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Blog 15 – Friends and Family month, Part 2

The Friday after Eric was here, I had a great lunch date and book discussion with Wendy Schiff. Wendy is a member of my Baltimore-based book club who had come to London for a long weekend, joining in on a business trip of her daughters. After meeting at the memorial to Ememeline Pankhurst, https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/pankhurst_emmeline.shtml, we made our way across the Westminster Bridge and past the London Eye to Southbank and a noodle lunch at Wagamama’s. It was great seeing a familiar face and discussing the book, Becoming, in person. (Needed better editing, could have been two books, Michelle is a rock star)

A few days later, Aj and Aaron arrived from Dallas. We started our time together in Wimbledon at the New Wimbledon Theater’s showing of Amelie, the musical. The production was first rate and the theater beautiful. https://www.atgtickets.com/venues/new-wimbledon-theatre/history/  Good start. Next day, off to the Warner Brothers Studio Tour. https://www.wbstudiotour.co.uk/  Also known as the Harry Potter movie tour. These are the actual sets, costumes, props, and notes used in the making of all eight movies. There are no rides; just the real stuff used. If you love Harry, and we do, then this is a must-see. This long day ended in true British fashion, Thai food in the local pub. Yum.

It was in Greenwich the next day that we were able to meet up with A2’s friend, Richard, who had come for a weekend in London. Took the Clipper again, this time we walked past the Cutty Sark and went straight for the Chapel and Painted Hall. (Same parts as with Eric, worth a second look) We had hoped to tour ‘the Queens House’ but it was closed for a private event. We stopped by the Maritime Museum on this trip to take in an exhibit of space photography. https://www.rmg.co.uk/whats-on/astronomy-photographer-year/exhibition Then, back to the Royal Observatory. This time I went straight for the top of the building to the telescope room. The telescope part was not open for use or demonstration, but still something to see and the views outside to London city center are fabulous. I was also able to see the Camera Obscura this trip and take in more of the grounds. Picking back up on our Harry Potter theme, we concluded this day with a trip to The Cauldron. https://thecauldron.io/london  This is an adults only castle/dungeon experience where you make your own cocktails using the directions, supplies, and magic provided.

The next day started with a short ride on the Underground to Ealing, and a short tour of the newly re-furbished Pitzhanger Manor. https://www.pitzhanger.org.uk/  This is one of the advantages of traveling with Aj, the architect knows all the buildings and what exhibits are in them. The exhibit was Anish Kapoor, who you may know as the artist behind the Cloud Gate (shiny bean) in Chicago. From Ealing, it was onto Kew Gardens.

We have been to Kew Gardens before. In winter, it is the location of Christmas at Kew, a large, multi-media presentation of lights and music for the holidays. This was our first trip during the day. https://www.kew.org/kew-gardens The gardens, houses, and conservatories are something to see in themselves; but this trip also added a temporary installation by Dale Chihuly. https://www.kew.org/kew-gardens/whats-on/chihuly-at-kew-reflections-on-nature  We had last seen his work at the New York Botanical Gardens in the Bronx when we were there last spring. https://www.nybg.org/ There were some thoughts that this would be essentially the same; but it wasn’t. Kew is a larger garden and some of the glasswork appeared to have been made specifically for this location. We tried to do it all; all the Chihuly’s, the Pagoda climb, the Hive, and Kew Palace. https://www.kew.org/kew-gardens/whats-in-the-gardens/kew-palace-and-queen-charlottes-cottage Exhausting, and there is still much to see and do.

Bank Holiday on Monday. Aj and Aaron had previously signed up for the Vitality London, 10k. We were happy to cheer them on and then find them at the end of the race among twenty-three thousand other runners at St. James Park. https://www.vitalitylondon10000.co.uk/ A quick trip home for showers and sandwiches and we were back in the city at the Barbican. https://www.barbican.org.uk/  We thought we were going to see a multi-media presentation of Wallace and Grommit, which we did; but we also covered a lot of territory in this, the largest performing arts center in Europe adjacent to the estate apartments which house over 4,000 people. Aj covered even more territory as the three of us located one of the many cafes and had prosecco and beer while Aj walked the whole complex to take pictures. The history of this development is compelling and worth your clicking the link to learn more. As the day was ending, we found few places open for dinner on the bank holiday, but as we looked behind St. Pauls Cathedral, a restaurant with a story was open: The Paternoster Chop House. https://www.paternosterchophouse.co.uk/ Not only did we find a nice dinner, we also learned that this is the restaurant location for the First Dates program on BBC, Channel 4. We had never heard of the program but have since watched for a few minutes just to say to each other: “That’s where we ate that night.”

Another favorite spot was on schedule for the following day; the Victoria and Albert Museum. A design museum with something for everyone in our group. In particular, two fashion exhibits were the top of all our lists: Christian Dior, Designer of Dreams and Mary Quant. https://www.vam.ac.uk/whatson  The Dior was beautiful and beautifully presented. It may also be the most popular exhibit ever produced. Even with timed tickets, it was wall-to-wall people. A stunning display of actual dresses and accessories from the New Look of 1947 to the 2018 samples. Mary Quant was not quite as crowded, so we could spread out to read and look as we wanted. We pretty much agreed, the Dior was beautiful, but the Mary Quant offered much more in the way of context and the impacts and interplay of design with women’s lives and economics. Another good visit – time to go on to the next thing.

We shopped and ate our way through the city to the West End. Another musical for us to see, this time it was Come from Away. The story of the small town of Gander, Newfoundland and how the folks in it opened their hearts and homes to stranded passengers from September 11^th.  A difficult topic, which right off does not sound much like a musical, but it is almost perfect. Beautiful music, great staging, and a story which takes turns making you laugh and then cry. https://officiallondontheatre.com/news/the-true-stories-of-come-from-away/

We followed a day at my favorite museum (The Victoria and Albert) with my least favorite, the Tate Modern. Sometimes you have to take one for the team. At least they have a 9^th floor observation deck with coffee. 😊And, as it turns out, an interesting exhibit by Yinka Shonibare, CBE, who created a library of 6,000 books. They are covered in Dutch wax print, a fabric with an interesting and complicated history. 2,700 of the books have the name of a first- or second-generation contributor imprinted on them; urging us to think of the impact of immigration on culture and history. The blank books are to call out that the story of immigration is still being written. https://www.tate.org.uk/visit/tate-modern/display/artist-and-society/yinka-shonibare-cbe As the Tate is on the river Thames, we ended our day out by walking along the river, crossing Tower Bridge, and finding Indian food for Aaron’s specially requested birthday dinner meal choice.

