Dubrovnik's Old Town

The entrance to Dubrovnik's very compact old town holds the keys to a charming sets of winding streets...polished to a high gloss from centuries of foot traffic. Lots of white buildings, meandering cobblestone streets, fabulous architecture, picturesque shops...

It was a hot one while we were in Croatia...so we did plenty of reclining at outdoor restaurants conveniently located in the shade of the buildings of the old town.

the red rooftops of Croatia

What a quaint and charming place....the white buildings and red rooftops of Dubrobnik are a striking contrast to the war that occurred there 20 years ago.

Penny for a Guy

Yesterday was Guy Fawkes Day...for those of you not in the know, a brief summary:

Fawkes and his revolutionary cohorts set about assassinating King James I and attepmpted to blow up the Houses of Parliament in a 1604 conspiracy known as the Gunpowder Plot. They amassed enough gunpowder in a basement near Westminster to essentially destroy that part of London as well as kill nearly the entire membership of the House of Lords, the senior bishops of the Church of England and the royal family. The plot failed, and Fawkes and his co-conspirators were put to death.

The character of Satan in Milton’s "Paradise Lost" is based on Fawkes, and today we have the word “guy” because of him — “burning the guy” in effigy is a part of how Bonfire Night, November 5th, is celebrated in the England. Each year in Britain, fireworks and bonfires are set alight. I can attest to the fireworks last evening as my neighborhood was riddled with them.

Another tradition apparently dropped by the wayside, but also connected to Guy Fawkes Day involved children building a Guy Fawkes effigy and waiting outside public places, asking passers-by for a "Penny for a Guy". I witnessed none of that yesterday however.

Still, I am all for any good reason for a fireworks display.

Finally, Croatia

Well, it just took a couple of months but I am finally getting around to posting the Dubrovnik vacation pictures. It was a whirlwind trip but a hot and relaxing one....and a location I could heartily recommend.

Most of our time was spent in the Old Town area, but we did get a couple of side trips in as well (posts to come). First stop, "walking the fortress wall"...

this is good...and that is good

Last week saw a musical dichotomy for me. (And yes, before anyone even comments, the work pace has lessened enough that I actually did some things for myself in the evenings).

Tuesday night found me singing Haydn's Te Deum....Wednesday night, I was watching ZZ Top.

Go figure.

Gracie 1993 - 2009

Our sweet Gracie left our family today...it was a hard decision but her little body just tuckered out.

SIR EJ

We shelled out the XXX GBP per ticket to see the man at Royal Albert Hall. An interruption in his current Red Piano Tour, it was fundraiser for the Royal Academy of Music's Organ Fund. Not just any old organ, but a 14-tonne, Swiss-engineered monster that will cost £1.2million to install, a sizeable chunk of which will be met from the proceeds of this long, commanding and expensive performance.

Sir Elton John accepted the multiple standing ovations throughout the evening, sitting as a solitary figure on stage with only a black grand piano. Him wearing a black tuxedo and tails, with pink trimming. Understated but still Elton.



He played for 2 hours and 45 minutes, apart from about an hour's worth of jammin' with the percussionist, Ray Cooper, it was all Sir Elton. He sang through the decades of his music, bringing back memories of time gone by. All performed without the aid of other instruments, sheet music, or lyric sheets. Just the man and his music.

To quote an overnight review: "It was a hardcore and highly impressive display of the piano man’s craft." Indeed.

Sure, it dates me but I loved it.

thanks, I guess

I had wondered where those Entertainment Weekly magazines had gone. Granted, they do arrive via 3rd class mail from the US to save on postage costs, so I am usually about 4-6 weeks behind. I can live with that.

Still, I had not see a magazine in quite a while, but had simply not found the time to check it the reason. Low and behold, 5 magazines each from different weeks, arrived in today's mail. Then, I remembered.

The UK has been hit almost every week with a Royal Mail strike...most of July, August and September. Not every home, in every part of the UK are affected at the same time but the strikes are intermitttemnt, lasting only 2-3 days at a time. They occur so frequently, the media has pretty much stopped covering the subject. Whenever I go 2-3 days without mail, I assume, "Yep, there must be a mail strike."

So, why the arrival of so many magazines all at one time. A rolling program of local postal strikes that began in July has turned worse with a union's call for a national walkout. The strikes over higher pay and job security have already caused a backlog of 20 million letters and parcels - about a quarter of the Royal Mail's daily volume. It is not presumed many of these will never be delivered.

It mostly affects second class mail, uishc as personal letters and magazines. Wonderful!

So before you lash out at the US Postal Service...don't. It could be worse.

Emmys

As I posted photos to Flickr last night, I caught my second wind and decided to stay up late and watch a bit of the Emmys. Have I been gone too long from the US...or was it truly NOT funny!

Can you let me know?

finally...with a song in my heart

Well, it just took 6 years but I finally re-engaged in a community choir in London. Language as well as a host of other factors made it somewhat more challenging to participate in a local choir while living abroad. The UK has a long tradition of community choirs and so...will a little trepidation and my pencil in hand, I auditioned for and joined (on the same night) the Chiswick Community Chorale.

The good news is that it is a 90+ strong vocal group that enjoys singing classical music and it is literally in my backyard. We will have three concerts per year, with teh first one in early December when we perform in Hummel's Requiem and Handel's Te Deum.

www.chiswickchoir.org.uk

So, if you happen to be over this way...drop in for a concert

chalk it up to FB

Yea, thanks to another "re-connection" on Facebook, I was able to visit briefly with a friend from high school and FBC Arlington while he was in London on business. It is amazing to me how we could pick right back up after almost 30 years. (Gee, that number sounds scary).



Thanks, Tom, for making the effort. Catch you again soon!

B-day bash

When was the last time I actually celebrated my birthday with family or friends? Yea..well it has been too long!

Not this year! Mike and I both celebrated our "Leo" birthdays with a fab dinner in central London.



It is so great to have family living in the same city!

it's all about the one you love

Yep...in Paris for a 4 day business trip, and found myself eating alone in a quaint brasserie in the Opera district. It's one thing to be in "no-man's land" metaphorically speaking when you travel hither and yon on business...

...it just is downright sad when you are in the City of Lights eating an omelette and pomme frites all by your lonesome on a beautiful summer evening.

The Budman was here in spirit.

California-Taipei friends

The Budman and I definitely benefitted from "home folk" who rolled through London on vacation a couple of weeks back. We were able to spend the day with the Simons doing nothing but eating....visiting....laughing....eating again....etc.

We came to know these California folks when we were all living in Taipei 5 years ago...and now our paths cross again.



Thanks guys for taking time to visit! It meant alot...

And for those who are coming this way and don't check...we eventually find out so you might as well let us know you're coming :-).

PS. Our local church in the background!