Olivia's Winter Wonderland by Lyn Gardner

of sophistication. I don’t think places like Campion’s could compete.”
    â€œCampion’s Palace of Varieties,” said Olivia, rolling the words around her tongue with pleasure. “Ella said that in her grandfather’s day it was a bit like the circus. There were trapeze acts and high-wire walking as well as cancan dancing and even a performing horse. I’m not sure if she meant it was a real horse or not.”
    â€œIt might have been real. In the nineteenth century the old Hippodrome in Leicester Square had novelty acts like polar bears and tigers, andthe Alhambra had real waterfalls on stage. My great-grandfather used to go there at the turn of the twentieth century. The toffs came over in their carriages from the West End. It was considered a bit naughty because you could see the chorus girls’ ankles, which was considered rather shocking in those days.
    â€œTo think Ella Campion’s still alive! How did you meet her, Livy? She’s a living piece of theatre history.”
    Olivia shifted slightly uncomfortably and shot a warning glance at Tom. She wasn’t sure her gran would be pleased to hear that she had been climbing into apparently derelict buildings. She thought maybe it might be better to sidestep the question.
    â€œOh, Tom and I just sort of bumped into her in Hangman’s Alley,” she said as casually as she could.
    Alicia frowned again. “I wish you children wouldn’t hang around there. It’s so bleak and isolated with all those boarded-up old buildings, like a ghost town,” she said. “Still, it’s nice to think that old Ella is alive and well, even if Campion’s has long bitten the dust. It’s a pity the way all that old theatre history andbuildings have been lost, swept away by new flats and office blocks. Such a shame.”
    Olivia was about to interrupt her and explain that Campion’s Palace of Varieties was still there in all its glory, but then remembered she might have to explain about getting into the building in the first place. She decided to wait until they had been back to Campion’s to see Ella a few more times. Then perhaps they could take Alicia round as a surprise. She couldn’t wait to see her grandmother’s face when she saw the perfect theatre and the stage machinery. Ella and Arthur said it was all in complete working order even though it hadn’t been properly used for years.
    Alicia was still talking. “We should invite her to the Swan. She could come to see the pantomime.”
    â€œOK, we will,” said Tom. “I think she might like that. She knows about the Swan. But she doesn’t go out much. She looks as if a gust of wind might blow her away, and she seems to get a bit confused at times.”
    Alicia opened her mouth to ask some more questions so Olivia quickly interrupted with one of her own. “Gran, do we have a ghost-lightin the Swan theatre?”
    Alicia smiled. “Of course, all theatres do. It’s that little bulb in a wire cage stage left. The one that’s always on very low.”
    â€œSo does that mean the Swan theatre has its own ghost?” asked Olivia, wide-eyed.
    Alicia laughed. “Has Ella been filling your head with spooky nonsense? Theatre is such a superstitious business. We haven’t got a resident ghost like so many old theatres claim to have. Some even keep a couple of empty seats at every performance, even the sold-out ones, in case the ghosts put in an appearance and want to see the show. It’s considered bad luck if they turn up unexpectedly and there are no seats for them. It’s the same with the ghost-light. It’s supposed to make the ghosts feel welcome. It’s all superstition of course. The real origin of the ghost-light is so anyone walking on to a dark stage doesn’t blunder into the orchestra pit or trip over the scenery.”
    â€œOh,” said Olivia, disappointed.
    Alicia laughed.