The Rat Pack..Live (in a manner of speaking) and Swingin'

Another Friday night in Canary Wharf...this one cut unfortunately short by what was supposedly a summer shower (quite frankly it felt more like October, but...hey). Featured this week were the performers from a West End tribute the immortal Sammy, Dean, and Frank. As quite a big dork, I mean fan, of this music for a number of years, I can tell you they weren't half bad. The gentleman impersonating the legendary Francis Albert Sinatra was the best, even with a bit of British peaking out from under his adopted Hoboken accent. The big band from Brighton that accompanied them was spectacular. They played a great Soul Bossa Nova (both Quincy Jones and Austin Powers would have been proud).

Bruce and Caroline, formerly of New Zealand, were present once more, but had much better seats than we did. Instead, proving how small the planet really is, we were sitting in front of a group that included some Americans. Not only were they from Columbus, Ohio, but one plays hockey for a school that competes against Mercyhurst and another has friends in Saegertown (what are the odds?). The latter took this picture...

The Friday nights at Canary Wharf have become not only a (free) good time, but an opportunity to hone my picnic skills. This week's menu included sandwiches of brie and hand-carved turkey breast (deli meat means something very different here) a la Christie's Baby at Figgie's, the now-famous stuffed mushrooms, more cherry tomatoes, more fruit, chocolate eclairs (from the bakery I want to live at), a bottle of German rose, and (of course) the obligatory Toblerone. (I would just like to note that I got exactly two pieces of the Toblerone.)

Ryan has expressed some feelings of inferiority in the face of my culinary prowess...I would like to state, for the record, that, under the circumstances, his picnic was superb...I had all day to stuff mushrooms and make sandwiches...Now, if he'd just stop eating all the Toblerone.

During the "interval" the rain that had been threatening all night started to fall. We stayed for a bit in the cover of one of the many huge buildings that ring the park as they started singing again..."Singin in the Rain" and "Stormy Weather"...very clever. We left after a medley of West Side Story songs by "Sammy" to the accompaniment of a bongo.