Octopolis

I’ve had many interesting theatre experiences over the years that I have been coming to London. I’ve seen some shows about unusual topics too. I don’t think I would have anticipated seen one about a woman, a man, being brought together by their shared interest in an octopus. But I did, and the two actors were amazing. Last year, I had the great luck to meet Jemma Redgrave. She is an actress of some renown and a member of the well-known acting dynasty. We had a mutual friend (my friend Jacquie) and they kindly invited me to stay when Jemma arrived for a quick visit with Jacquie. Anyway, she seemed to me to be a lovely genuine person and I was happy to have met her. When Jacquie and her husband Tom mentioned that Jemma was in this unusual show by a very promising young playwright, I wanted to see it. While I have seen a few high school classmates who have had successful careers in film and TV, seeing a person I had met, now on stage, was intriguing to me. Gemma plays a scientist at a university, grieving the loss of her fellow

scientist husband, who had died. Together they had studied the behavior of octopuses/octopi with their resident tanked octopus (Frances) being their main object of study. The university sent a young anthropologist played by Ewan Miller to the university-owned home that the Jemma shares with the octopus. By the end of the play, the two characters and Frances have gone through a complex set of emotional events that change all of their lives. Ms. Redgrave and Mr. Miller were absolutely luminous in their performance. The small theatre only holds an audience of a few hundred seated on three sides. The performance took place directly in front of us. I was in the front row and the actors were just feet away from me. It was an amazing experience.

The Tate Britain

The Tate Britain is an interesting museum, covering British art from 1500 to the present. Like the Tate Modern across the River Thames, it seems to change what it exhibits from its vast collection quite often. I visit to get surprised and to be delighted by old friends. If you follow me, you know that I have been trying to get the National Portrait Gallery to acquire and display a portrait of Her Majesty, Queen Camilla. My constant focus at the Tate Modern is whether the elevator to the Members’ Lounge is working, as it has done so rarely in recent years. I am pleased to say that it was working on this visit.

Here are some pieces from the grand hallway on the first floor of the Tate. The exhibit is called: Material As Message.

Then, of course, I visited Henry Moore, oh the simple joy of brilliant sculpture.

Finally, two cool paintings I really like.

Fulham Wins, Fulham Wins, Fulham Wins!

My friend and fellow SUNY Oneonta alumnus, Dave Daly, who deservedly claims responsibility for making me a Fulham fan, still can’t believe, it just took one match at Craven Cottage to do it, but it did. It took a bit of doing to get my ticket this time. Who knew Fulham vs Sheffield tickets would be so hard to find? I had been saving the day for one of two favorite kids in Tooting Broadway’s birthday party, but her folks chose to have it on Sunday this year, so my Saturday opened up. But by then I had to go the ticket resellers route. Unfortunately, Stub Hub prices seemed a bit astronomical, so I went with another purveyor. Initially, they sent me a ticket several days in advance, but it was for the Fulham-Chelsea match that had just taken place. It took several emails before things were straightened out and on game day, through the kind assistance of the local post office, I even got the ticket printed before I left Bloomsbury.

As you can see from the picture above and the picture below, it was a beautiful October day for a football match along the River Thames. The band was playing below the statue of Fulham great, Johnny Haynes, for whom the historic stand behind his likeness is named. All the fans were in a great mood.

The first period of the match ended in a nil-nil draw, and a Sheffield United player had gone down with a serious leg injury that led to a total of over 14 minutes of added time. Fulham’s manager must have said the right things at the half because they came out rejuvinated and scored three goals to Sheffield United’s one. It made for a glorious walk back through Bishopsgate Park to the Putney Bridge Tube station for the trip back across town. In my view, Fulham is still not recovered from losing its main scorer to the Middle Eastern league that shall remain nameless. But they will get better each week and with a little luck will pick up a good solid scoring machine or learn how good they are without the one they had. In any case, I am so glad that I got to see three matches live at the cottage and will be looking forward to seeing many more on the TV when I get back across the pond next month.

