UK Christmas -The first four days of Christmas

As you know, today is Boxing Day -historically that meant that during the Christmas season, a box was available in the churches to collect money for the poor. The last day to contribute was on Christmas Day, and the following day the boxes were opened and distributed to the poor--hence, Boxing Day. In London, this is a national holiday, but the Sunday transportation schedule is supposed to exist. However, add to that the fact that the union of tube drivers called for a strike on that day - and the end result is absolute chaos! Fortunately, we did not know that before we took off--we knew the strike but didn't fully comprehend the chaos!

So off we wandered to our tube station, to find it closed, and nice attendant directed us to the bus to take to Leytonstone, where we would be able to catch the tube. We wanted to go to Leytonstone Station anyway--this is the birthplace of Alfred Hitchcock and we had been told about the terrific mosaics on the walls of the station. Sure enough - a mosaic depicting many different movies from the great master, and it was a great way to start the day. Now we are back on the tube and headed for Chancery Lane. This was our tube stop five years ago when we rented the flat..so we were in familiar territory walking to the Dickens Museum. This was wonderful..many restorations done on this brownstone - and we loved wandering through the rooms again, seeing all the Christmas decorations in the Victorian style. In one room in the basement, the original production of "A Christmas Carol" with Alastair Sims was showing on a video. In the Drawing Room, a biographer of Dickens did a reading every hour - and we listened to him read the opening scene of "A Christmas Carol". In the little cafe in the back, we were treated to hot mulled wine (not very good, IMHO-prefer Whittards, Carla!), little teas and breads. We walked back to Chancery Lane and decided to head for 221A Baker Street-Sherlock Holmes, of course. Five years ago, we picked the right time to do this and were about the only people inside when we arrived..not so this year - we joined the que to get in, took pics with the bobby guarding the door, and wandered in. Not much had changed in the last five years - it is so tiny - very narrow stairways going up four flights, only one-way traffic on them. Unfortunately "Dr. Watson" was not there this time..he was the highlight of our last visit and I am sorry for all those tourists that they didn't get that experience!

