Day 2
Our first day of performances, I got up at 6am because we had a performance at a school at 8am, and the tube was affected by strikes. Luckily we (nearly) all made it to the school and had a great first performance of the tour. After that, we went back to the flat to change where we splatted for a while after grabbing an essential Tesco meal deal. We played some rounds of jackbox, (I won but don’t ask anyone if that’s true) after which we put on a film and made plans to go to Covent Garden before our evening gig at the Transport Museum. In typical UK fashion, we had a full on storm with thunder, lighting and some ferocious hail break out about 15 minutes before we left. We eventually made it out after it passed, waited for a while at the tube a la strikes, and went exploring Covent Garden. We spent some time wandering around before me and Ria bought journals for tour in MUJI. Then, me Kalashree and Kiesse got coffee from a shop in the market, and it was perhaps one of the best coffees I’ve ever had. Tragically it’s life was cut devastatingly short without my assistance as it was promptly knocked over once we entered the Transport Museum for our gig. RIP. We arrived at 5:30, did a brief soundcheck before changing into tails for our Harvard Club of the UK performance. We had the whole museum to ourselves for 20 minutes, so had a very spontaneous photo shoot with the professional photographer who was there! It turns out it’s far easier not to miss the bus when it’s in a museum. We did a wonderful 1 hour set before finding dinner in Seven Dials market. Getting back home was a bit of a schlepp due to the strike, and Alex, Cassidy and Kiesse ended up walking all the way back via Buckingham Palace. Nothing like a hearty walk to round off our first full day and first performances of tour.
Day 1
The Dins are off! The majority of the group flew overnight from Boston, where I met them in London after getting the train down on Monday morning. Our accommodations are spread out across the west of the city, and we spent a sleepy day mooching around enjoying the rare British sun. I walked with Kieran, Cassidy, Alex and Kiesse to Hyde Park, where we met Ben and Soren, and Kalashree, Khang, and Chris coming from their hotel. We explored the natural history museum (a maze) and the Victoria and Albert museum (not a maze) before splitting up to grab dinner. Me, Ben, Shannon and Ria met at a pub nearby, enjoying some far-too-expensive fish and chips. After that, we went to rehearsal in a homestay flat where we sang through our repertoire before retiring at about 8pm, deciding an early night was the move. It’s great to have the dins in my home country!
