A very Henry trip, right to the end!

Just a PS post to say, I'm back. Well, most of me is.

I'm adjusting to the warm weather I was greeted with.

The flights were just as I always hope they'll be-- no additional randomized security searches on my person, and basically uneventful.

However I must mention, the family in front of me on the plane had 2 children-- One was named Turner and the second was, yep you guessed it.

Very peculiar indeed.

Guess this is it from me for now.

D.

Life is Like a Beanstalk, Isn't It?

Well bloggies,

Time to make my last post from these shores.

I've had an incredible time on this trip, and today was no different. I went to church at the London Vineyard and it was really good. Afterwards scarfed down a wonderful Indian meal at Leicester Square (just off a road by it), then on to the Virgin Megastore which has taken over the building Tower Records used to occupy in Picadilly Circus.

I hit the comedic jackpot. I found a DVD with the very episode of a television show that I have never laughed harder at in my whole entire life. I won't say what it is here, because I want Harold to guess what it is (because he'll get it in 1 guess). I was SO excited to get it, but I've been holding off watching it because this will be only the 2nd time in maybe 25 years that I've seen this episode. I've told Harold about it for years, so I want to experience the next time fresh with him.

I watched a few of the other episodes on the DVD, and it was a lot of fun.

Afterward, I went to see the Procol Harum concert. Amazing how old the audiences are these days, she said, approaching 43. I'm still a young boomer, so I was kind of noting the number of bald heads facing me, as I sat toward the back.

Gary Brooker (piano, musical composer and lead singer) was in an especially silly mood tonight, and the other guys in the band were visibly having a great time, smiling at each other and trying to make each other laugh. This lineup is one of the most cohesive I've seen in years, although Mr. Matthew Fisher (Hammond organ guru) is not in this current lineup.

One moment took my breath away, as I didn't expect to see the legendary Keith Reid (lyrics) walk out on the stage and recite part of one of the tunes. THAT was a special moment. I've always heard Reid's been the creative force behind this band, writing the lyrics, picking out the order of the songs for the concerts and albums, and often sitting at the sound board directing traffic. Tonight, I could see him behind the stage right procenium, with his back to the audience, but bobbing to every hair of a beat. The man is quite a force.

Well, I've got 6 minutes more to tell you that it's been another spectacular trip, and I honestly do not wish it to end. But, that's not very practical, especially with how much plastic has been used over here. I'm going to be living with paying for this for a little while. Or until I get paid from the Kid Comedians project.

When I come home I'll have to get cracking on that. Harold and the others had a review of it today without me. Here's to hoping it gets completed soon.

Well, bloggies... Cheerio and I'll see you soon!

D.

(This computer didn't have spell check... How embarrassing for me!).

I'm back to add the setlist from the Procol Harum concert:

The VIP Room
The Idol
Pandora’s Box
Luskus Delph
The Wall Street Blues
Homburg
Victims of the Fury
An Old English Dream
Conquistador

(interval)

Shadow Boxed
Toujours l’Amour
The Blink of an Eye
Simple Sister
Something Following Me
Beyond the Pale
A Salty Dog
In Held ’Twas in I (complete! Keith Reid included)

(encores)

A fragment of Sunny Goodge Street mutating into The Times They Are A-Changing
A Whiter Shade of Pale
AlphaKaleidoscope
New Lamps for Old

Incidentally, the title about Life's being like a beanstalk comes from "In Held 'Twas in I."

How much of an entry can I make in 14 minutes?

Hello Bloggies...

Today was spent with Roy Petersen, Regent Grad, writer/director, new Londoner and man about town.

After a nice lunch, I dragged him to see "Ying Tong," although his thoughts were a little less glowing, since he says the play bore a striking resemblance to a show he saw on HBO once on Peter Sellers.

Anyway, afterwards we were going to go see friends of Roys who are doing an improv-comedy show at a Leicester Sq. pub called The Polar Bear. We had some time so instead we went to an Internet cafe and discussed writing. I told him all about my play idea, and he actually liked the premise enough to suggest that if we could get funding, he might like to make it into a film.

I've got to finish the darn thing first, but this info will definitely give me incentive to keep working on it.

Anyway, it ended up we talked so much we didn't go to the "Improv-edy," which was just as well. Roy wasn't really feeling up for it anyway.