Now we are off to Starbucks for a delicious cuppa and sitting on the streetside tables watching the people go by--little dreaming what was ahead for us! After leisurely drinking our coffee, we headed back to the Baker Street underground, rode it for 2 stops to Oxford Circus, where we were to change for the Central Line. There were thousands upon thousands of folks waiting for tubes. I felt so sorry for the little ones who must have felt they were being suffocated down there around everyone elses knees! We were so crowded, we could not get in through the doorway to stand along the train tracks! We finally got that far...and one or two trains came by, already full, and a few people managed to crowd their way onto the train...and we decided we couldn't take this anymore..and somehow managed to worm our way OUT of the tube stop. Someone pointed us in the direction of a bus stop (the #25 is what we wanted) and we joined hundreds of folks waiting. In the next two hours, I would say that about 8 buses with #73 on them came by and stopped, and none of the other 6 buses that were to stop there ever showed up! Someone who looked official stopped and told us to go somewhere else if we could because there was a "detour" up the way that was holding up the buses. By now we are visiting with two young people from Lithuania who have just arrived at Gatwick and got this far with their roll-away luggage, and were heading for Stratford, also our destination. After two hours, Jerry had had it - so we set off for another bus stop, hoping that would work better. Jerry was ready to get on any bus that came by and get out of Oxford Circus to ANYWHERE, and I was about to agree with him. The cute young gal said to her male traveling companion (referring to us) "they are our only hope"--so off the four of us went. Again we tried the tube. The kids got in line to purchase their tickets, the board said a train would be by in 19 minutes, and we headed down the escalator--to find our Central Line gate shut and locked and a crude sign saying "closed." We boogied back up the stairs, caught the kids just as they were the next in line to purchase, and told them not to do it. Back to the street. Back to a different bus stop. Another wait with no buses showing up...and now we have had it. Its TAXI time. We walked to a busier street where we had seen taxis driving by. Jerry found a driver who had stopped to let folks out, and he told Jerry we needed to walk to the TAXI sign and que there, which we did. Oh dear...well, the young man with us managed to flag down a taxi, who said he would take us, gave us the approximate charge (gulp!) and we four loaded up! These kids were so cute - we told them how old we were..and they asked how old our kids were - and they said that was their parents' age..so they could be our grandchildren! Our drive took us by Kings Cross and St. Pancreas stations, and we told them that Platform 9 3/4 was in there - she looked puzzled, so I asked her if she knew Harry Potter. Her reply "well, of course"..but she seemed amazed that WE did! We suggested they go to that tube station during their stay and take their picture with the shopping cart. She said "You are very modern grandparents". Oh my..... FINALLY, we arrived at Stratford, bid goodby to our new kids, giving them a card telling them to come see us in Texas. She is 16 and in school, he is 20 and studying Economics at the University of Lithuania. They were going to visit an uncle, who lived in Stratford and she had never met..and then go to Paris for New Years Eve weekend. Bless them on their journey! Tomorrow will be a Banking Holiday, and we don't know what happened to the strike yet...so who knows what the day will bring? We are definitely in a wind-down mode! The pace of yesterday, the throngs of people on the streets, the crush of humanity in the tube stations on two different occasions, just really sapped our energy. It was off-set only by the chance meeting of the two young people from Lithuania, who made the time seem to pass faster! But we were not moving very fast at all on the second day of Christmas. So we are off to Wanstead, to our local Starbucks, for some breakfast coffee and a nice visit with 3 generations of a family at the table next to ours...awaiting the birth of a new baby boy. Delightful! Our conversations with folks like this have really been a highlight of our whole trip--because we have had time to sit, relax, strike up conversations, and become engaged with folks along the way. Now we are headed on the tube (which is running fine, by the way!) to Leicester Square and the discount ticket booth to see what might be in store for us today - and it is BILLY ELLIOTT! Oh joy! So hope another tube to Victoria Train Station (this was our first visit this trip to that magnificent enormous station - so much going on all around and an entire shopping center within the train station itself!) Our only disappointment is that the outside is under total remodeling, so everything is scaffolded..it will be very nice on another trip, I would imagine. Our seats for BE could not have been better...lowest row of the balcony, no one in front of us, you could lean in to the railing and be most comfortable and have a great view. What a thrilling play! The music is phenomenal, the story heart-wrenching, and the dancing was magnificent. There are 4 young men who play Billy - and he really carries the bulk of the show. The actors are all about 13 years of age, so we knew there had to be more than one in that part. I don't know which one we saw - but he was incredible. His energy and enthusiasm were boundless. We left the theatre energized ourselves, found a tube route home that was never full of people, (of course, it was still a Banking Holiday), returned home to make ourselves a grand dinner - and were entertained with BBCs first installment of a new presentation of Dickens' "Great Expectations" - and since we are really in a Dickens mode this trip, that was perfect! Wednesday dawns cooler and much windier, but we are off to Central London to see what play we can find for this afternoon. This time we tubed to Piccadilly Circus..how exciting! Thronging with people! Piccadilly, Oxford Circus, Trafalgar Square, Leicester Square just all run together -- and Tottenham Court as well, as we found out later. We chose to see "Jersey Boys" in the afternoon, and took off walking towards Trafalgar Square. We were right at noon - poor timing, as all the coffee shops were packed, but we eventually decided to go back to St. Martins-in-the-Fields, and had soup down in the Crypt Cafe..a delightful place to eat and people watch, plus the opportunity to browse through the church again. The play was such fun - music that was all so familiar for us, all around those times in our early married life..and we delighted in it. We walked from the theatre to Tottenham Court underground, which is in our Central Line, and headed for home,
As you can see - we are definitely winding down..our energy level is lower...and we are not filling our days so full. But we have done what we wanted to do, saw plays, museums, stores, and are quite ready to end our time in London!

