Royal Windsor and The Messiah
May. 19th, 2009 09:09 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
alobearI was reliably informed that it was going to rain on Saturday. So, I duly packed my plastic mac and my waterproof trousers, and proceeded to get severely sun-burnt at Royal Windsor Horse Show. Everyone thanked me for staving off the rain in my plastic outfit. The weather was not uniformly gorgeous, though, since the high winds demolished almost as many jumps as the horses did. At least the course builders got plenty of exercise, running about putting them back up again.
Still, the day was very enjoyable. The Trinidad & Tobago Defence Forces Steel Orchestra were a particular highlight, and the Shetland Pony Grand National is always worth the ticket price on its own. We also spent a fun hour or so wandering around the ridiculous stalls - anyone for a Porsche purchased in a tent in a muddy field? Or how about that bathroom you've been meaning to order but not quite got round to yet? We caught a few snatches of the cross country driving, as well - watching them weave four-horse teams in and out of very narrow tracks in baffling permutations was quite amazing.
I don't think Windsor is going to be a regular addition to our annual horse show circuit (it wasn't quite in the same league as the Horse Of The Year Show or Olympia) but it was a fun day out, and a great opportunity to spend some quality time with some of my favourite people.
Last night, Dave and I went to a performance of Handel's Messiah at Temple Church. The venue was rather uncomfortable, and I didn't think much of some of the soloists, but it was still Handel's Messiah, and so very hard not to sing along. It was during rehearsals for my school's performance of it that I finally had to give up on being a soprano, so I know both soprano and alto chorus parts, and Dave had to elbow me in the ribs when I started getting carried away during "Unto Us A Child Is Born". "We Like Sheep" is always a crowd pleaser, too, not to mention the Hallelujah Chorus. Excellent music, shame about the wooden pews.
Still, the day was very enjoyable. The Trinidad & Tobago Defence Forces Steel Orchestra were a particular highlight, and the Shetland Pony Grand National is always worth the ticket price on its own. We also spent a fun hour or so wandering around the ridiculous stalls - anyone for a Porsche purchased in a tent in a muddy field? Or how about that bathroom you've been meaning to order but not quite got round to yet? We caught a few snatches of the cross country driving, as well - watching them weave four-horse teams in and out of very narrow tracks in baffling permutations was quite amazing.
I don't think Windsor is going to be a regular addition to our annual horse show circuit (it wasn't quite in the same league as the Horse Of The Year Show or Olympia) but it was a fun day out, and a great opportunity to spend some quality time with some of my favourite people.
Last night, Dave and I went to a performance of Handel's Messiah at Temple Church. The venue was rather uncomfortable, and I didn't think much of some of the soloists, but it was still Handel's Messiah, and so very hard not to sing along. It was during rehearsals for my school's performance of it that I finally had to give up on being a soprano, so I know both soprano and alto chorus parts, and Dave had to elbow me in the ribs when I started getting carried away during "Unto Us A Child Is Born". "We Like Sheep" is always a crowd pleaser, too, not to mention the Hallelujah Chorus. Excellent music, shame about the wooden pews.
