The second day of my mini trip commenced around 2am when I awoke, checked the time and decided to watch the Olympics although the swimming event with Rebecca Adlington was not scheduled until after 3 am. This proved to be a good decision although it wrecked havoc on the rest of my day. Because of the early hour I had two coffees, the remaining bath bun and later the two rolls with the rest of the ham. The 800 metre freestyle involves sixteen lengths of the pool and except for the opening few strokes Rebecca was always ahead and destroyed the opposition with several metres of clear water winning by some six seconds and breaking the long standing (some nineteen years) world record by over two seconds. She is the first British female competitor to win two swimming medals and only the second to do since the first occasion in 1908 when a British male swimmer achieved this feat. He future life is assured and given that she is only 19 my impression is that she will want to try and repeat the feat in 2012.I stayed up for a while but then tired I did manage some sleep, waking again early to watch some more of what was to become a major day for British sport. It should have commenced with two more medals in the sailing but the weather becalmed them again voiding one race in which we were in gold position. There were five rowing finals with varying prospects although in some instances the attention was on those who had triumphed over adversity to get into the position, including one who had developed an infection which prevented six weeks of vital training but who nevertheless managed to get into the final or the two women rowers one who was knocked in a hit and run accident and the other developed glandular fever. There were two bronze medals and then the coxless fours where it was a great fight and they came thought to win in the last moments. So two gold medals and someone came to clean my room and I decided to go back to the South bank to see if I could photo the statuesque figures of the previous evenings. At Somerfield I bought two Maple Pecan Plats and a bottle of Highland Spring water £1.61 (202.01) I got some cash on my way to thee station where I knew I could only go London Bridge as stations between there and St Prancas were closed for engineering works. Ticket cost £7 (209.01) for those travellers who were going across London and who needed to break journey, having to travel from London Bridge to St Pancras before continuing the train journey.At London Bridge I started on the left had side of the road to the Bridge and started to go down towards the river when it looked as there was no walkway under the bridge and I encountered another man, of similar years to me who was attempting to do the same. He had hoped to travel on the Jubilee line which was closed and therefore going along the embankment to Waterloo/Charing Cross. We had some difficult in working out the way to get to the riverside after crossing the road and found ourselves at a riverside in where there was a recreation of the ship the Golden Hind and an Inn with a riverside view. We decided on a drink and enjoyed two halves of lager at a riverside table.£2.60 (211.61) For the second day running I had met someone our lives connecting briefly before we went out separate ways.I was surprised at the volume of people around the recreation of Shakespeare's theatre in the round, The Globe. There is also an exhibition area and where on one visit there was free entry to the art market. Although I took my time I was uncomfortable with the heat and managing my bag, two jackets and the camera. On reaching Tate Modern I went to the Gentleman's rested on a bench within the building and then decided to continue with the task in hand, deciding not to visit the latest public access exhibitions, although I was also tempted by the Francis Bacon exhibition. I also resisted the temptation to visit the open market at St Gabriel's Wharf and was even more tempted by the offer of Sea Bream at Tamesa a very popular restaurant on the riverside frontage. St Gabriel's was derelict twenty years ago and the development heralded the extension of the riverside around the Festival Hall along the South Bank building. There are now a dozen eating places in this area some in the two stories of shops at the adjacent new building which is part of the Oxo Tower complex on the river front. There some 50 shops, including art galleries as well as the market. I found myself a bench under trees nearby and eat the Pecan Twists with some water. There was then disappointment because along the river bank until reaching the National Film Theatre and the Hayward Gallery and the book sellers there was not one of the statuesque figures and street entertainers. I climbed the steps up to the main veranda level outside the Royal Festival Hall when at least was pleased to note that there were the 100 or more tables and riverside overlooking high chairs which had been packed with young people the previous evening. Today there was more of a mixture of visitors enjoying a midday break. It was at this point I decided against continuing under the Charing Cross Bridge along the bank passing the Millennium Wheel and the former London County Council Building where there is a permanent exhibition of the work of the Salvador Dali and where the Saatchi Gallery was also the first major attraction until it suddenly closed. It is due to reopen at a different building. The Duke of York Building in the Kings Road, Chelsea where there is some 700000 square metres of display space and where there are two be several exhibitions including sculpture and photography, contemporary art from USA and Germany as well as the UK and where the exhibitions are going to be free to visit. This is a very exciting development. It was my visit to the Gallery in the Spring of 2003 that was to have such an impact on my life as it has become. There is also a passing thought that the living statues were also in this area. However on Saturday afternoon checking that it was still early afternoon I decided to walk back to London Bridge, taking the train back to East Croydon and the Travel Lodge. Change clothes after a shower and travel in just my suit and an umbrella back to South Kensington for the Royal Albert Hall concert. Reaching the end of the west side embankment close to the station where it was necessary to take side streets behind the river bank I noted that there was a steady column of visitors coming from a road which although going inland appeared at an angle which should lead to the station rather than continue as I had started on what had been an L shaped walk. I thus discovered a new area of interest, and area of the city alive over the weekend with restaurants, street markets and covered market. I returned to my room before 4pm which gave half an hour before setting off for the