I am not keen on London, the hustle and bustle and abject lack of manners there grates on me. But I am very keen on supporting my children and hence the reason why I am in London. My eldest, had the opportunity to sing at The Royal Albert Hall with his school singing club! Wow!
As an almost lifelong musician, and having seen Eric Clapton at the 'Albert' many years ago, I was very excited for him. When I asked if he was excited, his reply, 'yes Dad, and we're going to Pizza Hut!'
Bless him.
The run up to this event has been fraught in the Lloyd household. We are a competitive bunch (well I am) and so we wanted him to be the best that he could be. All of a sudden, his Mum and I become the worlds greatest singing tutors (admittedly I know some theory but I am certainly no El Divo and wifey is a long way off Beyoncé) but he did follow us and sounded er.. interesting. Thank fully, iTunes is an excellent resource and now my iPod sports 'Scarborough Fair' the lullaby 'All Through the Night' among other.
As parents, we wanted him to do well, sing like an angel and enjoy the whole experience. The offers of professional singing coaches to help strengthen his voice, helping him learn the songs, I even learned some of the melodies on the guitar to help him but it wasn't until I was chatting with a singing friend, he pointed out the obvious. He is singing with 22 other children and takes his cue from the conductor and the tone from his buddies. Shock horror realisation, we were actually making it more difficult for him. So we shut up, just encouraged him and looked forward to the event.
So tuneful (less) catastrophe averted, we approached the day.
When the day came, it was the perfect day to travel into the ‘big smoke’. Beautifully sunny, birds singing in the morning, Junior woke up and was beside himself with nerves & excitement. With his pack lunch in a plastic bag, we sent him off to school.
The day would be an adventure, for sure. Coach trip into London, a tour around the Albert Hall, a sight seeing tour, a rehearsal and then Pizza Hut before returning for the performance.
For us, it would turn into an adventure but not before we earned our daily bread at work. A quick change and then to the train station in the Coupe. A very rare moment where I was able to take my wife out in my car. (Brabus Roadster coupe only has 2 seats. Great fun though, check out my journal).
The train journey was relaxed, not crowded and very pleasant. Another rare moment, wifey gets to play her DS with her games without being interrupted by a little. I was happily writing away, enjoying the sunshine and the views of rural Buckinghamshire.
With such bright sun, even the outskirts of London looked nice. The train arrived, we alighted and began our journey towards Hyde Park. I have been there a few times but never with Mrs L.
Hyde Park has to be one of the most picturesque places in London, especially in bright sunshine. The March late afternoon sun had warmed the earth and as the temperature began to drop, so a mist had begun to appear, just hovering over the ground. It was enticing, eerie and very romantic.
Having seen the ‘Albert’, Mrs L and I turned our attention to our stomachs. Knightsbridge was our destination, it was a glorious day so we strode it out; her in boots, me in new shoes. Knightsbridge is actually a lot further than the map looks and we arrived at the restaurant with blisters and sore feet. However, the food at the Spaghetti House was worth it. I am thoroughly recommending it, it was good value; good service, great food and they take Tesco Deal vouchers as legal tender. That’s handy to know in these economically interesting times.
On the way back to the Hall, with feet really REALLY hurting, we got to meet a unique breed of Londoner, the Black Cab driver. What a bloke, he was ace. The cab cost a cool fiver for a mile – I think we would have paid £500!
We had travelled, had eaten and were ready for the entertainment. We gathered outside the door with a lot of other parents, some from the more exclusive Buckinghamshire primary schools, and some that were not, all joined in unity to see their little darlings on one of the most famous stages in the world. And what a stage!
Such a glorious building, and imposing as one arrives at ones seat (well we are in the Albert Hall and the correct decorum and etiquette are required). As 1700 children fill the Gods and the stage, 5000 parents start looking for their own little stars up in the Gods.
It took a little while but we found our own little star and waved and waved until we developed RSI. The house lights dim, the noise subsides and an incredibly well spoken and articulate man by the name of Petroc Trelawny introduces the evening. Petroc is a Radio 3 presenter and Mrs L suggested that he would be fantastic forhim to stand there a tell jokes. His accent was, well, posh, but his articulation immaculate and, jesting aside, I could have listened to him reading the dictionary it had that much tone.
The children start singing. Junior isn’t on stage until the second half for the song spiral. The theme for the first half is the sea and the singing is beautiful. They were in tune, had several part harmonies, some quite complex vocal melodies and they had split them into different vocal parts. What was very surprising was that this was the first day they had all rehearsed together. That is 26 schools singing together for the first time in what sounded like perfect harmony.
It was nothing short of amazing.
The interval came and went and the children swapped places.
Before the song spiral, we had a musical extravaganza from the Aylesbury Music Centre Big Band. Opening with the theme from mission impossible these guys made brass look cool. Adding character to there playing with movement and dance, they sounded brilliant as well. It was clear they were enjoying themselves – which adds to the enjoyment for those watching. Finishing with some audience participation for the Cab Calloway classic – Minnie the Moocher, they were fantastic. I would pay good money to see those guys again.
The song spiral began. The song spiral is a journey around the world in song. It started with Scarborough Fair, moved to the Lullaby ‘All through the night’, then the Skye boat song, a hearty jaunt around Africa with some traditional songs and what I can only describe as drum solos’, off to Japan, Polynesia and then America. The kids were getting tired towards the end but their drive and enthusiasm was still keeping them going.
We finished up with a Samba procession, which woke us up (they processed through the audience with really LOUD drums and whistles) and then a George and Ira Gershwin song to finish off with.
Petroc came out and articulated his thanks and congratulations to the children and closed the show in perfect style.
Echoes 3 had been a complete success, a proper evening of entertainment and I will always remember the day that my son sang at the Albert Hall.
1 comment:
Fantastic. Well done to little lloyd junior. Sounds like you had a great day. As someone who is in London a lot I understand where you are coming from regarding manners there. Not as bad as Paris though!!
Post a Comment