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Today was a special day in many respects. Firstly we began counting down from 50 days til showtime. Then we had a visitor from Lithuania, Tomasz Chzpaitis, The Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Uzhupis. Together we all traveled to Stanhope where the shed in Unthank Park began  its metamorphosis to  “Unthank Theatre” at the hands of Joseph and his team. Tomasz blessed the building with a paint brush and the chair of the steering panel, James Percy cut the ribbon with a pair of wire snips. This was  a launch on an industrial scale.

Next we traveled to Weardale Primary School for a reception for Tomasz and a presentation of the project so far including Episode 3 of the Soap Opera,  Pence A Day and a sneak peek at the Battle of Stanhope re-enactment film which the children watched twice. The children had created some Uzhupis flags which delighted Tomasz. They asked some really good questions and Tomasz gave some quite profound answers. In his Lithuanian way they were sometimes funny, sometimes indecipherable but always most entertaining and heartfelt.

Finally we visited Killhope Mining Museum which James Percy had very kindly laid on. The visit was both very interesting and very cold, set against the wintry landscape. This too made an impression upon Tomasz. He has declared he will return for the Community Play and maybe also bring others from the Republic of Uzhupis.

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