Toilet Restaurant and Jack the Ripper… and SOUP!

So yesterday (Friday) was a lovely day--reminding me of the weather in January--before the February dreariness came in and I got sick through half of it!! It wasn't even that chilly. I had TOTALLY over prepared for the weather, and was broiling in my long-sleeve shirt, sweater, and coat. Oops!

I decided to walk to my class at U London… which is a little more than an hour walk… half of it through Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park… and that's often the loveliest part of the walk/day/week! All ponds and birds and frolicking dogs… I love that park!!

Then, I was on a bit of a high for having no medicine in my system for the first day in weeks AND the lovely weather…so I found a fun lunch place to stop at on my way to class. It is called The Attendant, and it's a cafe made out of an old Victorian-era men's restroom. They turned the urinals (well cleaned) into the seating area… and served a variety of coffee and tea and sandwiches… including that lovely new cheese I've see here that I can't remember the name of (the grilled mozzarella-tasting one). So I did that, one more thing to check off a list that I didn't even know was there!

And off to class… to learn about the history of rice cookers and their technology AND their role in women's lives in Japan since the 1950s. It was an interesting talk, and for a few dizzy moments I thought about studying appliances for a book from the US perspective. Except, there aren't a lot of appliances to analyze in the 19th century, so I think I'll let that one go!

On the way to the Tube station, I stopped at UCL's little Zoology museum, and gazed at a jar full of preserved moles (yep, you read that right), the bones of a dodo, a croc skull (sans teeth, which bummed me out), a HUGE elephant skull (I suppose it WOULD be) and deer antlers--MASSIVE ONES, and a penis worm (I don't even want to know) and other things of an equally bonkers nature. It's a remnant of the 19th century need to collect all the dang things they could find--and kill them if need be. There was a selection of brains of various animals, for example, with a note that said that they are still used in classes there. THAT was interesting. It was a tiny museum, but right by class, so well worth a visit-- And the place was pretty busy, too, interestingly enough.

Then I wandered up to the Jack the Ripper Tour area, but way too early, as I often do. So to kill time, I checked out the Bank of London Museum. It's exactly what it seems like--a museum about the history of British money, and what role the bank has had to play in it. The most interesting parts of the museum to me was the tourist-friendly bar of gold they SECURELY allow us to pick up and a history of the coins of Britain before 1971. The gold bit is obviously interesting, but the money bit was like an explanation of all the books I've ever read (not quite, but a bunch). Like, wth is a shilling? or a farthing? can one care a brass farthing about something??

So--for any other nerds out there: The pound sterling is the oldest currency in the world. Originally 240 silver pennies would make up a pound--and if it was good quality silver, it would be "sterling." The Latin word for pound is libra pondo, and that's where the L is their currency symbol comes from. In 1971 they switched to 100 pennies to a pound, like normal currencies (THAT recently!). Before that, there were "threpennies," that were three pennies, a florin was two pennies, and sixpence (being six pennies), 12 pennies made a shilling (or "bob"), 20 shillings per pound. And a farthing was a quarter (four thing) of a penny… AND a crown was five shillings…

Got it?? Me either-- :)

After all that, I went for dinner… I had assumed I've have to go to a London chain, which would be fine, as there are still loads of chains I haven't been to yet. But as I was wandering I bumped into a place called the Soup Larder. Just opened, total mom and pop, new-style all organic and such, place. Four of their six soups were veg… Dang!! So of course I went there…

THEN I was ready for the Jack the Ripper tour. Yep--we went all over the Whitechapel part of London… and saw the sites of three of the five *known* murders. It was fun… not terribly spooky--it was SOOOOO touristy. We would pull up to a site, and there would be two other tours there, too. Our poor guide (a great performer) would have to shout. He doesn't take in the new (what was it? a Polish immigrant?) theory of who the Ripper was-- He thinks it was the Royal Doctor, as a way to stop a pregnancy (the Ripper collected uterus souvenirs) of the Queen's grandson… (I can't imagine that would have been THAT rare--a royal with a prostitute, and sometimes they get preggers… but there IS the issue of the missing organs.) Of course, everyone knows it had to be someone with medical training, and there had to be an accomplice, as the bodies were moved. It's an interesting case, still!

During the walk, we just so happened to go down Diagon Alley (SQUEE!) from the movies, and the pub where Guy Ritchie filmed Lock Stock & Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch (Diamonds? What do I know about diamonds??). As well as the pub where the victims all hung out and lived nearby. Still there, still named the same thing, and totally hopping on a Friday night with London yuppies.

Now it's Saturday, and it's gray and raining again--February wants to go out with a whimper, apparently… So I'm thinking something indoors… Maybe a museum… Maybe…..

