Back in April I went to the theatre with my Mum in Law to see a local celebrity radio presenter, Bernie Keith.

Now, I have to admit, I wasn’t that keen on going. I had purchased two tickets for my Mum as part of her Christmas present as she is a massive Bernie fan. And she ended up asking me to go with her.

The reason I wasn’t that keen was having never listened to Bernie, I had no idea who he was, or what he would be doing. It was a night of the unknown.

I am glad to say I was totally converted and became a Bernie Fan. The night started with a couple of comedians to warm us all up, and then out came Bernie.

I honestly don’t think I have ever laughed so hard! His stories and anecdotes were hilarious and I literally had tears of laughter running down my face. My ribs actually hurt at the end of the night.

Me and Mum

Mum had a whale of a time and we chuckled over some of our favourite bits in the car on the way home. Both of us said we couldn’t wait for the next time he had a show and we would definitely go and see him again.

Fast forward several weeks and by a fluke of luck I happened to see a post on Bernie’s Facebook page saying he was hosting an evening at another local theatre in three days time.

This event was “An Audience with Richard Coles” Ex-Communards keyboardist and now a Vicar of a local parish.

The Lighthouse Theatre

Growing up in the 80’s I was quite a fan of The Communards and still have one of their CD’s, believe it or not.

I knew Mum would be interested so I popped onto the theatre website to see if there were any tickets left. Luckily there were a handful available so I asked Mum if she fancied it, and duly booked two tickets.

We arrived at the theatre and took our seats. Mum was aware of Reverend Richard from his local parish work and radio presenting, but wasn’t really au fait with his pop work. Either way it looked like it was going to be a great night.

Outfit of the Day

And a great night it certainly was!

Firstly I saw a couple of friends that I had met through dancing at a local 50’s diner. Adam and Dawn were actually in the row in front of us, so we had a good natter and Adam graciously acted as official photographer for us later on in the evening.

Selfie Time

Then the lights went down and the show started.

Dawn and I

The “interview” between Bernie and Richard was funny, lighthearted, serious, naughty and much more. Richard was brutally honest about his hedonistic lifestyle back in the 80’s and also went on to talk about how a he, a homosexual staunchly atheist pop star found God.

I was rapt. I could have literally listened to him all night. I laughed heartily at some of his adventures, yet felt great sadness at some of the trials he had faced.

An evening with…

Bernie made the evening flow so well, with perfect questions and even more perfect comic timing. Again I was amazed at how easy it was to listen to him asking the questions.

Clearly there was a great friendship between the two men, and a sense of respect for one another and their different broadcasting roles. I learnt more about Reverend Richard than I ever thought possible and if I am honest, I just wanted to know more.

Needless to say the whole evening was a raging success, and there was an opportunity to purchase his autobiographies in the foyer after the event.

Looking forward to Learning more

Here was my chance to learn even more so I dutifully got in line and purchased his first book which he very graciously signed for me.

Meeting the man himself

Mum and I got in the car and again couldn’t stop talking about the whole event. It was actually even better than either of us thought, and I was so glad that something “pointed” me towards the event at the last minute.

Thanks Reverend Richard

We are both now waiting to see if Bernie has any more events coming up and I am now an avid listener of his radio show.

Keep on entertaining, Bern.