You could soon be living here!

A daily reminder that we could soon be amongst the living here. Can't wait for that upgrade. 

Turn right at the sign, go under the train overpass (behind the sign), and you're headed towards the Uxbridge town centre, a 15 minute walk, give or take a pub or two.

The train going over the overpass in the background is the Metropolitan line, judging by the maroon color on the sides of the cars. Color-coded trains would be useful in Santa Fe, so you'd know if you're going to Lamy or Albuquerque. I'd recommend turquoise and blue-green.

The new office furniture for the Mermaid Tavern London Headquarters was delivered today. I wanted oak, but this is easier to move around.

We're considering a possible side trip to the southern coast of England, near Southhampton, where the National Transport Museum is located. Current exhibit: 50 original James Bond cars to celebrate 50 years of Bond movies. The Brits are strangely unaware about history in some ways, but very on top of it when it really matters. "Bond... James Bond" (with a Sean Connery accent, slightly muffled by a dangling cigarette). Of course, these plans could change if we decide there's another trip that's more culturally relevant than James Bond movies. Like Shakespeare, for example. Or almost anything else. 

Get Thee To A Pub

I sat in on one of Robin's classes today. Now I can say I've studied Shakespeare at a London University.

In a Shakespeare play (and in Elizabethan society) characters sometimes refer to each other as "you," and at other times as "thee" or "thou." It's not a careless or casual choice, and the choice of words tells us all sorts of things about the characters and their relationship to each other, both generally speaking and at the moment (characters often change how they address another in the middle of a conversation).

We also learned about The Great Chain of Being, an Elizabethan philosophy in which all things in creation have a hierarchical order. For instance, humans are higher in The Great Chain of Being than animals, and the San Francisco 49ers are higher than the Green Bay Packers. Or something like that. It was interesting and the three hour class went by very fast. And I didn't get scolded for drawing in class.

On the walk back home we stopped by the Metropolitan pub, another Uxbridge pub that reeks of pub-ness and has unusually good food.


I'm beginning to see why Falstaff liked pubs so much.

Scholars, artists, writers, and intellectuals obviously hang out here. Also Santa Feans.

A pleasant place to relax with a pint of cider. And watch the cricket game on TV. The Metropolitan is on a small side street, just a short block from the Uxbridge town centre. Across the street is The Fig Tree pub and the Queens Head pub (dated 1544, but it's believed to be older than that).

Speaking of cricket, that's a "wicket" to the left of the "bowler." As we ate dinner I looked up and the word "WICKET!" was flashed on the TV screen. That means the bowler (the pitcher) actually hit the wicket that the batsman was trying to protect on the other side of the "pitch." As punishment, the batsman is "dismissed." It's like screaming "Home Run!" or "Touchdown!" 

WICKET!! Love it. DISMISSED! Love it.

If you think that's weird, consider this. An inning is called an innings. The "pitch" (where the bowlers, batsmen, and wickets are) is a 22-yard long rectangle. The laws of wicket don't specify the size or shape of the field, but it's usually oval. I noticed the batsmen have face guards on their baseball-style helmets. Why? I'm sure there's a reason. Like maybe they just think NFL-style helmets are cool looking.

Don't get me wrong. If I have a chance to go to a cricket game, I'm going. Just have to make sure it's not a "Test cricket" match which can last up to 5 days. Not kidding.

Strongbow cider and Magners cider. Always photogenic. 

A cozy side room in the pub.

On the walk from downtown Uxbridge to the Brunel campus we pass a tree with unusual blooms. 

The Three Tuns

We took a late afternoon walk into downtown Uxbridge to buy a few things at the Pound Store (everything costs 1 pound). Some things are 3 for 1 pound. 

Just a couple of doors down the street is the WHSmith store: office supplies downstairs and a book store upstairs. Also upstairs is the downtown post office (always a line of people there) and money exchange windows for converting currencies. The money exchange line was short, just two people, but the woman in front of me (in the red coat) had two big plastic bags of money and it took a while for the clerk to take care of her. Not that I was in a hurry.  

