a charity dinner..

Tonight I attended a charity event held by Kiwanis at the Sheraton Subang. The dress code theme was a touch of red and black. Though I many black dresses to choose from, I decided to wear my dark red vintage evening dress which I wore to Ning's berinai, but to dress it up a bit, I added a black woven belt with big jewelled coloured stones dangling from it from YSL. The clutch is patent leather Ferragamo and the shoes which you can't see are red too.

As part of the evening, a children's orchestra performed many easily recognisable melodies including soundtracks from 'Beauty and the Beast', 'Forrest Gump', 'Mission Impossible' and several others.

Some of them were so young and so small that their musical instrument was bigger than them!




One of the melodies they played which one of my favourites is the Overture from the fabulous Andrew Lloyd Webber musical 'Phantom of the Opera'. I love the lyrics to that song too. It is sung between the two main characters, the phantom and Christine. I sang the lyrics softly to myself as the music played.

Christine: In sleep he sang to me , In dreams he came
That voice which calls to me , And speaks my name
And do I dream again? , For now I find ,
The phantom of the opera is there,
Inside my mind

Phantom: Sing once again with me , Our strange duet
My power over you , Grows stronger yet
And though you turn from me to glance behind
The phantom of the opera is there
Inside your mind

Christine: Those who have seen your face , Draw back in fear
I am the mask you wear

Phantom: It's me they hear

Both: My/Your spirit and my/your voice , In one combined
The phantom of the opera is there inside my/your mind

Chorus: Is that the phantom of the opera? Beware the phantom of the opera

Phantom: In all your fantasies you always knew , That man and mystery

Christine: Were both in you Both: And in this labyrinth , Where night is blind

The Phantom of the opera is here/there

Christine: Inside my mind

Phantom: Sing, my Angel of Music!

I have seen the musical in London twice but I never understood the power of emotion in the song 'wishing you were somehow here again' until I saw the movie. I cried through that whole scene, because I finally understood.

You were once my one companion . . . you were all that mattered . . .
You were once a friend and father - then my world was shattered . . .
Wishing you were somehow here again . . .wishing you were somehow near . . .
Sometimes it seemed if I just dreamed, somehow you would be here . . .
Wishing I could hear your voice again . . . knowing that I never would . . .
Dreaming of you won't help me to do all that you dreamed I could . . .
Passing bells and sculpted angels, cold and monumental,
seem, for you, the wrong companions - you were warm and gentle . . .
Too many years fighting back tears . . . Why can't the past just die . . .?
Wishing you were somehow here again . . . knowing we must say goodbye . . .
Try to forgive . . .teach me to live . . .
give me the strength to try . . .
No more memories, no more silent tears . . .
No more gazing across the wasted years . . .
Help me say goodbye

We are never ready to lose our loved ones.

If you can't see the live musical, I think you should at least watch the movie. I love all of the costumes in it.

When I was a very young girl and constantly trying to convince her to buy me lots of necklaces and costume like clothes, she thought it would just be 'a phase' that I will grow out of. WRONG! This costume loving showgirl will never grow up!