When Brent spotted that the Barenaked Ladies were playing at the Royal Albert Hall we agreed that to see one of the bands that set the scene for our university experience in one of the most iconic venues in London was an opportunity we couldn’t miss.  So we got tickets and decided to make a weekend of it. A couple of reschedules later it finally happened at the end of March.

I arrived Saturday morning and after a spot of lunch at Brent’s, we headed to the west end to see a play called Cock.  It was very good despite the fact that one of the main actors who was meant to be on the bill (Taron Egerton who played Elton John in Rocketman) was sick with COVID.  After the play we walked to China town and had a selection of dumplings for dinner at Tao Tao Ju – tasty.

On Sunday we took the train out to Hampton Court Palace to have lunch and a wander.  I learned about King Henry the 8th and the drama of his life in the tudor part of the palace.  We also explored the baroque addition which was very grand with its high ceilings and sweeping staircases.  When we got back to Brent’s we had pizza, chicken wings and a movie night; the movie of choice was Miss Potter about the life of Beatrice Potter.  That is definitely worth a watch.

On Monday I checked out the local gym and then after some lunch we walked from Queen’s Park where Brent lives to Notting Hill and down Portobello Road into central London.  We walked through Hyde Park and found our way to the Natural History Museum and then had some dinner sitting outside at a lovely Mediterranean restaurant before heading to the Royal Albert Hall to see the Canadian folk rock heros (as they were described on the side of the hall).  KT Tunstall came on before them and I really enjoyed her set.  I’d seen the Bakenaked Ladies when they came to Liverpool in September 2016 – for me they weren’t quite as entertaining as they were then but they were still very watchable.

I caught the train heading north Tuesday morning and look forward to my next trip to the big smoke… which is in June to see another Canadian musician, Alanis Morrisette!  Rock on!