U2 Experience and Innocence Tour - London, October 2018

Greenwich, London 22nd October 2018

We arrived in London the day before our first concert and soon settled into our lovely apartment overlooking the Thames in Greenwich. We had a meal in the Slug and Lettuce in the O2 and finished off with macaringues which we both loved!

23rd October 2018

After breakfast we went out for a walk. There was a lot of building going on and some new buildings since we'd last been there. We walked right round the O2 a pleasant walk in the sunshine.

Edge looking good, me not lol!

Later we went to the pier to wait for the band arriving, there weren't very many fans. The band's boat arrived and Edge was the first to come off. He was lovely, shook hands and chatted with people. Then Bono arrived and it got a bit chaotic with two big men pushing people out of the way. I just stood back then I noticed that Edge was still meeting and greeting further on so I went across said, "It's me again" and asked if I could get a photo with him. He said of course and I looked behind me thinking Debbi was behind me (to take the photo) and she wasn't. I mumbled that I wasn't very good at selfies (which is true) and Edge immediately said, "I'll do it for you" and took my phone, set it up, was impressed that I had a countdown on it and snapped the photo. I thanked him and he said, "No problem." It was a good photo of him but not so much me lol! Such a lovely man.

We went back to the flat as our friend Marian was joining us there, and, after a cuppa, we all went to the O2 to find somewhere to eat. It was very busy but we managed to find a table at a place called Iguana and had a real good meal there.

Moon rising over the Thames

We then went into the arena which took a long time with all the security checks, but that's not a problem for me, it's to keep everyone safe. We had good seats on the same side as the Manchester ones but a bit higher up.  Again the shows was great, the Zoo section being my favourite part. There was a slight change to it, instead of finishing that section with Stay they did Wild Horses and it was very impressive as the screen came down around them as they played and disappeared from sight. The crowd took a long time to get into the show but they eventually did. Bono managed to mess up the lyrics to One but he covered it up well lol!

Afterwards we walked the short distance home (bliss after the awful hike we had last year when they played Twickenham.) We had some prosecco and chatted well into the early hours.

October 24th 2018

Marian left to go home first thing, I saw her off and then went back to bed as we'd had a late night. In the afternoon we went to the pier again to see if we could meet Bono this time. There was a lovely security woman who was chatty, her main job was in social services looking after troubled children which she loved. She did the security work when she could. At one point some people who were waiting for the London Clipper boat mistakenly stood with the fans, eventually security sorted it, the boss asking us are you waiting for the clipper or ....? So funny, not really trying to keep quiet about who was coming as most security people do.

Bono arrived quite late and although there were more fans they were well behaved. He looked his 58 years (he told a fan further down the queue to wash her hand after shaking his as he had a f------ virus.) He was warm and friendly as usual and shook hands with people, didn't talk much as he was saving his voice. He was soon past us and that was it.

The security woman came back and she was all giddy she had spoken with Bono, Another woman who'd been on the pier had a lovely photo of her with Bono, she was giddy too lol. The effect he has on females!

For this night's show we had GA tickets. Debbi went into the crowd by the b stage but I stood back a bit as I'm small and would just be looking into someones back if I was in the crowd. There was plenty of room and I could easily move if someone got in my way and I had a good view of the b-stage and screen. The show had minor changes from the previous night and the atmosphere was good.

Towards the end I moved to where Bono would walk out at the end and soon Debbi was there too.  Security was keeping that way clear but a woman wanted to go back in the arena and went ballistic when she wasn't allowed to. She roughly just pushed me out of the way, screamed at the security people and tried to hit one of them. Everyone tried to calm her down and she did a bit , she was standing in front of me and I asked her to move which she did. Security ended up letting her back in which I thought was wrong as it only encourages that kind of terrible behaviour. Anyway, Bono passed right by us shortly afterwards as he left the arena and that was the end of the London shows. I'd been a bit concerned about having GA for the show as I'm not a spring chicken anymore but I was fine, I think it helps if you can walk about a bit and lean on things.

Once home we had a few drinks, pizza and chatted much of the night away. I love when we are on tour like this!

25th October 2018

We had decided to have another day in London after the shows as we wanted to do our usual afternoon in Claridges which had become a bit of a tradition for us when visiting the city. We had sharing platters of duck spring rolls and cheese and biscuits washed down with a lovely bottle of white wine. The bar is very relaxed and not snobby at all and you are well looked after without the service being over-bearing. We stayed for three hours and thoroughly enjoyed it.

It was a great way to end our visit to London, next stop Dublin!

London and the U2 Joshua Tree Tour 2017

July 6th

I had treated myself to first class for my long rail journey to London, had salmon and scrambled egg for breakfast and a delicious soup for lunch, very good indeed. When I got off the train at Euston it felt like I had alighted in the south of France it was so hot! Debbi was waiting for me and we headed for our accommodation, a two bedroomed apartment in Ealing. We found it ok and it was very nice were pleased to see all the basics food and drink-wise had been provided for us.

