I made it through a fucking frought fortnight of horse racing - long drives, BV not working and one or two unhelpful (non-AE) colleagues made for an exhausting two weeks, but I got through them and enjoyed five well-earned days off. I made the most of them, too! Activities included but were not limited to:
I played my second tennis match for LT, this time at home on our 'unique' clay courts. I say unique because they're rather unpredictable - at any moment a ball may inexplicably boing/zip/die at any moment - you have to be on your toes! I was paired with Grant, who is a very chipper chap to play with; even after our first match went 1h30 (which we lost on a tie-break after I double-faulted on the last two points), his upbeat manner kept us both going, and we took our frustration out on the next pair, emphatically bagelling them (where I served three aces in the final game, go figure!).
We lost our last match quite quickly, and although it was certainly winnable on another day, I wasn't too disappointed given what had come before. The first game was so finely balanced, and although the way we (I) lost it was a bit sucky, I was impressed at how we swiftly moved on from that. Because that first game took so long, the other pairs were waiting for us to finish, and due to this deficit we never really got a break in between games. Therefore, I think by the time match 3 came around Grant and I were a little mentally fatigued.
Sis and I went to see My Chemical Romance in MK, a place I grew to know well during lockdown - which is doubly ironic because this gift was first bestowed on me during said lockdown, for my 30th birthday! Like many things the show was postponed a number of times until it was sufficiently safe to do so, but the day finally arrived (alas I am not still 30) and I am happy to report that it was well worth the wait.
MCR only have four studio albums to their name but more than enough material to make the 1h30 fly by; they gave sufficient airing to each corner of their catalogue, with my personal favourites being Teenagers, The Kids From Yesterday, and Vampire Money (which they ended the show with). And of course, as soon as the first note from Welcome to the Black Parade sounded, the crowd went nuts!
Frontman Gerard Way kept us entertained in between songs with the odd bizarre meandering anecdote; after one song where the crowd had lit up the stadium with their phones, he joked that he was old enough to remember when it used to be lighters! The audience obliged, and the white lights turned to orange - a very cool moment to see. There was also a wonderfully touching moment as the band returned for their encore - he held up a white sheet that had the names of all the people who would have been at this show when it was first announced, but are no longer with us because of COVID.
At the end, my ears, hands and voice were sore, which is a clear sign that the concert went well! I had no idea what to expect, but MCR aced it. The two other acts I've seen at stadium shows are Green Day & Billy Joel - exalted company indeed - but they earned their spot.
