Archive | May 2009

London Pass with Chriselle–Day Three

May10

Sunday, May 10, 2009
London

Both Chriselle and I awoke around 7 am today having had difficulty dropping off to sleep. Still rather jetlagged, she was groggy in the morning. Knowing, however, that I did want to catch the 8 am. Communion Service at Westminster Abbey, she was quick on the uptake and within a half hour, we left my flat for the short walk to Fleet Street from where we took Bus 15 to Westminster Abbey while the rest of the city was still sound asleep.

Communion Service at Westminster Abbey:
The service was quick, quiet and rather sparsely attended. What made it special, however, was not just the female celebrant (a rather unusual sight for Chriselle though something I have become accustomed to in England) but the fact that the church was just splendidly decorated with flowers in breathtaking vignettes, each of which depicted a creative theme. We discovered, at the very end, from the female vicar, that it was the result of the work of the members of the National Association of Flower Arrangers who come in once a year to transform the Abbey entirely. At any rate, it made a magnificent backdrop for Chriselle’s first church service in the UK and I was glad she had a chance to see this sight.

A Visit to Westminster Cathedral:
Then, because we were so close to it, I suggested we make a visit to Westminster Cathedral, the Catholic church down the road whose Byzantine style architecture, both inside and out, make it quite stunning indeed. Mass was almost ending when we walked in, which allowed us a few minutes to pray quietly for my mother (since it is Mother’s Day today in the USA). Chriselle did think the church was special and completely different in style and structure from the Gothic Westminster Abbey from which we had just emerged. It is becoming increasingly astounding to her, as we traverse the city, how brilliant is the architecture of each structure we pass and she said to me, just this morning, “Mum, I see what you mean. Every time we round a corner, my eyes feast upon yet another striking building that I feel compelled to explore”. I think she is slowly beginning to understand why I have always nursed such a passion for this city.

A quick visit to Starbucks saw us emerge with mocha lattes that were superb in our empty stomachs until I made an idiot of myself by dropping a large quantity of it all the way down my grey cashmere cardigan while in the bus on the way home. Fortunately, we were only a few meters from home and I was able to rush to my sink and get the worst of it off within minutes.

It was during breakfast that Chriselle wished me a Happy Mother’s Day and presented me with a truly beautiful card whose words were deeply moving primarily because it seemed as if she had written the printed words in them herself. Ever since she has been a young teenager, Chriselle has managed to find me cards that have seemed deeply relevant to that special phase in my life and this year, with me spending so much time away from her in London, the words in the card reflected perfectly well her feelings at being so distant from me. It was a poignant moment indeed and I was close to tears–both at the depth of her feelings and her candid and very lovely expression of them. I thank God for her and bless her and feel profoundly enriched by her presence in my life, especially since I have spent most of the last year on my own. Indeed, if I was delighted to have Llew with me at Easter, I thought it was superbly significant that I had Chriselle with me on Mother’s Day and I felt as if a very special Providence had brought us together at this time.

The Tower of London:
With breakfast done (toasted rolls with Boursin cheese and coffee), we set out on our adventures for the day, heading again to Fleet Street to catch a bus to the Tower of London. To our great good luck, one of those lovely old Routemasters came trundling along, allowing us to climb to the upper deck on those old-fashioned spiral steps (as in the Bombay buses) and take our seats in the front. It was not long before we got off at the Tower, but not before I pointed out to her the remains of the old Roman Wall of what was called Londinium.

The lines at the Tower were daunting but we were relieved to discover that London Pass holders could go directly to the entrance where we joined one of the Beefeaters (Yeoman Guards) on a guided tour of the main attractions of the vast complex that comprises the Tower. As usual, we were informed and entertained by these well-trained folks who took us through some of the most important and grizzly parts of British History as we moved from one courtyard to the next. Highlights, of course, include Traitor’s Gate (through which so many political prisoners accused of treason were led to the Tower), The Tudor courtyard in which the ravens with trimmed wings are plentiful (folklore has it that when the ravens have all flown away, the White Tower will collapse), and the block upon which so many historical figures including Anne Boleyn and Lady Jane Grey were executed.

When I had last visited the Tower, 22 years ago, the original wooden block had remained in position evoking an eerie sense of the gruesome executions that had taken place upon the spot. On this visit, we found a sculpture by Brian Catling with a lovely few lines engraved all around a glass disc that said:

Gentle visitor, pause awhile
Where you stand
Death cut away the light of many days
Here jewelled names were broken
From the vivid thread of life
May they rest in peace while we walk the generations
Around their strife and courage
Under these restless skies.

A rather lovely way, really, of remembering those personnages from history who, in most cases, met an unjust death.

It was time then, for us to join the eager hordes queuing up at the entrance to the Tower that contains the Crown Jewels. Walking through the many rooms that took us deep into the chamber with its steel reinforced doors where the most precious Jewels are kept, we saw three short films, all of which depicted the occasions upon which the jewelled signs and symbols of the British monarchy were used. Everyone gasps, of course, when they see the Cullinan Diamond in the sceptre and the Koh-i-noor diamond in the crown of the late Queen Mother. But there are emeralds and rubies and sapphires the size of small eggs that are just as stunning and in beholding the magnificent workmanship of these items, we felt as if we had received our money’s worth.

A visit to the Princes Tower showed us more crowns and scepters and maces and trumpets and all such other items associated with the coronation of England’s monarchs. Chriselle,whose knowledge of British history, is rather hazy, is slowly beginning to put them in chronological order as she discovers bits and pieces of their colorful lives. It is a great deal to drink in at one go but she is slowly processing it all and asking me a lot of very relevant questions.

The last thing we needed to see at the Tower was the White Tower itself, one of the oldest parts of the building which is currently playing host to a special exhibit on Henry VIII rather appropriately entitled Dressed to Kill. We saw a large amount of contemporary armor but I was disappointed as I had hoped to see some of his courtly robes–none of which have survived, I suppose. Still, over all, we saw a variety of items in the Tower that could easily have allowed us to spend the entire day there if we had done the tours at leisure.

The Tower Bridge and Exhibition:
A call home to my mother in Bombay to wish her for Mother’s Day punctuated our day after which we sat on a bench eating our lunch time sandwiches as we were starving again. Then, having rested our rather aching feet, we set out in search of the City Cruises Pier to catch the next ferry to Greenwich. When we discovered that the next one was due to leave 45 minutes later, it was Chriselle who suggested we use the time to walk over Tower Bridge.

The London Pass allowed us to enter the Tower Bridge Exhibition and we then treated ourselves to the next half hour learning about the ingenious engineering that went into its design for the Bridge needed to satisfy the sense of aesthetics of the Victorian cohort that was involved in granting the commission for its construction as well as the ability to sustain human and vehicular traffic while opening up to allow for the passage of tall ships. A tall order indeed!

When construction began, teams of divers dug into the soft clay that is the base of the River Thames and the construction of the two posts began. Two short films that we saw before and after crossing the east and west walkways, 142 feet over the river, introduced us to the intricacy of design and scientific precision that allowed for its construction as well as the creation of the mechanism of the drawbridge. From the walkways, we had views of the city stretching all the way down the curving Thames to the glass and concrete skyscrapers of Canary Wharf and the O2 stadium at Greenwich as well a the domes of Sir Christopher Wren’s National Maritime College. It was truly a marvelous tour and we are so glad we found the time to take it. The tour also included a visit to the Engine Room but we were worn out and needed to make our way to the boat in order not to miss the next sailing.

Thames Cruise to Greenwich:
We did not have the best guide on our way to Greenwich. I have taken this cruise before (in September with my students) when I had found the commentary quite compelling. Still, Chriselle who listened carefully, laughed a great deal at his jokes and found him amusing. What made the cruise special for me was the incredible weather–indeed we could not have asked for a better day to mess around on a river! The last time I had taken this cruise it was cold and rainy and miserable and today, it was spectacular. We bought ourselves a cold beer on board and split the bottle as we enjoyed the sail and when the domes of Greenwich came into view, we made our way down to the pier to be able to get off as quickly as possible.

Our first stop was the National Maritime College which allowed Chriselle to take in the grandeur of Wren’s architecture and notice his indebtedness to the classical structures of Greece and Rome. In this space, I made sure she saw The superb Painted Hall by Thornhill where the frescoed ceiling and walls are supposed to be second only to the work of Michelangelo in the Sistine Chapel. Right opposite is the Chapel where the plasterwork on the ceiling is so stupendous that it is reminiscent of the Jasperware produced by Josiah Wedgwood in his factories at Stoke-on-Trent. Chriselle loved every bit of these buildings and took a number of pictures. By this point, however, she was feeling rather beat having been on the go for three whole days and not quite having recovered from jetlag.

The Royal Observatory and the Prime Meridian:
Still, she decided that we should bravely press on and pass the Queen’s Palace in front of the Park where the Royal Observatory is located. We were struck by the tourist crowds everywhere though a lot seemed like local folks enjoying a Sunday in the Park with their Kids! At the Royal Observatory, we made a bee-line for the Prime Meridian and had to take some funky pictures which standing astride it with our feet in alternate hemispheres. We decided to skip a look at the vast variety of clocks that were on display here and take a breather instead in the park were we spent a long while resting and relaxing and massaging our aching muscles while watching picnicers enjoying their strawberries and cream, their pasta salads and chilled beer.

When we felt ready for the next bout of walking, we set out again–this time we nipped into the National Maritime Museum as I did want Chriselle to have a look at the uniform of Lord Nelson which became bloodstained at the Battle of Trafalgar where he was wounded and passed away. Having seen this exhibit, as well as Lord Frederic’s gilded barge, we made our way outside and basked again in the golden sunrays.

