This afternoon we heard an entire concert of sad songs by John Dowland, whose motto was apparently “Semper Dowland, semper dolens.” Always Dowland, always sad. I learned from the program that these songs were written at a time when Dowland was unsuccessful in obtaining a court position in England—and was very unhappy although he did… Read More ‘Semper Dowland, semper dolens’
That was my reaction to last night’s concert with organist Katelyn Emerson, who played a brilliant performance of Francis Poulenc’s Concerto in G minor. This was perhaps only the second or third live performance of the work that I’ve heard but by far the most electrifying and exciting. As I watched and listened, one word… Read More Absolutely brilliant!
Yesterday we were reminded that the Three Choirs Festival has an essential worship component, and I wanted to describe in more detail the worship services we have attended so far. The opening service was called “Festal Mattins,” which of course is a different spelling from that used in the United States. During the grand procession… Read More Worship at Three Choirs
I said goodbye to my family at London Heathrow Airport and met up with Joan Ishibashi, and together we waited for Bill Potter to arrive from Honolulu. It took us about four hours to drive to Gloucester owing to the bad traffic—ordinarily it would take only 2-1/2 hours to drive the 100 miles, but we… Read More Setting the bar high
We woke up early this morning in order to walk to Victoria Coach Station, where we took a National Express bus to Oxford, a historic English city located roughly 50 miles west of London. Known as the “City of Dreaming Spires,” it houses the world-famous University of Oxford—the oldest university in the English-speaking world. The… Read More A day trip to Oxford
Yesterday we had a relaxing morning, and revisited Borough Market shortly before attending a marathan show, “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” in the historic Palace Theatre. It was shown in two parts, Part One was at 2:00 pm and lasted until 4:45pm, we had a dinner break and came back for Part Two at… Read More Harry Potter wizardry
Today we found ourselves standing in a queue for a fresh plate of paella at Borough Market. It was completely spontaneous yet memorialized by this sign: There was also a lady wearing a shirt marked “Queue Control” but it was so crowded I didn’t have a chance to take her photo. We found ourselves at… Read More Queuing up for paella
Today the entire day was taken up with traveling to, experiencing, and returning from the Warner Bros. Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter. I had read about various options to travel to the studio located in Leavesden, and it sounded like it would wise to allow a couple of hours of travel each… Read More “Nothing is real!”
When I say fish and chips, it typically refers to a dish featuring freshly battered cod or haddock fried in vegetable oil, paired with thick-cut, floury chips. To eat it like a true Londoner, drench your meal in salt and malt vinegar, and add sides like mushy peas, tartar sauce, or a pickled gherkin. In… Read More Fish and chips?
It’s Saturday night as I write this, and we have spent nearly our first full day in London, UK. I actually left Honolulu on Wednesday night after an extremely busy day, including having an eye injection in the morning, a session with my amigas in Spanish, and a dentist’s appointment in the late afternoon. With… Read More We are in London!