No waiting on the Wings for this concert-goer

I HAVE been a regular visitor to the Hippodrome for more years than I can remember. The first time was when I was five and saw Dick Whittington And His Cat. I remember the cat pulled down someone's trousers in the show; this has always been a vivid childhood memory.

Over the years my wife and I have seen hundreds of shows and pantos.

In 1973 I was walking past the theatre and they had just put tickets on sale for Paul McCartney and Wings. There was no queue, I just walked in and bought two, feeling extremely pleased with myself. That year we also saw Rod Stewart with the Faces, Rod's bluesy voice sounding better than on records. The place was jumping, it felt like the balcony was moving.

We also saw The Eagles when they had their first album out. They were not top of the bill, they supported Neil Young. During this time I was the lead vocalist with The Rod Owen Band at The Top Rank Suite in Bristol.

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During that time we also saw David Essex. My wife is a big fan. She got to meet him when I supported him for a week at Sovva's Club, Usk, in 1989.

I can also remember being impressed by Sha Na Na, an American rock'n'roll band who had great presentation. We have also seen Shakin' Stevens, who was making it big in the early 80s. I had worked with him at Top Rank in 1973. He was completely unknown then with his band The Sunsets, with Mike Scudder (Ace of Spades) who had been a member of Pete Budd and Rebels at the same time as myself. I was calling myself Mel Taylor in those days.

We have also seen The Hollies at the Hippodrome many times.

We have seen almost every panto for years and the best panto performance I have ever seen was Michael Barrymore in 1991 who was so charismatic on stage. He was hugely popular at that time.

We are still going to the Hippodrome. We recently saw Calendar Girls and for the last three years have seen my old friend Andy Ford doing extremely well in various panto roles. I know Andy quite well, working on the cabaret and holiday camp circuit where I have been working as a comedian for 27 years. I am still busy even now. I use my real name Micky John Bull.

That brings me to the strangest story you will probably get. I was at St George's Park in Bristol on a Sunday afternoon with my grandchildren (January 2001) when I saw a man whose little boy's boat (radio controlled) was stuck right out in the middle of the lake. The little boy was upset so I tried to help. I even went home to Downend to get some wire to do this. We did manage to get the boat back after a couple of hours.

The man thanked me for my help and said he would like to repay my kindness. I said that he didn't need to as I was pleased to help. He then told me he was the manager of the Hippodrome. His name was John Wood and he made sure that our whole family had a wonderful night at the panto. What are the chances of that happening?

Micky John Bull

Coalpit Heath