Cirque on a budget…

So… last night I went to the first non-Cirque du Soleil circus show I may have ever been to in my life… I really don't think I've ever been to a Barnum & Bailey kind… It was a fun show. The troupe was called Cirque Eloise. It was much smaller than the big guys… the sets were less elaborate… there wasn't the live music of the biggies. But there also wasn't the expensive price tag! It was a lot of the same physical stunts… Guys balancing on other guys, holding themselves out straight from a fire pole, mega-juggling, that kind of thing. And those stunts got the least response from the audience… We've all seen that before, I suppose… ;) But there were other things they did… A woman balanced and twirled around inside a big hula hoop--which was a nutty thing to see… Kinda elegant in a VERY weird way. Then there was the men's version, with a bigger hula hoop (men!) and doing more strength and less elegant stunts in it. That was pretty cool. Their balancing/timing stunts were pretty impressive! The fire pole people running up and down were also fun… There were a few times during the show when the audience had a collective gasp… some of the stunts were that new and impressive! And freaky!!

And they had a cute storyline connected to the show--loosely, of course--just like Cirque du Soleil. The CS show I saw had a very loose story about a kid in a park who falls asleep and has this dream adventure… aka the show. The CE show--the actual show was called Cirkopolis--was like a play on Metropolis. It was all work-themed, daily grind kind of stuff. And there was machinery-like music playing, and gears and such on the screen in the background. So that was a fun twist… and relatable. Poor schlub with less-than-great job has this dream adventure… :)

The "clown" guy--the schlub--was really funny, too. And of course these shows use very little words--it's all pantomime. But he talked a little… And of course, was a perfectly respectable acrobat along with the rest of them.

It was all stuff I couldn't do!

Earlier yesterday--no class, as they were two-in-one Wednesday--I went out to lunch with CAPA and did a mid semester catchup assessment. The lunch was fine--at a London chain called Ask, which for some inexplicable reason is the name of an Italian pizza/salad joint. I've been doing pretty well with the restaurant experience here in London. I'm finding fabulous street food and fantastic veggie places. I also am working on these London chains that I'll never see again. Indeed, the only US chain I've been to since arrival is--you guessed it-- Starbucks!

Speaking of Starbucks, I'll give a little comment on the coffee cleanse 2015. I'm hating it!! I miss my coffee shops! And being sick this week has only compounded it. When I first get sick, I actually crave tea. But I've been drinking SO MUCH TEA… that now I'm dead sick of it! I am longing for a cappuccino! So I'm telling myself just to go one more week. And then I'll have filtered enough of the caffeine in my system out--and be ready to fill back up!! ;)

Tonight (Friday) is my SOAS London class. I missed last week because of my cold--so I'm really looking forward to getting back to it! AND then I got a Groupon for a Jack the Ripper walking tour of London. I'm super-excited about that, too!! (And I'll def let you know how it turns out!)

Weird Museum and Eddie Izzard

Wednesday was a combined class... and we went to the Museum of Brands Packaging and Advertisements. It's such a random and cool museum. And it's a little like wandering around in your grandma's attic. But somehow in a good way! The museum is dedicated to showing how products have been marketed since the mid nineteenth century. (So class relevance: the Global Foods class focused on food products and Twain class on the Victorian Era products.) There was a collection of Valentines from the nineteenth century when they basically began...thanks to the penny post...which made sending cards more popular. There was fascinating stuff about the various rationing campaigns especially during WWII. It was great seeing it again through the lens of the students. One student followed the history of Cadbury chocolate (so good!), one notice the history of the collectible item/knick knack itself...which really started in the Victorian era, another noticed the crazy offensive stuff that was going on with some of the ads, I of course took a cat - themed series of photos... bc of course I did!

Second stop of the day was Portobello Market. This is really my local market and I love coming up here... and it's walkable where most of the other markets I've taken the students to really aren't... even for me!! (Did I mention in a previous post having lunch at a test kitchen in a cookbook store who has set menu lunches? Their veggie day is Tuesday, so I tried it out and it was fabulous! Omg the Guinness chocolate cake that was the size of my head! I really shouldn't have eaten the whole thing...) So it was only slightly relevant to class to check out the market. But it *is* a Victorian era neighborhood... it began as a fruit and veg market-- though now it's more of an antique market... And there is always a food element to my classes... both of them in fact (a person's gotta eat). And it was their last class before their spring break. (In my world that week will be spent drafting a chapter, bc I sure know how to party!) So I set them loose to play and we met back up at a Belgian waffle place to discuss what they'd seen/learned today and what to expect when they came back from break.

After class, I hopped on the train to Hammersmith Evertim to see a charity comedy night for Stand up for Shelter. Eddie Izzard was the headliner but not the only performer... and his material was largely repeated. I felt oddly like going to a concert and hearing the old standards performed. And I don't mean this in a bad way at all. You know how we always love to hear the faves... even if we've heard them a million times before? Same kind of thing. He started doing his Death Start canteen bit...like a sequel...and the crowd went wild. We loved the fact that we knew what was coming. And I recognized some of his bits from other shows I've seen... But he ad libs so much it's always really different anyway... Omg I laughed myself silly! There were 4 other acts...and they were largely fine. I don't remember any names but I liked the woman best... But it was like watching a grown up next to kids... there weren't down times...or jokes that fell flat...or excessive set up... and if there ever is of course he knew how to spin that into a joke... He's been doing this a long time! I saw Dress to Kill on hbo in 2002!

