Lonesome George, RIP

So sorry, Lonesome George.

I really hate to see you go. Forever.

Swami

Swami at Tower of London

Poetry Unplugged

I finally got around to reading at Poetry Unplugged, the weekly open mic night at the Poetry Society's Poetry Cafe. Very good group. Friendly. Enthusiastic. Ten years running. London is a poetry friendly place. Once again, I think it's the difference in history. England has a grand history with some very great poetry while the US, well, we just don't have much history at all so, when it comes to poetry, not much to refer to or venerate. And West Coast poetry, especially Beat poetry which I inherited, was a lot about discovering there even was a world beyond America and protesting America's ignorance of it. Anyway, sadly not much time to write these days, even this blog. Time to hit the Tube, which does by the way, include poetry. Thank you London.

Napoleon's toothbrush

Napoleon and his beloved red toothbrush

In the way that ordinary items sometimes do if they happen to survive just long enough, one of Napoleon's toothbrushes has taken on a life of its own. But it is not in France. Like so many items of historical interest, it is in a British museum, in this case the Wellcome Collection where we were the other day. They call themselves "a free destination for the incurably curious" and that they are. It's a fabulous place.

As you might guess, in real life Napoleon preferred a silver handle.

Sadly, our time in London is quickly coming to an end though the trip is not over yet. Next Wednesday we move on to Paris for five weeks. I'm really going to miss London but at least the weather outlook is much better there than here. Small compensation but I'll take it.

The list so far

Merchants on Brick Lane

Here is M. Lee's list of places we've visited so far in London. Naturally, I've taken hundreds of photos a day along the way. Just the idea of sorting them out is exhausting. Sunday we went to Brick Lane in  Spitalfield, London's East End. Wild place. I loved it there. Today we went back to the V&A and the Darwin Center at the Natural History Museum. The place is also a research center. I had no idea. The Cocoon houses plant and insect collections that go back 400 years to the Museum's origins.

Graffiti w/ people, Brick Lane

"This isn't meant to be an exhaustive list and I've probably missed a thing or two, but here's where we've been in about 3.5 weeks. I'll start with Frommer's Top 15, of which we've visited the following.

British Museum (3 or 4 times by now)
Hampstead Heath on a rare sunny day about 2.5 weeks ago
Hampton Court Palace
Hyde Park once upon a time when there was sun
Imperial War Museum (in preparation for the Churchill War Rooms)
National Gallery (several times)
Natural History Museum incl. the Darwin Center & The Cocoon
Tate Modern (sort of hate modern art, for the most part, but some things were stunning)
Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) repeat visits

Not 3-star according to Frommer, but this list includes some pretty excellent stuff:

Windsor Castle (this brought out the inner princess in all of us)
The Mall
National Portrait Gallery
Kensington Palace
Ashmolean Museum in Oxford
Somerset House
Courtauld Gallery
National Portrait Gallery
Sir John Soane's Museum (unexpected hit, one of our faves)
Wallace Collection
Wellcome Collection
Trafalgar Square (hardly needs mentioning since it's inevitable)
Changing of the Horse Guard (more ceremony than Buckingham Guard, plus horses)
St.-Martin-in-the-Fields (mostly for the downstairs crypt cafe - you're having tea on top of the graves)
.Museum of London (again, an unexpected hit)
Museum of London Docklands (can't believe all these great museums and galleries are free)
Whitechapel Art Gallery (something had to disappoint, and this was it)
British Library (they no longer display a letter from young Elizabeth I which was half the reason I went)
Wimbledon Car Boot sale
Harrod’s
Oxford University Museum of Natural History
Portobello Market
Borough Market
Chinatown (four times so far)
Hamleys (massive upscale toy store) -L."

To which I add the Poetry Café and their Poetry Unplugged open mic night.

Happy monkey guy, Brick Lane, London

Kansas City Weirdness

First there was Roy the Redeemer, then this.  It's your week, Roy.