After a cuppa we haded to a nearby supermarket to get our supplies in. It was really, really hot and I was wilting, heat really saps my energy and I was glad when we got back to the apartment. We did our usual first night thing, eatingin and catching up on each others news. We also opened a bottle to Veuve Clicquot in celebration of being friends for 25 years!

July 7th

Our Lunch at Claridge's

Had a lie in and then headed into the city centre for our planned lazy afternoon in Claridge's. It was a hot and humid journey there and we were so frazzled when we got there when we went into the bar

the first a server asked us if we wanted some cool water which was like nectar and helps us recover. We had a sharing platter of  delicious duck spring rolls with a plum sauce dip and a cheese platter along with a bottle of  refreshing Sauvignon Blanc. We spent a wonderful afternoon relaxing in the bar and got friendly with George the server who loved a good chat! Claridge's is upmarket with excellent service, but it is not stuffy, it's an easy place to chill out in (and become bankrupt!)

We left and went into the nearby pub called The Running Horse for a drink (cheaper than Claridge's!) It was still very hot so we sat outside in the shade. Later we headed home and had an easy night eating in.

July 8th

Debbi's husband, Keith, arrived early afternoon, he was going to see U2 for the first time that night! It was still very hot. We had lunch at Bill's on Ealing Broadway. Because of my stomach problems at the time I could not eat much so I had the pate starter while the others had proper meals. I must say I was envious of Keith's delicious looking flat iron steak!

Keith, Debbi and Me Before the Gig

Afterwards we got the tube to Richmond where there were shuttle buses laid on to take people to Twickenham Stadium.  Our seats were in the back corner, not the best but they gave us an all round view of the stage which was quite simple. A plain stage with a back screen with a Joshua Tree on it and a b-stage in the shape of a Joshua Tree and that was it. Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds were ok. U2 came on at 8.15 (there is a 10.30 curfew at Twickenham.)  And played a few songs from The Unforgettable Fire, including Bad that had me in tears as usual and I loved the snippet of Bowie's Heroes on the end, it worked perfectly.  The screen came to life with Streets and the beginning of the playing of the entire Joshua Tree album.  The screen was amazing such bright, crisp colours. It was a treat to hear this album in full and I especially enjoyed hearing songs I'd never heard sung live before such as Trip Through Your Wires and One Tree Hill, but the highlight of was

Photo by Kinda Cownley

Exit.  Black and white on the screen showing Bono whipping himself up into a murderous frenzy, quite scary! And also absolutely brilliant, it gave me goosebumps. A beautiful Mothers of the Disappeared,  with video on screen showing women in shadow holding candles that they individually blew out one by one, simple and moving, brought the first part of the show to an end.

The second part of the show was a mixed bag of songs beginning with Miss Sarajevo. Bono got the crowd to sing Happy Birthday for his daughter Eve who had turned 25 the day before. A new song called The Little things That Give You Away was played, sounded good, but I needed to hear it again before it really sinks in. At the End of the gig Noel Gallagher came back on and the show finished with U2 and him singing Don't Look Back in Anger. I was disappointed at the ending, it didn't feel like a proper U2 ending somehow.  I really enjoyed the show and felt it was very much a
show of two halves. The first very structured, a nod to The Unforgettable Fire album during the first four songs and then The Joshua Tree in full, it all flowed beautifully. The second half was more disjointed theme-wise and though I enjoyed it I preferred the first half.

Afterwards we walked to join the massive queue for the shuttle buses, it was still very warm even though it was late. It took over an hour before we were on our way to Richmond station.  We got home about 12.30am and did our usual post gig thing, pizza and wine and chatting until the early hours.

July 9th

Photo by Linda Cownley

Debbi's husband left the next morning and Debbi and I went into London for a while, it was still far too hot for me and I was wilting. We had a late lunch in a restaurant called Burger and Lobster which was blissfully cool. It was expensive, so we both had the starter of crab goujons and a glass of prosecco.

Afterwards we headed towards Twickenham again. This time we had standing tickets, and we spent ages trying to find a good place. There was one place where Deb could see but I couldn't (I'm smaller) so we split up and I spent ages wandering trying to find a place where I could  see more. I eventually noticed a line of small women so headed there and found that in front of them was an open area at the entrance to the Red Zone kept free by security. I sidled through and stood at the end of the line of women and had a really good view of the main stage though could not see the b-stage (which seemed rather low on this tour) and that was my spot for the rest of the show.

The set list was quite similar to last night's show but I enjoyed it. Bono, as last night, was in good voice with amazing energy for his age. Exit again was stunning, and this time they finished with One, the perfect typical low-key U2 ending.

After the show Debbi and I met up and headed off to the shuttle buses again. It took even longer to get on one than the previous night and we got to Richmond station at 12.05 only to be told that the last tube was gone and we'd have to get a normal train to Waterloo! We simply could not believe it, there were loads of people coming behind us many, like us, not knowing London well and not sure what to do.  Surely extra trains should have been put on for such a major event? Debbi checked how far Ealing, where we were staying, was and as it was only around four miles we decided to get a taxi as if we went on to Waterloo we might not get a tube back from there and that was even further away. The transport organisers should take a lesson from Glasgow where crowds from Hampden are away in record time because of brilliant organisation by police and transport staff and train after train leaving the local station.