And this was my big chance to see him in London itself. He wants to run for mayor of London, btw, in 2020. Nutty huh??!!

Also I think he does a bit about the Evertim Hammersmith at the beginning of one of his other shows. I think one of the earlier ones... Anyway, now I've been there to see him (talk about Wembley).

Home again home again... I have this minor fascination with taking tube and bus lines to their end. And Hammersmith is the end of the line for Circle line...my local line...and the 9 and 10 buses...my bus lines. So I went into the show on the Circle line until the "all change" came over the speakers. And came home on the 9 bus. Arriving at the bus station to my door was 15 minutes. That's shockingly fast for London...even at 11pm!

And today (Thursday) I go to a circus...that's not Cirque du Soleil. I can't wait to compare them!!

Cambridge and a book fair!

Still dying. Haven't kicked the cold or gotten my voice back. It was such a ridiculous hassle dealing with ordering things and picking up my tickets and such without a voice just before the show last night... Today would be an all day extravaganza. I almost bailed on the train ticket (cheap and non refundable of course) and stayed home to rest and recuperate. But in the end I went. I figured I could go in later than my usual day trip and leave earlier...

Also I'm getting pretty decent at mime... hint: I use an exaggerated thumbs up symbol with a smile a lot... ;)

Train ride was fabulous. Fast and comfortable... Definitely have to do this more often. Buses are great too of course... but this was a smooth and fast ride!

Then I get to Cambridge at a reasonable hour... and wander my way towards town center... Stop at the Fitzwilliam Museum because it is there. (I refused to take a guide book or a map of things to do or see... I wanted to just go with the flow... and hit up the book fair.) It was pretty cool. Saw some Rodins and a Van Gough and some other impressionists... lots of Greek and Egyptian artifacts... A really excellent and maintained sarcophagus fully painted... Also a kitty mummy!!! This is so cool on the one hand. On the other it means they killed a kitten for a sacrifice thousands of years ago... Kitten mummy!!! (it's like the twisted version of unikitten from the Lego Movie)

Next stop... street market... bc apparently I can't live without my street food lunch! Today it was a bagel. I haven't had a bagel yet in the UK... and they have always been a fave of mine since childhood. In fact, during the old 98 Europe trip one of the things that struck me most was how hard it was to find bagels in Europe... that and Mexican food, which oddly enough I had for the first time this week as well (was it just last night?)... How times have changed?! Now Britain is global cuisine-wise...

Next the book fair...where I got to drool over fantastically expensive antique books. The SB planned parenthood used book sale this was NOT... But the books were SO pretty!!! I let myself drool. And I bought a couple of cheap paperback British versions of some Raymond Chandler books. One I'd never even heard of. And I love Chandler... and they keep mentioning his British-ness here. Which is new to me. I guess he lived here for a bit before he went to LA and created Marlowe. I'll let you all know how Lady in the Lake is... (Is that a fabulous title for a Chandler hardboiled set in the UK or what?)

Next stop meander the town. Kings College... Trinity... Round church... Cricket clock... Bridge of sighs... a quick stop for tea (herbal) and a muffin... Then even song at Kings College Chapel.

And then I was out for the count... Home again home again...
And tomorrow is the parade for Chinese New Year... the largest celebration outside Asia! (Puts SF in perspective. ..)

Teaching with the plague...

Another two classes, another two days and two day trips about London. This time, though, there was the added adventure of my teaching while coming down with a major cold. There is something going around--big time-- and I've caught it. Students always enjoy when I try to teach without a voice… :)

I still had my voice Wednesday, though. I took the class to Brixton Market-- in the Caribbean part of London. Bringing out the "global" portion of the class title. I had them explore the market and talk to the vendors and try to buy something they'd never tried before. AND bring enough to share with the rest of us. (We are only seven including myself, so it's not that big of an expense…) I got everyone Jamaican patties… Mine was Calaloo… which was fine and tasty. My student who tried that one, though, didn't finish hers--thought it was too spicy. The chicken and beef ones seemed to go alright, though… Someone brought us all lychee fruit--which was fun to eat picnic style… and there were candies and snacks from other countries none of us had tried before… and finally (thankfully!) one student got us drinks--also new to us! We were super-grateful for that by then… :) Then we went across the square to the Black Culture Archive, who was having a photo exhibit about Resilient Brixton… It was small but very good. I told the students a bit about the history of Brixton, who lives here--comparing it to the Borough Market area from the previous class. Then we went back inside, where the shops were closing, and they watched me drink tea while we discussed the readings and just the different stuff we'd learned that day. It felt like a good class… and that we learned something they wouldn't have elsewhere!

