3 days ago
'I went to a Mamma Mia party at Bluewater and unleashed my inner dancing queen'
Forget Greece - it turns out you only need a trip to Dartford to unleash your inner dancing queen.
Nearly two decades after Mamma Mia! The Movie was released, the rom-com musical still has a hold over pretty much every woman I know.
It was fitting, then, that I took three generations of women in my family to a Mamma Mia Party at Showcase Cinema de Lux Bluewater - and we all had an absolute blast.
DJ Jude and performer Tony Deluxe (Image: Showcase Cinema de Lux Bluewater)
Stepping out of the lift and into the VIP Gallery Bar was like entering the disco-world of ABBA: everywhere I looked was sequins, sparkles and feather boas.
DJ Jude was already getting everyone up and dancing with hits from the film and self-styled "king of disco" Tony Deluxe was bringing enough energy and glitter to rival Donna and the Dynamos.
Bottomless prosecco, pizza and chocolates kept the dancing going (Image: Charlotte Anderson)
To keep the dancing going, there was bottomless prosecco and pizza, as well as boozy chocolates from Hotel Chocolat.
Everyone got the VIP treatment, whether that was regular top-ups from staff or a cool-down fan from Tony Deluxe.
Tony Deluxe brought the energy (Image: Showcase Cinema de Lux Bluewater)
The atmosphere was fantastic and the party even continued into the screen.
Just when we thought there couldn't be any more dancing, the king of disco led us through easy but high-energy routines to a few ABBA songs, building anticipation to the screening.
The dancing continued in the screen (Image: Showcase Cinema de Lux Bluewater)
Singing along to the film was encouraged - everyone knew every word - and although others carried on dancing, I kicked back in the recliner seat to enjoy one of my favourite movies of all time.
This was topped off by the popcorn and Lindt chocolate bar waiting for me when I sat down.
Time to rest my legs after all that dancing (Image: Charlotte Anderson)
It is a film my family and I have seen hundreds of times - but after the Mamma Mia Party at Bluewater it felt like we got to live it.
