London June 7

After a few days of rain, watching the diamond jubilee celebrations from the comfort of the lounge room and reading The Count of Monte Cristo it was time to spring into action and see a few sights.

On the way to the Wallace Collection...

So the next port of call was the Wallace Collection, and collectors they certainly were. Collections of arms and armour and knights on horseback,

Equestrian Armour 15th Century

                                                                 shields,

Shield decoration

                       porcelain and ceramics including Italian maiolica ceramics,

Cupid with a toy windmill c1585

Iznik ceramics and tiles

Closeup of Iznik tiles

exquisitely painted miniature brooches, beautiful small boxes, sumptuously decorated and a huge collection of artwork, including ones by Rembrandt, Rubens, Hals,

Portrait of Titus- Rembrandt's son- Rembrandt

Innocence

and sculpture, statues and fine furniture.

Louis X1V, King of France- white marble

 

People enjoying afternoon tea in the covered restaurant, Wallace courtyard

After leaving the Wallace Collection on the way back home it was inspiring to see an electric car being charged, not an uncommon sight in London, apparently.

Electric car at 'Juice' point

June 8-10

Peter arrived from Australia, and, being well acquainted with London, became our valued tour guide. Our first stop was at a local pub, to be introduced to the delights of Cornish beer, and it was delicious, mead like in flavour...and we found ourselves consuming a few pints in an atmospheric pub, where dogs are allowed, in fact, treated with a lot of respect.
Our next stop off point was Arsenal's stadium which is huge, also called Etihad Stadium, and virtually the same size as the Melbourne one.

  After much searching, tile upon tile, from one end of the courtyard to the other, Peter's Arsenal tile was found!

 From here it was soon time to be introduced to another local pub, and a few more pints of Cornish followed by a walk along the canal and a delicious Turkish meal.

View from Upper St, Islington

We appreciated being shown the sights by Peter our knowledgable guide.

Much of Sunday was spent trawling the internet to plan for the coming week: theatre week. The plan was to see a performance every night, so meant that a fair bit of time needed to go into working out how to do this, without breaking the coffers. Theatre for a tenner proved to offer this opportunity, and was used for two of the performances.

June 11

The week of theatre...and the first one was at the Savoy, 'The Sunshine Boys' with Danny De Vito and Richard Griffiths.

This was preceded by a light meal, topped off with a coffee at Costa's,

followed by a quick number 11 bus tour past many of London's notable buildings.

Some history ...

At the door the 'tenner' ticket was upgraded, and the viewing position was excellent. The play was light, funny and entertaining, and a good first choice for theatre week. The acting was superb,and the play was well-received by the audience. It finished around 10.30 pm and The Strand was aswarm...no way could one feel vulnerable when surrounded by so many people. After negotiating the Tube the comforts of home were very welcome.

June 12

The entertainment for the evening was 'Yes Prime Minister' at Trafalgar Studios in Whitehall St, near Trafalgar Square. On the way there was a quick look at the small garden which had been temporarily created in front of the British Museum,

 then a meander through Chinatown and past Trafalgar Square and the statue of the boy on the rocking horse called Powerless Structures fig 101 by Berlin based artists Elmgreen and Dragset, unveiled in February this year which won the Fourth Plinth Project award. Refreshingly the artists said that it acknowledges 'the heroism of growing up'  and that 'we thought maybe we should celebrate some generations to come and hope that there will be a future where we don't have to have so many war monuments'.

 Having passed countless restaurants and cafes en route there was not one to be seen near Trafalgar Square, but fortuitously a pub was nearby, 'The Lord Moon of the Mall', where fish and chips was the go. On the same table were two older cousins, also dining prior to the theatre, both of whom had been to Australia. They loved the beaches and landscape. One was from Hampstead Heath, which has been on the agenda for a while, waiting for a fine day.

In the play there were four main actors, all very professional in their delivery. Sir Humphrey was amazing, the quintessential public servant, fully versed in jargon.  Generally the script was funny, topical and the production professional, with sound acting and excellent sets and use of technology to enhance these. In one scene the Prime Minister was interviewed by the BBC so on stage there was a film crew and four television sets showing the interview.

June 13

What a beautiful day...time to visit Hampstead Heath, quite a short train ride from Islington.

Near the station was a fruit stall so a pound of cherries proved to be perfect sustenance for the venture. It was delightful to be surrounded by huge trees, ponds and fields and untamed forest, a far cry from the city of London and its eternal busyness. 

 Ducks, swans and other water birds were in abundance, 

 as were countless dogs and their owners enjoying the space and freedom offered. There was a challenge not to get lost as there was no signage, but a beautiful place to be lost, if this should happen.

 Lots of seats were in perfect positions, allowing for comfort and reflection, some engraved in memory of local people. 

 After the bustle of the city it was a joy to wander around, enjoying the beauty of the landscape.

 The evening, however, was to offer a very different experience at a performance of Mamma Mia at the Prince of Wales Theatre. 

 The theatre was packed, with all age groups and many ethnicities represented. The show was energetic and fun, with good singers and dancers, a live orchestra, excellent costumes and lighting. The cast really seemed to enjoy performing and in the finale much of the audience was up dancing and singing to 'Dancing Queen' and 'Mamma Mia'. It was light, lively entertainment: a very positive experience.

 It was good to sit at the front of the double decker bus on the way home, enjoying London's nightlife.

June 14

 The evening's entertainment was at a local theatre, Children's Children at the Almeida Theatre which is walking distance. The play was contemporary, based around the lives of a dysfunctional family and their friends. A few of the lines were funny, though generally the mood of the play was dark and disturbing. Compared with the other theatrical experiences it was good to be in a very small theatre with the intimacy this offers. In some scenes it felt as though the actor was really talking to the audience, due to the close proximity. Unexpectedly there were two nude scenes, where one of the main actresses threw off all her clothes!


After the performance it was just a quick walk back, a real advantage of living close by.


The next day's task is to prepare for travelling to Sweden on Saturday, and perhaps to watch the Eurocup: England vs Sweden!