Thursday I actually started my class in the CAPA classroom. (It was so weird!) We watched a video of Hal Holbrook's "Mark Twain Tonight." The class theme was on Twain's performances while he was in London--so watching this was a good setup for our mini-tour. This performance is the closest we can actually get to watching Twain live… and he was an amazing performer by all accounts. So we watched that, then went by tube (with a wrong turn in there for fun) to Embankment and walked to a few sites where he gave his lectures. Almost all have changed, and none are marked as connected to Twain, but I could tell (or pantomime) little anecdotes about his time in the various sites. Then, we had lunch at Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese--one of only two places in London with an actual plaque with Twain's name on it. And just a fun pub and neat place to hang out… And we had the mac and cheese. All three of us felt the comfort-food urge… :)

Both classes had papers due--which means that it's time to transition to the next project… So I used these classes as models for their group project. Could my Twain class perform something live a la Twain? Could my Food Studies class take me to a borough of London and give me a tour and explain the global significance? They seemed to be fine with these ideas… So that will be due in a little more than a month… :)

Today, I am staying inside as much as possible and healing myself. And free writing for a review due asap at work back in the States… *whimper*

Tonight I have tickets to see Ralph Fiennes in Man and Superman… I'm so excited about that-- so I'd better not cough through the whole thing!!

Till next time!

Bournemouth!

So, it's a Tuesday-- smack dab in the middle of a work week… and I teach Wed and Thurs… and I'm getting papers this week. BUT it's also this golden moment of no rain and not too freezing temps… and so I flee the city for the day and go to a new beach town (for me) Bournemouth.

OMG-- I might actually like the beach part of Bournemouth better than Brighton. It was a LOVELY day-- and there is little better than a lovely day at a lovely beach. B'mouth is a "blue flag" beach, which everyone was bragging about. It means that they take greater care about litter, and the surf is safe, and there are lifeguards in season… There was a list… It is a good old-fashioned sand beach, and the sand was pretty clean, I give them that!

AND--for the first time perhaps since I've been in the UK--so the first time in 2015-- this MIGHT be an exaggeration, but not much of one-- I was able to take off my parka and just walk around in a sweater. And I wasn't the crazy one doing that just to prove a point or something… lots of people were in just sweaters, some even in t-shirts, some of course were all bundled up… it wasn't exactly warm, mind you. I think there was an issue of exertion… the more we moved, the more we could live with lighter layers. It was so funny when I was at the town's notable museum (the Russell-Cotes) wandering around the gardens taking some sunny-day photos, I had NO idea at first what to do with my coat. I took it off--that was the first thing. Then I was carrying it-- but trying also to take pictures. Tried to wrap it around my waist-- big coats really aren't made for that. Finally realized I could bundle it up and shove it into my daypack. Such a funny dilemma!

The museum reminds me of the one negative part of the day-- for some odd reason when I got off the bus in the morning, my knee was killing me… It had been find getting TO the bus… but I fell asleep on the bus (of course) and must have slept weird regarding my knee. THAT was a treat!! It eventually worked itself out… But the museum did involve a little gimpy-Casey that was no fun! Actually, it pretty much started working itself out when I left the museum finally and went to the beach. My knee was telling me not to be indoors on a day like today!!

Walked along and along and along the beach… I could have kept going… I had the first sensation since I've been in the UK that I didn't want to go back to London-- I just wanted to stay here. (It was a nice day and I just about exploded inside--it has been a while since there's been a nice day here!)

B'mouth also has several and several more parks in the town… so I took the scenic route up the bluffs up a woodsy path with suspension bridges that apparently Winston Churchill fell off of when he was 18 years old… and which reminded me of childhood walks on campus at UCSC… as I worked my way up to the houses on top of the bluff and the remains of the house where Robert Louis Stevenson lived when he wrote "Kidnapped" and "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde." There's nothing left of the house-- I believe it was a fire-- but the town has kept the site untouched and made it a municipal park-- And named a street and several buildings around there RLS… ;) (Several more are Churchill-related.)

Of course, I had to check out the hippie restaurants in town… I went to one called mad cucumber (not capitalized), a vegan restaurant. And got bubble and squeak--or something like that. Something I never would have the guts to try at a normal restaurant… but here it was cabbage and cassava, and flavored with cilantro and curry spices. It was tasty! Had tea with it, of course! Tomorrow I say good-bye to caffeine (whimper)--so I was making up for it today.

Back to the beach to watch the sun set--directly to my right as I faced the beach--it was so weird. I was facing pretty much due South--which isn't amazing at all--that's what the map shows. But it was so weird watching the sun set over the mountains off to my right as I stared at the water. The sun's supposed to set over the water! ;)

And yes, everyone whipped out their cell phones and took pics of the end of day… it was a good day!

I slept pretty much all the way home-- nothing like a moving vehicle to knock me out! (Not when I'm driving, btw!) And it was a day-- I was back a little earlier than expected even… And tomorrow's class isn't my morning class, at least!

Here's to another fun one!

Friday the 13th!!

I had to do something appropriately cool to celebrate the day!

