59 years plus one month - ABBA VOYAGE in London. A year of discovery.

2025 will be a big birthday for me. A landmark one which I feel incredibly lucky to be approaching. Mainly because my late mother never managed to reach that landmark but also because, working where I do, in a funeral company, I realise there are many others who also don't get this far. Forget the wrinkles, the eye bags, the saggy bits and all the rest of it, I have decided, rather than feel sorry for myself I will embrace life and do something meaningful each month in the lead up to the big day. I have always wanted to go to see this show, since I heard of its existence. I grew up with Abba, I loved their music then and still have it on my car playlist. Nothing like a bit of Voulez Vous on the commute to work and a bit of Dancing Queen on the way home. My favourite is Eagle. So off I went to The Abba Arena, taking the early train from the ABER station in Caerphilly to Cardiff and the bus from there. I went with my 19 year old daughter - who it turns out, thanks to all the time she has spent in my car, also knows all the words to all the Abba songs. I thought she was doing it to humour me and for a free trip to London. I was amused to find that all my favourite younger-years haunts in London; Camden Market, Carnaby Street, Kensington High Street and Kensington market etc are still there. Carnaby Street has lost its vibe but even the shops in Camden Market no longer held any interest for me, far too many people and the prices were insane. First time I have been there and not bought a single thing. I used to spend days at a time there. We checked into our hotel - it was unlike any hotel I'd ever been in, it took compact and bijou to another level - SNOOZEBOX - about a minute's walk from the arena. The bed was comfortable, warm and the location was spot on but that's as far as it went. The 'room' was a storage container which had been converted into two bedrooms. I had booked one for the two of us. There was no room to swing a rat. The double bed had a single bed fixed to the wall at right angles to and above the double bed. There was one plug socket. About three feet from the bed was an opaque glass wall which led to the shower and toilet. Being glass, it was blindingly obvious if your room mate was in the shower or on the toilet. Not ideal but only one night. We had tickets for the dancefloor in the Abba Arena. We went in early and sat on the floor until the arena was full when we were asked to stand up. During the wait, there was a snowy wood scene of Sweedinh Folklore on the screen - I thought it was lovely. When the show started it was the most amazing show I ever saw. If I hadn't known the people instage were Avatars I would have believed they were real - even down to putting their guitars on the floor when the lights faded. I was singing full on and at the top of my lungs, I looked at my daughter and she was doing the same. That made me cry - the next generation was having every bit as much fun as I was. They played Eagle with animations and I can't say whether or not they played all my favourites, I think they did, They played a few I'd never heard, which wasn't so good but I'm not complaining. All in, I had the most amazing time and came out in tears. We hugged outside the arena and went off to our box room for the after show bar. It truly is all about making memories now. :)