Music, Music, Music

Music washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life. ~Berthold Auerbach

Aline writes: London in the summer is filled with music – there are so many concerts going on that it is hard to just keep track of them. I am on multiple mailing lists, and pick up brochures wherever I go, and even after 3 months here, I continually find new listings!

Trafalgar Square with Nelson's column is a venue regularly used for performances sponsored by the Mayor of London.


You can buy a sandwich from a local shop, sit on the edge of a fountain, and listen, as we did on July 29, to a jazz band


We weren’t the only ones enjoying it, as you can see from the “dancing man” that I caught on camera (be sure and look for his dancing foot!)


And of course, we hunted up some tea in Kensington Gardens at the Orangerie


And it's not only music we stumble on - we found this beautiful little garden hidden by a hedge as we went by in Kensington Gardens


We weren’t so lucky, weather-wise, when we went back to Trafalgar Square yesterday. We got to hear Shout (an a cappella singing group) perform a commissioned piece for the occasion. Look carefully, you can see them arranged in a semicircle on the steps


The lyrics were all taken from protest speeches given in Trafalgar square by people such as suffragette Emmeline Pankhurst and Nelson Mandela:

Stand
Stand up
Don’t stand for it
Rise
Rise up
Don’t fall for it

Now is the time. Act with courage and vision

Unfortunately, it was raining, so the other scheduled concerts were cancelled. But we went across the street to St. Martin’s in the Fields church and heard a chamber orchestra rehearsing Handel and Mozart for a performance that night. So we got our music fix after all.



Tea was called for, of course, especially because we were wet and cold from the rain, so we went downstairs to the Café in the Crypt (yes, it is actually in the crypt) and had a nice, warm cuppa. Music and tea, ummmm.