Concert: Elgar, Britten & Bach

Another day, another outing with the Man with the Hat; London for Less Than a Tenner was off to another classical concert at St. Martin-in-the-Fields. Another no-brainer, I booked. And not only were the tickets the best value around - no need to check that any more, even - they were ground floor! Cool..

Working from home yesterday, I had all day to make it. So naturally, I ended up rushing. Mind you, what I was rushing for was the cheap option (the ever-convenient #87, the only one to go straight from Clapham Junction to the West End). I got the departure times from Google Maps - and do you know, they were pretty on the money! I scurried off down the road, and got to the bus stop about 60 seconds before the bus did. Result! this was supposed to get to Trafalgar Square at abt 7, perfect for a 7:30 start.

I actually love travelling by bus in London - when I'm not in a desperate hurry, and it isn't raining, so everyone crowds on with wet clothes. You see more on the way - time was, I was usually on the Tube; now I have to find other options. And this is a lovely route, once you cross the river - up Millbank, through Westminster, on to Trafalgar Square. I think it was just after 7 when I hopped off, and strolled around the corner to the church, just up a bit.

The Man with the Hat always takes up a position at the far side of the entrance, at the top of the steps, as you come from the direction of Strand. There he and his hat were, and I collected my ticket and spent some very convivial, if chilly, minutes conversing with others also attending. Heard a fascinating story from one of the attendees, who's Polish, and described how she knew this church from broadcasts of concerts performed there, which she listened to all the way over in Poland. London's influence extends far and wide, eh?

We had assigned seats to the rear of the nave - I don't think the galleries were occupied for this one, but the nave was pretty full. There were some complaints afterwards about the hardness of the seats - generally from people who didn't realise that cushions were available - but actually, as pews go, I find them quite comfortable. I mean, there are footrests, a shelf for your bag, a ledge to prop programmes etc. on.. Let's just say I've sat on worse.

I didn't invest in a programme, of course. I had scanned the poster outside, which informed me that the included composers were Elgar, Tchaikovsky, Bach, Britten, and someone I hadn't heard of. But you know, I was blissfully happy just to listen, unaware of what exactly I was listening to. And it was really lovely. Just before the interval, we had the first specific piece I recognised - Bach's Concerto for Two Violins in D Minor.

There wasn't much point in moving at the interval - it was too cold to venture out, and kind of too far to venture down to the crypt. We did have a latecomer to our group at that point, who decided he'd rather like to know what was coming up - so he popped off and got a programme. Which I sneaked a peek at, as I do - which is how I knew that coming up was a piece called To The Silver Bow, by John Woolrich (a world premiere). Uh-oh, I thought - modern s**t. I like modern music - just not generally modern classical music. It was to be followed by some Britten, which is why I didn't just decamp to the crypt cafe at that point.

Yes. Well. After the interval, they started the new composition. Ahem. Let's just say I wasn't massively surprised. Afterwards, someone in the group described it as a piece that never resolved - which I thought was quite an insightful description. It struck me as something that would've worked well as a film score.. for a 50s thriller, with men chasing each other with guns across a landscape overshadowed by storm clouds. Brr. Thoroughly unpleasant to listen to. Thank heaven for Britten, who ended the show.

Outside, after, sadly it was even colder. So we shivered around for a bit before decamping to the Amba, the rather nice hotel down the road that we've discovered to be both convenient for this venue, and never packed. Last time I was here, I found it a bit confusing - but it's not really. Once inside, there's really only one corridor to follow, and when you come to the massive staircase, you go up it. They had candles along the edge last night, which was nice. And as we climbed, we were met by the Man with the Hat, coming down to fetch us.. I'm guessing the Hat conceals a (very small) jetpack, so he can fly..

We occupied an entire side of the bar, the staff kindly pushing tables together for us. We ordered food & drink - I had the rather good chocolate fondant again, and the cheapest wine that didn't say "floral" in the description - I am rather sick of "floral" wines. I can testify that the Pinot Grigio was quite acceptable. And like the food & wine, the conversation flowed, as usual - much of it centring on the memorable show we'd gone to the night before! with many who hadn't been wishing they had. And when discussion of that was finished, talk turned to what's upcoming with this group. Watch this space - the year's hardly started!

Afterwards, I had a chilly, if brief, wait for my bus home, which was - of course - much faster. Got home quite a bit after my bedtime, given that I'm in Guildford today. And I just had a horrendous morning - let's just say this, the theme song is along the lines of You Could Be Mine. So I didn't have a chance to post until now. Feeling Guns n Roses inappropriate to the theme of this post, I've compromised by listening to some Beethoven..

Tonight and tomorrow, I'm back with LDAM - tonight for The End of Longing, starring - and written by - Matthew Perry, at the Playhouse Theatre. His playwriting debut. I got my ticket through London Box Office. On Thursday, we're headed to The Patriotic Traitor, at Park Theatre. Tom Conti stars as Philippe Pétain, the title character, a good friend of De Gaulle, who nonetheless has him tried for treason as a Nazi collaborator.

On Friday, I've got another cheap ticket to the Circus Show at The Aeronaut - it'll be interesting to see how much the lineup changes from last time! On Saturday, I'm back with the London European Club, for Ballet Flamenco Sara Baras, at Sadler's Wells. Part of their Flamenco Festival. Olé! And on Sunday, I'm finally heading to one of those famous free gigs at the Finsbury - there are actually two Meetup groups heading there, I've signed up with both! - specifically, the World Music Meetup and London Gigs and Alternative Events.. 6 currently going to each, I see, but not the same 6, by the look of it..