At the pier, Chriselle had a horrid experience having stopped to sample some spreads and condiments from a market stall. She picked up what she thought was a sun-dried tomato only to discover that it was a pickled jalapeno pepper that had her hyperventilating though she spat it out almost as soon as she popped it into her mouth. The fortunate part was she had asked me only a second before if I wanted to share it with her and I had declined! What a good job I did! The next thing I know I was plying her with chocolate that I found in my bag and ten agonizing minutes later, she returned to normal!

We took the stairs then that led us to the Greenwich Tunnel, passageway that runs under the River Thames, another remarkable feat of late Victorian engineering (built in 1902) that I wanted her to experience. Over on the other side, after a short ten minute walk, we took the elevator up hoping to catch the Docklands Light Railway to Green Park where we had Afternoon Tea reservations at The Wolsley Hotel–we thought it significant that since it was Mother’s Day, we could have Tea together in this grand place.

Only by this stage, Chriselle felt seriously out-of-sorts and we decided we would perhaps abandon our plans. What finally nixed it for us was the dislocation of the rail network that closed the DLR down, put us on the Tube (Jubilee Line) at Canary Wharf where we discovered that we could only go as far as London Bridge and, what was worse, the Piccadilly Line wasn’t running either. That was it!

Dinner with Tim and Barbara:
We got off at King’s Cross and took Bus 45 and got back home where Chriselle crawled straight into bed and went off to sleep. Two hours later, after I had dealt with my email and tried to reschedule my visit to Paris, we dressed and went over next door to my neighbors’ flat. Chriselle was keen to meet Tim and Barbara about whom she has heard so much–both from me and Llew! In keeping with his reputation for hospitality and generosity, Tim opened a bottle of Harrod’s bubbly and passed around grilled and marinaded artichoke hearts–delicious! It wasn’t long before we were invited to stay for dinner–pepperoni pizza and steamed asparagus, the latter impeccably seasoned with lemon juice and sprinkled with grated parmesan. It went down a treat. With chocolate cheesecake, Tim’s own homemade strawberry sorbet and fresh strawberries, we had a truly fine meal and the company of two of the most interesting friends I have made in London. As always, Tim and Barbara entertained us with their jokes and stories and it was with difficulty that we tore ourselves away from their flat and called an end to the evening.

We promise ourselves a less strenuous day tomorrow but are pleased that we made the best possible use of our London Passes–something that we would recommend without hesitation to anyone planning a visit to London for the first time.

London Pass with Chriselle–Day Two

May9

Saturday, May 9, 2009
London

The weekend dawned in Holborn with its customary silence as the legal world ground to a two-day halt. Chriselle and I showered, ate our breakfast and set out as quickly as we could taking buses to Kensington and passing through most of the important sites along the West End that I pointed out to her.

The Albert Memorial and the Royal Albert Hall:
Our first stop was the Royal Albert Hall where, with our London Pass, we were entitled to a one-hour long tour of this famous auditorium upon whose stage everyone who is anyone has performed. Discovering that it would not start for another half hour, we walked outside, crossed the main road and arrived at the ornate and very beautiful Albert Memorial with its gilded sculpture of Prince Albert surrounded by more sculptures representing four of the world’s continents (Asia, Africa, America and Europe) and a stunning frieze upon which was depicted a multitude of personages from the worlds of science and industry, arts and technology. It was indeed a monument worthy of a king and spoke volumes of the stupendous love and devotion that Victoria had for her beloved Albert. Chriselle was as deeply moved by the depiction of an elephant (for Asia), a camel (for Africa), a bison (for America) and a bull (for Europe) as I was and was deeply struck by the thought that went into the creation of this marvelous piece of work.

Across the street, the round contours of the Royal Albert Hall were equally striking especially as it is set in the midst of Albert Court which is surrounded by the Royal College of Organists, the Royal College of Music, etc. each building of which is more beautiful than the other. I am thrilled, so thrilled, to find that Chriselle is reacting to London’s architectural grandeur with the same delight with which I have reacted for years–how fabulous it feels to be able to share this sense of wonder with her. She wanted to take pictures of so many of these courtyards and we requested ever so many passers-by to oblige us.

As for the tour, it was worth every second of our time as the guide took us to so many hidden corners of the Hall. It was, in many ways, a behind-the-scenes look at the mechanics of putting so many grand productions on stage from musical entertainment, to interviews, to the BBC Proms, etc. It was not long before we were led into the auditorium itself where the crew were getting set for a performance of Verdi’s Requiem later that evening. Our reaction on first setting eyes on the interior was one of the utmost wonder for the Hall is so large, so richly furnished and so beautifully decorated that we were lost for words and could only gasp. Seated right next to the Queen’s Box, indicated by the presence of a crown right above it, we could only imagine how it must feel to actually be a spectator in this amphitheater-like enclosure.

From here, the tour took us to the Private Rooms where the monarch meets the performers and is introduced to them. This allowed us to sit on some of the seats used by these ultra famous personalities. The tour ended with a short film which summed up a great deal of what we had seen and it was with a sense of deep satisfaction that we left the Hall delighted to note that we had just seen one of the greatest spaces of public performance in the world.

On the Bus to Kensington Palace:
A quick bus ride later, we were striding through Kensington Gardens where late spring flowers were valiantly hanging on to their ribbons of color. The gorgeous morning had lured a number of strollers and joggers to the park while other lazed or basked in the warm sunshine. Arriving at Kensington Palace was a first time for me and I was inevitably reminded of the sea of flowers we saw outside its gates, ten years ago, when Princess Diana who occupied and lived in the palace after her divorce, passed away.

The ground floor was devoted to an exhibition of clothing in the Edwardian era and took us through the etiquette involved in the Debutante Ceremonies that were part of the formalities of upper crust life in that era. A room was devoted to some of the formal dresses worn by Diana during her lifetime including the famous black velvet number in which she had bogeyed with John Travolta at a formal White House dinner in the Reagan era.

Once we left the ground floor behind, however, and climbed the grand staircase that led to the upper storey, the place truly began to look like a Palace with each room more glorious than the next. We learned a lot about the various members of the royal family through the centuries that called this Palace home. For me, the most moving room was the bedroom in which Queen Victoria was awoken at the age of 18 and delivered the news that she had just become the new Queen of England! She had loved Kensington and it was with a very heavy heart that she left it for the last time to take up her new residence at Buckingham Palace as Queen. By now, you have probably guessed that Queen Victoria has been my favorite British monarch for ages–actually ever since I red Antonia Fraser’s biography of her more than fifteen years ago! To walk through the rooms in which she was born and lived as a teenager was deeply poignant and I was moved almost to tears. Also pretty wonderful to behold was the wood carving of Grindling Gibbons whose work I first grew to love at Hampton Court Palace a few years ago. Gibbons specialized in the depiction of fruits and flowers. I was struck, therefore, by his depiction of human faces on a skein that adorned a mantle in one of the rooms.

Kensington Palace has lovely gardens surrounding it as well as a lake with a wide promenade–reminiscent of the landscapes of Capability Brown. By the time we had toured the Palace, we were ready for a cuppa and thought that the Orangery would make the ideal place to take a break. Seated in the pretty interior with its marble sculpture and fresh flower arrangements, we sipped our Darjeeling with lemon and then made our way towards the Tube station at Kensington High Street in order to get to Warwick Avenue.

A Canal Cruise to London Zoo:
It was our intention to board Jason’s Canal Cruises to London Zoo–indeed it would have been a treat as the cruise takes one at a very leisurely pace along Regent’s Canal in a 100 year old narrow long boat that is painted in vivid red or stark black. When we arrived at the pier, however, we discovered that the last cruise for the day had left fifteen minutes earlier. Now had we not stopped to sip that tea, we might have made the cruise–but then I guess you can’t do everything!

At the Zoo:
Deciding to take the bus instead, we made our way to London Zoo–another excursion for me after 22 years. I do remember when I had last been there, the pandas were the big attraction and indeed I had seen a pair of them. Now the pandas are no longer around, but Chriselle and I had such a blast crossing the Regent’s Canal on one of the bridges and making our way into the zoo in the midst of a vast number of kids who were caterwauling all around us with their harassed parents scrambling all around them.

We spent the next two hours having such a wild time–there was the most amusing gorilla in the world, a true show-off who put on such a display of antics as to have us all in splits. We saw lions and tigers, penguins and pigs, birds of such colorful plumage and so many other creatures as to leave us enthralled. We truly wished we could have spent a much longer time in the zoo but I had to run an errand–I had some graded papers to deliver to NYU and we wanted to grab some dinner before we hit the Globe Theater for our performance later than night of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet.

So off we went, on the bus to Baker Street and from there, we took yet another bus to Tottenham Court Road to arrive at Bedford Square where Chriselle was able to see our beautiful campus building as well as peek into my basement office that I have so grown to enjoy. We did not linger long, however, as we did want to get some dinner and since the South Indian restaurant called Malabar Junction was close by, we went there and requested the wait staff to serve us as soon as possible. With a delicious paper dosa, appam and vegetable coconut curry, we had ourselves a very good meal indeed and were able to head off to the theater for the next part of our evening.

Romeo and Juliet at the Globe Theater:
Having had the experience of sitting in the galleries last September when I had watched A Midsummer Night’s Dream, I decided that this time we would be groundlings. Tickets purchased for five pounds a piece took us to the groundlings area where we spent the next hour having a truly grand time. This play was especially significant for Chriselle as she had played the role of the Nurse many years ago while in high school and knew every line by rote. Though we were both beat and had spent most of the day on our feet, we found the energy to stand for the next two hours and watch a wonderful production of Romeo and Juliet. It was only at the intermission that Chriselle told me how badly her back was aching and that she had really had enough for the day. We left, fifteen minutes later, after taking a rest during the intermission and made our way across ‘Wobbly’ Bridge to St. Paul’s Cathedral from where we took the bus back home. All along the way, we talked about the play and discussed the performances of the various characters.

Despite the fact that our day was long, neither one of us was able to get to sleep right away and after some more chatting, we finally called it a day.