Downstairs in the office supplies area we bought some really cheap brushes and a set of 12 Watercolour Pencils and a small pad of Watercolour Paper. A great artist I know in Santa Fe says he uses the worst brushes he can find. Another artist told me he uses cheap brushes because when he sees art that's really great, he can say "Well sure, he probably uses good brushes. I could do that too if I had good brushes."

Decided to stop for dinner at The Three Tuns, a pub with great pub atmosphere, and good food. A "tun" is an old English unit of wine cask volume. Look closely and you can see three casks stacked in a pyramid, hanging above the tavern signage. Click a photo to see a larger version.

There's a small bar at street level when you first walk in. Stairs go down several steps to a larger bar below.  We ordered food upstairs then went downstairs to order pints of cider and join the patrons who obviously were placed there by a Hollywood casting agent for the benefit of any foreign tourists who happened to stop by. 

The bar maids are nice. There's a sign next to our table that reads "If you think your beer has too much head, tell us and we'll gladly top it up for you." Our cider doesn't have much of a head at all, and they pour the glasses so full that they almost spill over. I'm not a big drinker, but I'm willing to try.

An old photo from the late 1800s. The woman reminds me of someone.

Robin adds to our napkin art collection. Bravo. Good show. Captures the essence of the napkin art movement, I think.

One last old photo. Who IS that woman?

Drawing London

A great thing about being in the London area is there's an unlimited selection of things to sketch. So I've decided to sketch things that capture the essence of London. Like the chair drawing above. 

To quote a British artist I met in Santa Fe (imagine a posh British accent), "I think I've captured something heah (here)."

Fine Art Tip: Notice how I've artistically transformed an ordinary chair drawing into a modern masterpiece by cleverly adding mystical sparkly stuff all around it. 

Free Art Tip #2: If I add a Shakespeare quote, the mystical modern masterpiece becomes an intellectual mystical modern masterpiece. 

Why didn't anyone mention that in art school?

Robin is studying and researching Shakespeare stuff (hmmm, I think I hear the Mystery Science Theater theme music coming from her laptop). When she's though working we'll walk into town, pick up a couple of things, and stop by a pub for dinner. I'm thinking Metropolitan pub, Shepherd's Pie, and Strongbow cider.

American Football in London

Both Wally and I are keeping up with the NFL Playoffs. 
Wally is a 49ers fan. As of a few minutes ago, I'm a loyal Green Bay Packers fan. In several more hours I might be a loyal New York Giants fan, if they beat the Packers.

In searching for an internet connection for watching the games, I subscribed to NFL Audio Pass in order to listen to playoff games. After subscribing, I saw a Game Pass subscription (for viewers outside the USA) to watch games live, so I subscribed to that also. When I tried to watch the Saints game last night, I discovered that viewers in the UK are blacked out and video is available SIX DAYS AFTER THE GAME!

I sent an email to the Game Pass support team saying this was not really useful for me and they responded within minutes, canceling my subscription and initiating a refund. 

Meanwhile, I'm listening to an audio feed of games as I watch a graph of the game plays on the NFL web site (below). I can choose which radio broadcast to listen to, the home team or the visiting team radio broadcast. 

The five-hour time difference between London and USA Eastern Standard Time makes for some very-late-night football, but when you're loyal like me, no personal sacrifice is too great. That's just how I roll. 

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...

Friday's London Photos

Sometimes the choice of seating on the train is unlimited.

Making a train connection at the Baker Street Station sends us deeper underground. The really deep tunnels have escalators. If you have a fear of escalators, you're outta luck.

Waiting for the train. Not very exciting. Unless you're from Santa Fe where this kind of fun is very limited.

Robin reads while I wait for the train doors to close.

I'm specializing in women-on-trains photography.

This guy is a street artist who stands there like a statue. His tie is permanently frozen in the wind-blown shape. Very cool. I put a pound in his bucket, took a photo, and said thanks. He winked.

