Lift up your heads...

27 November 2011

There are many more shades of blue than there are of red..

We could actually see blue skies! So we figured that we would do the outdoor stuff while the weather seems to be playing along. It was with somewhat exhausted excitement that we set off in search of art, culture, royalism, or anything else that grabbed our interest.

From Trafalgar Square we made our way towards Buckingham Palace with the hope of seeing some guardlike stuff. We ended up spending a lot of time in St James' Park, drinking coffee, looking at all the people, squirrels, birds, ducks.... What a peaceful place to be spending time. The vibrant hustle and bustle of the big city seems non-existant.

There should really be some "be here now to see xxx" boards, we thought. You see all the people fanatically hanging about, hoping to see some form of royal anything, but you are not quite sure what, where or when. We were rather amused by the bobbies on bicycles parading up and down to prevent people from crossing the road at inappropriate times. We did at least see some guards marching past, and were impressed with the marching band playing the theme from Star Wars. I cannot help but wonder which member of the royal family best resembles Darth Vader...

By the time we walked past Westminster Abbey to the Houses of Parliament, we felt a bit touristed out, so decided to head for the Camden Market. Oh boy, was this a big mistake! Not the market, but taking Frances there! She loved it. They all loved it. I think any young person that comes to London, that does not go to Camden Market, misses a big part of the character of London.

And then, it was time for my big evening. Handel's Messiah in the Royal Albert Hall. For months I practised singing each of the choral movements. Let me explain. The Really Big Chorus is a charity organisation that arranges big concerts with mass choirs. So you buy your ticket for the concert as one of the singers, learn your part, and then simply pitch up and sing along. No rehearsals before the time. Just pitch up and sing. Wear red if you are an alto, blue if you are a soprano, and off you go. I have no words to describe the experience. A 50 piece orchestra, an organ, and 3800 singers singing the Hallelujah chorus? Oh WOW! And I was one of those singers! Oh WOW!