the "week of busy" ends.............

.............and I've come down with a cold! :-(  Well, it started to kick in on the route to Brixton on Saturday - felt OK when i got into the car, started to feel rough by the time we arrived.  I know there was some traffic, but that really takes some!
Fortunately it didn't stop me getting on with anything, just had to take it all a bit slower and today am starting to feel really rotten. :-(
On a more positive note, here's how the week finished.

Thursday I went to Sadlers Wells with giggly_teapot  and ninshubur  to see the Pet Shop Boys' scored ballet The Most Incredible Thing.  As it was Heather' birthday, they were going for a pre-theatre meal at Frederick's nearby, so invited me along too. As expected from them ;-) it was rather posh but very nice.
The ballet itself was rather wonderful.  Didn't really know what to expect but it turned out to be a combination of traditional storytelling ballet, modern dance, art and occasional kitsch moments.  All with a spectacular electronic soundtrack, which was more dramatic in parts than I would have expected from the PSBs.

Some of the choreography was stunning and from our aerial viewpoint, sitting in the gods, was reminiscent to me of 1920's Busby Berkeley style routines.  The only criticism I'd give was that the third act was a bit weak - if the breaking of the clock was supposed to be more incredible than creating it, was expecting something with a bit more oomph to outdo the beautifully trippy second act.
Nevertheless, was so impressed by the show, that i left with soundtrack CD in hand. :-)

Friday evening was spent at home, much needed, to take a breather and catch up on stuff.  Saturday daytime was spent sewing and because the weather was so lovely, a little walk in Fryent Country Park - where by massive co-incidence, we bumped into Dex and friends doing the Capital Ring Route walk.  What's the odds of something like that happening!

Saturday evening we went to Brixton Academy for the Levellers / Wonderstuff gig.  Thanks to the tube network making things difficult for us, we had to drive there.  A bit stressful trying to find somewhere to park in Brixton but we eventually found a spot near the police station (figured that must be as safe a place as any to park!)
Brixton Academy was horrifically crowded as usual, which combined with cold, somewhat dampened my enjoyment of the gig.  Have to wonder what the legal capacity of that venue is, as I'm sure they overfill it; no other venue in London gets so uncomfortably packed. :-(
The Levellers were good but pretty much what I expected - one downside of these "album anniversary" tours is that there aren't really any surprises re the set-list!
The big surprise however was the Wonderstuff.  I forgot just how many great songs they did in their day and that I was a bit of a fan, way back then.  They have also very much developed their style as a band, so were very professional and gave an incredibly enjoyable set (and as a bonus, they didn't play THAT god-awful novelty single!).

Sunday, after another day of sewing, we went to the Royal Albert Hall for the Classical Spectacular.
On arrival, we headed to our cheap seats right up in the gods (very back row in fact!) to be told that we could move to better seats and the usher replaced our tickets - to the very front row of the Stalls section! :-)  We couldn't have been more fortuitous, practically having the best seats in the house.
The concert itself was superb.  Admittedly aimed at the mainsteam masses, playing all the obvious crowdpleasers, with lots of jingoistic flag waving for Pomp and Circumstance and Rule Brittania.  the rather camp conductor seemingly thought he was at the end of Blackpool pier, with some cringeworthy introductions.  However, all in all, it was my chance to see a "proper" traditional classical performance (the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, couldn't get more traditional than that!); enhanced by a laser light show, fireworks, guns and cannons!
The highlight for me was the opener of Holst's Mars the Planets, the sound just sent a shiver down one's spine.
I took lots of bad photos on my phone, which I've yet to upload (it appears that photobucket's Android app isn't compatible with my phone) but here is one, to show just how "bling" the show was!

sewing experimentation

Although I don't appear to have gotten much done this weekend, what I have done has been fairly satisfactory.

( mock-up and hoop skirt success! )