Greetings from London

My week in London is coming to an end. Much as I have enjoyed it, I am ready to return home and make up with my cats, who are no doubt unhappy with me and feeling abandoned.

The week was long hours of work, and out with collegues in the evenings for dinner. Friday night was my first free night, and I managed to get the last seat for Mama Mia, a great musical based on the songs of ABBA. It was very funny, and quite refreshing after a week of work. Of course, if you do not like the music of ABBA, you would not like Mama Mia.

Today I slept in and went to Leicester Square (pronounced Lester) around noon and stood in line for an hour, hoping for a ticket to The Mouse Trap, based on Agatha Cristie's book of the same name. This is either my 5th or 6th trip to London, and I have yet to see The Mouse Trap. I was there when it was in it's 25th year--it is now in its 51st continuous year, and I thought it was a good time to go.

Sadly, both the matinee and the night performance were sold out, so I settled for Martin Shaw in A Man for All Seasons. The theater is within 5 blocks of my hotel, but I got turned around at Trafalgar Square and took the wrong street, and ended up back at my hotel. (Street signs are almost non-existent, and the streets go in weird angels.) By the time I found the theatre, the play had started, and I had to sit the first half in the third balcony. After the walking to get there, then climbing 4 flights of stairs, I was sweating and hot--I had to take my velore shirt off and sit for half an hour in my undershirt so I wouldn't faint. Not real cool, but some times a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do.

At intermission, I moved down to my expensive seat on the ground floor, only to find the rows were so close my knees were jammed into the seat in front of me--the seats were better in the third balcony, but the view was a challenge. It would have not been so bad if the play were outstanding, but I found it average. I love the play, but I am spoiled to Paul Schofield--he will always be Sir Thomas More to me.

Unfortunately, in my haste to pick an alternate show, I forgot that the Royal Shakespeare Co was doing A Midsummer Night's Dream, complete with a full orchestra playing Mendelssohn’s music for that play. I think I would have enjoyed that more.

One interesting thing about seeing A Man for All Seasons in London is you realize that you are sitting within 10 blocks or less of the Palace of Westminster (present seat of Parliament) where More was tried, and within a few miles of the Tower of London where he was incarcerated, and where the choppng block still stands upon which he lost his head. Kind of makes the play more real.

After getting the tickets, I went on to Knightsbridge and Harrods Department Store, and picked up a few items. I had thought to go to the British Museum, but after the late start, standing in the queue for over an hour, and walking through Harrods, I was ready to get back to my hotel and rest a couple of hours before going to the play.

I was a little concered this morning because the local Muslim community was staging a demonstration today protesting the cartoons, and they were meeting at Trafalger Square, a block from my hotel. When I walked out of the hotel, the front lot was full of police vans, each with 6-8 riot police ready to move in. I took the tube to Leicester Square then on to Knightsbridge. When I was returning and changed trains for my hotel, I heard some woman screaming and a man yelling at her. I thought there might be trouble, but security showed up immediately, and a man with the woman calmed her down and told her she was in London and it was no time to bring up politics. I assume she was an American that was upset with the demonstrations and was fooish enough to engage a local demonstrator. Dumb.

By the way--if anyone is interested in seeing the cartoons that are causing all the ruckus, a liberal friend of mine posted them on his blog, in the left hand column. You can see them at http://www.unreal-city.blogspot.com/

I see it is after Midnight here, and I have to be at Gatwick by 10:00 AM Sunday--and I still have to pack--easy since everything is dirty and can be stuffed in any old way. I'll sign off for now. Wish you could have all been here to share it with me.