3 October to 6 October
Rainy Saturday (6th) used to catch up on washing and cleaning. First rainy day so far and is cold whereas has been very mild for October. Ventured to Oxford Street and bought 2 pasta bowls. Is a notable omission at apartment, given amount of pasta we eat.
Have enjoyed 2 great plays. Saw The Height of the Storm at the old Wyndham Theatre in the West End starring Eileen Atkins and Jonathan Pryce. We were in the middle of the front row. Stage not high so front row was fine. Great production. New play. Playwright is French - Florian Zeller and is a 'family drama' with many themes of course but very clever as it presents at least 4 possible scenarios as to what is going on. Acting superb as you'd hope.
Had plotted what we thought would be a seamless mode of transportation to get there. But the Tube did not cooperate. One line was partly closed so we ended up having to go east not west and then found ourselves packed on a train going nowhere. As the minutes ticked down we decided to exit the train, run out into Old Street (no idea where we were) and grab a black cab. We then sat in back of the cab increasingly doubtful we would get to the play. Eventually we saw the theatre and as traffic was at a crawl, Stephen threw some notes at the driver, flung the door open and we both jumped out with me dramatically shouting ' we have to run....' Get to the theatre where I promptly wave my dirty hankie at the ushers who surprisingly think this is an acceptable substitute for tickets and waved us in. Sat down and Jonathan Pryce walked on.
For our next theatre experience at the National we decided to walk. Saw a new David Hare play called "I'm not Running". Was great. Clever writing. Topical although I think the themes haven't changed since humans 'invented' politics. All about Labor politics, the NHS and the rise of independents in Parliament. Easily transferable to Australia. After getting tickets, noticed director was Neil Armfield and set designer was Ralph Myers. The staging featured a revolving set - very reminiscent of Belvoir. Person sitting next to us was impressed with staging - we resisted gloating. Now we know where Ralph Myers has ended up.
On our walk to the National it was a beautiful late Autumn balmy night. Everyone it seemed was out - capturing the last of the warm weather. We crossed over the Blackfriars Bridge and walked along the side of the Thames to the theatre. One of those magical nights - St Pauls was glimmering across the river and people were walking along the shore edge of the Thames. After the play, caught a bus from Trafalgar Square - very quick trip home. Dropped into local pub - Ye Old London - dates from 1740's . They also still ring a large brass bell behind the bar when it is last orders.
Have noticed has been an increase in the number of bikes in the city. There are dedicated "Cycle super highways" and swarms of people riding bikes. I like the idea but doubt I'd ever be brave enough. Other other thing I have noticed is the number of young people smoking. Crazy.
Funny news item yesterday - various schools closed for up to a few weeks because of presence of (non poisonous) spiders. Imagined if our schools closed whenever a bunch of spiders were discovered. Wimps. Only Australian news item read so far is UK man killed on trawler by water snake. I think they like this image of Australia as the wild west. Still not sure Brits realise how far Australia has changed since Queen Vic. Young man sitting next to us at the National commented how similar Australians and Brits were - how we all felt like we'd come home when we visit. Also amused by how frequently WWII sayings are evoked with Brexit. Angela Merkel is being painted as the main opponent to Britain having a 'soft' Brexit or a "chequers" Brexit. I doubt Theresa May or more probably the bureaucrats trying to knit a deal together, are getting much sleep. Also a reasonable amount about Russia and the on-going spying scandals. Given Putin is unembarrassable I think he does not care what comes out. China also getting a bit more of a mention given Asian politics seems to be ignored largely. News about Chinese people but UK citizens often disappearing when visiting China. Maybe they are just starting to work out how powerful China has become. Trump etc of course also dominates the news. Less said the better.
For Stephen's birthday on the 3rd we went to Borough Market via London Bridge. On the way, love looking over the sides of the bridge, seeing the remnants of wooden piers and bits of chains at the edges of the Thames with mudflats and small sandy beaches. Very Dickensian or Sherlock Holmes. Great fun wandering around the food stalls. Bought rye bread, French cheese, olives and artichokes for lunch. Saw fresh pasta and duck breasts that have ear marked for future meals. Delicious coffee at a place called Monmouth. Good to find a decent brew. Coffee almost universally weak. Also dropped into Southwark Cathedral - huge. Memorial to Shakespeare there given he lived nearby. After lunch headed up to the old financial district - around Bank/Threadneedle Street/Mansion House and Royal Exchange. Dinner was at an Italian restaurant called Rucoletta - lovely Sicilian wine, veal ragout, lamb -drank and ate a lot. One of our favourite types of restaurants - loud, genuine Italian. Was packed and not surprised. Just when I thought I was going to be able to walk out in a straight line they presented us with a limoncello each. Slow start the next day.