Our last day together was spent in true tourist mode; a trip to The Tower of London. https://www.hrp.org.uk/tower-of-london/#gs.hykm5x It’s got history, art, armor, and the crown jewels of England. A great way to end Aj’s second visit to our new home in London and Aaron’s first.

On Friday, the 31^st, Aj and Aaron returned to Dallas, I returned to Baltimore and Andy met his friend from college (UCLA) Andrea Bjornlie, for dinner in Kensington.

The end of the Friends and Family Month of May leads right into June, a month of recognition, friends, and more new experiences of being in, and traveling from, our base in London.

The month of May started with a visit from our friends Tom and Liz Comstock. Through the magic of Facebook, especially given our almost total lack of accessing it, we were able to connect with Tom and Liz who were on their way from Los Angeles to a Croatian cruise. And, while it had been about 11 years since we had last seen them, we were able to pick right back up where we left off.

The following week we were able to spend some time with Eric Engel. Eric is Andy’s brother’s wife’s brother – Andy has known him for a very long time. Another resident of Los Angeles, Eric included a few days in London tagged onto his larger trip to Ireland. Because Andy was at work, and because he did not care; Eric and I spent a great afternoon at the Churchill War Rooms. https://www.iwm.org.uk/visits/churchill-war-rooms  If you like history, this is a can’t miss location. In addition to seeing the actual rooms used during the war, a complete museum of Churchill is located tangentially to the actual bunkers. It should be noted that folks who go through museums at different speeds may want to identify meeting points or times; Eric and I did not do this – and completely lost track of each other. There is no cell service once you are underground. 

Jointly, we made a Saturday day of visiting Greenwich. To start, we met at Westminster Pier and took the Clipper to Greenwich, https://www.thamesclippers.com/route-time-table/find-your-pier Clippers are faster than ferries but do not include lectures or sight information like the sightseeing boats do. They do have restrooms, and, of course, a bar on board. You get a great view of the city from the river and get to your destination too. We began our tour of Greenwich at the Cutty Sark. https://www.rmg.co.uk/cutty-sark  Our timing was perfect as we were able to join the 12 o’clock ship captain’s tour. The Cutty Sark was the fastest tea cargo ship of its time. It is beautifully maintained and hovers over the café and event space below. Later we joined in a tour of the Old Royal Naval College, https://www.ornc.org/#YIqOoprrWq4Q21RQ.97 and in particular a tour of the newly refurbished “Painted Hall”. https://www.ornc.org/history-of-the-painted-hall#JqIcMYW1Rf70SPww.97 Pretty soon we were running out of time and had to literally run up the hill to the Royal Observatory, https://www.rmg.co.uk/royal-observatory home to the Prime Meridian. I’ll admit, this was a lot of science and math for me; but so interesting to learn how commerce demanded continually improved navigation systems which could only be created by the study of time, time keeping devices, and distance. I have learned this is a core difference with the Vikings; they couldn’t do the math. They did go to North America, but most likely they couldn’t find it again. 

Sunday, we went to the British Library. This is the UK’s public library which houses a “collection of over 170 million items [which] includes artefacts from every age of written civilization.” We were especially interested in the “Making our Mark” exhibit on the evolution of writing. https://www.bl.uk/events/writing-making-your-mark  It was interesting, but not quite as much as we had all hoped. The ongoing exhibit of rare books is worth a look as it includes original works such as the Magna Carta, Shakespeare, the Beatles, etc. https://www.bl.uk/events/treasures-of-the-british-library For Sunday afternoon, we used TKTS to see The Play That Goes Wrong. It’s true, Andy and I have both seen it before; but it is so funny and so well done and well, Eric hadn’t seen it before. It was still good and a great way to spend the afternoon. Then it was time to say goodbye to Eric. Wishing him what we now know was a safe trip home and on to his next adventure with his son Alex.

We had planned adventures coming up with our son too.

To be continued in Friends and Family month, Part 2

Blog 13 – Brighton Beach Memories

You might think you’ve got Brighton sussed
A town built on weekends of lust
With hipsters and greens
Mods, rockers and queens
The odd bit of new agey crust

Yet bold ideas are key to this place:
Its royal palace once deemed a disgrace
But a prince with a vision
Ignored all derision
The result? An iconic ace

This city gets under your nails
Its freedom puts wind in your sails
Be creative, be a freak
Brighton loves what’s unique
By contrast elsewhere simply pales.

https://www.visitbrighton.com/blog/blog-post/2015/11/a-brighton-poem-b39

We have been introduced to several British comedians through various local television shows. The BBC likes to put teams of two comedians each on air to discuss trivia and current events. We are particularly fans of 8 out of 10 Cats does Countdown, which is a hybridization of this format with an existing game show. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/8_Out_of_10_Cats_Does_Countdown  It is through this program that we were introduced to comedian, storyteller, musician, and animal lover; Bill Bailey. https://billbailey.co.uk/  After seeing him on the show, we said: “… wonder if we could see him in person, he seems pretty interesting”. The answer was ‘yes’. Bill Bailey’s tour would be stopping in Brighton, a UK city that we had not been to before. Off we went.

Brighton is 46 miles from London, about two hours of walking and taking the over-ground train from our house. Easy enough. Brighton has a pebble beach bordering the English Channel. So different from our place and routines in London. Walking down the street from the train station you can see the water of the ocean, such a treat. The beach area and pier could almost remind you of Atlantic City, but the beach is longer and not all the shops sell t-shirts – and most are still in business. It could remind you of Santa Monica, but there is plenty of room for parking and wide walking and biking lanes. Could it remind you of Brighton Beach New York? I do not know, I have not been there – so, maybe. But it is here in the UK. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brighton

We have said before that we are not ‘beach people’. Sitting in the sand, with a cold drink, and a good book is attractive to me for about 15 minutes – then it is time to do something – not being a strong swimmer, it needs to be something on land. But we are fans of water and waves, fresh air and a little sunshine. There was plenty to do in Brighton. We never even made it to the end of the beach area. We walked as far as the little huts in Hove and then back over to the Pier. After that we went to the ‘Lanes’ area of old streets, old shops, old pubs and an amazing number of jewelry stores. https://www.ringjewellery.co.uk/blog/the-lanes-brighton  We don’t need any jewelry, but the displays of both new and antique rings and necklaces brought out the magpie in me. Before we knew it, it was time to get ready for Bill Bailey.

