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After they ran through the routine, with only a couple of mistakes which I didn’t actually notice, they sat on the stage to talk to us.

‘We’ve got the parents all buying tickets as soon as they’re available,’ Nicky said.

‘You know, we might need to do more than one show, I mean more than one paying show. We’re doing the dress rehearsal for the people from the shelter to come and see,’ Claire said. ‘But if we have enough ticket sales we could maybe do two nights?’

‘We’ll definitely sell enough tickets for two nights,’ Aleksy said, confidently. ‘What if we do Friday and Saturday night?’

‘We could do a third on the Saturday afternoon, I mean it will be a bit tiring but that’s what they do in the theatre,’ Franceska, who was helping with stage management, suggested.

‘Yes, and younger children would maybe come to the earlier show, that’s a good idea,’ Connie said.

‘So now we have to sell out three shows?’ Nicky said.

‘Yup, and we will somehow do it,’ Connie said. She sounded full of determination. We had quickly gone from a one-off show to three shows. Could we do it? Of course we could.

‘And what a great opening to the show this is going to be,’ Claire said. ‘You guys are amazing so, if you’re happy to do three shows?’

‘It’s really good experience for us,’ Nicky said. ‘We might go on a TV talent show next year.’

‘Well you are definitely good enough,’ Claire said kindly.

‘You see,’ George hissed. ‘If we tried harder – and by we, I mean you, Snowball, and Hana – we could maybe be on a TV talent show. Although, thinking about it, maybe I would be better as a solo act.’

I raised my whiskers but kept quiet.

‘Before you leave, we want the people in the show to visit the shelter at some point, so we all understand what we are raising money for. I know most of you are quite young and it’s quite hard to see, but would you be willing to?’

‘Hey, how about the crew take a shift helping serve food one weekend? We could then document it on our social media as well as the show’s,’ Nicky said. The dancers all chorused their agreement.

‘Brilliant, we’ll get a date in,’ Claire said, making another note in the big notebook that she carried around for all things show related.

After rehearsal, Claire went home and switched with Polly, while Tomasz, Franceska, and Matt discussed the sets. Franceska had said she would rather not be in the show but she was doing lots of different things and she was also sort of job sharing with Claire when she couldn’t be there. It was doing her good, because she was so worried about Tommy that this seemed to be making her a little more relaxed, which made me happy, because I did hate to see anyone – but especially Franceska, who was the kindest person ever – upset.

There was an awful lot to do. They were making a forest of decorated Christmas trees, which the dancers would emerge from in the first song, that would stay there until the Nativity scene. Then there would be a big shed-like shelter, which had to be made out of light wood so it could be easily transported on stage. For the Santa scene at the end, there would be a living room with a fully decorated six-foot tree, presents around it, and an armchair. It all sounded ambitious to me but as they all chatted through it, they seemed to think they would be able to do it. Polly and Franceska wrote down estimated costs as they had to run them by Jonathan, who continued to rule the budgets with an iron fist.

‘The idea is to make money for the shelter, not spend it,’ was Jonathan’s new favourite catch phrase.

Claire tried to point out that spending money on the show would mean we made more money, but Jonathan wasn’t too keen on that logic.

Most of the materials– the trees etc. – had been donated, so the costs were pretty low. It was all going so well, and I was feeling very optimistic. Excited, too. I really couldn’t wait for this show. Even being a sheep was something I looked forward to now. Because being in the hall, seeing the first act rehearse and also everyone discussing sets, it felt real. More and more real by the minute.

But although it felt as if we were obsessed by the show, normal life still went on– we still had lots to do outside of it. It was Sunday and time for our Sunday Lunch Club. Jonathan went to pick Doris and Clive up while Claire cooked a really lovely roast dinner. The children, although only Summer and Toby, were planning on doing their Rudolph song for them, and George was annoyed because again he had been roped in to play Rudolph in place of Pickles. I thought I had escaped and could just spend a quiet day watching and resting, but no, because Doris had kept her promise and brought me my ‘cat bonnet’. It was bright green – to match my eyes, she said.

‘Doesn’t she look gorgeous?’ Doris said.

‘Meow?’ She?

‘Alfie’s a boy, Doris,’ Claire said quickly before Jonathan could make an inappropriate joke.

‘Oh, I know, but he’s so pretty, I shall call him a she.’