Tag Archive for London Olympic Stadium

06 Jun 2019
Blind Blog

Muse-ing over a few things.

This weekend was set to be AMAZING. When you have tickets to see the group Muse live you know it will be a show, unlike any other gig.

Following on from seeing them at the O2 in London back in April 2016 where they put together a pure theatre experience; … expectations for this tour were high.

This time it was hosted at London Stadium, home to the 2012 Olympics’ and a venue I have previously been to when I saw Guns’N’Roses in 2017. A very different venue from the O2, being that it is partly open air is probably the biggest challenge.

And that is just what the band had to deal with.

For me, knowing my sight and hearing were so much more progressive and had greater deteriorated from 2016 I was a little nervous to say the least.

Then came the biggest challenge ….. Weather reports set to see London temperatures reach in excess of 22 degrees for the weekend. In the city, 22 degrees feels more like 27-29 degrees and meant just one thing … Fizz my guiding girl; who loves London so much wouldn’t actually be coming.

This was what was best for her and as I was trailing and staying with a good friend who knew my issues I wasn’t overly concerned about spending a weekend with my (not so faithful or intelligent) cane. On the plus side, this meant that I could take full advantage of all the escalators on the tube network and within Stratford’s Westfields shopping centre.

Although in a funny twist this meant that I actually got lost at London Waterloo for the Jubilee line as I wasn’t sure which set of escalators it was! But once that was sorted, I made my friend laugh at my ‘childish giggle’ of being able to use the escalators…. She also got to watch first hand how people paid very little attention to my cane and often found themselves jumping out of my way.

The weather was hotter than expected, so I know that I made the right decision leaving Fizz home….. Even though I discovered that our seating within the stadium would have afforded her plenty of room to lay by my feet.

This time on visiting the stadium we took advantage of the accessible shuttle bus that ran from the end of The Jubilee Line station directly to Bridge Three at the stadium. That just so happened to be quite close to our actual seats.

This tour was called ‘Simulation Theory’ so I knew it would follow the similar robotic theme of the videos that had been released with the album, the colours were set with a mix of blues and pinks and the slight ‘stranger things’ theme that Muse had insinuated upon would all be included.

Our seats were to the right hand side of the stage, the stage this time was at the far end of the stadium, not in the middle as it had been with ‘Drones’.

But my friend that was with me said we had a good unrestricted view of the whole stage (or rather she did because with my sight I could only just about make out the large screen)

The support acts were good, but visually very minimal as I can only assume that was because it was being saved for the main event……

When Muse came on the natural light was beginning to fade and the screens were being used fully.

I took photos and even the odd video of my favourite songs. However, I left the gig feeling totally under-whelmed.

We met up with other friends who had been there too. They were sat further away, but directly face on to the stage. As it would happen, one of the party was actually my friend that had attended the 2016 Drones tour with me. He was in absolute awe of the gig, saying that they did not disappoint and they even improved upon the showmanship of the previous show. So I realised then I had clearly missed something….

Then the NME review came out …..

And I realised that I had missed the most magical parts of the show, which left me feeling quite upset and frustrated with myself because this seemed to mean that my time of enjoying ‘a show’ for more than the music was over.

I watched the videos that I took, and was able to zoom in on the visuals that I had missed. Although this wasn’t quite the same….. I am still undecided as to how I am feeling by all of this.

Maybe I need to see among my friends if any of them took videos that I can watch?

Maybe Muse will release a film of Simulation Theory as they did with Drones? But then, that may be another 2 years to wait.

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06 Jun 2017
Blind Blog

Fearful times

Last year I was very lucky to be able to attend several gigs, and pretty gigs at that; with Adele, Muse, Red Hot Chilli Peppers and even Placebo.  All of these took place in London, a capital known for its security and safety record.

Several weeks ago, a terrorist targeted a Manchester gig.  Men, women and even children were caught up in this horrid act that resulted in 22 deaths and many many more suffering.

I am not here to talk about the attack, nor the group behind it, this is not a political post…… I am going to talk about the fear that this has left me with.

I am in fear of this happening at a gig I go to.

I am in fear of putting my friends in danger, because of the additional support they afford me.

I am in fear or letting this fear stop me.

Followng on from the Manchester attack, London saw a savage attack just last weekend.  Where a van, usually placed on any street in the country was used to mount the curb and drive into Londoners who had been out enjoying a Saturday evening.

My next gig is in London in just a few weeks.  It’s on a Saturday.  It’s also at venue I have never been before.  By the nature of a gig, one especially that is SOLD OUT.  There will be an increase security presents to enable ease of movement for gig goers arriving and leaving, especially with additional support in the nearby tube and railway stations.  I am also aware that many concrete barriers have been erected around London at key locations, such as The Bridges that cross The Thames to make it more difficult for a vehicle to be used as a terror weapon.

In wake of the terror attacks, plenty of advice has been given on RUN. HIDE. TELL.  This is the bit I fear.  What saved many people in both of these attacks was the ability for them to see the danger, see an escape route and to see those who needed help.

So, how do I cope in such a situation without the ability to see?

I can run, and especially if it were needed I would do this, but which way do I run?  The fear in all of this isn’t for me.  The fear in all of this is for my guiding girl Fizz and my friends.

I know that they would never leave me, but what if by helping me they are put into the way of danger?

What if me being with a guide dog appears as an easy target?

All these questions and fears are building up.

I don’t think I would ever have the answers, but in writing my blog I hope to ease my own fears and ease the fears of those around me.

Not even a trained firearms officer can say how they will cope or how they would deal with being involved in such an attack.  As no amount of training can say how you would deal with human nature and the flight or flee reaction.

My friends will walk with me and support me in the same way that they have in the past.  My vulnerability will also stand out to our police men and women and other security forces.

Some of my fellow friends with both hearing and visual impairments have said that they have felt additional support has been afforded to them especially in London since the weekend.

I am not going to make this blog about the terrorist that committed these crimes.  Because after all the whole reasoning for many acts of terrorism is to divide and terrorise people.  And iconically both Manchester and London have actually ‘come together’ supported each other and shown just how great they are as a whole at supporting those who need the support.

So, I have told you my fears, I have explained them, I am not able to completely dismiss them, but I am able to understand them.  I am able to know that they will not stop me from going to London, or any other city for that matter.

I may just make sure more so than usual that my phone is charged and my additional battery pack is also charged.

 

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