Classical Spectacular

Picture a classical music orchestra. Now picture it with a military band playing behind them and a choir playing further behind. Add an enthusiastic showman conductor. That all sounds pretty normal.

Add in a harp, baby grand piano and a giant organ at the back. Plus two opera singers, a pianist and a ballet dancer. Okay, starting to get a little crazy, but still within the classical realm.

Now add a laser light show, soldiers firing muskets and cannons, indoor fireworks, and falling balloons and streamers. Sounds cheesy right?

Now picture all this in the magnificent Royal Albert Hall. Talk about a contrast! Yet somehow it all makes for an over-the-top, thoroughly entertaining evening. All with the popular classical pieces, you know, the ones we all heard with Bugs Bunny as we were growing up.

The music sounded amazing and the venue was packed. This would be a great way to introduce children to classical music.

But not only was it a good classical concert, but it was also a surprising cultural experience. During the song Pomp and Circumstance, everyone in the audience got out their paper British flags and started waving them in time with the music. Then when the choir started singing, the audience sang along as well! (Keep in mind, these are Brits who are normally very reserved.)


The conductor getting the audience to sing along.



Projections of British flags flying all around the hall!

Even the choir is waving their flags!

Later on in the concert, they played another flag-waving song - Rule Britannia, which is a very colonialist song.
"Rule Britannia! Britannia rule the waves.
Britons never never never will be slaves!"
The opera singers sang along dressed in British flag capes. And who said the Brits don't like to show their patriotism like the Americans.

At the end of the concert, red, white and blue balloons dropped from the ceiling. It was like being in an American political convention!

A charming weekend in Edinburgh

Edinburgh Castle grounds

I went for a short weekend business trip to Edinburgh and I am really glad I did! Even if the business trip did involve public speaking, which always makes me nervous.

Facing away from Edinburgh Castle. Scotch Whiskey Heritage Centre is down the road in front and to the left. Down and to the right is an interesting illusions museum, that has a cool Victorian(?) age telescope that projects the surroundings onto a screen.

The New Town and Old Town of Edinburgh have together been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. There are charming stone buildings everywhere and the Castle overlooks the city. The whole place had a very relaxed feel, since it was the non-touristy season. It was a great place to just walk around and soak in the atmosphere. I definitely want to go back to do more sightseeing.

Bagpiper playing outside the tiny chapel in the Edinburgh Castle grounds because a wedding was about to take place. The chapel only fits about 10 people squished in.

I think the highlight of the trip was lunch at the Whisky Heritage Centre, if you can believe that! The waiter (lovely thick Scottish accent with rolling r's!) recommended a whisky to go with my main course and another for my dessert. I had to cut it with some water because I'm not used to such potent drinks, but it really brought out the flavour of the food, just like wine would. That was the first time I have ever finished a whole glass of whisky! Normally I just stop at the first sip when I start choking and coughing.

Recommendations

How to get there:

I travelled by train from London. Took about 5 hours each way. About £90 return. Cheaper and almost faster than flying once you factor in travelling to and from the airport on both sides.

31a Nelson St. B&B:

Tastefully decorated B&B room with a separate entrance. Very private and quiet with ensuite washroom with shower. The hosts were very kind and approachable and they have adorable children (one who plays the bagpipes and the youngest helps bring the breakfast in order to earn his pocket money!). They gave us the choice of porridge (oatmeal), muesli or fresh fruit, along with toast and croissants with yummy jam, tea or coffee. In a lovely neighbourhood, all with old stone buildings. Can be a bit chilly at night, but the bed is very comfy with a warm comforter. Is below street level but does get a some daylight through the windows on one side. Can walk to downtown (Princes St, Royal Mile, etc) in about 10 mins. We'd definitely stay here again. We were there in low season, so it cost us £75 for the room per night.

The steps down lead to the front door of the owners. The B&B entrance is further back and on the same level.

Amber Restaurant (part of the Scotch Whiskey Heritage Centre):

Excellent for lunch and reasonably priced, but much more expensive for dinner. Waiter very knowledgeable about whiskey and recommended some delicious whiskeys to compliment the food meals. Whiskey glasses also well-priced. Food was delicious. A fun way to try whiskey, even if you are not a whiskey connoiseur. Main courses for lunch were about £9. Was about £34 for two for two main courses with whiskey, as well as two desserts with a shared whiskey.

