Pandamonium in the Park - Althorp House

Full set list

• Kung Fu Panda - Hero Theme


• KFP - Oogway Theme


• KFP - Medley


• Megamind - Giant Blue Head


• Megamind - Love Theme


• How to train your Dragon - This is berk


• KFP - Training sequence


• KFP - Po's Theme


• KFP 2 - Story of Peacock


• True Romance - You're so cool


• Bee Movie - Medley


• Chicken Run - Main title escape montage


• Super Megamind variations


• Shrek - Fairytale theme


• KFP 2 - Zen Ball


• Stallion of the Cimarron - Homeland opening


• Pirates of the Carribbean - Pirates Suite


• Madagascar - Best Friends


• Mdagascar - Moveit/Kung Fu Fighting
  

The beautiful setting of Althorp House.


Great concert - great musicians and a day to remember.


Is there nothing that this man can't play ?


Our compere for the concert 'Danny Jacobs' the voice of King Julien XIII from The Penguins of Madagascar doing a brilliant rendition of 'Move it'.




Tina Guo, who plays both acoustic and electric cello. and also plays in a progressive metal band, Off the Deep End.


The amazing larger than life Aleksey Igudesman, Russian violinist, composer, conductor and actor.




Hans Zimmer

John Powell


As well as the Philarmonic orchestra there were amazingly talented solo performers. Ann Marie Calhoun (Centre).

Hans playing a Kazoo


The legendary composer Hans Zimmer with John Powell in the background.


Decided to put down the picnic blanket and reserve a space close to the stage in plenty of time for the full philharmonic orchestra with Hans Zimmer and John Powell later in the late afternoon. A couple of pints of excellent if expensive Hobgoblin had made me a little drowsy. It was very pleasant dozing in the sunshine until the peace was shattered. Suddenly I was surrounded by hordes of teenage girls making hell of an excited noise. Unbeknown to me I was in prime position for the boy band 'Big Time Rush'. Time for a sharp exit to the beer tent! Next up was some guy who had won or maybe was runner up in Brittains got talent.From the beer tent I heard him murdering Evanescense's 'Bring me to life'. I decided to stay where I was and have another beer.

Big Time Rush




Amazing displays of dragon dancing by the legendary Chen Brothers, kung fu demonstrations by the Shaolin Monks, and martial arts performances by Nam Yang - many had travelled especially from China for the event.



The grand surroundings of historic Althorp House in Northamptonshire took on a decidedly Chinese flavour. DreamWorks Animation has arrived to bring an all-day family festival, Pandamonium in the Park, which will celebrate the cinematic release of Kung Fu Panda 2 on 10th June. The event was themed around Po, the lovable hero of Kung Fu Panda. The culmination of the day was a concert featuring a world first exclusive live performance by film composers Hans Zimmer and John Powell, featuring music from the Kung Fu Panda 2 musical score and many others.

Stowe Landscape Gardens

Temple of Venus.


The Temple of Ancient Virtue built in 1737.





One of my favourites - The Temple of British Worthies. A who's who of British noblety and genius.The chosen individuals falling into two groups, eight known for their actions and eight known for their thoughts and ideas.

Captain Cooks monument - (built in 1778 as a monument to Captain James Cook) in the Elysian Fields



Exploring the 'Grotto'

Captain Grenvilles Column - one of Lord Cobham's nephews. In 1747 he was fatally wounded whilst commanding the ship 'Defiance' in the battle against the French off Finisterre.

Stunning setting for a cricket pitch. South front of Stowe House.


Looking back towards the Gothic Temple from beyond Palladian Bridge.

'Rotunda' enclosed in a ring of slender columns, stands this gilded statue of Venus . When the sun shines through to light the statue, the effect is stunning; it seems to glow with life.


Hidden away is a secluded Chinese House in its own garden.

Wherever you look there are stunning views, this one looking towards one of the Lake Pavillions.


The Pebble Alcove


The Palladian Bridge crosses Octagon Lake and is stunning !





Approaching from the Grecian Valley (Cobhams Walk) the first monument is Lord Cobhams Pillar. Built in 1747 by Capability Brown designed not only as a memorial to Lord Cobham, commissioned by his wife, but as a viewing tower see the entire garden.


Great to finish off the weeks holiday with a visit to one of my favourite places.
Stowe Gardens is set in 250 acres and started in the 1730's by the Temple family. It is a pure celebration of a love of art, music, and literature expressed in a classical romantic landscape.
For me it is pure escapism amongst tranquil waters and stunning monuments of all shapes and sizes.

Top Tipster

Yours truly along with his partner in crime Bob Billingham receiving the monthly prize for finding the biggest prize horse winner @ 12/1 Foxhunt.
Been doing the competition for many years now which is organised through the local paper the 'Northampton Chronichle & Echo'. Or Chronicle of errors as it is known locally.
This is only the second time I have ever won ! Albeit with the lowliest monthly score ever.. but who cares.