SubTropolis, Kansas City

I didn't know your hometown has one of the 10 weirdest urban ecosystems on earth. Or at least according to i09.

Kansas City native

Quite a distinction.
 (link via M. Lee)

Ps. Sorry, I forgot to mention the one detail which adds color to this otherwise halftone post. Ninety percent of the world's underground office space is in, or shall I say under, Kansas City. Thx M. 

Bedlam

I remember, especially on rainy days, my dad yelling, "You kids quiet down!!! It's bedlam in here!". We knew what he meant though we'd never heard of Bedlam even though it's been around since 1247. But we're going there today. Well, we're going to the original location of Bedlam. The hospital moved to its new location in the 1930s but, in a town where history goes back thousands of years, they'll be the new kids on the block for the next several hundred years. Until 1770, visitors to Bedlam could watch the lunatics through glass as a Victorian style freak show for the low low cost of one pence but no such show today. Lucky for me. Otherwise chances are I'd be in the show rather than watching it. Bedlam's old Gothic building is a museum now, and perhaps fittingly, London's War Museum which is, in my round about way of telling it, where we're going, the War Museum at the old Bedlam.

So, sorry if this is all too confusing. I'm out of time. We're headed out now and down the Tube. Sandwiches are packed, camera batteries charged and the sun is out but we're not fooled. M. Lee has counseled us to be prepared for rain. He's addicted to the hourly weather report which claims "rain at noon". It said the same thing yesterday but stayed dry and even a bit sunny all day. But it didn't fool M. As far as he was concerned, it might as well have been raining rats.

Windsor Castle w/ Happy Face

Windsor Castle, Middle Ward

I've totally failed to keep up with this trip. Traveling with M. Lee is like being in the army. Up early, eat the porridge then march into the Tube and away. Once again, it's too late to begin anything so here are a few photos. For now, I'll have to call that good.

Arrow slits, Middle Ward, Windsor Castle

Arrow slit close up

Perfunctory tourist shot

Windsor Castle, Upper Ward

Roy the Redeemer

One hundred foot Roy the Redeemer in the act of
Divinely Intervening above the white cliffs of Dover.

Hey Roy, here's one for you....compliments of Ireland’s biggest bookmaker, Paddy Power and the Metro, one of several free dailies read in the Tube. Have you been keeping something from us?

Article in London Metro.

Friday at the opera elevator

This morning we visited the home of London architect and collector Sir John Soane. It was turned museum upon his death at his bequest. Like Turner, he wanted to protect his fortune from greedy, conniving family members. Unlike Turner, he was successful. It has been a public museum since the early 19th century. Amazing place. I'm actually glad I hadn't applied for their (free) photographer's permit before going. The collection and home itself are so over the top. I would have taken way too many photos and really bogged myself down with editing. If you are ever in London, check it out. That is all.

Church across street from British Library.
How can anyone pretend that religion is not all about politics and power?

After the Soane , we went to the British Library. Their website describes the library as a "world-class cultural and intellectual resource that serves the needs of today’s researchers as well as being the custodian of the nation’s written and spoken heritage". We saw the Magna Carta, handwritten drafts by various famous authors such as William Blake, Shakespeare and Jane Austen to John Lennon's scribbled beginning for Hard Day's Night. No matter. M. Lee was extremely disappointed. The personal letter penned by Lillibet, Queen Elizabeth's name when she was a girl, had been rotated out of the displays.

After that, back to Harrods. Kathy wanted to buy a tin of cookies for a gift. A different opera singer was serenading customers on the elevator.

Another day, another museum

We're headed out in about 15 minutes so I only have time to post a few photos from yesterday, that beingTuesday. Wednesday we were at the British Museum where we finally made it to the mummy room. Of course that exhibit was packed. Photos from that later. So, have a great day. I'm off...into the rain and down the tube...

