Greenwich UK - Cutty Sark, clipper ship

There are several transportation options to travel from London to Greenwich - bus, train or boat. We chose to travel by boat down the Thames River with the MBNA Thames Clipper. The boat stops at several piers in London, so pick the closest one to you. We got on at London Bridge. You can pay the fare with an Oyster card (a pre-paid transportation card good for the subways in London). 

From the London Bridge pier we could see the ship "The HMS Belfast" and Tower Bridge.

I am not familiar with the HMS Belfast, so you will have to go look it up. You may be able to visit it.

As we floated along we passed the Tower of London and saw the entrance to the traitors gate, where traitors were "escorted" into the premises. 

Our stop was "Greenwich". If you want to visit the "Cutty Sark", get off here. It is right next to the pier. (The next stop "North Greenwich" drops you away from the center of town - near the O2 Center.) 

The "Cutty Sark" was originally used to transport tea to England from China. Later it transported coal to China and wool from Australia. Even later it was used to be a training ship for sailors. At one point it was sold to a Portugese firm and converted into a barge. Later it was bought by a gentleman from Falmouth, Cornwall. Here is a photo of the ship's history.

The clipper started out by doing trade with China to obtain tea. Tea was introduced to England by Catherine of Portugal, King Charles II 's wife. It became all the fashion. She was a trend setter.

The British wanted to increase their trade revenue in order to buy more tea from China, so they pressed the Chinese to open their markets to accept opium from the UK. The Chinese refused, but the Brits forced the issue through several wars known as the "Opium Wars". Eventually the Chinese gave in and allowed this trading.

When the Suez Canal opened in 1869 it shortened the voyage from England to China. The sailing clippers could not handle the strong winds on that route, so their tea trading declined. The hardier steam ships took over the tea trade.

Here is a model of the "Cutty Sark" with its sails.

There are two levels to visit inside the clipper. They both have exhibits about the history of the ship. The hull was wood covered with copper plating. The wood was reinforced by metal. It made for a strong ship. You can see this from the inside of the ship. 

On deck you can visit the officers' and apprentices' quarters. Can you guess which quarters were more spacious? The latter had narrow and short bunk beds.

The officers had a nice room to meet up and drink. Note the hanging drink holders.

Here is the hull of the ship.

Here is the ship's main mast.

Here is the ship from outside.

I would recommend a visit here. The clipper is an interesting part of England's maritime history.

Really now - Wigmore Hall concert in London

I forgot to add this concert to my proms post.  I really did attend a concert at Wigmore Hall in London.

Our friend and colleague Roderick Williams from the St. Endellion Festival in Cornwall UK sang a recital of mostly obscure Schubert lieder. His performance was moving, especially of the most famous Schubert piece on the program, "An die Musik". Music has the ability to move the listener and performer and to transport one into another place, if only temporarily. It was nice to be reminded of that.

The wide range of styles between these Schubert songs was amazing. Some were written around 1815; others in the 1820s. Some were simple strophic songs - repetitive and predictable. Others were more through-composed. Surprisingly to me there were recitative parts too. 

Any chance I have to hear Roddy sing is a gift. He will not join us at the festival this year. I am glad I got to hear him once this summer.

A Midsummer's Night Dream at the Globe Theater in London

We saw another fabulous performance at the Globe Theater in London. This time it was "A Misummer's Night Dream " by Shakespeare and directed by the new director of the Globe, Emma Rice. There were a number of unexpected elements in the production. The music was not by Mendelssohn, but rather by a local composer who chose mostly "Ballywood" style music. At first it was kind of strange, but it worked for the show. There were several Indian actors in the production, so I am not sure if they inspired the choice of music or if the music was chosen and then they picked the actors. Nothing like breaking out into Indian pop music (instrumental or vocal) in the midst of reciting Shakespeare verses. At one point the music turned to a Broadway musical style. That was a bit jolting.

Another unusual choice of interpretation was the depiction of Helena (female) as Helenus (male).

That made one couple heterosexual (Lysander and Hermia) and one couple homosexual (Demitrius and Helenus). Obviously this was a choice the director made. It added another element of tension into the relationships. It also worked.

If you were looking for a traditional interpretation of the play, this was not it. All of the changed elements worked. They just threw you off guard a bit.

The stage was designed to allow the audience in the yard to participate in the action. The actors at certain points walked on top of tables set up in the yard. Here is the view of the stage area before the show. Note the white table tops in the audience area. The actors would stand on those tables and perform.

Other standout moments from the show were Puck's performance and the play performed at the Duke's wedding, presented by actors who were made to look like volunteers at the Globe Theater. 

The character of the "wall", made of cereal boxes, was hilarious. The man in the moon character had some funny lines, especially when "corrected" by the Duke who thought it should be the man on the moon.

This show was very creative. We were laughing a lot and often. Go see it!

Concerts at the BBC Proms and Wigmore Hall

On Friday July 22 we went to Royal Albert Hall for a proms concert featuring the period instrument ensemble "Le cercle de l'Harmonie" from France. They played music of Mozart and Mendelssohn- 2 symphonies and 2 concert arias. The soloist for the arias was the Italian singer Rose Feola. She had a clear and powerful voice. The Mendelssohn aria she sung was recently "re-discovered" by a musicologist who works in our neighboring suburb of Georgetown Texas. Small world! It is a shame he was not given credit in the concert program. I only knew about this through a Facebook post one of my friends shared.

The ensemble was the size of a chamber orchestra. It sounded like the musicians were playing on old instruments, especially the winds and brass. The sound is different from modern instruments.

We were sitting far back, so we could not tell visually.  The conductor chose brisk tempi, so the music did not drag. It was an exciting performance.

Here is the view of the stage from our seats in back of the hall.

