Last Dance, Last Entry

Finally, we come to my very last full day in London, 4 June 2012. I can’t say anything truly eventful happened throughout the course of the day (though the evening was a different story—more on that momentarily). It was still part of the four-day Diamond Jubilee Weekend, though not much was happening—the big flotilla had been the day before, and the true celebration, including the huge concert, would happen on the 5th. Mostly, people were quiet and involved in setting-up or staking their seats for the next day’s events.

As for me, I just wandered around all my favorite haunts, snapping photos of places that I had spent the last six months loving and building memories in.

I began my meandering walk at the Piccadilly Circus stop, and moved my way through China Town, which, neighboring the local gayborhood, I had spent a fair amount of time in. One of the places I knew I’d have to get a photo of was Little Wu’s, where I had shared more than one meal with friends.

Little Wu's

Passing through China Town, I made my way into Soho, where I captured images of places I had mentioned but not visually archived yet, including Lupo’s, the salon where Youssef, the hot Palestinian guy used to cut my hair, and the Moroccan restaurant I enjoyed with TS and BH. I also ordered one last cup of coffee from LJ’s, and took my time pursuing thorough the typical coffee shop stack of magazines (<-- foreshadowing).

Alas, I was too chicken to take a photo of Youssef.

Following that, I made one more stop at the awesome comic shop Forbidden Planet, where I finally worked up the nerve to take photos of their awe-inspiring toy display before making my way to Covent Garden and the museum area near Trafalgar Square. And, as I learned upon arriving at Trafalgar Square, I wasn’t the only American in the neighborhood concerned with the festivities…

The entryway...

Robin Roberts and the blonde woman from Good Morning, America!

Finally, I began the long walk the Mall toward Buckingham Palace. As noted earlier, people were already staking out their seating claims for the next day. They were ready with food, drink, chairs, and tents. Final touches were being put on the concert stage, which now encircled the memorial to Queen Victoria, and cameras were being set up along the top of the palace. In all, there was a great feeling of excitement in the air.

Concert Stage

Since it was so close, I also hopped over to St James’ Palace, so I could snag one last photo with the Queen Alexandra state I love so much, before doubling back for more photos along the Mall.

And, of course, I took some photos of birds and the surrounding area from my favorite bridge in St James’ park, a fitting end to my last full touristy day in London…but I’m not done yet! As I mentioned, there was still the night ahead!
 

 

While at LJ’s earlier in the day, I had stumbled upon an advertisement for a special Diamond Jubilee-themed party kicking off later that night at Heaven. Now, as I’ve made abundantly clear throughout this blog, I love(d) Heaven!!!! In fact, it was my favorite club in London! But, I knew there was no way I was going to that—after all, my flight to come back to the U.S. was early the next morning, and the last thing I wanted to do was fly with a hangover…

But then I saw the name of the performer playing there:


Lonnie Gordon.

See the red wax bubble in the middle-right.

I am a huge fan of Lonnie Gordon, and have been for years! I first got hooked on her music owing to the song “Bad Mood,” and I haven’t been able to get her out of my head since. Unfortunately, she’s never really been as big in the U.S. as she was/is in the U.K. and elsewhere abroad. She also had a pretty scary cancer scare a few years ago. So, the long and short of it is this: I had long-ago reconciled myself to the fact that I would never be able to see her perform live.

And now this.

I spent the afternoon vacillating, unsure if I should say “to hell with it” and go to Heaven that night, or if I should do the responsible thing and stay in. Ultimately, with the encouragement of Nic, KG and MM, I decided to go. And I’m so incredibly grateful that I did!


I got there super-early, in the hope that she’d perform early and I could leave. Alas, that part of my plan did not come to fruition. It seemed to be no different from any other night at Heaven, with the sole exception of a drag queen coming out dressed as Queen Elizabeth and singing “God Save the Queen,” and other than the posters there was no indication of when or if Lonnie Gordon would actually go on tonight.

But I kept waiting… And drinking. And drinking. And drinking. And then, around 1:30 AM, just as I was about to call it quits, she appeared:

She was wearing a tight fitting, long-sleeved, short, sequined black dress, and she worked the stage, stomping around in fierce black stilettos.

It was magical, even though she didn’t perform for long, and I was enraptured.


She started with a powerful rendition of “Last Dance” in honor of the recently passed Donna Summer—a fitting choice (for me), because it was indeed my last bout of dancing in London, and also because it’s my favorite Donna Summer song. Next, she launched into a Gordonesque rendition of Earth Wind and Fire’s “Boogie Wonderland,” followed by a third song that I didn’t know. And that was all, but it was more than enough.


