The Day of Hiddles

"Oh, Hiddlesticks!" 

- Me, always

Today was one of my favorite days in London so far. Sarah woke up freakishly early but then passed out again but the damage was done – I was awake. So I took the time to find the season premiere episode of Game of Thrones, which was awesome, obviously. I forgot how much I can’t stand Jon Snow, though. How can anyone so pretty be so annoying…Anyways, getting off topic. Actually, much of this topic has to do with attractive men so maybe not so much. Getting there.

                At 12:15 we walked around the corner to eat at Babur (www.babur.info). It’s an Indian restaurant that offers a really nice Sunday buffet brunch. I ate there the last time I was in London and Sarah needed to taste some of that famous British Indian cuisine so there we were. It did not disappoint. I can’t possibly tell you what I ate but there was a lot of food. I grabbed a bit of everything to start and went back for more of what I really enjoyed. Overall it was delicious.

                After lunch we headed up to Covent Garden to see if we might be able to get spots on the red carpet for the Olivier Awards. Think of them as the British Tony Awards. We weren’t overly optimistic after Spider-Man on Tuesday but figured we should try anyway. If it was crowded we’d go home. It didn’t help that today was the London Marathon and the city was supposed to be mental. We needn’t have worried. We got number 186 and 187 and lined up for an hour before being led onto the red carpet. And we were not only right next to it, but also very close to the venue entrance and across from the international press. Specifically, Hello, so look for us.

                We waited around for another ninety minutes before things got started. We saw so many stars. We got autographs from Kristin Davis (Charlotte on Sex and the City), Bjorn from ABBA, Samantha Barks (Eponine in Les Miserables), Martin Freeman from The Hobbit and Sherlock and James McAvoy, to name a few. Some of the celebrities didn’t have time to stop as the red carpet was quite hurried but I did have brief conversations with Mark Strong and Ruth Wilson.

                Then there’s Hiddles. Oh, Tom Hiddleston, my future husband…he showed up late and had to give interviews so I did not get to speak to him. He did wave. He got pretty close. I can say he is actually even better looking in real life. The second I saw him down the carpet I absolutely freaked out. Like, people turned and looked. It was kind of funny. I was completely unaware of what I was doing. I just went to Crazy Town for a minute.

                Overall it was awesome. I love entertainment and stuff but I’ve never been on an award show red carpet before. There’s a lot you don’t see on TV, like the massive wave of people who enter at the beginning, as if just dropped off by a bus. They are non-celebrities who worked on the plays and musicals. I felt a little bad for them but also a little jealous. I just want to get dressed up and walk the red carpet once.

                We may have stood for over four hours but it was most definitely worth it, even if I didn’t meet Tom Hiddleston or Gemma Arterton (who is also breathtakingly gorgeous in person). Oh, and Hayley Atwell.  I’m making Sarah have a Hiddles marathon with me now.