UK Christmas Weekend, 2011

On this Saturday morning, our first objective is to walk to town and pick up our Christmas dinner, which is being prepared by the cook at the Olive Branch, where we have spent some enjoyable times. We had originally ordered lamb chops, but the cook motioned us to the back and told us he really didn't think the lamb was very good this day and recommended the ribs and/or chicken - so we took both. We drank coffee, visited with the owner, and hung out while Chef grilled the ribs etc. After he had us packed up, the owner came over and gave us a bottle of merlot wine to enjoy with our dinner, with his complements. As we left, the cook told us he had just made a fresh batch of meatballs, so had included a package of them in our dinner as well!! Wow! Such great treatment....so home we hiked, put the groceries away, and headed out for St. Paul's. The line, at 2:15 p.m. was already very long...so we quickly joined the que and struck up conversations with the folks next to us - a young couple from South Africa and a young man from Bolivia. 3 motorcycles drove by, waving at us, with the drivers all dressed as Santa Claus..wish I could have gotten a picture, but I couldn't move that fast and wasn't prepared!

The worship service was beautiful. Music in all those cathedrals is just exceptional because of the acoustics. It was a service of readings, scripture, carols and anthems - and it was a perfect way to usher in Christmas night. As we exited following the service, we ran in to our young friends from South Africa, and he kindly took the superb photo I am attaching for you. We returned to our Wanstead station, and our walk home took us by The Nightingale pub, where we planned to stop because they were advertising "live Irish music" for tonight. If it was there, we don't know where it was! We walked in the side door and were overwhelmed with greetings from all the gentlemen standing there, who kept encouraging us to "come on in farther". Jerry's new best friend, Dave, insisted on buying us a round - and we found two chairs with a table in the little room with a fireplace, so sat down, and Dave showed up with our drinks. What a fine new friend! Jerry tried to buy him a drink before we left, but he wouldn't hear of it--said we could buy him one when he came to Texas! You are on, Dave! We were home and snuggled in before 8 p.m., which was grand. Our evening treat on the telly was a Poirot followed by a Miss Marple--but I must confess we slept through the end of Miss Marple and don't know for sure who-dunnit! Christmas was memorable - the last time Jerry and I spent a Christmas by ourselves was 1963 in Chicago IL, the first year we were married. So here we are 48 years later by ourselves in the Irwin's home in Wanstead, England. We reflected back on that first Christmas together a lot! In 1963 we had a cardboard fireplace on the wall of our tiny apartment which put out just about as much heat as the gas fireplace in the living room in Wanstead, which is not operable. We enjoyed a sweet from one of the local bakeries--not the usual "Mom's cinnamon rolls" or the new sticky buns of recent years--but a bakery sweet with our coffee/tea..and then planned to walk to a local church. We found one on the Google map and took off...it was a great walk, and a long way - and it became apparent we weren't going to make it for any 11 o'clock service, so we turned around and moseyed back home, singing "Joy to the World" with each other--a carol we have really missed hearing during this time in London. Brits are BIG on my favorite Christmas carol, "Once in Royal David's City"...a song that every year (while we were in ministry) I would request that we sing to the music minister--sometimes it happened and sometimes it didn't. Its a GREAT carol..I don't understand why we don't sing it more. And in the same vein, why don't Brits sing "Joy to the World"..not once..and not ever printed in any of the Christmas songsheets we received at various programs. Just a thought. The rest of our day was well deserved resting...catching up on some laundry (which takes FOREVER to do over here..machines are very slow..our dryer is in the garage, and requires a water container to be emptied every load or two, and drying goes on and on and on and on. I gave up on the towels, and brought them in and hung them on a rack...they were dry in the morning! We watched TV as well. Our intention had been to see "The King's Speech" last night, but it turned out to be on a channel that we don't receive, so that was a disappointment! TV is very different over here--I will not complain about our TV in the USA ever again! The news is dreadful...very little world news..lots of sports and entertainment news (thats not so different), and I really really miss CNN! (Oh, they have a channel thats called that- but its definitely not the same). And programming - we are used to watching many Xmas shows around the holiday, but not so here. Our dinner was magnificent--prepared by the chef at the Olive Branch..and we feasted on his ribs, which were yummy...along with purple baked potatoes, and lots of brussel sprouts, topped off by dessert--and accompanied by wine, a gift from the owner of the Olive Branch.

What a memorable Christmas! While we have missed sharing the holiday with our immediate family, we have thoroughly enjoyed being in the London area, being a part of a neighborhood, meeting lots of new folks, engaging in many delightful conversations, and worshiping in these magnificent cathedrals. Merry Christmas!