You can see most of it in the video below (though it sadly cuts off in the middle of the third song). You can also catch a glimpse of me in the video below if you look closely enough—I'm standing right next to the person at the right-hand foot of the stage shooting video on their mobile at around the 1:29 mark.

But the best parts about her performance were the following:

First, during one of the moments when she leaned over the railing (around 8:30 in the video), looking at the audience, I seized the opportunity to yell for her attention, to which she responded by looking directly at me with her sparkling hazel eyes and mile-long lashes, and said “Hey, baby.” Sure, you can't hear it in the video—but I'm telling you, that's exactly what happened.

Shortly after that, I blew her a kiss—I was all queer-drunken-fan-boy by this point. I was sure she saw it, though she didn’t respond (for obvious reasons, i.e., she was in the middle of a song and also she doesn’t know me!)—but I knew I had done it and she had seen it, and that was enough for me. But then, after walking off stage at the end of her set, she came running back for her encore cheer, ran up to the edge of the stage, leaned over to where I was standing at the front of the pack, and blew a kiss back at me! Sadly, this is not in the video either (it cuts off before the end of her third song), but, again, I know that it happened!

Oh.

My.

God.

(That.

Can.
Dance.)


I could not have asked for a more perfect end to not only the night, but my experience in London as a whole.

And so it is on this note that I bring this travel-blog to a close. Though intended primarily as a tool to help me remember this experience, I hope that, if anyone else has read it, they’ve enjoyed what they’ve found, and perhaps been inspired to do some traveling themselves. I also wish to take a second—without blathering on or saying too much else—to just say “Thank You” to all of the people who made this trip possible, and made it so special. You all know who you are!

Cheers.

Another One Bites the Dust...

Yesterday was a sad, albeit eventful day: I said farewell to two of the lovely friends I’ve made here, AT and TvH.

The morning started early, as I was scheduled to join AT and EN in Soho for some coffee at 11 AM. Since I arrived a bit early though (big shock), I was able to wander around and snag a few photos of the gaybourhood. I’m trying to take a friend from back home’s advice and take photos of all the every day things that seem common now but which I’ll appreciate seeing again in later years. One thing I noticed while doing this is that the Diamond Jubilee decorations are really starting to crop up around London, which I think is awesome! It’s amazing being a part of history!

Diamond Jubilee decorations near Leicester Square

Diamond Jubilee and Pride decorations at Village

Eventually it was time to meet up with AT and EN for real, so I made my way back to the coffee shop. We spent almost two hours, just drinking, chatting about our time abroad, and laughing. It was great fun!

Me, AT, and EN at LJ's Coffee. (Whew, that's a lot of initials!)

Following coffee, we headed over to King’s Cross Station / St Pancras International (with a brief stop at Forbidden Planet to pick-up the second Game of Thrones book) so we could find Platform 9 3/4 of Harry Potter fame. I have to say, I found the interiors of these two stations positively lovely! (Plus I’m a nerd, so I loved seeing the Harry Potter stuff!) 

Off to Hogwarts...

EN and I at St Pancras Inernational

With some time to kill still, the three of us walked next door to the British Library, which is both the UK’s national library and one of the world’s largest in terms of total number of items. Among other things, the library holds one of the only remaining copies of the Magna Carter (which I saw) and, in the middle of the building, is a four-story glass tower containing the King’s Library—65,000 printed volumes along with other pamphlets, manuscripts and maps collected by King George III between 1763 and 1820.

Alas, around 2 PM, it was time to say goodbye to AT. We walked to the Russell Square tube stop and said our farewells. It may well be that one of these days, when EN and I are back in Chicago, we will simply have to take a road-trip to Colorado to visit our friend. (What the hell, it’s only a 16 hour drive!)

EN headed out with AT, so I had about an hour to kill before meeting up for my last hang-out session with TvH, so I took that time to wander around the British Museum for a bit. I wasn’t too fussed about spending so little time there for two reasons: (1) I spent an entire afternoon there with Nic back in 2008 and, (2) I find the fact that so many of their treasures were imported (read: plundered) from other lands highly problematic. Nonetheless, I cannot deny that I enjoy being around such significant items as the Rosetta Stone—plus the Great Court within the museum is one of the most stunning museum spaces I’ve ever seen!