The last day we started by having breakfast and taking a short walk at the beach. Then we were off to see the Royal Pavilion which was built by King George IV before he became king. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Pavilion While much of the interior of the building is in disrepair, the restored rooms are spectacular. The outside is something of an Indian design, although the tour says that people from India would not recognize it as such, and the inside is mostly Chinese. The last royal to live there was Queen Victoria who found it too small for her family and thought it too far from the beach. She removed most decorations from the pavilion in anticipation of its destruction – but it was not leveled for new development and the city of Brighton bought it. While some items have gone on to Buckingham and Windsor palaces, some were returned to Brighton for the building’s restoration. We, of course, spent a lot of time there; they have a tea room on the second floor, so no need to leave for drinks or snacks.

A walk through the palace gardens, a quick look at the art museum’s gift shop and it was time to go back through the Lanes to our hotel and pick up the suitcases to head back to the train. As the poem I started this entry with suggests, Brighton is many things; the bachelor party and bridal shower groups all found the fun and drink they were looking for, the Fringe Festival was in full swing so other folks found what they were looking for; we were looking for some British humor, some water, some walking, some sea air – we found what we were looking for too.

We will never finish touring the places we want to see

We have a list, well kind of a list, of the places we would like to go and the things we want to see while we are living in London. The list includes places in the United Kingdom and places in Europe. Generally speaking, we are interested in history and art, science, technology, and industry. We like cityscapes and landscapes, waterways and forests. We think climbing Norman and Gothic towers to be great fun; enjoying the history, the climb and the view from the top.

Previously, I wrote about our trip to Bath, UK; blog 10. This blog entry is about York, UK. York has a history going back thousands of years; pre-Vikings, pre-Romans. It appears though that it is the Romans who first recorded the spot as a city, the city of Eboracum, in 71 AD. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/York

I like to start our trip planning with the ‘top ten’ things to do that are provided by TripAdvisor and/or Google. With their help, I had a list of eleven top things to do for a weekend in York. It was possible that all items could be accomplished, but not probable. We always sign up for any live tours available. They take longer than skimming museum cards, but always add just a bit more information and minor points we would never find on our own. And, we go in every room, even the ones that are weakly suggested – we might miss something. This is why of our list of eleven things to do and see in York recently, what we actually saw and did was six of them.

You cannot miss York Minster, it is a must see on all lists. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/York_Minster As one of the largest and oldest churches in Northern Europe, it is something to see. The stained-glass windows are worth seeing, with the church having the most medieval stained glass in the world. Our tour guide lamented this is a bittersweet claim to fame as he feels that they have a little over half of the surviving stained glass, which represents about 3% of all that was made. There is so much glass, 128 windows, that it is cleaned on a 150-year schedule. It takes a year to take down, properly clean and repair, and then re-install the large panes of glass.

TripAdvisor said to plan one to two hours for visiting the Minster. They didn’t know that our guided tour alone would take almost ninety minutes. And, they did not include the Undercroft. The Undercroft expands the story of the minster with access to excavations and artifacts below the church. https://yorkminster.org/discover/stories/story/creating-the-undercroft/ From here we saw the work done to stabilize the foundation of the church and some of the actual Roman fortress foundations the church was built on. The daily living artifacts of the Roman soldiers was interesting and the still-painted wall from a meeting room astonishing. We were there for hours.

After the minster it was time to hit another ‘must do’ from the list – Afternoon Tea at Bettys Tea Room. This was our first traditional Afternoon Tea. Yum. We shared a tea for one, plus an extra cup of tea. This gave us three of the crustless quarter sandwiches, a scone with jam and clotted cream, and three small sweets to share – more than enough to hold us over till dinner. https://www.bettys.co.uk/cafe-tea-rooms/our-locations/bettys-york

This left us with enough time and renewed energy to head back to the hotel to add a layer of clothes, as the ‘must do’ for the evening was a ghost tour. There are several companies offering ghost tours of York, as it is the most haunted city in the UK, we went with http://www.theoriginalghostwalkofyork.co.uk/  They were highly rated and we were not disappointed. We heard several stories which appeared to be based in facts, until you get to the ghost that remains part – which it is not up to me to determine. Holy cow, they did some awful stuff to people over the hundreds of years that they have been a city. The truth of the stories is enough, I did not need to believe in ghosts to have the tour be worthwhile. As this tour also ran long, we were lucky enough to find an Italian restaurant still open for a light dinner before bed.

Planning to complete at least three of our ‘must do’ items on Sunday, we started with the largest item, the National Railway Museum. TripAdvisor said we should plan to spend four hours – ha, ha. We did two ‘talks’ that themselves used two and half hours. We still had to see all the engines, compartments, and stores of artifacts. They have over 300 vehicles, 1,000’s of artifacts, and several cafes – it was so Benjamin Friendly it’s a wonder we are not still there. https://www.railwaymuseum.org.uk/

We walked quickly over a short section of their city walls, http://www.yorkwalls.org.uk/?page_id=3690, then across the Shambles, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Shambles to see the street in the daylight of which it is said JK Rowling used as inspiration for Diagon Alley in the Harry Potter books. Picked up our suitcases and back on the train.

Of our eleven ‘must do’ items then, we completed six. We did not go to: The Castle, the Gardens, the Tower, the Abbey or the Art Museum. And, we removed the Viking Center from the list as being too realistic in the smell of it. We could easily come back for another weekend and fill it up with all new things to do, plus another trip to Betty’s.

Pictures from our travels:

Mokum (מקום) is the Yiddish word for “place” or “safe haven”.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mokum

In common usage in Amsterdam; Mokum, is the nickname for the city, not unlike calling New York City ‘the Big Apple’. How did this come to be, that a European City would freely adopt a Yiddish word as its nickname?

During the Netherland’s journey to the constitutional monarchy under which they are now governed, they created a country open to different religions and practices. When the Inquisition raged in Spain, the Netherlands became “Mokum”, a safe place Jews could turn to; and they did. They felt safe in the Dutch city of Amsterdam and began to make their lives there as did fellow freedom seekers from around the world.

