I had a slow start on Saturday, but eventually got to Half Cup for brunch (well, breakfast at lunch time). I had a nice chat with a young fellow who had lived in the US, London and Scotland. The chat took place while his companion was visiting “the facilities.” We were discussing accents and how our times in various places moderated ours. When she returned, I enjoyed listening to her mixed Nigerian and West London accent as they chatted at a table only 18 inches from mine on the pavement outside where we all enjoyed the late summer sun. After running a few errands, I stopped at Caffe Tropea for a decent coffee. I saw my new friends Jack, the film maker, Jackie and Jackie’s husband Tom, newly returned from a visit to Devon, with another lady sitting next to an empty table. They invited me over and, while Tom had to leave, the four of us remained and had a wide-ranging chat on politics and the world. We all share a similar world view and were interested in my views on President Biden, the similarity and differences between the supporters of the man that preceded him and the UK’s soon to be former Prime Minister. We also discussed various US cities we all knew well. As we were winding up our conversation, Jackie mentioned how much she was enjoying her granddaughter’s ‘rebellious phase’ using the term schadenfreude to describe her feelings toward her and Tom’s daughter who now was dealing with what she put Jackie and Tom through.

As it was late afternoon on Saturday, I thought I would walk over to the British Museum and visit some “old friends” there. It is so easy to become complacent when one has a place like that right on your doorstep. One of the gate guards assured me that the crowds were pretty low when I arrived, so I went in and headed directly for the Parthenon Marbles (formerly known as the Elgin Marbles for the man who removed them from Greece). It is amazing to look at the detail carved into these by people, just like us,

thousands of years ago, in a society long passed. Should we not remember how easily a society can fall to ruin?

Being in the museum, surrounded by so much beauty, so carefully made by people who had such gifts is truly a blessing. Venus, below, could have been carved as early as 200 BCE!

Before finishing this awe-inspiring visit, I had to pay respect to ancient Egypt, the place that my great friends Steve Krahn and Sally Kernick Krahn love and have visited often. Steve and Sally, these are for you.

The first statue is Amenhotep. Steve, you will have to read the Hieroglyphics on the second one.

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