A flawed panoramic shot I tried to take of the Queen Elizabeth II Great Court.

What the Rosetta Stone really reveals is that I'm HOT (in the sweaty sense)!

 Around 3 PM I started heading back toward Soho Square, where I joined TvH for a bit of much-enjoyed sun-tanning, and to say goodbye.

———
 

Technically speaking, this was the second time this week I’ve said goodbye. He was originally supposed to leave the day before, and we had gone out on both Saturday and Tuesday nights to celebrate, but an airline strike of some sort delayed his actual departure. 

You can read about Saturday night here. As for Tuesday night, we went to Village for a drink or two, followed by a private karaoke place called Lucky Voice (it was awesome—the five of us in attendance had a private room for a whole hour), and then to Lupo where we met a group of lovely women from Chicago and New York (and where I had to push-off an overly aggressive Italian who was harassing one of our new female friends. That's right, I'm a bad ass—a big, queer bad ass!).

———
 

Anyway, getting back to yesterday, I feel like it’s been ages since I saw and felt the sun properly, so I loved getting out there and just relaxing under its warming glow. Plus, I had wanted to spend some proper time chillin’ in Soho Square for a while now, but just hadn’t had the opportunity.

I look tan here...but where did it go once I left?

TvH and I spent a good two hours bakin’ (the hair on my arms bleached successfully, but I don’t feel like I’m all that darker). At one point, I even dozed off for about twenty minutes—it was wonderful! Eventually, TvH’s boyfriend joined us and we headed off for a quick nosh before I had to leave for my third engagement of the day. We grabbed our food, headed into Golden Square, and enjoyed one another’s company in the open air for a bit longer.

Finally, I couldn’t delay any longer, and had to say goodbye to TvH as well. This goodbye was a bit hard for me, as TvH was one of the first new friends I made here—we started talking the first week of class, and started hanging out during the second. I have him to thank (along with his boyfriend and all of the other amazing friends I’ve met through them) for the resurgence of my late-night partying ways. I’m so very grateful for all that he and the others have done to make this hermitish soul feel welcomed!

From there I hopped on a bus and began the trek to Hackney, where I was supposed to meet one of my UEL instructors—DS—for a celebratory drink. Though it took ages to get there by bus (the National Rail system frightens me for the ridiculous reason that I’m afraid I’ll wind up trapped somewhere for over an hour while waiting for the next train), the place we met at was quite nice. 

It was called Pub on the Park, and it was just that: a pub overlooking a park.

Pub on the Park--we sat outside, around the back. [NB: This image is not mine!]

We spent about two hours outside, just hanging out and talking about everything from the state of the education system, to our mutual penchant for getting lost, to Chicago taxi drivers and the inaccessibility of London’s southside by public transport. 

Of course, conversation was slightly hindered by my annual bout of laryngitis and the fact that for some reason I turn into a gibbering idiot when I try to talk to DS. I have no idea why this is. She’s bloody brilliant, but I don’t have the same problem around my other incredible mentors from back home—just her and SM, one of my other instructors here. I think it might be because they’re bloody brilliant AND British. The combination may simply be too much amazingness for my mind to process.

So, all in all, it was both an incredibly fun and busy day, but also a very sad one. I’ve said goodbye to two good friends and I don’t know when I’ll realistically see them again, and by sharing a pint with DS I’ve quasi-officially transgressed from present- to former-London-based student.

This experience really is drawing to a close… :-(

What's Curry Got To Do With It?

I’m back with another entry. Truth be told, everything I’m about to say deserves a lot more ‘oomph’ than what I’m about to give it—but, I’ve spent most of the last two weeks (including most of yesterday and today) writing about discursive representations of the intersection between gayness and AIDS as part of two separate final projects. 

In other words: my brain is so far beyond mush that words do not even exist to describe it.

Nonetheless, there’s a lot that I haven’t blogged about this month, and I’m feeling a lot of pressure from ‘Future Brett’ to document it all in one form or another while it’s relatively fresh in my mind. Thus, I offer the explosion of information presented here. 

Let’s get started, shall we…

On Sunday, 15 April, I accompanied EN to a theatre performance she’s been interning with throughout the semester. The show is called Soul Sister, and is the story of Tina Turner’s relationship with Ike, as told by the former while backstage during her ‘Private Dancer’ tour. 