Whiskey recommendations:

• Tried Old Pulteney, 12 yr old and 17 yr old, with our dishes - one was mussels in green onion cream sauce and the other salmon in cream sauce (salmon was SO good!).
  
• Had Ardbeg with the Scottish cheese platter. Had a very smoky taste which brought out the taste of the cheeses.

Iris Restaurant

Excellent fine dining. We had a 3-course meal with a bottle of wine for only about £64 for two.

Urban Angel Café

Yummy fairtrade organic café. Had a lovely light lunch there.

Chocolate Soup

2 Hunter Sq, EH1 1QW

Delicious hot chocolate here - they have all different kinds with a generous helping of whipped cream on top. I had a chai hot chocolate and it was SO good!! Reputation as the best hot chocolate shop in Edinburgh.

Let it snow! Let it snow! Let it snow!

Finally! Some proper snow fell in London - 15cm overnight and then more throughout the day on Monday, resulting in the whole city being shut down since they're not used to it. The buses were all cancelled, most of the trains and tube lines suspended, and the runways at the airports were closed! Most of my colleagues couldn't make it into work and the ones that did (including me) were let out early at 2pm to avoid the impending "blizzard".

Yay snow days! I took the opportunity to throw snowballs and go catch an early film. And I took these pictures of the gorgeous scenery on my way to work.

You can see the Punch Bowl in the background which is Madonna's favourite pub and she just bought it last year. I heard that prices have gone way up since then. I hear she lives in the neighbourhood, but I don't know where.

This is a peaceful park near my house. There are tons of these benches in it, all with plaques dedicated to various people who loved this park.

The Canadian High Commission in Grosvenor Square.

The American Embassy on the other side of Grosvenor Square. Yes, it's a monstrosity in the UK, just like in Ottawa. They've taken over one side of the square such that the traffic is more of a 'U' now.

A snowman made by a local hotel, complete with hotel umbrella, shopping bag and slippers.

Mandy Patinkin!!!

 

Wow, what luck! I found out just last week that Mandy Patinkin was going to be in London for just 8 shows, for the first time in 13 years, and I actually got tickets! Not just any old tickets, but front row centre! It was so close that I had to slouch down in my chair so I wouldn't strain my neck, but I was riveted the whole time.

I dragged my friend Mina to go see it with me. I was worried she'd be bored since she isn't really a showtunes kind of person, but she really enjoyed herself. I already knew he was an amazing singer, but he's also really entertaining and funny too! It was much more than him just standing there singing. He told interesting anecdotes, made jokes, acted through some of his songs, even pretending to be Charlie Chaplin at one point. I had a really good time. If he comes back to London during my posting, I'll definitely go again.

 

Back when I first discovered Mandy Patinkin, I looked into his tour schedule and the closest venue was in Schenectady, NY. There was just no hope of me seeing him in concert. And now that I'd forgotten all about his concerts, he shows up in London and I somehow find out about it. What a fluke!

 

I got my Oscar & Steve CD autographed, plus this great photo.

Remembrance Ceremony with the Queen

The High Commission hosted a Remembrance Day ceremony launching Vigil 1914-1918 outside Canada House in Trafalgar Square. Vigil 1914-1918 is being launched in locations all across Canada, plus in London, England. Staff were all invited to stand inside the secure area where the High Commissioner came in with the Queen. This is the best view I've had so far of the Queen. The first time was at the Queen's birthday celebration, the Trooping of the Colour. And the second time was at the Garden Party at Buckingham Palace.

At the end of the ceremony, the Queen and Prince Phillip walked right in front of us. I heard Prince Phillip joke with the people next to us saying, "I didn't see you (at the reception) inside. Did they invite you or did you just wander in?" And my colleague later told me that he asked her if we were all getting paid overtime for this!

In this photo, you can see the Queen's husband, Prince Phillip behind her. The Canadian High Commissioner, Jim Wright's face is just showing in the corner next to his.

