Dear London Town

Dear Class,

Today I went to Buckingham Palace to see the changing of the guards. I kinda don’t get it. All the soldiers did was march around and yell and did all these moves: put one hand on their shoulder, then the other hand on their shoulder, then they moved their gun and then they put their hands on their hips. It was kinda boring. The bobbies who rode on horses to keep the crowds back; that was cool. Next we went to St. James Park to have a picnic. I chased the pigeons.

After lunch, we went back to Buckingham Palace and had a tour inside of the Palace. It was cool except when I had to wait on my mom and Aunt Kate. My favorite room was the White Room because it had two secret doors. The we had tea in the Queen’s garden (or back yard). It was my first tea and I actually liked it. I also ate almost all of my Aunt Kate’s chocolate tart. I asked someone if the Queen has a swimming pool and he pointed out the part of the palace where the pool is. He also showed me where the Queen takes her dogs for a walk and where she likes to sit and read.

After tea, I rode in my first taxi so we could go to Covent Garden and the Transporation Museum. It had a scavenger hunt to find stamps all over the museum; I found all 13 but #1 was coolest because it was a rubber stamp and the easiest to push down. Then I bought two scarves in the market at Covent Garden before we went to dinner.

At dinner, I tried my first raw oyster and it was not very good. The rest of my dinner was excellent. I had a humongous side of peas with my salmon and chips (fries). The waitress said she likes peas, too, and that’s what she would get. We ordered toffee pudding for dessert but it was not like pudding; it was a warm, sweet bread.

Finally, we went to the theatre to see Oliver! Our seats were awesome. They felt like velvet and I got to sit on a gold, velvet booster seat; it felt very comfortable. There were a lot of children in the play. One of the youngest actors was a little bit older than my brother. He could do all these dance moves that were really cool. My favorite song was “I’d Do Anything” and I liked when everyone said “BOO!” to Bill the bad guy at the end ofthe play. When we were leaving the play, we went to the stage door and we saw a lot of actors come out. We saw the actor who played Bill. I “booed” him again and he stuck his tongue out at me. We also saw the actors who played Fagan, Nancy and the littlest boy who did all the cool dance moves. It was awesome.

Abbey Song School

Pinch me…someone…quick!

Today’s service:
Introit: Clucas Keep me as the apple of an eye
Responses: Radcliffe
Canticles: Dyson in F
Anthem: Tippett Steal away

A brief conversation occurred a couple weeks ago with a friend of mine from the Hendrix choir days about how I missed singing. The next day a email appeared in my inbox that said he had mentioned the talk to his friend the Reverend Graeme Napier who was putting together a choir to sing at Evensong for two nights at Westminster Cathedral. After some correspondence between the parties, I will be joining the Hellenic Singers on August 17 and 18 at 5pm to sing!

Outside the Duomo in Milan.

Perfect weather and poolside eating. Lunch (not yet on the table) was made by E, who made a smoked mozzarella and carciofi (artichoke heart) pasta. We had fresh bread (delivered daily to their home!) and veggies from the giardino behind their home.

Lake Garda, Italy

Sometimes the best things happen when not everything goes as planned…

Today, I was supposed to meet my friend B at the TATE Modern for a coffee and a walk. Like many museums in London, the TATE is free unless you want to see the special exhibits.

I arrived a little before 2:30 at the cafe, as planned. I dont have a phone yet, so I told him he had a window of 30 minutes to show up. I knew he had an appointment before meeting me, so I knew his running late was a possibility. As 3pm approached, I finished my mocha and headed to the third floor to walk around. I decided just to do one floor so that I could walk back on another Sunday and see another floor, as I think this is going to become a Sunday ritual outing!

There were a couple of pieces that really caught my eye. I wished I had my camera with me, but I did not carry my purse.

The first piece was by Miroslaw Balka. Now, for those of you who know me well, you will understand just why I liked this piece.

Upon initial view, it is a very long column of objects suspended from the ceiling. As I took a closer look, I still couldnt figure out what the objects were. So I walked around to read the sign. The piece is called 480x10x10. And it is essentially soap on a rope! I actually laughed out loud once I looked at the piece again. Indeed, they were soap bars stacked on top of each other and threaded with wire.

The second piece that was really interesting was 30 Pieces of Silver by Cornelia Parker.

Thirty Pieces of Silver comprises over a thousand flattened silver objects, including plates, spoons, candlesticks, trophies, cigarette cases, teapots and trombones. All the objects were ceremoniously crushed by a steamroller at Cornelia Parker’s request. She then arranged the transformed silver artefacts into thirty disc-shaped groups, which are suspended about a foot from the floor by hundreds of fine wires. Each ‘disc’ is approximately ninety centimetres in diameter and they are always hung in orderly rows, although their overall configuration is adapted each time to the space in which the work is displayed. The title refers to the biblical story of how the apostle Judas Iscariot betrayed Jesus in return for thirty pieces of silver.

I found the idea of this piece fascinating. Every single piece of silver appeared to hover perfectly in line with its neighbors. From the search for the silver to the flattening, hole drilling and hanging, this was an impressive installation.

After I had completed the rooms on the third floor, I walked down to the shop to see what was there. I bought a small Andy Warhol print of Campbell’s Tomato Soup in the colors of my room, as well as some post cards I thought a friend would appreciate back in KC.

During my walk home, I decided to take a path I had not yet walked just to see where it led. I found a Holiday Inn Express for those of you wanting to visit and stay near. I also found the post office, a couple convenience shops and take aways, as well as some interesting businesses.

Another cool thing about my walk is that the bridges I walk under are all lit up or posted with art to celebrate the nearness of the TATE. I’ll have to take some photos soon so you can see.

All in all, today was a Kate-date. Sometimes just walking around and finding treasures can put a little spark in your step. I’m happy.