Next blog will include a visit to a very cool museum that brought back memories of my happy years at the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Immersive Experience

The art immersive experience has been around for a while. I had booked the Monet experience a while ago and had almost forgotten that I had the ticket. Luckily, the organizers sent an email reminder. It was at the same location as the previous one I went to last year, off of Brick Lane in one of London’s old ethnic neighborhoods that have seen different waves of immigrants enter into British life over the centuries. You still see signs of old Eastern European businesses beside more recent Indian, African, and Afghan stores and restaurants. The Monet Immersive Experience was enjoyable. Below are a few photos of the display of his famous works set as they might have looked in his study. And then, “the immersion room” where his works first are made to come alive, a wonderful experience of color, sound and music in a large, darkened space.

The part that I can’t share with you in photos, of course is the part where “the helmet” is placed on your head and you are taken on a journey to Monet’s world. In this case we travelled extensively around parts of Normandy, France, a place both he and I love. Seeing these places as they looked in his time and using the combination of photography and his work was truly a magical tour that I was sorry to see end. It was a delightful experience. I hope I get to experience Dali Immersive Experience when it is in town. My friend Jack Bond who directed and produced the famous film “Dali in New York” back in 1965 is still with us and I am hoping he is well and able to go the Experience and I would love to hear his views on it as he worked closely with Dali for so long.

A Special Month

Not only is October the last of my three-month sojourn in London, but it is also, back in the States, Italian American Heritage Month. The end of September coincided with the feast day of Saint Amato in Nusco, the small Italian City from which my paternal grandparents and eldest uncle immigrated to American in the early 20th Century. In honor and remembrance of them, I visited Saint Peters, also known as the Italian Catholic Church in the Clerkenwell section of London. Clerkenwell was once, London’s Little Italy. I have posted pictures of St. Peters before, it is very much in the tradition of Italian churches with colorful paintings of Saints, Jesus, and Mary. Many statues are placed around the church. I was sure that St. Amato or Saint Rocco, another saint popular in Nusco, was there last year when I visited, but neither could be found. So, I chose Saint Lucy, in honor of my late Aunt Lou, one of my dad’s three sisters who all of my generation of cousins loved dearly, and planned to light a candle in her memory. I did, sort of. Saint Peter’s has electric candles. You place money, change or bills in the slot, and an electric candle turns on! The Lord does work in mysterious and safety conscious ways.

The Secret Garden

One of my friends lives on a street just off Bedford Square. Bedford Square itself is a square of beautifully preserved townhouses that I believe to be Georgian. In the center of square is a “garden” that is secured with a wrought iron fence and gates. There are old-growth trees and shrubbery all around it with paths and some grassy areas visible. I’ve deemed it “the secret garden” and tease my friend about whether she has a key to it. Here are some photos I took of the secret garden (through the bars) and one of the fine houses on the square.

Returning to Wigmore Hall

It was a splendid Sunday morning that found me back at Wigmore Hall. I arrived with plenty of time to enjoy my coffee and relax and appreciate the bar/cafe before the performance.

This time, it was Beethoven, Brahms and Piazzolla being performed by Maciej Kutakowski (cello) and Jean-Selim Abdelimoula (piano). Both accomplished musicians performed magnificently. The music was an interesting mix. Beethoven’s arrangement of ‘7 Variations on Bei Mannern welche Leibe fuhlen’ fro m Mozart’s Die Zauberflote WoO. 46 (1801) was a magical way to begin the morning program. In the opera, it is about the first meeting between two central characters. In this musical setting, one simply can let the mind soar with the music of two great masters and these two brilliant musicians.

Beethoven’s Cello Sonata in C Op 102 No. 1. (1816) was another lovely piece that started fast-paced and then slowed that showed the skills of the musicians, remarkable as it was written in what is known as the beginning of Beethoven’s late period. Without a significant pause, the two then continued into Brahms Cello Sonata No. 1 in E minor Op. 38, (1862-65). This piece is sometimes described as an homage to J.S. Bach which is nice, if for no other reason than it gets all three of the “B” composers into one one-hour concert.

The two artists ended with Astor Piazzolla’s rousing “Le Grand Tango (1982) that left the audience calling for more.

