Handel's Messiah at the Royal Albert Hall

We left home this morning at the same time as Mouse, Stevie and the kids set off for Legoland. We, however, were late so I had to drive rather too swiftly to get to London for a series of arrangements, the chief of which was our rendezvous at the Albert Hall, beside Hyde Park.

Helena had been given some tickets by her friend Duncan H., who is also a blipper, to hear Handel's Messiah, which was a very exciting option as Helena had never been there before, and I hadn't returned since the mid 1970s, after which for many years rock music was banned form the venue. I remember seeing many, many bands including The Byrds, The Band and even Cream's last concert.

Duncan and Janice live near Aberdeen and they flew down incredibly early this morning for their weekend of play in London, which would also include a visit to the Boat Race the following day. We had to briefly meet them outside to get the tickets, as we would be sitting in different places, and arrange to meet again afterwards and then go off for tea.

The building was packed and impressive as ever, but cameras were frowned upon by the man in the red jacket, who was ushering all and sundry to their seats. I did take a few pictures but my equipment wasn't suited to the large venue and the lighting. I did manage to take this picture at a point of transition in the concert, but it was very much a snap and a hope for the best.

You can see Mary Bevan, the soprano, standing to sing one of the solos in this traditional Good Friday performance of Handel's Messiah, which this year was part of the Royal Choral Society's 140th anniversary season. The performance was being conducted by Dr Richard Cooke, and accompanied by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and an extensive choir of probably more than three hundred voices. This view shows less than a third of the choir, who were spread on tiers behind the orchestra, on either side of the venue's massive and renowned organ. It was a very moving experience, my first of the Messiah, particularly in the second half when the choirs seem to reach their full voice.

Mary Bevan was particularly impressive, expressive and able to project across the auditorium without amplification. Apparently she only left her studies at the Royal Academy Opera last year having previously read Anglo-Saxon Norse and Celtic at Trinity College, Cambridge. Quite a cv. She gave me the impression of a star of the future.

When we met up with Duncan and Janice again, they had loved the performance too, and I drove us all to nearby Holland Park, which is a favourite haunt of mine from my days living very close by to Holland Park in the 1970s, and where I spent many years practising my frisbee skills and having fun. After tea we wandered around part of the park, chatting away and getting to know each other.

Helena and I then had to go to Kings Cross, where we would be staying with Ian M, another Scot, and a very old friend of mine, who hopefully will, be visiting us in Stroud within a few weeks. He is a sound recordist and is currently filming the various events in Westminster Abbey for a big fly-on-the-wall type series later this year.

I haven't been feeling very well for two weeks now, and I'm pleased I managed to get through the concert without too much coughing and then had energy to meet various friends and the late nights.

I am back-blipping this from the comfort of home, and the peace and quiet of the countryside, which really struck when we got home last night. But we had a good time as we haven't been away together for far too long, what with the various pressures of time and money. But hopefully we can manage a few more fun jaunts, especially with friends involved too.