Gong Hey Fat Choy!
Gong Hey Fat Choy! Happy Chinese New Year, that is! Evidently, London has the biggest Chinese New Year celebrations outside Asia and so there were parties all over town.
We dropped into one at Trafalgar Square which had turned into a sea of booths (featuring food, ornaments, music, etc.), red lanterns and stage shows of traditional dance troupes, acrobats, opera, musicians, and martial arts performances with a few fireworks to cap off the day. Such swirls of color, action and talent!
Hope the new Year of the Monkey will be full of great things for all! (including bananas maybe?!?)
Locking Up THE Tower -- of London!
One of THE coolest things we've seen since we've been here was the Ceremony of the Keys where the Beefeaters literally lock the ancient doors of the Tower of London using huge, iron keys about 10 inches long. As two of about 30 people witnessing this hushed and sober occasion one night, this is what we witnessed (I added a few descriptions in parentheses):
The Chief Yeoman Warder "walks to Traitor’s Gate to meet members of the duty regiment Foot Guards who escort him throughout the ceremony.
One soldier takes the (candle-lit) lantern and they walk in step to the outer gate. All guards and sentries on duty salute the Queen’s Keys as they pass.
The Warder locks the outer gate and they walk back to lock the oak gates of the Middle and Byward Towers.
They then return along Water Lane towards the Wakefield Tower, where in the deep shadows of the Bloody Tower archway a sentry waits and watches.
The Chief Yeoman Warder "walks to Traitor’s Gate to meet members of the duty regiment Foot Guards who escort him throughout the ceremony.
One soldier takes the (candle-lit) lantern and they walk in step to the outer gate. All guards and sentries on duty salute the Queen’s Keys as they pass.
The Warder locks the outer gate and they walk back to lock the oak gates of the Middle and Byward Towers.
They then return along Water Lane towards the Wakefield Tower, where in the deep shadows of the Bloody Tower archway a sentry waits and watches.
As the Chief Warder and escort approach, the (bear-hatted, bayonet-toting) sentry’s challenge rings out.
“Halt!“
“Who comes there?“
“The Keys“ replies the Chief Warder.
“Whose Keys?“
“Queen Elizabeth’s Keys.”
“Pass Queen Elizabeth’s Keys. All’s well.”
All four men walk to the Bloody Tower archway and up towards the broad-walk steps where the main Guard is drawn up.
The Chief Yeoman Warder and escort halt at the foot of the steps and the officer in charge gives the command to the Guard and escort to present arms.
The Chief Yeoman Warder moves two paces forward, raises his Tudor bonnet high in the air and calls “God preserve Queen Elizabeth.” The guard (and on-lookers) answers “Amen” exactly as the clock chimes 10 pm and ‘The Duty Drummer’ sounds (a regal and solemn-sounding song) "The Last Post" on his bugle.
The Chief Yeoman Warder takes the keys back to the Queen’s House and the Guard is dismissed." (from changing-guard.com)
(photos from Changing-Guard.com)
For over 700 years, the same ceremony has taken place each night to literally lock each of the giant gates and carry the keys to the Tower Governor who watches over them through the night. Never has it been cancelled in all those centuries and it has only been delayed once during WWII when a bomb blast knocked two guards off their feet!
It was at once a little eerie (because of the Tower's history -- prison, be-headings, disappearances) and enthralling to be there in the dark of night. Afterwards, we on-lookers were led along the narrow path to smaller doors within the huge, gated ones, to be turned loose into the quiet city streets.
The pageantry, traditions and history of this place never ceases to amaze!
"Showstopper"
Ok, we saw the most ingenious play the other night; it's called "Showstopper." It's built around the impossible-sounding concept of creating an improvised musical on the spot based on the input of the audience! Whaaat?
There were 6 well-voiced actors. Additionally, one "director/narrator" led the audience in discussion and he moderated the results of the audience's cheering volume in favor of one idea or the other. This determined the musical's setting, theme, style of music and choreography. He also stopped the production at various points to refocus the plot, throw the actors a twist or give us a comedic aside.
Obviously, no two shows are ever the same as they're based on full-audience response, not just a "plant" with predetermined suggestions in the crowd. Ours was set in ancient Rome and was a love story that took detours through Greece, and featured numbers based on the attendee's input of other play styles they'd like incorporated: "Top Hat," "Hamilton" (hip hop and rapping), and an Andrew Lloyd Webber-type song. These resulted in tap-dancing lions, a sword-wielding production number and a rap about love.
They only perform for 3 months or so on Monday nights in a theater where the currently featured show is dark (not running -- a night off).
It was SO funny and mind-boggling that a full-length show of such cohesive quality could be brought to life on the fly. Best comment from the director who thanked us all for coming to the show: "It's amazing to me that you're all here. And that you when you purchased your ticket, you bought one for a show that didn't exist."
I figure one night a bunch of actors were sitting around together on a night their shows had the night off and they brainstormed this idea and ran with it. Totally have to go back again for the next show!
and "Goodnight, Mr. Tom"
Based on a book by English author Michelle Magorian, this play tells the story of a boy who is evacuated to the country during WWII and his life with the curmudgeon of an old man he is assigned to stay with. It follows their relationship, the boy's growth and happiness in the country and the tragedy that awaits him when he is shipped back home.