UK Christmas - Dec. 21-22-23, 2011

The weather is so balmy--its unbelievable - and most of our clothes sit in the suitcase...no need for long underwear since our first day here..and, in fact, no use for our knit scarves--we found out yesterday that we were much more comfortable without them, and most of the day I carried my coat over my arms!  Who would have thought?

 Living in a real home in a neighborhood area brings a whole new set of situations to one's life--its so terribly damp all the time that fighting mold is a constant battle.  It wants to grow everywhere, and one is constantly wiping up moisture from window sills, counters, etc.l  Items in the kitchen look the same but have very different names on the packages, just enough to cause you to wonder if in fact it is what you think it is!  It would take some getting used to, I must say.

We are such pros on the tube now - what a marvelous way to travel around a big city like this!  Our brisk morning walk seems to get longer every day--and its all slightly uphill first thing in the morning.  Thats probably good because if it were reversed we might never get home at night!  We hopped our Central line and headed for St. Paul's stop to walk to the Museum of London.

This is one incredible place!!!  I wonder why we never did it on one of our previous trips?  We decided it was because we were saving it for this trip.  Its a magnificent structure just a few blocks from St Pauls, and actually has a spectacular view of the dome of St. Paul's as you walk away from it back towards the tube.

The first thing we wanted to do was see the Dickens Exhibition.  We knew there was lots to see here, but Dickens was first and then - if we had time - we could do other galleries within the Museum.  We were not one bit disappointed!  They have done a spectacular job in the way they presented their Dickens material, appealing to all the senses.  Charles Dickens is a most interesting person--its because of his writings that so much of our Christmas celebrations come about, and his strong family focus, like the Cratchitts, or Oliver and his uncle..and yet, he had a very dysfunctional life, very little family life of his own.  He and his wife had ten children...and he liked the children when they were little, but once they began to grow up, he was very distant from them and unable to show any affection.  Then enter the mistress into his life, and the divorce from his wife, and a life that followed surrounded by his friends on occasions but not his family.  In his latter years he never spent Christmas with any of his family - and this from the author of "A Christmas Carol."!  The Museum has many precious possessions--his writing desk, a writing chair, original galley proofs with his corrections, multitutudes of correspondence, and many photos and sketches from his books.  We had a fascinating time.

Following lunch in the Museum Cafe, we then had time to wander through other galleries -- everything you ever wanted to know about London from hundreds of thousands of years ago to today.  There is a time line you can follow along the wall, giving the highlights of each of the years--fascinating!

As we left the Museum, Jerry realized that we were on Aldersgate street, which is where both of the Wesley brothers were converted--and there it was.  Interesting enough, it is a Presbyterian Church now, shared with a Japanese Christian church, and--unfortunately--is only open on Sundays for worship.  But we stood on the spot and Jerry got his picture taken right there!

And now we are off to Wimbledon!  Five years ago Carla, Jerry and I went to our first Christmas Panto starring Henry Winkler "The Fonz" and we had a blast...on the spur of the moment, we decided to return, this time to see Dame Edna in "Dick Whittington", one of England's favorite children's story.  There are no words to describe a panto--sort of similar to our meller-drammers, with lots of booing and hissing and cheering.  Its full of ad-libs and off-the-cuff remarks--not at all like any play we would see in the USA.  And Dame Edna did not disappoint--she/he was hilarious and just like you see on TV!  The audience was in stitches, and we missed many lines, some due to inability to understand their English, and some due to the subject matter which was local politics!  Needless to say, it was a great way to close out our day, and we are so glad we went!

Now it is Thursday before Christmas..the sun is shining...it is quite warm...very like a spring day.  We walked to town after we finally got mobile (which took a while, let me tell you!) and did the mile walk to the heart of our town where we enjoyed an English breakfast at Ceasar's Palace (NOT to be confused with the one in the USA, let me tell you!)  There was an outdoor market set up along the sidewalk with beautiful fruits and vegetables and  a multitude of olives--it was pretty as a picture!

Our matinee was Simon Cowell with his one-man show of Dickens' Christmas Carol--absolutely stunning.  He was onstage for an hour and a half with some chairs being his only prop...he did many different characters, and his interpretation of Fezziwig was just a delight.  It was a fabulous performance, and we are so glad we were there and made it part of our Christmas.  The folks next to us had heard him do a 2-hour performance of readings from Dickens a year ago, and told us we were in for a treat...and they were right.  Another delightful experience leading us to Christmas!





