All packed, excepting PJs, toothbrush and such.
Been such a good last week.
Dream at the Globe was overall okay. Bottom and the mechanicals were hilarious, rollicking fun: truly delightful, they got the loudest applause.
I'll be pondering Timon of Athens (also a Globe production) for a while. Only the second play of Shakespeare's I'd seen without reading the text first, hence the first act tricky to follow. (The first was Julius Caesar, but I think that story is part of our collective memory; easy to follow throughout.) Dark, distancing, disturbing; poignant in its portrayal of (literally) ravenous creditors. Intermission was announced by the actors running through the yard (and swinging over it) shouting, "Get out! The house is broken! Get out!" It took a surpisingly long while for the audience to get the message. I was already buying a snack and a Pimms by the time they at large began exiting.
Did the Globe Rose Theatre and Exhibition Tour yesterday. Was very happy to have a knowledgeable, articulate and witty guide. Interesting to know that the original Globe's site cannot be excavated, though it is a historical site, because built onto it is another historic site: a Georgian building. Legal protection meets legal protection. Listened to Ellen Terry act Juliet's "This dismal scene I must needs act alone" scene: such spirited fright! I stayed longer than planned and spent the late afternoon, early evening walking around, basking.
Today I toured the Tate Britain, and again I wish I had the "extra credits" to take an art history course. (Though over time I know I'll give myself the education.) There were several paintings I stood in front of for a long, long time - ended up sacrificing a last trip to the Royal Albert Hall, where I would have heard several works by J.S. Bach, including the most famous Toccata and Fugue. But I am happy to have stayed. Though nothing beats a great performance in a great performance hall, my Bose headphones do come close; and pictures online or in a book absolutely do not beat the actual work of painters, presented properly.
O, sigh.
See most of you soon! And Prof. McDonald, thank you again for all your informed, entertaining assistance. I will see you (and London) later in life, later in career! (And the poems of Philip Larkin are wonderful, thank you!)
Hoping Heathrow has a West Cornwall Pasty Co., would love to have one last delicious, hearty traditional pasty . . . Also that I, you know, land okay . . .
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