Back home in Sunny Southern California
October 28, 2019
COVID-19 dashes my travel plans
April 6, 2020
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- The Britannia Pub Borough of Finsbury Islington, London
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- St. Luke’s Close Borough of Finsbury Islington, London
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- Public Bathhouse Ironmonger Row Borough of Finsbury Islington, London
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- The Britannia Pub Borough of Finsbury Islington, London
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- St. Luke’s Garden Borough of Finsbury Islington, London
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- Old Street Borough of Finsbury Islington, London
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- St. Luke’s Church Borough of Finsbury Islington, London
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- Britannia Pub Corner of Ironmonger Row and Lever Street
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- St. Luke’s Garden Borough of Finsbury Islington, London
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- St. Luke’s Garden Borough of Finsbury Islington, London
London Borough of Finsbury
Greeting from 2 Ironmonger Row in the London Borough of Finsbury and the neighborhood of Islington. Today is my 4th full day in London. I am staying at a very nice Airbnb in a London neighborhood of mostly working people, and I am almost exactly a ½ mile walk from the Barbican Complex. Except for a slight jog to the right to cross Old Street, my walk is a straight shot along Ironmonger Row to St. Luke’s Close, across Old Street to Whitecross Street and then straight on to the Barbican at 27 Silk Street. The temperature here has been mostly in the low 40s, not too bad for this time of year and so far, (I hate to say it) no rain and little wind. It is brisk but manageable. I usually make the round tripwalk once a day, so I am walking a bit over 2 miles every day at a minimum, depending on what other walking I do.
The Barbican is a fantastic entertainment venue with live theater, cinema, music of all kinds, workshops, lectures, art galleries, and several dining options, including a café, cafeteria, and bars. My main reason for coming to London and the Barbican at this time of year is to see the Royal Shakespeare Company perform live Shakespeare plays. This year I will see Taming of the Shrew, As You Like It and Measure for Measure. More about them later, though.
So far I have attended a concert dedicated to Clara Schumann, the long-suffering wife of the more famous Robert Schumann but a fantastic pianist and a composer in her own right. Next I saw one of the best concerts I have ever attended given by the Los Angles Philharmonic Orchestra, and it’s dynamic Music Director and Conductor Gustavo Dudamel and including a four encore performance by the stunning Chinese pianist Yuja Wang. The auditorium was completely sold out, and the applause went on and on to everyone’s delight! I had to go all of the ways to London to see my “hometown” orchestra the LA Phil, and it was well worth it.
Yesterday was a lot tamer. I attended a talk by two members of the RCS staff who discussed their production of Measure for Measure which I will see in a few days. I have never seen M for M in person or on film, but it is actually a very interesting consideration of what one might call “crime and punishment” as the title suggests, taken from the Bible, “an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth….and measure for measure.” The discussion was fascinating and I am now reading the Folger Library Edition of M for M in preparation for seeing the show.
This evening I will attend a performance by the Academy of Ancient Music with selections from Vivaldi and Handel, among others, and illuminated by a pre-concert discussion. Every day contains one or the other type of entertainment experience at the Barbican.
London Borough of Finsbury
Greeting from 2 Ironmonger Row in the London Borough of Finsbury and the neighborhood of Islington. Today is my 4th full day in London. I am staying at a very nice Airbnb in a London neighborhood of mostly working people, and I am almost exactly a ½ mile walk from the Barbican Complex. Except for a slight jog to the right to cross Old Street, my walk is a straight shot along Ironmonger Row to St. Luke’s Close, across Old Street to Whitecross Street and then straight on to the Barbican at 27 Silk Street. The temperature here has been mostly in the low 40s, not too bad for this time of year and so far, (I hate to say it) no rain and little wind. It is brisk but manageable. I usually make the round tripwalk once a day, so I am walking a bit over 2 miles every day at a minimum, depending on what other walking I do.
The Barbican is a fantastic entertainment venue with live theater, cinema, music of all kinds, workshops, lectures, art galleries, and several dining options, including a café, cafeteria, and bars. My main reason for coming to London and the Barbican at this time of year is to see the Royal Shakespeare Company perform live Shakespeare plays. This year I will see Taming of the Shrew, As You Like It and Measure for Measure. More about them later, though.
So far I have attended a concert dedicated to Clara Schumann, the long-suffering wife of the more famous Robert Schumann but a fantastic pianist and a composer in her own right. Next I saw one of the best concerts I have ever attended given by the Los Angles Philharmonic Orchestra, and it’s dynamic Music Director and Conductor Gustavo Dudamel and including a four encore performance by the stunning Chinese pianist Yuja Wang. The auditorium was completely sold out, and the applause went on and on to everyone’s delight! I had to go all of the ways to London to see my “hometown” orchestra the LA Phil, and it was well worth it.
Yesterday was a lot tamer. I attended a talk by two members of the RCS staff who discussed their production of Measure for Measure which I will see in a few days. I have never seen M for M in person or on film, but it is actually a very interesting consideration of what one might call “crime and punishment” as the title suggests, taken from the Bible, “an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth….and measure for measure.” The discussion was fascinating and I am now reading the Folger Library Edition of M for M in preparation for seeing the show.
This evening I will attend a performance by the Academy of Ancient Music with selections from Vivaldi and Handel, among others, and illuminated by a pre-concert discussion. Every day contains one or the other type of entertainment experience at the Barbican.