The Netherlands has grown a culture of individual freedoms which has resulted in it being Mokum for those looking for marijuana, or prostitution, or alternative lifestyles. Individual freedoms are allowed and where necessary, regulated; there is no smoking of marijuana on the streets and the red-light district workers benefit from physical protection and excellent healthcare, even as they are displayed in the red-curtained windows on the streets. Combined with the arts and culture and canals, these attitudes and regulations have created a city like no other in the world. http://www.goodtosee.com/amsterdam-the-city-of-freedom/

We had to go there. London to Amsterdam is four hours by train; through the east of England, through the Chunnel, and up the west of France and Belgium. It is a beautiful trip. While the Eurostar train took us to Amsterdam Centraal, we immediately started this adventure by taking the ‘sprinter’ to the airport, where we picked up the 858 bus to Keukenhof Gardens.  https://keukenhof.nl/en/  The bus stops in front of the Gardens, from which we walked to our hotel, past rows and rows of blooming tulips and hyacinths. We arrived in this small town of Lisse on Friday afternoon so we would be able to take in the Gardens on Saturday morning and be ready for the passing of the Flower Parade through town in the afternoon. https://www.holland.com/global/tourism/plan-your-holiday/events/flower-parade.htm

Pictures available online of individual floats covered in all types of flowers would make you think that the Flower Parade is made mostly of these types of entries – not so; there are many beautiful floats that are completely covered with flowers designed in fabulous shapes and sizes, there are also tractors with flowers attached to the hood, and cars with flowers on the hoods and busses with flowers on the side, in addition to marching bands and some (unknown to us) dignitaries waving from the backs of trucks. It was beautiful and corny all at the same time. And, it was a party. We lucked into a table at an outdoor restaurant where we ate lunch and listened to the American music blaring from the pop-up DJ across the street. And, it hailed on us, just before the parade, which has a 25-mile route which takes 12 hours, made it to our section. An event to remember.

Not that our trip to the Keukenhof Gardens earlier in the morning was not an event to remember too. There is no visual gap in the Gardens displayed in online photos and the actual Gardens; they are beyond my ability to describe, if anything, it was more impressive in person. The Keukenhof Gardens are open three months a year. Every year the flower beds are replanted with millions of bulbs and flowers. The park itself is surrounded by canals, has old trees, water features, pavilions for more flowers, a windmill and even a maze which you must navigate to get to one of the best lookout points of the Gardens. A million visitors a year enter Keukenhof during those three months; many of them on the day of the parade like we did, holy cow did it get crowded as the day went on. But we were done by then. Not that we couldn’t have spent even more time – but we became ‘museumed up’; like when you have seen so much fabulous art, read so many captions, walked so many pokey miles, it’s just time to go. So off we went to wait for the parade.

By the end of the parade, we were done. Most of the town was done too, with the shops closing and the street fair packing up. Going back to the hotel, we decided to give our feet a break by having dinner in the hotel restaurant. A surprisingly good meal and good wine too. Lisse has the best bread. The next day we started out for the flower fields nearby as Andy hoped to take a great picture of the gold-tinged red tulips in bloom there. The resulting picture is more ‘interesting’ than beautiful because while we were at the parade the tractors had come though and ‘topped’ the field; all the blooms were laying in the rows, not standing on the stems. As we learned at our subsequent stop at The Black Tulip Museum in town, (https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/black-tulip-museum ) the growing flowers have the actual petals chopped to force the plant to make the best bulbs. The bulbs are what will be sold, not the blooming stems. Time to go to Amsterdam.

We re-traced our steps back to Amsterdam and found our hotel there. Ah, yes, now I remember reading about the ‘coffeeshops’. Coffeeshops, as opposed to Coffee Shops, are where it is legal to buy and smoke marijuana; you can smell them, oh yes you can, and you can recognize them by the groups of college students hanging around outside trying to decide if they should go in. In many cases there is also a bakery or store nearby with sweet treats to satisfy the newly hungry customers cravings. We chose instead an outdoor café next to the canal; beer for Andy, Aperol spritz for me and nachos, this is the Amsterdam life for us.

The next day was our thirty-fifth anniversary. In an unintentional combination of timing, this was the day we had a walking tour of Jewish Amsterdam followed by a visit to the Anne Frank house. A cosmic reminder to take the bitter with the sweet, Amen.  The tour was ‘ok’, the guide was not great; but we learned about the February Strike, where non-Jews rose up against the Germans in protest of their pogroms. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/February_strike , we saw the Broken Mirrors monument which is to remind us all that the sky broke over Auschwitz and will never again be whole  https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auschwitzmonument_(Amsterdam), and ‘stumbling blocks’ (metal cobblestones placed in front of the houses where Jewish families once lived engraved with their names and dates) that are meant to catch your foot, and have you look down and recognize the tragedy of the holocaust which stands before you. https://www.npr.org/2012/05/31/153943491/stumbling-upon-miniature-memorials-to-nazi-victims The Anne Frank house was just what I expected. It is the best possible presentation of a 1930’s business, with an annexed hiding place, there might be. With original wallpaper and photos it is as wrenching as it should be. Eight people in total hid there for two years, until they were discovered and put on the last train to the death camps. Seven of them dying within weeks of the Allies liberation, only Otto Frank living to tell the tale. https://www.annefrank.org/en/  There was no Mokum to be found; not in Amsterdam, not in the Netherlands, not in the world, during the Nazi era.