London Pass with Chriselle–Day One

May8

Friday, May 8, 2009
London

Chriselle’s main concern was getting her laptop up and running to enable her to work for a few hours in the evenings. When I was unable to connect her to my wireless network, I asked Tim next door to help. He kindly came in at about 9am and got her sorted and with that, the great weight lifted off her mind and she was able to turn her attention to breakfast (toast with marmalade and tea–as she has a marked fondness for tea) before she showered and we were able to get out of my flat by 9.45 to begin our London sightseeing.

The day dawned gray and drizzly. Disappointed, we dressed appropriately and, armed with our brollies, prepared for a wet and breezy day. Good job our first stop was The Queen’s Gallery at Buckingham Palace where I was keen to see those special treasures that her Majesty holds for the nation in her sanctum sanctorum. Chriselle had decided to gamely so along with my plans for the next 3 days as she has the next week to explore London according to her special likes.

The Queen’s Gallery:
Since we both have the 3-day London Pass and 3-day Travelcards, I have chosen sites that I have not yet paid to see–in a attempt to make fullest use of the passes. The Queen’s Gallery maintains a timed entry (allowing just a few visitors to peruse the collection at any given time). We were lucky to be admitted in immediately (at this time of year, that is not unusual, I believe) but were disappointed to hear that the Royal Mews is closed on Fridays. We might not be able to see the collection of carriages that are part of the pomp and pageantry of British royal life.

After going through security (every art gallery and basilica is beginning to feel like an airport these days), we passed through a massive set of doors and faced a really beautiful stairway whose balustrade was adorned with skillfully gilded metal tassels. Once we arrived at the landings, we were given audio guides and ushered through another set of doors that led us to the two large rooms that comprise the Gallery. Paintings and objects d’art (mainly in the form of ornate cabinets) change periodically as do the special exhibits. Like the Queen, who is a famed collector, I have a great fondness for painted porcelain, especially the kind made in the Sevres factory outside Paris in France. So I was disappointed to discover that the gallery is in a state of transition at the moment for a special exhibit on these works which will start later this month.

However, the works we did see in two rooms were truly impressive and made the visit worthwhile. Of special note, were a number of scenes of Venice by Canaletto, four gigantic works by Peter Paul Reubens (mainly collected by Charles I and later Queen Victoria), a few portraits of Charles I and his wife Henrietta Maria painted by his court painter Anthony Van Dyke, a really beautiful portrait of Queen Victoria as a little girl by her drawing tutor (whose name I wish I could remember) and–this was the highlight of the visit for us–a number of jewel-studded items gifted to the royal family and The East India Company by India’s erstwhile Maharajas during the days of the Raj. I was pleased to note that most of them were gifts and not ‘plunder’ to which the British Raj fancied itself entitled. Even so, the size of the emeralds in a pearl-studded belt had to be seen to to be believed and the pair of diamond drop ear-rings and matching brooch that were gifted to the late Queen Mother were another stunning aspect of the items on display.

The Changing of the Guard:
Since the collection was rather small (even though very significant), we were still able to catch part of the ceremony of the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace where, we found that, mercifully, it had stopped raining and we were actually able to see some activity in the the large court yard. Indeed, by the time we crossed the street in front of the sculpture of Queen Victoria, the sun made an appearance and we were able to get pictures with blue skies in them! It made Chriselle remark that if you don’t like the weather in London, you can wait for five minutes–it really was a quick-change artist!

Down The Mall we walked, still feeling jaunty and full of energy, past the back of St. James’ Palace. Needless to say, I kept up a running commentary as I pointed out the sights to her, amazed myself at how much I now know about London. Crossing The Mall, we entered St. James’ Park (at which point we received a call from Llew on my cell phone–which, miraculously, I heard–just getting ready to start work in the States) and since, for some inexplicable reason, both of us were already starving, we found a bench overlooking the duck pond (where we were instructed not to feed the “wild fowl”–a term that would never have been used in the States), we ate the sandwiches I had prepared at home before setting out.

I have to be rather creative with meals, as Chriselle is a vegetarian. I, therefore, threw in everything I could find in my fridge–which this morning comprised, multi grain bread with mayonnaise, parmesan cheese and a pear (that I sliced and drizzled over with balsamic vinegar). Even I was surprised what a delicious sandwich this made. With our feet well rested, we started off again.

The Horse Guards and the Banqueting House:
Our next destination was the Banqueting House (as I was keen for Chriselle to see Peter Paul Reubens’ ceiling as commissioned by Charles I in memory of his father James I who is the main character in the centerpiece medallion). This meant that she had the opportunity to pass by the Horse Guards and click pictures with them–a matter that called to mind much earlier visits to the city when she was just nine-years old, in the company of my brother Roger.

The short film we saw on the ground floor of the Banqueting House introduced her to the history of the place. I, of course, had just seen the film two weeks ago, when my friend Loreen was visiting from Connecticut. And I realize again how little this building is visited and how important it is–architecturally (it is the work of Inigo Jones who revolutionalized English architecture after his return from Italy where he was influenced by Andrea Palladio), historically (it was from this building that Charles I was led to his execution) and artistically (it is the only building in the world that has Reubens’ ceiling paintings in situ. Chriselle gasped when she saw the ceiling for the first time after we had climbed to the first floor and was entirely engrossed in the commentary that we heard on audio wands. It was interesting to note the items that she wanted to photograph and, in a way, it was fun to see these places through her fresh and fascinated eyes.
The Churchill Museum, the Cabinet War Rooms and the England at War Exhibition:
Our next stop was the St. James’ Park end of Whitehall where I had been waiting for Chriselle’s arrival to visit the underground Cabinet War Rooms–this, I believed, would be the highlight of our day. And I was not disappointed. It was my student Kristen who, last semester, had told me how incredibly fascinating it had been to her and how I must not miss this attraction. Having never seen these rooms before, I did not intend to leave London without visiting them. I was glad that Chriselle was as enthusiastic as I was and, before long, we found ourselves underground in the world of the 1940’s that somehow brought to my mind the setting and ethos of the British detective series Foyle’s War.

The first room that greets visitors is the one used throughout the war by the Cabinet War Committee among whom the names of Churchill and Clement Atlee were the only ones familiar to me (Atlee succeeded Churchill as Prime Minister after the War and presided over the transfer of power at the time of the Independence of India). I had goosebumps while looking at the wooden swivel chair that Churchill used in the middle of this gathering. Everything has been left exactly as it was on the last day the room was used and it was strangely evocative of the inter-continental intrigues of that epoch.

The rest of the warren of underground rooms showed us the quarters of the many chiefs of staff and their administrative assistants–all of whom had cramped rooms, furnished in a utilitarian fashion with banker’s lamps in each room, maps on the wall–many still tracing the progress of important mid-century military campaigns–and even the room used by Mrs. Churchill–which, in a single seater sofa, was the only piece of furniture with a floral print! It stood out oddly in that stark environment. Also interesting was a copy of Picture Post of that era with a rather rare feature inside depicting the First Lady in her domestic milieu inside 10 Downing Street–a sort of early version of People or Hello magazine!

It was interesting to see Churchill’s engagement book that contained signatures of George VI and the current Queen entered in 1942 (long before she became Queen) and it occurred to me afresh (a fact that the film The Queen had brought to my attention) how many Prime Ministers have served during her reign! What a history of the century she encompasses within her own 80 years!

What was also interesting to me (if somewhat annoying) is the knowledge that while the rest of the country (indeed the rest of Europe) staggered under severe rationing laws, “making do” for years on end, Churchill wined and dined like a king, his daily menus comprising several courses including Beef Wellington and gallons of rich port wine and expensive bubbly! Ah, the privileges of the powerful.

Another really amazing aspect of this exhibit is a trans-Atlantic telephonic conversation that we could listen in to between President Truman of the US and Churchill discussing the progress of Himmler across Europe and the strategy designed to stop him. The accents, the diction, the style of expression, the odd formality that existed between these two so-called ‘close friends’ was antiquated and, therefore, deeply amusing, but it gave me goose flesh again to actually hear their voices and listen carefully to the stress and concern contained within them. (“No,no,no,no,no,no,no, we can’t do that. Especially when it is Himmler we’re talking about”). This is easily a place in which one could spend a whole day and I am not surprised that Kristen found it so compelling. I am so glad I finally saw the circumstances in which the fate of Europe and the world was decided and I am so gratified that these rooms have been preserved in this fantastic manner (thanks largely to the Imperial War Museum) as a gift to future generations.

Jewel Tower:
Since we were doing really well for time and the weather had suddenly turned so appealing, we decided to walk towards Parliament Square and see Jewel Tower which is run by the English Heritage and is open to London Pass holders. Llew and I had taken a self-guided walking tour entitled “Royal London” that had once guided us past this rather squat tower opposite the Houses of Parliament–but since we hadn’t climbed it then, it made sense for us to ‘cover’ it on this outing.

Passing by the exterior of the Houses of Parliament, I pointed out to Chriselle the Visitor Entrance to the sessions in both Houses and suggested that she return next week to sit in on one of them. The friendly copper outside informed us that the next sittings of both Houses will be on Monday and Tuesday from 2. 30 till 10 pm and Chriselle decided to return on Tuesday. I was also able to point out to her the “Sovereign’s Entrance” at the side which rather tickled me because while the rest of the world has the right to walk into Parliament and overhear the debates, the reigning monarch does not–he/she must knock on the ceremonial doors and request permission to enter–a custom that harks back to the days of the Magna Carta when the sovereign interfered too much in the running of Parliament–I know that I am putting this rather simplistically and there is a more complicated piece of history here that is worthy of recounting and I must look it up online.