After birthday celebrations and a quiet morning, went to the London Mithraeum - old Roman Temple discovered while excavating post WWII. Very interesting. Aside from the temple, had a number of Roman artifacts on display that had been discovered. Usual array of articles that make you realise how little new has been invented. Then went to the Guildhall which has remnants of a Roman amphitheatre in its basement. Interesting paintings and maps in the guild art gallery - particularly a 1500's map of London. Our street - Warwick Lane was there. The paintings were different -focused on industry/the merchantsscenes from the Square Mile. Interesting. Learnt that there were Fire Judges post the Great Fire whose role it was to determine who owned what etc and adjudicate disputes. Also tried to visit Smithfield Markets - huge food wholesale meat market but it is open from 2am and everything is done and dusted by 10am. Is near St Barts hospital and found his church. Very old and has a residence attached - like built into the side of the church. Quite odd looking but not unusual with everything built on top of, next to buildings as the years have gone on.
While Stephen did a reconnaisance of a huge fishing shop on Friday I went to the National Gallery to see an exhibition of Bellini and Mantegna. Mantegna married Bellini's sister - interesting Italian rennaisance artists. Drawings reminded me of Da Vinci sketches. Never heard of Mantegna but was highly regarded in his day. Came from nowhere - no connections. By contrast, Bellini came from a famous family of artists who had workshops. They recognised Mantegna's skills and married him off to a sister. Guess which artist is remembered.
Newspapers are still rather uninteresting although I'm persisting with The Guardian or The Times. The Conservatives are imploding. Theresa May is now trying to persuade the Labor Party to join forces to pass her version of Brexit as her own party is not entirely supportive. Boris Johnson continues to snipe. Theresa May tried to look 'hip' by dancing on stage to deliver her address at their National Conference - to Abba's Dancing Queen. Embarrassing. Noone seems to know what is going to happen with Brexit. Glad we do not live here.
Have enjoyed 2 great plays. Saw The Height of the Storm at the old Wyndham Theatre in the West End starring Eileen Atkins and Jonathan Pryce. We were in the middle of the front row. Stage not high so front row was fine. Great production. New play. Playwright is French - Florian Zeller and is a 'family drama' with many themes of course but very clever as it presents at least 4 possible scenarios as to what is going on. Acting superb as you'd hope.
Had plotted what we thought would be a seamless mode of transportation to get there. But the Tube did not cooperate. One line was partly closed so we ended up having to go east not west and then found ourselves packed on a train going nowhere. As the minutes ticked down we decided to exit the train, run out into Old Street (no idea where we were) and grab a black cab. We then sat in back of the cab increasingly doubtful we would get to the play. Eventually we saw the theatre and as traffic was at a crawl, Stephen threw some notes at the driver, flung the door open and we both jumped out with me dramatically shouting ' we have to run....' Get to the theatre where I promptly wave my dirty hankie at the ushers who surprisingly think this is an acceptable substitute for tickets and waved us in. Sat down and Jonathan Pryce walked on.
For our next theatre experience at the National we decided to walk. Saw a new David Hare play called "I'm not Running". Was great. Clever writing. Topical although I think the themes haven't changed since humans 'invented' politics. All about Labor politics, the NHS and the rise of independents in Parliament. Easily transferable to Australia. After getting tickets, noticed director was Neil Armfield and set designer was Ralph Myers. The staging featured a revolving set - very reminiscent of Belvoir. Person sitting next to us was impressed with staging - we resisted gloating. Now we know where Ralph Myers has ended up.
On our walk to the National it was a beautiful late Autumn balmy night. Everyone it seemed was out - capturing the last of the warm weather. We crossed over the Blackfriars Bridge and walked along the side of the Thames to the theatre. One of those magical nights - St Pauls was glimmering across the river and people were walking along the shore edge of the Thames. After the play, caught a bus from Trafalgar Square - very quick trip home. Dropped into local pub - Ye Old London - dates from 1740's . They also still ring a large brass bell behind the bar when it is last orders.
