2012 Country of Living: England in LONDON!

A bit of travelling…

• March - Visited Val d'Isere for skiing with my mother
• April - Drove around Hampshire during holiday period (and visited Stonehenge/Salisbury)
• May - Visited the United Arab Emirates (Abu Dhabi) for work
• June - Visited Wokingham for friend's birthday party (stayed at the same place we stayed the night before our wedding!)
• August - Visited Isle of Wight for the Garlic Festival (stayed at the wonderful Bedford Lodge in Shanklin) then, the next weekend, visited Bath, Clovelly and Cheddar
• November - Visited Strasbourg for work

We also had some visitors…

• January - Mel's friend Heather from her Chorus in Canada (North Metro Chorus and her husband met us for dinner (and some music) at Simpson's-in-the-Strand
• April - Mel's friend Victoria came for a short visit
• October - My aunt Lois came for a visit (and took a trip up to Wales while here)
• December - My mother visited again for a short time (3 days) on her way back to Canada after being in Zimbabwe and South Africa

It was a VERY eventful year. We were able to do a lot including:

• June 3rd - London (The Thames) - The Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant - We were on the Thames opposite Battersea power station
• June 4th - London (The Mall) - The Diamond Jubilee Concert - We sat on the Mall and watched on the big screens (and in the distance in front of Buckingham Palace itself)
• June 5th - London (The Mall) - The Diamond Jubilee Procession - Great view of the procession from a small hill in Green Park overlooking the Mall
• July 27th to August 12th - London - The London Olympics

• 6th - London (Royal Festival Hall) - Slava's Snowshow - Amazing and a load of fun

• 8th - London (Cadogan Hall) - English Chamber Orchestra
• 12th - London (Olympic Park) - Walking tour of the Olympic Park perimeter
• 13th - London (Vaudeville Theatre) - “Master Class” starring Tyne Daly - Amazing play about Maria Callas in her later life teaching the art of opera to young hopefuls
• 25th - London (Westfield London) - Dinner at Spaghetti House (not very good)

• 13th - London (Holbourn) - Dinner at Belgo's in Holbourn (ok if you want mussels but not if you want anything else)

• 21st - London (Hackney Empire) - Soul Sister - Musical about the life and times of Tina and Ike Turner

• 5th - London (near Hampton Court) - Foodie Festival - Lots of good food
• 12th - London (South Bank) - Yo! Sushi! - Sushi school! Loads of fun
• 17th - London (Trafalgar Square) - La Boheme - Live opera from the Royal Opera House shown free on big screen

• 12th - London (South Bank) - QI - Quiz show taping (loads of laughs)
• 22nd - London (Regents Park) - Taste of London
• 24th - London (Trafalgar Square) - West End Live
• 26th - London (Savoy Theatre) - Sunshine Boys - With question and answers from the cast afterwards
• 28th - London (Churchill Theatre, Bromley) - The Hitch-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy Radio Show - Live!

• 14th - Farnborough - The Farnborough International Air Show - Ok, it rained, but amazing planes..
• 15th - London (Hyde Park) - Hard Rock Calling - Paul Simon performs Graceland

• 27th - London (Royal Albert Hall) - Prom 59 - "The Broadway Sound 2012"
• 31st - London (Royal Albert Hall) - Prom 64 - "Berliner Philharmoniker" - Probably one of the best classical concerts I have ever been lucky enough to attend

• 13th - London (St Paul's Cathedral) - Organ recital
• 15th - London (Brockwell Park) - Lambeth Country Show
• 22nd - London (The O2) - Jesus Christ Superstar

• 3rd - London (Ravenscourt Park) - Guy Fawkes Fireworks
• 24th - London (Earls Court) - Hyper Japan 2012
• 24th - London (Ulrika Eleonora Church) - Swedish Christmas Market
• 28th - London (St. Paul's Church) - The London Song Festival

• 1st - London (The Colliseum) - English National Opera - The Mikado (opera)
• 4th - London (Arts Theatre) - A Christmas Carol starring Simon Callow (one man show)

At this point we don't really know what we will be up to next year. At this point it looks pretty good we will be looking to get a car so we can do some travelling. Likely mother will be coming for skiing at some point (hopefully with Mel for at least a few days). We are also hoping for a couple of weeks away somewhere - Perhaps Hong Kong.

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Visit here for my review of 2011.