When I added this particular item to the list I wasn’t thinking about the Last Night of the Proms, I was just looking forward to going to catch one of the many BBC proms that were on over the summer. However, a phone call and an email earlier on in the year paid dividends. I was told that I could order tickets for the Last Night, which is the most sought after event in the proms calendar.I purchased two tickets for my wife Lisa and I and decided that we were going to have a great day out in London and enjoy every moment of it. We travelled by train from Wellingborough to St Pancras Station, got a cab and explored. It was a glorious day but we were not dressed that well for hot weather. Because it’s the proms I decided that I would do my bit and dress up, as one does for the last night. Black suit trousers and black leather shoes made my legs feel they were being boiled! Still, it was a once in a life time experience so it had to be done.
We had dinner in the Elgar Restaurant at the Royal Albert Hall, which was sublime. I’m no food critic but the food was very good. Of course the quality of food was reflected in the price and in hindsight I should have taken out a small mortgage to cover it.
The concert itself was fantastic. We were seated right next to the percussionists yet we weren’t being deafened at all, we could hear every instrument so clearly. What I didn’t understand was why the conductor kept on going off stage at the end of every piece or movement or whatever they call each piece of music. You can tell I’m not an expert on classical music.
When the orchestra played Rule Britannia and the sound of 1000’s voices in unison began to sing those very patriotic lyrics it made the hairs on the back of my neck stand.There were hundreds of union jack flags being waved about; a sea of red, white and blue. In fact the woman behind me got a bit carried away with hers and kept smacking me on the head with it!
A great evening and definitely one to remember.