Have noticed has been an increase in the number of bikes in the city. There are dedicated "Cycle super highways" and swarms of people riding bikes. I like the idea but doubt I'd ever be brave enough. Other other thing I have noticed is the number of young people smoking. Crazy.
Funny news item yesterday - various schools closed for up to a few weeks because of presence of (non poisonous) spiders. Imagined if our schools closed whenever a bunch of spiders were discovered. Wimps. Only Australian news item read so far is UK man killed on trawler by water snake. I think they like this image of Australia as the wild west. Still not sure Brits realise how far Australia has changed since Queen Vic. Young man sitting next to us at the National commented how similar Australians and Brits were - how we all felt like we'd come home when we visit. Also amused by how frequently WWII sayings are evoked with Brexit. Angela Merkel is being painted as the main opponent to Britain having a 'soft' Brexit or a "chequers" Brexit. I doubt Theresa May or more probably the bureaucrats trying to knit a deal together, are getting much sleep. Also a reasonable amount about Russia and the on-going spying scandals. Given Putin is unembarrassable I think he does not care what comes out. China also getting a bit more of a mention given Asian politics seems to be ignored largely. News about Chinese people but UK citizens often disappearing when visiting China. Maybe they are just starting to work out how powerful China has become. Trump etc of course also dominates the news. Less said the better.
For Stephen's birthday on the 3rd we went to Borough Market via London Bridge. On the way, love looking over the sides of the bridge, seeing the remnants of wooden piers and bits of chains at the edges of the Thames with mudflats and small sandy beaches. Very Dickensian or Sherlock Holmes. Great fun wandering around the food stalls. Bought rye bread, French cheese, olives and artichokes for lunch. Saw fresh pasta and duck breasts that have ear marked for future meals. Delicious coffee at a place called Monmouth. Good to find a decent brew. Coffee almost universally weak. Also dropped into Southwark Cathedral - huge. Memorial to Shakespeare there given he lived nearby. After lunch headed up to the old financial district - around Bank/Threadneedle Street/Mansion House and Royal Exchange. Dinner was at an Italian restaurant called Rucoletta - lovely Sicilian wine, veal ragout, lamb -drank and ate a lot. One of our favourite types of restaurants - loud, genuine Italian. Was packed and not surprised. Just when I thought I was going to be able to walk out in a straight line they presented us with a limoncello each. Slow start the next day.
After birthday celebrations and a quiet morning, went to the London Mithraeum - old Roman Temple discovered while excavating post WWII. Very interesting. Aside from the temple, had a number of Roman artifacts on display that had been discovered. Usual array of articles that make you realise how little new has been invented. Then went to the Guildhall which has remnants of a Roman amphitheatre in its basement. Interesting paintings and maps in the guild art gallery - particularly a 1500's map of London. Our street - Warwick Lane was there. The paintings were different -focused on industry/the merchantsscenes from the Square Mile. Interesting. Learnt that there were Fire Judges post the Great Fire whose role it was to determine who owned what etc and adjudicate disputes. Also tried to visit Smithfield Markets - huge food wholesale meat market but it is open from 2am and everything is done and dusted by 10am. Is near St Barts hospital and found his church. Very old and has a residence attached - like built into the side of the church. Quite odd looking but not unusual with everything built on top of, next to buildings as the years have gone on.
While Stephen did a reconnaisance of a huge fishing shop on Friday I went to the National Gallery to see an exhibition of Bellini and Mantegna. Mantegna married Bellini's sister - interesting Italian rennaisance artists. Drawings reminded me of Da Vinci sketches. Never heard of Mantegna but was highly regarded in his day. Came from nowhere - no connections. By contrast, Bellini came from a famous family of artists who had workshops. They recognised Mantegna's skills and married him off to a sister. Guess which artist is remembered.
Newspapers are still rather uninteresting although I'm persisting with The Guardian or The Times. The Conservatives are imploding. Theresa May is now trying to persuade the Labor Party to join forces to pass her version of Brexit as her own party is not entirely supportive. Boris Johnson continues to snipe. Theresa May tried to look 'hip' by dancing on stage to deliver her address at their National Conference - to Abba's Dancing Queen. Embarrassing. Noone seems to know what is going to happen with Brexit. Glad we do not live here.
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