Perfect day

Tonight, I had multiple invites to the BBC SSO performing Haydn at the Concert Hall (not a great shock, they were giving away tickets -- presumably so Matt didn't have to fake the applause as much for Radio 3). I declined, since I was intending to go to a RTS bash with the commissioner of BBC Three. But that was cancelled at the last minute. Ho hum.

But then Adrian, bless him, calls with an invite to the opera: Bartok's Duke Bluebeard's Castle. A minimal staging, but suitably powerful; very much enjoyed from our box, thanks very much.

We elected not to stay for Schoenberg's Erwartung, however, and instead skipped out and repaired to the Clockwork. I've never been before. In fact, I'd never heard of it, which seems preposterous when one learns that not only is it fairly local (not quite walking distance, alas), and not only do they have an entirely separate Belgian beers menu, but they're also a microbrewery. The first I've been to since I was in the US last year.

It's a hard life.