As you will have noticed if you've scrolled through my blog recently, I was lucky enough to have travelled all the way to Antwerp especially because Joel Morris was reprising his role as my favourite character in Cats - Carbucketty - for one month only before once more returning to his 'retirement'. As the occasion was so special, and the memory an important piece of my stage door story with Joel, I of course wanted to find a space in my home for a new photo frame for our picture together, and just to add to the significance I wanted to also have my photograph of myself and Joel from the first night I met him beside it.

I think this is a really perfect way of highlighting a special stage door friend or significant stage door memory, especially if you've got a really great story to tell about your 'journey' with someone at stage door as I have with Joel. Paperchase offer several different ranges of photo frame for personalisation, and you can find those here.

I'm always looking for ways to keep my theatre memories close to me, and also to show as many people as possible just how much they mean to me, and I love this particular sort of souvenir because it not only gives me a smile every time I see it, but it also is great for giving me an excuse to tell people who see it the story of My Carbucketty!

I have had a "Joel Morris Highlights Reel" file saved on my computer for a long time now - it was basically just every clip I'd ever found on the internet which included Joel playing Carbucketty during all his different appearances in the show. The only sad thing about that version of the "Highlights Reel" was that it had no sound and therefore no real impact, and I thought Joel just deserved SO much better, because his portrayal desperately deserved some sort of tribute, especially after he was clearly the tour's first call when they needed someone to step in and cover Carbucketty once more! So I spent hours - literally, hours! - after my trip to Belgium editing together all these clips for a second time and set them to some of my favourite songs from my stage door playlist, including a song which I thought of frequently when in Antwerp which I think is so appropriate for Joel and that is "The Last Poet" by Take That: "...when you see something so beautiful, a monastery of light and soul, stand taller than the high cathedral walls...but for you I can't find words, but for you there are no words..." As well as here - you can find the video on Joel's page.

So I ended up seeing my 54th ever Jellicle Ball in Antwerp, Belgium, and no, I wasn't expecting to be saying that either, or at least I wasn't just a few short weeks ago...This is the explanation for it all, and also an explanation for why my Twitter was temporarily taken over by #blamecarbucketty Please watch my very special video blog and find out the whole story, including tears, show highlights and much discussion about what makes a certain dancer The Best Ever.