The Jewel Tower itself is named for the fact that the Tower which was constructed in the reign of Edward III (mid 1200s) housed the royal wardrobe, part of which included the jewel- encrusted crown. 44 steps take visitors to the top along a winding spiral stone stairway that was reminiscent to me of Delhi’s Qutub Minar (at a time when visitors could climb all the way to the top, as a little girl, I had been way up there) and to Chriselle of the fairy tales she had read as a child–chiefly Rapunzel! The small exhibit upstairs was not noteworthy and after we took in the views of busy Parliament Square below us, we descended.

The Cavalry Guards Museum:
Chriselle did not need to get home until 5 pm when she needed to log on and connect with her New York team to get some work done. This, we realized, left us enough time to see the Cavalry Guards Museum which is also included in the London Pass and which faces the Horse Guards Parade. This rather small exhibit showed us the livery used by man and horse and the role played by these ceremonial guards with whom the public has posed for decades. It is the plumes, the swords, indeed the regalia, that give British royalty so much of an aura. The stables in which the horses are well looked after (we actually saw two rather quiet ones taking their rest) are also on exhibit and we could walk past the stalls and take all these sights in. Because these spaces are rather compact, however, they did not take too long to peruse and we were out rather sooner than we expected.

By Tube to Apsley House:
With time still on our side (it was only a little past 3.00 pm), we decided to take the Tube to Hyde Park Corner to see Apsley House (which I had toured a few years ago but which I was keen for Chriselle to see). This stately mansion with its beige facade dominates the circle around Wellington’s Arch and has always been one of my favorite London manors. It was gifted by a grateful nation to Arthur Wellesley, the Duke of Wellington (whose much less-liked and less-popular brother Richard had been the Governor-General of India) upon his victory at the Battle of Waterloo that ended the dynamic campaigns of France’s Napoleon across Europe. Since it was situated at the very point of entry into the city, it’s address was simply No 1 London–an address it still retains!

Inside, the visitor is given an audio guide which allowed us to negotiate our way through rooms that were crammed with paintings and sculpture beginning with the towering one of Napoleon by Antonio Canova in the landing on the ground floor that leads up to the marvelous Robert Adams’ designed stairway. The floor had to be reinforced with a supportive pillar beneath it to take the massive weight of this marble sculpture that presents a young and very athletic Napoleon in Roman guise complete with spear in his hand and sandals on his feet. It is an immensely striking sculpture and one whose image has stayed with me from my last visit to this room.

Wellesley was a master general (some would say the best England has ever had) with a gifted aesthetic side to his personality and he amassed a multitude of paintings, many so significant that the Long Gallery contains works by Old Masters that would make the National Gallery envious! There were Carravaggios and Canalettos from Italy, Jose Riberas, Velasquezes and Murillos from Spain, Jan Steens, Peter de Hoochs and Breugels the Elder from among the Flemish cohort and indeed a number of English artists including Van Dyke –all of which would take another age to see in detail. For me, the highlight of this mansion is the sterling silver centerpiece on the Dining Table that runs along its entire length–a gift from Portugal to Wellesley as the defeat of Napoleon had been a joint venture between England, Spain and Portugal. We enjoyed our visit here very much indeed and though Chriselle was concerned about the time and ensured we left there by 4. 30, she had a very pleasant visit indeed.

Back on the Tube, I showed her how to use it (so that she can find her way around the city on her own once I leave for Paris and find her way back to my building on the Central Line). Though I was quite wiped out by the time I reached home, she logged on to her computer, while I set off for Bedford Square to pick up the sheaf of papers that my students have left for me to grade as their semester winds down and final exams begin next week. It is a profoundly busy and stressful time for them and as my grading work begins, I am still trying to fit in as much time with Chriselle as possible.

Duet for One at the West End:
Back from campus, I managed a very short nap as both of us would be going out again for the evening. I had booked us tickets to see Juliet Stevenson and Henry Goodman in Tom Kempinski’s Duet for One at the Vaudeville Theater and when we got there by Tube at 7. 30, we were just in time for a performance that swept us off our feet with its histrionic virtuosity, masterful direction and excellent script.

Indeed it was a marvelous night at the theater. Though Stevenson’s role as Keira Knightley’s mother in Bend It like Beckham had first brought her to our attention, it was in this play where she played a violinist afflicted by multiple sclerosis and battling the ghosts of her past, that we realized how gifted an actor she is and how wide is her range. Indeed, she was superbly supported by Goodman who, in a much quieter portrayal as her therapist, also had his occasional outbursts that brought vitality to his role. Indeed, we could not have had a more memorable night in a London theater.

A Night Out on the Town for Chriselle:
Throughout the evening, Chriselle had been on my cell phone with her friend Rahul whom she had once known as a child in Bombay. He moved to London to work for a hedge fund and she was renewing contact with him after years. He invited her to spend the evening out with his friends and taking the bus to St. Paul’s from The Strand, I dropped Chriselle into his hands and took the bus back home as I was seriously pooped and couldn’t wait to hit my bed.

She woke me up at 3 am to tell me that despite the fact that I had given her a key, the magnetic tag would not open the door of our building downstairs. I dressed quickly and went down to open the door for her and at 3. 15, we were both back in bed again at the end of what had been an astonishing day for her in every possible respect.

Welcome Chriselle! And Jubilee Walk–Part 5

May7

Thursday, May 7, 2009
London

After a whole week of glorious sunshine, it felt kind of odd to wake to a grey day–thankfully, not a rainy one. Most of my morning was spent cleaning my flat–and a thorough job I did of it too, even if I say so myself. Between scrubbing my sink and my granite counter tops, washing the bathroom and vacuuming the whole house, I had the whole place shipshape in a couple of days and sat back to enjoy the glow!

Email and the editing of another chapter for the anthology on Anglo-Indian Women took up the rest of the morning. I stopped for lunch briefly, then returned to finish the editing and revision of the piece before I curled up for a short nap.

When I awoke it was almost four and I decided to take on Part 5 of the Jubilee Walk. Hopping into the 55 bus that ran along Clerkenwell Road, I got off at Old Street, then made my way on foot to the Museum of London where I resumed the route. Today’s segment took me through parts of the city I have grown to know very well and love very much from St. Paul’s Cathedral and Ludgate Hill to Fleet Street where the memorial plaque to Edgar Wallace was very moving indeed. Past a couple of old churches I went, turning right on to my own Chancery Lane of Bleak House fame and then presto, there I was on my own street–High Holborn–with my building staring at me across the road. I am so delighted to know that the Jubilee Walkway goes right by my road–it feels special to live on a road that is considered important enough to be placed on this historic route.

Then, I cut right through Red Lion Street to arrive at Theobald’s Road–this, of course, is my own stomping ground and parts of the city that I know like the back of my hand. This was a good time to nip into the Holborn Public Library to see if I could find Lonely Planet’s France to carry with me to Paris next week. And yyyessss! It was there! With it safely under my arm, I walked towards Bedford Square to my office on campus where I managed to photocopy a great deal of the book that will be of use to me. Unexpectedly, I met my colleague Karen who shares my office and I sat chatting with her for a while before I remembered that I had to rush off to pick Chriselle up from Heathrow airport.

Back on the bus I hopped, got home, had a shower and then I was off. I took a couple of buses as far as Hammersmith and changed to the Tube from there arriving in Heathrow bang on schedule–only to discover that the flight had come in early and that she had cleared Immigration is no time flat! Chriselle had reached the Arrivals area already where we had a loving reunion before I whisked her right off into the Tube for the ride into the city. Needless to say, we chatted non-stop on the one-hour long ride to Holborn from where we walked home.

Chriselle loved my flat and the quiet sense of serenity that fills it. She says it looks to her “like a hotel that feels like home”–which is really the best compliment she could pay me. Despite her long flight across the Pond, she was full of beans and had so many stories to share with me.

Then, because she was hungry, she decided to eat some of my home-cooked pasta and a salad that I fixed for the two of us. She tried to get online using my wireless system but was unable to log on and that made it impossible for her to get a bit of work done as she had intended to do. Giving up for the time being, we shall try to see how she can get online tomorrow.

It was well after 1.00 am that we finally decided to go to sleep–still leaving a great deal to talk about tomorrow. ..

‘Brief Encounter’ Gresham Lecture and More Jubilee Walk

May6

Wednesday, May 6, 2009
London

Phew! What a busy (and very productive) day I had! I am trying so hard to get as much work out of the way before Chriselle arrives tomorrow so that I can devote all our time together exclusively to her. I read about 25 pages of The Order of the Phoenix in bed as soon as I awoke at 6. 15 am, then checked and responded to overseas email (a lot of mail has arrived from India even before I am awake and a great deal comes in from the States towards the end of my London day) before I washed and ate my breakfast while watching Breakfast on BBC!

At 8.00 am, I transcribed my interview with Florence Daly, then revised my chapter for the new anthology on The Anglo-Indian Woman which, I have just heard from the publisher Blair Williams, is to be co-edited by my friend Margaret Deefholts and her daughter Susan. And a better editor than Margaret it would be hard to find, so I hope Blair knows how fortunate he is that she has agreed to take on this monumental task–because only a writer knows how much work an editor has to put into getting an anthology out!

When that was done, I graded a bunch of papers on ‘Issues in Contemporary British Politics and Culture’ and truly enjoyed reading my student’s responses to a lot of the topics to which they’ve been introduced during their year in London. By then it was almost noon–time for me to stop for a shower, a light lunch (pizza and cheesecake–OK, not so light!) and then I left for Gresham College to attend another free lecture.

This one by Roger Parker, Gresham Professor of Music, was on the film Brief Encounter and the recurring role played in it by Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto Number 2. Now I had seen this movie only a couple of months ago and had found it charming but awfully dated. I was curious to see what Parker had to say and in the few extracts he showed from the film and his very enlightening commentary, I learned to ‘look’ in a rather different way at the film–through the eyes (and ears) of a musicologist. I found him a very engaging speaker indeed with a delightful sense of humor to boot and I was sorry to hear that this was his last lecture for the season because he seems to be a much-loved member of the lecturing cohort. Darn! I so wish I had gotten to know about these lectures earlier.