The week was fine--nothing too special, considering where I am… :) Taught another Dickens mini-walking tour followed by Borough Market and The George Inn for Global Foods and then took my Twain in London class to do original research at the British Library and check out their Treasures Collection, followed by lunch at Bloomsbury Farmer's Market! OK--those were both pretty awesome days!! Funniest (??!) story during the GF walking tour: I was taking them around a bit of the Little Dorrit/Marshalsea part of town. We're not reading LD, but we decided NOT to visit Newgate on our rainy tour last week--and D had plenty of history with Marshalsea--so I made the call. Showing them the remaining portion of the wall of the original prison--all that is left and where there is a little plaque commemorating it (as there is with half of London for something historical or other). Couldn't see much because they were doing construction. Then one of my students observed that the construction team was actually PULLING THE WALL DOWN! Who needs history, clearly! I was floored… and an Eddie Izzard bit kept playing in my head where he mocks the US for "tearing [our] history down, man." And all I could think was--what do you call this??!! The rest of the tour was fine, and just the right length, and the students then were told to go around and chat up a couple of the stall attendants and different venues at Borough Market. Get to know the food producers a little more! I gave them an hour--and said: Go! Consider this a sociology project. Call me interdisciplinary!! They seemed to love the project… and of course had to nibble their way through the market, too! Then, we had some time left in class to actually, you know, have class, so we went to the George Inn-- one of the oldest places in or out of London-- and one where both Dickens and Shakespeare hung out. It was hard not to squee like a little girl!! Ditto for the Twain class-- I love the BL--and I got to tell my class about the King's Library--and that fabulous display in the middle. And they could check out actual old manuscripts and look at the actual handwriting of authors/musicians they loved… It's a heckuva buzz!! Twain researched at King's Library back in his various stays in London, btw. This was totally legit! And we continued our class out in the cold at the Farmer's Market--but OMG I love my London street food!

Wednesday night I saw a short-and-sweet-and-loud-and-weird version of Macbeth. It was pretty cool, though my chair was actually TOTALLY uncomfortable and after a while that's ALL I noticed. Very minimal and spare. It edited out chunks of the play and added a lot of techno-style music… I thought it was cool just to see how people can play with the original works. I saw a relatively faithful, old-fashioned version at the Barbican with the Henry IVs, then this Techno, jeans-wearing, gender-bending version of Macbeth, and in April I will see what I'm sure will be a VERY traditional version at the Globe itself with Merchant of Venice… Fun to compare!

That all brings us to Friday the 13th… and what is a girl to do in an old and creaking town like London on a day like that? Already saw Woman in Black… don't really feel like a Jack the Ripper tour--a little too on the nose and cheesy… also it's raining…

Then, I decided--it was finally time for me to go to the Tower of London… (Kinda the dumbest name for a castle ever-- can't they just call it London Castle or something??) It took me three visits to do it, but I finally did… And it was worth all the gajillions of pounds it costs… It's a huge place and every part of it is dripping with history… much of a particularly gory nature!! It fit the Friday the 13th bill just fine! Despite the fact that I wasn't a fan of the rain… and the Beefeater tour was wonderfully funny--so not exactly in tone… and of course parts were crowded (but silver lining to the rain--it kept the numbers relatively low!)…

I don't care so much about crown jewels, unless the jewels are cursed or something… But I did my duty to my tourist's bank account and glided by them on the moving sidewalk… and I saw the (empty, thank god) stanchions for the lines they must get in the summer that looked like something out of Disneyland… Eep! Spoiler alert: the jewels are sparkly!!

I also didn't spend so much time in the fusilier museum… I really don't know much about army paraphernalia, let alone that of another country… really the only reason I even entered was because I could hear Martin Freeman as Watson going on about being in the fusiliers… ;) I did get a good old fashioned USA giggle seeing the red-coat early uniforms, though. I didn't see that coming. I thought: thanks for the target, there, during the Revolution! :)

The white castle museum was wonderful-- history of armory… which is exactly as alien to me as history of fusiliers--except for the fact that this looked EXACTLY like walking into a fantasy book-- or ALL the fantasy books. This I understood--just not on a level of any kind of reality… judge me if you dare! There were a few suits of armor for Henry VIII, of course, and he's real. He's the British version of Elvis--everything is divided into two periods: skinny Henry and fat. The armor showed the difference. And you had to laugh!! This is also where I had to almost gag--I saw one of the most hideous masks I've ever seen in the executioner's mask from back in that day… all the wives and such that lost their heads on the (also displayed) block. The mask had a painted-on grin, but it was done wrong and all shifted to the side. So the mask had a painted on leer, basically. THAT'S clearly the last thing a person wants to see in life… *shudder* How have they not used that mask in a horror movie yet??

Speaking of block, there is a display out in the courtyard memorializing the six people who were beheaded inside the walls of the castle. LOTS more were executed outside…but the wives, sisters of wives, cousins, etc got the whack within the walls. (VIP indeed!) It's a modern memorial--which is interesting in this area of oh-so much history… but I liked it. Also, both Catherine Howard (number 5, I believe) and Anne Boelyn's sister Jane (friend of Catherine) were beheaded on a Friday the 13th… so there were flowers on the memorial for them…

Jane Grey, though, is clearly the saddest story of the lot! (Along with her husband, Guilford Dudley, I suppose…)

The other part I really liked was the graffiti in the towers. Everyone tells you about it--and I don't know what I thought, but I didn't imagine the detailed bas-relief going on there. That was practically sculpture. I didn't understand much of it-- initials or crests and occasional Latin. But there were a few poems and names I did recognize and such… It was fun in the creepiest sense!!