On to sweeter events. Next day. We noted all the different types of canal tours available and decided on a smaller boat restored from the 1930’s. So much of central Amsterdam is on the canals, it is really the only way to get a sense of the city and harbor. In a true day of sightseeing, we went to the Flower Market which lines the canal, to the Blue café at the top of a shopping mall with 360-degree views and to the NEMO science museum whose whole roof is a slanted viewing area of the city. https://www.nemosciencemuseum.nl/en/

On our last full day, it was back to the museums. We started at the Van Gogh Museum, and a special exhibit on David Hockney in tribute to Van Gogh. The Hockney was amazing. Generally, I am not a fan and his earlier work really made no sense to me; but this work, which is based on Hockney’s return to England, reflecting on his love of Van Gogh, their joint love of nature, was very much worth seeing. The rest of the museum is, as the names suggests, is devoted to Van Gogh. This is my type of art arrangement, where I can see the early work, the influences, and the master work in chronological order. Van Gogh painted for eight years and was considered a failure – he is gone, but the work lives on. (See Hockney above 😊) https://www.vangoghmuseum.nl/en

From there we went to the MOCA, Museum of Contemporary Art, whose main exhibit is the unauthorized “Banksy, Laugh Now”. https://mocomuseum.com/?gclid=CjwKCAjwtYXmBRAOEiwAYsyl3MQVbtM0B13vsM83OVpJnXDKKpAHuV9SIvMcd3MGWlWd82pXEF2w5hoCVmEQAvD_BwE We have appreciated Banksy since Aj introduced us to him through the movie, Exit Through the Giftshop. https://youtu.be/oHJBdDSTbLw This is all I can say. We loved it. If you are not familiar with Banksy and his art, please follow this link: http://banksy.co.uk/

We finished our last full day by going to the Ziggo Arena where Michelle Obama was speaking as part of her book tour. Michelle Obama is a rock star, entering the arena to rock music and flashing lights. In the book her mother is quoted as saying: “these kids are not unique, the South Side is full of kids just like them”; and that may be true, but this ability to work her hardest, to think problems through thoroughly, to stand up every day and do her best – is inspiring. In the face of racism that we would all hope is the product of a bygone time, Michelle has raised her kids to be strong and independent, supported her husband’s goals to change the world, and maintained a personal path of work and contribution – all the while being ridiculed in the press, being targeted with hate speech in person. She is a ‘first’ in so many ways and wears it so well. In the talk she emphasized that she is who she is, there is no persona to keep up in public, and she believes that is why her memoir is becoming (pun intended) the best-selling memoir of all time. The evening was exciting and motivating. It was fun and funny in ways I don’t suspect Mrs. Obama intended, such as when she used a reference to “Danger, Will Robinson” and few members of the audience understood. But, the core message of becoming, that life is a journey, that growing and doing your best is important – everyone got that. https://becomingmichelleobama.com/

We wrapped up our week in the Netherlands the next day; a little more walking, another meal at an outside café, one last whiff of the Coffeeshops. Back on the train, back through the countryside, back to thinking about what a great adventure we are on and how Mokum is a value we can take with us as we continue to become our working, learning, exploring, and growing best selves.

Bath, England. There are 38 trains per day going from London’s Paddington Station to Bristol Temple Meads Station. The train passes out of the city and into the green countryside and within a few minutes’ villages and fields with an esthetically pleasing number of sheep, cover the landscape. An hour and twenty-four minutes into the trip, the train arrives at the station of Bath Spa before continuing to Bristol, a city straddling the River Avon further west.

The Roman Baths have always been the center of town; although the name has changed over the centuries. https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/428  The Romans named the town Aquae Sulis, Latin for “the waters of Sulis.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aquae_Sulis  They merged the existing Celtic god of Sulis with their god Minerva and encouraged her worship at the baths, which they expanded and revised over the centuries into a major religious complex. The excavated Roman Baths, and the museum created to display and interpret the astounding array of preserved artifacts, continue the tradition of being the main tourist attraction and the reason for over one million visitors to the site each year.  https://www.romanbaths.co.uk/walkthrough 

We had planned a long week-end in Bath, in part to attend an event in the town’s comedy festival. https://www.bathcomedy.com/. But, of course, we had to see and do more than that. After arriving on the train and leaving our bags at the hotel, we set about learning our way around the town of Bath. We had compiled a list of things to see and do, but they were in no particular order, making this a very flexible few days. City center is old with narrow and winding streets, much of it still cobblestoned. We set off after determining the first thing we needed was lunch. It took a bit of walking, but we decided on a ‘pasty’ shop. Pasties are a common lunch item here in the UK, but to this point I had not had one. They are essentially a meat (or meatless) pie folded around with pastry so they can be eaten like a hot sandwich. http://westcornwallpasty.co.uk/ There were no tables to sit at. Noting that we were “not from around here”, the shopkeeper told us to simply go to the corner and turn left, there we would find a courtyard with benches. Yes, yes we did. We found one open bench as this is the courtyard in front of the Roman Baths. To our left stood Bath Abbey. http://www.bathabbey.org/

Bath Abbey is the second most visited spot in Bath, so it was also on our list of ‘must see’ sites. After watching a bus load of students go into the Baths, we decided we would go into the Abbey. The Abbey is a beautiful Anglican Church which also dates back hundreds of years. In addition to soaring ceilings and huge stained-glass windows, the abbey has a bell tower which stands 212 steps above the ground offering fantastic views of the city center and beyond. http://www.bathabbey.org/towertours Up we went. We add this to our list of “they would never let you do this in California” activities. Narrow, steep, dark, slippery; and totally worth it.

Now it was time to hit the Roman Baths. It is important to note that while the Roman Baths do have water in them, visitors are not allowed in the baths. The nearby Thermae Bath Spa uses the same water which is treated to make it safe for bathing. This was not our first Roman Bath. Most recently, when we were in Paris, (I know, it is good to be me) I visited the Cluny Museum of Medieval History, which is built over the remains of Roman Baths, https://www.musee-moyenage.fr/lieu/les-thermes-antiques.html. That was an amazing site to see with vaults rising more than 14 meters high; original walls and floors. Excavations in Paris indicate a much larger complex than is currently visible; in Bath much of the bathing complex is excavated and is accessible to visitors. We thought we were going to see an open bath area with columns and original floors; we did see that, and then the separate wings with saunas, therapy pools, frigidariums, massage and changing rooms for both men and women in addition to the whole large pool for socializing and swimming in the middle. There is also the museum which has been created to walk you through the artifacts and the lives of people who made them as you go from entry level (current street level) of the baths down to the base level. (Roman street level) Building fragments, headstones, tools, jewelry, pots and glassware; the largest hoard of Roman coins found Great Briton. It is simply astounding. It is stops like this that make us so grateful to be in London for an extended period of time – we would never make a trip from Baltimore to Bath, and only now know what a worthy side trip it makes. 

