Le Nozze Di Figaro

Thanks to one of Lynne's more (possibly the most) brilliant suggestions of her life, we went to watch The Marriage of Figaro by the Royal Opera House which was screened live from there to Trafalgar Square where almost 5,000 people gathered. I'm not one for big corporate publicity events, but BP did good to make opera for the masses possible.

It was one of the less frequent times I actually felt happy and privileged to be living in London. I had gone from bursting into tears on Tuesday when I came back here, to really enjoying the crowd and the buzz tonight. It's strange, but I think we sometimes underestimate the extent of influence habit has on us, and our subconsciousness. Nobody likes to be removed from familiarity. What makes it worse is when one inhabits a physical space that constantly changes, that familiarity, once it begins to feel comfortable, simply eludes one's grasp again. It's not really London's fault that I get upset coming back here. Well, sometimes there are a lot of contributing factors. But I think it has all come down to wanting a more settled place I can call home. I've always loved being mobile. But maybe I'm searching for some stability even in this mobility. Never thought I'd say that. But there you go, you learn something new everyday.

It actually felt like summer today – we've been having such shit weather this summer, (no surprise, Britain) I was almost tripping with joy over the sunshine. Lynne and I bought desserts, chocolates and smoked our menthol lights, while watching the opera, eating and drinking our bottle of Cava from true festival-like plastic cups. Classy. But sitting at the foot of Nelson's column watching the opera was such fun, and the performance was amazing to say the least. I wished I was in the Royal Opera House watching it, then again if I were, I wouldn't be able to do everything else.


As dusk fell, the audience still sat there absolutely captivated by the glorious voices of Rosina and Susanna. I wish I had my camera so I could take pictures to send to TimeOut but I didn't. So yet again, I had to rely on my lousy camera phone for pics. It got cold pretty quickly, but the crowd and summer air made it bearable. The setting of the opera got even more lavish, the arias sang were so tender, emotive, yet dramatic at the same time – I don't think I've been a massive opera fan ever but I'm now a full convert! There's another screening on the 7th July for anyone who wants a great, free, cultured night in London.