It was a great day for a visit with Nigel and Gwynne Grant.  We arranged to meet at Hatchard’s Book Shop at the Blessed Pancreas (better known as St. Pancras International Train Station).  Hatchard’s has been a convenient meeting place for us as we three are all bibliophiles and Hatchard’s has sold coffee and tea which could be drunk at little tables in front of the shop.  I arrived a bit early, looking forward to a cup of tea while waiting, only to find that Hatchard’s had stopped their “café service” and taken away their tables.  Just next door, however, Fortnum and Mason (purveyor of fine foods) has a branch, with food service and tables outside.  So, I sat down and waited for service.  While there were menus on the tables, servers never came!  Eventually, though, Nigel and Gwynne arrived.

We walked the short distance from the train station past my flat on Judd Street and then turned down Tavistock Street where we could see several of the restaurants I had suggested for lunch.  We settled on “Bon Vivant,” a delightful French themed restaurant that I had tried once before.  The meal was great and the staff was very patient, letting us linger and chat as long as we wished.  The patrons of this restaurant all seem relaxed and enjoy the time spent here.

When we had finished our coffees, we moved down Marchmont Street so that I could give my friends a sense of the pleasant surroundings I have called home these last two months.  It was also a chance to take them to “SKOOB,” the used bookshop that I have mentioned in an early blog post about this trip.  As I anticipated, Nigel and Gwynne liked Skoob as much as I do and we all left with purchases.  After a tour of the rest of Brunswick Shopping Centre.  We then walked back up Judd Street and Nigel and Gwynne left me at Clare Court and continued back to St. Pancras for their trip home to Kent.

I have mentioned several times, the remarkable book called “The Lost Way,” I read during this trip.  It was, for me, an important addition to my understanding and spiritual growth.  Based on a discussion I had had with the young man who serves at the concierge desk at Clare Court on Saturday nights, I thought this book would be of interest to him.  So, deciding to brave the winds of Brian, I walked down to the Gower Street Waterstone’s to see if it would have a hard copy of the book.  Alas, they did not.   But, this Waterstone’s is a remarkable shop.  It is 4 floors accessed by stairways of various kinds.  The outside looks like a staid old establishment. The inside is a mixture of old, hippie/indie and new.  It was a fun visit.

Keeping on the French word theme, an American friend contacted me seeking help looking for a particular French word used in French contract negotiations.  I contacted a good friend in Normandy, France and she and her very clever partner, who I unwittingly reached at dinner, proceeded to send me several brilliant suggestions to pass along to my American friend.  So, all, in all, another grand two days for me in London town.

Having to face up to the last week of my London sojourn is not easy.  But it certainly got me moving in the right direction.  I’ve found how quickly and cheaply British express mail works for items shipped within greater London for one thing!  I’ve also finally visited the neighborhood French bistro with a very nice menu and a great atmosphere,

I also finally gave in to my budget conscious ways and splurged on an expensive theatre ticket for “Oslo,” the dramatization of the first face to face negotiations between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization.  These were organized by Norwegian diplomats and a Norwegian NGO.  The Israelis were forbidden from sending official representatives, so they sent two academics.  It was the first time either side had met members from the “opposing camp.  They got past their suspicion and fear.  They made progress, they found a little peace.  They will get there again because they know they can.

“Oslo” sort of helped me focus my thoughts on what this trip has been like for me on the level the more sublime journey of the mind and heart  Being away from the American 24 hour news machine has been a kind relief.  I have seen America through the lens of Facebook.  What did I see?  Very little dialogue on the NFL players “take a knee” controversy.  There has been a complete lack of dialogue or platforms for genuine dialogue.  The story of abuse in Hollywood has been shocking, sad, and opened wounds for women and men across the country.  Having seen how effective anti-discrimination, gender-neutral policies have been in the Federal sector, I was particularly shaken by the revelations from the entertainment industry.  Americans do not like to be seen as victims, it is not who we think we should be and so we often bottle it up and carry on, as so many of the women who have joined the “me too” campaign did.  Many of those in my circle of friends survived their ordeals and succeeded, but they suffered too.  This is what I saw and felt in the last few weeks as I struggled through difficult conversations and difficult memories of my own “me too” ordeal and memories of bullying and discrimination in my life.

My London Sojourn, though, has been filled too,with the astonishing book “The Lost Way,” which re-energized that spiritual part of me.  And it has been touched by connections with the Oneonta alumni and one current student, and random folks I’ve met.  I’ve had time with my English family, the Grants, unexpected discussions in unexpected places.  On the whole, I’d say, I’m glad that I still think that life is a banquet and most poor suckers are starving to death.  I’m probably not going to spend too much time worrying about the speck in your eye, when I’ve missed so many logs in mine.