Most people already know the troubled tale of Ike and Tina Turner, so I won’t go into that here (though I will say that the first act in particular was far more forgiving of Ike than I expected). Instead, I want to focus on two particular aspects of the show: the actress playing Tina, and the ending:

The role of Tina was given to Emi Wokoma (who, ironically, played the sister of Tameka Empson’s ‘Kim’ on EastEnders). The Guardian reviewed Wokoma’s turn as Turner thusly: 

[Wokoma’s] impersonation of Anna Mae Bullock, renamed Tina Turner when she started singing with Ike Turner, is startling. She's got that strange, stiff-legged dance – the one that looks like a man who's left the urinal too soon – and the flutters of the hands. And she's got a voice that can strip paint or sing a lullaby within the same bar. (Soul Sister Review)

I admit that I was a bit concerned with Wokoma at the start. The opening number is ‘Private Dancer,’ one of my favorites. Wokoma’s rendition wasn’t bad by any stretch of the imagination, but it also wasn’t great—I felt as if she wasn’t warmed up yet. Fortunately, after that number, the songs performed are basically in chronological order, and follow Anna Mae’s rise to prominence. This gave Wokoma the chance to warm-up her Turner impression, as her character also developed her unique style. By the time ‘River Deep, Mountain High’ was performed, audiences could be easily excused for forgetting that the real Tina wasn’t on stage.

[NB: This is not my photo.]

This brings us to the other point I wanted to bring up about the show: the ending. As previously noted, the story is told from the point-of-view of Turner, who is relating events to a friend backstage between sets. Upon concluding her tale, Turner returns to her (fictionalized) concert—whereupon the theatre audience becomes a concert audience!

The last 15-20 minutes of the show is just like a traditional concert. There is no narrative: just Wokoma—accompanied by a band, backup singers, and flashing laser-lights—recreating Turner’s early-80s comeback tour. Traditional Tina favorites—such as ‘Simply the Best’, ‘I Can't Stand the Rain’, ‘Help’, and, of course, ‘Proud Mary’—drove audiences to their feet. No lie. There were even encore songs, in true concert style: ‘Steamy Windows’ and ‘What’s Love Got to Do With It?’

‘Awesome’ doesn’t even begin to describe the experience. All I can say is that if you’re in London, and are even remotely a Tina Turner fan, you must see this show!

After Soul Sister, EN and I were ridin’ high, as concert goers typically are right after a show lets out. So, we headed over to Soho and a bar there called 79CXR. This particular bar was billed in one of the local rags as offering gay karaoke, and we thought it might be fun to check that out. 

I’d say we had a decent time: drinks were cheap even if the singing was painful. Also, it wasn’t crowded—almost always a perk. When the karaoke wrapped-up at around 9:00 PM, Bette Rinse (the drag queen emcee) organized a group of fellow queens and locals for a queer version of ‘Match Game.’ Sadly, it was all a bit lost on EN and I, as neither of us were familiar enough with the local drag scene to get the references to specific community members. Ah, well. It was still interesting.

Okay, I’m going to totally change topics now. (Like I said, there’s a lot to catch-up on!)

On Thursday, 19 April, two of my friends from Chicago—TS and his partner, BH—flew in to London for the latter’s birthday weekend. I was fortunate enough to see them on three of the four days they were here.

That first day (Thursday) was a bit rough for me. I didn’t sleep well the night before, and had zero desire to go to school that morning. Nonetheless, I made the long slog there…only to learn that one of my two classes that day had been cancelled. Now, this isn’t a problem in-and-of-itself. The class in question is my least favorite (‘Cultural Power & Resistance in the 21st Century’—not nearly as interesting as it sounds). Nonetheless, the scheduled lecture for that day would likely have been beneficial for my final essay. Ah, well. Then, as if that wasn’t bad enough, I got caught in a downpour on my way home. I. Was. Drenched…and unhappy. 

Unhappy and Soaking Wet.

Fortunately, seeing two familiar faces was just the boon that my spirits needed. We headed into Soho to grab a couple of cocktails at Village, and from there we went to Maison Touareg for dinner. I was uber-excited for this, because I had wanted to check out Maison Touareg since coming back from Morocco, and was merely waiting for the right ‘excuse’ to do so. It was sooooo delicious! Wonderful company was made even better by amazing food and wine. My only complaint is that we were seated beneath the speakers, and the music grew a bit loud when the belly-dancer (whose skills were mostly lost on us) came out. Other than that, it was perfect!