I'm now back at Paddington, and on my way home for the night. Funny how I didn't see this Internet cafe until now. My other entries have either been from Vince's house or Trafalgar Square.

Tomorrow, I'll be going to church at the London Vineyard and then on to see Procol Harum tomorrow evening. Not sure what else I'll have time for.

I feel this isn't much of an entry, as I'm racing against the 8 minutes I still have left on my login.

Well, bloggies, I'll either see you on the other side of the Atlantic, OR I'll make one more entry tomorrow.

It's been a wonderful trip. Wish Harold could have made it, but maybe he'll keep a blog of his trip to Bolognia in April... or his pending Frankfurt trip in October.

TTFN
D.

So far, even better!

Hello bloggies...

Well, the trip continues to be fantastic.

Henry keeps popping up-- another restaurant called "Henry's" instead of the "Henry" restaurant I saw a day or two ago (the days blur together because so happens in each one).

Yesterday, I thought I died and went to heaven. I saw a matinee of "Ying Tong." For the uninitiated, "Ying Tong" refers to the name of a song that came from a very famous BBC comedy radio show from the 50's, The Goon Show, which featured a very young Peter Sellers, Spike Milligan and Harry Secombe. I used to listen to repeats of this show on Public Radio in Washington DC in the 70's. The radio program was written by Spike Milligan (a legend in these parts) and the production I saw yesterday was about the mental health issues surrounding his career. He suffered from manic depression and often was quite tortured by it. The show could have been very depressing, but it was written in such a way, that you had a balanced perspective about his condition. I'm not sure how they achieved that, but they did.

Originally, I hesitated to see this show because I was afraid it would be a bit like seeing an Elvis show in Las Vegas. "They're gone! Get over it! These actors aren't the real McCoy!" BUT, I went anyway and was thrilled that I did. It wasn't an impression show, but rather a very brilliantly written description of the inside of Spike Milligan's mind. All of the actors portraying Milligan, Sellers and Secombe, (or the man portraying Wallace Greenslade, the Goon Show announcer), obviously didn't look like these men and they didn't really try to. Sellers was only recognizable with his ever-present black horn-rimmed glasses he wore during those days. Secombe was portly (as was the real Secombe), although the actor's voice was IDENTICAL-- IDENTICAL!!!- to Secombe's. All 4 actors attacked their roles with competence, aplomb, and affection for these men. Everyone was brilliant, and the man playing Milligan amazed me. His portrayal of Milligan's flailing and dramatic ranting captured the essence of what it was like to be with this man.

Having purchased a video of his work a few years ago, I am familiar with Milligan's work. Some Americans might have seen him on The Muppet Show once, doing his act of "Boomerang Fish."

...Guess you had to be there.

Throughout the play I was kicking myself for having missed seeing Milligan in person just a few years ago at the Palladium. I had planned my trip for after Christmas, and he had been on stage around the 22nd of December that year. All of the Goons are gone (although Secombe might still be floating about somewhere-- I don't remember hearing of his passing; I could be wrong though).

I was so taken with this play, I bought a copy of the script in the lobby, and actually intend to see it again before I go. This may shock a few of you reading this, but some of the themes of this show touch on the script I'm working on, and to see this again would be helpful to the character development in my piece. The character with problems in my piece is more introverted and pessimistic, so seeing this very different side of mental illness was interesting. I know the show won't be here when I get back, and even if it were, by then the cast will have moved on. I got in for 1/2 price yesterday, so... If I can do that again, it'll be 2 for the price of 1 anyway. :>

After the show, I glided in a reverie down to Barnes to meet Megs Etherington and his wonderful wife Sheila to have a lovely Italian dinner next to the pub where Megs and his pals the Bill Posters Will Be Band were to play at 8:30. I've been seeing this band for years, and Harold and I have become friends to a couple members of the band. Megs and Sheila and I made plans for them to come to the US. As much as Megs adores American jazz, he has never set foot on American soil. We're about to change this. When he comes, we're planning on their staying in Virginia Beach, then hit DC, Philly and New York. Hopefully Blossom Dearie will still be playing at the Skylight Room on Saturday nights by the time they get here.

Anyway, that's a long way off.

