Spoonful

Friday has had the usual distractions of work to fill the first part of the day. The document started yesterday and delayed by GF's writer's block started to take on shape today. Despite severall calls, it turned out to be a good day.

Mid-afternoon GF and the Silver Vixen got in the car and headed for London. It was a potentially awkward time to travel as we had to think about when we would eat, whether we would arrive at the target car park in time to get a space, and whether Friday night traffic into town would be a problem. As it happens we need not have worried about the journey up to town (though the return was another story).

Stopping at Fulham (parking next to the Chelsea Football ground) we went looking for a TGI Fridays that GF had eaten at several years ago. Clearly, GF did not frequent it enough as it has now moved. We stopped at Wagamama's instead and both enjoyed a really good spoonful of rice or noodle dishes.

With an eye to the time we moved on, arriving at the Imperial College car park a few minutes after it opened and in good time to find a parking spot. We then headed to the Royal Albert Hall for the evening's entertainment. After a brief stop at the bar, we made our way in to the main seating area to find that we had superb seats, at the end of a row and with a walkway in front of us - this gave plenty of leg room and ensured we didn't have to keep moving as people came and went.

The support band came on stage and started their brief set. Gary Clark Jr. seemed to have learned his technique listening to the great guitar players of the 60s and 70s and there were echoes of Jimi Hendrix and Pete Green in his style. The Gorse Fox concluded that it was an excellent way to start to the concert and it boded well for the evening.

The intermission provided a few minutes to stretch the legs and grab an ice cream. The GF, however, added to the drama by dropping his wallet - without realising. He then went back to eat the ice cream and wandered off to take photos before a kind couple sitting near by caught his attention and returned the missing item! (You get a nicer class of person at an Eric Clapton concert),

This, of course, brought us on to the main event. At eight-thirty Eric Clapton and his band came on stage and started a two and a quarter hour masterpiece of entertainment. The set had something for everyone - new, old, acoustic, electric, blues, and rock. There tracks from his solo career, from his time with Delaney & Bonny, from his time with John Mayall, and of course from Cream.

The set list included favourites such as: Wonderful Tonight, Crossroads, Sunshine of Your Love, Layla, My Father's Eyes, Black Cat Bone, Cocaine, High Time We Went... and many more. It was a fantastic evening - and one that will be remembered for a long time.

Buzzing with the excitement of the gig we returned to the car. Unfortunately the journey home was significantly prolonged by the closure of the A3 and insufficient prior warning to choose a good alternative - this meant following all the diversions and cutting across country. Never mind, it had been a great evening.