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 Happy Holidays to all our friends and blog visitors!
We're here in California where it has rained buckets for two weeks. Finally today was sunny and 65, just in time for xmas (but more rain is predicted). Clyde is happy and practically lives on the sofa. We got a tree for the first time in years and are really happy to use the handmade decorations from my mother and John's grandmother. And new decorations like Faustina from Handel House. They're adorable. |
Today we fly to California for 2 months.
We're sad to be leaving London but a change will be good. This was our longest stay in London yet and it was incredible. So much happened! I'm so happy I have the blog so I can look back and see all the amazing things we did and people we met.
We'll be back mid-February. See you then!
Tonight we saw Aladdin at The Old Vic. It's a "pantomime" which is something we've never seen or heard of but since it has Ian McKellen in drag we just had to go.
The show was silly and hilarious; Ian McKellen was really incredible. A wonderful, fun evening.
I love stores that have been around since before electricity was invented.
Today we went to Fortnum & Mason on Piccadilly. Their food hall is great; note the organic stilton and posh champagne selection. John bought some shortbread, a personal favorite of his.
Next door is a bookshop which also predates electricity called Hatchard's. Every time we've walked past we noticed signed first editions in the window so we finally went in. Wow. They have everything, 5 floors of books, many of them signed. As much as I love Foyles I'm going to give Hatchard's a visit next time.
This evening we saw Patrick Stewart in his one-man version of A Christmas Carol.
We've always been huge fans of him since Star Trek: The Next Generation, my favorite tv show ever.
We had expected it to be good but it was beyond good; it was amazing. The range of emotions and energy he presented onstage was incredible. It was just him and some props like chairs and tables. He did all the characters and he was hilarious, as well as moving and tender.
I watch an episode of Star Trek TNG nearly every day because I bought one of the special collectors limited edition dvd sets and yes I'm a hopeless nerd. I'm up to season six and today watched Tapestry, the episode where Picard dies because of his artificial heart and Q sends him back to relive his life so he can do it differently. It's a particularly fabulous episode.
He's so incredible, I can't believe we got to see him on stage.
This evening was our 5th house concert, the final concert for the season. The performers were Emma Murphy and members of The Rose Consort of Viols. We have Emma's Da Camera recording available at Magnatune and some Rose Consort recordings are hopefully coming soon.
It was a stunning program of classical christmas music. Emma's singing was incredibly beautiful, as was her recorder playing. And the Rose Consort is complete perfection. The program was a selection of Byrd, Tallis, Holborne and was gorgeous in every detail. Lyrics were provided so the audience was invited to sing along a couple times which was really enjoyable.
There were many familiar faces and a couple famous ones, like Margaret Drabble and Clive Swift. It was another very special and memorable evening of beautiful music and fun friends and an amazing final concert for 2004.
Update: You can see a Quicktime video of the sing-along here. (there will be a longish pause before it starts, depending on the speed of your internet connection)
One of the things I'm always saying is that sometimes "it's like we live in the future." Well, more of the future has arrived.
Ever since iTunes started selling tv shows for download, I predicted there would be more and more of them and finally, perhaps, even a show that I wanted to see. My wish was granted.
Although we don't have tv in London one of the shows we really miss is the new Battlestar Galactica. Season 1 was incredible and we were so excited last year when the dvd's came out here before the finale had even been shown in the U.S. So we got all caught up on the episodes we missed.
We were disappointed to see that when we get back to California next week we're not going to be able to catch up because the Scifi Channel is not rerunning Season 2 yet while it's on haitus. Problem solved: iTunes has both seasons available for download. I am amazed and delighted. My only disappointment is that it's not in widescreen like it is on tv but I'm sure they'll fix that. Other than that it looks amazing.
This is the way I prefer to watch tv. $2 an episode, no commercials, downloaded to my computer which is hooked up to my home theatre system. Now I wonder what living in the future is really going to be like.
For those who think we lead a charmed life, here's how things are going so far this week.