On a note of “it is a small world,” as I was leaving the hall, I noticed a gentleman wearing a short-sleave shirt with a logo of an Asian country’s nuclear regulatory authority and an atom, similar to the illustration below used by my former employer the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. It looked similar to the one below, which is very similar to one I have tattooed on my upper right arm. Not having a business card

with me, I rolled up my short sleeve as I introduced myself and showed him my atom and explained that I was a retired member of the US NRC staff. We shook hands and then he hurried off. The post-concert tea, coffee and sherry tends to run out fast.

Church Quest Returns

After the wonderful day of music, the week beckoned and my search for London’s historic churches returned. One that sounded interesting to me was The Guild Church of St. Dunstan in the West, located on Fleet Street in the center of the old home of London’s once busy newspaper business.

Since this involved me and my “Frenemy” Google Maps, there was, of course, the unexpected along the way. Google sent me into a skyscraper canyon that allowed me to take these two interesting photos of London’s modern side.

But, back to Saint Dusnstan. There is some evidence that there has been a church there since the late 900s AD, although the current building, with its octagonal nave, was builtin the 1830s to the designs of John Shaw, whose son finished the church after his death. The Shaws are also known for the semi-detached style of housing that is still very popular in the UK. If you are wondering as I was what a guild church is, I found this definition: an English metropolitan church that has been freed from parish responsibilities in order to minister full time to nonresident city workers during their hours in the city. If you are wondering why the church “in the west, it turns out there was a St. Dunstan in the East until the Nazis bombed it in World War II. Its ruins remain and are now, I understand maintained as a lovely garden. It is on my list to visit. Now for some pictures and then a few final words on this church and how it is used today.

When I entered the church, I noticed a young man standing near the front admiring, I thought, a painting of an icon. One often sees icons in Roman Catholic and Anglican churches, though they are not generally associated with these faith traditions. I noticed though that young man also seemed to be praying before the icon using postures that I associate with the Orthodox Christian traditions. As I walked around the church, I noticed that there were multiple icons set throughout the worship space, see the bottom left painting to the left of the baptismal font, for example. As I was walking out into the foyer of the church I finally noticed that the Anglican worship community of St. Dunstan has, for many decades, shared this worship space with the Romanian Orthodox Church in London. What a wonderful way to live up to its Guild Church responsibility!

Another Red Dragon In London

I love being the unofficial SUNY Oneonta Ambassador in London. I get the chance to visit with our alumni that are lucky enough to live here and to help out any who are visiting while I am in town. Whenever I am on my annual jaunt, I hope that my friend and classmate Madeleine will have some of her wonderful artwork on display and that she might have time for a chat. Once again, she made time in her busy schedule and I was able to see her work and some lovely pieces by other artists on display at the Sandsend Arts and Community Centre which is not too far from Craven Cottage, home of Fulham Football Club, that you may have heard me mention once or twice before. Anyway, Madeleine and I had a great catchup and walk down memory lane. Here is a photo outside the exhibition.

An Unexpected Church Visit in Bishopsgate Park (and some late Roses)

One of the many benefits of being a Fulham FC fan is having a reason to walk through the beautiful Bishopsgate Park, along the Thames to go to Craven Cottage, the team’s stadium. Besides the beautiful trees, and grass and all the dogs running and playing, there are the formal gardens where I saw these late season roses.

And much to my surprise, All Saints Church that sits within the grounds of the park was open for visitors. So, before heading across the park to give my legs and credit card a workout, I thought I would go inside. It is thought that there has been a church on the north side of the river around this area since Saxon times, but the earliest recorded vicar “only” goes back to 1242. The tower of a 1442 church remains but the current church replaced it in the late 1800s, though its organ was originally built in 1732 and rebuilt in 1881. It is a lovely place and, once again you will see some icons that have been added to the decor. I hope you enjoy these pictures.

Thanks for your patiences everyone. i have had “production problems along the way. I have another blog I hope to have out shortly too.

