The Sounds of London Summer：HCP Festival | 夏籟之音在倫敦：漢普敦宮音樂節
London is a genius when it comes to self-promotion. The city showcases its most attractive side to the world every chance it gets, planting popular events near popular landmarks and offering photo opportunities hard to resist.
As one would expect, many events scheduled for the "Great British Summer" have iconic backdrops. In June, the British Summer Time in Hyde Park will be staged in one corner of the famous royal park; the Wimbledon tennis tournament will be shown at rooftop screenings near St Paul's Cathedral in the east and Westminster Cathedral in the west; and further afield in the leafy West London is where you'll find the annual Hampton Court Palace Festival.
This year, Hampton Court Palace is celebrating its 500th birthday, and a series of events and activities are staged throughout the year to mark the occasion. The HCP Festival is a summer headliner and bills itself as a "truly unforgettable experience", with a wide range of artists -- from pop stars, orchestras to stand-up comedians -- performing in the historic main courtyard of King Henry VIII's Tudor Palace.
今年漢普頓宮排滿了一系列的慶祝活動，慶祝開基五百週年慶。「漢普頓宮音樂節」(Hampton Court Palace Festival) 是夏季的重頭戲，表演形態包括了流行音樂，交響樂團和獨角喜劇演出，地點就是在亨利八世都鐸宮殿的主庭院裡。
We have tickets to the John Wilson Orchestra performance on a Sunday evening and are advised to arrive early if we wish to have picnic on the Palace's magnificent garden lawn. You can bring your own table set, or waterside gazebos are available for rent for those who want more seclusion away from the crowd. If luxury is what you desire, go for the VIP package and enjoy a pre-concert dinner under the splendid painted ceilings of the Palace's State Apartments.
Visitors can relax in the Palace's beautifully manicured gardens that run down to the River Thames. In the Great Fountain Garden, where gumdrop-shaped yew trees line its paths, several food stalls and a bar are set up for anyone who arrive hungry, thirsty and empty-handed.
週日傍晚，我們前往漢普頓宮欣賞約翰·威爾遜樂團的演出，並照主辦單位的建議提早到達，在宮殿的花園享受夕陽野餐。放眼一看，參與者為銀髮族居多，很多自帶桌椅，香檳和厚毯子，優雅舒適地在草坪上用餐。若想要多一些隱私，遠離人潮的話，也有水邊涼亭可供出租。最奢華的選擇就是VIP套餐，讓你也可以像古代貴族一樣，在皇家御所輝煌的彩繪天花板下享用精美大餐。
許多人順著泰晤士河散步，陶醉在修剪整齊的花園裡。大噴泉花園的步道兩旁林立了許多修剪成三角形的紫杉，還有小吃與酒吧，所以兩手空空而來的客人也能酒足飯飽。
The setting of the evening concert is intimate and truly fit for a king. The acoustically-blessed venue is flanked by towering red brick gates, with the stage on one end of the courtyard overlooking about 3,000 seats, mostly uncovered. As the orchestra churns out one beautiful score after another from classical Hollywood films, the dimming, cloudy sky only adds drama to the night as many of us sitting in the open air are secreting praying for the rain to stay away, since umbrellas are not allowed during the concert even in adverse weather conditions (according to one repeat visitor who got drenched last year)!
Luckily for us, all the worries are for nothing. The performance wraps up smoothly, and the evening stays dry, if only just a little bit chilly. Next June, we'll know better and bring a thick blanket and poncho!
雖然音樂會的露天場地可容三千人，它的設計親密，讓每個座位都能清楚地看到舞台，傳聲效果也是一流。坐在多雲的天空下，聆聽着樂團演出動人的經典好萊塢電影插曲，想必許多人也和我一樣，暗暗祈禱老天爺不要下雨，因為聽隔壁老婆婆說，再壞的天氣，主辦單位也不會讓人撐傘的呢（她去年就被淋了個落湯雞，但今年還敢再來碰運氣！）
幸好我們只是杞人憂天，整晚沒下半滴雨，只是有些涼意而已。明年若還要來，一定會準備周全，帶條厚厚的毛毯和小雨衣！