It wasn’t long before I caught the 341 bus from Gray’s Inn that took me to Fleet Street from where I hopped into the Number 15 and off I sailed to the Tower of London to resume the Jubilee Walk. To my good fortune, it was one of those old Routemaster buses which, when I get to ride in them, I always consider an unexpected bonus. It was going to be Part 4 for me and I felt curiously energetic.

The Jubilee Walk Part 4:
This bit took me through a part of London I had never seen before–the East. It is the very heart of London’s Financial District (its Wall Street, I guess you could say) and at the very start of it, I passed by Monument, the 201 foot tall pillar whose height is of much significance. You see, the Monument was erected to mark the horror of the Great Fire of London and its height is exactly the same as the distance from the bakery in Pudding Lane where the fire is said to have originated in 1666 destroying most of the city and reducing it to a heap of ashes. The only upside of this disaster was that the plague was finally eradicated from the city as the carrier rats were drowned in the River Thames in their attempt to escape the flames.

Recently refurbished, the monument glows with a sort of inner light that is hard to describe. The beautiful bas-relief at its base has been stripped of centuries-worth of dirt and grime and the crowning ornament at the very top of the pedestal is glowing with the new coating of gilt that it has recently received. It is possible to climb the 311 steps to the very top to receive stunning views of the city–which today I was sorely tempted to do as it was such a clear day. But I decided not to get sidetracked from my goal (which was to traverse a good part of the Jubilee route) so perhaps I shall keep this challenge on hold until July when my friend and travel companion Amy Tobin is intending to come from the States to spend a few days in London. We had climbed the 500 odd steps to Brunelleschi’s Dome in Florence in March of last year–so I guess we can try to repeat that feat this year at the Monument–if I can twist her arm to do it with me!

Then, I was tramping the pavements again following those silver disks and arriving at the crossroads where The Old Lady of Threadneedle Street aka The Bank of England made her imposing presence felt in the center of a traffic island. It is here that a very striking structure marks the Jubilee Walkway. A conical shaped marker provides the information that I am standing in one of the busiest parts of the city of London. Each day, I read, 350,000 people commute into this area to work. And at night, there are only 5000 residents left here. That explains why on the Bank Holiday Weekend, this area was as dead as the dodo! There was just no one here! I was astounded. I mean, can you imagine, up there in all those countless offices are 350,000 people hammering away at their computers and keeping the (rather sluggish) wheels of the economy turning!

When I finished marvelling at that fact, I turned my attention to the Neo-Classical edifice that is the Bank of England. Ever since I worked at the Reserve Bank of India (following my dad into the institution in which he worked for 40 years) when right out of college and while reading for my Masters in English at the University of Bombay, I have wanted to visit the Bank of England. Little did I know that I would have to wait for so many years, nay decades, before that dream could be accomplished. But no, I did not go inside. I had to content myself with an exterior visit and a few souvenir pictures before I set out again, this time arriving at the equally imposing Guildhall.

It was here that I introduced for the very first time to the Guildhall Art Gallery. I had no idea that such a place existed. And when I popped inside, after I had taken in the medieval building that for a moment made me think I was back in Bruges in Belgium, I discovered that entry was free to “residents of the City”. Now since I live on High Holborn, I am a resident of the “City”; but, of course, I wasn’t carrying anything on me that would proclaim this fact. I mean who goes around carrying any kind of document that contains one’s address? Well, OK, maybe if you drive a car, you might have your driver’s license with you. But otherwise, I can’t imagine that many people might have such a document in their wallets.

At any rate, the security guard, a fellow-Indian from Poona, who was delighted to discover that I was originally from Bombay, informed me that after 3. 30pm entry was free. He suggested I visit the Clock Museum on the opposite side of the quadrangle for free and then return in 15 minutes time. I had, by then, decided that the Guildhall Art Gallery probably deserved a visit all its own and resolving to push off, I made a mental note to return–perhaps on a rainy day!

So I set off again, this time following the route towards the Barbican which I discovered is a mammoth complex that has been created in the midst of a glass and concrete jungle that can be terribly perplexing if one doesn’t have a good map. Indeed, I was in a part of the city that I had never seen before surrounded by modernist architecture–all towering skyscrapers and glinting window panes–that were not my cup of tea at all. It was rather thankfully that I found my way out of the maze. By then I was tired and spying a Waitrose tucked away in a corner of Beech Street, I nipped in for some rum and raisin ice-cream and decided to look for a bus to take me back home. It was only a few minutes before I spied both a bus stop and a 55 that came trundling along to take me along Clerkenwell Street which I recognized immediately from one of the self-guided walking tours I had taken a few months ago–and then, presto, there I was at the intersection of Gray’s Inn Road and only a few yards from home.

A nice cup of Earl Grey (make that several!) with lemon and a touch of honey and a slice of Victoria Sandwich Cake and I was ready to grade the rest of my papers and transcribe yet another interview with John Stringer who is easily the most fascinating Anglo-Indian subject I have yet interviewed in England. Not only did he have extremely unconventional views which he expressed with a delightfully wacky sense of fun but he had the privilege of meeting both Mohandas Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru in his lifetime and he told me about these with the utmost animation. When that was done, I returned to some more email correspondence which is flowing in copiously as my students are sending me the outlines of their final research papers for approval.

I had started working at my computer at 5.00 pm and it was after 9 .00 pm when I stopped to eat my dinner (Chicken Kiev and a salad) while watching New Tricks on the Alibi channel. By 10.30pm, I was in bed, having brushed and flossed my teeth, hammering out this blog and getting ready for my last night alone at home before Chriselle joins me.

Tomorrow at this time, Inshallah, I shall have picked her up from Heathrow and brought her home to my flat. I am counting the seconds until her arrival.

Free Lecture at Gresham College.

May5

Tuesday, May 5, 2009
London

The city limped slowly back to life today after the three-day weekend and by 10 am. it was business as usual on High Holborn–and I mean that literally. So many shops that had stayed closed through three long days opened their shutters noisily this morning and got on with their week.

I spent the morning, after an early breakfast (cereal–yes!! after ages with a cup of strawberry yogurt) transcribing an interview I did with Ashley Jacob. It went really quickly as his responses had been brief. With an hour on my hands, I sat to write a commissioned essay for a new forthcoming anthology on The Anglo-Indian Woman to be published by my friend and mentor Blair Williams of New Jersey. It also progressed rapidly. Ideas came fast and furious and I put them down quickly, editing as I went along. So engrossed was I in my task that I did not realize it was already 12 .15 and I just about had the time for a quick shower before I set of for Gresham College that is just across the street from my building.

It was only this past Sunday when I went to mass that I picked up a booklet in St. Etheldreda’s Church listing a series of Free Public Lectures run by Gresham College and given by leading experts in a variety of fields. I so wish I had found out about this earlier as the location is so convenient to reach and the topics so fascinating, There was, for instance, a whole series of talks on American politics and, in particular, on the significance of some recent presidents to the history of the nation. I know I would have dearly loved to attend those.

Well, this afternoon at 1 pm, the lecturer was Tom Korner of Trinity Hall, Cambridge, and his talk was intriguingly entitled “Mathematics and Smallpox”. I arrived at Gresham College’s St. Barnard’s Hall about five minutes before it began. This gave me the opportunity to scrutinize my surroundings and take in the lofty timbered ceiling, the oil painted portraits on the wall–Thomas Gresham’s portrait was nearest my seat–and the air of intellectual antiquity that the space exuded. Ah, it did feel good to be in the presence of so many eggheads–about a hundred in all, all math whizzes I would bet…which ought to have made me feel completely out of place!

Except that I did not. In fact, I felt fully in my element. Tim Korner’s lecture was obviously prepared a long long time ago and was being quite cleverly recycled–having become rather apropos in the frenzy surrounding the global outbreak of swine flu! It was delivered through a series of OUP projections–now how long ago did that device become defunct??!! Time he got acquainted with Powerpoint, I thought to myself as he began to describe the pattern of occurrence and symptoms of smallpox with reference to Dickens’ Bleak House and the unnamed disease that Esther Summerson has (which rendered her temporarily blind and scarred for life).

Korner’s lecture focused on mathematical theories of probability and their effectiveness in predicting outbreaks of the disease as well as the efficacy of inoculations in curtailing them. I found it deeply interestingly despite the fact that I knew little about mathematics and less about smallpox at the beginning of it! The talk lasted exactly 50 minutes which left 10 minutes for questions. Within an hour, I was out of there and in five minutes, I was back home–now how fabulous is that?

Back at my laptop, I continued writing my article, all the while keeping an eye on the word count. By about 5 pm, I was pleased with the first draft and decided to email it to Blair for his initial feedback. During the next couple of days, I shall fine tune it and will, hopefully, have it ready before Chriselle gets here. God knows I will not have a second to breathe once she is here with me as we want to squeeze so much into our very limited time together.

At 5pm, I decided to set out for some fresh air, this time to the Senate House Library where I had to return a book I had borrowed (Alison Blunt’s Domicile and Diaspora–a book about Anglo-Indian women in their domestic milieu) and used the opportunity to get to my office at NYU to print a number of documents on which I have been working this past week as well as photocopy some parts of Blunt’s book. I also needed to pick up a stack of papers left for me for grading on ‘Topics in Contemporary British Politics and Culture’ and I needed to empty out the shelves of books in my office as I would now like to start shipping my books back home to the States. When I vacate this flat at the end of the month and move to my new place in Farringdon, I want to take just two suitcases with me filled only with the clothes I will need for the months of June and July.

