You purchased 2 tickets to:
Bon Jovi - Seated
Twickenham Stadium, Twickenham, Middlesex,
Sat 28 Jun 2008, 16:00
Order for: Timothy G
Seat location: section L13, row 34, seats 70-71
Total Charge: £22.25
A web site I peruse daily whose readers post coupons, deals and other sales notifications had a listing for a special link through Ticketmaster to buy £75 tickets to this concert for only £10 each. I didn't have any plans for Saturday night, so why not? Called a friend of mine, SK, and decided to go.
I'd seen Bon Jovi once before, in 2001 at the MCI Center when the company I worked for offered the tickets up in a lottery. I recall I went alone when my partner bailed at the last moment but enjoyed the show nonetheless. I don't think I've listened to any new Bon Jovi albums (except Lost HIghway, once) since.
I left the house at 3:30 and drove to the nearest park and ride. There I caught the same bus SK had boarded in Oxford, on our way to London. We got off at Shepherds Bush and took the Tube (along three different lines, because of service suspensions) to Waterloo rail station. We caught a train there to Twickenham and then walked a half hour to the stadium where the concert was held (and where we queued for 40 minutes to pick up the tix, getting in at 8pm, just a few minutes before Bon Jovi started.) So we missed the opening act but didn't mind so much.
I was hungry & thirsty and so spent £12 for a burger, fries, a lukewarm drink and a sweet (more than the price of the ticket). Filling, nonetheless.
As for the show, our seats were OK but the sound wasn't that great. I could see people on the stage but couldn't identify individuals, so I watched the video screens for most of the concert. Out of the two dozen or so songs that were played, I recognised about 10, and enjoyed more than half of the rest. The crowd certainly was into it. I noticed Jon let the crowd sing some of the higher notes of the songs.
Afterwards, 50,000 people all tried to walk through the residential streets of Twickenham to board the trains. We queued for about an hour and squeezed onto a packed carriage where the party continued & snatches of song broke out. By midnight we'd reached Waterloo again and continued the reverse trip back home (I got in at 2:30am, 11 hours after I'd left). I'm not so sure I'd do it again.
9:44:00 PM
Friday, June 27, 2008
Nearly the last call.
Read today:
Pubs are closing down at their fastest rate ever - with those in towns and cities being hit the hardest.
Some 2 % of all city pubs have closed in the last six months, whilst food-led country pubs with outdoor facilities for smokers are reaping the benefits. The British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) believe the increase in pub closures to 30 a week - nearly four every day - comes down to a number of factors. BBPA says these include the smoking ban, the economic credit crunch, increased beer prices and temperamental weather conditions.
According to a survey carried out by the association, 1,409 pubs closed during 2007, a sharp increase on previous years. Pub numbers were down 216 in 2006 after a fall of 102 in 2005.
This doesn't surprise me as similar stories have been appearing all year. I don't go out to drink very often at all. I've only been to the two pubs in my village twice in the past seven months, other than for a meal. One of the reasons is that it's just too damn expensive - £3.30 (nearly $6.50) for a pint of beer in my local.
12:01:00 PM
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
I'm in the wrong business, part 32
Petrol went up another 1p/l overnight (8¢/gallon) but at least I was able to find some petrol; Shell's delivery truck drivers were on strike over the weekend and about 600 petrol stations ran out. One response wasn't too popular:
A Devon petrol station which charged £1.99 a litre for petrol has dropped its prices after coming under fire for cashing in on fuel shortages.
Foxhayes garage at Exwick, near Exeter, was charging the equivalent of more than £9 a gallon on Monday, saying it wanted to conserve stocks.
Fuel price watchdogs slammed the increase as "inexcusable". And on Tuesday the price had dropped to £1.20 a litre for petrol and £1.36 for diesel, with a maximum £5 spend.
A member of staff at the garage told BBC News: "It got a bit extreme. I heard on the radio that we were more vilified than George Bush."
10:06:00 PM
Monday, June 16, 2008
SW1x3
Third weekend in a row in London, a record for me.
Last weekend my father came into town and so we took a trip in to London to see the Cabinet War Rooms, which had been where the Westminster at War walk had ended two weeks ago, but which DLA and I hadn't visited as we'd had quite enough walking around, thank you. The Cabinet War Rooms also house the new Churchill Museum, and both were impressive. We also popped into the new Household Cavalry Museum at Horse Guards Parade, which was a skip away, and then had a nice meal at the standard in Covent Garden. On Monday I had the day off and we visited Bletchley Park, where most of the Allies' code-breaking was done during WWII, and which now houses Britain's National Computing Museum.
Yesterday I was in town to visit the Victoria & Albert museum & have a wander around Kensington High Street before visiting a friend of mine. The long summer days sure do make this kind of activity more practical.
9:44:00 PM
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Wow
I believe I ruminated awhile ago that there are very few artists whose concerts I would pay to see these days. NKC is going to see Elton John next month and I believe paid around £180 per ticket (for excellent seats). I saw in news this week that George Michael is not going to be touring any more after his two final dates at Earls Court later this year, and he's one of the few I would see. Janet Jackson is another. Peter Gabriel maybe. Josh Groban most likely.
Coincidentally I ran across this clip on That Josh Groban Guy of Josh's appearance in Ally McBeal back in 2001, before he was anybody. I never saw the show, but what a dork Josh's character is, which is probably what makes the performance all the more stunning. Watch:
Ally McBeal #1, "The Wedding"
May 22, 2001
The performance that started all the "buzz" about Josh! His first TV role as Malcolm Wyatt, where he performs "You're Still You" at the prom.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Weren't you the one with the untreatable skin condition?
June must be the month to find old friends and colleagues.
Last weekend I spent a day in London with my friend DLA who I graduated from LCHS with, and whom I hadn't seen in almost 20 years. We went on a guided walking tour with a "Westminster at War" theme which was both educational and entertaining, and then had dinner at the standard, Bella Italia, in Covent Garden. The weather was just right and it was good to get in to London as it had been a long time since my last visit.
Yesterday I was bored at work and started messing about with Facebook. Someone had posted a ton of photos from LCHS from the mid-80s ... what a hoot! I also found a buddy of mine from GWU who I hadn't heard from in fifteen years or more, PG, and it's been great to catch up.
Coincidentally, I graduated from high school 22 years ago today.
10:42:00 PM