This is one of the few museums where I actually did have to grab lunch at the cafe to replenish for round two!

But enough of that! I ALSO tubed and DLRd back to Greenwich to see a production of Jekyll and Hyde… I really liked it--one of my favorite shows so far! It was spare and modernized--as seems to be the theme this year--but in the end it stuck to the original story pretty closely. And this production used a lot of smoke effects--very cool for suggesting smoky London… and a revolving elevated stage platform that became several different "sets" in different positions. And the actor playing Jekyll/Hyde was phenomenal--ran around all over the place and did a ton of acrobatic physical acting that was really amazing to watch. Something I really liked in the modernized version was making Jekyll/Hyde a black actor (biracial), Utterson gay (and in love and formerly in a relationship with Jekyll), and all the other smaller roles played by a woman--who made a point that as a woman she didn't have a bigger role/wasn't allowed… They were all interesting choices and I liked them all! I really liked this show! Not as much jumping-out-of-seats as Woman in Black, perhaps, but there were some pretty disturbing parts… (Hyde tortures a woman at one point-- it was fascinating how they staged it!) So well worth the Friday the 13th honor!

AND so a very successful (if wet and rainy and so I was occasionally cranky) Friday the 13th in London… Brief side note-- both days I was in Greenwich now various museums and spots have been closed to the public because they're filming Now You See Me II… SO whenever that comes to theaters-- look out for some scene at the Cutty Sark!

Here's to more adventures!

Hampstead Heath and Greenwich

London tourism in full swing this weekend!

A new acquaintance invited me over to her place to watch Stardust with her and her fam Saturday afternoon following a discussion we'd had about Neil Gaiman… It is an *adorable* movie, btw, if you haven't seen it. Right up there with Princess Bride--and that's high praise from me!!

That meant that I couldn't exactly do a faraway trip Saturday or even over the weekend. Instead, I worked to figure out stuff I could do to "see stuff" without going too far afield. :)

She lives up past Hampstead Heath-- so that worked out nicely! The weather, on the other hand, did not… It was mizzling rain the whole time, and I was hiking in the wooded part of the Heath--which meant my shoes and the bottoms of my jeans were covered in mud by the time I actually got to her place. Oops! (I kicked off my shoes and just wandered around her place in socks…) Otherwise, it was a lovely day out… Lots of people were out still… mostly with their dogs who did not care about the mud and were deliriously happy! Nothing happier looking than a dog chasing a ball in a field! I was pretty impressed with the dogs, too… all these dogs and all these people and me walking past and they never jumped up with their muddy paws. Good dogs!!

I visited a couple of places around the Heath, as well. Kenwood House is a Georgian era estate (read: everything looks like a Jane Austen film--AWESOME!) where Dido Belle--she of the recent movie--lived. So that was worth a peek. Also apparently taking my fancy camera and shooting the whole thing! :)

Then on the other end of the Heath is the Keats House. Not quite as successfully laid out as the Kenwood House… and Keats isn't my boy the way others are where just the aura of the figure is enough… But I definitely like the guy's poetry… so I couldn't pass the place up!

Perhaps best was the creperie I visited on the way… OMG so tasty! I got the ratatouille and cheese--this was an actual stand with people working the burners inside… nothing fancy! But so tasty! Definitely not a health food--but good comfort food, for sure! And at least I didn't get a nutella crepe! (Next time…)

Then it was about time for the movie… and gab… and tea! (Aside: I am becoming obsessed with tea--there, I said it! Of course, for me obsession means that I'm reading all kinds of books about the history of tea in the UK… because I'm a big nerd! But I am also drinking more of the stuff, and understanding a bit more about it…)

Cut to Sunday--and to me exhausted! I just barely got myself up and about enough to go to Greenwich,  and it's not going anywhere, clearly, so there was no NEED for me to go that day. But I'm glad I did--there was finally a sunny day! Still cold, of course, but oh I just wandered around in the sun all the livelong afternoon--along with the rest of London, by all appearances. More dogs in parks!!!

I purposely went with my camera--intending to just take a million pictures. I had the idea to take pictures of the alphabet of architectural elements and/or natural and see if I could do it. So the side of a bench became an S… a reindeer's antlers was a V… a cormorant sticking its neck out was a Z… that kind of thing. It was a fun game. And I'm surprised how quickly I was able to get the whole alphabet… I thought it would take days/weeks. But I got it in one… And now of course I can spend the next few months improving my collection. (That G is pretty forced--let's see if we can improve it!)