Friday, 20 April, marked the last official day of classes at UEL! My exams aren’t due until this week, but classes have concluded. As my Friday class (‘Realism, Fantasy & Utopia’) was my favorite, this was a bit of a bittersweet moment. I’ll talk more about all that in a later entry, though. After class, I returned to my flat, where my housemates were already in weekend-party-mode. Ugh, it was so loud! For the second day in a row, I found myself highly agitated.

Fortunately, TS and BH invited me to join them once again! This time we went to Cinnamon, an Indian restaurant near Oxford Circus. Once again, I had an amazing time! The food was good (albeit a bit spicy): we shared a plate of ‘BALLS!’ (as listed)—potato, beef, vegetable, and Bangla-Scotch egg—and for the main course I ordered a plate of ‘Old Delhi-style tandoori fenugreek chicken’ (whatever all that means). 

Even better than the food, though, were the drinks. I stuck to water (I had to be up early the next day), but I did have a sip of both TS’ and BH’s drinks—if anyone’s interested, Cinnamon offers the best mojito in the history of forever. After dinner we headed over to the Duke of Wellington (another gay pub) for a last round of drinks going our separate ways.

I’m going to skip saying anything about Saturday, 21 April, as that will get its own entry owing to a trip to Windsor Castle. As for Sunday, I had one last opportunity to see TS and BH before they headed back to Chicago. We met for bagels and coffee at Beigel Bake in Shoreditch. Apparently, this is the oldest bagel place in London. It’s also one of the cheapest places I’ve been in London—but so worth it! I got an éclair (how could I resist?), and it was one of the most scrumptious sweets I’ve eaten since being here! Yummy-yummy! From there, we walked over to Old Spitalfields’ Market, where we walked around for a few minutes before bidding on another adieu! All in all, it was a wonderful visit, and so nice to see friends from home! 

And, on that happy note, I will also say farewell to this entry. I’ve finally gotten ‘Future Brett’ off my back for a bit, and can realx…for now—there’s still a lot to tell about, including my trip to Windsor, the results of my midterms, and my hurried escape from my flat!

But that’ll have to wait a bit longer…

From One Collection of Priceless Things To Another...

Ugh, I’ve been so lax lately in terms of blogging. Well, not just blogging—pretty much everything. It’s nearing the end of the semester, and it’s been particularly gray, cold, and rainy the last few weeks, so the motivation to do things is practically non-existent.

But I hope to rectify that now, and invite you to travel with me back in time, to Thursday, 12 April 2012:

My original plan for the last Thursday of Easter Break was to spend some time typing away on one of my final coursework assignments (CW2). However, the rain and the cold were making me more inclined to just stay in bed and do nothing. Fortunately, EN lit a fire under my behind with a text inviting me to go with her to a museum. 

A short while later, we met at the Victoria & Albert museum. The V&A had been on my list of places to see since the beginning. Nic and I attempted to go there back in 2008 but, having just spent hours at the British Museum, we changed our mind at the last moment. As such, I was really looking forward to it this time…

I should have remembered my experience with the Dickens Museum, another tourist attraction I had desperately wanted to see.

Sadly, in case you haven't already guessed, I didn’t really enjoy myself. There was so much to see, but the way it was curated and exhibited just felt…lackluster. However, to be fair, my point-of-view was probably the result of being under the spell of a rainy day malaise coupled with a desperate need for coffee. 

Also, the exhibit I had been looking forward to for months (and part of the reason I put off the trip for as long as I did)—the photographs of Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, taken by Cecil Beaton—was not free after all, and I didn’t want to drop £6 just to see a bunch of photos (even if they are amazing). 

The third one from the left (top row) is one of my favorites--but I cannot find a close-up of it by itself anywhere.

Sir Beaton was quite the hottie in his youth!

Again, this decision was probably influenced by my insufficient levels of caffeine and joy.

In the end, we only stayed for about 1.5 hours. I feel kind of bad that we didn’t stay longer—especially given the V&A’s reputation—but I just didn’t have it in me that day. Maybe I’ll go back at some point before heading home.

Upon leaving the V&A, EN and I started wandering around Kensington and Chelsea. We wanted a cup of coffee, and eventually found one at a nearby Costa—the situation was dire, hence my ready agreement to break the rule I’ve generally tried to keep while in London of avoiding chains.

After sufficient java-infusion, and a long chat about growing up in the church and the damage caused by being too close to the internal politics therein, we continued walking around (in much happier moods).

Eventually we found ourselves standing before one of London’s most famous stores: Harrods. All I can say is: oh. my. goodness. It was breathtaking, and in many places possessed a…unique Egyptian theme.

