Bach Piano Concertos by Candlelight

This evening, back with CT for my first classical concert in an age - Bach Piano Concertos by Candlelight, in the church of St. Mary le Strand. I set off in good time - and for once, had no bus trouble, my bus arriving promptly! To get to the church from Aldwych, where I got off the bus, Google Maps sent me down an interesting backstreet, beside the Indian High Commission:

There was some confusion at the entrance, as the person greeting us had no idea where we were supposed to be sitting! She eventually clarified, from the other person working there, where the CT people were supposed to sit - and it was lovely and close:

I'd never been in here before - but then, as the pianist, who was doing his own MCing, pointed out, until the recent pedestrianisation of the area, this church was in the middle of a roundabout, effectively! So it wouldn't have been massively convenient. Fabulous ceiling, mind.. Anyway, his point was, they couldn't start having concerts there until the traffic was diverted - makes sense, I suppose, because of the noise. They're certainly making the most of it now, and I'm delighted for them - they seem to have a whole series planned, under the moniker of Candlelight Concerts on the Strand. It'll be a fantastic earner for them.. this kind of place is expensive to maintain!

He was accompanied tonight by the Piccadilly Sinfonietta, a relatively recently formed group. And they performed three concertos - somewhat different to what was described in the programme. But hey, who's counting.. we started with Concerto #5, followed by #2 - in E Major, as he pointed out, not C Major, as in the programme! And Concerto #7 to finish. And oh, it was just sublime.. you know, this wasn't the only classical concert on this evening, but I just fancied a bit of Bach: just the thing to unwind after such a hectic week!

Afterwards, I'd booked to eat in a different Bella Italia from yesterday..! Yum.. Unfortunately, I should really have looked at the programme and checked how long it was likely to take. Because I ended up with nearly 1.5 hours to kill before my reservation! Nuts, what's a girl to do..? I ended up schlepping over to Caffe Nero, around the corner, until they closed, near my reservation time. Had one of their "luxury" hot chocolates - I have to say, it's not a patch on what it used to be. But it was nice, and I could kill some time there.

Headed up to the restaurant slightly early for my booking - didn't really matter, I guess I was after the theatre crowd, and they had plenty of space. The maitre d' was as nonchalant as before - but I was seated quickly. He nearly, but not quite, forgot to give me a menu. I had the same as yesterday - and mm, it was lovely. So, one of my more relaxed days, phew..

Tomorrow, I'm back with Up in the Cheap Seats (UITCS) for Your Lie in April, at the Harold Pinter. This musical is based on an apparently very popular manga - all tickets at £25, and annoyingly, it was after I booked that I found out that the seat fillers have it as well! Never mind. Booked the Angus Steakhouse for dinner, afterwards. Might actually have steak, this time.

On Monday, I'm back with CT again for Vox Anima at Cadogan Hall - time to try out Cote Sloane Square for the first time in ages!

On Tuesday, back with UITCS for Passing Strange, a rock musical at the Young Vic. So that's Bar + Block Southwark - the first of them I tried! and the best.

Wednesday is the company summer party - in The Lighterman. I guess it's heavily subscribed because, unusually, we've been asked not to come into the office that day if we can avoid it - if we're not coming to the party, or not coming from far. So, I'll go straight from home.

Thursday is film - and what's coming up is Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 1, a Kevin Costner Western. Looks suitably epic - also stars Sienna Miller and Sam Worthington. Kevin Costner is also director and co-writer. Handily enough, it's showing in the Odeon Covent Garden - walking distance from the office, which I'll have to go into that day - and I can eat in Seven Dials again. Have to do that beforehand - it's three hours long.. Then I'm back to Ireland for the weekend.

On the 8th, back with TAC for another talk at The Conduit - this one is History for Tomorrow, about what we can learn from history, and is, as usual, also the occasion of a book launch. Now, here I'd normally go to Bella Italia again - but I've discovered it's actually closer to Seven Dials! So I'll probably do that.

On the 9th, back - first time in a while - with Over 40 Living the Life, for a dinner in the Greenwich Yacht Club. They actually start back doing these this coming Tuesday, but of course I'm otherwise engaged.

And on the 10th, in Greenwich again - I should nearly stay the night! This time, I'm back with London Literary Walks for The Greenwich Walk. We're meeting in The Spanish Galleon, and as usual, I've booked to eat there beforehand.