Philharmonic in the Park

Why do I always want to spell Philharmonic without the second 'h'?

Anyway, last night was the last night of the New York Philharmonic in Central Park, so We went along with our friends Rich and Maisha, meeting at the 81st street entrance at 6.30 - or that was the plan...

Gill's train was delayed and Rich was working late so I met Maisha at about 6.45 and we headed to the park; to say the last few days were hot is an understatement. Temperatures have been pushing 100F and - unfortunately - I have become quite the sweaty man, so by the time I walked from home to 81st I was dripping (literally!) with sweat.

Anyway, we got to the park and set up the blankets, played with Rich and Maisha's dogs Kai and Sasha and settled in - and it was BUSY - and I took the photos to prove it!

They're supposed to be in line, but that never works on this stupid thing...

Anyway, Rich showed up roundabout 7.45 (and aren't the dogs cute little things? I'm still not entirely convinced they're real dogs, but they'll do in a pinch).

Gill didn't get there till 9.00ish after a train journey from hell. But the Park was still busy, the Philharmonic were very good (what you could hear over the buzz of the people) and everything was going well. The band stopped playing around 9.30 or 9.45, and then there were some fireworks (behind us so we couldn't see thanks to the trees!) and then...

The heavens opened. All that humidity that had been around produced a huge, huge thunderstorm. Big cracks of thunder, forked lightning and rain that soaked everyone almost instantly.

The entire park ran for cover under the trees (probably not the best idea in a lightning storm) until they were moved along by police - and it became clear that this wasn't going to pass. Thousands - literally thousands - of people trudged out of Central Park towards the subway.

We said bye to Rich, Maisha and the very bemused dogs and got the subway back to 66th, changing at Columbus Circle. The platforms were swimming with water, and everyone was drenched to the skin, but everyone was in a really good mood - you just can't help but laugh at these things.

When we got on the train - the entire car just filled instantly - a few horrified dry people on board (who must have avoided the rain by being on the subway) leaned in and stared at these soaking, laughing people. One girl whispered to another, shocked: "They're all drunk!"

Not quite but we did feel like a glass of water. And just to prove it...(and yes, the wet shirt does make me look fat!)

Even so, a good night!

Random stuff

I saw a woman today on Columbus that looked a lot like Fantazia, a winner of American Idol a few years back.

I'm not sure what scared me more; that I recognised her as Fantazia (maybe), or that I actually knew who Fantazia was....

Scratch that. The second one definitely scared me more.

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I also passed a restaurant there offering 'Falafel and More...' - seriously? More what? You're going to leave a tease like that and not follow up on it?

What if the Falafel isn't enough to get me in - maybe the More would be, but you just don't say what it was?

Sheesh.

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I was in aCarribean restaurant down on 24th (I think) on Saturday - and the men's restroom was a single room with a toilet and a urinal...so what's the etiquette there?

I was having a pee; I was only using one of them - so should I lock or leave it open in case someone else needs one too?

What if the second person needs a no. two? Does that change things? Can I leave it open, but when he drops his trousers just go "Hold on, there buddy!"?

What if someone's already in there? Is it rude to turn around and walk back out? Is it rude not to?

There are so many possibilities - and none of them are pleasant!

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The sofabed has arrived!

Finally, we have two - count 'em, two - functioning living areas.

Hurrah!

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FYI - I locked the door.

Wife's Birthday!

My wife turned a milestone birthday yesterday...one that she won't like me saying.

Let's just say that she passed from one decade into another and leave it at that - although she's in quite a bit of denial.

We went out for a meal on the Lower East Side at Cacio E Pepe - a very nice Italian - and were joined by quite a few very happy Italian fans following their World Cup victory.

At least it wasn't France...

Anyway, just in case Gill ever stops by the blog, I wanted to say that she still looks five or six years younger than her age, and I suspect she always will.

Am I a nice husband or what?

Building fall

A building has collapsed on 62nd this morning following an explosion - apparently caused by a gas leak.

It apparently happened around 8.40 this morning - at a time when I was eating breakfast and watching 24 on iTunes.

And I had no clue.

Typical.

Independence Day!

Now I'm not one for fireworks - mostly because I'm a miserable git sometimes, but also because of a particular incident at Uni that really isn't relevant right now - but I have to say, the 4th July fireworks over the East River made for amazing viewing last night.

Thanks to our friends Rich and Maisha, we wangled an invite to a party over on 23rd and 3rd, on top of an apartment building - about twenty floors up. Buildings in the Gramercy area are pretty low so that gave us a good view for when the fireworks started.

Nice area, too - and let's be honest, anywhere you can see fireworks against the New York skyline from one direction and the Empire State Building lit up red, white and blue from the other has to be pretty cool.

So yeah, good Independence Day - although it's now tanking it down outside and I have to go shopping for my wife's birthday on Sunday.

Of course, I guess the fact that it was Independence Day makes it a little ironic that we were there celebrating - as the whole reason for it was kicking the Brits out in the first place!