Slow journey to London on the old trains, got to County Hall a bit before we should have checked in but they let us in anyway. Dropped off the bags and went for a wander. Brilliant Borough Market style food market on the Southbank, I got some cider from the actual Glastonbury Cider Bus. Well, the people who run it anyway, there was no actual bus. Went from there to Covent Garden for Clare to shop a bit (well it was her birthday too) then to The Harp in Chandos Place, best pub in London, for ale and more cider. I hoped to sit there for another hour while Clare went back to the hotel to get ready but DOH, she phoned me from half way back to say we only had one room key so I had to run and meet her. So had another one from the cider bus instead, then out for the evening.
We had tea in Ping Pong Dim Sum just for a bit of a change. It was quite nice but not my favourite place I've ever eaten. Their lapsang souchon tea cocktail was great though, non alcoholic too.
The walk from to Hyde Park took longer than we expected, partly because of roads just being closed off, and then even open roads being temporarily blocked when we got to them because of passing VIPs. We saw Princess Anne in a Range Rover, followed by three or four buses of dignitaries, I have video of this I hope.
We got in and guestlisted quickly (thank you Emma) but still not in time to catch any of Paolo Nuttini. The backstage area was devoid of any celebritarians, but we felt we had to hang out there for a bit. Not "because we could", what do you take us for? It rained a little at this point, and the bar was undercover. The bar back there was very very slow service, so we didn't go back to it.
Duran Duran on next, we watched some of them, highlight of the set was the Red Arrows flying over, think I have video of this (writing this on Jim's computer while I wait for them to return from wherever they are). We checked out the rest of the site at this point hoping for a good vantage point to watch the opening ceremony, but I don't think there were really enough big screens. We headed to the screen at the point where we came in, the press and guest entrance though this area was still front of house open to everyone. It was the furthest point from the main entrance though so stayed quite quiet, and there were tables and chairs set out in front of a screen.
The opening ceremony was great, enough said about it elsewhere though I'm sure. Best bit for me was that Sex Pistol Glen Matlock was sat on the next table to us. He stood during the national anthem (we all did), but I am glad to say he did not bang his head during Bohemian Rhapsody, that would have been a step too far. He received texts during the bit when the played the Sex Pistols too, friends and family saying "just heard your bit in the Olympics" no doubt.
I found a bar serving ale too, which surprised and delighted me. Then we watched the Stereophonics and Snow Patrol, and then we went back to the hotel. Good atmosphere in the streets, and one more road block on the way back by Embankment, spotted Prince William in this one, though I was a bit too tipsy to get with the camera this time.
We did something like 27,000 steps that day. I can stay active in my old age.
Breakfast at Pain Quotidien and that food market again, then back here for for early afternoon. Still waiting at the in-laws house for them to come back with our boy, we miss him!
Paul Clarke's blog - I live in Hythe in the far South. Wed to Clare and dad to two, I'm a full stack web engineer, + I do js / Node, some ruby, python, php ect ect. I like pubs, running, eating, home automation + other diy jiggery-pokery, history, genealogy, Television, squirrels, pirates, lego, and TIME TRAVEL.