Saturday was a beautiful Autumn day in London.  The picture above is of a steel drum band playing at the neighborhood festival on Marchmont Street, in my temporary home.  More on that later.

My day was built around a midday jazz performance at the Pizza Express Jazz Club in London’s Soho neighborhood.  Soho “is.”  It was a lovely day to walk around Soho and take it in.  I had a nice meal in Pizza Express and found their creative nonalcoholic fruit drinks were good.  These weekend afternoon jazz gigs are relaxed, opportunities for testing out new songs, and generally fun.  Chris Rand had with him Andrew Noble on organ and Dave Green on drums.  During the performance, he invited up 4 guest performers, including Ben Feltham from Nine Below Zero and guitarist Tony Remy.  These guys rocked that joint.  It was almost mystic.  I  know Tony Remy must have thought that this old guy right in front of him was probably having some kind of flashback to some pre-historic Newport Jazz Festival.  The musicians and the audience were attuned.  Their rendition of “Georgia on My Mind” was flawless.  When the pe3rformance ended, it was rather fun to walk out into a fine late afternoon and have a pleasant stroll back to the tube and toward the neighborhood festival.  With Chris Rand’s jazz still in my ears, I strolled along Marchmont Street to see the kids with painted faces, ethic food vendors, international crafts, the steel drum band and people from around the world, smiling an having fun.  Thank goodness I am on a budget!  A lady had wonderful Afro-Caribbean inspired art that was very tempting.  Within the Brunswick open air shopping center, the normal Saturday market stalls were up.  I stopped to chat with the ladies at the local Palestinian-Friendship Committee.  This was the only sad part of the day.  The way this lovely English lady described what she had seen in the territories was tragic.  It forced me to  think of all that the people on both sides have been through and how they have gotten to where they are.  Sadat, Meier, King Hussein, Rabin, even Begin, so close they came.  So sad.

Sunday was a very different kind of day.  It was another beautiful day.  The sun was shining.  I threw on an Oneonta Tee Shirt and thought I would take the Tube into town and perhaps hit a museum or two.  The Piccadilly Line was not cooperating.  Oh, it was running, but it was crowded.  Too crowded for this kid on a hot sunny day.  So, back up the elevator I went.  I had a great chat with a young mum and her3 or 4 year old who was reading the sign about how many steps you had to climb f you did not want to wait for the Russell Street elevators.  I told her about my adventure (many years ago) climbing the Covent Garden stairs.  Once back in the sunshine, I headed back to Brunswick Square and went to GiraffeWorld Kitchen for a late Brunch.  they do a  great vegetarian version of a “Full English.”  The place was bursting with people.  There were families with more kids than 960s Italian wedding reception. It was great fun.  After fueling up, I decided to take a ramble.  The great thing about my neighborhood, like most of London, is that it is a feast for the eyes,  I wandered and got myself lost, enjoying myself enormously.  When I did get back near home, a local book shop ha cheap used books out for sale an a good rummage ensued, but I kept my mettle and did not buy.

My friend Celia Lang reminded me today of the incredibly important place the arts should play in our lives.  I am one of those for whom the arts are an necessary part of life.  My experience at the Pizza Express on Saturday exemplifies this.  As the band jammed, I closed my eyes and retreated into a different world of color and images.  The feeling of peace that comes with this is life affirming.  I have a similar emotive experience when viewing great art.  My friend, the artist Bryan Jernigan must think I am something of a sycophant when I praise each new piece of his work.  But, there is certain art that virtually “sings” to me.  I have spoken to others who share this sense and understand it.  What worries me is the way our world seems to be turning away from the arts.  STEM bothers me for that reason.  Shouldn’t we put an “A” in there?  Wouldn’t our engineer, scientists and mathematicians lives be enriched through exposure to the arts? Art, music, theater-these are what make our lives beautiful.  Great literature, great drama, great beauty-we need it in our lives, it soothes, it nourishes, it builds our souls.