Patsy Returns to Motherland!

My fabulous England trip has come and gone; a wonderful time was had by all. And by all, I mean just me. I arrived in London at 10:00 on Sunday morning, March 25. My friend Gerald was flying in from Toronto, so he met me at Heathrow and we took the Tube into the city together. We parted at Hammersmith station, him to his hotel, me to Goodenough College to meet up with my bosom buddy and all-around-Passy-partner-in-crime Kristine. (she's the flame-haired one in the photos) Spent the rest of Sunday walking around and exploring - Leceister Square, The Mall, took a zillion photos outside Buckingham Palace, etc, etc. In the evening we took in a show at Royal Albert Hall in a private box courtesy of the college.

Monday morning Kristine had to attend a conference, so I headed out for the Tower of London. I had previously been in 1997, but wanted to go again. It was well worth it and I spent a little extra time standing in front of the spot where Anne Boleyn was executed in 1536. She's one of my favourite historical figures, and if you don't know much about her, I suggest you brush off an English history text. Specifically, in the last few years there's been some great historical research that's taken a second look at Anne from a feminist perspective. Long story short - she wasn't a whore and was very likely completely innocent of all the charges Henry put forth against her. (See Retha Warnicke, Antonia Fraser, et al.)

After the Tower I took the Tube to the Victoria & Albert Museum to do a quick run through and to scoop up an exhibition poster of the Kylie! exhibit. http://www.vam.ac.uk/exhibitions/future_exhibs/kylie/

I was on a mission to score some great poster art for my office walls and Ms. Minogue did not disappoint. After the museum gift shop I walked from the museum up towards the Albert Hall and walked through Kensington Gardens on my way to see the Mario Testino exhibit of his Diana portraits at KP. On my last trip to London in 1997 before Diana's death I spent several minutes gazing through the locked gates wondering if Diana was inside the palace somewhere. This time, the gates were wide open and I walked up to the palace and around the side to enter in for the tour.

Enjoyed the exhibit and toured through the old apartments of Princess Margaret. By this time I was quite tired, so headed back to Goodenough. Needed a quick catnap to recharge the batteries for the evening's event: seeing Daniel Radcliffe (aka: Harry Potter) in a production of Peter Shaffer's Equus. Daniel was fabulous, as was Richard Griffiths, who played the co-lead in the play. (FYI -- Griffiths, a hugely talented stage actor, played Uncle Vernon in the Potter movies) The tickets were worth every penny, and I'm not referring to Daniel being fully naked on stage either. At the end of the performance during the applause portion, he looked so amazed that he was up on there on the stage just having done such a demanding performance. I felt almost proud for him, which sounds strange, but I just felt really really happy for him. I bet he's pleased to be praised for something other than Harry.

Anyways, more on the trip later -- I'm off to re-watch a few episodes of my latest Brit TV favourites - thanks April & Mark for introducing me to Ricky Gervais' Extras and Mitchell & Webb's "Peep Show". Bloody hilarious - I ran out to HMV as soon as I got home and bought them.

Check back in a bit folks for more London tales... highlights include sightings of the Queen and Tony Blair, and a trip to see Manchester United play at Old Trafford. (Thanks Mr. Jones!)