Said to be a day of railway strikes but you would not have noticed on the Epsom to Waterloo line which was good for us.
The RBS holes in the wall in Margaret Street had been decommissioned, the site presumably having been finally sold on, so I was reduced to a Santander on the other side of Oxford Street. One of those screens you have to hit rather than touch to get it to work, plus a new to me cash withdrawal sequence. But I got it to work. Which was good as I prefer not to use cards in busy bars.
Crowded in the basement bar at the Wigmore Hall, with the people next to us holding an intriguing chocolate box shaped box of something Moroccan. We had thought that it was going to be opened so that we could see what the something was, but, the lady, having got the string off, just put it back again. So we will never know.
We had been put in row L, a little further back than usual, so we were a little surprised at vacant seats around us - but these turned out to be seats for a school party from Enfield who had come across the railway strike. That apart they had done well, taking advantage of some £10 seat deal for children and young adults, or something. Maybe early years secondary, perfectly well behaved.
Haydn very good, a nice change after the late Beethoven of the week before. Plus a preview of their next concert in the form of a movement from Op.64 No.3. Next February, quite possibly already booked.
And I am pleased to record that the striking picture of Yuja Wang at the keyboard in a natty little red number made the cut this time around, that is to say she got her regular page back in the new slim line programme. According to her website at reference 3, she also has a deal with Rolex. A deal which does not go so far as wearing one for the striking picture as that might spoil her lines.
Out to inspect the Oxford Street Christmas lights, not flashy but perfectly sensible and suitable. Modest advertisements for Sky and NSPCC. Big John Lewis Christmas display being warmed up, clearly pending.
Search suggests that we had heard this quartet at least three times before, all three times, as it happens, in 2014. See, for example, reference 1. Where have they been hiding since? Perusal of reference 2 suggests a busy life, with their fitting in tours of Europe and the US before reappearing in London in February. Not a life I would care for myself any more, if indeed I ever would have. Being away for UK overnights, two or three times a month is one thing. Serious foreign travel is quite another.
Reference 1: http://psmv2.blogspot.co.uk/2014/03/doric-string-quartet.html.
Reference 2: http://www.doricstringquartet.com/.
Reference 3: http://yujawang.com/.
No comments:
Post a Comment