We got home and were really relieved to be back as we were really tired. The heat and standing for a long time took it's toll on us and I think that may well be our last standing gig! We had something to eat and some wine and then crashed out.

Next day we headed home, and I must admit I'm always glad to be leaving London too big for me and on this occasion too hot as well! But it was worth it for seeing the shows, such a treat to hear those all those Joshua Tree songs live, some for the very first time.

U2ie Tour London Part Two - Up Close to U2 and a Posh Afternoon Tea.

26th October

Today we had general admission tickets, our only standing show and I wasn't sure I'd manage to get through it, as well as having to stand for a long time we both also had nasty colds. We decided not to go early to queue, we're past that nowadays lol, and wandered up to the O2 at about 5:30pm. Again we had to wait ages to get in, about an hour, which was tedious, this venue certainly is a pain regarding the time you have to wait to get into the arena, even when you have a seat.

When we got in at around 6:30pm we saw that there were no free places on the rails so decided to stand just behind some small women who were at the barrier of the e-stage. The back of the e-stage close to us was kept free of fans as that's the way Bono would enter the arena, we knew once he was on the stage the security let fans round there and our task was to move quickly when that happened and get on the front barrier. There was a lovely security guard by us and he said he would drop the rope (that kept the fans back) as quickly as he could when he was given the ok by his boss.  At 8:15 the show started and Bono walked right by us, soon the rope dropped and Debbi and I linked arms and dashed to to free area and got right on the barrier. We could hardly believe we had managed it, especially as we hadn't queued for ages to get a good place, I thought the days of seeing a gig so closely were long for gone for me.

And what an amazing experience it was to see the band just a few feet away at times, plus we could see right down the catwalk to the i-stage as well. The only downside is that you cannot see the video screen from there. This show had a more playful feel than the previous night, Bono talked a lot and three times he got fans on stage. Whilst the band were on the e-stage Bono noticed a poster being held up just to my left, he squinted hard and then read it out , turned out two Angel of Harlem with the band, so Bono asked them up on stage. Edge looked worried and said words to the effect that they couldn't have two guitar players on stage as they only had one spare guitar (we were close enough to hear this off-mike.) Bono took absolutely no notice and just said, "Edge gets a bit nervous when this happens." He gave the guitar to one lad and told the other to stand back and "look useful." Meanwhile the crew were in a tizzy trying to find another suitable guitar which they did remarkably quickly. Both brothers played well and it was really good fun and Edge ended up with a big smile on his face.

During City of Blinding Lights Bono got a young man up onto the catwalk and at the end of the song gave him his glasses and jacket and then put on the lad's jacket, which was way too small for him. Once he was on the main stage one of the crew had to pull it off him as it was so tight!

As well as Angel, songs new to the setlist included Out of Control, Desire and I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For. The latter was the final song and Noel Gallagher joined the band to perform it, seemed to impress the crowd, but I would have preferred U2 to do the the song themselves.

It was wonderful to be so close to the e-stage, there's something about seeing the beads of sweat run down Bono's face lol. But you also see the energy and little nuances and communication between the band members, you feel part of the show as you are so close. The show once more was wonderful, more playful tonight, but I must say I did miss the video wall, it is such a stunning and interactive part of the show that it almost has to be a part of seeing this particular tour.

After the show wandered off home via the Olympian Way, weary, still sniffling  but happy.

27th October

I had been full of good intentions to explore Greenwich a bit today which was a free day. But I was so weary and full of cold that I had a very long lie in and just chilled, Debbi did the same. We needed to recover and recoup and give our colds a chance to ease.

That night we did go out to eat, we went to the Greenwich Kitchen near the O2. I fish and chips which was lovely and the fish huge, washed it down with a refreshing Pimms and lemonade. I'll do a full review of this at a later date.

28th October

Today we were going into the city centre for afternoon tea at Claridge's. Months ago we tried to book an afternoon tea at The Ritz but it we couldn't get a slot anywhere near the time we wanted. So we went to the next poshest Claridge's. We dosed ourselves up with cold remedies, put on our glad rags and got the Tube to Bond Street which is the closest stop to the hotel. Unfortunately we took a wrong turn and ended up walking down a heaving Oxford Street, we turned back and then found the right street and it was only a couple of minutes from the Tube. We went in through the revolving door, inside was very grand with a huge chandelier. We were greeted immediately, we first went to the ladies, very posh, the woman in there insisted on filling the sink for me! We were a bit early for our afternoon tea in The Foyer but they let us in anyway. The room was beautiful, art deco style with high ceilings and ornate stucco work and the most amazing flower displays I'd ever seen, the server took our photo beside one.

We were given the menu to choose which tea we wanted, there was a choice of 22, we went for their own blend which was delicious. We had chosen the champagne afternoon tea so the first thing we got was a generous glass of that. The sandwiches were fantastic, scones still warm and cakes beautiful, everything was perfect and it was very leisurely. Claridge's was posh, but didn't feel snooty which was nice, it was a wonderful experience. I will write a detailed review separately.