o/` Saved The Best For Last o/`

June 9th, 2007

A trip to the British Museum. Never an admission charge,
except to special events. Their special event currently, is
one of water colors, of how the explorers first saw the
Americas.

Water colors of birds, fish, wildlife, and Native Americans.
Very impressive. For the age of the water colors, they
have held up very well, with some losing some pigmentation,
but otherwise quite detailed and beautiful.

The British Museum also has permanent displays of nearly
all periods of history, with Greek, Roman, Egyptian, Native
American, South American, Alaskan, etc., etc., etc.

It's a huge museum, which would take absolutely weeks
to see everything in great detail. Sure, you can browse
through the displays, and get an overall view. However,
to really appreciate it all, you would need to look at each
item, read each inscription, and absorb it all. That is no
small task, and certainly not one I could do in only one
day.

It's a place worth having visited, even for only several
hours, with the idea of a return visit someday.

For dinner, I finally went to a "authentic English Pub",
and had "meat and kidney pie" for dinner. Quite tasty,
and filling.

I then went to the closing performance of "The Lady
From Dubuque", starring the amazing Maggie Smith.
It's an Edward Albee play, who also wrote " Who's
Afraid Of Virginia Wolff", among others. Oddly
enough, Maggie Smith does not appear until the
closing line of the first act. However, the opening
moments of the second act are definitely hers, and
she owns the stage at that point.

This play was never well received in London, and
it's Broadway debut brought about a swift closing.
It's not an uplifting play, as it's about a bitter wife
dying, and those she alienates along the way, much
to their astonishment and bewilderment. It's a
story of how much pain can influence one's actions,
and reactions. The supporting characters were all
quite good, and the lady playing the dying wife is
exceptionally good, as she is called about to have
her leg twitch, and to cry, much of the opening act.
Not an easy assignment, I am sure.

After the play, it was back to the hotel, and to get
started packing. I have an early morning trip to
London's Heathrow Airport, with a flight to Chicago,
then a connection back to Tulsa. It's been a truly
wonderful trip, one that has gone beyond even my
expectations. I certainly expect to return to London
someday, and hope it's not too far off in the future !