As we do every year, this year Angus and I went to Proms in the Park, which is held in Hyde Park. We've been three years running now and we love Proms in the Park. It's a massive outdoor concert which is held alongside similar concerts in Cardiff, Glasgow, and Manchester, until at the end of the evening we link up with the Royal Albert Hall and party like we're sipping tea with the corgis.

Proms in the Park is always a bit of a mix for me-the music is great. The food we bring is great. We get drunk and sing at the top of our lungs, as everyone in the park does. There's much flag waving, because that's what you do when you're there. We even bring our ridiculous 48-starred flag (someday we'll get one with 50, and we'll pretend that we had Alaska and Hawaii all along).

This year we went with my friend Jim, who happened to be in town. He's the one who's wedding we're going to in November, and he's one of my closest friends. He was at Proms in the Park with us in 2004, too, so he knew the drill.

That's him. Nice looking guy, isn't he?

We went over the top on food for the day-we had risotto, mini quiches, sausage rolls, crudite, and I went to the shop that morning to get chicken wings.

It made me feel like I was on drugs.

Me at the Rotisserie counter: Do you have chicken wings?

Her working at the Rotisserie counter: But it's Saturday!

I blinked. What, chickens are allowed to fly on Saturday? The Bible has Saturdays as a holy chicken wing-free day? Am I being punk'd?

I went home with quartered chicken instead.

So we lug great quantities of food with us and settle on the grass. We brought two good friends with us and an incident occurred that I'd like to discuss later, but in general it was a good time had by all. It was, after all, a fabulous, warm sunny day and I got to wear my favorite sunglasses (Angus hates them).

There was a cover band for Madness (you know, of Our House fame? Our House, in the Middle of the Street? You know that one, right?)

We relaxed more than I thought we could. It felt ok to be outside in the sun, the mood high, the feelings ok. They'd given out free ponchos and rain hats, expecting Proms in the Park to be like last years. Lucky for us, it turned out well, but that didn't stop some of us from trying on the free rain hats.

There was this ridiculous creature named Chico from some show I'd never heard of called X Factor. Our hatred for Chico was immense. Chico took the stage, describing himself as Chicolicious, welcome to Chico Time. Chico offended our ears and the English modesty of the mases-in fact, Chico got booed.

Through it all, despite not enjoying Chicolicious, we enjoyed our picnic blanket and our food.

There was a gorgeous soprano named Angela Gheorghiu that made us all stop what we were doing and wonder if perhaps fairies really did prance through the forest. There was a hot trumpeter named Alison Balsom that had all the men imagining her doing naughty things to them (men, blowing a trumpet is a skill. Blowing you off is what we do if we need you to cut the grass.) There were two tenors that made the hairs on the back of our necks stand up.

We were all having a great time.

Then the finale came.

It was dark, and the stage was lit up with light.

We were well and truly tanked by then, drinking our boxed wine (no glass allowed in the park. Love you! And I thought of you every time I poured another glass from the carton, and when I did, I snapped my bra strap from beneath my tank top as an homage to your fabulousness!) Everyone around us was pissed, too. We were all singing and laughing and talking-all 40,000 of us taking up a park in central London, and when the finale came on, we forgot all our good taste and common sense and pissed it all away with the chardonnay we'd brought.

The finale had us all on our feet, singing and dancing.

The finale is not someone I would ever, ever listen to, but on a warm London evening with a lot of wine in my system? It had to be done.

We sang at the top of our lungs with Lionel Ritchie (oh my God, I can't believe I just typed those words).

SHUT UP-you'd totally do it too, if you were there.

And if you were drunk.

And if every other single person around you was singing at the top of their lungs, too.

We sang along with his old hits-Dancing on the Ceiling, Hello, and All Night Long. He then sang two of his new albums and pimped his daughter Nicole's new album, and the audience in general was more or less: Fuck your new stuff, if you're going to do that, bring Chico Time back!

So it's true. We got drunk and sang to Lionel Ritchie. We then of course sang the standards-Land of Hope and Glory, Rule Brittania, Jerusalem, Danny Boy, All Through the Night, and the finale, the National Anthem (which Jim and I sang as My Country Tis of Thee really, really quietly, as it's the same tune and there's only so much we can do in those situations without feeling like Benedict.)

We'd felt a bit strange about it at first-we were still raw, and I wasn't very party-mood like, but in the end we came round.

Somehow, we just do.

-H.

Posted by: Everydaystranger at 06:40 AM | Comments (11) | Add Comment
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1 YES!! Sounds like a good time was had by all. And you're right, I'd have sung along to Lionel Ritchie too. Did he do anything from his days with the Commodores?

Posted by: ~Easy at September 19, 2006 11:37 AM (u8qrx)

2 Now that sounds like a fantastic time. And I would totally have sung along to the old Lionel Ritchie too. I'm not too proud to say so.

Posted by: donna at September 19, 2006 12:39 PM (ORsbE)

3 Awesome pictures! Sounds like a great time and just what you needed.

Posted by: Minawolf at September 19, 2006 12:51 PM (cH5GO)

4 You look so very beautiful....and happy despite every thing. Joy, love and happiness to you.

Posted by: jennifer at September 19, 2006 01:11 PM (F8TUc)

5 What lovely pics ... and a lovely sounding day. Lionel Richie? I like Lionel Richie... hmmm... Showing my age here.

Posted by: sue at September 19, 2006 01:59 PM (WbfZD)

6 NOOOOOOO..BOXED..WIIIIIIIIIIINE [/mommy dearest]

Posted by: statia at September 19, 2006 02:27 PM (NsnoE)

7 Ah, the things we'll do when properly plowed. Here's to you and Jim for singing "My Country Tis Of Thee." Rock on with your American selves! Wow. How white did that just sound?

Posted by: amy t. at September 19, 2006 02:47 PM (3dOTd)

8 I know what you mean about the sunglasses. I have some that make me feel like Jackie O. Until one of my friends picked them up off my car seat and said "Here! Don't forget your Elton John glasses!" Ugh. Glad to see yours are much cuter.

Posted by: Oda Mae at September 19, 2006 06:48 PM (2yWps)

9 You look fabulous, and I love the sunglasses - in fact - I have a pair that are very similar (that ought to turn you off them...LOL). I would sing to Lionel even when I am not drunk.

Posted by: kenju at September 20, 2006 01:59 AM (2+7OT)

10 WHAT?...no Mosh or Circle Pit for Lionel? You should have started one..Promise you will next year. Aight?

Posted by: J.m at September 20, 2006 02:03 AM (k3v0Q)

11 I'd have totally sung to Lionel Ritchie and I don't drink! I know all the words... ;-) I've aged myself there I do believe. And those are great pictures. You truly are a beautiful woman, Helen.

Posted by: Bou at September 21, 2006 08:28 PM (iHxT3)

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