As you might have read I'm a HUGE fan of Nottingham Playhouse. I love sponsoring the arts and supporting the theatre, and we often have actors staying in our apartments (here's one of our most popular blog posts ever – an interview with actor Amy Trigg).

Every year the Nook & Cranny crew go to the panto (oh yes we do!) and this year was no different. So, two weeks ago a group of us went along to Cast for a delicious dinner followed by a hilarious night watching Aladdin. Nothing gets you into the Chrismtas mood more than a panto and singing along with hundreds of other people to X factor tunes!

I recently wrote about my relationships with local busiensses, how we all work together and help each other, and part of the reason we go to the panto is so that I can say thanks to them. I loved hosting a group of the dedicated people who support Nook & Cranny behind the scenes all year to a fun evening out, including my accountant, my property manager and my Google expert!

I'd like to say a massive THANK YOU to everyone who has helped us have the best 12 months we've ever had. These are exciting times for Nook & Cranny, we're going from strength to strength (I'll show you our gorgeous new apartments in the new year!) and exceeded all our expectations this year. Whether you're a guest, someone we work with, a friend, or you just read our blog once in a while, a really big thank you for your support.

Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year to you and your families from all of us at Nook & Cranny!

Is this too early? Well, it is November, so I'm going for it anyway.

​This popped into my YouTube feed today. Being a huge Playhouse fan and very much a Panto Family we watched it over breakfast and felt all warm inside.

So if you have relocated to Nottingham recently, be sure to buy your tickets even if you have no idea what Panto is. It's more British than a full Roast Beef Sunday Lunch at The Larwood & Voce with all the trimmings (but you should go there too). It's even more family fun than James Bond at the Showcase with the new huge super comfy seats, and because it's The Playhouse you are safe to bring kids (and Grandparents) of all ages and they will only hear the good traditional wholesome jokes and songs, without the commercial trimmings of some of the other Pantos which you might be able to book into.

I'll never forget a personal family favourite moment when we were there with all our children, many of our neighbours and their children, and my Mum and Dad (up from London especially to see the show) got a "shout out" for their 50th Wedding Anniversary, which resulted in a whole family Mexican Wave across our row - a priceless memory for us all.

So, click here for the Box Office to get your front row seats and don't forget to ask for a "Back Stage Pass" which gets you discounts on all your tickets for a whole year - it practically pays you to buy it!

Feel free to email me if you would like to know how to ask for your very own shout out when you are at The Playhouse Panto.

So here it is Ladies and Gentlemen, get a cup of tea, sit down and enjoy - the Nottingham Playhouse Christmas Ad:

Of course we also enjoyed the John Lewis one:

With my personal retail favourite being the Lidl Christmas Ad, due to its tongue-in-cheek nature:

Which is your favourite? Let me know in the comments.

OK, I admit it,  I sponsor Nottingham Playhouse, through Nook & Cranny for reasons of pure selfishness, and I don't even think they mind! I don't suppose the tax man minds either, in fact my accountant tells me that Mr HMRC in his wisdom encourages my self centeredness with financial incentives.  What is the world coming to? 

From Stage to Foyer
Ever since I was a young girl, I have been drawn to the theatre. I feel that it has many styles - comedy, tragedy, horror, period pieces - just like life I suppose, but when seen on stage it is strewn in sparkly dust which makes it so magical. I have long been a fan of experimenting to see if once, just once, if I clap hard & long enough in recognition of a mind-blowing performance, they might just start over again from the beginning to the end (no luck so far, but I'll keep trying).
I did have a go at walking the boards for a while but it really just served to show me that being positively involved in the theatre requires different talents to being a wonder on a stage, and I should try to make my small mark whilst keep firmly in the foyer & the seats of the auditorium.

The recession hit the arts
In 2008 when the UK economy was in free fall I read in the paper that sponsorship of the arts was in decline and I decided that I should show my appreciation that Nook & Cranny was enjoying an extended period of growth by looking into giving a little back to a very deserving cause close to my heart. As it happened I also couldn't think of a more fun way to "work" than by taking valued clients, many of whom have become friends to see the type of top class theatre that The Playhouse offers. 

So I met up with the lovely Nick Lawford, Fundraising & Development Manager at The Nottingham Playhouse and I was so impressed by the innovative, thoughtful and community spirited way in which the theatre is run as well as the way that he had spent time putting together a package for me which clearly had my specific business needs in mind (and yes, some overlap with my selfish personal preferences).

The Package, should you care to join in this spree of benign self interest.
Just in case you were thinking of joining our ranks of selfish sponsors you can clearly see that I am evangelical about encouraging local businesses to join in. So I thought I'd share with you some of the fabulous benefits that Nook & Cranny receive, and do feel free to get in touch if you'd like more details or if you'd like to be on the list of theatre lovers for invitations from Nook & Cranny to any of the shows

• We get to take clients to every in house show that the Playhouse puts on throughout the year
• We get invited to Rehearsal Suppers which involve hob nobbing with the cast and the whole team and getting a great insight into a play before it is all polished up for the opening night.
• We can put adverts in the programmes which we get given for performances
• We get one off invitations to a dinner on stage every now and then which is a personal favourite
• Once a year we hold an event at which we can bring a large party and use the catering facilities ( from the marvellous Cast bar) to host before, during the interval and after the show.
• We get invited to networking meetings, and many more one off events which raise the profile of the business
• We benefit from the soft glow of being part of one of the best reasons to live in Nottingham. 
• The list is endless, and I feel my brand, such as it is, is strengthened hugely

I am grateful to love almost all of my business life and to farm out the bits I don't love, but I can honestly say that I get a pure delight from the association that I have with The Nottingham Playhouse, only very slightly tainted by the fact that I feel that I cannot help but get so much more from it than I can ever actually give them back.

Thank you so much to Nick Lawford, Derek Graham, Giles Croft & Stephanie Sirr, the fabulous box office staff & of course Tim Wheelhouse at Cast which is such a lovely place to be whether there is a show on or not.  

Oh dear, did I forget the wonderful actors?! That won't go down well, daaaaarling!! mwah mwah :)