Monday, March 18 – Harrow on the Hill

Rock & Roll!! (part two)

I have a couple Classic Rock events planned for today.

First off, let’s head back to Christie’s for another auction view. (I feel like I’m becoming a regular there…) This time I’m checking out The Pattie Boyd Collection (auction link here). If you’re not familiar with Pattie, well, here’s all you need to know: she was once married to George Harrison and Eric Clapton (not at the same time!). And both of these rock legends wrote iconic songs about her, including Something, Layla, and Wonderful Tonight. If you’d like more information about Pattie, George, and Eric, and their complicated relationship, Christie’s has a nice background piece you can access here.

The auction included memorabilia and photographs (many taken by Pattie). Here are a few highlights…

This painting has an interesting history (taking into account that Pattie left George in 1974 and married Eric in 1979):

• Acquired directly from Emile de la Tour de St Ygest, the artist’s son, by Eric Clapton in 1970.
• Gifted to George Harrison by Eric Clapton, late 1970s.
• Gifted to Pattie Boyd by George Harrison, late 1980s.

As a bonus, there were three other auctions on view at Christie’s today. (I should just stop by here every week to see what’s on display!)

Modern British and Irish Art (auction link here)

Contemporary Edition: London (auction link here)

Prints and Multiples (auction link here)

The next three photos are all Andy Warhol prints…

I’m attending a concert tonight at The Royal Albert Hall. As I made my way from Christie’s down to the Hall, I stopped in the Victoria & Albert (V&A) Museum to kill some time…

Okay, it’s getting to be that time. Let’s head over to The Royal Albert Hall!

And Who, you may ask, is performing tonight?

It was a great show! The two surviving, and arguably most important, members of the band (Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend) still got it. Although, I found it ironic that they performed their classic song My Generation, which includes the lyrics, I hope I die before I get old! (I’m sure I’m not the first one to comment on this over the years!).

I liked sitting in the stalls, versus being on the floor, for a couple reasons: a) the floor is on one level, while the stall seating is graduated, and more importantly, b) everyone on the floor stood for the whole concert, while I sat for about 90% of it. I know that sounds old (okay boomer!), but I speak the truth! Right?

I also liked the fact that The Who did not perform an encore. That seems like one of the most useless concert traditions. The show’s over, good night! And finally, I liked that Pete (especially) and Roger had some serious banter and interaction amongst each other and with the audience. To me, that makes it fun.

The concert concluded with probably my favorite song of theirs: Baba O’Riley (although, it’s undoubtedly the favorite of most, especially after it was used as the theme song for a TV show – CSI, I think?).

After the show I grabbed the Piccadilly Line to South Harrow, and was back in the flat by 12:15am. A fun day!

The Who Trivia:

Ringo Starr’s son Zak’s (b. 1965) godfather was The Who’s original drummer, Keith Moon. “Uncle” Keith gave Zak a drum kit when he was eight years old, which ultimately led to him turning it into a career. (despite the objection of Ringo, who only gave his son one lesson!) Sadly, Keith Moon passed away in 1978. The Who subsequently cycled through a few drummers over the years. However, since 1996, Zak has been a regular member of the band. Including at tonight’s concert. Pretty cool!

Tuesday, March 19 – Harrow on the Hill

Had a leisurely day following my late night.

This evening though I joined a small group for a wonderful dinner gathering hosted by Mary & Tony. That was followed by all of us attending a choral concert at the Harrow School Speech Room.

The performers included The Harrow School Choral Society, the Choir of Francis Holland School, guest soloists, and an orchestra consisting of Harrow School students and guest performers. A beautiful performance to conclude a fun evening. Thank you Mary & Tony!

Wednesday, March 20 – Harrow on the Hill

I have two more events booked in the Capital today. Here are a couple views on the way to my first stop…

The Royal Courts (aka The Law Courts) opened in 1882. The interior very much resembles The Houses of Parliament. Both were built in the gothic revival style. Unfortunately, no photography is allowed inside the building. In fact, it is a criminal offense to do so! This relates to protecting the rights and safety of witnesses, jurors, and others involved in court proceedings.

The Law Courts building is massive: It includes several towers, more than 1,000 rooms, and the great hall is about 240 feet long and 80 feet high.

The tour was very interesting. It lasted 75 minutes and there were 22 people in our group. The cost of the tour was £17. (Although, the building is open to the public. Anyone is free to roam around and even attend court proceedings. In my case though it was nice to have the tour guide)

I have some free time now before I attend this evening’s concert. I want to check out something exciting (to me anyway!) that was discovered on Monday: A new Banksy installation in London! If you’re not familiar, Banksy is the pseudonym of an England-based street artist, political activist, and film director whose real name and identity remain unconfirmed and the subject of speculation. I’ve shown some of his work on this trip when I visited the Christie’s auction viewings (including in my Monday post above!)

Well, on Monday a new piece of his work was found in north London. Let’s go check it out!

Here’s a link to a BBC News report about this artwork, if you’d like more information.

The concert I’m attending tonight is at St. Paul’s Cathedral (very excited!). Here are a couple sights from my walk back to central London…