Andrea Bocelli has just completed a 4-city tour of the UK and Ireland: Sheffield, Glasgow, London and Dublin. We were very fortunate to be given tickets to the show at the 9,500-seat 3Arena plus free entry to the attached 1878 Club (www.the1878.ie). This is an exclusive members-only restaurant where you can eat and drink before the show, during the interval and afterwards as well, with direct entry from the restaurant to the auditorium.
So how did we manage to obtain such largesse? Well, unfortunately, I’m not at liberty to explain this – suffice it to say that if I told you, I’d have to, well, you know what I’d have to do.
As you can see, Pip continues to display a radiance that defies the aging process. What can be causing it? Well, it’s certainly not the Guinness, as you can see from the next photo where her elderly companion sits, resplendent in his new Donegal Tweed jacket. Of course, the light was not in his favour…
Even the specially-aged cheese board looked younger than I did. And considerably tastier.
It wasn’t long before my Facebook-savvy friend was pre-empting my blog with some photos of her own for instant gratification.
After a light meal, cheese board and a couple of glasses of house red, we made our way to our seats. It would be no exaggeration to say they were the best seats in the house, almost dead centre and some way up without being ridiculously far back.
View from our seats
A brilliant evening, truly memorable. Very many thanks to our anonymous benefactor (you know who you are!) and his corporate sponsor.
Oh, the concert, you say? Well, that was pretty good, too. Bocelli was accompanied by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, two guest singers and a violinist. He has a superb voice and is just wonderful to listen to, you could sit there all night, whether it is operatic arias or Lloyd Webber pieces. Something for everyone. I particularly enjoyed the violinist, Caroline Campbell, who played two of my favourite pieces, Monti’s Csardas and excerpts from Sarasate’s Carmen Fantasy.
Photos, of course, weren’t permitted, but we did sneak a quick one to show the maestro in full voice, and then the violinist.
The old saying goes ….It’s not WHAT you know,,, it’s WHO. Sounds very true in your case ! A glorious night out had by all, especially the young ones in the middle of the best seats in the house ! Good on yer, private benefactor. The one resplendent in silver with the white hair has many sisters……wot you do for one yer gotta do for the rest…..
Wow, You both look fabulous
PIp, what are you doing over there that so gives you the “elixir of youth” ? to say nothing of the distinguished Mr Ferguson! What amazing experiences you are continuing to have. xx
Yes, the cheese board certainly gets full marks!
Nice to have generous friends for occasions such as this one – no doubt an occasion which had a healthy value associated with it; and I am not necessarily referring to the cheese board…..