On to London

 

Dr. Hugh Tildesley

After yet another hearty breakfast, and heartfelt good byes to Glenda we made our way to London. The M5 then the M4 are great roads, with no obvious speed limits. We navigated the maze of roads back to AVIS , forgetting to fill the car and getting taken for refueling. The rental rate was so low; it really didn’t make a difference in the greater scheme of things.

Deborah’s flight was early, our driver on time, and we checked into our apartment on Gillingham Street, after dropping Gorgeous at the Taj. His hotel requirements seem to have been met and he is a 5-minute walk from us.

Just a block away is a fine Italian restaurant, Tozi that serves tapas like portions. The tuna tartar was to die for!

Theatre Report:

We made our way to TKT at Leicester Square and took care of purchases for the first 3 days.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night. Geilgud

We saw this performance a few years ago and the play was exceptional. Ted and George had not seen it, thus seeing it a second time was in order. It did not disappoint, the set one of the most imaginative I have ever seen, the story so very compelling. It scores 5/5, playing at the Geilgud.

Wicked, Victoria Apollo

 A great musical with a unique twist on The Wizard of Oz. Our first time in this 2500 seat theatre, magnificent. A first class production, clever writing and great music. A must see. 5/5

Beautiful, Aldwych

An energetic performance with familiar songs from such an extremely talented woman. The play gives you the legitimate source of some of the lyrics and melancholy. I had forgotten how many songs she had written, early in her career almost exclusively sung by black entertainers. She also wrote many of the tunes for the Monkees. Her solo career was launched after her friends goaded her into performing; the rest is as they say “All she wrote”.

The Afro in Front of me

  The play took me back to the 70's on a number of levels. In front of me was an afro like fiz head. I felt like Ali as I bobbed and weaved to see the stage! Deborah restrained my impulse to compress her hairdo....pity

What Ali Would have done!

Georgeous gave it 5/5, my score was 4/5, still a strong recommendation.

Father, Wyndham’s Theatre

Incredibly clever play about dementia, the audience is left not knowing what is real or what is imagined. An education in what many loved ones are going through. Educational, thought provoking and emotional.

My score 5/5

The Museum Report

We walked to the Museum of Science; the weather was 20 degrees, the trip a little long for me. We encountered tons of school children, as this is a school holiday. The terms here are 7 weeks long followed by 1 week of holiday. Fortunately the queue into the science museum was trivial, the admission as in all National Museums, free. We donated 5 pounds. The exhibits very well done and we were sure to see the story of Ida Lovelace, Lord Byron’s daughter who programmed the first analytic machine. Her story is also well documented in one of my reading suggestions, The Innovators.

We journeyed to the Sherlock Holmes museum, the school children won, the wait of 1 hour excessive to my liking. We settled on the walk back to Trafalgar Square, with a lunch stop along the way.

The Museum of portraits was as stimulating as ever so long as one stayed contemporary. The recent photos of royalty and PM’s was on the mark.

This photo of John and Yoko by Leibowitz was taken 5 hours before his death.

The restaurant Report:

Tozi, 8 Gillingham Street:

We have eaten at Tozi’s twice, great quality food, and excellent service. A little dear hence the 4/5 score.

Delauney, 55 Aldwych

Beautiful bistro décor, prompt service, convenient as it is open after the theatre. Excellent quality food however a little pricey. 3.5/5, mainly because of the price.

Bianco43, 7 Northumberland Ave

Great pizza, prompt and friendly service. 5/5

Augustas, Catherine Street.

Excellent atmosphere and service. Another tapas like experience. Food excellent quality .5/5

Our last meal was at Quilon, next door to Georges’s hotel on Buckingham Gate Road. Excellent food and service. It scores 3.5/5 because of its price.

Some London Observations;

People here are upbeat. There seems to be an optimism that is prevalent. The streets and tube are more crowded than I have ever seen them, this might relate to the school holiday.

The skyline is filled with cranes. There is no slowdown here!

Expensive. Pounds buy what dollars do at home. Costs average twice what we are used too.

Frustrations on the road: My so called friends emailing me about the Habs loss, most of whom are leaf fans! The nerve, they received the usual return message. An added visual particularly telling!

We visited the Canadian High Commission thanks to Gorgeous’ arrangements, this blog will be written over the next 72 hours.

Until next time……