June: Up at The O2, and pavement napping

OK, I have to be honest here. This one wasn't strictly speaking a dip into the day out fund. Every June, I go to West End Live in Trafalgar Square in London, as it always sits around my birthday. This year, the Saturday happened to be my actual birthday, so of course I was doubly excited. For my birthday present, my Mum always sends me some money to book my hotel, train, theatre tickets, and whatever else I might be able to eek out of it when you consider London prices in summer! I did use the money on the usual travel expenses, but I also decided to treat myself to something that I had wanted to do for a long time. I was going to walk over The O2.

First things first. The main reason for me travelling to London in the first place was for West End Live. It's a real highlight of my year, and I've been going since 2017 and the days when you could rock up an hour before starting time and get yourself a nice spot in Trafalgar Square to see it all from. Those days are, for better or worse, gone. I was in the queue on the morning of my 37th birthday at 6:15am. It sounds like hell, but I promise you that with the right combination of snacks, folding chair, and a book, it can be bearable. It was also a decent temperature. Throughout the day, the temperatures have been known to reach 35 degrees in there, but in the shade at that time of a morning, it can be pretty chilly. This year was fine, and I even managed to use my backpack as a pillow and have an hour extra kip each morning in the queue. Both days were amazing, and it's such a brilliant thing to see so many of the upcoming shows, as well as some old favourites. Also, any event that gives you three performances by Jamie Muscato for absolutely free is always going to be OK in my book. I'm already looking forward to next year. 

The other reason for my trip was to cram as many shows in as I possibly could. I went down on the Friday, arriving at lunch time. By 2:30, I was in The Prince Edward Theatre, braced and ready for Beetlejuice. I thought that it was a really fun adaptation of the source material, and David Fynn was exceptional in the title role. Any show that has a dancing animatronic hog roast is OK in my book. Then the evening was spent at Avenue Q. The original London production of Avenue Q got me through my A-Levels, even though I never got to see it back then. The soundtrack was played to death, and it was one of the first shows I remember having a big YouTube presence, with so many funny videos. It didn't let me down 20 years on from accompanying my essay writing. It's so bizarre how you immediately accept that these puppets are real, living breathing characters, even though you can plainly see them being operated by the actors. So clever. Also, I got called a "fucking cheapskate" by Princeton, and I was delighted by this. On Saturday night, I spent my birthday on the front row of The Producers. I had seen it before, but I did see that there was a couple of points in the show where the front row is interacted with. Most noticeably, just before Springtime for Hitler is performed, Max and Leo come through the front row telling the audience to enjoy their show. To my absolute amazement, when they reached me, Max Bialystock stopped at me and said "hey baby, you gotta come up and see me in my office some time", and proceeded to give me his business card. I was thrilled. I love The Producers, and Andy Nyman, who plays Max, so that was a very exciting moment for me. Finally, on the Sunday, I went to see The Play That Goes Wrong. Let me tell you, when you work in a theatre, that show hits differently! I remember seeing a snippet of it on television years ago, and I watched the TV shows that the same ensemble made. It has always looked right up my alley, so I thought that I should definitely give it a go. Genuinely never stopped laughing, and I couldn't help but relate to all of the characters and goings on, given what I do for a living. Definitely one I'd recommend. 

When I was in the queue for West End Live, I got an email with a waiver I had to digitally sign for my trip over the O2. I even had to put down emergency contacts for it, which slightly unnerved me! As someone that doesn't much like heights, this might seem like an odd choice of activity, but every time I'd been to the O2 and seen the walkway, I'd wanted to give it a go. I will say, from the off, I couldn't have felt any more safe and secure than I did. You have a safety briefing before going up, including having the soles of your shoes checked for grip, to make sure that you are fully prepped and able to walk over safely. After that, you get harnessed up, with the fit being checked over really thoroughly before they allow you to clip yourself on to the guide rail on the walkway. The first stage of the walk is fairly steep, but then it starts to level off as you follow the curve of the outer shell. The top of the O2 has a large platform where you get to stop for a while and have a good look around at the view. You're 52m high, and can see Greenwich, look over to Canary Wharf, and might even get a plane fly overhead to the airport nearby. We were lucky enough to have a plane come into land while we were on the top, and you genuinely felt like it was only just overhead. The walk down can make you feel a little bit like you're going to run away with yourself, but the guide was great and walked alongside us all, chatting and making us feel safe. This part also feels slightly like you're going to walk into the river, but you can peek through Canary Wharf and see The Shard, and lots of other parts of London. All in all, I would definitely urge anyone to give it a go, even if you aren't usually great with heights. I never felt like I was going anywhere or that I could topple. Great fun and I got some great pictures as a memento of my climb. 

Even though going to London for a short trip isn't that unusual for me, I'm glad that I did something different with my time there. Often, I go to the theatre, West End Live, maybe a museum or cemetery, and then get on the train home. Next time I go, I would love to do something like the O2 climb again, to see a different perspective and push myself into something different. 

How long was I there?

I went on the Friday morning, and came back Monday night. The walk over The O2 took about an hour and half by the time we'd had the safety briefing, walked up, had time at the top, and walked down the other side. 

How much did I spend?

Technically, my mother spent and I didn't. I didn't dip into the trip fund for this one, especially because West End Live is a free event. The theatre tickets were various prices, some more reasonable than others. The walk over The O2 was £37, and then there were add on extras you could go for, such as drinks at the top, or photo booklets etc.

Would I go back?

I mean, the main reason I went was to attend an event that I go to every year, so I definitely will be going back. Would I walk over The O2 again? Absolutely. I think it would be fun to do an evening walk and see the city all lit up.