Over the next few days we accomplished our ‘must see’ list; we spent much of Saturday completing the Bath Skyline Walk, https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/bath-skyline  A six mile walk of ‘moderately’ challenging terrain with wide views of the city and hills, forests, and meadows. (more sheep, and lambs too) We Saw the Royal Women exhibit at the Fashion Museum https://www.fashionmuseum.co.uk/news/royal-women  Having recently read the book The Gown by Jennifer Robson, https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/39893613-the-gown, it was a treat to view actual gowns made by the designer Hartnell. The Victoria Art Gallery had an exhibit of the Sharmanka Travelling Circus https://www.victoriagal.org.uk/events/sharmanka-travelling-circus An animatronic exhibit of found objects set to music and lights to create a 20 minute show. And, though not on our original list, while walking the Bath Skyline we found ourselves very close to the American Museum in Bath. https://americanmuseum.org/  Their current exhibit of Kaffe Fassett’s Quilts in America was truly something to see. Educational and inspiring. Fassett used quilts from the museums collection to inspire himself to create new quilts. The exhibit was a combination of both the new and the old. Who would have thought; a small town in England would have such a great display of American quilts.

38 trains go back to London, Paddington Station each day. Back on the train, back to work for Andy, back to planning the next trip for me.

Blog 9.1 – What accent do you think the citizens of Anatevka have?

Seeing Fiddler on the Roof in London

Fiddler on the Roof as a Broadway musical is now fifty years old. Long enough for both of us to have seen it many, many times. It is Andy’s favorite musical, is my second favorite – Lez Miz is still the top for me. So, when I read a good review in December of Fiddler on the Roof here in London, I signed us up. And, since Friday night I have puzzled with one question.

Have all the Fiddlers I have watched before had American accents? Didn’t they all have Russian accents? I ponder this as the Fiddler production we saw in London clearly had Scottish and English accents. They tried to be Russian at first, but it did not hold up. It added a little humor that I don’t think is supposed to be there – especially in the second act; which is tragic, not humorous.

We are the strangers here, in a strange new land to paraphrase Tevye from the second act. It is again surprising to me to add another item to my list of “The same, only different”. I would not have thought Fiddler on the Roof would have been on this list, especially after fifty years.

https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2018/dec/06/fiddler-on-the-roof-review-trevor-nunn-menier-chocolate-factory-london

Blog 9 – “Just another winter’s day in Southern California”

But, not Southern California – Barcelona.

Last week we left chilly and rainy London and headed to chilly and rainy Barcelona. As it turned out, it rained all week in London, but cleared up nicely in Barcelona. We have wanted to visit this city for a long time and being this close to it now (1-hour 45-minute flight), time was up, time to go. We explored the architecture, the beach, one mountain, and the food and drink of the city.

It’s embarrassing to admit, but it turns out that both of us were among the many folks who believe that to label something as “gawdy” is to compare it to the work of the architect Antoni Gaudi of Barcelona – wrong. https://www.alphadictionary.com/goodword/word/gaudy  Both words do have the same Latin root of gaudere which means ‘joy’, but gawdy had been in use for hundreds of years before Gaudi came along with his detailed architectural plans. We also learned that he was not a tile-obsessive church builder who worked on only one building for his entire life and still did not even finish that. There is so much more. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antoni_Gaud%C3%AD

We began our Gaudi education with dinner and a tour at Casa Mila. http://www.lapedrera.com/es It was here that we were first awed by the sheer scope of his work and learned that his true greatness lies not just in decorative arts but in the engineering of design to be both beautiful and functional and in harmony with nature. In the attic of Casa Mila, designed to be the laundry of the house with white arched ceilings and ingenious ventilation, we saw models of his work and the way he determined the use of the catenary curve as a building structure, which had previously only been used on bridges. The attic was the last stop before we were allowed on the roof of the building. From the roof we could see both across the city and down the atrium, which the house is built around. Not a straight line to be found.

Casa Mila set us up for the following morning when we planned the 10:00 am tour of the Sagrada Familia, ‘the church’. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sagrada_Fam%C3%ADlia  https://sagradafamilia.org/ But, truly, nothing could prepare us for the scope and size of this project. It is not just big, it is huge. It is not just decorated, it is the bible told in art sculpture, and decorated. Gaudi envisioned the outside of the church to be a teaching tool that even the uneducated would be able to understand. But that is not the best part; the best part is when you walk through the doors and take in the astounding beauty of the arched ceilings being held up by marble columns that appear to be trees which frame the stained-glass windows lining the walls. Sagrada Familia means Sacred Family. Gaudi wanted the church to be open to all peoples, the sacred family of humanity. I am not a Catholic, far from it, but none-the-less this felt like a sacred space for me. We spent almost the whole day there; looking up, looking out, looking at the museum which now occupies the basement.

The next day started with Park Guell. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Park_G%C3%BCell  https://parkguell.barcelona/ca/ The Park Guell is a failed housing development. It was meant to be a contained neighborhood with a central space for social and market interaction, but few plots of the land were sold. In the end, the land and the house which Gaudi himself lived in, were donated to the city. The park is a combination of urban nature trail and the beautiful park center designed by Gaudi. Much of the urban nature trail part is open to the public, but the Gaudi buildings at the center are by paid admission only. Our tour guide explained that access to the central section of the park had to be limited because when it was free to all there were over 9 million visitors a year. The built and natural environment cannot support that many people.

Our last Gaudi building was the Casa Batllo. https://www.casabatllo.es/en/online-tickets/ This is another ‘house’ designed by Gaudi. It is similar to the Casa Mila, but smaller and currently under major renovations. The renovations did not diminish our visit. Work areas were sealed off using see-through plastic so we could see the actual work being done. By the time we left this site, we had both become true Gaudi fans. TripAdvisor says there are ten must see Gaudi works in Barcelona. It just was not possible for us to tour them all and we have added several to a list of what to see ‘next time’.

And, there is more to Barcelona than only Gaudi buildings – although they are the main tourist attractions. We climbed Montjuic. To get to the top you can either walk/climb the trails or take a combination of the funicular and cable car. The funicular is being upgraded so it was not available when we were there; it has a bus replacement (no fun) and once we had covered that much of the mountain by foot there didn’t seem to be a reason to take the cable car for the rest; although we did take it down. Montjuic has a castle at the top. It is the fortress type of castle with views from the water to the valley of the city to Mount Tibidaboon the other side. The centuries old history of the castle is difficult as it has both protected the city of Barcelona and fired on it during ‘The Troubles’ of the late 1930’s.

