Champagne Lifestyle on a Lemonade Budget - 2021

weenancyinAmerica

@sugarbaby125 - mine are mainly on family history how-to's based on speeches I have given. So they weren't that hard. I've done two on saving money, and am working on a bigger one on that - which I have been working on for almost 50 years. I am determined to finish it this year. I don't think I could write a fiction book - much harder. And I admire you for writing a play. I belong to a writer's group here and we all think writing plays is more difficult than writing non-fiction. 

sugarbaby125

Wee Nancy in America, you have already achieved so many of your writing goals. Congratulations. 

I must confess, that learning to write the play with Neighbourhood Voices and all of the preparation work for my play was time intensive. Writing my 10,000 word play only took me just over 12 hours spread over 3 days, including me proof reading my own work, so writing my first play was an enjoyable writing experience for me. 

sugarbaby125

My Champagne moment yesterday:

Yesterday afternoon, I went to the Ritzy cinema to watch the film Babylon. In some aspects, this film had some really grotesque scenes which had me turning away from the screen, which seemed gratuitous and not necessary to the story telling. Once again Margot Robbie gave an outstanding performance.     There were also some scenes of an orgy which were shocking to me and I did not feel that these scenes were necessary. Overall, the film was somewhat of a disappointment to me, so it was a 7/10 for me. 

I only had to pay £5.20 for my ticket after a £3 discount for my Picturehouse membership.   

sugarbaby125

My Champagne moment on Tuesday:

Tuesday evening, I went to Streatham Space Project for the Wannabe Comedy Open Mic event. It was a really fun night and the tickets were completely free, so with free travel on the bus, I had an enjoyable, free night out.    I laughed out loud so many times.     This event is a new event, to showcase new, up and coming comedians.    

sugarbaby125

My Champagne moments on Wednesday:


I had a really busy day yesterday. I went to the Blackfriars Settlement mental health and wellbeing discussion group from 11am - 12.30pm.  We discussed various topics. Then I had a free lunch of  freshly cooked vegetable noodle soup and a slice of sourdough bread at Blackfriars Settlement.  

After lunch, a group of us went to see the musical Mandela at The Young Vic. We had free community tickets, which would have cost us £48 each.    We all enjoyed the musical and I found it just as fantastic second time around.  Still 10/10 for me.   

In the evening, I went to Brixton House to watch the play Chicken Burger and Chips. Alisha had got free tickets for the Neighbourhood Voices group.     My concession ticket would have cost me £11.  Alisha was also co-producer of this play.     At the end of the play, we met the male writer of the play Corey Bovell, the female director T. D Moyo and the one man acting tour de force who played all of the characters in the play, Gamba Cole. It was really special talking to all of them about their brilliant work.     This play was a 10/10 for me.     

sugarbaby125

My Champagne moment today:

I won £25 on my Premium Bonds this month 

sugarbaby125

My Champagne moment today:

This evening, I went to Streatham Space Project to watch a group of 4 dancers do a contemporary dance entitled 'Where Did All the Violence Go?' and it was really fantastic.    The dancers and the soundtrack exceeded all of my expectations. I was enthralled and mesmerised by their interpretation of the different genres of music.     I bought a super early bird ticket for only £4.25 rather than the early bird ticket, which saved me £5.   

sugarbaby125

My Champagne moments yesterday and today:

Yesterday evening I went to Karaoke at The Railway Telegraph pub in Forest Hill. There were lots of singers and as the evening ended an hour earlier than usual, we all got to sing 2 or 3 songs. I sang You were always on my mind by Elvis , then Fever by Peggy Lee. I got up and danced a few times as well. I really enjoyed listening to the other singers. It was a good night out. 

Today I watched 2 films at the Ritzy cinema. Each ticket only cost me £5.20 as Picturehouse cinemas do Happy Mondays and I am a member. I watched Saint Omer which is a French, subtitled courtroom drama about a mother being on trial for killing her toddler daughter. It is a very interesting, multi-layered drama. It leaves you with lots of questions instead of having a neat ending. For me this film was a 9.5/10 Then an hour later, I watched The Fablemans, which is all about a family of the same name and their son who loves to make home movies. There are intense moments in the family dynamics, but there is also a lot of humour. I really enjoyed this film, for me it was a 9/10. 

sugarbaby125

My Champagne moments on Tuesday and Wednesday:

I took my daughter to Leilani for a 3 course meal on Tuesday evening. I had jerk chicken wings for my starter and my daughter had barbecue chicken wings for her starter, my main was a whole grilled sea bass with callaloo and my daughter's main was a jerk chicken breast burger with twice cooked chips and a side salad. For dessert I had carrot cake and my daughter had a brownie. I had a small bottle of sparkling water and my daughter had orange juice. The Groupon cost me £21.21 and we had food and soft drinks that would have cost me £61.  We tipped the waitress for her good service. Our food was delicious. 

On Wednesday morning/afternoon I went to the Blackfriars Settlement mental health and well being discussion group. It was a productive discussion.  I ate my free lunch there of vegetable soup and 2 slices of seeded bread. Both of which tasted really good. 

Later in the afternoon I went to the Ritzy cinema to watch the documentary All The Beauty and the Bloodshed. It was such a riveting tale of how Nan Goldin and P.A.I.N (Prescription Addiction Intervention Now) after 4 years of activism towards Purdue Pharma and the Sackler family for the Opioid epidemic, finally brought the Sackler family to account. It also focuses on Nan Goldin's career as a photographer.  This documentary kept me riveted to the screen and I cheered at the demise of Purdue Pharma and the fall of the Sackler family. For me this documentary was a 9.5/10. I used a Picturehouse voucher of £7.50 towards the price of my ticket, which only left me with 30p to pay for my members ticket.   

sugarbaby125

My Champagne moments on Friday:

I went to the Ritzy cinema to watch Women Talking in the afternoon. I really enjoyed this film, for me it was a 9.5/10.  I used a £7.50 Picturehouse voucher towards my ticket price, which only left me with 30p to pay.   

After the film I went into the internal restaurant to read my current book until it was time for me to head over to Black Cultural Archives for Poetic Unity, an Open Mic poetry evening. It was an absolutely fantastic evening, full of really talented poets.