And then someone returned from the kitchen, to say there was a rumour that shots had been fired outside parliament. So, everyone was on Google, of course, to find out what happened. As the rumours clarified, we could hear sirens pass outside - we're not very far from Westminster, here. But London is like a sponge, absorbing whatever happens to it - it barely affected us, other than those sirens, and a helicopter buzzing low, around and around over the city centre all evening.
The evening sky was absolutely beautiful, pink from the setting sun mixing with the blue. And to think some people were just going about their business on what turned out to be the last day of their lives. London will go on - it always does. And it will be stronger, after this. But I'm so sorry for the unlucky people who were just in the wrong place, at the wrong time, when a maniac decided to take out his bad humour on them.
Anyway, I was off to join the London European Club (LEC) at a concert by 2Cellos. Hadn't heard them before, but I figured this would be good.. and I could walk to the London Palladium: probably handy, after what had happened earlier. Not, perhaps, a day to be on public transport. Had some panic, looking for the booking confirmation in my email inbox - it turned out that I should have been looking for "2Cellos", rather than "2 Cellos". En route to the theatre, I passed an American-sounding reporter, doing a piece to camera. "Major incident", was all I heard..
Google said a zig-zaggy route through Soho would be the quickest, so that's the way I went. Got to the theatre about 7:10 - the show was to start at 7:30, and the multiple queues outside were taking up half the road. There were multiple doors, you see. I picked one that seemed to have a sign for the box office overhead - yes, he said, it's in here to the left. I picked up my ticket, then headed for the downstairs stalls bar, where the organiser had said she'd be. Bought an overpriced wine (£9 for the pinot, honestly..) I couldn't see any groups that looked like them, so texted her - well jeez, if I hadn't just passed her!
I was the only other one who made it to the bar - I felt sorry for her, having been there so long on her own! Anyway, we stayed and finished our drinks - we were directly across from the merchandising stand, but I wasn't tempted - and then made our way upstairs. I was pleasantly surprised to find it was less of a climb than I'd anticipated - and there was a quick way into my seat, without having to navigate lots of stairs in the auditorium. Not only that, but I needn't have worried about the famed steepness of the steps - I was delighted to see that they do the same as the Opera House, with mini-railings everywhere.
Good job I'd heard a barman mention that there'd be a support act, and the timings. Can't say I was enamoured of the support - he was a decent singer and pianist, I just didn't take to the material. Decent view of the stage, from my side seat, mind..
After his act, I knew there'd be a 25-minute interval, so took myself for a wander - alone; if the others in the group did as well, I didn't hear about it. On the way back, I treated myself to a champagne popsicle - sorry I did! It was a devil to eat, taking ages to melt enough to get out of the carton - and when I did manage it, it tasted of hardly anything. Not recommended.
2Cellos themselves finally came on at 8:20. Not just them, though - they were accompanied by 50-odd of their closest friends, in the form of the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra! The reason for this, it seems, lies in the subject of their latest album; Score has them reprising various tunes from motion pictures. Some of which I knew, some of which I didn't. Now, it was beautiful - but I did wonder at the point of them being there for that section, since the majority of the sound came from the orchestra behind them!
About halfway through, they changed tack - and we had a rock concert for the rest of the night, with the orchestra providing little input. Ah now, THIS explains why they've become so popular - they really demonstrated their skill in this section. The song of the night for me had be Thunderstruck!
With their skeletal cellos, they cut dramatic figures on stage - and I forget the names, but one in particular just absolutely loves the limelight. While his compatriot sat sedately in his chair, this guy - another cello strapped to him with a specially designed harness - literally breakdanced while playing! He was up and down that stage - he put on flashing, red devil horns for Highway to Hell - he was constantly posing for photos from the side. And both were urging us to clap along, to stand. A real rock concert, in fact!
My first rock concert of the year, then - terrific night, which I'd love to repeat sometime. Oh, and I do approve of their new haircuts - much better than some you can see on YouTube. Terrific concert - although the couple in front of me were most irate; seems they had seen them in Italy, where they'd done more than one encore! Ah well, it was nice of them to go out on With or Without You.
There hadn't been an interval during their act, so I hadn't seen the others again. Made my way home - not a long walk. On the way, I passed a club with a flurry of flashbulbs outside - seems someone famous had just arrived. Couldn't see who it was, though.
The helicopters are still there, today. Tonight was another Funzing talk, with London Speaks Sessions, LDN Talks @ Night, and London for a Tenner or Less, on The Science of Hypnosis. And then, wouldn't you know it, Henning from the LEC advertised.. Hypnosis - Altering Consciousness! With Pint of Science. (What is it about today and hypnosis?!) Anyway, I do enjoy events with Henning, and I can cancel Funzing up to 48 hours in advance without penalty. So I did, and booked the other instead. And tomorrow it's back to Ireland for the weekend again.. Not sure what I'm doing next week, as someone in our team at work is visiting from another office, and we might be doing something with her. Watch this space..
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