April in London

This is the same view as the London Eye with red lights for Red Nose Day. Dawn on Saturday.
Brighton Beach


I feel like I am on borrowed time. Enjoying London very much and saying goodbye at the same time. Sort of like stepping down, tapering off, cutting your speed, all those phrases we use when an experience has been so intense - that like a diver coming up from the depths, to do so all at once would be dangerous.


Last night Kate took me to dinner at Cliftons, in St John's Wood, and darling Shavon, our hostess, told stories of how Edward the4th (?) had used the very same building for assignations with his mistress. It was a lowly inn at the time - but since frequented by the King they had to "kick it up a notch" and call it a hotel. Dinner was cider, bread and soup. The soup was broccoli and stilton. Dessert (always my favorite) was sticky toffee pudding. (We shared.) Later we walked St.John's Wood and she showed me Abbey Road. Yes I crossed on the zebra cross walk. Pictures to follow. Slept wonderfully well- same room as last time. 1007. (007!) Here's a link to the pictures from today- took the train from London Victoria to Brighton. Beautiful day-- and then a blast at the Nationl Gallery.

2007_04_21 Brighton and London

Next Watch Out for JOIN UP! as Comic Relief tackles universal education!

the Brutal Trip

This is me the day BEFORE Berlin next to a particularly poignant piece of the Berlin wall. Had been humming the Beck song as I left the pub and walked to the museum.
This is one of the Moore drawing- collapses entirely the veneer of societal mores and daily industry that separates us from our common humanity - and our common destiny.
And coming back to the present-- war protestors at Westminister- much like the one Janet and I participated in - goodness- that is more than a year and a half ago. It is strange to be now in another cycle of life in London. This has been such an amazing time-- wistful because it will not hold-- I am continually mindful I am watching a memory being made. Then again-- aren't we all- every day?
And here- behind the brick and lace lived Cap't Bligh of Bounty fame!

Imperial War Museum- packed- the Children's War was quite interesting as one considered the angst of sending your children to strangers. TheHenry Moore exhibit was the thing though. His drawing were quite small-- intimate-- figures still carried the mass and dignity of his sculpture but there was such presence to each limb it seemed to forshadow disembodiement and the grave, and Death seemed a sweet companion, breathing in one's very mouth.

Off in the distance you see what appears to be a red ferris wheel. It is the London eye, rimmed in red by Comic Relief, people who take the sufferings of others quite seriously. The participation is amazing. I can't think of an analog in the US. Breast Cancer Awareness? Comic Relief raises money and dispenses to the homeless, the hungry and the uneducated- in UK and around the world.
This is dawn breaking looking south toward the Thames from Hotel in Belgravia- 20 Chesham Place. Making note with the knowledge that things don't last- and if I wanted to go back and find it 30 years from now, perhaps the address would persist if not the hotel itself. Had a bit of a balconey and the moist air of early spring was lovely. Down in the square there was some Daphne blooming.

Scrolling down you'll see a 14 foot wooden boat. This was the smallest of the known craft that evacuated British soldiers fron Dunkirk. Can you imagine what the crossing would have been like. The grit-- the courage these people had.

The children are shown in gas masks, standard issue. Now there is a communications challenge- make free hearted children fearful enough that they never go to play with out there gas mask in reach.

Vauxhall Afteroon

This is a communal cafe, vegan of course, and members of the co-op, as I understand it take turns in the kitchen and serving. When I backtracked to find my lost my glasses, I stopped in and we chatted a little. Clearly this is not just about food but about creating an egalitarian center for the area. Something that is not about profit or tax dollars.

I have every intention of going back to eat there some day but as Frost says, " ...oh, i kept the first for another day- but knowing how way leads on to way, I doubted if I should ever come back."





This billboard is an advert for a wonderful singer-song writer. How I wish I was too old for emo-angst but it has me in its clutches still! I took a couple shots of this sign--- one was almost premonitory.

The surprise of the afternoon was finding a farm right there in the middle of the city. Two white goats butting heads. Hen following after rooster. Pigs rutting contentedly. Beer with lunch, a great walk-- and a few moments in a secret garden. Unforgettable.