Ticking all these items off my To-Do List once I got to our Bedford Square campus took me more than 2 hours. So it was only after 8pm, that I left my office to return home with my strolley filled with all my books, files and other paraphernalia that I have accumulated in 8 months’ use of that basement office space! It left me time to check email again, then have my dinner (a piece of fried cod and a small salad) while watching a special on the Gold channel–a series of extracts from the TV show Blackadder that all my new English friends have been telling me I should make certain I watch. Did you know that there is a group on Facebook that calls itself “The Everything I Know about British History I learned from Blackadder Group”? I discovered that some of my favorite British actors are a part of the cast (Stephen Fry, Hugh Laurie and, of course, Rowan Atkinson, for instance). I also discovered that one of my favorite British writers–Richard Curtis–was involved with the script from the very beginning. How marvelous, I thought. I really ought to buy the series and take it back to the States with me to watch at my leisure at home.

It was about 10.30 before I dragged myself to my bathroom to brush and floss my teeth, write this blog and get ready for bed because I suddenly found myself feeling sleepy and rather exhausted–and this though I had decided not to continue on the Julbilee Walk but to give my feet a day’s rest !!!

As they would say in Brooklyn, ‘Go figure’!

The Jubilee Walk –Part 3

May4

Monday, May 4, 2009
London

When I awoke at 6.45 am today, the silence outside my window told me that it was a holiday. I had an early breakfast (went back to two slim slices of multigrain bread with Three Fruits Marmalade from Sainsbury and a cup of coffee–deciding to return to the carbs but go easy on them as I have reached my goal weight), then returned to my PC to start transcribing the interview I did with Dulcie Jacob. In-between I responded to email that keep trickling in as a response to the mass mailing I did yesterday to thank folks for their entries in my Golden Memories Album.

With the interview in the bag, I spoke to my parents in Bombay, then had a light lunch–a slice of pizza and an apple–and set off for Piccadilly and Knightsbridge to run a couple of errands. Holborn is such a commercial area that on a holiday there are so few residents here. Most of the businesses were shut and with some buses off the road, I entered the 242 to Holborn, then switched to a 38 that took me to Regent’s Street. I headed straight for the Visit Britain office to pick up the two London Passes I had booked for Chriselle and myself together with the 3-day Travelcards that will allow us to use the city’s transport system to get from one attraction to the next. With Chriselle’s departure around the corner, I am getting really excited about seeing her again.

I then hopped into an old Routemaster Number 9 bus from Piccadilly headed towards Knightsbridge and went straight to Harrod’s to buy some gifts for the French family with whom I will be staying in Paris next week. I know no better gifts to give people than something with the Harrod’s trade mark logo. It really seems to be very much appreciated and it so ‘London’ a gift. With that purchase safely in the bag, I got on the bus and returned home (but not before I tried out a few fragrances at the Jo Malone counter and gave myself a nice deep penetrating nectarine and honey mask with their Vitamin E and protein serum. I wiped it off after fifteen minutes with their rosemary and lavender toner. Lovely!

The Jubilee Walk–Part 3:
Back home, I deposited my buys, checked email and left my flat again–this time I was headed to Waterloo Bridge to continue with the Jubilee Walk–Part 3. It was an overcast day and the sun stayed stubbornly hidden behind a cloudy sky. The breeze was also pretty chilly and I wished I had worn a warmer jacket though my thick merino wool sweater served me well. London was left to visitors and Londoners today and it was clear to me how many numbers of people commute into the city to work. On a day when they are not required to be at their desks, the city appears empty. This was another rather interesting observation that I made.

My first stop was the National Theater Box office where I hoped to find some way to exchange some tickets I had purchased for another day. But since there was no way out, I will have to figure out some other way to resolve my dilemma. And with that, I began my walk at exactly
3. 45 pm.

The Jubilee Walk (Part 3) today all along the South Bank took me past some of the area’s most recognizable landmarks such as the National Theatre, of course, which I think is a terribly ugly building, the Tate Modern (another ugly building that is redeemed by the unusual lines of Wobbly Bridge (the Millennium Bridge), the Globe Theater which must be one of London’s most unusual structures, the OXO Building, the new City Hall (Sir Norman Foster’s handiwork that is very similar to the glass dome on top of the Reichstag in Berlin (same concept–a winding spiral staircase inside a glass dome), and Tower Bridge that is getting a new lick of paint (in preparation for the Olympics, perhaps?). The absence of the sun’s rays made it difficult to get good pictures but I did pose for a few and asked a variety of people to click for me.

One of the more interesting aspects of my walk today was the lifting of the Tower Bridge’s drawbridge that opened up to allow a sailing craft with a very tall mast to pass by under it. It was fun indeed to watch it rise and then lower itself so smoothly. Of course, all foot and vehicular traffic came to a standstill as everyone stopped to watch this fascinating and rather rare phenomenon. Needless to say, I clicked away hoping to see the drawbridge in various stages of operation.

Though for the most part, I have traversed these paths several times before, there were some aspects of this walk that were new to me. For example, I had never gone under London Bridge and I found it rather spooky and very reminiscent of the novels of Dickens. So it did not surprise me to find my notes pointing to the fact that Bill Sykes killed Nancy at this spot in Oliver Twist. The London Dungeon is not too far away and walking by it, I saw a brochure which indicated to me very clearly that this exhibit is not my cup of tea! I also passed through the Hay’s Galleria for the very first time–I had read about this place in one of my English Home magazines. Though it was less frenzied than it might be on a working day, it was fun to sit inside and rest my weary feet for a while.

A little later, I was crossing ornate Tower Bridge and finding myself on the other side where I followed the Jubilee Route that took me to St. Katherine’s Dock with its yacht wharf and its restaurants. Back in the vicinity of the Tower of London, I posed for a picture with an obliging Yeoman Guard (one of the Beefeaters) with Tower Bridge in the background and then stopped to take a close look at Traitor’s Gate and tried to imagine all the unfortunate souls who were led to their deaths through this entrance (Sir Thomas More and Anne Boleyn, for instance). How wretched they might have felt!

At this point, I passed a kiosk run by Paul’s Patisserie and since their hot chocolate is my favorite in the city and the wind was so biting, it felt good to nurse the paper cup in my frozen palms as I sipped the elixir slowly. At this point, my quest for a bus to get back home took me through a most convoluted route past the Guildhall that I was seeing for the first time until I found one that could get me to my doorstep.

By the time I reached home at 6 pm, I was starving but my email kept me busy as did a call from Llew. I was able to eat dinner (a cup of asparagus soup, Scotch egg, and my Pear Salad) only at 8 pm by which time I was dreaming of a refreshing shower and a good long and very deep sleep.

Baisakhi at Trafalgar Square and The Jubilee Walk (Part 2)

May3

Sunday, May 3, 2009
London

I awoke at 6. 15 am to the realization that it was my Dad’s birthday today. Given the time difference between London and Bombay, it would be best to call him at 8 am. But then, since it is a Sunday and I’d be getting ready for church at that time, I thought it best to call him just before I left for the 9 am mass.

Between taking a look and responding to my email and proofreading this blog, it was almost 8.30 am before I got out of bed, washed and dressed and left for the 9 am mass at St. Etheldreda’s Church at Holborn Circus. I did call my Dad and had a brief word with him, my Mum and my brother Russel before I left my flat. Mass was through at 10 am when I got straight home to eat my breakfast. I have lost about six and half pounds in two weeks on my low-carb diet but I have to say that I am craving sweets and feel a deep sugar deprivation. Still, I managed to fight the urge to eat something sweet and opted instead for eggs, bacon and sausages with coffee.

Then, I sat down to transcribe the interview I had done with Marion Holley a couple of weeks ago and found that it went rather quickly as her responses had been brief. Since I did not stick to a definite questionnaire with the Holleys, I had to fit their comments into the questions I usually pose to my subjects. It was close to 2 pm when I was all done with it and ready to email it to my office to be printed.

Baisakhi with London’s Sikh Community:
It was another beautiful day in London and realizing that the Punjabi holy day of Baisaikhi was being celebrated at Trafalgar Square, I dressed and decided to take a peep at it and when I was done there to get to Great George Street to continue Part 2 of the Jubilee Walk. The bus dropped me at Trafalgar Square which was already jammed with Indians, mainly Sikhs. There was a stage erected and a musical troupe was singing some spiritual songs. On one end of the square were a number of food kiosks where free Punjabi vegetarian food was being distributed. I joined the throngs and received a plastic spoon, plate and paper napkin before the food was doled out to me: a helping of chole, a paratha (which I declined–too high in carbs), a samosa filled with peas and potatoes and a bottle of spring water. Other than the samosa which contained potatoes, I guess I didn’t too badly on the carb front. When I finished my lunch (while seated on the parapet that faces Africa House), I walked down Whitehall towards the Horse Guards Parade. I crossed the Parade Ground and arrived at the point at which I had ended Part 1 of the Jubilee Walk yesterday.

The Jubilee Walk (Part 2):
Part 2 took me to Parliament Square and then to the doors of Westminster Abbey. These, of course, are parts of the city that I have often traversed both on foot and numerous times by bus. Still, it was fun to follow the silver disks set in the pavements and to read the notes that give a brief history of each of these famous landmarks. It was exactly 2. 30 when I began my walk and by 2. 45, I was crossing St. Margaret’s Green and arriving on the opposite side of the street and entering the Millbank Gardens where I had never been before. I saw August Rodin’s sculpture The Burghers of Calais for the very first time in its London setting–I have seen other castings of the same sculpture at the Rodin Museum in Paris many years ago and, of course, there is another version in the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Petrie Court.

The Thames flowed placidly by on this clear and very pleasant afternoon. There was a slight breeze that picked up occasionally making me zip up my light suede jacket and tie my silk scarf more closely around my throat; but, for the most part, I was very comfortable temperature-wise. In the same park, I saw a the Buxton Slavery Abolition Monument with its interesting enamel decoration and conical shape and then on I went across Lambeth Bridge.

