Simply the Best

Sunday 31st July - 2022

Hello all,

Just letting you know that l am really ramping things up here in London for the final few weeks of my vacation here in the 'Old Dart'. I cannot afford to let the grass grow under my feet because before l know it l will be boarding the QF2 for Sydney on the 29th August.

As l had previously mentioned in one of my general emails, l managed to book 10 shows over a 10-day period. That means that l will not really have too many more free days until l leave for Scotland.

Last night I went to see 'Tina', the musical. l caught the Tube into Covent Garden, disembarked & walked around to the Aldwych Theatre which is only a short walk from the station.

On the short walk to the theatre l had completely forgotten how pleasant, dynamic, enjoyable & uplifting this area of London is, strolling past all the bars & eateries.

The last time l experienced this feeling was when l went to see 'Queen' the musical by Ben Elton at the Dominion Theatre in 2012, 10-years ago, while l was waiting for my flight to Ireland for my tour with C.I.E. Tours, they are the same company that l am using this year for my 12-day extravaganza to Scotland on the 13th August. Deja Vu.

For last night's performance l managed to jag a seat five rows from the stage, it makes things so much easier if you only want one seat exactly the same as jagging a seat on an aircraft at the last moment, this theatre is ornate & intimate just like me.

There are only 1,200 seats in this magnificent Edwardian Baroque style Theatre, it really makes you feel as though the cast were performing just for my own pleasure, that’s how good it is.

Adrienne Warren who played 'Tina' was superb, her rendition of 'Simply the Best' was nothing short of sensational. The costumes & sets & orchestra were magnificent.

What l have decided to do with all remaining shows is to rate each performance out of 10.

Last night's show 'Tina' l have given it 9 out of 10 with a star.

This evening l am off to see 'Mamma Mia' at the Novello Theatre which is just a stones throw from the Aldwych Theatre were l was last evening.

Guess what? l know this is getting boring, however it is now 68-days since l set foot in the UK, still have not worn my rain coat or raised the brolly. Hard to believe eh?

Stay safe, look after yourselves.

From the “Squire” reporting live from the West End in the UK.

PS: I believe that Paul Dainty just announced today that 'Tina' the musical is coming to Australia in 2023.

My conversion at Brands Hatch

Monday 25th July - 2022

The Bennett's British Superbike Round 5 event at Brands Hatch is the Mecca of motorcycle racing in the UK.

Where do I begin to tell you about this exhilarating motorcycle race that I witnessed yesterday of the British Superbike Championship here at Brands Hatch.

MotoGP is arguably the Super Bowl of motorcycle road racing, however I will not be able to give you my opinion on that until I attend the Monster Energy British Grand Prix MotoGP at Silverstone on August 7th.

The start of the second British World Superbike race on
Sunday afternoon on Brabham Straight.

In my wildest dreams I cannot possibly see how the MotoGP motorcycle races can be any better than what I saw yesterday, anyway I will give you my opinion in due course.

As I have mentioned previously I have never had the privilege to watch a live world class motorcycle race in my life, mainly because I really have not been interested & I am a born & bred car enthusiast.

Yesterday’s programme has our very own Jason O’Halloran
 on the front cover, McAMS No.22. Yamaha 1000cc beast.
Can you spot the Aussie Flag?

Previously, two-wheel racing never really rattled my cage of floated my boat.

That all ceased yesterday, talk about exciting to watch, I was on the edge of my grand stand seat watching these high powered 1000cc beasts, & I mean beasts, trying to be tamed by their world class riders around this magnificent Grand Prix Circuit: (2.433 mile long circuit) here at the world famous Brands Hatch track.

Definitely no room for the faint hearted. If you are interested have look at this YouTube clip for yourself of the race. 2022 Bennett’s BSB, Round 5, Brands Hatch (Race 2) on Sunday 24th July.

After what I watched yesterday I am now a World Superbike fan.

(Photo above) This is the view that I had from my Grandstand seat of Paddock Hill Bend, that the experts say has the reputation of being one of the best & fastest corners in world motor sport anywhere in the world. I took this photograph just after they dropped the green flag, this shows you (30) 1000cc machines hitting Paddock Bend at 160 mph or 257 kms.

This race was absolutely spectacular between an Australian Jason O’Halloran (from Wollongong, NSW) 43-years old No.22 & a Brit who is the current World Superbike Champion, Tarran Mackenzie (from Ashby-de-la-Zouch, Leicestershire) 26-years old No.1. These two blokes are in the same team McAMS they both ride 1000cc Yamahas.

Saturday & Sunday they faced off against each other on three occasions, on Saturday (Jason O’Halloran won Saturday’s race), then on Sunday they were at it again hammer & tong, (Tarran Mackenzie won both races on Sunday) with the Aussie lad right up Mackenzie’s clacker on both occasions.

(Photo above) I met Gary from Scotland who sat next to me all day, he was a wealth of knowledge & helped me through out the day. As you can see by his t-shirt & hat he is a real die hard Suzuki fan. He prefers the World Superbikes over the MotoGP bikes. I love my newest t-shirt, a spark plug with wings!

Remembering that these two lads are in the same team, what I absolutely adored about it was that they are definitely not under any team instructions or orders from their team boss’s as to who wins the race, like what happens in the farcical F1 Grand Prix teams.

