TWITTERING ON

BY ANGELA KELLY

STRICTLY SHOWS US LIFE AS WE KNOW IT

AS a self-confessed fan of Strictly Come Dancing every new season is a genuine joy. But I’ve also come to realise that Strictly is a microcosm of life itself.

There are goodies and baddies (well, judge Craig Revel Horwood on a mean day), brilliance and awfulness, wonderful success and crushing disappointment.

Some couples become closerthanthis and some seem uncomfortable together, just like life.

Some celebrity dancers reveal hidden talents and some should just stay hidden.

And throughout it all is the joyous music and dance that underpins this very popular programme.

This year’s crop has proved as riveting as always. Some lesser talented going out early and some really surprisingly talented celebs continuing their journey glitterball-bound. Why, though, is it such a mesmerising programme?

Perhaps it’s because there’s a very strong feeling that if THEY can do it with no dance background, then perhaps we could dance as well. Then there’s the costumes, the fake tan, the fabulous sets, the skilled professional dancers – all part of this regular dose of escapist glamour.

It’s also partly a popularity contest, too, with a fickle public that can vote out even the most talented. Every season has shown this can happen and that innate talent and hard work don’t always win out.

So there is the uncertainty of who might succeed. Also just like life.

Whatever the reason, Strictly itself is the main winner. And we’re basically quite happy about that.

EMMA’S PLAYED HER WAY INTO OUR HEARTS

JUST when life looked a bit bleak in our Covid-19 hit world and the UK’s sporting future seemed uncertain, along came Emma Raducanu.

Cometh the hour, cometh the woman. After winning the LTA British Tour Masters’ title last December, the 18 year-old from Bromley brightened up our ongoing post-lockdown gloom with a dazzling Wimbledon debut. Then the next thing is she becomes a qualifier at the US Open, immediately turns into a whirlwind and takes the women’s singles’ title!

She ends up a Grand Slam Champion and world No.22, all while still studying for her A-levels.

The best thing about our Emma, though, is that she comes across as a very ordinary girl who definitely has her head screwed on tightly.

She took winning and defeat in the same gracious stride, even when she followed up her epic American win by losing her next competitive match in the BNP Paribas Open in straight sets

Such a highly visible loss when you’re riding the crest of a wave might have been tough to take for most players. Not Emma. She smiled, shrugged her shoulders – and started practising for the next event.

She also said of her opponent, Aliaksandra Sasnovich: “I think Aliaksandra played a great match. She was better than me today so she deserves to win.

“I’m kind of glad that what happened today happened so I can learn and take is as a lesson.

“There’s going to be disappointment after any loss. I didn’t go in there putting any pressure on myself because in my mind I’m so inexperienced that I’m just taking it all in.”

No tantrums, no flouncing tempers, no excuses, just sensible acceptance and moving on.

At a time when famous females are often largely personified by non-celebrities and fake fame, she’s a breath of fresh air and a real role model for any youngster. Not to mention a golden prospect for the future.

DRIFTING BACK IN TIME FOR ONE NIGHT ONLY

THERE are very few opportunities to touch base with your teenage self but a concert by The Drifters is definitely one of them.

Like thousands of others around the UK, I joined an enthusiastic audience to relive those amazing ‘60s and ‘70s that first brought American music to audiences on this side of the Atlantic.

True, these were not the originals. No-one was pushed on in a wheelchair or struggled to warble the high notes.

These were younger members of the Drifter family, strong and vibrant singers but replicating those wonderful songs that shook teens and adults alike all those decades ago.

This concert audience, like those around the country no doubt, were mostly of an age. We were probably infinitely respectable, ordinary, Joe Citizen types by day. But here, treated to full-on Under the Boardwalk and Saturday Night at the Movies we were young and excited all over again.

For a start, we all knew all the words to every song – even some of the lesser hits had a major portion of the audience singing along with the four slick Americans in their dress suits entertaining us.

There were short films and slides to remind us of Drifters long ago. Of Ben E King as a Drifter and that amazing voice, of slick dance moves in atmospheric black and white film – a photo album of teenage years that we recognised as our own.

I was with a group of lively older women friends and we fitted right in. We yelled out the words with the rest, using vocal chords more usually raised in chastising grandchildren or calling in the dog.

Here, we were 17 again – with no arthritis or elasticated waistbands in sight again - just loving this different, tuneful music that captured our souls all over again.

We clapped, we waved our arms, some of us stood up and gyrated. No-one cared because everyone was doing the same thing that just came naturally.

We were united in a giant fan club, sitting in a time-machine that whizzed us back over the years to sample favourite memories. Music is the great leveller and the Drifters are polished magicians at providing just what’s wanted.

Forget Covid, Brexit, shortages and politics. this was a chance to let loose for a few hours, away from everything.

The old joke is that nostalgia isn’t what it used to be. But that’s wrong – in truth, it can be just as good as ever.