concert. This time I travelled to Victoria Station where it was possible to reach the Royal Albert Hall by two routes. The quickest was by district and circle line from Victoria to South Kensington station where there is a long and wide underground passage to the Museums for which this area is famed and where I had intended to visit the Albert and Victorian Museum earlier in the day. The other route was to take the Victoria line to Green Park Station and then the Piccadilly line to Knightsbridge near Harrods and other up market shops and then pass the Guards HQ within the boundary of Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens (I never know where one ends and one begins) and continue to the Albert Memorial in the park area opposite the Albert Hall building. At Victoria there was boards and announcements indicating there was chaos on the various lines with one closed at one station because someone was on the line under a train and because of engineering works. There were delays on the circle and district line so I opted for the route to Knightsbridge. I had not been in this area for many years. There was also a one way system in operation just before the Hall. To my left opposite the park there are large terraced villas with private roads running across the fronts and with access at different points on to the main road where normally they would be able to turn left, but where today this was the single lane coming in the opposite direction with those wanting to travel in the closed direction having to use the park perimeter road. I witness one vehicle peak out of an exit road from the villas near me and wait until oncoming traffic had cleared and then dive into the facing on coming traffic and then diving into the next private road, undertaking this manoeuvre three times. I arrived at the Hall just a minute or so before it was open to concert goers at 5.45 although booked diners were able to commence their meal some two hours before the concert performance. I had one of the best seats with an entrance into the auditorium at ground floor although the seats then fall below to the standing arena of the promenaders which was my first experience of this magnificent concert hall some fifty years before when I invested in a half season ticket and went to the majority of the 20 or so concerts, staying in Town after work or using my travel season ticket to go on Saturday's when then as now some of the most popular concerts were arranged.My first thought was for a glass of wine, perhaps a chilled Rose but I turned away from the bar at ground level as only plastic glasses were in use. I therefore reluctantly climbed the stairs to the next floor when glass was used and I enjoyed the rose £4.25? (215.86) overlooking the Pimms 2 bar located in the covered forecourt when coffee was also being served. This brought back memories of my first job for Middlesex County council where I had been invited to the 18th birthday party of a female colleague in another department who I had only known by sight and where on arrival I fount that the only other young people was a couple who also worked at the office and where the parents disappeared for the rest of the evening and night and where I stayed at the house in a guest room. We had drank Pimms number 1 all evening. I do not know which of us had been more shy of the occasion and we did not together subsequently. On arrival in the auditorium after purchasing a programme £2.50 (217.86) I found that one of the seats next to mine was already occupied by an intriguing young woman who had also been affecting by her first visit to a Prom, remembering everything about that evening and where she was now something of an expert about the Proms and serious music. The intriguing part is that during the interval she used a phone to make contact with someone who she had not met before and who, one could not help overhearing was researching in neuro psychology, having studied as a psychologist and had switched to the physical aspects of the brain, an issue which is dividing psychology departments at universities where some are moving to physical and medical side while other remain with the testing and survey research methods. The woman had obtained her degree in philosophy at Newcastle where one of the teachers had been Mike Brierley the English cricket captain. I have never tire from being in awe at the magnificence of this building with its tiers of boxes above which there is the roof balcony also used for promenaders either to look over the railings or sit on the floor and look through the supporting posts. One does not get a full view of the great organ because of the sound controlling canopy above the orchestra stage.Now to the work which I had remembered was by Handel on my way to the all although earlier in the day my mind had gone blank when asked this by the gentleman acquaintance encountered during midday, He had met his wife of close on 65 years at a Prom in 1948. The work was Belshazzar composed in 1745 and performed by the Age of Enlightenment Orchestra and Choir. This is an unusual and highly regarded orchestra, not must because it uses only instrument contemporary for the period of the work but because it is self governing so that one of four violinists share the role of leader and where the conductor is selected for each concert. Among the conductors closely associated with the development of the Orchestra since its formation in the mid 1980's is Sir Simon Rattle ands where the Conduct for the evening was its most distinguished Emeritus conductors, Sir Charles Mackerras aged 82 years. The Choir is made up of professional musicians. It is fortunate that the programme provided the full text of work written in 1700-1703 by Charles Jennens, in verse and with some beautiful and moving passages. The chorus components are a minor part of this long piece with the performance commencing at 6.30 and continuing until 10 with only one interval after the first act. There is also one duet and the soloist only perform together at the same time at the end. You have to like the Recitative of which there are 24 with 18 arias. The singer was superb as my neighbour commented but it is a long work and after all my exertions I had to make great effort early not to fall asleep. From my viewpoint the star of the soloists was Bejun Mehta from North Carolina, the counter tenor who ahd great emotion in his voice and most expressive performance. Afterwards I made my way back to South Kensington and Victoria where I needed some food and bought a filled half baguette which I devoured finding a seat nearby £3.50 (220.86). I arrived back before 11pm and went straight to bed and to sleep after checking the internet for information on the Olympics where the tally for the day was four gold and others, and I also checked the emails.
No comments:
Post a Comment