Autumn weather has been slowly settling.  For me that means experimenting with layers of clothes on top that can be removed quickly.  I also travel everywhere with my Kindle in hand.  Its great for dining alone, or long Tube journeys.  And, its battery is more reliable than my smart phone.

So, speaking of my Kindle, somewhere along the line, I picked up the book “The Lost Way” by Stephen J. Patterson.   It is a well written study of the earliest collected written record of the words of Jesus.  He refers to them as the lost gospels.  They are often referred to as “Q” (a document yet to be found intact) and the Gospel of Thomas, a collection of sayings or teachings of Jesus.  These paint Jesus as a teacher of wisdom more than the Messianic figure of the other gospels.  However, Patterson, is a true scholar and is not selling his viewpoint but laying out a fascinating set of facts for the reader to mull over.

I had the Nancy Reagan dream again.  As an otherwise fairly normal week in London was rolling along, I went to sleep and found myself dreaming of the former first lady, and not for the first time!  This time she was working for me and had managed to become a rather youthful 50 something and quite attractive.  Thank goodness I woke up before a Constitutional crisis occurred.  I am generally a left of center person politically, so this occasional subconscious obsession could drive me into therapy yet.

After the Reagan incident, I realized that my duties lie in completing my mission buying birthday gifts for my “niece”  Edie who was having a Second birthday on Saturday.   headed to Covent Garden.  After a good “recce” around, I decided some lunch as in order.  As I turned a corner near the Opera House, I was pleasantly surprised to see the “Masala Zone,” an Indian restaurant I had visited with Edie’s dad James a couple of years ago.  The lunch was delicious, but way more than I could finish!  Still a great, spicy meal.  I had a window seat too, great for watching the character and characters of Covent Garden.  After lunch, it was off to the Transport Museum to get a gift and then to the little card shop near my flat for a few bits and pieces.

Edie’s birthday was truly an event!  The Tube Ride to Tooting Broadway from Kings Cross was uneventful, except for the father and son sitting across the aisle.  Dad was showing son family pictures on his phone and apparently trying to place them on a family tree.  I  almost told them that their family sounded as large and complex as mine with so many aunts, uncles and cousins all over the place.  Edie was lucky to have two grannies, a grand-dad, an auntie, an uncle, a cousin, and American “Uncle Mark” at her party, along with, mum, dad, and Teddy the cat.  Delicious food, fun chatter, and great gifts.  Edie and her cousin Jack kept us all entertained.

For me, the day wasn’t over when the party ended.  A quick stop at the flat to freshen up and I was off to the theater in Leicester square to see Martin Freeman and Tamsin Grieg in “Labour of Love,” a fantastic play about a “New Labour MP and his “Old Labour” Constituency Manager (she’s the one that run’s the equivalent of a Congressman’s district office and runs his campaigns for re-election).  They were both great, as were the supporting casts.The story is very timely for both the British and American political scenes because its about much more than two people.  It is about the clash of ideas and ideals and whether our political parties on both sides of the Atlantic really can serve all the people today.  In the case of Labour, can they ever put the old “Red/Bolshie/Trotskyite” ideals that kept them in opposition for long periods behind them?  But can a new Labour “brand” be trusted or does Labour end up as America’s Democrats have fighting moneyed interests who sell worried, fed up middle class and angry poor slogans that feed their paranoia and keep the country split?  Are Theresa May and Donald Trump the answers?  This play left me with more questions, but was a great night out.

 

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