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| The curtain from our seats |
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| The Rolls Royce and driver - not waiting for me |
Monday morning Lulu and Joan left the apartment to go to the Stratford Mall at Olympic Park. The last words to me were - go to the box office and do your magic. Don't be afraid to show them your hearing aids. So I was left home alone with the apartment - with the white man's burden to go get us good show tickets. I sat around in my underwear until noon - then I quickly got dressed after I got a phone called from the one person that knows my number.
As I left the apartment - outside the glass door there was this beautiful white Rolls Royce. For just a second - I thought the girls hired it to take me to the theatre. I guess they do not think I can follow the iphone maps. Directions - get on the Bakerloo brown subway at the front door - take it to Trafalgar Square - get out - there is the Garret Theatre. The car was not for me.
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| Garrick Theatre - Young Frankenstein |
I got to the theatre and had the box office to myself. There was a sign out front saying - try the 10 pound lottery. The front row is lottery-offered for 10 pounds. I figured this was going to be a cheap and easy ticket. The place was sold out except for the front 2 rows. The front row was lottery - the second row was 70 pounds each. Handicap seats were in the first balcony. Not many choices.
At first I was all for the lottery - but I did not want to wait and risk the wrath of two ladies - if we lost. Since I am near-sighted and love to see faces close up - the balcony was out. I would rather not go to see a show - that see it from up there.
So - I took 3 seats in the second row in the middle. 70 pounds each. 1 pound = $1.40. In New York -you would get nose-bleed tickets for that price. In London - it is right up front.
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| Tudor half timber at Soho Square |
I was pretty proud - as I was sitting in the window of MacDonalds having my Chicken Selects. I walked toward home through Soho Square a defacto town park over 400 years old. To my surprise the Tudor half-timber building is only a 100 year old gardener's shed that hides a big electric box.
I got melancholy walking down Oxford Street - London's busiest shopping street - bustling with buses and cabs. Even though we are coming back to London for the month of July - after that Oxford Street will be turned into a pedestrian mall.
I planned to visit the Apple Store - my favorite one - because they offer free walk-in classes all the time. Oxford street was clear both ways - it was raining - I had the umbrella up. I decided to run across the 2 lanes of traffic. What I did not see - a short 4-inch high island in the middle of the street. As I ran I looked like Mary Poppin attempting to fly with her umbrella. I hit the island and lost control - trying to remember not to extend a hand to break my fall. As I approached the other curb - like magic a young lady appeared to be running toward my fall. I thought - she is going to break my fall - and she did. She put her hip and knee out and broke my fall. I stood up with 3 scuffed fingers - a knee bruise - and the realization that I looked so desperate that this lady chose to sacrifice herself for me. I got up all bruised and sore - looked her in the eye - and said - you broke my fall! I wish I could have come up with something better. As she brushed me off - you broke my fall. I thanked her - she smiled and turned away. My bruised ego limped to the Apple Store.
I got home and the girls liked the tickets. I showed them my bruises - and said I had to fight for the tickets.
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| The cast |
Joan made supper. We left the apartment at 6:30 - took the same brown subway - and were at the theatre by 7:00. We walked down to our great seats. There was a girl right in front of us in the front row. I struck up a conversation and asked her if she had lottery tickets. She said yes - she got in for 10 pounds. She asked me what I paid - I said 70 pounds each. She said she could never afford 70 Quid. At least I finally found out what Quid means! But here is the kicker - I asked how long did she waited at the lottery. She said - no waiting anymore - there's an App for that! You bid online. The words were hardly out of her mouth until Joan and Lulu were downloading the App - TodayTix.
The play was great. Summer Strallon played Inga. What a beauty that could sing and dance with the best. It is understandable - I looked up her on Wikipedia. She has been dancing since she was 18 months old - had gone to the best London performing art schools - her parents were in Cats - her 3 sisters are regular performers.
By 10:30 - we were back in the apartment - getting ready for our train to Belgium Tuesday - bruises and all.
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| The theatre behind us |
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| The finale |
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| Curtain call from second row |
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