Last night we were in the wonderful Kew Gardens seeing a live open air concert, where Elvis Costello belted out his greatest hits like a boss.
The annual Kew Summer Festival has been running for a few years now and this is the first time I have managed to join in the fun. Arriving at Kew by District Line, the air was filled with a strong beautiful scent of jasmine. I thought to myself the locals must feel like they are living in a 5 star resort that pumps out fragranced air-con, because that must the only other time I have encountered such a thing! The homes are huge, beautiful and expensive! I wonder if when I grow up I might live here! 🙂
Young and old, we all headed over to the gardens, beautifully manicured and peacefully arranged to receive us all for the concert. It was so well organised: there were areas where people had brought deck chairs and all manner of paraphernalia for a good time in the sun, ‘no chair’ sections for unobstructed views, a VIP picnic area and a whole VIP staged area for hospitality. This was surrounded by some food and drink stands with delights from my favourite Kerb, such as Korean Burritos!
There were 8 of us chilling on our picnic blankets, listening to the opening acts (including Elvis’ brother!) and nibbling on our bourgeois M&S and Waitrose picnic fare. It was very civilised! When the man himself came on, some of the group went to the front to see him in full glory. I am not a massive fan and went more for the summer fun and experience, but I have to say unlike many old crooners, Elvis Costello has definitely still got it! Such a fun and strong performance, no showgirls or lighting to distract, just one man and his guitar and some good songs. You might think you don’t know him much but if you had been there I am sure you would have sung along a bit too.
The grand finale in time to the final bars of the last song were some lovely fireworks. Can’t beat a bit of gunpowder on a summers eve! We left feeling chilled, like we had had a mini holiday and headed back to the station, only to be distracted by the local ‘Tap on the Line’ which was just begging us to have a last ‘quick one’ in the quaint garden before catching the train back to the other side of London.
All in all a really lovely evening, highly recommend to anyone fancying a bit of summer fun ‘proper English’ style. Kew has some great events on throughout the year, including a few more days of the Summer Festival, a Gin and Tonics garden for the summer, Outdoor Cinema in September and Christmas in Kew.