Sunday in the Park in the Rain

Sunday morning started to look like we might miss the predicted rain. Not that I got out into the morning sun, I had a few hours of blog work to do, so I cracked on with it…well after BBC’s “Match of the Day” ended. I had to watch until the end because Fulham was the last match covered. I had been there and

wanted to see if I had made it on to the broadcast when one of the plays took place in front of my second-row seat. I did.

When I went outside, the rain had started and then stopped but I was glad to find friends Tom and Jacquie under the overhanging roof of Caffe Tropea in Russell Square Park. We were finally able to have a chat about the program I attended at the British Library about the anniversary of the coup in Chile; and to have a general catchup on what we had each been up to. We also had some fun with our neighbors at the next table who had a sweet Dalmatian puppy on his first outing after receiving all his shots.

Speaking of Shots

What a difference a year makes. Last year, getting my flu and Covid booster shots in London was something of a production. Two years ago, it had been pretty simple, a little pharmacy across the street from the barbershop I use on Lambs Conduit Street offered the flu to me for free. And, after signing up as a part year UK resident with the UK National Health Service, I made an appointment for my Covid booster at my local “GP Practice.” Last year, there were only a few pharmacies giving a limited supply of flu shots and I chased all over before finding one, virtually on my doorstep, at the Boots pharmacy branch at Saint Pancras Train Station. The Covid shots for part year residents, I learned, after many false starts on the phone and using the NHS app on the computer, were consolidated in an ancient Victorian hospital that was mostly closed. It did have a polio vaccination clinic too and a Senior Citizens facility. Oh, and it was surrounded by a high iron-barred fence, but I got the shots. This time, my GPs office told me I would have to call a special number, but the receptionist did not ask my age or really seem to know what was going on. So, once the vaccine campaign opened, I checked the NHS website and found that people “of a certain age” just had to input their NHS number and Post Code to make an appointment at the closest pharmacy. In my case that turned out to be the one on Lamb’s Condiuit Street again. So, the next day,, I was back with a bunch of folks who did the British queueing thing and got both shots.see if I had any messages on the NIH website and found that all I

Banksy!

Banksy is the well-known British street/graffiti artist and political activist who has been active since around1990. His identity has never been definitively confirmed. He seems to be more popular than ever at the moment. There are several exhibitions of his art on concurrently. The one I visited on Regents Street in London is showing mostly his political art. Walking into the exhibition space, and seeing the young staff, my immediate thought was, “punk lives.” The exhibition was well-curated and thought provoking. Banksie is not partisan in any discernable way. Clearly, his beliefs are with “the people,” but he is not blinded to any one side’s ideology. He abhors war and violence as well as the unfair distribution of wealth in the world, that is clear. But his art and his anarchic ideas together make statements that I believe make him a phenomenon unlike others who worked only in the graffiti or street art arenas. For instance, when socialite Paris Hilton recorded a CD of her music, Banksy, in collaboration with Danger Mouse, before the release of the CD, replaced about 500 copies of the CD, with one that included his rewrite of the booklet and insert and a Danger Mouse remix of the music. These were placed in music stores around the UK.

Below are a selection of the images shown at the exhibition.

Red Dragon Lunch

One of my great pleasures during my annual sojourn in the United Kingdom is meeting fellow alumni and sometimes current students from Oneonta University-State University of New York. One of the people I try to see when his busy schedule allows is Chairman of the Board of Frasers Group and Non-Executive Board Member of Fulham Football Club, David Daly. David was one of the players recruited by the legendary soccer coach Garth Stam to play at the then SUNY College at Oneonta during the golden era when the school played in NCAA Division I. I attended the college during those years, but Dave and I missed each other by about a year. I did have the chance to see other Stam recruits like English standouts Joe Howarth, David North, and North American Soccer League 1974 Number One Draft Pick, Farrukh Quraishi play. Dave introduced me to Fulham football several years ago and I have become a staunch fan ever since. Dave and I share a great appreciation for Oneonta University, our education and the particular character formation and life lessons we took away from that beautiful campus nestled in the upper Catskill Mountains.

We enjoyed an excellent lunch at Little Italy, a restaurant in London’s vibrant Soho neighborhood.