Down the tube and off and away

Inexplicable. Horse and  rider at Vauxhall Bridge

Tate Britain

JMW Turner, self-portrait at age 24

Turner wanted to leave the bulk of his portion to help poor painters but, after his death, his greedy conniving family members got it for themselves.

Ophelia by John Everett Millais.Big hair day at the Tate Britain. 

Inexplicable...man on the street

Morning in Tooting Bec.

Queen Elizabeth's Diamond Jubilee, Day Four

Elizabeth, then and now. Subway billboard.

The Queen's four day Diamond Jubilee has finally come to an end. Lovely event. The Queen was Her usual regal but human self; classic and modern. She had History to make and did.

Silver hand, V&A Museum

The luncheons, carriage parades, concerts, horses, ships and river boats, jets (the RAF finally got to do its flyover), cheering throngs, snipers lining the rooftops. The rain. The stress put poor Prince Philip in the hospital. Today our neighbors on Huron Street started taking down the flags and cleaned up the detritus from yesterday's Jubilee block party. Done. Good.

Whitechapel High Street

Today, we took the tube to the Museum of London Docklands. Excellent exhibit. Wonderful life-size, walk-though dioramas to draw you in. Afterwards we went to the Whitechapel Gallery in London's East End. It has a prestigious history but I can't say much for the exhibits we saw today. Seems the place is more geared to events and projects like their writer-in-residence program and workshops. It has the only store I've ever seen that carries art books by Yoko Ono.

Whitechapel High Street

It's been raining since mid-afternoon and we are home and tucked in early. The opera singer who lives across the street has been practicing again today. Her soprano voice goes well with the rain. I was going to read at the open mic at the Poetry Cafe tonight but we have to get up really early tomorrow morning to accompany M. Lee's mom downtown so we need to get to bed early tonight. I'll probably read next week instead.

Dockland walkabout

Queen Elizabeth's Diamond Jubilee, Day Three

Holy cow! Day Three of the Diamond Jubilee is almost over and I am only just now beginning this post. Big day at the Palace. Ten thousand people were Her guests for a lovely basket lunch in the garden and it didn't rain. Fantastic. We took the tube to central London to visit the Victoria & Albert museum. Overwhelming.

Royal chamber....or is it?

As lions watch

Lovely museum goer

The alter of fashion

Man on the street

Big concert at the Palace tonight. We enjoyed a pleasant walk around Tooting Bec.

Queen Elizabeth's Diamond Jubilee, Day Two

Rainy day in Tooting Bec

A.M. It's raining in Tooting Bec. Too bad. Today is the Queen's grand river pageant on the Thames. We decided not to attend. To begin with, M. Lee's mom is 82 so we thought, with over a million people jostling for a view, we'd do better watching the broadcast from home instead. So, we're taking the tube this morning to the nearest grocery store to pick up some things for our own version of high tea and watch all the fun live online via the skyNEWS feed.

High tea and Jubilee

P.M. It is almost 6. Nearly the entire flotilla has now passed by the Queen as she stands in review with her entourage on the Royal Barge in furious rain. They are saying that it's cold enough to see your breath. The fly pass of military jets, the grand finale, had to be cancelled due to the weather but the Queen has stayed strong through it all. My hat is off to her. In the brief time we've been in London I have really come to appreciate the fine standard she has set during her 60 years as Monarch. We have no such thing in America and have torn ourselves apart trying to establish a reference point.

London Philharmonic Orchestra and choir's grand finale serenade.

Finally, the London Philharmonic Orchestra boat arrives before the Queen. They serenade her with several rousing numbers including a happy little sea shanty which brings smiles then laughter from Her, Camilla and Kate. And at last they sing the National Anthem which thereby brings this glorious Pageant to a merciful close.

Footnote: An especially big hit around here today was the unexpected appearance along the river of Joey, star of War Horse currently playing at the National Theater. Swami, Ella and Minerva were thrilled.