Oliver would have liked the marriage to take place some weeks earlier but this had not proved possible, mainly because of Josie’s heavy work schedule throughout November and December. London had embraced its newest sensation with all the enthusiasm Oliver had hoped for, and when Josie had been offered a part in the pantomime at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, throughout the last two months of the old year, they had both known it required 100 per cent commitment and had arranged the wedding date accordingly. Josie had enjoyed the last weeks of 1900 more than she would have thought possible. The pantomime smell of gas, oranges, human beings and dust had become as familiar as blinking, along with the great gasps of anticipation from the audience as the Demon King strutted on stage by the illumination of fizzy blue and red limes. The oooh! when she, as the Fairy Queen, entered on the other side in a holy circle of fizzy white lime never failed to thrill her, along with the children’s goggle eyes as the Demon King sang his usual song: Hush, hush, hush!