The castle is not the only thing on the mountain. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montju%C3%AFc  The mountain was the home of the 1929 Exposition (World’s Fair) and many of the venues for the 1992 Olympics. We were able to look around the diving pool; while the fencing is graffiti covered, the pool area is still in use and open to the public in the summer months. A lovely restaurant and bar are also attached – but we were not hungry at the right time. Both share beautiful views of the city and sea from their vantage point on the side of the hill. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piscina_Municipal_de_Montju%C3%AFc The Olympic Museum is right across the street from the pool, so we stopped there to see an assortment of memorabilia going back to the original games in Greece. A few more steps and we were at the Miro Foundation and Museum. Modern art not being my favorite, I suspected I would be done in 15 minutes and could then wait for Andy at the café in the museum’s atrium. It didn’t quite work out that way. Using the audio guide to the artwork, it was really pretty interesting, and we both finished at the same time; and went to the café together.

Down the cable car, a short rest, and then off to the 2019 Barcelona Beer Festival. We look for a special event to tie our travels to, the beer festival was the event for Barcelona. We could go any time, but why pick just anytime when we could also attend the beer festival. Of course, I don’t drink beer; but I do listen to music, eat festival food and if available, cider. It was 99 different beers and 1 cider – so we were good for the evening. Andy didn’t have to taste them all – we’ve done site tours of Flying Dog and Anchor Steam in the US. He did get to try some Russian beer and others from Spain and the UK. My cider was from Quebec; not US, but pretty darn close. A fun, and highly organized (which always appeals to me) event. https://barcelonabeerfestival.com/?page_id=1278&lang=en

In between everything listed already, we walked, we ate tapas, and we drank Aperol Spritz’. The La Rambla is the main boulevard for shopping, eating, hanging out. Right off La Rambla is the Boquiteria, or market. Think of Reading Market in Philadelphia or Quincy Market in Boston; fresh food, prepared food, trinkets, and of course, beer and cocktails. (I cannot compare to Baltimore’s Lexington Market – must admit, I have never been inside) We went for the gelato which hit the spot on a clear day with temperatures in the 60’s. We walked the Gothic Quarter with its narrow streets, shops, restaurants and churches; the Eixample area which has more shops and restaurants and the beach with sand, sun, and water.

Three restaurants were particularly good, each for their own reasons. Bronzo is a non-traditional tapas place offering more Italian/Sardinian types of food. We went there because one of the folks Andy works with is one of the three owners of the restaurant. The food was good, the place is cute enough and has some outside seating if weather permits. http://www.bronzo.es/es  We also went to La Pepita which is a much more traditional tapas restaurant. It is completely covered with graffiti – I added a “Baltimore Hon” to the corner of the table we sat at. Very good and surprisingly fast given how busy they were. http://lapepitabcn.com/  And, the last day we had brunch at Blai 9 which was not too far from our hotel. Blai is a street that is closed to traffic so it has lots of restaurants with outside tables. Cute. They line up their tapas on the bar area and you just take what looks good to you. They charge you based on the empty plates. http://blai9.com/ So good.  FYI, Barcelona believes in siesta time. Most restaurants do not open for dinner until 7:30 – 8:00. 

The rain from the first day cleared up, the sun came out and it was beautiful. As my friend and artist, Jay Wolf Schlossberg-Cohen would say: “it’s just another winter’s day in Southern California.” But it wasn’t. It was several beautiful winters’ days in Barcelona.

Writing about International Women’s Day is not working out. (See comments to previous posting, IWD was to be the next topic.)

When my notes International Women’s Day reached four pages, I knew it was too much. It may be that obsessiveness was about to take me over again, but I have nipped that for the time being, at least for this topic.

Coincidentally, Google thought that I might be interested in a Buzzfeed article where they collected 34 Things That People Didn’t Realize Were 100% American Until They Left America. Since in our few months we have experienced many of these differences, it occurred to me that I could just use the Buzzfeed post for my blog post. https://www.buzzfeed.com/ehisosifo1/34-things-that-people-didnt-realize-were-100-american-until

That would be wrong – but an annotated selection I think is fine.  See below:

Drive-thrus:

“I’m from Northern Europe but have visited the US a couple of times. Their love of SUV cars and drive-thrus is unreal — like there is a Dunkin’, a Subway, and three other kinds of fast food places next to each other, and all of them have a drive-thru.”

No, we don’t have drive thrus here. And, there is no Dunkin; plenty of Starbucks, McDonalds, Nandos, and, of course, KFC.

Sales tax:

“The prices abroad don’t add tax after the fact. You pay what the price shows. No need to figure out the tax before you pay.”

True here too. The price is the price. Few exceptions on restaurant bills where a ‘service’ may be added, otherwise the cost on the menu is the cost; very little discretionary ‘tipping’.

Multiple soda flavors:

“Getting to choose from like 50 different types and subtypes of sodas.”

Nope, very few soda flavors; Coke, Diet Coke, and Coke Zero. Many restaurants make their own sodas and flavored waters. And, no refills; not even for iced tea. I learned that lesson early on, when my lunch cost me way more than expected; one ice tea + one ice tea + one ice tea.

Water fountains:

“I’ve noticed there’s a big shortage of water fountains once you leave the US.”

Another truism. Even museums which I thought you could count on to have a fountain by the restrooms – nope; bring your own water.

Cashiers bagging your groceries:

“I went to Germany and found it strange that they don’t bag your items for you. Everyone just brings their own bag or dumps their stuff in a backpack.”

This is true in London also. The cashiers sit on chairs, scan your items, and wait for you to pack up.

Cold drinks:

“In every European country I’ve visited, the drinks would best be described as cool, but definitely not ice-cold like in the US.”

Some places will provide ice if you ask for it, but some others do not even have an ice maker. Just not the way they are used to it.

Free public restrooms:

“When I visited Europe I thought it was the strangest thing that you had to pay to use a public restroom.”

One of my recommendations for visitors is always to carry a couple 50 pence coins with them. Many times, you can find a restroom, but just as likely you will have to pay for it.

And, I will end my version of the list with this one:

Sugar:

“When I visited Japan, even some of their sweetest desserts paled in comparison to how much sugar is in American food.”

So true here. A bottle of lemonade here is 38 calories. Compare that to what you have at home – 120 at least.