32 Countries!

My mom just asked me how many countries I've been to. I just did the tally by updating my world map below and it's 32! It'll be 34 by the end of the year! My mom's in the 40s though so I don't know if I'll ever be able to catch up to her.


visited 32 states (14.2%)
Create your own visited map of The World

The Queen

I got my hands on this picture of the Queen at the Garden Party I went to. Don't you just love her colourful outfit?

Tea with the Queen...

... and hundreds of other people.

The Canadian High Commission is allotted tickets to the Queen's Garden Parties every year and they give them away by lottery. Any Canadian citizen can apply and then bring a (not necessarily Canadian) guest.

Unfortunately, cameras are not allowed inside, so we had to take this one picture, drop the camera back off at my place, then go into Buckingham Palace. We got to go in through the front entrance and walk through the palace to get to the "backyard" (there must be a more posh name for that). It's funny, because we visited Buckingham Palace as a tourist on one of my first weekends in London. I remember the audio guide talking about how that's the entrance that diplomats and others use to enter the Garden Parties.

Inside the palace grounds, there were lots of people already lined up forming a human hallway for the Queen to walk through to the Royal Tea Tent. Some people had been picked out of the crowd to stand in the "hallway" for the Queen to talk to on the way. It must have taken her about an hour to get through to her tent, and the ominous rainclouds were threatening the whole way but she was prepared with a white umbrella with black trim! (It didn't rain luckily.)

She was dressed in a beautiful light purple suit and matching hat with turquoise trim. Her outfits are always so cheerful, yet classy! Her husband was also there along with Prince Andrew and some members of the Royal Family that I didn't recognise.

Tea was served in the regular tents for us commoners. (There was also a diplomat tent - maybe I'll get to go there next year!) The Queen has a special brew for the Garden Parties, and it was quite good. There were finger sandwiches with the crusts cut off, mini scones with clotted cream and jam, and lots of different mini-desserts. I went back for seconds and thirds of the scones (clotted cream is SO good).

We walked around the big grounds. It's so strange that this palatial oasis is surrounded by city traffic. There was a rose garden, a huge vase statue thing, a garden house to sit in with a croquet set, a tennis court and a small island closed off to us. Maybe the island contains the Queen's secret underground escape hatch!

It was a fun experience - getting so dressed up, seeing the women in their coordinated outfits and the men in top hats, coat and tails, eating delicious tea and treats, and seeing the Queen. If you know you'll be visiting London around this time of the year and you are Canadian, I highly recommend applying for tickets!

A close-up of the last pic so you can see my hat! Hats were mandatory for the women. I splurged and bought one for £35.

Country Walk #4: Gomshall

Sorry, no post about Country Walk #3 because my camera was broken.

It was sunny, warm and the ground was actually dry for this walk (yay! no slippery English mud!).

These shrink-wrapped haystacks look like alien offspring pods.


These country walks are on public footpaths that go right through people's property. We regularly have to go through kissing gates (I'll have to take a pic of that next time) and climb over fences to follow the path, though it's not always obvious where the "path" is! Can you see the little wooden plank that comes out perpendicularly to this fence (under the two horizontal pieces of wood)? That's a step that's used to climb over the fence.

I was scared to go so close to the horses (don't laugh - I'm allergic! ...and maybe slightly paranoid), but I made it through.


I guess they don't look too menacing. I'm just glad they didn't lick me.

We passed through a small town on our walk with this cute British phone booth sort of in the middle of nowhere.

Where's Sam?

Very kitsch, but fun anyway.

Bangs are a big step for me

I finally decided to go for it and get bangs (or a fringe as they call it here) for the first time in over 10 years. I've never liked bangs before, but I LOVE this haircut! Definitely my favourite haircut ever!

If you're ever in London and you have asian hair, you MUST go to this Japanese salon, Moga. My hairdresser was a senior stylist named Yuki and she was great! She suggested the hairstyle after I gave her really basic parameters (need to look professional, but not old, plus I'm hopeless at blowdrying).

It was, of course, expensive (£41), but everything's expensive in Central London. That's the most I've ever paid for a haircut but I sort of saved up after not getting my hair cut for 7 months. Well worth it.