Have a very furry Christmas....

No, that title isn't a mistake. Hubby and I celebrated Christmas last night when our present to each other finally arrived: A-reserve tickets to the Wellington season of Cats. I have wanted to see this musical since it first opened in 1981, and it was worth waiting 27 years....

We did the thing properly, with dinner out first at a restaurant we hadn't tried before: Harem on Manners Mall (above Abrakebabra). Yum. We both like Turkish, and this was really excellent. I loved the decor of the place - it was like a cross between a tent and a mosque inside, with moulded plaster walls and draperies - sounds a bit much but it works with the discreet lighting and candles everywhere. We started with breads and spreads: the Turkish flat bread was freshly made and still steaming slightly and the four dips were all very different but complimentary flavours. We expected hummus, but were surprised with the subtle edginess of this one - extra garlic (but not overpowering) and almost a peppery touch. The beetroot one was good but I'm not a fan of beetroot! The sundried tomato one tasted like a cross between a true Italian pizza and a warm summer's afternoon; the tomato was there but not too strong. The real surprise was the fourth one: pureed eggplant and tahini, and it was gorgeous. We shared the plate between us and there was definitely plenty for two.

For mains we had the Harem Feast, basically a combo of their most popular meat dishes with salad and steamed sticky rice. The meat was to die for. There was a little wee steak done medium-rare with a slightly spicy tomato and yoghurt sauce - very tender and well-flavoured. Second was a lamb skewered kebab: the lamb was really tender, slowcooked and subtly flavoured - not hot, just enhanced. There was a chicken kebab which I think was the best of all - I can't remember the last time I had chicken that fell apart like that, and it had a brilliant flavour - the light tomato and yoghurt worked really well here. Again, slowcooked and then seared. The lamb cutlet was really rare but all the better for it, and there were two lamb rolls - these were quite spicy-hot but again not overpowering. The simple rocket salad and steamed rice really complimented it all.

We finished with a homemade icecream sundae (vanilla bean, white choc and raspberry, and true chocolate) with "drunken marshmallows"; he had a Turkish coffee and I had apple tea. All in all, a wonderful meal and great value for money (it wasn't that cheap but the food was divine).

We fought our way through a really foul Wellington southerly with freezing sideways rain to the Opera House, where we sat on the edge of our seats absolutely thrilled for over 2 hours. The sets (borrowed from Australia) were really good - the cats were meeting on some rooftops and kept appearing through windows and chimneys. The cast was excellent: the singing was strong, the dancing very good (and it really is a non-stop all-singing-all-dancing show).

Particular stand-outs were Munkustrap, the "narrator", who had a lovely warm, strong voice; Grizabella, who had the house absolutely spellbound for 'Memory'; Gus the Theatre Cat (captured the pathos of aging beautifully), and the dancer who played Victoria, the white kitten. Mungojerrie and Rumpleteaser danced well, but some of their vocals were a little lost in the orchestra - a pity as they have some of the funniest lines in the whole show. I loved the Skimbleshanks the Railway Cat number - at one point they brought out a whole lot of wheels and constructed a "train" on stage, and the singer playing Skimbleshanks captured the fun and joy of his part really well. Mr Mistofelees was a dancing part, played by one of the up-and-comers at the Royal NZ Ballet and he did a great set of jumps and tours en l'air.

In some ways, waiting until now made me appreciate it better, and having done some ballet meant I could understand what the dancers were doing much more than if I'd seen it earlier.

Pachyderm