Monday, August 29, 2005

Kenwood House concert

Kenwood House concertOriginally uploaded by Eamonn_Sullivan.

It's Bank Holiday weekend in England, the traditional end of summer. Last night we went to Hampstead Heath for the proms, a classical music concert/flag waving/fireworks event. It was a clear, mild evening -- light jacket weather. My sister Kathy (far left in the photo) and Theresa put together a picnic of fruit, shrimp, olives and wine. The kids played a portable version of Trivial Pursuit and cards. Even the dog was content. (One couple came up to us after the fireworks to comment on how amazed they were that Dude didn't flip out.) It doesn't get much better than this.

The concert in the park is held every year but we've only been once before. There's a main area, where you can sit if you've bought tickets (in the £20 to £25 range, I think), but we plant ourselves on a hill near the concert. We can't see the performers, but we can hear the music very well, and we're surrounded by similar groups of picnicking families. At the end of the evening, we have to walk about a mile through the middle of the park in total darkness. We gave the kids candles in lamps, which gave us just enough light to avoid running into a tree or falling off the path. Just.

Ailish got a few shots of the fireworks, which you can find here. Here's one that came out particularly well:

  

 

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