Sunday July 20th
I know I have told you about visits to Blenheim Castle in the past, but yesterday Barbara and I, Fritha and Anthony were back there again for a most memorable experience.
You’ll have seen the famous Proms Concerts in London on TV, and of course we have our own in Melbourne. But yesterday, we went to what are known as “The Battle Proms”.
This is a proms concert staged in the open air on the huge Blenheim estate, featuring not only m
usic but Napoleonic cavalry, cannon fire and fireworks.
We got there at around 4pm, and set up camp with thousands of other concert goers, in front of a temporary sound shell. At our backs were rows of stalls flogging coffees, drinks, roast pork, and of course lots of flags for us to wave at appropriate moments. Now you’d expect this to be a very British affair, as indeed it was, but there were also Australians, New Zealanders and South Africans all over the place.
Part of the tradition at these things is to dress up. We didn’t because for one thing it was threatening to rain. (In the end we only got a sprinkle of rain.), but many people did. There were men in white suits with panama hats and union jack waistcoats, and some women in evening gowns. The thing to drink is Pimms, and we started out with a jug of that along with a picnic meal we’d brought with us. While we waited for the main events, a folk singer and a harpist kept things going, along with bagpipes.
While we sat around drinking Pimms and making smart arse comments about the eccentricities of th
e Brits, we were more than ready to join in when things got under way.
First up there was a demonstration of skirmishing and cavalry action by a lot of men and women dressed in the magnificent uniforms of the Napoleonic period armies, British and French. T.JPG)
hey charged up and down a field waving swords and lances, tent pegging and slashing wildly at cabbages. We assumed they were French cabbages, although it was a team of “French chasseurs” who actually won the contest, beating the British “heavy dragoons.” They all looked superb in those grand uniforms, but I have to say that up close, a number of them looked overweight (really heavy dragoons) and I felt sorry for the horses.
Then with the sun beginning to lower in the west, the proceedings r.JPG)
eally began when the orchestra opened with a performance of ”Jupiter” from “The Planets” and with a roar, this beautifully restored Spitfire suddenly swooped down out of the clouds. For the next fifteen minutes this gorgeous aircraft banked and rolled and climbed in time with the music. I’m no aircraft fanatic (although many of you know that “The Battle of Britain” is one of my favourite movies), but to watch the manoeuvres of this sixty year old plane as it wheeled and dived like a bird dropping to a few hundred feet over our heads, and then up and up into the clouds with the sun glinting on its wings; was just mesmerising. As Fritha said, “That was the coolest thing!”
I read later that this Spitfire was built in 1944 and took part in the war over Europe. It.JPG)
did feature in the aforementioned movie, and was still flying in 1960, as part of the Irish Air Corps. It was bought and restored in the eighties by a man named Nick Grace. He died in 1988 and his wife Caroline learned to fly it for air displays. It was Caroline Grace at the controls last night.
After that we enjoyed a programme of classic Proms numbers; La Donna e Mobile, the Light Cavalry Overture and of course the 1812 Overture complete with live cannon fire and fireworks.
.JPG)
After an interval, and a couple of bottles of white wine, we were well pre
pared for the big traditional numbers.
So we all joined in waving our flags and singing along with everyone else to Jerusalem (And Did Those Feet in Ancient Times....”), The Sailor’s Hornpipe, (to which you are expected to bob up and down in time, while you wave your Union Jack), Rule Britannia, and finally of course “Land of Hope and Glory”. At that point the sky was alive with fireworks, cannon fire and everybody going completely mad with the flags and the singing. My daughter Fritha summed up the atmosphere. ”I cannot believe that I would ever have stood here amongst all these people waving a Union Jack and carrying on like this.”.JPG)
This morning, reality has kicked in again but last night was an unforgettable evening.
I know I have told you about visits to Blenheim Castle in the past, but yesterday Barbara and I, Fritha and Anthony were back there again for a most memorable experience.
You’ll have seen the famous Proms Concerts in London on TV, and of course we have our own in Melbourne. But yesterday, we went to what are known as “The Battle Proms”.
This is a proms concert staged in the open air on the huge Blenheim estate, featuring not only m
usic but Napoleonic cavalry, cannon fire and fireworks.We got there at around 4pm, and set up camp with thousands of other concert goers, in front of a temporary sound shell. At our backs were rows of stalls flogging coffees, drinks, roast pork, and of course lots of flags for us to wave at appropriate moments. Now you’d expect this to be a very British affair, as indeed it was, but there were also Australians, New Zealanders and South Africans all over the place.
Part of the tradition at these things is to dress up. We didn’t because for one thing it was threatening to rain. (In the end we only got a sprinkle of rain.), but many people did. There were men in white suits with panama hats and union jack waistcoats, and some women in evening gowns. The thing to drink is Pimms, and we started out with a jug of that along with a picnic meal we’d brought with us. While we waited for the main events, a folk singer and a harpist kept things going, along with bagpipes.
While we sat around drinking Pimms and making smart arse comments about the eccentricities of th
e Brits, we were more than ready to join in when things got under way.First up there was a demonstration of skirmishing and cavalry action by a lot of men and women dressed in the magnificent uniforms of the Napoleonic period armies, British and French. T
.JPG)
hey charged up and down a field waving swords and lances, tent pegging and slashing wildly at cabbages. We assumed they were French cabbages, although it was a team of “French chasseurs” who actually won the contest, beating the British “heavy dragoons.” They all looked superb in those grand uniforms, but I have to say that up close, a number of them looked overweight (really heavy dragoons) and I felt sorry for the horses.Then with the sun beginning to lower in the west, the proceedings r
.JPG)
eally began when the orchestra opened with a performance of ”Jupiter” from “The Planets” and with a roar, this beautifully restored Spitfire suddenly swooped down out of the clouds. For the next fifteen minutes this gorgeous aircraft banked and rolled and climbed in time with the music. I’m no aircraft fanatic (although many of you know that “The Battle of Britain” is one of my favourite movies), but to watch the manoeuvres of this sixty year old plane as it wheeled and dived like a bird dropping to a few hundred feet over our heads, and then up and up into the clouds with the sun glinting on its wings; was just mesmerising. As Fritha said, “That was the coolest thing!”I read later that this Spitfire was built in 1944 and took part in the war over Europe. It
.JPG)
did feature in the aforementioned movie, and was still flying in 1960, as part of the Irish Air Corps. It was bought and restored in the eighties by a man named Nick Grace. He died in 1988 and his wife Caroline learned to fly it for air displays. It was Caroline Grace at the controls last night.After that we enjoyed a programme of classic Proms numbers; La Donna e Mobile, the Light Cavalry Overture and of course the 1812 Overture complete with live cannon fire and fireworks.
.JPG)
After an interval, and a couple of bottles of white wine, we were well pre
pared for the big traditional numbers.So we all joined in waving our flags and singing along with everyone else to Jerusalem (And Did Those Feet in Ancient Times....”), The Sailor’s Hornpipe, (to which you are expected to bob up and down in time, while you wave your Union Jack), Rule Britannia, and finally of course “Land of Hope and Glory”. At that point the sky was alive with fireworks, cannon fire and everybody going completely mad with the flags and the singing. My daughter Fritha summed up the atmosphere. ”I cannot believe that I would ever have stood here amongst all these people waving a Union Jack and carrying on like this.”
This morning, reality has kicked in again but last night was an unforgettable evening.
Love that Spitfire!
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