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The Outing: Unusually, I didn't leave late. I left later, but not late. Companion was collected, and we to Brent Cross for an en route meal. We were soon back on the road, heading toward the South Bank. Having made practice runs several times, we arrived without mishap. Again, unusual. The first space I'd hoped to use was full, but one further along was empty. Blue Badge on the dash, we were good to go. And this is where 'reality' hit me around the face like an old smelly fish. The car was parked in the same position to the van shown in this picture: In all the visits I had made previously, those covered market stalls had not been there. Worse, on the day, there was a row even closer to the car, where the empty space appears between the cars and the potted bushes. It was a busy pathway, with people stopping to browse. And the stairway seen in the background (that least ups to the RFH main entrance) was almost covered in people sitting, eating and drinking refreshments just bought from the market. Getting out of the car felt like getting out on stage in front of an audience, and in bright sunshine too. The reality was, courts were off the agenda, so thankfully I had not made a special purchase of red ones! Even after we had left the car, me in the boots shown in my avatar, I was reluctant to walk up through the sitting mass. We walked around to the rear entrance, the one I had used before. Walking past the venues dedicated Blue Badge parking, I could see all the bays were used. There was no way I could park closer, just cross the road. I had just not appreciated (i) how many people would be there, and (ii) how many would be sitting - watching the world around them. Inside the venue was slightly darker, noisier, with seated heads a little higher off the ground. Having found where we were to enter the auditorium, we had a quick post-dinner coffee. The cafeteria was like a furnace, so we went outside onto the busy balcony. Immediately I could see a woman, with two male companions with their backs to me had spotted my high heeled gait, so I kept my back to her. In doing so, one of a group of four girls standing by an adjacent table to the woman I'd spotted, told her friends about my shoes. After a quick look by some, they all went back to what they were doing. Apparently, I wan't as interesting as she may have thought. At this point, I was quite glad I didn't have slim heels on, and very glad they weren't red. My bladder is either super-efficient, or super-inefficient. Fluids almost fall through me. Back inside I made a visit to the toilet, and we into the auditorium and seated. There were some rather stunning couples in the audience, very well dressed and very good looking. Most looked like tourists though. One couple were very noticeable. Unfortunately, the fella with the camera hadn't switched it on as he thought, so no pictures.... (Duh.) The actual performance was superlative. We were seated very close to the stage, and pretty much at the best level too. He and the group of artists with him, got a standing ovation, and a well deserved standing ovation. All his concerts are sold out wherever he performs in the UK, with good reason. Once the performance was over, there was a terrific rush to get outside. Not sure why, but there was. Outside, it was as good as dark, and only then could I possibly been able to wear slimmer heels and gone almost gone unnoticed. I say almost, because even the shoes I had on got spotted by one person as I was about to leave the front of the building. Hey-ho. The car wasn't more than 40 or 50 yards away, and we made a quick journey homeward. Another time we might have hung around for a walk along the river as the weather was so good, but our senses were already humming from the gig.