  Friday had so much walking in it, I don't think I even want to think about it - I will be tired again!  The morning was much cooler and very misty/drizzly..but we walked to town to take care of a few things--like ordering the food we wanted for Xmas day from a local restaurant, The Olive Branch.  It was a good walk, and we made our order - and stood amazed at all the people in the "que" outside the local butcher shop, complete the whole turkeys hanging in the window--a site I haven't seen in a long time! 

This time we headed for Knightsbridge, with the idea of seeing more of the shopping hustle and bustle, and enjoy the walk to the area of Royal Albert Hall.  Looking in the stores was fascinating--wandered in a few--this is high-end shopping and many many folks were out doing their shopping.  Now the drizzle is coming down harder, and we decided to find a cafe with outside covered seating and people watch.  We found one that suited us, and spied a table just as another gentleman did as well, so Jerry invited him to join us.  We sat over some lunch/coffee and visited for quite some time--he was just a fascinating conversationalist, and over an hour quickly flew by.  Now it is no longer drizzling, but raining!  And we headed off in the direction of RAH and the museums.

At last - just as I was beginning to feel wet, we came upon Victoria & Albert Museum and entered--to find it was Friday night which was a late night opening for them, so they would not be running us out shortly.  We browsed the shop, and then chanced to ask a gift-wrapper for a pub nearby--her directions were marvelous and we were able to go by underground tunnel out of the V&A, past the underground entrance to the National History Museum, and on to the South Kensington tube station, where we found the Hoop & Toy pub just across the street--not even getting ourselves  wet.

Fortified by pub juice and enjoying the antics of all the young adults gathered at the bar, it was soon time to retrace our steps under-ground and proceed to the Royal Albert Hall.

The concert did not disappoint us!  This is the same concert we attended five years ago "Carols at Christmas" with the orchestra in period costumes including wigs.  The music was spectacular..and the audience participated in singing many carols.  The audience was most responsive and enthusiastic, and we truly ushered in the Christmas season in a proper manner!

UK Christmas-Day 5 & 6-week before Xmas

 It is RAINING...a constant drizzle..and off to the Apple Market at Covent Garden.  Its mostly under cover, and one gigantic flea market.  In one spot, a woman with a lovely soprano voice was singing her operatic arias and trying to sell her CDs.  We listened to her for a while..and searched for a cup of coffee with a place to sit down, but to no avail...and by that time,  I was getting discouraged about Covent Garden...and THERE THEY WERE!  Two mimes.  And they were just as good as five years ago..we loved watching them with innocent passers-by, who didn't realize they were not statues..especially a group of teenage girls!  So the visit was a total success after that.

Back on the underground and off to Knightsbridge to tour Harrods...I think I liked the Alice in Wonderland windows from five years ago better, but these were elegant...all based on Svaworski jewels/crystals..and very elegant--sort of like the wicked Queen in the Narnia series.

There were thousands and thousands of shoppers/visitors everywhere - lines and lines waiting to be served in every cafe or tea room at Harrods...so we ventured across the street to Cafe Rouge.  As we ate, we were joined at the next table by 3 young men from Iran, and had a delightful conversation with them.

After Harrods, we headed home, alighting from our underground at Stratford.  This is going to be the site of the Summer Olympics next summer.  The mall there is unbelievable - biggest thing I ever saw...largest mall in Europe...most people I ever saw...brightest lights I ever saw...we were amazed. We stopped at a grocery store in the mall (similar to a Central Market in their choices) and picked up a few things...then I had to get out of there--I was getting claustrophobic with all the people around!

Its only 3 stops away from our stop at Wanstead, so we headed back, and stopped off at The George for a pint - a delightful way to end our day. 

Tuesday morning and its drizzling!  No wonder what grass and bushes there are in our neighborhood are so green!  Its not like Wimberley, thats for sure!  But, in actuality, we have had more sunshine this trip already than five years ago, so we are grateful.

