Flag waving galore - and an inflatable Olympic torch thrown in as well at the Last Night of the Proms at the Royal Albert Hall.
Before that though, I popped in to the British Museum to take a look at their quite small, but very interesting, exhibition about Olympic and Paralympic medals. They are enormous - pic in extras. Then met Dave for some tapas at Casa Brindisa, sitting outside enjoying the heat.
What a fun night the Last Night turned out to be. I've always pooh-poohed it as a bit of nonsense and not a night of proper music, but last spring I said to Dave that we ought to at least try and go one year - you have to buy a certain number of concert tickets and then enter a ballot to be able to buy tickets. Didn't think I'd get lucky so quickly, but we did.
Lots of quite interesting pieces in the first half and the radiant Nicola Benedetti on violin and then all the singalong jolly stuff at the end. And to cap it all, some of the TeamGB athletes came on stage to help with a chorus of Rule Britannia - that was totally unexpected and totally exciting - no idea who they were - missed the names and they were so far away, but I'll have to look at my grainy photos to check.
After, we got the tube to Aldgate East to check out the Beigel Bake in Brick Lane, famed 24-hour bagel hangout and scene of the best bagel and stewed cup of tea I've ever had last month. Had to negotiate the hordes of clubbers, hen parties (being talked at by police) and general revellers hogging the streets - and Dave got very cross at being dragged all the way to East London for this - but we eventually got there and the bagel was fab and the tea was not as stewed as it could have been (fresh pot) but still fine.
Didn't get home till 1 though, not used to that sort of thing ...
Apparently they were swimmers so all but one must have been Paralympians - to prove that Britain rules the waves. Looks like a brilliant night. Adam and I were having a good chuckle about the works of Rule Britannia. It's spectacularly un-PC but magnificent.
@fueast - yes that's when I had the best bagel and tea ever in the universe! @judithg - yes all my republican atheist principles went out of the window as I sang along lustily to that, Land of Hope and Glory, Jerusalem and God Save the Queen! It was possibly the best year ever to go to that.
Ooo always fancied going to the last night... think they were rowers but could be mistaken... haha I bet Brick Lane is even more of a sight at midnight than it an be during the day...
