P stands for Pantomime.

When I was in my teens I  auditioned for a

 

role in Pantomime at our local community centre. This was the beginning of many years of 'treading the boards'. The first Pantomime I was in was Robinson Crusoe, where I was in the chorus line, playing the part of a villager then a 'hula girl' on a  tropical island.

 The following year A Star was born...... I was taken from the chorus line and given the leading role of Jack, in Jack and the Beanstalk.

 

It is customary in British Pantomime to have role reversal, of leading roles: Therefore, the Pantomime dame traditionally would be played by a man and the leading male part would be played by a female....Don't ask..... It's just an old British tradition!

 Also it is customary to have a Pantomime cow or horse.

 In Jack and the Beanstalk we had a cow called Daisy, not a real cow mind but one made of fabric with two men operating it. One would operate the back end legs (Dave) and the other. the front legs and head etc.(Tom).

 Now then, Dave was rather fond of a drink or two and on the last night of the Pantomime, he called in to the village Pub for a drink. "To steady my nerves", he would say! When he eventually arrived on stage as the rear end of Daisy the cow, it was apparent he had more than one drink and he weaved all over the stage in a state of inebriation. To say he was legless was an understatement.

 Eventually he found his feet and managed to dance in time, until the end of  the routine, then he stepped backwards over the footlights and ended up dangling over the drummer, who was seated directly below the stage.

The audience went wild with applause and gales of laughter, thinking it was part of the act. Tom at the front end of Daisy, unceremoniously hauled him back on stage, he was absolutely furious with him. Dave, now encouraged by the rapturous applause attempted to repeat the performance, only to be thwarted by Tom who gave him a sharp kick in the shins, sending him howling to the floor, ending up in a heap of cow on the hapless drummer below.

 Fortunately nobody was seriously injured and the show carried on. I've heard of the cow jumping over the moon but not over a set of drums.

My thanks to Denise a Paragon of Perfection and to the perpetually patient Roger for his hard work in the administration of ABCW.

Also not forgetting the team of helpers for their participation each week by visiting other sites and commenting too !