Exhibition Road Music Day

Today was Exhibition Road Music Day and we headed down to check out some of the free music on offer at different stages in nine different cultural institutions on or near Exhibition Road. The best programming of the day seemed to be at the Institut Français, where we started out on their language school's breezy, secluded terrace. First up was Isobel Anderson:

We enjoyed her performance, especially considering that we had just showed up without knowing what to expect. As with many of our adventures, we also enjoyed learning about another great little nook in London that we'd never have found out about if not for the one-day event. While the inside room of the café looks like a standard school cafeteria, the terrace is enviously wonderful and we'll definitely remember it for a coffee break the next time we're in the area. Next up were Mark Mulholland (on the left) and friend,
but a combination of spitting rain and music that was less our style meant that we left the Institut Français in search of other music. On our way to our next show, we noticed this doctored sign for Cromwell Place and rather enjoyed its treble Es:
(Yes, I did just say "treble"; no one says "triple" here, and I don't know how long it's going to take before treble stops sounding very strange . . . my favourite is when I overhear people on the bus giving someone their phone number: "You can ring me at oh-two-oh-seven-treble-four-six-double-five-one.") We were a bit early for the scheduled performance of the Imperial College Jazz and Rock Society, so we sat and listened to this choir for a bit,
while watching people walk by on the other side of Imperial College's expansive glass.
The society's performance turned out to be a solo one that was too cocky and atonal to keep our attention for long, so we ventured back outside where I noticed an inscription on the V&A that I'd never noticed before. This is just the type of inscription that always makes me realise I'm a very long way from Vancouver, and looking at the enormous wall riddled with pockmarks seemed very surreal.
After a picnic lunch and a few more musical samples, we ended up at the Institut Français again, for the screening of a silent film with live musical score. Although performances were continuing into the night,
we decided to slowly make our way home, and found some very cute friends in Hyde Park along the way!