In their second race yesterday for 20-laps these daredevils threw every thing at each other at break neck speeds with the lead changing several times & finally the Brit knocked off our Aussie boy on the very last corner & clinched victory by 0.037 seconds, doesn’t come any closer than that.

(Photo above) In one of the many retail stalls that are scattered around certain sections of the outfield I took a liking to these three dramatic photographs. If I had the room in my suitcase I would loved to have purchased one or all of them.
(John Stanley come on down).

I’m sure if you were here with me at Brands Hatch yesterday watching these events unfold you would also be on the British Superbike Championships train.

These guys actually do pass each other, not like what you see in the procession of F1 & many tin-top car races where they more or less just follow the leader once somebody hits the lead.

I am already converted after spending just 1-day watching these world class motorcycle races, so it looks like I am off to see the MotoGP at Phillip Island this year. Now that is a first.

The large and enthusiastic crowd enjoying the racing
and Britain's current run of warm weather.

Another thing that I am very impressed with here at this exquisite, intimate, motor racing circuit is the famous names that they have given to the corners & straights around the circuit.

As follows: Brabham Straight (start-finish line), Paddock Hill Bend, Hailwoods Hill, Graham Hill Bend, Surtees, Hawthorn Hill, Hawthorns, Dingle Dell, Sheene Curve, Stirling, Clark Curve, to name a few.

Cheers from your roving correspondent from the insular peninsula in the “Shire”

Warbo

*You Tube clip below:
2022 Bennett’s BSB, Round 5, Brands Hatch (Race 2) on Sunday 24th July.

Roving around London

Thursday 30th June - 2022

Hello again from my rest day here in Harpenden.

I really do not know where to start my report today because of the huge day I had swanning around all my old haunts in downtown London yesterday.

Because of the threat of rain I decided to give my appearance on the Centre court at Wimbledon a miss yesterday, instead I decided to spend the day reminiscing of days gone bye when I used to frequent London on a monthly basis in a previous life.

Knowing that this will probably be my last swan song visiting the ‘Old Dart’ I spent most of the morning & afternoon walking around some of my favourite landmarks. 

My first port of call was to catch the Tube to the vibrant heart of London, Leicester Square which is almost slap bang in the West End. I wanted to check out all the Theatre Shows that are currently performing. It was wonderful to walk down Shaftesbury Ave towards Piccadilly Circus checking out all the famous shops & buildings. 

One of my favourite places to visit in Knightsbridge is Harrods. I absolutely loved the fresh food department of this magnificent store, yesterday I decided to see if it was still as good as it used to be previously.

Of course, I definitely was not disappointed, I will let you into a little secret about their fresh food department. The fascinating thing about their fresh food section is that you can purchase almost any type of fresh Cuisine from any where in the world, bar none.

Of course I decided to bite the bullet & hang the expense as you do when you are on holidays, especially when you are fortunate enough to be in the fresh food department of Harrods.

It was very hard for me to decide what l wanted to pig out on for lunch yesterday with such a large variety & selection to choose from. Seeing that l had not had the opportunity for over 5-weeks since departing Australia l decided to settle for one of my favourite meals. l settled on a Big Ben pie with mashie peas with mash potato & Rosella tomato sauce splashed all over everything, washed down with a caramel (double malt) milk shake, how does that grab you?

When I walked out of there l was completely satisfied.

Once I had satisfied my hunger pains it was time to move right along to Westminster Abbey, nearly all the Kings & Queens of England have been crowned in Westminster Abbey; it is also the burial place of many of England’s monarchs & some of the nation’s leading figures. (Photo below).

Not only that 'Big Ben' is only a stones throw away from the Abbey. I desperately wanted to check it out once again. After nearly five years under wraps, was Big Ben ready to chime again?

Six monarchs & 41 Prime Ministers have come & gone since Big Ben first struck its now familiar sound across Westminster. The refurbishment of the London landmark, which has seen costs already spiral to at least 80 million Pounds, or in real Aussie dollar value, that's $141 million.

The famous bell has been largely silent since 2017. Big Ben's time period. 1843 - May 1859. Standing 96mtrs tall.

As you can see by my photograph (at the very top), how magnificent does Big Ben looks after its refurbishment?

In one of my other photos you can see the London Eye which is a giant Ferris-wheel on the south Bank of the River Thames, also known as the Millennium Wheel, over the past few years it has also had a few other names, however as of mid - January 2015, is now called the Coca-Cola London Eye.

The structure is 443 feet tall or 135.03 metres. The London Eye was built between 1998-1999 & has proven to be one of London's most popular tourist attractions, if you like Ferris Wheels.

The building on the left hand side of the Hop-On, Hop-Off London Bus is the entrance to Westminster Abbey. In the middle of this photo the building with the Union Jack flying high is the Parliament House building.

Later in the afternoon it was now time to catch the Tube to South Kensington which is the closest station to the Royal Albert Hall where I needed to be by 19:30 to see Glady’s Knight & the Pips concert. (Midnight Train to Georgia).

Tomorrow night (Friday) I am back there to the Royal Albert Hall to see Frankie Valli & the 4 Seasons. Once I have seen Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons I will let you know all about both shows with my critique & expert opinion & how I rate them both, stay tuned.

Wish me luck on Sunday that I can jag a ticket to the British F1 Grand Prix from the Pommie Scalpers trackside at Silverstone.

I am feeling lucky, so I recon I can pull it off.

Cheers from your roving reporter here in London.

Warbo