Had a pretty audience participation time recently!

Last week we went to The Jersey Boys at the Empire, Liverpool. Brilliant. Then straight back up the M6 to the snappily titled, Civic Theatre, Oswaldtwistle for the West End staged musical play, The Simon & Garfunkel Story.

Both were great. Both were pretty much packed. Liverpool was erroneously designated as a "matinee" with a 2:30pm start. I was quite surprised how much alcohol was being quaffed by an audience a touch older than us. But the tunes of Frank Valli & the Four Seasons & their story was pretty enthralling.

As was the visit to Oswaldtwistle. I'd not graced Gayle Knight's fantastic organisation before, but it & the show were well worth it! If you missed it, it's back to Burnley & Clitheroe but not Blackburn (?) pretty soon!

The next day, Twenty20 at Old Trafford. Lancs vs Warwickshire or The Lightning vs The Bears. Weather poor, prospects bad, guests stuck somewhere on M6 on a Friday night!

Quite a good deal! VIP (?), seat or stand in that bright red The Point preceded by a two course meal with a free drink, £35. Pretty good value. Tight game, but only when Lancs realised they could have won, but didn't quite!

And the winner is...the Civic Theatre, Oswaldtwistle.

Why don't organisations seeking to attract the public really work on the visitor/customer experience. The Civic Theatre was by far the smallest & least imposing venue...but, they made you feel valued & welcome.

What makes a good "do"? The welcome, the experience, how your treated? It's not just the quality of the event, is it!