It was well-acted, but much darker than their marketing belied. Unsettling at best, the show did have a brighter ending than anticipated. Mixed feelings about this one. Back to "Showstopper" for me!
Transported!
London's Transport Museum was an intriguing peek back into the transportation heritage of London. From the days of Thames River travel, omnibuses, trams, trolleybuses and trains to today's buses, taxis, bikes, it covers the evolution of getting around here. It's also got great displays of marketing items, pictures and artifacts -- like the brush and helmet used by women who used to clean the "fluff" (dirt and fuzz) from the subway lines by hand.
Perhaps it's because I use so much public transportation here and it's well-run and efficient for the most part, I was quite interested in this place. And, it's in a beautiful building with huge ceilings and arched windows of glass; it's an old flower market in Covent Garden. I'm pretty much falling in love with architecture since being in London. It captures my imagination in whole new ways here.
“Halt!“
“Who comes there?“
“The Keys“ replies the Chief Warder.
“Whose Keys?“
“Queen Elizabeth’s Keys.”
“Pass Queen Elizabeth’s Keys. All’s well.”
All four men walk to the Bloody Tower archway and up towards the broad-walk steps where the main Guard is drawn up.
The Chief Yeoman Warder and escort halt at the foot of the steps and the officer in charge gives the command to the Guard and escort to present arms.
The Chief Yeoman Warder moves two paces forward, raises his Tudor bonnet high in the air and calls “God preserve Queen Elizabeth.” The guard (and on-lookers) answers “Amen” exactly as the clock chimes 10 pm and ‘The Duty Drummer’ sounds (a regal and solemn-sounding song) "The Last Post" on his bugle.
The Chief Yeoman Warder takes the keys back to the Queen’s House and the Guard is dismissed." (from changing-guard.com)
For over 700 years, the same ceremony has taken place each night to literally lock each of the giant gates and carry the keys to the Tower Governor who watches over them through the night. Never has it been cancelled in all those centuries and it has only been delayed once during WWII when a bomb blast knocked two guards off their feet!
It was at once a little eerie (because of the Tower's history -- prison, be-headings, disappearances) and enthralling to be there in the dark of night. Afterwards, we on-lookers were led along the narrow path to smaller doors within the huge, gated ones, to be turned loose into the quiet city streets.
The pageantry, traditions and history of this place never ceases to amaze!
"Showstopper"
Ok, we saw the most ingenious play the other night; it's called "Showstopper." It's built around the impossible-sounding concept of creating an improvised musical on the spot based on the input of the audience! Whaaat?
There were 6 well-voiced actors. Additionally, one "director/narrator" led the audience in discussion and he moderated the results of the audience's cheering volume in favor of one idea or the other. This determined the musical's setting, theme, style of music and choreography. He also stopped the production at various points to refocus the plot, throw the actors a twist or give us a comedic aside.
Obviously, no two shows are ever the same as they're based on full-audience response, not just a "plant" with predetermined suggestions in the crowd. Ours was set in ancient Rome and was a love story that took detours through Greece, and featured numbers based on the attendee's input of other play styles they'd like incorporated: "Top Hat," "Hamilton" (hip hop and rapping), and an Andrew Lloyd Webber-type song. These resulted in tap-dancing lions, a sword-wielding production number and a rap about love.
They only perform for 3 months or so on Monday nights in a theater where the currently featured show is dark (not running -- a night off).
It was SO funny and mind-boggling that a full-length show of such cohesive quality could be brought to life on the fly. Best comment from the director who thanked us all for coming to the show: "It's amazing to me that you're all here. And that you when you purchased your ticket, you bought one for a show that didn't exist."
I figure one night a bunch of actors were sitting around together on a night their shows had the night off and they brainstormed this idea and ran with it. Totally have to go back again for the next show!
and "Goodnight, Mr. Tom"
Based on a book by English author Michelle Magorian, this play tells the story of a boy who is evacuated to the country during WWII and his life with the curmudgeon of an old man he is assigned to stay with. It follows their relationship, the boy's growth and happiness in the country and the tragedy that awaits him when he is shipped back home.
It was well-acted, but much darker than their marketing belied. Unsettling at best, the show did have a brighter ending than anticipated. Mixed feelings about this one. Back to "Showstopper" for me!
Transported!
London's Transport Museum was an intriguing peek back into the transportation heritage of London. From the days of Thames River travel, omnibuses, trams, trolleybuses and trains to today's buses, taxis, bikes, it covers the evolution of getting around here. It's also got great displays of marketing items, pictures and artifacts -- like the brush and helmet used by women who used to clean the "fluff" (dirt and fuzz) from the subway lines by hand.
Perhaps it's because I use so much public transportation here and it's well-run and efficient for the most part, I was quite interested in this place. And, it's in a beautiful building with huge ceilings and arched windows of glass; it's an old flower market in Covent Garden. I'm pretty much falling in love with architecture since being in London. It captures my imagination in whole new ways here.
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