We are heading for the Kensington area...the area of museums, Royal Albert Hall, Hyde Park, and Bertie's monument--what a sight!  But our first stop is at the Museum of Natural History...five years ago there was a Christmas market going on around the museum, but now it is an ice rink, and full of happy people either skating or trying to skate.  Best of all are the little penguin "helpers" to give more stability to the skaters--now even I could get out and skate with one of those, but I fear it is much too short for me!  We drank coffee outside above the rink and enjoyed watching everyone.

The museums in London are such a blessing - most of them are free, supported by donations, so available to everyone.  We wandered through many exhibits--looking at skeletons,-- one animal in particular that was uncovered by a 13 year old girl another century ago--her older brother found the skull and she unearthed the backbone...she must have been amazed!  We thought of our grandson, Garrett Worley and his interest in marine biology and wished he were here with us to see this!

Wandering through museums is exhausting--its hard standing all that time, and you long for a bench - and there are some around - so you can rest a bit.  Now its off to Victoria & Albert Museum - amazing, enormous...room after room of furniture/ pictures, tables, etc, all beautifully displayed..you just wander and wander.  But joy of joys--in our wanderings, we heard beautiful Xmas carols being sung--is it recorded or human?  Keep moving towards the sound...and there they are - six beautiful young adults standing in the rotunda of the entrance entertaining us with fabulous voices.  We just leaned on the railing and soaked it all in.  Eventually we went downstairs to the lobby to join them in some sing-along music.  They were singing for a most appreciative crowd (of course, they have their buckets there for contributions--I hope they got lots!)  Their music was such a gift for us.

Now its off to Royal Albert Hall.  We are attending a concert by King's College this evening.  We have more than one old CDs of Xmas music by this choir....so I really wanted to hear them.  It was not what I expected at all (music-wise) because only a small part was seasonal.  It was the King's College choir, plus they must have a prep school for we had a small group of young boys...and a full orchestra..plus about 100 singers that were definitely NOT in college!  (Our clue was the number of white-heads.)  Needless to say the music was heavenly, and we were delighted to be there.  We sat in the exact same seats we had booked five years ago when we attended a Christmas concert at RAH with the family.  (We are going back to RAH on Friday for the same concert as five years ago!)

These have been grand days - and we are overjoyed to be here at this tie and this place!

UK Christmas-Day 3&4

Its the weekend in London - one week before Christmas - unbelievable amount of people out on the streets, in the buses and tubes, filling all the stores, and the coffee houses!  I do believe all the press about this Saturday being the busiest shopping day of the year!

Our play today is James Earl Jones and Vanessa Redgrave in "Driving Miss Daisy".  It was magnificent...such a beautiful emotional story, and our actors were superb.  We had good seats--front row of the balcony (very small seats and small aisles, too, I might add).  There was no intermission - just the story in its entirety, which was great.  It was a great experience for us.

After the play, we went next door to the tube stop and headed back to Wanstead...we planned to walk up to The Cuckfield pub, which was a pretty good hike..and it was not disappointing at all--except that the first 3 things we ordered for dinner, they were already out of!  We finally picked something that was available..and consumed a pint of cider and enjoyed the people-watching.  We do wish pubs like this would catch on in the US, but they don't seem to--such a shame.

We were walking on Sunday morning when all the shops are closed, to Starbucks for our morning coffee, and as we crossed the street, I commented to Jerry that the delivery man had delivered a large box and just left it in the doorway of a children's shop a couple of doors down from Starbucks.  I mentioned the news story I had read about how many packages like that are being stolen and showed the ways it was happening.  When we came out of Starbucks and walked back down the street, we noticed a lady standing in the doorway of that store.  The box was open, and she had a small suitcase on wheels that was lying open and she was going through the contents of the box one item at a time, and stuffing what she wanted in to her suitcase.  As we crossed the street, we saw her close up the box and lay it back up against the door of the store and leave, pulling her suitcase behind her.  How sad!

The Lord's Day - sun shining brightly in the windows!  What a joy!  We have seen lots more sunshine than five years ago!  We worshiped this morning at Westminster Abbey - lovely service, communion--very special.  There is NO heat inside the building so one never takes off ones coat.  Well, that was tolerable this morning but it surely was NOT this evening.  We went back for a service of organ music and readings--and we were not pleased with the organ music.  But its a magnificent instrument and the acoustics are incredible.