Also saw the Cutty Sark, the Observatory, the Market, of course. Again, amazing street food. Vegan World Food booth--and it had a long and slow line. But the food was so warm and tasty!! It was one of those meals where I actually felt happy-full after eating it… almost high! I am always running hungry--so part of that is clearly the gratitude of being full and not from a coffee shop muffin! But I think there was more to it with this particular lunch. :)

And I walked through a tunnel under the Thames! That was a trip-- distance wise, of course, it's no different than walking across one of the bridges. But it's also a TUNNEL UNDER ALL THIS WATER! But there were plenty of people doing it--and I didn't get too claustrophobic!!

And I got home in time, oddly enough, to cook myself dinner. I do not do this often enough here! And by a weird stroke of luck, all the stores were already closed (early Sundays). While at first this annoyed me SO MUCH--as I had a recipe all ready and the grocery list of what to buy and all that-- it turned into a blessing in disguise… I just had to make do with all the foods I'd just bought Saturday am at the local farmer's market… So instead of canned tomatoes, I chopped up all my new tomatoes… regular potatoes instead of sweet potatoes… purple kale and rainbow chard instead of spinach… Even the cheese I spread on my bread with it was from the farmers market. How this wasn't my first impulse is the crazy thing… But here's to happy endings! My body really needed healthy home cooked--as much as I LOVE all the restaurants--and there are still SO MANY for me to visit…

Now it's Monday again--and I have to get back to doing work-type-things here. Today is a library/research day. Also I really have to read! (Odd that this is becoming a chore--but then again, it's homework reading, not exactly escapism!) Off I go!! :)

Two classes, two tours!

Both of the City/downtown/old town part of London. Oh yes, there was some crossover. But they were different enough tours at the same time!

Now let's see if I can remember: Wednesday's class is reading Dickens--and that's my Global Foods class--so we did a tour of Dickens's London. Also, we're reading Sketches By Boz--D's earliest stuff. Very fun and VERY London… This helps make my job easier! So, we started at Covent Garden… a posh shopping square that used to (read: in D's time) be the fruit and veg market for London. He writes about walking from CG to St Paul's Church to get a real slice of London life. So we did that walk. It took about 2 minutes. They are next door. BUT going from one to the other we passed the site of the first Punch and Judy show. Kind of where all public performing and such got it's start… VERY important for actors and storytellers and creative types. (Note: students' point of reference for that was Gone Girl--there is a creepy Punch and Judy doll in one scene!) Then Seven Dials, just down the street. It's a 7-pointed intersection… used to be full of gin-shops and the dregs of humanity… But in a colorful way, ac to Boz. Now, of course, it's posh! Then we walked a bit to get to Holborn Bars, an early home of D's. Of course, Furnival's Inn is gone now, but a pretty building is in its place… D wrote and published Sketches here, started Pickwick Papers, married Catherine (oops! that didn't turn out so well). Sir Thomas More and JM Barrie also resided here at various times. There is an actual Dickens Museum that is the house he lived in for a longer time in his mid-career, but CAPA takes them there already… so I chose not to include that on MY walking tour. Moving on, we went to Smithfield Market, the meat market (insert joke…) for London. Also the only traditional market in town that is STILL marketing and not just posh shops now. Of course, it's the one that sells slabs of animal hanging from hooks. Lucky my tour!! Used to run the cattle right down the street, then pen them up and slaughter them here. By the 19th century there was a public outcry about the--believe it or not--cruelty to animals (yep, even then) in addition to sanitation issues. So they built a building and moved the slaughterhouses elsewhere. Now it's sold here, not killed. Apparently the public decided it was less cruel to kill animals elsewhere! Walked past St. Bart's Hospital… irrelevant for Dickens, but totally Sherlock-related! And wrapped up at the Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese. A fabulous and famous old pub that served Dickens and everyone else and is still up and running and doing it's thing. Too cool to miss!! (And somehow it's not ridiculously touristy…) Also, we were just happy to be indoors, after being rained on all dang day and FREEZING!

Thursday's class is reading Twain (will always be reading Twain, in fact). The Prince and the Pauper. Written in late-Victorian, but set in Tudor England. Our tour, therefore, looked at the really old stuff--or where it used to be, at least. Started at London Bridge, millennium style. I painted the picture of what the bridge USED to look like… with the shops and residences on the bridge itself. That it was the only bridge across the Thames… that it separated "The City" of London from all the stuff that wasn't allowed… all the fun stuff (think Vegas). Next, we went to the Monument via Pudding Lane, where young Tom Canty grows up. The Monument is supposed to be on the spot of the great fire of 1666 (when the end really WAS at hand). Then we walked past the awesome and stodgy in all its British respectability Bank of London to the London Wall--the ruins of the old Roman Wall. Long gone, it's only visible in bits and pieces. So we saw a piece. Next, we also went to Smithfield Market, where Tom Canty mentions seeing executions in the square. (William Wallace being the most famous in real life.) Then WE walked past St. Bart's… we actually could stop, as there is a statue of Henry VIII (I'm surprised how unpopular he is with the general public-- I though only I thought the guy was an asshole). This is considered the ONLY statue of HVIII in the city… and he's a character in our book… Then, we went to Christchurch Greyfriars-- from another scene in the book, when Prince Edward is out on his own--his first stop--a school and hospital for poor boys. Now a ruin… it was destroyed and rebuilt a few times, of course, but finally destroyed in WWII. The powers that be decided to just leave it as a ruin, and planted a garden around it. It's in fact quite lovely--even on a cold gray winter day. It must be splendid in the spring! Thomas Mallory is buried somewhere around here… The story is basically true--King Edward DID create a hospital for the poor here… and the street it's on is King Edward St. All accounts (of which there are few) say only nice things about poor Edward VI… he just died really young. He was way less bloody than ANY of his immediate family--father OR either sister! We stopped for lunch at the Cafe Below at St. Mary Le Bow… From the rhyme Oranges and Lemons--and the standard for English-ness (you're considered a true Londoner--Cockney--if you were born in the sound of the bells of St. Marys… Tom Canty would have been in theory…)

