Yesterday Charlotte had a non-pupil day at school, so I took the day off so we could go out and do something (Bethany having been reassured that I'd do the same on her non-pupil day). So we decided to go to the British Music Experience at the O2.
So at 09:52 we were at the station waiting for the train to London. (and you lovely people at
http://www.whoogaboots.co.uk please note the fake boots my daughter is wearing; she'd love a 'proper' pair ...!)
After a bit of mucking about on trains (Going into London then straight back out again) we made it to the incredibly empty O2.
Empty apart from the barriers in front of the main entrance to the arena - bearing in mind it was just gone 11am, there were already 20 or 30 people sat on the floor waiting for the doors to open for the Green Day performance that evening. The doors didn't open until 7pm.The British Music Experience was round round the back of the O2, so after a 10 minute walk past all the restaurants (Charlotte making a careful note of where she wanted lunch) we finally found the place.
But before going in we took the opportunity to pose with some of the promo exhibits ...
As for the BME itself, we were lucky with our timing as we got to play in the Gibson Interactive Lounge before the masses arrived, so I played lots of Gibson guitars whilst Charlotte recorded some songs in the vocal booth and laid down some drum tracks ...:
There were numerous exhibits of interest, Charlotte being rather taken by the stage outfits from the Spice Girls, Leona Lewis, Adele and many others, whereas I more interested in the handwritten lyrics to New Order's 'Blue Monday' and this ...:
Paul Weller's Rickenbacker from his time in The Jam (And that's Robbie Williams' acoustic guitar from Knebworth in the bottom right). Noel Gallagher's Union Jack Epiphone was also there along with a Hofner violin bass that was presented to Paul McCartney in 1964 but never actually played - Weller's was the pick of the bunch though.After lunch in Frankie and Benny's where my starter didn't turn up - 8 people in the place, how they'd do in a rush I dread to think, we went and got the Thames Clipper back into central London.
Heading back up the river we passed Canary Wharf (Or 'Torchwood Tower' for all you Doctor Who fans)
And then under Tower Bridge (Where we pulled faces at the person the bridge taking photos)
And then past HMS Belfast:
And finally arriving at The Tate Modern (Where it was very sunny):
The Tate used to be a power station, so the main exhibition hall is called the Turbine Room (As that's where the turbines were kept). I love that room ... Every year they have a new art installation - the first time I visited the Tate the installation was an enourmous crack in the floor (http://outofmeed.blogspot.com/2008/02/weird-japanese-guy.html for details). The last installation was a load of bunk beds ... And now it's Miroslaw Balka's 'How It Is': (http://www.tate.org.uk/modern/exhibitions/unilevermiroslawbalka/default.shtm)Frankly, I think it looks like Darth Vader's garage.
It's pitch black when you walk inside and you have no idea where the end wall is - least you wouldn't if people weren't using their mobiles to see where they were going ... Charlotte and I both had dark clothing on so blended into the background quite nicely.
By this point Charlotte was flagging, so we walked over the Millienium Bridge and back to Liverpool Street to get the train home.
Bethany quite fancies the boat ride, but isn't that keen on Darth Vader's garage ...And bye to to those lovely people at http://www.whoogaboots.co.uk, have a wonderful week ..!
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