The Bill Posters gig was good chaotic fun, as usual. They play 20's trad jazz novelty tunes. And if they play something that's not a novelty tune, they'll do some sort of comedic schtick to destroy it. :>

I love these guys, and they're a well-kept secret playing at the Bull's Head every first Thursday of each month in South West London.

Megs and Sheila dropped me off at the Hammersmith Tube Station and I went home and updated Harold via telephone.

Today, I went to the chiropractor's.... No, nothing was terribly wrong-- just the usual maintenance. I like the job they do at the clinic I go to here, although it costs a bit more (about 3X!).

I had been invited to Kent, to visit Vince and Kathy at Kathy's parents for her Father's Birthday, but they're snowed in down there. Just as well, I haven't had a day to just shop around and do nothing anyway. I went back to the hotel and worked some more on a script I've been developing over here. The theatre is inspiring me, and I'm finding myself spending a lot of my spare moments trying to develop this script.

Which is why I didn't actually make it out in time for another show tonight. By the time I left the hotel, it was past the usual starting time of 7:30pm to see something. No matter-- that's why I came back to the Trafalgar Square Easy Internet Cafe to update you all. I'll be leaving shortly-- especially since this guy sitting 2 chairs away from me continues to snort, hack, sneeze, and cough his way through his email.

Makes you wonder what wonderful germs my finger tips are collecting as I type to you faithful bloggies. I must wash my hands when I get back home.

Next up on the agenda-- stopping at HMV record store to see if I can find a Bollywood DVD for Harold. He wants a light romantic Indian musical... Yep... He really does.

I should go over to Picadilly Circus, but I'm afraid that the Tower Records there is no more. I spent more money in that store than in any other. Probably just as well that it's gone.

Well, that's it for now.

Tomorrow, I'll be hanging out with Regent grad and now Londoner, Roy Petersen. We're going to have lunch, and I'll drag him to the Saturday matinee of "Ying Tong." Hope he likes it. We're going to go to an "Improv-edy" performance in Leicester Square on Saturday night.

Sunday will be church, and Sunday night, "Procol Harum."

Back home on Monday. Man, tempest fugit!

Cheerio,
D.

Henry!

Hello there....

After a couple of days without the Net, I'm back to just fill in a little of what has happened since I last left you.

Sunday night, I got to talk to Harold at length via the web, and he even got his webcam to work, so I got so see him and the puppies-- although unfortunately, the image looked like a combination of the lunar landing and the shroud of Turin. I got to see the puppies too, so that was nice. I could see Maisie cocking her head as I said her name. Cute little baby.

On Monday, I took the train from Newtown, Wales, to Wolverhampton and back to London, pretty much without incident. I say, "pretty much" because it's never easy going up and down stairs with a big fat rolling suitcase, a purse the size of a small tent and a heavy laptop computer all by oneself... but I managed to make it via the Tube to my hotel, The Glendale Hyde Park Hotel without rain.

Yes, without rain, but not without snow. It was a kind of Virginia Beach, snow... Lots coming down, but nothing sticking because the city is too warm.

I must say though, that with all the baggage I had with me, I've found people unusually more helpful-- Whenever I needed to go up or down stairs, SOMEONE was always there to help me. Thank you God!

Oops.. Just found out this cafe closes soon... so I'll recap briefly:

Yesterday, played on my computer, read from The Playwright's Process book that Gil Elvgren uses for his class, then went to see Neil Innes in Edmunton. Met him and his wife Yvonne after the show. Nice people.

Today, met up with an old friend for lunch then went to see the matinee of Andrew Lloyd Webber's latest musical "The Woman in White." An amazing show, amazingly done-- The sets were 3D models... I kid you not. Michael Ball, played a FAT Italian... Interesting. He's neither usually. After the show, had tea, then onto a second show, "The Dresser" with an old fave Nicholas Lindhurst. Amazing performances, all of them!

Tomorrow, it's back to another matinee, and then off to meet Mike and Sheila for dinner before his gig with the Bill Posters Will Be Band at the Bull's Head.

I'm looking forward to seeing them and the band.

Well, that's all for now,
D.

The reason this entry is called Henry is because I've heard something about "Henry" in a variety of contexts EVERYDAY... Today it was the name of a restaurant I passed.