It all started with a letter. The letter which had been hoped for, longed for, dreaded in case it said 'no', finally arrived.

Surprisingly there was no great flourish of trumpets to herald its arrival, only a trembling hand as it was slit open.

The great sigh of relief which went up simultaneously from several breasts could have easily beaten the trumpets at Jericho's demise and there was a general easing of the tension as the good news contained in the letter was absorbed.

What was causing all this excitement you may well ask? For those of us with a background in the world of the arts and theatre, it will be recognised as the definitive letter - the one that invites you to attend an audition.

There are no guarantees of a part in the show but at least you are going to be able to show off your abilities.

My honorary grand daughter had got over the first hurdle and was invited to see if there might be a place for her in the East Sussex Music Theatre Group's production of The Pied Piper of Hamelin, to be played at the Gardner Arts Centre.

The family all waited with bated breath as she was invited back for more auditions, was guaranteed a place in the chorus and finally made it through to the 'two coughs and a spit' small part group.

If she had won the lead in Gone With The Wind we could not have been more thrilled for her.

Then the hard work began and life got tough and earnest.

Remember this all comes on top of a busy school day, homework, music lessons, all the other exciting things that happen when you are young and have a lot of calls on your time.

This was also the first term at a new school for my grand daughter, so her cup was certainly full to the very top with lots of new experiences.

I was alerted to the date of the show to ensure that it was clearly engraved on my soul in letters of fire.

The show was on for three nights and we all turned out in force for the last night. Mums, dads, uncles, aunts, grandmothers, grandfathers, third cousins of third cousins - you name it, they were there. From first chord to final curtain they were all right behind the young cast. And what a show the young people put on.

Talk about a cast of thousands! The stage was full of townsfolk, with a splendidly costumed Mayor and his councillors, who erupted from the audience full of pomposity and braggadocio. The wonderfully costumed rats were suitably slinky and the singing was energetic. The whole cast looked as though they were really enjoying the experience.

What I found interesting was the way the crowd actually looked as though they were engaged in the action of the play. This is often one of the hardest things to get young amateur companies to do. They so often simply do their bit and then gaze around and don't seem interested in what is going on around them until their next few bars come along.

The piano was played absolutely splendidly by Nicola Brazier and the whole thing was admirably held together by the conductor, Val Davies. The theatre director, Carolyn Savidge, should be very proud of the work she and her team are doing in introducing young people to the joys of the theatre. It is unlikely that any of these young folk will go on to become actors and actresses, but the self-confidence and personal awareness engendered by such experiences can only stand them in good stead in life. Their tutors, Ian Fry, Sheila Hull and Judith Appleyard must have enjoyed helping them to spread their wings and fly.

Now we have to wait for the next envelope to arrive.