next!!!
Glad you could finally make it…
But when being late becomes the norm there is a knock on effect. People start to think, well maybe there’s no need to be on time for a meeting with the person who is always late because they’ll only be hanging around and wasting their ‘precious’ time.
Socially it can be slightly different. If you’re invited to a party at 7pm and you arrive at 6.55pm it might appear that you’re a little keen. The host might not be quite ready, and you might add to their anxiety. In my mind a 7pm start means… arrive sometime around 7.15 to 7.30pm.
Now I should say I have tried to use this excuse in the business world. In my early days as a researcher on radio there was a mandatory 10 am morning meeting to discuss that day’s show and plan for the next day. One morning I arrived at 10.15am. My boss wasn’t happy pointing out I was late, it was a 10am meeting and it started at 10 am…to which I replied without thinking, I’m terribly sorry I thought it was 10 for 10.30!! It didn’t go down well.
Anyway, what I’m trying to say is that on the whole whenever possible I try to get to a meeting in plenty of time so that I’m not frazzled right from the start.
This week I was invited to the ‘Press Night’ for the musical Mamma Mia at the Swansea Building Society Arena. Over the years I’ve been to the Arena many times. I’ve seen choirs and bands and variety type shows. My last visit was back in November to see Bob Dylan. I think it’s fair to say Bob probably didn’t really make the most of the enormous space preferring to hide behind a grand piano centre stage.
I was intrigued to see how the venue would stage a full-on West End style Musical. Most musicals I have seen are performed in a theatre with a Proscenium Arch; that means the stage appears to be set in a big box. The Grand Theatre is a classic example of that. There is a fly tower above which means you can lower bits of set from on high. It has wings so that people can hide before coming on or if they don’t know the script they can literally ‘wing it’ learning their lines just before they go on.
The invitation said the show started at 7.20pm but the FSG lounge would be open from 6 pm. I thought this is business but also a social event, so I won’t be there at 5.55pm, I’ll rock up fashionably late at 6.30pm. That would give me enough time to press the flesh, read the programme and find my seat.
I was warmly welcomed at the door and made my way to the reception. I gave my name to the very friendly staff and they looked through their lists. They checked and checked again…hmm…they couldn’t find me. I found my email invitation and announced with a smile, ‘I’m here for Press Night’. The receptionist said not to worry, that I should find myself a seat in the lounge and she would find out what was going on.
As I sat there nursing a glass of water I thought I would re-read the email I had been sent that morning. Then I realised, there was no fear I was going to be late; I was there in plenty of time. In fact I was actually there 24 hours early!! I was starting to rush towards reception to explain my mistake when Olivia from the Arena’s Press team appeared in the doorway. I was full of apologies and she couldn’t have been nicer. The thing is with me being so early she automatically thought that maybe she had said the wrong day and anytime now a hoard of other Press types would be descending on the Arena.
Olivia said she would try her best to get me in to see the show, but the problem was that a lot of tickets have already been sold in advance, they might not be able to squeeze me in. After a bit of an embarrassing wait she returned with my ticket and a programme and I was all set.
The first thing I noticed was that the production had actually built a Proscenium arch theatre. They had a top and sides to the usually open stage and in front of the stage they had built their own ‘pit’ for the band. It was only later I found out that they had put the drummer into his own room hidden from sight and also from drowning out everyone else.
From the opening bars you knew this was the real deal. The overture featured a selection of some of the greatest ABBA hits. It was loud but comfortable. Then the cast started appearing. Now sometimes due to economics or to stage size even some of these big musicals have a reduced cast. Not this production. At one point I think I counted nearly 30 people dancing and singing. It was spectacular.
I am always amazed by the calibre of artist you see performing in these shows. Not one ‘Star’ name but everyone a complete and utter star at the top of their game. There were plenty of laughs and a few tears and as with all good musicals, and this really isn’t a spoiler, it all somehow works out in the end.
But that’s not the end. The final 15 minutes of the show are a show in itself. Some of the audience had been singing along during the show and maybe that could have been frowned on. If you weren’t singing and dancing at the end I think the security guards might have come along and asked you to leave.
The Arena is really coming into its own. To have this calibre and scale of show in Swansea is something we have been clamouring for, well, forever. The show runs until 24th January. Tickets are limited but if you can get one… get one.