I have watched Strictly Come Dancing, and then again, I haven't. I guess that means that I'm not a fan, but if it's Saturday and I'm staying in with a bad back, then I will watch it and enjoy it. Last week, I was supposed to be at a wedding party on Saturday, but it was the day after my procedure and I was sore and I thought maybe I ought to pay some attention to the instruction to rest for 48 hours. This was the 'bucket episode' of my last entry and I'll be honest, when I looked in the bathroom mirror halfway through the evening, I knew I'd made the right choice to stay home, especially when I saw a pale face with 2 high spots of colour peering back at me.
Anyway, back to 'Strictly'... I don't know how many of you saw it, but Ann Widdecombe made me laugh out loud with her routine and I got to wondering just what kind of a contest it is. I mean, is it a dance contest, or an entertainment show? If it's a dance contest, then surely she shouldn't be there, but she seems to enjoy it so...and she makes people laugh. It's not just her dancing either; in the dancing, she makes people laugh with her, not at her (and that's an important distinction) but in addition to the dancing, she also has that kind of dry wit that also appeals to people.Everyone loves to see people enjoying themselves and she is a real crowd pleaser in that way too. For all of these things, shouldn't we keep her in the entertainment show, if we are assuming, of course, that it isn't a dance competition?
I wonder with Ann Widdecombe too, if in reality, some of the reason she is as good as she is in that capacity*1 is that with age often comes an acceptance of who you are. People often become more comfortable in their own skins as they age. It's not always true of course (and my grandmother was a terror for this) as some people (even when they don't admit to it), lament that lost youth. They find it impossible to put up with weight gain, the wrinkles and the aches and pains - they want their bodies to be the same as they were when they were 20 or 30. They simply cannot accept that some things are the way they are and the clock won't turn back whatever you do. For this reason, there are people who spend a fortune on plastic surgery, dye their hair for way too long (Tom Jones has finally seen the light!), who are on perpetual diets or who are just permanently depressed because their knees ache in a way that they didn't use to. Ann Widdecombe does none of those things, she is an ageing, overweight, grey haired lady and she still manages to have fun and gets out there week after week, just to have a go. I applaud her for that and I enjoyed her performance too for all of these reasons. I haven't forgotten either, that in her actions, she is raising thousands of pounds for charity. So...go for it girl...that's what I say...and entertainment show or dance contest? Who cares, when if it makes so many people happy...!
*1 I can't comment on her views or use as a politician
