House Festival, Chiswick Park

Last week, very last minute, I was invited to House Festival, a day of fabulous music, food and drink in Chiswick Park. With ticket costs at a staggering £195, this was one guest pass I was not going to turn down. The event was sold out, and full of corporate types, enjoying a day of free premium food and drink. As a Chiswick resident born and bred, this park still holds many vivid memories for me: Sunday walks, tree climbing expeditions with friends, begging my parents for an ice-cream in the park cafe. It was nice to return, albeit for very different reasons.

Unlike most music festivals, here the stage area was small and under-populated, with guests preferring to loiter around the sumptuous displays of lobster, hog roasts and delectable Grey Goose cocktail stalls. I arrived after work at 6.30 ish though the party had begun at 3. After a day of rainstorms, I’d opted for my neon pink Hunter wellies, delighted at the chance to finally take them out. Sure enough they got some looks (I beamed proudly), well anything quite so dayglo is likely to turn a few heads.

I grabbed a hog roast bap and a ‘Provence Presse’ Grey Goose cocktail and meandered over to the music to listen to some of the Noah and the Whale set. This five piece, indie/folk band originate from Twickenham and seemed at home on the Chiswick platform. Sadly without much energy and interest from the crowd they lacked motivation a little and didn’t seem that bothered when it was their time to leave the stage. This lacklustre feel continued for most of the evening... Tinie Tempah seemed to be a different artist entirely from the spirited man I’d seen only a few days before at Hop Farm.

The food and drink was all delicious - fresh produce, presented and served to the highest standards. It was lovely to not worry about money and cost, everything was free which made things quick and easy! The toilets queues were negligible, a rare festival occurrence. Of the stalls, it was the more quirky that excited me: the mini cupcake stand, the ready to use photo booth, a pretty choose-your-own flavour candy floss stall.

The headlining act, Stereophonics came on promptly at 9.45, introduced by a beaming James Cordon. They too seemed unexcited by this suburban gig and all looked a little aged and weary. However a few familiar hits later and the, now very drunken, audience seemed to have been given the shock of power and inspiration they needed, and began joining in with the singing band. It was a great set, filled with all the favourites tunes, afterwards the crowd stumbled out, ready to collapse into their comfortable Chiswick beds.

Beethoven's Fidelio at Opera Holland Park

Yvonne Howard as Leonore

Opera Holland Park welcomes the return of its 2003 production of Beethoven’s Fidelio. I have been lucky enough to see both the 2003 production and the current revival.

Fidelio, Beethoven’s only opera has become an important part of the modern operatic repertoire. Beethoven struggled to write the work, particularly the overture. The overture that features today is intensely dramatic and is, I believe, appropriate for the opera, although this is often debated. It is one of my favourite parts of the opera.

I often attend operas with non-opera goers and find it interesting to observe their reactions to different aspects of the performance. Often their opinions are the most valid. For example, Puccini is my opera weakness, and I find it very difficult to be critical about a production of Tosca, when I find the music so overpowering.

Fidelio at Opera Holland Park this summer has done well and seems to be popular among audiences. I definitely find it more convincing than the 2003 production. The conductor Paul Robinson is always a joy to see. I was conducted by him when I was younger and found him to easy to work with and very musical. Yvonne Howard as Leonore is terrifically boisterous, mastering the often tricky vocal part and acting convincingly with the rest of the cast. I love the layout of the stage in this Fidelio. Olivia Fuchs, who directs this production, poignantly places the prisoners in cells centre stage. It is exciting to watch as the cells unfold and the prisoners sheepishly crawl out.

Fidelio is a simple love story that will always be relevant, Opera Holland Park do justice to the drama and to Beethoven’s stunning score.

Book tickets for Opera Holland Park here.

J.P. Morgan Corporate Challenge

Every year, at the beginning of July hundreds of brave people take part in the J.P Morgan Corporate Challenge. This 5.6 kilometre running course has grown from a single event in 1977 to an international series in six countries.

On Tuesday 6 July I was one of the 13,000 participants running the race in London’s sunny Battersea Park. I was participating with my company for Great Ormand Street Hospital, a worthy cause.

I have to admit, ever since agreeing to take part I was dreading this run. I enjoy exercise (mostly contact sport), but find running very challenging, and haven’t really ever got into it. To make matters worse, I realised, the day before, that I didn’t own any trainers. Oh dear. After eventually digging out some (barely) suitable footwear, and choosing an appropriate outfit, I was ready to go.

The run itself was pretty hellish, but there were moments I enjoyed. Battersea Park is quite a picturesque location to run in, or visit, particularly along the river. The first four kilometres were bearable, it was the final stretch that really got me. And seeing a man passed out on a stretcher didn’t fill me with confidence. As I met up with my colleagues at the end I was filled with overwhelming pride that I had managed such a personal feat. A well deserved visit to the pub finished off the evening perfectly.

http://www.jpmorganchasecc.com/gallery.php?spgmGal=London&spgmPic=2&spgmFilters=&city_id=10#pic