I mean London is always interesting but really? This was ridiculous. Our choices – so what would you like to do this weekend? Other than the usual-this weekend on offer is- West End Live? Taste London? “Now Play This” – digital and analogue games event at Sommerset House, LGBTI parade which is enormous and of course, the normal fare.
First a bit of serious culture. The BP Portrait awards were on at the National Portrait Gallery which is on Trafalgar Square which is where West End Live was on so that was where we headed. The portraits were amazing.
Outside was a mass of humanity. Thousands of people were jockeying for position to gain entrance to the free West End Live event. This celebration of London’s theatre district involved the cast of the top musicals and performances currently playing in the West end. Each item would go for about ten minutes and act as a form of advertising for the productions- as if they needed that!! This annual event occurred one weekend in mid-June and we just happened to have lucked it!
The phenomenal queue convinced us that maybe we should reconsider our options. Did we really want to spend our limited time in London doing the very English thing -queueing? Or were there better things to do with our time. We opted for the later and headed back to Piccadilly. As we approached the outskirts of the square we noticed people coming and going through a gate that one of the security guys had opened slightly. Without hesitating we grabbed our opportunity and joined the rivulet of opportunists squeezing through the opening. We were in!!! Seriously!!! We were on the edge of the square and our view of the main stage was limited however immediately in front of us was one of the three giant screens and so we didn’t miss a thing. We were treated to snippets of “Little House of Horrors”, “Thriller”, “Chiago” and “Mumma Mia” It’s always wonderful when you get to do the things you plan.
Personal itineraries (Pi) 