It's almost midnight and the mass of hundreds of people in the background are all standing in line to get in to some hot, happening club. Probably some sort of vampire hangout. Everyone in the crowd in the background is young and wearing black. Most of the young women are wearing black miniskirts. I lucked into a shot of a young one being separated out from the colony by a predator. I hope she's OK... I'm sure if things turn bad, the other vampires will realize this guy is not wearing black and will teach him not to mess with the undead.

People waiting in line for a ticket to tomorrow's last performances of the "must-see" show Jerusalem.

One of the rooms in the Covent Garden Apple Store. Most of the store was very busy, but this area was very quiet.

I like to wear a dark wig when we do our ballet workouts. Just kidding, it's a poster in the Royal Opera House, also in Covent Garden.

Robin picks out a protective sleeve for her MacBook Air laptop at the Apple Store.

A food court at Covent Garden. I had the fish finger sandwich. Highly not-recommended.

What do you do when you visit an Apple Shrine? Tebow, of course.

China Town is adjacent to the Theatre District.

Before meeting Wally and Maria for pre-theater dinner, we dropped in to the W bar for a really expensive drink.

Jerusalem

What a great night. We met Wally and Maria for an early dinner at an Italian restaurant across the street from the Apollo Theatre. After dinner they hiked over to another theater to see Shrek (the musical).

Very high praise. As I shot this photo, a young man waiting in line for a Saturday matinee ticket said "Just 19 hours to go!" 

Unless I misunderstand, this review puts Rylance above Olivier.

Indisputable greatness. Damn! I'm glad Robin paid for the breakfast at Harry's Roadhouse.

Hymn to eccentricity. I was just getting ready to say that.

I'm trying to convince myself I actually saw this guy play Olivia in Twelfth Night. And believed it.

Interesting thing about that performance of Twelfth Night at the Chicago Shakespeare Theater): before the play started, the  actors brought dressing tables and mirrors onto the stage, then dressed and put on makeup onstage. And I still believed he was Olivia.

Bearing in mind that I haven’t seen a great number of stage performances, Mark Rylance’s performance as Rooster in Jerusalem was the most impressive I’ve ever seen.

Great writing certainly helped, but this guy was literally covered in sweat (real) and blood (fake) by the end of the play. Either he was totally exhausted at the end of the play, or he’s even better than I thought. 

The set is a forested area of the country, with Rooster’s dilapidated Airstream trailer taking up most of the stage. Wild parties with drugs and alcohol happen there every night with his posse of both young and older friends. Rooster is a rascal without any redeeming qualities other than being an outrageously shameless storyteller. 

At one point a friend confronts Rooster about his story that he once met a 90-foot Giant who claimed to have built Stonehenge. 

“You met a 90-foot giant who built Stonehenge?” 

“Yes, he said the weather was going to be dry all Spring, but he was full of crap, it rained like Hell all Spring. He said he built Stonehenge, but he could’ve lied about that.”

A three hour play with two intermissions, it was a memorable evening to say the least. I suspect I’m going to have a very hard time getting Rooster out of my head. Such as the opening scene when Rooster stumbles out of his Airstream trailer, totally hung over, turns on heavy rock music, stumbles and dances over to a metal water trough, puts a hand on each side and does a hand stand with his head under water (ice water) to sober up. Then he dances/stumbles over to a blender, pours in a container of milk, an egg, some sort of clear liquid from a vodka or gin bottle, adds some kind of powder, then chugs the entire concoction in several gulps. Holy crap. This is the first two minutes.

When Wally and Maria saw the performance on New Year’s Eve, Rylance ended the curtain call by leading the audience in singing Auld Lang Syne.

At the end of last night’s curtain calls, Rylance gave a very nice acknowledgment to the young boy that played his son, praising his emotional intensity “that is golden to fellow actors.”

A prince of a guy. 

The Apollo Theatre was built in 1901.