On Days Like These

On Wednesday evening Matt Monro was crooning “on days like these … “ Where was I? No trumpets, no foie gras but I was in heaven. Gentlemen in England now a-bed shall think themselves accurs’d they were not at Opera Holland Park on 1st August which in fact is not St Crispin’s Day (25th October).

London Views

What does London mean to you? A place to live, a place to work, a place to visit? Noisy, polluted, overcrowded? Spacious parks, world-class museums, music, theatre, shopping and restaurants? On Tuesday evening I sought the opinion of two people who, like me, came to live in London.

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Smart Money

I cannot remember if I had an Irish Post Office savings account; I imagine I did. For sure my mother opened a British PO savings account for me on Eton High Street in 1967.

Eat Fish

“It’s brain,” I said: “pure brain! What do you do to get like that Jeeves? I believe you must eat a lot of fish, or something. Do you eat a lot of fish, Jeeves?” “No sir.” (My Man Jeeves, PG Wodehouse)

At the Proms

To the Albert Hall on Thursday evening for my second Prom: the Hallé, conducted by Sir Mark Elder, playing Wagner, Debussy and Stravinsky.

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Medieval Madness

I saw Ariadne auf Naxos again on Wednesday at Holland Park; a very different kettle of fish to Longborough. This time the players were allocated caravans to change in, not dissimilar to the ones given to Gregory Peck and Sophia Loren when they were making Arabesque in Wales.

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Putting on the Heat

What on earth am I supposed to do? I have been deprived of complaining about the London weather for weeks. I have been having cold soups, salads, gallons of rosé – I hope EJ Murgatroyd isn’t reading today – and fortunately there is AC in my attic bedroom.

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Arabesque

Stanley Donen is probably a household name in America but he’s only just come on the radar in Margravine Gardens.

Strawberry Hill

Last week I visited Strawberry Hill House in Twickenham. It has been extensively restored and only fully re-opened in 2013. It is open from Sunday to Wednesday so more of a destination for Retired Folk.