The Invasion of My People

Hello, again!

I know it's been a while (I mean, I'm back in Boston, for crying out loud...) but fortunately I have some words concerning and chronicling my last couple weeks in London written in my hand-written journal, so, again, I'll just transcribe here.

First- Sunday, Nov. 23rd, just after Mom and Gus leave the little island:

Mom and Gus just left the little island today. It's been nice, but I suppose it's for the best, as I need to get to work (now, whoops) on my Drama Paper. However, the Detective Novel to Crime Fiction Paper is done, and genius, and are the other two, so there's no great need to stress. Still, it was nice to have the vacation from the need to remind myself that there is need to stress.

On Tuesday, the day before they're all set to leave, I get an IM from Mom telling me that Joe, my brother, my friend, my comrade, has neglected to notice that his passport is expired. Since we were so very close to the date of departure, there was no way to resolve the situation, and Joe therefore cannot come to London.

After an extended conversation on IM the night before, in which Joe and I planned out the whole trip to include a visit to the SAAAACHI(!) gallery and various pubs, and the storied Tower of London, this news depressed me. Also, Joe could not help validate my can-be-fun/funny traits in the face of my roommate troubles. However, never fear! Gus and Mom were still coming, and the three of us could have a grand old time.

And it wasn't just the three of us! There too, in the swanky Durrant's Hotel, stayed Kathy and Tom and Keith and Sylvia. Kathy and Tom are my mother's friends from way back, and for as long as I can remember (even from two weeks ago) visits to their house have always been very, very fun and intellectually stimulating. Also, there are no two Americans I know that know London better than them. Tom writes for a Marylebone newspaper, for crying out loud! He writes books about naughty clergy.

Keith and Sylvia, I didn't know too well, but they were pretty fun, too. I enjoyed getting to know them better. They were also seasoned Euro-travelers.

For our first night together in London-town, Mom and I joined Kathy and Tom and Keith and Sylvia for a trip to a pie shop. It was very good. My pie was lamb and something else, and the pastry was truly flaky and golden.

Gus was, of course, invited to join us, but when Mom tried to wake him up, this is how he responded (almost word for word, I kid you not):

"Not now, the Arch-Bishop of Canterbury and I are having a discussion about the state of Catholicism in England, while looking at pictures of female anatomy."

He was jet-lagged, and drugged. Best left alone.

After the pie-shop the six of us walked around Oxford Street for a bit, looking at the very lovely Christmas lights and taking pictures whenever someone was particularly enchanted by a sight. This was, as you can imagine, frequent. I was sad that Joe couldn't be there, with us, especially since Gus also couldn't be there (tied up with the Arch-Bishop, and all) but my Mom and I had a lot of fun and I definitely started to feel the Christmas spirit.

The next day, the team split up, with Keith and Sylvia venturing to some distant part of town, Gus and Tom to the Churchill War Rooms, where they each perfected their impersonations of the mannequin-Winston's jolly chortle and "Well played, sir!" Mom, Kathy, and I went to the Victoria and Albert Museum.

I never had much of an interest in the V&A, having dismissed it as a museum full of those rooms that I usually skip in art galleries, in favor of big-name oil paintings and sculpture. I never had a great interest in design, or silversmithing, or coffins. I was being narrow-minded, though, it seems! The museum was, in fact, very interesting, and the practical art was indeed very beautiful, and comprised of a great many schools and styles. My favorite room, which delayed us for some time, was the Theatre room, which featured costumes and set pieces from various productions through the years, including costume pieces worn in my favorite operas and Shakespeare plays.

I could have stayed in there for much, much longer. Which was as much a surprise for me as it was for my company. After a trip to the beautiful, if overpriced, gift-shop, wherein Kathy considered, tried on, and ultimately rejected a plush velvet cloak, we met up with Tom and Gus at a Pizza Express for some lunch.

We all idled back to the hotel for a bit, and then met up for dinner again at a Lebanese restaurant for Thanksgiving dinner. It was all, as Tom would say, very jolly. I was very fortunate indeed to have some of my people around me for the big, family holiday. And the Lebanese food was very good, too.

The next day I went shopping with Mom and Kathy again, and then joined Kathy and Sylvia for a Legal London tour while Mom and Gus went to the British Museum. My Mother, for some unfathomable reason, was unimpressed by the British Museum. Clearly, she is insane. The Legal London tour, however, was great fun. It exposed me to an aspect of London life that I had never encountered before, and the company (Sylvia, a lawyer, Kathy, a judge, Simon, our guide) made that nascent idea of maybe going to Law School grow into a full-fledged consideration. Also, we went to the shop where they buy the wigs. And that's just awesome.

I separated once more from Mom and Gus, who went to Covent Garden to check out the poetry scene there for Gus. Instead, I joined Kathy and Tom for dinner at their favorite Indian restaurant in London. You know it was good, because the menu included a quote from a review praising its "decent Indian food."

I chose to join them instead of going to Covent Garden because I wanted to get back sooner so that I could work on the paper some that night. However, dinner extended for longer than we anticipated, and it took a while to get back, and so I got back to the hotel much later than Mom and Gus. But still. Fun times. Paper be damned.

The next day, Gus and I went to the Tower of London while Mom and the other adults went to the Tates. I've been to the Tower before, but it really is the greatest thing London has to offer. There's so much history, it's almost obscene. From William the Conqueror to Henry VIII and beyond, it seems almost every important figure in the fascinating field of British History made some sort of appearance at the Tower of London. I also voted that Richard III didn't murder his nephews there. It's a losing battle, but the truth will out someday!

The group of us then scored some cheap, obstructed view seats to a delightful production of The 39 Steps. The play, with two principals, and two actors who play an incredible number of small parts in quick succession, was very funny, and the view was not irrevocably obstructed, so we were all very happy with the experience.

And so the next day, they all departed, Kathy and Tom, Mom and Gus for Atlanta, and Keith and Sylvia for Budapest, which I'm sure was lovely. I was very sad to see them go, but mainly it's just because I now absolutely must focus on writing this paper. Also, I didn't get to see Joe. But still, it was wonderful to see them, and it won't be long until I'm back amongst my people once again.