On that sour note, my posting for this time is complete. I will continue to look for things that are the same only different as we transition into spring in the UK.

Cheers!

Blog 7 – Did we go anywhere in February?

Several previous posts have been about our trips and travels away from London; to Paris, to Scotland, but February was all about staying home. (Andy needed a passport renewal, impacted here by the shutdown there. It was actually updated and returned within 9 days, but we could have never counted on that fast service)

So, we planned to stay in London, what were we to do? There were the Chinese New Year’s activities, (see previous post) and some mundane items that needed attention to too; like finding a theater to see all the Best Picture nominees before the Oscars on February 24^th. Pretty much by going for a walk, we discovered the area of Shepherds Bush. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shepherd%27s_Bush Lots of small shops, a very small mall with a small Vue Cinema (and just about the worst Chinese Buffet we have ever been to), and the huge Westfield mall with a beautiful large Vue Cinema. Between them, and the few nominated movies we saw in the states, we were pretty well ready for Sunday night. Only here, it was Monday morning with the actual awards starting at 1:00 am. Thank heaven for the DVR.

This past weekend may be a good example of our stay at home weekends in London. We started our weekend on Friday night with dinner at George IV’s pub. Every now and then our timing is perfect, as it was last Friday, and we are able to find a seat to eat dinner. Their pub food is not what I used to think of as pub food, bangers and mash, shepherds pie; they have some pasta dishes and I had a lovely salmon special with leeks. The music was to start at 9:00, but the band was just arriving when we left at 9:30. A little bit of 9 out of 10 Cats do Countdown and off to bed we went. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/8_Out_of_10_Cats_Does_Countdown)

On Saturday we sought out the Virgin Active Health club which is located in Chiswick Business Park. (https://enjoy-work.com/) Saturday’s weather was beautiful, so we started with eating brunch outside at a nearby café. A Business Park. I even like business, and this did not sound interesting to me, but we needed to find a gym in the area and there are just not that many to choose from; off we went. I have seen the backside of the Business Park’s buildings from the underground and from walking up the High Road but had no idea of what the center of the building’s campus might look like. It looks like a Millennial’s work dream. Wide sidewalks, bike paths, benches, grass, meeting pods, a pond with waterfall, and a Starbucks kiosk that was influenced by Airstream. Twelve buildings form a long oval with all this and more inside.

On the back side of the business park, a new bridge was opened that connects the area with the Chiswick Park Underground station. Between the two are a few apartment buildings and a nature preserve; Gunnersbury Triangle Nature Reserve. (https://www.wildlondon.org.uk/reserves/gunnersbury-triangle) This little bit of green has a surprising number of trails, benches, and factoid signs. Lots of wildlife right there between all this modern development.

We ended our Saturday night by going to Showstoppers at The New Palace Theater. (https://lwtheatres.co.uk/whats-on/showstopper-the-improvised-musical/) In two acts, this repertoire group creates a brand-new improvised musical for every show. They begin by asking the audience for several ideas for a setting. Members of our audience suggested a biker bar, bottle cap factory, and based on a vote of the audience, the winning idea of a high school for superheroes. After that we were solicited for types of musicals that the music can be sung like. We had Motown, War of the Worlds (musical), Wicked. Using a variety of hats and props the first act is improvised, acted and sung. At intermission the audience is again solicited, this time for the opening scene of the second act. Suggestions are submitted via Twitter. The whole evening was much fun and more so for us Americans when one person’s super power was deemed ‘Baseball Fact Man’. We laughed pretty hard at the ‘baseball facts’ description of the 1965 game between the Boston Bowlers and the Baltimore Batters. Some Batters made it to ‘4^th’ base during the ‘match’ where an imaginary ball was rolled, thrown, and lofted underhand; Baltimore won the game. Well that’s something.

On Sunday afternoon we took the underground, District Line, to Tower Hill Station to join a walking tour of “Bizarre London”. Note Tower Hill station is named for the nearby Tower of London and Tower Bridge. As it was the second beautiful day in a row, the area was filled with folks waiting to go in the Tower or see the various other sites located in this area. We had come for the ‘show up’ tour presented by London Walks. We have done other walks on our own using the City Walks London, 50 Adventures on Foot and London’s Village Walks guides. But we hope to use this group for a Beatles tour and possibly a Harry Potter tour when friends and family visit this summer; we needed to verify that they are a good option. (https://www.visitlondon.com/things-to-do/place/115945-london-walks)

Yes, based on this one data point, London Walks is a great walking tour option. First, you don’t have to plan too far in advance as you might have to with other tour groups; you just show up. They have lots to choose from; morning, afternoon, and evening Jack the Ripper options. And, not too expensive. 10 pounds regular and 8 pounds concession. (Concession is a discount for students or over 65’s, under 15 are free). They do only take cash, so you must be prepared for that. A good number of folks showed up for this tour, but the guide handled it well, bringing everyone in very close and keeping us all together. The tour lasts two hours. We started at the nearby Trinity Square Gardens (https://www.towerhamlets.gov.uk/lgnl/leisure_and_culture/parks_and_open_spaces/Trinity_Square_Gardens.aspx) and Memorial (https://alondoninheritance.com/london-monuments/trinity-square-gardens-memorials-to-execution-and-wartime-sacrifice/)  where she explained both and their significance over time. We walked over to a section of the original Roman walls which circled the city of Londinium founded as part of the Roman Empire. This is one of several sections of the Roman wall remaining in the city which is now surrounded by skyscrapers of all sorts of shapes and sizes. Our tour ended outside Liverpool Street Station. Functions of the buildings in this area have changed; this is the location of the St. Mary Bethlehem Hospital which was founded to treat the mentally ill. They did not treat them well; starvation and shackles being a major part of the therapy, with the patients put on display for the weekend entertainment of the passerby’s who watched as cold water was thrown on the shackled patients making them scream and shake. Over time, the name became shortened and pronunciation evolved to become simply “Bedlam”. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bethlem_Royal_Hospital)

Who wouldn’t need a coffee after that? Whew, off to Joe and the Juice we went before making our way back to Chiswick and a Thai food dinner. To get ready for next week’s movie at Shepherds Bush, we re-watched the Lego Movie, Part 1, set the DVR for the Oscars and off to bed we went – weekend complete.