Hurricane Ophelia paid a visit to Ireland yesterday, but didn’t really hit London.  It did give us some remarkable afternoon and evening skies.  The temperatures were unseasonably mild and it was, an otherwise, unseasonably pleasant day.  The weather made it a great day to hit a couple of favorite shopping venues, as I realized that I was starting my last full week for this adventure.  Having a new God-Grandson, among a few other special folks to buy Christmas presents for, I thought, I’d better get a move on.

I finally finished “The Lost Way,” the book I’ve been reading during this trip.  It is a book written by a Biblical scholar, but written at an accessible level. It examines the earliest texts of Jesus’s followers, focusing on “Q,” the lost earliest written source and “the Gospel of Thomas” and ancient text of Jess sayings an aphorisms that the Church rejected when it codified the 4 Gospels now in the New Testament.  The lost way discussed is the way of Wisdom.  It is the faith based on the teachings of Jesus before his death.  The book explains the significance of the 4 New Testament gospels to the Jewish Revolt against the Roman Empire and why the story of Jesus’s Resurrection and the Kingdom became so important while the Wisdom tradition lost traction.  It was a book that gave me great hope.

The British Museum is just a 15 or 20 minute walk from Clare Court.  As I was meeting with a current Oneonta student studying in London not too far from there, I thought, I might as well, stop by and visit some of my old haunts from last year’s trip.  Today was a crisp Autumn morning.   As I neared the museum, the little streams and eddies of primary children started to appear.  UK  schools do take advantage of the museums.  As always, I stopped in to see the Parthenon Marbles,   Then it was off for a ramble toward Tottenham Court Road and the Starbucks where I was to meet Vincent, a current SUNY Oneonta student studying in London.  And for the second time, I picked the wrong Starbucks.  But, as the picture shows, we finally got together.  Vincent is a great example of the high quality of students choosing SUNY Oneonta.  What a pleasure it was to spend some tme with him!

 

 

 

 

 

 

.More beautiful Autumn days in Bloomsbury.   I’ve not experienced an autumn like this  since Oneonta.  Of course, the incredible fiery colors  and crisp temperature of an     Oneonta Fall are not here but the setting and the sky are great.  The only bad thing about these several days were some “dodgy tacos.”  I had lunch at a “Latin themed” local restaurant that was something of a cross between Fawlty Towers and Steve Martin’s “The Waiter” Sketch.  The couple next to me, arrived after me, ordered a much more complicated meal than I did and got it almost immediately.  I never got my side order, waited for ever for my tacos, and later in the day fond the tacos coming out of me with a certain vehemence.

Speaking of Oneonta, I had another great meeting with an alumnus.  This time, it was David Daly, Class of 1977.  David was another of the great Garth Stam’s recruits from the UK to our little college during the “first golden age” at SUNY Oneonta.  I’m actually lucky this meet and greet and all that followed happened. David and I had agreed to meet at a Starbucks in Soho,  down from the Piccadilly Circus Tube Station.  My phone decided not to give me access to Google Maps when I arrived at Piccadilly, so, using my powers of memory I made my way to the Starbucks.  There I sat until David responded to my e-mail stating that he too had arrived and did not see me or my red SUNY Oneonta bag.  Yep, there were 2 Starbucks and I was at the wrong one!  David came to me.  David has had an amazing career on both sides of the Atlantic.  We shared our memories of college days and our thoughts about the college today and what we both would like to do in the future.  David is also on the board of Fulham Football Club.  He is a lifetime supporter of the club.  David mentioned that Fulham would be playing Preston on Saturday.  A special treat was  the presence of American Brian McBride who had played for both sides during his English football career.  David kindly got me a ticket for the match at historic Craven Cottage.

There’s something special about a football match in London.  Craven Cottage, Fulham’s stadium sits along the Thames.  It was about a half hour tube journey from Russell Square to Putney Bridge then, literally, a walk through the park.  This park, Bishop’s Park.  David said to just follow the crowd and I did, through the lovely park.   The football match was pretty exciting.  While Preston got the better of the local boys inte first half, I guess Brian McBride must have brought some Yankee mojo with to the field at the half because Fulham tied the game in the very last seconds of injury time.  The Metropolitan Police and Transportation for London (TfL) did a splendid job on  getting us through the Park and safely onto the Putney Bridge Tube Station.  Unlike arrival for the match, everybody was leaving together.  It was a real production.

My last “Breakfast concert was Sunday morning at Wigmore Hall.  The Scottish Ensemble provided 5 of its string instrumentalists to serenade us with Mozart and Brahms.  The two pieces were played to perfection.  It was almost dreamlike to sit there and listen to the music.  I found myself thinking great thoughts to the grand music, not quite asleep, not quite awake!  It was an hour in paradise.