Wednesday night I went to a play of The Woman in Black, then Thursday one of my students said they'd been discussing that play in her theater class… So we had to discuss that a bit! It was dreary miserable weather, but we struggled through. Perhaps not as gracefully as I could have! But all-in-all I had fun with my classes! (Let's hope they did, too!!)

Next week: Borough Market with my foodies, and the British Library with Twain-hearts! Squee x 2!

Camden Markets and Sloane Museum!

So I promise I am working hard--hence the lack of posts since the weekend. There was a good/solid day of Library-ing in there--and yesterday I walked the tours for both classes for today and tomorrow. That one wiped me out! This afternoon is Global Foods London town, and tomorrow is Twain London town. There will clearly be overlap! ;)

I have managed to do a little tourist-stuff in there, too, of course… Sunday I went to Camden Markets-- for the first time. I am heartily ashamed of myself that I hadn't been there before… It's a funky, flea market, Venice Beach kind of place. I people watched for HOURS… and managed not to buy much. ;) But I will be back, of course. (I think one of the little souvenirs I might get for people is a tea bag holder for used tea bags. Basically an entire item that takes the place of a saucer or empty cup--or wherever you want to place your used tea bag. But there are such cute ones everywhere!! I'm strongly tempted…) Best of all was the food stands. Oh so many food stands. And as is the case everywhere in London, it seems, I could pick and choose the stands that were only vegetarian. I haven't had as much falafel this trip as I thought I would, so I was drawn to that… And got a falafel with what turned out to be grilled mozzarella cheese added to it. OMG it was so good! I now suggest that all food has grilled mozzarella--with the grill strips on and everything--to it. :)

Speaking of food--I can't remember if I mentioned my random stall lunches for Thursday and Friday?? Again--all veg, all the time. Thursday has a group of food stalls at the university--so right across from the Library. I got Indian, of course. Oh, the samosas!! Friday IN the university student union a woman was selling her own home-cooked vegan Caribbean food. OMG!! The plantains! :)

OK--back to my touristy bits: yesterday (Tuesday) after my rehearsal for the class walks, I went to the Sloane Museum for their once-monthly after hours candlelit tour of the museum. It's a tiny place, and jam-packed full of stuff (crap? chochkies? architectural detail? BOOKS??!) so we have to line up outside and wait our turn for a limited number of tickets… So, I waited for an hour in the cold… but when else will I have this chance? Should I count on this opportunity next month? And the cold will help keep the numbers down… (It did--they didn't seem to have run out of tickets by the time I left-- and I was glad to have been in the early set…)

Sloane was a famous-for-his-time architect who had plenty of money and a passion for things from Italy and Egypt--antiquities, I suppose you'd call them. And he was a bit wacky… So he started collecting…and collecting…and adding onto his house to have more room to display his collections. He had a room just for his paintings--and added fake walls that could be opened out so you could see the paintings behind. One of these opened up to the other rooms--and to the Monk's room in the basement! The man had an imaginary friend ghost of a monk--and he made a neo-Gothic room for him if/whenever he wanted to visit. That's where he'd serve his friends tea. It was fabulous! Especially as it was right across from a huge sarcophagus that Sloane bought up when the British Museum declined… :)

If I had to compare it to something state-side, which of course I don't--but now the impression has been made, it would be to Winchester Mystery House. Same kind of go-because-you'll-never-see-this-again kind of feel to it. Quirky, would be a great word for it. Sloane doesn't seem to have had as much tragedy in his life, of course… so good for him!

The museum is the way it is because when Sloane died he said he wanted it to be left in JUST the condition as it was… so they have done… it's just like it was in Sloane's time, as much as possible. This is the coolest part! So my favorite rooms, in addition to the Monk's room, were the upstairs breakfast room with the ceiling painted to look like a trellis outside--so charming!--and the LIBRARY!!! (Goes without saying!) Neither room was represented in a postcard, which was really too bad as we couldn't take photos…

OK--and now we are at today. Time to see all these fun old bits of London and dispense some factoids about the authors and the spots themselves! Till next time!! :)

(Last thing-- I am reading Innocents Abroad for my Twain research and I just got to a part where he is mocking his fellow travelers for giving up on their journals… Everyone starts so ambitiously and then just falls off. I felt the shame!!! So color me motivated!)