Beneath the Egyptian escalator--he was taller than me.

You can't tell from this photo, but there's a mannequin on this balcony promoting clothes sold on that floor.

My mother likes to tell a story about how, as a young child, she was once told that Heaven would look however she wanted, and how it would be filled with whatever she wanted most. To her young mind this vision translated to an upmarket department store she used to visit with her grandmother, which had Heaven’s very best hamburgers resting in the glistening display cases, just waiting to be eaten. (Sounds like a pretty good idea of Heaven to me!)

Harrods was kind of like that to me in certain ways. Namely, the prices were so far beyond anything I could comprehend that it seemed unreal and out-of-this-world. Case-in-point: a simple, black hair-comb—no bigger than the average mobile, and unadorned—was priced in excess of £200! A simple pair of gray sweatpants for men…£119. (Don’t believe me, see them for yourself here.) Oh, and have I mentioned the fact that there was not a single person working in that store who wasn’t a modern day Apollo or Aphrodite?

Now, I confess that I somewhat expected what I found—I knew of Harrods’ reputation—but there was another reason why I wanted to visit this famous shop: the memorial to Princess Diana and Dodi Fayed. You see, Mohamed Al-Fyed—Dodi’s father—was the owner of Harrods until recently. He has always maintained that there was more to their deaths than what the public has been told, and in 1998—in fact, it was 12 April 1998, 14 years to the day before EN and I saw it—he unveiled the first of two memorials dedicated to Diana and Dodi within his store.

The memorial described above (and seen in the photo below) features photos of the pair, as well as a pyramidal container holding a wine glass that is—allegedly—smudged with Diana's lipstick because she used it at her last meal, as well as an engagement ring Dodi reportedly bought the day before their death.

The memorial.

After cruising around Harrods' world-famous food court, and through the wonderful housewares section (where they were playing the theme from Twin Peaks), we bid adieu to heavenly Harrods, and continued walking east.

Our next top was another famous shop: Harvey Nichols. I have to admit that I expected something a bit more, especially given its reputation on Absolutely Fabulous. It actually reminded me a bit (in terms of physical layout and the style of clothing) of the Bloomingdales that used to be in White Flint mall back home. That being said, I can totally see why it’s the perfect go-to story for the Pats and Eddy characters—in fact, the mannequins all looked remarkably like Eddy! 

So this isn't a mannequin--but it is a Harvey Nichs ad!

Having poked around two upmarket shops since our last taste caffeine boost, EN and I headed out and made our way to LJ’s, and enjoyed an Americano and White Hot Chocolate, respectively.

It was the perfect ending to what turned out to be—after a lackluster start—quite a fun day!

Of Paintings and Passion Plays

I’m going to take a quick break from telling you about Morocco (really, all that’s left is my last day there) so that I can tell you about Friday (April 6).

Having been stuck in bed for most of the first week of Easter Break, I was determined to get out and do something on Friday. Unfortunately, I’m still at that phase of recovery where I get tired very easily, and so I planned on making said-adventure pretty small. Boy, did I misjudge.

I kicked things off by finally going to the Charles Dickens Museum. Now, you have to understand that this was one of those things from our 2008 trip to London that I really regretted not having time to do, and since the museum’s closing for renovation on April 10th it was kind of a now-or-never thing.

And now that I’ve been, I can honestly say: thank goodness we did not make it back in 2008, because if I had dragged Nic to this and the Royal Mews back then, it probably would have been the end of our relationship.

Seriously, even I was bored at the Dickens Museum (shocking, right?).

Entrance to the Dickens Museum

 Basically, it’s in a townhouse that Dickens lived in alongside his family for about two years. To the museum's credit, despite the short time of occupancy this is the only house of Dickens’ that still survives. Unfortunately, once inside you’re given practically no information (just one, single-sided informational page in each room). Furthermore, items are displayed within cases without explanation, and most of the furniture is replicated. The biggest draw for the proprietors seems to be the café (which takes up three of the five rooms on the ground floor), and a looping film that was so boring I had to leave after less than 10 minutes. 

Dickens' Study: the desk under the window is the same upon which he penned his last words.

Sitting Room

 All in all, I was majorly disappointed in the Charles Dickens Museum I’m sad to say. Then again, I am probably guilty of building it up in my mind over the last four years, ensuring that it could never live up to my expectations.

