2004-07-30 at 9:28 p.m.

My whole life (or, at least the portion of it that doesn't involve sleeping, the internet, and that time I spent creating a fort out of my lounge cushions and a blanket) seems to revolve around 'Annie' rehersals these days. Seeing as though this means sitting in a draughty hall banging out 'It's a Hard Knock Life' on an electric piano on which the high F doesn't work and both B and C are becoming pretty shonky, my life is not at its most entertaining at present.

The musical director and I have formed an understanding by which we can express our disgust at members of the cast/crew/world at large simply by the tone and duration of our frustrated sighs. Also, the music is so very annoying that it's only a matter of time before I blurt out something unspeakable in front of a room full of nine-year-olds dressed as orphans.

However, I have realised that this musical isn't all sweet and innocent as pie. That's just what they want you to believe. Think about it. For such an apparently benign musical, it contains a surprising amount of child abuse, extortion, theft, police brutality, animal cruelty, prostitution, slave labour, petty crime and fraud.

Or perhaps that's just how we're doing it.