Cat's Adventures in the Wild: London 7/26/2024 PM

11:38 pm, Friday 7/26/2024

Wow - Just WOW. The last will be first. I'm going to start with Richard III then go back tomorrow morning and go back through the rest of the day. There's not enough time to do it tonight.

I also just started copying the pictures from today - How in the world did I take 613 pictures in one day? Sheesh! Kew Gardens 🙄 Just looked at them - I think somehow my phone tripled them, so I took about 200 pictures, not 613.

The trip from Kew Gardens to The Globe Theater had a LOT of cushion time built in. I left Kew at about 4pm and the train was a direct shot on the District Line. I wanted to get in before rush hour, but it got pretty packed pretty quickly. Fortunately the Kew station for the Tube is just one down from the first on the route, so it was easy to get a good seat on an end.

On the way back I decided to stop off at Westminter instead of going all the way down to Blackfriar. (I had run into a Florida guy on the Tube who had a "Harris for President" t-shirt and I asked him how he already got one of those out here - it just arrived in the mail today. So much for the Horse Swapping with the Dems being an impulsive move - there's a larger strategy afoot if they are ready with the Swag).

First thing - sustenence. Which was a GREAT idea, but cupcakes ended up hitting me right after I'd walked away from the Bagel stand - DAMN MY EYES! I should have gotten the bagel (but I still don't regret the fish & chips I got later).

This was in HONOR OF MY KIDS! I SWEAR! We always make a habit of getting cupcakes in every city we go to. Go I really & legitimately couldn't pass this up. And I figure that 4 minis equal one full sized cupcake, right? I know - justifying succumbing to my temptation.

So I got a Banoffee (Banana Coffee), Salted Caramel, Carrot & Lemon. I was supposed to get Chocolate Hazelnut, but I don't know what happened to my plan there. Salted Caramel was my favorite. Banoffee could have had more kick. I'm going to end up going back... I know it... damn... don't let me get a Unicorn. Please GOD Don't let me get a Unicorn!!!!

The REASON for exiting District Line at Westminster had nothing to do with Parliament or Westminster Abbey, though I did get pictures of each.

See.... there's Westminster Abbey (go back and read or look at pictures of my 2000 trip to London. I'm not planning to do it again this trip. CLICK HERE

And NO it had nothing to do with BIG BEN either - here... picture... Still there.

No... it had EVERYTHING to do with THIS!

Yes, my dear friends.... Boudicca! Sooooo happy to see her right there where she was... but under scaffolding and tarps in 2000, damnit. Boudicca & her daughters getting ready to go tear up them Romans and Raise several towns (including London) in a rampage of vengeance over her daughters' rapes & the abuse of the people under the foot of the Damn Romans. Maaannnnn.... if the indigenous people of the world had the ability to pull that off against opressors we'd all be in deep shit. Of course - in the end, they didn't knock them off the island and everybody died. (quick & dirty & not quite true, but she fell on her own sword or spear and probably killed her daughters off first so they couldn't be taken)

Ok, on to more empirialist glory on the Thames!

Cleopatra's Needle - with some really cool Wikipedia information on how it got to the Thames in London. The short version is that it's a lot older than Cleo. It's close to 3500 years old and originally from Heliopolis. It's Granite, which is why the symbols have survived this long (along with it being buried for a couple thousand years after falling over & getting buried for most of Christianity in Alexandria). Cleo DID donate them to Alexandria (long history with her lovers you're familiar with), but was gifted by the Egyptians as a "Thank You" after some Lord Nelson heroics, but sat around for 60 years before a wealthy scientist (must have been family $ because nobody gets rich off dermatology or anatomy) chipped in to get this bad boy up the Thames & displayed for the world to see.

Oh! and Sphynxes. Not from Egypt or Heliopolis.

That's my short & more entertaining summary of what Wiki says.

Next up fun!

I just still love the OXO building. When I went on the Thames tour in 2000 they explained that London banned advertising on the Thames and the OXO company (known for some really awesome kitchen equipment in my world) came up with this idea of building windows in the shape of their Brand as part of the design. So... legitimately.... "We're not ADVERTISING.... we just think they're pretty, don't you?"

It's not my thing to celebrate business putting one over on the will of the people.... but.... *snicker* Good one guys. And apparently most Londoners thought so, too. Because it hasn't gone anywhere.

St. Paul's is just gorgeous. Everywhere. I love when it chimes the time.

Even with me for dinner 💖

from Journal: 6:20 pm

Only an hour until showtime & I have a seat for dinner. I asked for a to-go bag, but I may just eat here. The Globe is only a 5 minute walk away & I have a reserved seat. Maybe I should have ordered dinner ahead with them?

This is still a lot less than that, though. And I get a Guinness!

Earlier I gave into the impulse & jumped off the District Line at Westminster. So I've gotten my full view of Boudicca, then Cleopatra's needle - straight from Caesarea/Alexandria.

I popped into Blackfriarss, but ther eis no space there. Too bad it isn't the 15th Cenntury - I bet *they'd* have space!

So I walked across the Blackfriar Bridge & down the river walk a bit - into another Pub- that looks more like a restaurant - here on the Thames, with a view of Paul's Cathedral.

Cyder battered Haddock...

And Mashed peas....

And curry dipping sauce!

THE GLOBE

I think my phone actually did much better with the lighting here. The show tonight was Richard III. And honestly, I'm so glad that I've never seen it until now. I know they took SOOOOO many liberties with tonight's show. I mean..... the MAGA references.... the TRUMP Sexual Abuse Scandal references (complete with grabbing women by the..... ). More refereces to The Biggest Witch Hunt EVER.

Anyway - I enjoyed those because it made the story relevant in ways that it otherwise could be considered passe' and dated. That really is the AMAZING part of Shakespeare - how he is dealing with universal themes that repeat over & over again for every generation to look at itself and say "WTF are WE doing?!???" Or at least it gives them a chance.

But what I LOVE is that I've actually developed enough knowledge of the history of that period of British History with the War of the Roses, the York Plantagenets, Margaret of Anjou, Edward & Elizabeth's children.... But what I didn't realize was the extent to which Richard was believed to have murdered or poisoned his oponents. I don't know how much Shakespeare himself took liberties with that part of the story, but it's obvious that it was believed by the commoners (and this really isn't but maybe 50 years out from Richard III when Shakespeare was writing). The timeline was incredibly collapsed - and what I've read seems to always put the youngest York brother in a more favorable (less diabolacle) light. So now I want to know.... how BAD WAS HE REALLY?

Openig number - war dance, followed by a party dance celebrating Edward IV's win. George promptly gets put in the Tower (because he participated in the insurrection) and ultimately gets murdered by being drowned in some mulled wine or cider or something. Elizabeth, Edward's Queen, is all yellow in the center. Red dress is Anne. Most of the male roles were (ironically) played by women (including Richard) - it was a pretty gender fluid show.

This is Richard (notice the codpiece - he goes through several versions of varying levels of extravagance) - There's also a very fake, molded muscular chest under the chest plate there. The chest should have its own billing - it got a LOT of play time once Richard III got his crown. Walking around in a liesure jacket or flamboyant green feather coat. Chest got lots of laughs. This actress - PHENOMENAL. Michelle Terry. I wish I could watch this over again to catch some of the moments in her speech that I couldn't hear if she had her head turned away. There were no microphones, just a lot of projection. Really great casting.