We have a serious water leak somewhere between the third and second floors, so that when John took a shower this morning there was a lot of water in the bath downstairs and even down to the first floor bath. The exhaust fan in the second floor had shorted out last week. When we took it apart there was a little water in it which we thought was some kind of condensation from the bathroom. Apparently not, it's water coming through from upstairs. So, the plumber is on his way! The voice of doom in my head is predicting the ripping out of walls and ceilings to find the leak. We'll see.
Then one of our banks refused to do a wire transfer without going there in person and handing them the piece of paper. Previously they had done it via fax or email with sometimes a phone confirmation. Hmm....
On the bright (but messy) side, the window company came today to install the interior secondary windows that will make a huge difference to block out street noise. Then the window treatment people have to come back to design and install new window shades... the guy to spackle and paint hasn't returned our phone calls for a month... then...
As every homeowner knows, it's never done.
Well, us and 350 other people '-)
Last night we went to the Canada-U.K. Chamber of Commerce dinner where Bill Clinton was the guest speaker. It was at the Jumeirah Carlton Tower in Knightsbridge and was packed; with photo i.d. required at the door and secret service men skulking about.
Bill Clinton entered to all standing and much applause. I had tears when I thought of all the history and drama that was walking right in front of me. I could hardly believe it; it was truly thrilling. No, we didn't get to meet him but we really didn't expect to, especially when we saw how huge the event was. But we were amazed to discover our table was right in front of the podium, so we were about as close as you could get without being a VIP.
When it was time for him to speak I didn't know what to expect but had heard he is very charismatic. Well, that is totally true. He did not read one of those boring, prepared speeches. He spoke spontaneously and he was amazing. He is extraordinarily intelligent and informed. It makes me sad that we may never have anyone in the White House again who is as in touch with reality as he is. His humour was subtle and charming and he seems like a very kind man. I had no idea he is so active and travels so much; I'm very impressed. He appears to really care about the world which is exciting considering that he used to be in charge of such a large part of it.
After Bill Clinton, former Canadian Prime Minister Kim Campbell spoke and was also intelligent, charming and real.
Our delightful table companions were very enjoyable and made the evening even more special. You know who you are, and I want to express a heartfelt "thank you" for inviting us to such a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
This is a quickie to show what I saw out the window just now. The photos were taken 15 minutes apart.
The weather in London can be very dramatic. Rain and sunshine at the same time and clouds moving across the sky so fast it looks like a Hollywood special effect. As I'm writing this it's raining sideways and the sky is blue. I'm not sure I've ever seen a rainbow in a city before. It only lasted a minute.
Ok yes, I'm so bored I'm taking photos of our shoes for the blog.
This is a strangely uneventful week. However, tomorrow night we're invited to a super special event dinner that's a secret so stay tuned.
When I saw that the dress code for the event is "business attire" I knew we were in trouble. Not me; John. We both have a belligerent attitude towards formal clothing. After running a software company in California for 10 years we really got into dressing informally and we both have extreme difficulty taking anything else seriously. I haven't worn high heels since 1988 and John hasn't worn a tie since... um... we can't remember.
My biz attire compromise is to wear a shorter dress than usual rather than my ankle-length style. So I bought a pair of black tights. I'm done.
But we decided John needed to at least try to look businessy for this event and that requires a tie and dress shoes. The tie was easy.
The shoes are the biggest problem because he has a high instep and no tolerance for the kind of stiff leather shoes that don't bend at all and require weeks of physical pain to "break in." No way.
After a couple traditional shoe stores we decided to give Birkenstock a try. Although they're not known for their dress shoes I thought they would have something that was at least nice enough and they did. No one is going to mistake him for a banker but that's the idea. While he was trying on shoes I found some for myself I liked. So now I own two pair of Birkenstock shoes (omg, I shopped again). No, I'm not wearing those to the dinner, I'll be wearing my usual.
So, tomorrow night we're going to be all dressed up and ready to meet... shhh, it's a secret. Come back tomorrow night.
Click on the photos for larger version.
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