I encourage everyone to attend a proms concert while in London. You will not be disappointed.

More from the Imperial War Museum in London.

Two years ago I visited this museum and posted about it. I just wanted to add more details. Once again I visited the World War 2 exhibits as my husband wanted to see them. He had not been there before. Last time I must have missed one section, as there were some new things for me to see this time.

This bronze eagle was placed over the Reich's chancellory in Berlin. It was a symbol of Hitler's strength.

Outside the museum is a fragment of the Berlin Wall that someone saved (graffiti and all).

It was interesting to read about the British General Montgomery in the exhibits. I was not familiar with him. His campaigns in Egypt against the Germans and Italians during World War 2 were successful. He was concerned about his troops getting a proper English breakfast. That breakfast got the nickname "the full Monty". Now you know where that expression comes from!

Later this summer I would like to return to this museum to see the section on World War 1.

Macbeth at the Globe Theater, Pakistani food in east London, the London Symphony at St Luke's

Our afternoon started off with a fine production of Shakespeare's Macbeth at the Globe Theater. We attended a performance of Richard II last summer at the Globe and were pleased with the quality of the show. Macbeth also did not disappoint. The lead Macbeth was played by Ray Fearon, a black actor. He was outstanding. His leading lady (Lady Macbeth) was Tara Fitzgerald, who some may recognize from the TV series "Game of Thrones". (I have never watched this show, so I have no clue!) 

She played a disturbed Lady Macbeth very well. One of the standout moments in the performance was by the porter (played by Nadia Albina). Her monologue at the castle gate was very funny. She was pretending it was the gate to hell and she was bound to keep answering the knocking at the gate. Various imaginary characters appeared at this hell gate, including Donald Trump. This was good timing for that "joke" as the U.S. is in the midst of its Republican National Convention. Other highlights of the show were the fight scenes, the ghost of Banquo appearing to Macbeth as someone writhing under a black sheet), the strange scenes with the 3 weird sisters, the music composed for this production (had at times an old Scottish folk tune influence and a spookiness to it) and the little boy who appeared to be Macbeth's son (making cameo appearances throughout). The performance definitely kept my attention throughout. I would recommend it.

Here are a few photos of the Globe Theater. Below is the theater (white building with thatched roof) from Southwark bridge.

Below is the stage before the show started.

After the show we made our way over to east London for dinner at my favorite Pakistani restaurant, Tayyabs. It is on Fieldgate Street. 

I ordered the karahi chicken saag. That is a chicken and spinach dish spiced up with spices I did not recognize by taste. The karahi is the pan in which the food is prepared (looks like a mini wok). It was really tasty.

I finished off the meal with a yogurt drink called mango lassi.

I left the place stuffed! Very filling at a reasonable price.

Near our hotel on Old Street is a place called "LSO at St. Luke's". It is an old church that was converted into a concert venue for the London Symphony. They do community outreach and education concerts at this location. (Normally they play their regular concerts at the Barbican. This is another venue where they play.) Unfortunately I was not able to go inside, but here are photos from the outside.

I will have to ask my musician friends from London more about this initiative by the London Symphony to bring music to this part of London.

London 2016 - staying in the borough of Islington

As our UK adventure of summer 2016 is off to a fine start on our first day, I thought I would give you a brief introduction to where we are staying and eating.  Our choice of budget hotel, Easy Hotel chain, came through for us at the "Barbican" location at 80 Old Street in the borough of Islington. The location is near the Old Street tube station (a 5 minute walk). There are lifts in the building (yay, a big deal for us with heavy luggage in tow). Not all locations have lifts. The room is rather "spacious" compared to other locations, meaning that we don't have to stack our luggage against the door due to lack of space. We can put it beside the bed. There is air conditioning in the room that you can control.

All of these things are pluses. We have enjoyed staying at the Earl's Court and South Kensington locations in the past. The rooms there were more expensive than here this summer.

The search of a good pub (priorities!) was essential for dinner on our first night. After comparing menus and walking around the neighborhood, we found Singer Tavern on 1 City Road. It had a nice spacious feel (until the young urban professionals showed up after work). Then it got crowded and noisy. It must be a popular place for them to hang out after work. I ordered the standard pub fare -  fish pie. This pie was a bit different than others. It had fresh wilted spinach in it (in contrast to the usual peas). That was tasty. Also there was no sauce of any kind. Usually there is a cream sauce. It needed some sort of sauce, as it was a bit dry. However the flavors of the smoked salmon, smoked haddock, mashers (mashed potatoes) flavored with mature cheddar cheese were amazing. The fish and spinach formed the lower layer of the pie. The mashers covered it. I ordered Mortimer's Orchard premium hard cider from on tap. The bar tender recommended it. It was smooth. The alcohol taste was not overwhelming. It was served room temperature (which I think is a European thing). In the U.S. I tend to drink it chilled. They were out of my favorite dessert - sticky toffee pudding (a moist cake made of dates, topped with caramel sauce and served à la mode).

Here is a photo of the pie and cider.

In this area there are a variety of eating places - Italian, Thai, Chinese, British cafés and pubs as well as several small grocery stores. I tend to eat cheaply for breakfast and lunch by going to the grocery store and purchasing food. Many of the groceries stores have a "meal deal" for lunch that costs around 3 GBP. It includes a choice of selected items from their sandwiches, snacks and drinks. It makes a nice portable lunch for those of us who want to keep moving and see a lot of London. Take a break from your sightseeing and find a spot in the park to eat it. There are many local parks around the city.

Dinner time is a great occasion to unwind and enjoy eating out. There are lots of restaurants in London. I enjoy walking around on the side streets and finding the hidden gems of restaurants back in the alleys.

Stay tuned for more posts on London and Cornwall from summer 2016.