This is a view from the north bank of the Thames looking to the south. There are far more dramatic shots to be seen but this has the look if everyday normalcy which is in and of itself, extraordinary.

Second Home

Some holiday pictures to share-- shopping with Aimee and Marsha on Bond Street, Christmas Lights on Carnaby, party in St. John's Wood off Abbey Road, lights of the carnival in Leiscter Square-- Odion Theatre to see Casino Royale. This holiday definately easier than last year!

07-NOVEMBER VOTE

AMERICAN CITIZENS- PLEASE BE SURE YOU VOTE
THIS PRIVLEDGE HAS TWICE BEEN COMPROMISED.
VOTING IS WHAT YOU DO TO PROTECT THE REPUBLIC.

The Little Prince

"Absence diminishes small loves and increases great
ones, as the wind blows out the candle and blows up the bonfire."
Francois de La Rouchefoucauld

And so the Little Prince returned to his rose...

Long Walk

I figured something out. There are lots of beautiful places in the world. Some green, some gold, some stone, some glass. What is compelling about Britian is more than that. It offers that fourth dimension, time. Approaching Windsor Castle from the back lane, with the world famous long walk in front, with a profusion of deer peaceably meandering, warm sun and blessed quiet - one of the moments that makes life worthwhile.

Kensington - Old Baily

This is outside the Glouster Tube station in S. Kennsington. I stayed at the Baily Millenium...an old hotel with creaky floors and ghosts....and feathers. Wonderfully located- was simple to get around from there. I was aware of a few homeless people, something I hadn't seen much of in London but the neighborhood had more texture - and I felt more at home there than in other neighborhoods where I've stayed. Watched football in the Polo Lounge down the street.
What's to say? I suspect that when darker days come I'll think about brilliant days like this one and examine it like a jewel - too beautiful to be believed.

Isle of Wight

And this is from the dock
Could there be a lovelier village? Maybe the people are harsh and grasping. Maybe the weather is brutal. Maybe there are "dark shadows".
Maybe- but hard to believe people would not take comfort in being part of this.
The train station...tea in styrofoam cups and tourist brochures inside.
A street on the way back from the ruins.. the first autumn walk on crunching leaves. Desolate, but in a peaceful way.

Roman History in the Rubble

These are actual ROMAN mosaics that have been uncovered on a dig located on the Isle of Wight. Sorry that I was not able to join the team for the regatta- I was - still thrilled at the antiquities, the display cases of other finds, at the beauty of the day.

This is a view of the harbor from the ferry boat that made the crossing from Southhampton to the Isle.
And this is a glimpse of my Sunday afternoon at St. Paul's Cathedral. It is so large- and in such an urban environ it is difficult to get perspective. Would be interesting to have a history of the cathedral-- or an understanding of what it meant to Londoners to see it perfectly in tact after weeks, months of blitzkrieg. Is it possible that it was intentionally spared? 

Wicked

This is the inside of the Victoria where we went to see Wicked
The sign is not electric-- it is all spangles. Right across from Victoria Station and down the block from an easy little Portugese restaurant I came back to a second time because the wine and the roasted nuts were so good! I think the second time I may have enjoyed it even more than the first!
And all over the city--- Elphaba and G-linda conspire with girlish whispers Wicked is simply the backstory to tale we all know- and a case in point that when you know the rest of the story, sometimes the villian isn't the villain, the hero isn't the hero and life is less predictable than we think. 

Antiquity on the Isle of Wight

This is the view from the Roman ruins on the Isle of Wight. Not a planned sojourn. The day was a lovely impromptu excursion that I wouldn't have had if it wasn't for engineering on the National Rail lines. I couldn't make it to the team function that was planned for the day. (Yacht race :>( but anyway....
Consider what it is like to experience this along with William Walton's Henry the V score. (find a snippet on iTunes or Amazon-- gorgeous!)

On the Estate

The home of the Astors: British power
One small tourist
Green Portal to the Thames
Cyclists in the distance