New Badger Sett

It really had been a fantastic couple of nights for someone who loves wildlife like I do. I actually counted 16 badgers overall and I am sure that they are some of the ones from last year who have 'moved house'. even as I was walking away heads were popping out of the ground to see what was going on? A truly wonderful experience.


The Peanut butter well and truly discovered!


It wasn't long before the cubs emerged ,this time there were four ! A couple more adults also emerged and disapeared straight into the undergrowth. i can only imagine that they were going to the toilet- which is always well away from the sett but revisited each time.
The rain really brought the woods to life with the sound through the leaves and the wonderful smells it created on the trees and plants. It was a real pleasure to be there alone with nature.


I had sprinkled some peanuts again as well as a special treat some crunchy peanut butter that i had spread on the tree stumps. With their incredible sense of smell there would be no problem finding it. I next to no time there was a 'Badger Crowd' gathering! They must have been curious as to where the food treat had suddenly appeared from surely?


Night 2 - I had just arrived at the woods and taken up position in a hidden spot when the heavens opened. Luckily I was quiet sheltered under the trees and didn't get totally soaked.
It wasn't long before one of the adults emerged very cautiously from the sett.

Unfortunately the light was beginning to fade and I didn't want to repeat the experience last year when I got lost in the dark. But I looked forward to going back the following night for a proper watch.

One of the young cubs.

There were some great hiding places amongst the trees so I found a good position down wind and took up position. It wasn't long before there was action. It was wonderful to see three very young cubs accompanied by their mother. They were clearly desperate to get out from underground and have some fun. They were lovely to watch as they scurried around imitating their mother and teasing each other.


Night 1
It was a long overdue visit I made to the woods to see the Badgers this year. The setts I watched last year looked a bit overgrown and possibly abandoned. This is quite common with badgers so I wasn't totally surprised.
Nevertheless I scattered some of their favourite peanuts and hid myself amongst the trees and undergrowth and sat back and waited .. and waited ....
As I suspected there was no sign of any activity apart from a very noisy Woodpecker, a pair of Barn Owls calling each other and the ever present bahing of the sheep in the nearby meadow.
In the distance I spotted a badger and stalked it as quietly as a Church mouse. I just managed to see it disapear underground, and discovered a whole new area of setts!

RUSH - LG Arena Birmingham

Full set list

• The Spirit of Radio
• Time Stand Still
• Presto
• Stick it out
• Workin them Angels
• Leave that thing Alone
• Faithless
• BU2B (From Clockwork Angels)
• Freewill
• Marathon
• Subdivisions

Interval

• Tom Sawyer
• Red Barchetta
• YYZ
• Limelight
• The Camera Eye
• Witch Hunt
• Vital Signs
• Caravan (From Clockwork Angels)
• Love 4 Sale (Drum Solo)
• Closer to the Heart
• 2112 Overture/The Temples of Syrinx
• Far Cry
  

Encore

• La Villa Strangiato (With Polka intro)
• Working Man (With reggae intro and Cygnus X-1: Book 1 outro)

My personal highlights were Marathon (an old favourite from 1985's Power Windows album). Far Cry from the latest Snakes and Arrows album and my all time favourite Working Man from the debut album RUSH way back in 1974 and has stood the test of time sounding equally brilliant today.

With fellow RUSH fanatic Brian Moreland






The New World Man symbol


Geddy on the big screen




As you would expect no RUSH concert would be complete without a massive light show and video screen display. The intro was a hilarious video of the band in various guises experimenting with 'The Time Machine'. They obviously have a great sense of humour and don't take themselves too seriously.



The Time Machine Tour began on June 29, 2010 in Albuquerque, New Mexico and is expected to end July 2011. It has taken in 85 gigs across the world. As well as featuring the album Moving Pictures also included as well is material from the band's upcoming studio album Clockwork Angels.


Alex Lifeson - One of the worlds greatest and most underated guitarists it has to be said. Probably gets overshaded to some extent by his other two bandmates but make no mistake he is up there with the best of em. He must have used at least half a dozen or more different guitars tonight.


Neil Peart - commonly regarded by music fans, critics and fellow musicians as one of the greatest rock drummers of all time. He is also regarded as one of the finest in-concert drum soloists without which no RUSH concert would be complete. He is also the main lyricist with a totally eclectic cstyle.


Geddy Lee - Amazing ability to operate various pieces of instrumentation simultaneously. This is most evident during live shows when he must play bass, supply lead vocals, manipulate keyboards, and trigger foot pedals during the course of a show. As I said amazing stuff!


RUSH are quite simply the greatest and most influential band in the world in my opinion of course. Ranked third in consecutive gold or platinum albums after The Beatles and The Rolling Stones and followed by millions of devoted fans worldwide. They are literally the most revered band by the most respected of other rock musicians and have carved out an amazing forty year carrer .. so far. Being a cult band they are something of an acquired taste or a 'marmite' band if you prefer, either loving or hating.For me it is just awesome the amazing sound that three guys can create time and time again.
This was to be my fourth RUSH gig.'The Time Machine Tour' was to feature the album 'Moving Pictures' in its entirity for the first time ever. Including for the first time ever live 'The Camera Eye'.