Take a hat: London

Showing posts with label London. Show all posts

27.10.13

London - Royal Albert Hall - Carmina Burana - a view from the Chorus

A seat with the choir - 26th October 2013

In the cheap seats again

Royal Albert Hall in October

TW likes to make sure we have the occasional dose of Culture, bit like the winter flu jab. Where better to go than the iconic Royal Albert Hall. It is only an hour in the car, parking is easy and it is a keenly priced £18 for a comfy seat. Very reasonable when you have a top Orchestra, The Royal Philharmonic, and 500 singers to entertain you for the evening. I felt a bit under-dressed when we arrived as the seats next to us were occupied by elegant Ladies in posh frocks. When TW pointed out they were the choir and were the hired help for the evening I felt a lot more comfortable. Sitting alongside the choir is actually not too bad, have just to remember not to stand up when they do. Hearing them sing is also not a problem.

Take your seats

The programme contained familiar tunes. The warm up was the William Tell Overture. He was a Swiss chap he used to sit an Apple on his son's head and shoot at it with a cross-bow. Not sure that it was responsible parenting. When I hear the music it conjures up a clear image of the son hoofing it through the Alps pursued by a demented bowman. The Conductor definitely got into the spirit of things and was very red-faced by the end of the chase. Next up was a Violin Concerto by Bruch with a tall soloist in need of a hair cut. Beautifully played but could not quite understand why he was given a bunch of flowers at the end? Nobody else got one.
The main event of the evening was Carmina Burana by Carl Orff and this is where the massive choir came into play. One section was the Southend Boys Choir, they were sitting at the front so their teachers could keep an evil eye on them. One of the proud Dad's was sitting next to us. The Essex boys did well, as did our neighbouring ladies. The Tenor behaved bizarrely, they made him stand by the Organ and when he finished he fell over and hid. I thought he sounded OK but he was obviously embarrassed. The Irish Soprano was very good but she did not get any flowers, not sure why? Like to think the long-haired lanky violinist gave her his bunch.
The music is very familiar but the words are a bit obscure. Some lines are Latin, others are German. Not sure why Herr Orff changed language part way through. He probably had a difficult childhood, can imagine what his nickname would be in English! TW printed out the words with a translation into English for me to read as the performance progressed. Have to say I wish she hadn't. It was all a bit racy and probably should be rated as PG and totally unsuitable for the Primary School lads from Southend. A lot of Virgins were 'seized by desire' from my reading of it. I also found it a wee bit disrespectful to Her Majesty. One line read:

Were all the world mine
From the sea to the Rhine
I would starve myself of it
so that the Queen of England
might lie in my Arms

Not sure she would be amused and would probably tell him to 'Buzzer' Orff. What is more worrying is that her own Royal Orchestra was playing it in her own Royal Hall. Put small Apples on their heads I say!

4.9.13

London - Proms 2013 - John Wilson Orchestra

Hollywood Rhapsody Prom

View from the Choir Seats

We do not get along to the Proms very often. A concert that we think is unmissable is given each year by the John Wilson Orchestra. Typically they play Broadway hits or Film Classics. The Orchestra is hand-picked, massive and very highly skilled. It's a combination of a Symphony Orchestra and a Big Band and emulates the Hollywood Orchestras from the Golden Age. We counted over 100 musicians.

We were in the Cheap Seats right behind the Orchestra and just alongside the mammoth Organ. The seats are normally occupied by the choir. In fact at one point John Wilson, conducting, gestured for a soloist to stand and take a bow and TW stood up! My favourite of the evening was the Tom and Jerry theme. It was fast and furious and the percussionists when berserk! They smashed plates, popped bubble wrap and did unspeakable thinks with a sink full of water? The Psycho theme, played just by the string section, was very evocative - TW is now locking the Shower Room door.

Royal Albert Hall Panorama

Over Henry Wood's shoulder

Could not convince TW to play a few notes

By the way, spotted this Zebra in Kensington! We drove in early and had a wander around the Natural History Museum. Free entertainment with lots of interest.

Zebra in Kensington

7.8.13

Biking in London - The Prudential Ride London 2013

Tour de Londres - Freecycle in London - August 3rd 2013

Heading away from Westminster

We parked in Battersea and pedalled in to Westminster to join the other 50,000 or so cyclists taking advantage of the closed roads. From Westminster we headed up to Buckingham Palace then down The Mall to Trafalgar Square. Then it was down to the Embankment and a ride to St. Pauls. We ate a picnic on the steps of St. Pauls and fed the pigeons, not deliberately, they hoovered up the crumbs. Feed the birds tuppence a crumb came to mind as it was a Starbucks treat. We were going to have a wander around the Cathedral but entry is £16. You can go into a side chapel for free to pray or perhaps get someone to hear your confession. TW thought about confessing but I told her we did not have sufficient time, I have no lights on my bike and did not want to be there all weekend. We sneaked out and pedalled off in the sunshine. Have to say the City looked very smart and clean. At 4 pm we had to get clear of the roads as racing started. Bit of an exhibition on in Green Park, TW tried out some electric bikes and we had our bikes security marked by the Met Police. They also had a couple of HGV's parked up and you could climb in and get the driver's view of the little old cyclist. Better stay clear of them I reckon! Too many blind spots.

Congestion on the Mall

TW - Sur le Route

Cycle and Horse Guards

Under Admiralty Arch

London Eyeful

2.8.13

UK in Summer - by Royal Appointment at Buckingham Palace

Coronation Festival - July 12th 2013

English Rose in an inner City Garden

Another sunny day in July and it was off to the Palace for us. The Coronation Festival was a very upmarket Ideal Home Exhibition put on by the Royal Warrant Holders in the Buckingham Palace Gardens. At 30 quid a ticket it needed to be pretty good and in fact it was! TW practised here curtsey just in case HMQE was out dead-heading her Roses but unfortunately she had been there the day before. My favourite was the Bentley display, mines a Mulsanne! TW liked the frocks made from the HMQE's favourites. One was made from Twinings Tea bags and umbrella material and another had £50k's worth of stamps covering the model's embarrassment. The catwalk stage was a brilliant design under a canopy of trees. The National Youth Ballet put on a slice of Alice in Wonderland for us which was pretty clever but the Rabbit was frightening.