First up, I want to see Trafalgar Square - don't know why. Have seen it before, but there you go. So it's off to the underground to Charing Cross Road, deciding to look for breakfast on the way The exit brings me out right at St Martin's in the Field. Always loved this little church, for no particular reason.
Walking around the church, I notice they have the Cafe in the Crypt. So for the second morning in a row I'm heading down under a church. It's cafeteria-style - good and simple. The lovely man behind the counter asks if I'm here for the rugby. There is a lot of rugby talk around at the moment. I say no and apologise that we knocked the English team out of the running. He said not to worry about it - "they're rubbish."
Trafalgar Square has been taken over by the rugby - it's all blocked off and set up for the giant screens to watch the game. Bad timing on my part!
Back onto the train to the Bakerloo line and I've decided to go up to Little Venice to the canals for a boat ride to Camden. I'm a bit early so stop for a coffee in the floating Waterside Cafe.
Then it's on to the canal boat for a cruise. We start near Browning's Island - named after the poet Robert Browning who lived here after moving back from the real Venice. He used to sit on the island and write his poetry.
The canals crisscross England and were man-made and hand dug! That would have taken forever. They were 'liquid highways' and used to transport goods. Alongside the canal is a path the horses used to walk down, pulling the boats - the tote path. They couldn't go under the tunnels so when they got to those, they would lie planks down and crewmen would lie on their backs with their feet up and 'walk' the boats through. And it took a long time.
Lots of people live in the canal boats and they have little gardens and barbecues set up. Some move around all the time. It's really pretty and might be nice to live in - for a while. Can't imagine too many people living in one at once, though. Would be very crowded!
Such a pretty ride...
We finish at Camden Locks and as it's Saturday, there are a lot of people around. It's a great market area though, even with the crowds, all quirky lanes and walkways and such...
Had a bit of a wander through and then headed down to the station. I realised after I'd gone that I should probably have actually looked at some of the stuff for sale...
Down to Liverpool Street station to meet Robert and his partner, Paul. We're going to an Angel Costume exhibition. Angel is a wardrobe/costume company that are family run and have been going for generations. They have supplied costumes for many, many movies - like Lawrence of Arabia and Saving Private Ryan - all those extras! So many costumes. Lots of stage and TV costumes. They also provide some for music videos and concerts. And they have a fancy dress department.
In the old days, actors had to provide their own costume. They had to wear one for the audition and often the part would go to the person with the best outfit. Angels realised that a lot of actors were poor and couldn't afford new outfits for every audition and they would rent them one - and so the hire costume business was formed.
Here's a selection of some of the displays - Sherlock Holmes, Fred Astaire's tails, Twiggy and Tommy Tune from The Boyfriend (pretty sure it's Tommy Tune - a lady standing near me told her friend it was Clark Gable and I know that's not true!), Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.
There were lots of others, including a couple of Judi Dench's - she is tiny!
I enjoyed it a lot but poor Robert had worked at Angels for a while and had seen it all before! We stopped for coffee and a sit down afterwards before heading to the train to go our separate ways, planning a catchup when he is home over the summer.
Then it's back home for a quick dinner before heading out again. Tonight it's Elf, the musical, based on the movie. I chose this tonight for three reasons - love the movie, it opens tonight. And it is literally around the corner of the same block as the hotel! Gotta love that!
It was a whole lot of fun! It's obviously kicking off the Christmas season. It followed the movie totally and had great songs. It was the first night - I'm guessing in previews. They did stop at one stage and bring the curtain in, with an apology announcement. Didn't take long to start up again. Great guy playing Buddy the Elf. They had the token big lady secretary character but didn't give her a big, belting number - just a couple of sections where you could hear her voice and want more. And it snowed on us!
At the end, there were pockets of people around the room who leapt to their feet. The rest of the audience remained seated and I'm guessing those who stood were the Americans - cos that's what they do. The looked as if they were wondering why no one else stood - though I might have imagined that!
And I reckon I was home before the cast reached the dressing room!
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