When we left worship this morning, we stopped for coffee at Starbucks, shared a sandwich..and walked - but didn't know where we were going, and obviously didn't go the right way, and walked miles (so it seemed).   We decided to walk across the Thames at the Vauxhall Bridge, which we did...then asked the bus driver how to get to the London Eye and he took us all the way nearly to the door!  Folks really do want to be helpful.

The Eye was quite an experience - we had gorgeous weather...sunshine, lots of clouds, just starting to turn dusk.  Such a treat! 

From there, we walked along the Thames again, back to Westminster Bridge and walked across the river, back to the Westminster area, straight to the Albert Pub where we shared a British Pub platter and a pint!  And then back to church for the organ/readings concert.  Truly a glorious Lord's Day..and what a joy to be here in this location on earth

UK Christmas-Day 2 (Dec. 16, 2011)

Morning arrived after a glorious night of sleep for our weary bodies!  We chose to walk to our neighborhood shopping area in Wanstead.  It is about a mile from the house, and you have two choices for walking.  The most direct to the Tube Station is to take a footpath just a few doors from our home, then through a bit of neighborhood, and finally walk along the motorway (on a sidewalk) to the Tube station.  The other way is to head into our neighborhood from the house, and the entire walk is through residential areas, taking us past a beautiful old church (which is not in operation now - how sad), and past The Nightingale, a fine pub.  We always enjoy the architecture--houses are primarily "semi detached" which in our language is a duplex.  There are a few detached homes but certainly not many. There are some with Christmas trees or some Christmas decorations but certainly not a lot of decorations, but we enjoyed all the ones we have seen.

We went to The Olive Branch Deli...unbelievable full English breakfast that lasted Jerry the entire day and evening. (see photo)..while I had a modest scrambled eggs/toast with tea (of course).  We had such  a nice visit with the owner-he's from India, wife from Italy...we are planning to stop by on Saturday and select our dinner for Xmas and take it home for warm-up on Sunday.
We waddled to the tube station and headed out...Wanstead on the Circle line to Holbern, change to the Piccadilly Line to Leicester Square.  Upon arising to the street level, we found our theatre for our Saturday play right there - so getting there will not be a problem!

And we wandered....toured through St. Martins in the Fields--tried to buy tickets to a carol sing last night but either very expensive or no view,  you only paid to listen..so we passed on that...found our Waterstones Book store (I don't believe myself, but I really did buy two books--its an addiction!).  We just walked..found ourselves at the Texas Embassy so went inside to visit with them--their coffee machine was broken, but they encouraged us to return for a meal some time during our stay.  We inquired about our friend's son (who is an owner) and of course, he was not there--he rarely is.  But they directed us to Nero's for coffee--a place we had been last trip.  After getting refreshed with our coffee and tea, we spent the next few hours in the National Gallery--amazing place..just wandered and sat..wandering and looking at paintings gets very tiring!  Benches were a welcome relief!

We enjoyed down time at Waterstones, reading through their books and mags and just hanging out...then over to Trafalgar Square to listen to a delightful choir standing below the Christmas tree singing..their director was very animated and a joy to watch..and lots of singing along--more memories of 5 years ago.

And then - the highlight of the day - "Blood Brothers" at the Phoenix Theatre.  Amazing production.  Carla, you are absolutely correct--it is a must-see.  It wasn't what I expected, tho, so I was pleasantly surprised with where it went--just a powerful moral story about class and class differences.  The actors were great--Mama was so strong and really pulled all that hard stuff off.  We were behind a couple of rows of school kids..maybe junior high...and they laughed their heads off at the adult actors playing 7 year old boys, then 14 year old boys...and they were as much fun to watch (or at least listen to).  So do put "BB" on everyone's list of plays to see!

When you go to an evening production, it makes it very late when you get home - nearly midnight by the time you ride the Central Line to Wanstead and then walk a mile!  Matinees are more to my liking!

