Chelsea Concerts

In talking with both Lotte and the Young Dutchman, apparently everyone was going to this "Chelsea Concerts" event that evening, which given that the theme was "Best of British", I figured would be a good time.  It was apparently some charity concert in aid of blind Indian children or something like that.  So many of the things I go to are for charity, which is how we justify inflated ticket prices for donated wine and performances by our friends.  I hadn't bought tickets in advance however, so I made sure to arrive at the church early.  When I did, I realised that I could have left it much later (there were plenty of tickets available), reminding me not to believe the hype too much when people say there are only limited tickets left.

I ended up waiting around for ages for people I knew to show up, but finally did manage to chat for a bit with Lotte and her fiancee.  Right before the concert started, I managed to join the Young Dutchman, Super-Shy Guy and Will.  I'd already put my coat down somewhere else when they went to grab another group of seats, but as the concert was starting there was no time for me to go back for it, so I just left it where it was, sitting on a pew a few rows away from us.  At least in a church I didn't worry about anybody stealing it!

The concert turned out to be lovely, and I was particularly amazed to learn that the original pianist had taken ill, and the replacement pianist had learned the whole programme in 24 hours.  If they had not announced this as the start however, I never would have known, as she was absolutely amazing.

As the final song, they sang "Land of Hope and Glory", which in the US I know as "Pomp and Circumstance", a song traditionally played at graduation and commencement events.  However here it's apparently a British national song, complete with words, which they encouraged us to sing along.  I was amazed that the Young Dutchman seemed to know all of the words, although I had not even known that there were words!  Definitely something to look up and learn when I get home!

After the concert finished, they served everyone a glass of champagne at the back, and put out baskets of giant strawberries that were really delicious.  I ended up chatting to a girl named Suraya.  It turned out that we knew a lot of people in common, and she was just really funny and interesting, so I enjoyed talking to her for most the rest of the evening.

When it was finally getting near time to leave, I looked around for the Young Dutchman, but couldn't spot him, so I gave him a call.  Missed him, but as I was walking out with Suraya, he called me back, as it turned out that he'd already left and gone on to another party.  Our back-and-forth banter seemed to make my new friend laugh, as I assured the Young Dutchman that even when he left me on my own, I was perfectly capable of making new friends!  Indeed, I think I'd made a really nice new friend, not bad work for an evening out.