Cardiff, Glasgow, Salisbury, Manchester visits!

Having thoroughly enjoyed the 2013 UK Petula tour, we came again to London in 2016  for another Petula Adventure. . The highlight of this trip was not only seeing some new  places in England, but also travelling to Cardiff in Wales and Glasgow in Scotland, cities we had never before  visited.  We arrived in Heathrow from Toronto and stayed overnight before taking a train to Cardiff,  curious and excited to experience the city, if only  for a short period.

We had chosen to stay at the Radisson Blu in Cardiff which turned out to be an excellent choice. It was close to the train station and centrally located with an easy walk to Cardiff Castle and the shops and restaurants on Queen Street and the Hayes. We were also able to walk to  St. David’s Hall., the venue for the concert. The Hall was quite modern and magnificent and we learned on a tour of the city that it is widely renowned for its premier acoustics and is a cultural landmark in Wales.

The concert was themed after Petula’s ” From Now On ” album and featured selections from that release as well as Petula’s sixties hits.  The Wales concert was personal for Petula as she had spent time in Wales as a child visiting her grandparents there during the second world war.  A review in South Wales ARGUS touched on that connection:

“Pet of course showed her appreciation for Wales, her connections to her mother’s Welsh roots and growing up in Abercanaid still strong to her heart as she performed the autobiographical Reflections. Pet told her fans, “I’ve been looking forward to coming back to Cardiff, now I know why, you’re a lovely audience.” She closed on piano with her own composition, Here for You, featuring the poignant lyrics “and remember when you’re gone, Special things live on and on.” Certainly the memory of this concert always will live on for all in attendance.” Andy Howells

Another highlight of that trip was a visit to Glasgow, where we had a grand tour of the city, with wonderful commentary on the modern transformation from Glasgow’s industrial past visible everywhere in the city, the magnificent Science Centre near the River Clyde a particular example. We had visited Edinburgh several times during the years but had never made it as far as Glasgow before –It had personal significance ,as well, because one of our son-in-laws had been born in Motherwell and we spent a lovely afternoon visiting with his aunt and uncle while there which made for a special memory of Glasgow. The Royal Concert Hall where Petula performed was truly magnificent and indeed an example of Glasgow’s mixture of old and new –the large marble foyer and grand staircase and plush red seating were traces of yesterday but the superb acoustics were clearly modern additions, rendering a wonderful touch to another magnificent Petula concert.

But this trip also included some special concert stops in England. We were able to revisit London, Birmingham and Leeds and experience concerts in places we had never been before, like  Manchester, Folkstone, Southend-by-the Sea , Bournemouth and Salisbury. There were so many special  moments on this trip including  the wonderful concerts that it really can’t be covered in one or two or maybe even three blog posts. So I will revisit some of these on later posts –for now I will  focus on Salisbury and Manchester.

Salisbury truly harkens back to medieval times in so  many ways . The towering Salisbury Cathedral, the surrounding Cathedral Close with its  narrow cobblestoned  streets and stone wall made it an unforgettable place. I think Stonehenge, a short drive from Salisbury may be more well known, and worth the drive but Salisbury remains for me a true treasure of that trip.  We arrived in the medieval city from Waterloo Station in London –a lot of the venues for this tour were on the outskirts of London and required many back and forth trips to London.  In Salisbury we stayed at the Mercure White Hart, a charming place with its own medieval  sensibility  and a short walk to the City  Hall where Petula was performing and not far from  Salisbury Cathedral. We were there on a Sunday and as we wandered about , the city was quiet and as as night began to fall, an eerie ambiance pervaded the narrow, cobblestoned streets. Then we walked into the Salisbury City Hall, an updated venue with modern tiered seating and a completely different feeling and soon came the opening song   –on this tour, it was “You and I”., from Good-bye Mr Chips . So began another two hour delightful Petula concert on a dark night in a medieval city –A memory, for sure!

Although Manchester is a major city in England and near to where our son had studied in nearby Leeds for a year in 1996  my husband and I  had never  visited there. We were very anxious to see the city renowned for its sports teams –well truthfully my husband was more interested in that aspect!. At any rate, we booked a tour of  Old Trafford, home of Manchester United –and it was impressive indeed. The tour was comprehensive allowing us to visit the whole stadium-the field, players’ dressing rooms, and walkway to the field , and included a walkout to the field and stands–accompanied by lots of informative videos and views of memorabilia.  We also were fortunate in our choice of hotel, The Radisson Blu Edwardian was  right in the center of the city, minutes away from the concert venue, Bridgewater Hall and within walking distance of other city highlights, such as Manchester Central Library , a  stunning circular building in the impressive St. Peter’s Square and near the historic Midland Hotel. We spent two busy days in Manchester before returning to London to change trains for our next concert in Folkstone.

The lingering memories I have of the concerts on this tour were captured well in an observation made by David Hughes in a London review of Petula’s concert there later on the From Now On tour::

”Petula Clark is the sort of entertainer who receives a standing ovation before she’s even done anything. As her silhouette walked onto stage the audience became ecstatic in her presence. When the light illuminated her figure, they stood up to profess their adoration and respect.” INDEED!