UK Christmas, Day 1 (Dec. 15, 2011)

Fabulous Day 1! Now for the details: First - our choice of transportation. We decided we would go to Trafalgar Square, walk all around, see what was happening at St. Martin's In The Fields, etc....and we would go by bus so we could be above ground and see all the sites between here and there. First thing, I put us at the wrong bustop, but didn't realize it UNTIL we waited and waited and finally, about 30 minutes later, a bus came...and it took us around the corner to the next block (which I now know is where we should have been in the first place!) and said "End of Line - everyone off". OOPS. So we got off, crossed the street, and here comes our bus--same bus, same bus driver, and so we board again. And we successfully complete that bit. Now we are really on our way...but NO - police lights, traffic stopped etc...she stops our bus, turns it off and goes to investigate. She returns to report a wreck and we wait some more. Finally we get to go - and from what we could see, it appears a vehicle ran full speed into a bus stop waiting station--the metal frame is smashed all to pieces, and glass from the sides of the bus stop are all over the street! And one very smashed up car. Not sure how that could have happened but it did. But NO - she pulls in to a bus stop along the route, steps out and announces that "This is the end of the line for this bus. You must get off and catch the next one." No explanation, no nothing..so lots of us exited the bus and waited for another one to come, and off we go again. Now we are a bus heading for Oxford Circus, but we plan to get off at Tottenham before that. The bus driver announces that the destination has been changed, and we are now on a bus for someplace else--can't recall the name right now. Well, that seems to be OK because its making all the right stops. We keep seeing signs for "St. Paul's ahead"...and Jerry says "want to get off at St. Paul's and look around?" SURE...so bye-bye to the bus! That may conclude our bus adventures for this trip!!! NOW St. Paul's...we are in a very upscale part of the city, the banking district, and very high-end stores. We wandered through a mall - all glass, several stories...very posh. It was about noon and every single business person (dressed in black clothes, suits and ties) was standing in a line at every one of the many restaurants/cafes/whatnot. After finding their very exquisite bathroom facilities, we left, and stopped at a little coffee shop--where Jerry had a mammoth-sized coffee cup and I had hot cocoa. Oh, I failed to mention the sun was shining this morning! Glory! We loved every minute of it and it lasted all day -well, till it turned dark in mid-afternoon! We checked St. Paul's calendar on the fence and found there was a Xmas concert at 6:30 so decided we would just hang around and attend. Inside we found that it costs LOTS to wander - like nearly 15 pounds per person..but no charge if you want to worship...so we walked over to a very nice employee, and asked if we could go in to worship. He asked if we wanted to light a candle in one of the chapels...Jerry said that would be fine, but we'd really just like to go in and sit quietly, and mentioned he was clergy. Oh, the person says, clergy are always welcome and get complementary passes...so he got us two..and we set off. We hiked the 257 steps up to the Whispering Gallery - an amazing place that encircles St. Paul's below the dome (Whispering because you can whisper on one side of the gallery and be heard on the other side.) But best of all - the orchestra and choir were rehearsing for tonight..so we just sat and listened and soaked it all in. Absolutely heavenly! Our same friendly employee also told us that he was in charge of the que for the concert, and he went on duty at 3:15 - for a 6:30 concert. We sure did want to get a good seat, so we told him we would be out there with him very early! We went down to the Crypt to see the gift shop and ate at the cafe - scone, tea, clotted cream & jam - wonderful! By 3:45, we were out in the que - we were numbers 31 & 32 in line...and by 5, it was huge. Our new friends job is to count the people in the que..and when it reaches about 400, he tells them that they may not be able to get in, but they are welcome to wait if they choose. He also told us where to head for choice seats, which we did. Doors opened at 5:30, and we were in chairs near the front that were under the dome area, which is the best acoustics. It had to have been a little bit of heaven....carols, readings, Scripture..and the opening solo of my favorite Christmas hymn "Once in Royal David's City" was sung by a precious little blonde boy in the boys' choir, who was standing on a pedestal right at the end of our row. The readers were all actors/actresses in the British industry...only one of whom was real familiar to us...but they were great! And of course we did quite a bit of congregational singing as well. So the day was an enormous success. Its exciting to be in the London area for the next two weeks...and we are grateful to be staying at the Irwin's home in Wanstead. This will be our first experience at living in a suburb of London and seeing what a neighborhood of families is like. Irwin's, friends of Carla's for years (in fact, as Drury classmates, Carla and Shaunda Irwin studied here in London together), are in Kansas City for the holidays.