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smallhobbitNot knowing what to buy SM for his birthday, I suggested I take him to London for the weekend, which is where we have just been. The weather was wonderful - we left in the cold and miserable and decided when we were there that we didn't need all the clothing we'd brought. There was sunshine, it was warm, my glasses went very dark.
Friday evening we went to a concert at St Martin's in the Fields. It was the Fauré Requiem, amongst other pieces. Not really my sort of thing, but it was SM's birthday and he likes choral stuff. Anyway the Belmont Ensemble of London were very good and the two instrumental pieces (a Mozart symphany and Fauré's Pavane) were the pieces I enjoyed most. I wasn't particularly grabbed by the London Chamber Choir, so let my mind wander at will. Various plot points were considered and discarded, although I did allow my mind to dwell on Inspector Stanley Hopkins (as played by Richard Armitage) for a while without plot.
Saturday we took the Thames Clipper to Greenwich and visited the Cutty Sark. I hadn't appreciated that a lot of the Cutty Sark's trade was the wool trade with Australia, thinking that it was just a tea clipper, whereas SM knew about the wool trade, but had no idea that the ship began her life carrying tea. What amazed both of us was how few were needed to sail the ship: 31 when sailing to China, less when sailing to Australia.
Saturday evening we saw Urinetown: The Musical, which I raved about in yesterday's post. And then Sunday morning we went to Sung Matins at the Chapel Royal at the Tower of London. The singing, which included an anthem by Elgar, was again excellent.
It was an excellent weekend, one that felt like we'd been away for much longer.
Friday evening we went to a concert at St Martin's in the Fields. It was the Fauré Requiem, amongst other pieces. Not really my sort of thing, but it was SM's birthday and he likes choral stuff. Anyway the Belmont Ensemble of London were very good and the two instrumental pieces (a Mozart symphany and Fauré's Pavane) were the pieces I enjoyed most. I wasn't particularly grabbed by the London Chamber Choir, so let my mind wander at will. Various plot points were considered and discarded, although I did allow my mind to dwell on Inspector Stanley Hopkins (as played by Richard Armitage) for a while without plot.
Saturday we took the Thames Clipper to Greenwich and visited the Cutty Sark. I hadn't appreciated that a lot of the Cutty Sark's trade was the wool trade with Australia, thinking that it was just a tea clipper, whereas SM knew about the wool trade, but had no idea that the ship began her life carrying tea. What amazed both of us was how few were needed to sail the ship: 31 when sailing to China, less when sailing to Australia.
Saturday evening we saw Urinetown: The Musical, which I raved about in yesterday's post. And then Sunday morning we went to Sung Matins at the Chapel Royal at the Tower of London. The singing, which included an anthem by Elgar, was again excellent.
It was an excellent weekend, one that felt like we'd been away for much longer.
