Beating Blue Monday -- Michelle Styles

Today Monday 15 January 2018 is supposed to be the most depressing day of the year also known as blue Monday. However it doesn’t have to be that way. There are a number of ways in which you can beat the January blues. Here are some of my suggestions:

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   Watch uplifting or feel good television. My daughter and I discovered The Marvellous Mrs Maisel at the end of  November and binge-watched it. It is a comedy with a little bit of drama about a Jewish woman from the Upper East Side New York City who becomes a stand up comic in the mid-1950’s. Beautifully acted with gorgeous dresses and a great sound track. Beats watching the news, an event which always seems to sap my will to live these days.
   
   2.       Book tickets to a great live action event. Last year, my daughter booked Hamilton tickets on blue Monday for December. She had to do as it was when they went on sale but the unexpected benefit was when ever something was not quite right or I felt a bit blah, I’d go ‘ah but we have Hamilton tickets’ and put the music on. But anything you can look forward to will work. It does need to be live and therefore what you are going to see will be unique.
   3.       Go see a great exhibition at a museum. I was lucky enough to see two brilliant exhibitions in December at the V&A – the Winnie-the-Pooh exhibit and the Balenciaga exhibit. The first allowed me to release my inner child and the second allowed me to indulge in my love of great clothes (see above for more about my love of great clothes). But any exhibition will do – go with an open mind and see what you can learn or simply enjoy.
   4.       Go for a walk and release your inner child as you do. Getting outside with natural sunlight can be a great way to lif your mood. If it is horrible out, consider wrapping up well and going puddle jumping or if icy, find some place to slide a bit. Watch the clouds and make up stories about what they represent. I find releasing my inner child is a great way to lift my mood. It means I don’t have to be serious and weighed down with responsibility.
   5.       Put on some favourite music and dance like no one is watching.
   6.       Make time to see an old friend and have a good natter about nothing in particular.
   7.       And last but by no means least, read a romance – something that will allow to escape into another world where you know the Happy Ending is guaranteed. It can be one you enjoyed in the past or a new one by a favourite author or even a new to you author.
   What ways  have you found that work to beat the Bluest of all Mondays?
   
   
   
   
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Michelle Styles writes warm, witty and intimate historical romance in a wide range of time periods for Harlequin Historical. Her latest The Warrior’s Viking Bride will be released on 22 February 2018.

You can learn more about Michelle and her books on www.michellestyles.co.uk

Hamilton West End: Beating the Hype by Michelle Styles

The adventure started back in August 2016 when my daughter who was visiting friends and relations in the US discovered the Hamilton soundtrack. She then learned that it was coming to London and was determined to go. At this point I became hooked on the soundtrack and agreed it would be a good idea. When the pre-booking opened in January 2017, my daughter gave up her lunch time and secured two seats. The great Styles December London trip was on.

Since January whenever I have hit any set backs, I was told myself – I have Hamilton tickets to look forward to and it is going to be great. 

The hype surrounding the trip and indeed the musical increased as the months went on as my daughter and I worked out what we were going to do. I sort of worried it might not live up to expectations. Could anything  be that good? 

Afternoon tea at the Wolseley (scones under the dome)

The biggest hiccup was waking on Monday morning and discovering the local train was running very late due to adverse weather conditions. Cue defrosting two cars very quickly and then driving to the station with a half-frozen windscreen which did not thaw until halfway through the journey (about the same time I started to feel my fingers).  I was not about to miss my shot. We  are arrived with a few minutes to spare. My daughter who is supremely organised had managed to bag first class seats during a sale in August so we had breakfast as the train sped through the snow landscape.

London in the snow was magical and felt like being in Christmas romance novel. My editor did a historical walking tour of Borough on the way to lunch. I got to see a coaching inn in the snow and could easily imagine what it would look like with stage coaches. We found part of a Tudor building when searching  for the remains of the Marshalsea prison where Dickens’s father was imprisoned.  Lunch with my editor was everything an author’s lunch should be and included a tour of the offices, complete with a sunset (I decided to live in the moment and not take a bad photo).

The next day included a 6 hour visit to the V&A museum (Winnie the Pooh, dresses and period rooms all featured) and afternoon tea at the Woleseley before Hamilton.

The set of Hamilton before the show started from our seats

Hamilton does live up to its hype. The pre-show atmosphere buzzed. In part because they had run out of programmes (arrived at the interval), theatre-goers spoke to each other – mostly to apologize in advance if they screamed too much. Everyone there was a fan of the show. One lady whom I later realized was Edwina Currie (a former British politician) confessed she had already booked more tickets as she knew she would love the show. She had taken the same approach as my daughter – follow the instructions, give up a lunch time and book in advance.  

The staff behind the bar coughed that the reason for plastic glasses was that the dishwashers were not yet installed (they are still refurbishing the theatre during the day). The wine was very good, no matter what sort of glass it was  in.

The show excelled. The soundtrack is basically the show (so more opera than a play with songs) BUT it is how the actors present it And the sheer energy behind the live performance. I suspect London is the only place George III gets a bigger than George Washington, the first time he appears. The actors appeared to feed off the buzz in the theatre and really responded. The stand out actors in a stellar cast were Jameal Westman who plays Alexander Hamilton and makes the part his own (first production he has starred in and is utter mixed-race hero inspiration material – The Times proclaimed a star is born and I can see why), Rachelle Ann Go who played Eliza  and who has a voice which does not quit and Giles Terara who played Aaron Burr and held the whole thing together. The experience is why people go to live theatre. Totally unforgettable. I was completely blown away. The standing ovation at the end went on until they turned on the lights.

If you can go see Hamilton, do – particularly in London.  The libretto is very clever and it bears listening to the soundtrack several times before you go. I suspect it will be seen in time for a revolution in musical theatre. For me, this was one time the show more than exceeded its considerable hype. Just book tickets in advance and go as then you have the added bonus of being able to think --ah but I have Hamilton tickets and it is going to be a great night.

Michelle Styles writes warm, witty and intimate historical romance for Harlequin and Mills & Boon historical. Her next book will be published in March 2018 The Warrior's Viking Bride. You can learn more about Michelle and her books on www.michellestyles.co.uk