At Glyndebourne Opera

Last night we enjoyed going out for supper with our friends – amazing what some paracetamol can do to make me feel better after my second vaccine (or maybe it was that glass of prosecco?!)

This morning we were up early and went for a run through the woods with Xena – it was great not to have to wear many layers as the temperature was very pleasant and it was a beautiful day. I did not feel that great after the run, I had quite a headache but paracetemol soon sorted that. I am very surprised to be having these mild post vaccine symptoms, as Gavin had none after his second vaccine on Monday.

No time to be suffering with a headache as today was a very special outing – we went to Glyndebourne Opera to see the performance of Kata Kabanova. Last year I had booked tickets to a couple of shows of the festival but of course they were all cancelled due to Covid, so it is great that they have managed to put on some performances this year. The orchestra was much reduced and socially distanced so you do not get that swell of music as you do with a full orchestra, but it was still very well done. We sat in pairs with two seats between us so everyone was socially distanced, and masks had to be worn all the time whilst in the performance hall. The opera was very well done - the dramatic lighting and simple minimalist staging were extremely effective and we enjoyed the performance very much.

Luke and Meriel joined us which was lovely - the gardens open about 2 hours before the performance starts and so we had bubbly and some nibbles in the garden, then had a walk around the lake and admired the beautiful flowers in the walled garden. The opera was a very short one, I think it was specially chosen for this reason to be manageable in these Covid restriction times. We had dinner in one of the restaurants during the long interval which was delicious. The weather was warm and sunny and we could not have asked for a better day to be there - it was indeed a very special outing and we feel so pleased to have experienced this again after months of lockdown and not being able to do anything like this at all.

One is encouraged to dress up for Glyndebourne, black tie is the usual dress code for men (or anything eccentric is welcomed - there was one guy in a bright orange suit with gold brogues!) My blip is of Luke and Meriel posing in front of the manor house.

We got home at about 10pm, Xena was absolutely fine after being looked after by our neighbour's daughter. I am quickly uploading this before I go to bed.

Extras
1. Meriel looking lovely in her hat - I do love this photo of her
2. Some of the guests brought their children !!!
3. Pre-performance drinks and nibbles
4. The lake in the gardens
5. Gavin and I