Saturday, October 01, 2016

2016 trip

After a false start earlier in the year when I was diagnosed at the last minute as having atrial fibrillation, I finally flew out of Melbourne on September 19. The flight, business all the way, was uneventful and I arrived in London feeling OK, having had a fair amount of sleep en route.

I found the apartment pretty easily and realised that twenty-five years ago I had stayed in a hotel somewhere in Cartwright Gardens.

A quick summary of the past ten days: Wellcome Collection; How the Other Half Loves, by Alan Ayckbourn; The Play That Goes Wrong; Philharmonia concert of Stravinsky ballets, including Perséphone which was very beautiful; visit to Sir John Soane's Museum with Michael Hurley; trip to Brighton to see Andrew, Dan and young Leland; Our Ladies of Perpetual Succour (great fun); The Threepenny Opera; a last-minute ticket to the dress rehearsal of Richard Jones's new Don Giovanni at ENO, with Paul K. I've also caught up with, and interviewed, Daniel Thomson and Alex Roose.

Yesterday I managed to see Andrew Watts who is in very fine form.

Today I go to Bristol for three days, staying in an Airbnb - we'll see how that goes.