Following the museum, I was still feeling relatively okay, so I decided to wander around London for a bit, which I always enjoy doing. 

Soon thereafter, I found myself standing in front of the British Museum. I started to go in, but having been there before, I knew what an exhausting experience that would be. Instead, I decided to keeping walking, heading toward Trafalgar Square for some picture taking. 

I stopped en route at LJ’s for some coffee and at the not-as-skeezy-as-its-website-makes-it-look Prowler to finally pick-up a copy of Beautiful Thing on DVD (which they had on sale for £6—normally, the cheapest you can find it for in the US is $30+.)

Eventually, I arrived at Trafalgar Square...only to discover that it was packed! Apparently, a local church was putting on a public performance of The Passion of Jesus. But I’ll come back to that in a bit…

A packed Trafalgar Square and National Gallery. Note the pretty blue sky--that will be relevant later on.

In an attempt to avoid the large crowd outside, I thought this might be a good opportunity to duck into the National Gallery. It was okay—certainly far better than the Dickens Museum. As with most museums, they would not allow photography and, anyway, there really wasn’t anything there that I was interested enough in to go out of my way to record. 

That being said, there was a nice exhibition of Titan’s work that I liked, as well as some always enjoyable pieces by Seurat and Monet (including ‘The Water-Lily Pond’). The piece that I was most excited to see at the National Gallery, however, was van Eyck’s ‘The Arnolfini Portrait.’

NB: This image is not mine.

I’m realizing now, as I write this, that my attraction to this painting might actually stem from an old coffee table book my maternal grandmother used to have, and which I used to thumb through as a child. The more I think about it, I have vague recollections of stopping on a photo of ‘The Arnolfini Portrait’ every time I flipped through the book, mesmerized even as a small child by the mirror in the background (without realizing at the time the significance of it). 

Damn, I really wish I had remembered this while I was there!

After going through the National Gallery, I headed next door to the National Portrait Gallery, where they had an exhibition devoted to Princesses Charlotte and Victoria (later Queen Victoria). And while it was a decent exhibit, and one which I was thrilled to see, I was pleasantly surprised to find far more interesting pieces at the NPG!

The very first piece I came across upon entering the gallery was the portrait of Princes William and Harry from 2010 (their first). I remember when this painting was unveiled I like it quite a bit, so I was thrilled to see it, unexpectedly, in person. 

My next unexpected, but totally welcomed, surprise was their collection of Tudor and Elizabethan portraits! Here I encountered more paintings that I was all-too-familiar with, as they’re used in just about ever historical documentary about Henry VIII’s famous family. Such paintings include the following:

Queen Elizabeth I Coronation Painting [NB: This image is not mine!]

Queen Elizabeth I [NB: This image is not mine!]

Queen Mary I [NB: This image is not mine!]

King Edward VI [NB: This image is not mine!]

Sadly, the famous portrait of Anne Boleyn is being restored, and was not on display.

There was also the (life-sized) drawing seen here:

King Henry VIII and his father. [NB: This image is not mine]

Though this particular one was never used (presumably a second one was created, which was used and subsequently ruined), such drawings were used as a means of facilitating the creation of life-sized murals circa the 1500s. Basically:

The cartoon is exactly the same size as the finished painting and was used to transfer [the artist] Holbein's design to its intended position on the palace wall. To do this the cartoon was pricked along the main outlines of the composition and then fixed in the intended position on the wall. Chalk or charcoal dust was then brushed into the holes made by pricking, thus transferring the outline to the wall. Holbein could then proceed with filling in his design. ~ National Portrait Gallery Description

Very interesting!

Another highlight of my trip to the National Portrait Gallery was a small selection of photographs of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II taken by Sir Cecil Beaton in the late ’50s and early ’60s, including an amazing one of her in full regalia (including tiara) and leaning somewhat wearily against the arm of a couch at the palace. 

While at the National Portrait Gallery I received a text from EN, informing me that she was also in the Trafalgar Square area—turns out, she was there to watch the Passion of Jesus performance happening outside. We made plans to go for coffee after the show, and so when I was done at the gallery I went and met her in the square.

I arrived during the telling of the Last Supper, and wound up staying until the end. I have to say, they actually did a really good job (excepting, of course, the predominance of whiteness amongst the cast). 

Two things that are particularly interesting to note about the performance:

First, the actor playing Caiaphas (the high priest who played in instrumental role in the crucifixion of Christ) sounded remarkably like the late Billy Barty, known for his iconic portrayal of Gwildor of Thenur (and more)! In fact, so close was the sound of their voices that I frequently had to remind myself that Mr Barty is dead and that it could not possibly be him.

