It's been a hectic last weekend of freedom, dear reader! Yesterday, John-John, Hils, Crog and I traversed the wilds of the East End of London (to the Excel London exhibition complex) for the Tutankhamun Immersive Experience [more on that later, no doubt], followed by a jaunt across the Thames on the "IFS Cloud" Cable Car to the O2 Millennium Dome for a bit of shopping and lunch in the Wetherspoons located therein, then hiked from Canary Wharf all the way through Limehouse to Wapping along the Thames Path. Our original destination was none other than Serena McKellen's pub The Grapes, but there were no tables free so we ended up at the historic Prospect of Whitby - London's oldest riverside inn - to finish off the day with a few much-needed drinks.
Today, the weather having been beautiful all day, was spent in the garden - my last full day out there until after our trip to Spain next week - doing a last few important potting-on jobs (including hoiking a mature hydrangea into an enormous new pot), while The Madam tackled the much-needed chore of sorting out the neglected, overgrown and tatty patch of clay that laughingly passes for the front garden, which now has several clumps of Geranium × oxonianum "Wargrave Pink" (that was way too rampant to live any longer in a planter) given free rein to do battle with the weeds. It will most likely win the battle.
But it was, of course, the saintly not-yet-a-Dame-for-some-reason Elaine Paige who kicked the weekend off - or at least it was the star-studded concert in her honour, BBC Radio 2 Celebrates Elaine Paige we went to see at the London Palladium on Friday!
Hosted by DJ and presenter Zoe Ball, it promised to be a golden celebration of the great lady's 60 years in showbiz - and her status as a "national treasure" was confirmed by the fact this illustrious and huge theatre was completely sold-out. It certainly was a hell of a tribute!
Among the array of performers were the prime of West End and Broadway talent, including Sharon D. Clarke, Mazz Murray [who was superb!], the very gorgeous Julian Ovenden, Clive Rowe, Charlie Stemp, Summer Strallen, Preeya Kalidas, Samantha Barks and Lucy St. Louis, as well as members of one of Elaine's chosen charities Mountview drama school choir, and each in turn did a great job of presenting highlights from the shows that made Elaine's career - from her early appearances in Hair, Jesus Christ Superstar, Grease and Billy, as well as her triumphs Evita, Cats, Chess, Anything Goes, Piaf, Sunset Boulevard, The King & I, Sweeney Todd, The Drowsy Chaperone and Follies. As ever, the stalwart BBC Concert Orchestra (conducted by Richard Balcombe) and one of the Beeb's go-to choirs Capital Voices did stirling work keeping the whole thing together.
It was a thoroughly enjoyable and classy evening, and our "First Lady of British Musical Theatre" agreed - for there she was in all her diminutive, twinkly glory, in (as is fitting) the Royal Box!
Without further ado, let's let the lady herself provide some suitable "Sunday Music":
Magnificent!
What a show!
ReplyDeleteIt certainly was that!! Jx
DeleteGood heavens, what a blizzard of activity. It sounds very amusing, but also exhausting. Good for you.
ReplyDeleteIt certainly was a rather full weekend - and we have more frenetic activity this week, too. Not just adjusting to being back in work, and making sure all the stuff we need to take on holiday is washed and sorted and in order, but we have two more theatre trips this week - one on Thursday and another on Friday, before we fly off to Spain on Saturday morning! The "social whirl", indeed. Jx
DeleteFabulous show. I enjoyed every second of it.
ReplyDeleteShe was certainly adored and venerated by both her piers and audience alike.
Yes, indeed - as all those video messages from the great and the good (and the walk-on appearances by Tim Rice and Don Black) proved, she is indeed worthy of the nickname "First Lady of British Musical Theatre". Jx
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