I had never been across Lambeth Bridge before and when I arrived on the South Bank of the Thames, I discovered Lambeth Palace. I had never even heard of Lambeth Palace and I wondered again how many palaces there are in this city. Right next to Lambeth Palace is the Church of St. Mary’s, Lambeth, a beautiful stone church with a flat clock-faced tower–the kind I find so evocative of the English countryside. Well, guess what? This church is not a church anymore–it is a Garden Museum! I read a notice board that explained that its conversion to a garden museum prevented it from being demolished! The museum was closed (being a Sunday) but I was able to stroll through a most charming garden that was already in full bloom.

A Garden in Shades of Pink and Purple:
I just cannot get over the fact that spring comes so early to England and then progresses so rapidly! At this time of year, daffodils are just making an appearance in New England gardens on the North Atlantic coast and it would not be until mid-June that I would see the lush growth that has already taken over the perennial flower beds in this museum garden. These beds were just gorgeous to behold and I took an endless number of pictures of plantings that had been ingeniously designed to feature a lavender color palate. There were marvelous giant irises in the softest mauve and the deepest purple. There were lovely aliums rising tall and stately in the middle of the beds. Magenta and pink flowers whose names I do not know combined with the shades of purple as did a profusion of white bushes. The design was so superb that I marveled at the talent of the gardener who had conceived of these combinations. Though the notes informed the visitor that this was a particularly difficult part of the garden to plant and maintain, you certainly could not guess that fact. I enjoyed this garden so much that I spent a few minutes on a bench near an iron fountain that wasn’t playing but which brought a nice focal point to the landscape.

Then, I was crossing the road and walking for a long while along the Albert Embankment taking in the sights of the Houses of Parliament across the river and all the time approaching the London Eye. This is a particularly quiet part of the river walk and is a marked contrast to the other side that you arrive at after you stroll under Westminster Bridge.

Below Westminster Bridge:
From this point on, the activity becomes rather frenzied as the crowds thicken. Again, this is a part of the Embankment that I have never walked through and I was amazed at how many tourist attractions are crammed in its vicinity. There is the London Aquarium, the Museum of Movies (there was a Charlie Chaplin double on a balcony above entertaining the crowds below), and, of course, this is the boarding point for the London Eye. This was one attraction I have not been on and really did want to do; but I figured I would do it when Chriselle got here and now with her change in program, I don’t think there will be time for me to fit it in. I shall certainly do it with Llew when he comes back here in July.

So on I went, after I took a few pictures of the London Eye and this time I was headed towards Waterloo Bridge–a section of the South Bank that was simple chockful of street side entertainers all along the border of the Jubilee Gardens. There were singers and dancers and musicians, jugglers and costumed characters of all kinds. They vied for attention and the competition was stiff. I realized that with the weather having changed for the better, these guys will now be out in droves entertaining the flocks of tourists who pay good money just to pose with them.

I went back the British Film Institute and the Hayward Gallery and the National Theater and by then it was 4. 30 and my feet had had enough for the day. I climbed the stairs, found myself on Waterloo Bridge and took the bus back home.

A Productive Evening at Home:
At 5 pm, when I reached home, I was hungry and my craving for sugar hadn’t abated one bit. I decided that I just had to give in, having been so good for 2 whole weeks–so I ate a scone with clotted cream and strawberry jam and a pot of Sainsbury’s hazelnut yogurt and I felt replete. This certainly satisfied my sweet tooth but probably did extreme damage to my metabolism that hasn’t had to process sugar for a long while. OH well!!! I refuse to feel remorseful about giving it to temptation. Since it was such a late tea, I decided that I would not probably have myself a dinner tonight.

At this point, I spent more than an hour of the evening doing something I have been meaning to do for a whole year–send out Thank you notes to all the folks who had walked down Memory Lane with me last July when Chriselle had sent out requests for items for a Golden Memories Album for my birthday. I had imagined that this would take much longer than it actually did and now I can’t understand why I waited for such a long time to send out these messages.

I sat to make a few calls to my relatives and friends and then decided to do something else I have been meaning to do for a long while–have myself a long soak in the bath tub. Now that I have to vacate this flat at the end of the month, I want to savor all its pleasures and I began by running a bath and pouring a few drops of fragrant Pomegranate Noir bath oil in it by Jo Malone. Then I lit myself a grapefruit scented candle, dimmed the lights low, found a copy of The English Home magazine and gave myself up to the delights and comforts of a long and very leisurely soak.

Then, I got ready for bed, for I was feeling extremely dehydrated after my soak. I wrote this blog, checked to make sure I had no more email from my students who are looking for feedback on their final essays… and then I finally fell asleep.

In Search of Burberry and The Jubilee Walk (Part 1)

May2

Saturday, May 2, 2009
London

I awoke at 4. 00 am today (groan!!!) and I could not sleep after that. So, I switched on my bedside lamp and began reading The Order of the Phoenix for an hour. At 5. 30, I felt sleepy again, dropped off (thank goodness!) and then awoke at 7 am.

Email, calls to India (to my brother Roger and my nephew) and I was ready to make myself some coffee. Holborn was silent as a graveyard (as it usually is on weekends). This weekend will be quieter than usual as it is the long “Early May Bank Holiday” (whatever that means!) weekend and I guess most people will have travelled out of town. I carried a tray with my coffee and other paraphernalia to my bed and began to work on a revised itinerary for Chriselle’s trip.

There were numerous calls to make. I phoned Bishop Michael at St. Paul’s to reschedule the tour of the Cathedral that he had set up for us this morning as well as our afternoon tea plans at The Wolsley Hotel and then the Backstage Tour at the National Theater. I also booked tickets for us to see Romeo and Juliet at the Globe Theater and finally I booked our 3-day London Pass which includes 3-day Travelcards because they are being offered at a special May Day 10 % discount rate and I figured I might as well take advantage. What with all this stuff to do, I could only have my breakfast at 11 am (eggs and bacon and sausages–yes, still low-carb).

Buying a Trench coat at Burberry:
By then it was almost 11. 30 and with the sun shining so beckoningly outside, I decided to do something I have wanted to do for a long while–get to the Burberry Factory Store in Hackney to buy myself a new trench coat. This was definitely something I wanted to take back home to the States and having done some research, I discovered that rates are best in this factory outlet. Though it is quite a hike into Hackney, I figured that with my bus pass, I could get there quite easily. Besides, there is a direct bus that goes from right outside my building (the 242) all the way to the far side of the East End.

And then since I was going to Hackney, I figured I would also visit Sutton House, a National Trust property that is not very well-known. Using the internet, I found directions to the venue and off I went. The bus trundled along within a few seconds of my arriving at the bus-stop. En route, I graded a bunch of student essays–so the ride was very productive for me. We passed the busy Bank of England area and went further and further into Shoreditch, past the Geffrye Museum and into an area that I had never traversed before. Before long, I was at Hackney Central mainline station and on my way to the Burberry store.

This part of London is entirely different from anything I have seen so far. First of all, it is all rather run down. Secondly, I passed a series of auto body shops that ran parallel to the railway line. Auto mechanics were the only people on this entire road. Thirdly, the population demographic had changed completely and I realized that I was right in the heart of Black Britain–there were loads of people with Caribbean accents all around the place–many recent immigrants among them. The bus stops were teeming with people and there was no sign of a queue of any kind.

I was amazed at how many people were at the Burberry store before me! It turns out that there was a big Sale on–now whether this sale was only for this weekend or has been on for a while, there was no telling. Many of the racks were all cleaned out–which probably means I had arrived at the tail end of it. The space is large and the amount of items to be perused was rather confusing. I did manage to find the racks that held the khaki trench coats that I wanted and in a few minutes I found one in my size–thank goodness they have American and European sizes listed on the labels–this made it easy for me to find the size I was seeking. The price was right, the fit was good, the decision was made. With my coat under my arm, I went looking for a scarf in their signature beige tartan and, guess what? I ended up buying the very last cashmere one on the shelf!!! These were exactly the two things I had hoped to find and as soon as I spotted them, I swooped on them and headed to the till. There was a long line ahead of me–people were buying clothing as if it were going out of style! Thousands of pounds worth of merchandise changed hands before my eyes as the line inched forward slowly. Then, with my buys safely in my possession and the VAT refund slip helpfully filled out by the sales clerk, I was on my way.

The National Trust’s Sutton House:
I asked for directions and in about ten minutes, I was at Sutton House, my next port of call. This is a really nondescript building clad in dark brick with a rather sombre look to it. Once inside, I found it rather empty. There was an assistant in the shop and a small cafe at the back (with very reasonably priced eats and drinks), a small courtyard garden that was quite delightful with its climbing vines and potted flowers. And then my tour of the house began.

Sutton House is a Tudor building that was built by one Ralph Sadleir in the middle of the 1500s. He was a close confidant of the King and played a major role in the politics of the reign of Henry VIII being involved in the dissolution of the monasteries in 1538. As a nobleman, his home boasted some of the trappings of the day that pronounced status and power such as the oak wood panelling that is still to be found in many of the rooms. My very favorite pattern of Tudor panelling called Linenfold Paneling is evident in the Grand Room on the ground floor. The carving on the wood looked like folded, or more correctly, pleated cloth. I had been most taken by this feature of interior decor at Hampton Court Palace about five years ago when Llew, Chriselle and I had spent the day there. Little did I think that I would have the chance to see it again–and this time I was delighted because I was able to take pictures of it as well (something that is forbidden at Hampton Court).

My self-guided tour took me upstairs into a few more rooms that boast more carved panelling and some paintings including one of Sadleir and his later 18th century descendants painted by a female portraitist called Mary Beale–a rather unusual find as women portraitists were so rare at the time. There were other rooms in the house (A Georgian Parlor, for instance and a Victorian dining room) but other than its age, there was really nothing that this property can boast and I wondered why the National Trust even bothers to run it (since not many people bother to visit it).