Second, the producers did a really good job of portraying the crucifixion: before the audience's collective eyes, three crosses were raised near Trafalgar Square’s large central column. What was really interesting about this bit though, was the moment wherein the Jesus character died. I had been watching the sky above for a bit—most of the day had been warm and sunny (as reflected in the earlier picture I posted), but as the play progressed it was steadily growing cooler. Sure enough, it just so happened that by the end of the crucifixion scene it was gray, cold, and slightly drizzling. Though the play’s sponsors had nothing to do with that, it was a cool effect to go along with the performance!

'Jesus' being 'nailed' to the cross.

And it is on that note that I will close. I hadn’t intended for this entry to be as long as it turned out to be (especially since I have a lot of other stuff I want to work on today). 

Until next time…

Beautiful Day!

Today (27 March) was a lovely day! 

In fact, it may well be one of the most gorgeous I’ve experienced during my time in London!

Having successfully submitted all of my midterm assignments (a.k.a. ‘CW1s’) as of yesterday, I made up my mind to take full advantage of today and tomorrow—especially since both days were/are supposed to be sunny, clear, and between 21-23˚C (69-73˚F).

With that in mind, EN and I made plans for today to visit the Camden Town Markets, which I’ve wanted to do for a while now. Running alongside the Regent’s Canal, this area consists of a number of open-air markets—Camden Lock Market, Historic Stables Market, Camden Lock Village, Buck Street Market, Electric Ballroom, and Inverness Street Market—all made up of adjoining stalls selling everything from clothing to food to chochtkies. Supposedly, much of London’s ‘alternative subculture’ can trace its roots to this area.

We found this shirt in the Historic Stables Market. I told Nic it should be his next tattoo.

EN and I spent most of our time between the Camden Lock and Historic Stables Markets. In many ways, it reminded me of the souq in Marrakech—just without the bartering (though there was a bit of that going on too). 

I definitely want to go back, and soon! 

Oh, and have I mentioned the amazing piña colada that EN got—actually served in a pineapple? It was epic. (But, as for me, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to have a bit of mulled wine, which I haven’t had an opportunity to enjoy since the days of my former coworker Jim’s amazing Christmas parties—the only thing it was missing was the fresh cranberries!)

It may have only been 3:00 PM here...but it was 5:00 PM in South Africa. That counts, right?

After leaving Camden Town, we started walking aimlessly toward the southwest(ish), for a little less than a 1.5 miles. We didn’t have any plans—we just weren’t ready to call an (early) end to such a gorgeous day. Eventually, we found ourselves wandering through the lovely Regent’s Park. It was absolutely spectacular, and reminded me quite a bit of Brookside Botanical Gardens back home (in Maryland). I wish Mom could see it in person, because she loves going to Brookside for family photos—alas, since she is not here in person, I had to try and grab photos on her behalf:

Oh yeah, and EN and I decided to climb some trees, because...well, they were there and we could.

I also tried to get photos of some hot, shirtless sunbathers making use of the park, because, well they were also there and I could. Except I couldn’t, because I was afraid I was being too obvious!

Noticing how close we were to Soho (only about 1.6 miles), we made our way over for some delicious coffee at LJ’s Coffee House. It was during today’s visit that I realized just how similar LJ’s is to the first gayborhood coffee shop I fell in love with: Washington, DC’s own Soho Tea & Coffee. The vibe is very similar, from the music (e.g., Madonna) to the artwork by local artists that’s displayed (and for sale) on the wall. I spent many happy, happy hours at Soho’s as I was coming into my own, and I think that’s why LJ’s has resonated with me in the way that it has.

Regarding today’s visit the current batch of artwork for sale was superhero-themed: Superman, (pre-mysogenistic) Wonder Woman, Hulk, and a stylized Thundercats logo.Also, the barista was not nearly as pleasant as Friday’s. Nonetheless, EN and I had a great time, chatting about everything from racism at Columbia to CCC President Warwick Carter’s recent, inexcusable display of unprofessionalism, arrogance, and heartlessness toward a homeless Columbia student! 

All-in-all, it was an amazing day!

Tomorrow’s plans, which I hope will be equally wonderful, include going with JvE (and hopefully RAS) to Portobello Road Market in Notting Hill, followed by a trip to Kensington Palace and Gardens!