settling in for some rainy proms

And with this, my time at the Uni of Warwick was sadly over.

Yep, 5 weeks had disappeared in the blink of an eye. It was a great time that was spent there and my hosts Jane and Sara were incredible. I feel like during the time I have made quite a bit of headway into my research, and have plenty to go on with, so all in all it was a very fruitful time.

But that’s work! With a few weeks of leave officially arriving before I get back to work, Kate and I left the uni late in the arvo, and started heading north. Our plan was to head to the town of Chesterfield, which was nearby to Chatsworth House, a historic stately home, where we had tickets for the last night of the Proms extravaganza.

The drive up was relatively painless… all motorway, although we were getting used to the endless roadworks and traffic by the end of it. But with plenty of time we had checked in to our hotel and were making our way to the venue. Sadly, this is when a real English summer decided to arrive.

what’s a proms without champagne and pims?

Everyone was saying that the hot summer was too good to be true, and as it turns out the night we really could have done with some nice weather, the clouds rolled in and the rains came. You see, the Proms were being held in the surrounding grounds… perfect for a pleasant summers evening, but not so much for a rainy one. So with rain jackets and brollies in check, we braved the rains and settled in on the grass, getting ready for the symphonic extravaganza.

picnic, england style

The setting under normal circumstances would have been ideal. Historic homestead in the background, easy access to Pimms and champers, and the UK Symphonic Orchestra banging out the classics. Indeed everyone was taking it very seriously, with many parties bring out tables, chairs, food, and even the odd candelabra.

lots of pomp and circumstance

So what followed was 2.5 hours of orchestral classics. Even though it is not typically my thing, I knew virtually all the pieces. We even got some low brow classics like the main Star Wars theme. They must have known I was coming.

going out with a bang

Even though it was still pouring with rain, we finished with some fireworks to celebrate the last night of the Proms. Me, I celebrated the wet, but fun, night out by getting dry.