On the floor at the very top of the house, while I was inspecting a large mural that was presumably painted by squatters who had taken over the house during its transition into the care of the National Trust, I heard a buzzing sound (as if made by a bumble bee) and then a rustling. I have to say that I panicked as there was no one else in the room with me and no one around on that floor at all. My mind went immediately to a ghost as so many of these old London homes have resident ghosts in them and the last thing I wanted was to feel someone or something brush past me or tap me on the shoulder! I got the heck out of there as fast as I could and decided that if I am going to explore any more of these National Trust properties, I had better go to homes that are crowded with visitors. These deserted, even neglected, properties might be filled with interesting antiques and night hark back to fascinating epochs of history but they do give me the creeps!

A short walk later, I was back at Hackney Central and boarding the 242 bus home. My papers were graded on the bus and with a stack under my arm, I got back home to have a very late lunch (it was 4 pm and I was hungry but contented myself with a cup of soup and a salad). I spoke to Llew on the phone for a few minutes, then sat to rewrite my interview with Henry Holley–it required a great deal of restructuring to fit my questionnaire format and proofreading before I could send it off to my office for printing. By the time I finished, it was about 7 pm and with daylight still streaming through my bedroom window, I decided to set out on another one of my ambitions while in London–the Completion of the Jubilee Walk.

I had intended to do this when Chriselle came here but now with her plans having changed, we will not have the time to do it together and with the weather so perfect and my feet feeling much stronger, I figured I could complete it in the next few days before Chriselle’s arrival. So I picked up the Map and my bus pass and set out while the evening was still young.

The Jubilee Walk–Part One:
The Jubilee Walk is a 14-mile walking path that snakes over Central London’s most significant sights. It was created in 1977 in the year of the Silver Jubilee of the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. If you have seen silver disks every so often set into London’s pavements and wondered what those are…well, they mark the path of the Jubilee Walk. There is a crown in the center and the cross set in it always points in the direction in which the walker should proceed. There are several walkers, I understand, who just about do the entire walk in a day–while others do it over a period of a few days. I decided to do it in about 5-6 installments.

The bus took me to Leicester Square where the walk begins. Since the evening was so perfect, there were scores of people in Leicester Square and for the first time in my life, I actually noticed all of its many interesting features. I have to say, somewhat ashamedly, that I had never noticed the sculpture of Shakespeare right in its center! Nor had I noticed the one of Charlie Chaplin close by! There is a bust of Hogarth at one of the gates. Probably I did not notice these before because I had never entered this park. All I have done is skirt its periphery or make my way to the half-price theater ticket booth at one end

This time, armed with my camera, I took several pictures and then made one more discovery. Just as there are palm prints set in cement outside Grumman’s Chinese Theater in Hollywood, California, so too there are palm prints cast in metal all along one side of the Leicester Square Park. The palm prints, of course, belong to eminent contemporary British actors such as Kenneth Branagh, Emma Thompson, Hugh Grant and Colin Firth not to mention Pierce Brosnan, Roger Moore and Sean Connery (James Bonds all!). Gosh, I thought, this walk is going to open my eyes to things I have passed by a gazzillion times and never noticed!

Then, I followed the crown discs and walked alongside the National Gallery where Baisakhi (a spiritual festival of the Punjabi Sikhs of North India) is to be celebrated tomorrow. I saw kiosks set up all over the square and thought I should go across for some Indian food. At each point, during the Jubilee Walk, the map I was carrying gave me details about the history and importance of the place and I quite enjoyed discovering new facts about each venue.

In The Mall, I passed under Admiralty Arch and the statue of the Duke of York on its towering pedestal and then I was walking alongside St. James Park (London’s oldest, I discovered, created in the mid-1500s) while the Mall was created in the mid-1600s. Most of the flowering trees are at their peak now and soon foliage will cover every branch and give every corner of this city a completely different look. I arrived at Buckingham Palace at the end of the Mall and discovered why it is so called. It started its life as a simple town house that belonged to the Dukes of Buckingham and I believe that the first British monarch to inhabit it was Queen Victoria!

Around St. James’ Park I went. The light was starting to fade away at about 7.45 pm and I had to hurry with the pictures I composed. There was a profusion of lovely spring flowers in the beds around the sculpture of Queen Victoria as past the grand gates I went and noticed so many lovely perennial flower-beds in the Park that sported an abundance of spring color as the azaleas have started to bloom in hot shades of pink and red and orange. Very striking indeed!

This time, I turned and walked the length of the Birdcage Walk and rounded the corner to arrive at the Cabinet War Rooms (which I hope to visit on the London Pass once Chriselle gets here) and the sculpture of Lord Clive of India dominating the grand steps that connect the two impressive buildings. Before long, I was passing the back of Number 10 Downing Street, the residence of the British Prime Minister since the mid-1700s, and found myself at the Horse Guards Parade where a number of stands have been set up around the periphery. I asked a friendly bobby what they were in aid of and he told me “Beating the Retreat and Trooping the Color”. I had no idea what either of these things meant and he explained that they were ceremonies associated with the Queen’s Birthday in June. He also told me that tickets are available and that I could purchase one if I went online. I made a mental note to find out more when I got home.

By this point, I was tired, it was 8. 30 and dusk had fallen. I could not longer take any pictures and I decided to stop and continue the Walk tomorrow. I reached the nearest bus stop and caught the buses that brought me home at a little after 9 pm for my dinner of fried cod (M&S) with a salad that I fixed with everything I could find in my fridge (romaine lettuce, feta cheese, sun-dried tomatoes, fresh apricots, and a dressing of mayonnaise, mustard, olive oil, salt, and pepper. I watched Masterchef At Large on UK TV’s Food channel (in which there is a contestant called Michelle who, I suspect, is a South Indian Christian probably from Mangalore or Goa. She has been churning out a variety of typically Indian dishes–minced meat cutlets, Hyderabadi biryani and shrikhand with fresh mangoes. She has made the list of semi-finalists, so naturally, I am now rooting for her).

Then, at 10 pm, I sat down to bone up on my French (in preparation for my forthcoming trips to Paris and Lyon in France in the coming weeks) and sat down to write this blog. I finally felt sleepy at about 11. 30 pm and decided to call it a day. Hopefully, I will not wake up at 4 am tomorrow morning!

A Stroll Around the Serpentine in Hyde Park

May1

Friday, May 1, 2009
London

Awaking at 6. 30 am today, I was filled with dread wondering if I am slowly returning to my schedule of a 5 am wake time. I really do hope not. I tried hard to fall back to sleep, but it simply didn’t happen and, fifteen minutes later, I sat up to read some more of The Order of the Phoenix. I turned next to email and drafted a response to Chriselle to try to figure out how best to work around her new London travel plans. At 9 am, I showered, breakfasted and at 9.45, I left home for my meeting with one of my students who wished to interview me as part of his final ethnographic assignment. This was done at 12 noon by which time I was able to go up and see Yvonne for a while to resolve some tax issues.

I stood at the bus stop on New Oxford Street for a full 10 minutes before I began to suspect that something had gone wrong with the service. Not a single bus had passed by in all that time, which is most unusal, as there is normally a bus every minute. Then, someone passed by our bus stop and told us that there was a May Day March that had caused suspension of bus service for an hour or two. I walked home then and was in my flat by1. 30 pm when I had my lunch (a salad and a cup of broccoli cheddar soup).

By 2 pm, I was transcribing my taped interviews with Henry and Marion Holley that I had done a couple of weeks ago in Windsor. I really struggled with the transcript as the tape had picked up a ton of background noise from the restaurant in which we had sat eating lunch and chatting at the same time. It was with the greatest difficulty that I managed to finish the transcribing by 4 pm at which point, since the buses had started running, I decided I needed to get out again for some air.

I also had to return my books to the Holborn Public Library, so off I went and when that errand was run, I hopped into the 38 bus that took me to Hyde Park Corner. It was a particularly warm day and with only a light jacket on, I had boarded the bus after having crammed a few term papers into my bag. My idea was to get to The Serpentine, the lake in the midst of Hyde Park to which I had never been, and to do some grading after strolling for a bit by the lake side.

In about a half hour, I was there and asking for directions and following my map, I arrived at the Serpentine. The lake is so large, it amazed me. I had never been there before and the scene before my eyes was just delightful. Boats were scattered all over the lake–some row boats (which reminded me of a scene in As Time Goes By in which a macho Lionel tries to show off his rowing skills to a very amused Jean but succeeds in merely taking the boat for a spin and getting them nowhere!) and some paddle boats that were making much greater progress across the lake.

The sky was cloudy and since we were about an hour from sunset, the dying rays made colorful streaks in the sky. Ducks paddled by the banks, joggers and cyclists were on the tracks and a bunch of strollers walked airily by every so often. It was so lovely, I could have sat there forever. However, with the breeze having picked up, I felt rather chilly and was soon pulling my jacket more tightly around me. Interestingly, I was grading a pile of essays on John Constable and his world–Suffolk and the impact of nature on his art. My students had done well overall and I was very pleased with their work as well as the beauty of nature spread out before me in the simple pleasures to be had on the lake.

In about an hour, with all my papers graded, I closed shop, put them away into my bag and walked back towards Knightsbridge to take my bus back home from Hyde Park Corner. In just a minute, I boarded it and some 45 minutes later, I was home. It had been a lovely outing and I was so glad that I was able to tick one more item off my To-Do List in London (“Stroll Around the Serpentine!”).

Switching on my PC, I discovered from my email that Chriselle has decided to come to London after all even if we get only 4 days together. I will leave for Paris on schedule (mainly because I have to attend a symposium at NYU-Paris next week) and she will continue to stay on in my flat and spend a few days discovering London on her own. She is trying to see if one of her friends, currently in Belgium, is free to join her here–in which case she will have company while I am away. At any rate, she has a few friends here who, I am sure, will also make sure she has a good time.

Llew called me and I updated him on her plans, then I sat and ate my dinner (salad with Chicken Kiev from M&S) and then decided to write this blog before restructuring my itinerary for Chriselle’s visit.