MIND THE GAP!
As many of you know Mrs.T and I are on vacation in the UK - a big item on Rebecca's bucket list. Quite frankly we are getting a bit long in the tooth - tiredness sets in a bit more quickly than we hope. But all-in-all things are going quite nicely. Rebecca has been able to see some gardens and other sites on her list. We spent a night in a castle. We cruised the Thames. And visited the Tate Modern. We still have a couple of tours left. We did cut back some but have a full plate of things to do.
We started off with the usual annoyances, particularly in Toronto. We nearly missed our connection there despite leaving about three hours between flights. And the security folks there confiscated the 1 ½ inch letter opener from my do-everything credit-card-sized pocket toolkit; they must have thought it would be a deadly weapon on the plane. And then the first things we lost were our walking sticks which we left on the taxi from Gatwick to our flat. Most of you know how we depend upon them to get around. Fortunately I looked in an odd looking second-hand shop near our Kew tube station and the lady just happened to have two used canes that have worked perfectly. Mrs. T has an initial vignette of our travels thus far:
As many of you know we are traveling in Merry Ole England. We have noticed that the locals are very friendly. They are also very skinny. And they walk very fast. Nonetheless they seem well disposed to Dan and I, toddling along with canes from tourist site to tourist site, We have pretty much mastered (That may be a bit strong; at least we have the basics. -dt) traveling by the Tube, except for 'The Gap'. (The 'gap' is the opening between the door and the platform. -dt) At every stop the train's recorded message says, 'Mind the gap.' I certainly mind the gap. In fact sometimes I mind it quite a lot. It can be only a couple of inches and level. Or it can be 6 or 8 inches across and the same amount up or down. One day as I teetered on the edge of a large gap two hands grasped my right arm, two hands grasped my left arm, and two hands grasped my waist. Very quickly I was gently deposited on the platform. As I turned to thank the gentlemen another handed me my bag and a moment later they quietly disappeared.
All of London is simply dripping with history in little details. 'Watermen' took us across the Thames from Westminster Pier to Bankside Pier right in front of the Globe where we queued until we were able to get tickets. (A gentleman had some extras that he needed to sell -dt) We went to the Globe Theatre to see the 'Scottish Play' - aka Macbeth. It was a superb production. The original had been modified here and there with modern references as when one of the witches spoke of the devil and one of the lesser demons - a superb liar called Trump. One character, I think it was McDuff called, "On to England!" and another replied, "Mind the gap!" The entire audience convulsed. I really enjoyed being part of the 500 year old reproduction theater. We did rent pillows, which I understand you could have done five centuries back also. We did not want to be realistic enough to stand in the pit for 2 ½ hours. This is the only building in London allowed to have a thatched roof, this construction method having contributed to the great fire of London 350 years ago.
What Mrs.T has neglected to mention is the other attentive assistance she has received. As you know she has some sort of aura about her that gives out "I am a nice person" rays. Once we were going home and walking down the steps of the passage under the trains at the Kew station. A young man who had just walked up the stairs said, "May I help you Madam?" and proceeded to help Rebecca with her load down the steps. Not only that, at the other end another young man helped her carry her load up the other stairs. Humpf! I would let some young female help me, should one offer, but someone would object vociferously I am sure.
And the weather is a far cry from either Philo or Bucerias. When we arrived it was humid mid-80s (30c) and now it is cool, less than 70 (20c), overcast and a bit damp.
Here are a few pictures:
https://www.flickr.com/gp/9151458@N07/QWG602
Back in Philo in a couple of weeks.
Dan and Rebecca
www.casa-de-terrible.blogspot.com
