I’ve been party to some random events and occurences in my time, but Monday 23rd April was right up there. Fi & I went to Spamalot, the stage version of Monty Python’s Quest for the Holy Grail, and on our way stopped in Trafalgar Square to take part in the record-beating Coconut Orchestra effort there.
The cast of Spamalot were on the stage, conducting the attempt, and Python stars Terry Gilliam and Terry Jones even stopped by. Oh, and London Mayor Ken Livingstone, not that anyone cares so much – apparently he organised the event as part of a resurgence of interest in St George’s day (not to mention an effort to restore his flagging popularity!).
We were all given a pair of coconut halves on registration, and the conductor from the theatre production stood up and conducted us through a rendition of Always Look on the Bright Side of Life – with coconut claps subsituted for the whistling in the chorus. Quite something to hear thousands of coconut halves clapping in unison!
The purpose of the event was to break a record set in March last year in New York, of 1,786 coconut players. In the event, we managed 5,567 pairs of coconuts – to quote another Python production, “Now, stop that, it’s silly!”. But terrific fun… 🙂
And then on to Spamalot, the show – and I haven’t laughed so much in ages. Heavily based on the original film, with lots of digs at theatre and showbiz stereotypes in the process, it was very enjoyable indeed. It runs to the 2nd of September this year, I think – so if you can get a ticket, go!
In travel news, we went to Ireland for Easter and sis-in-law Ursula’s 40th birthday (though she doesn’t look a day of it), and did the usual thing of zooming around from pillar to post visiting people and places (though not necessarily in that order). Dublin, Mullingar, Ballina, Mullingar, Dublin and home – I needed a rest just to recover from that! No great travel plans for the immediate future, but thankfully everyone’s coming over here for a change: Benjy lands this Sunday, with a threat to pour huge quantities of wine down my throat, and Paul arrives a couple of weeks later. I can’t get the idea of barbecues out of my mind, somehow…
More news will be posted when (if) it happens and I’m in typing mood and not too busy…..