Author: Tim

Saturday, February 1 – Harrow on the Hill

I’m going to check out a musical this afternoon (a matinee). The theater is located in Hammersmith, so I guess you could call this an off West End production? (analogous to off Broadway…)

The Lyric Theatre has an interesting history. It was originally a music hall established in 1888 on Bradmore Grove, Hammersmith. Success as an entertainment venue led it to be rebuilt and enlarged on the same site twice, first in 1890, and then in 1895.

In 1966 the theater was due to be closed and demolished. However, a successful campaign to save it led to the auditorium being dismantled and reinstalled piece by piece within a modern shell on its current site, a short distance from the former Bradmore Grove location. The relocated theater opened in 1979.

The musical is set in New York City’s Cotton Club, and is a retelling of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night. The play combines the music of Duke Ellington (who is also a featured character) with street dance choreography.

This was a fun, high energy show. With great music!

Travel Note: I experienced a London first tonight! While traveling back to South Harrow from Hammersmith on the Piccadilly line, a London Underground inspector boarded the train at Acton Town and checked all of the passengers’ tickets. And I got busted! (Kidding!) Never had that happen before! I actually mentioned this to the inspector, and he replied that there are just not that many inspectors working in the system. I talked to the passengers around me afterwords, and none of them had ever had it happen either!

It’s the little things that excite me! Have I said that I’m weird?

Sunday, February 2 – Harrow on the Hill

I’m staying on the Hill today to attend a concert by the Harrow School students in the beautiful Speech Room.

But first, it was such an amazing day, I had to include a couple pictures from the Harrow School grounds. You’ve seen these buildings before, but they never get old…

This was a fun performance, because not only were the Harrow School students involved, but also the choirs of several nearby schools (girls and boys; the youngest looking to be 1st graders). The cost of the concert was £12.

The Speech Room was eventually packed – standing room only. I think this was due to a couple of factors: a) the choirs were taking up some of the seating, and b) there were family members in attendance for not just the Harrow students, but also the choir students.

Travel Note: I’m off to Paris tomorrow, returning on Friday. My main mission is to visit the newly restored Notre Dame. Can’t wait! I’m anticipating it will be a busy attraction. The administrators of the cathedral must think so as well, because they’ve set up a free reservations system. The timed reservations can only be made up to two days in advance however. I kind of like that. So I was up early this morning to reserve my spot for first-thing on Tuesday morning (maybe it will be less crowded at that time of day…).

I’ll also be attending a classic car show and three associated auctions that I last visited during my winter trip in 2020. Otherwise, no specific plans; just doing my favorite thing – walking around. It’s a great city for that (like London). Maybe I’ll check out a museum or two, not sure.

I won’t be taking my laptop along (the advantage of having a home base); therefore, my next Journal update will be in about a week. You’re devastated, I know!

Sidenote: I’ve been asked fairly often if I’ve ever been to Paris, so I decided to go back through my records to see how many times I’ve actually been there. (It’s an easy check because, for tax purposes, I had to keep a location log while working overseas, and I’ve continued to maintain the spreadsheet since I retired. (I’m weird, have I said that?)). It turns out the number is 6, dating back to 2007 (this week will be my 7th) – including one trip with Chuck, Linda, Fred & Richard; and one with Greg, Karen, Alex & Nicole. Pretty cool!

Wednesday, January 29 – Harrow on the Hill

As I was roaming around last week prior to the Lee Miller talk at Bonhams, I came across The Royal Academy of Music in Marylebone. While pausing to look over their list of upcoming performances, it occurred to me that I had never attended a concert there. That’s rather disappointing. It’s time to rectify that! (I actually ended up booking 4 concerts – making up for lost time!)

The Royal Academy of Music is one of the oldest music schools in the UK, founded in 1822. It provides undergraduate and postgraduate training across instrumental performance, composition, jazz, musical theater and opera, and recruits musicians from around the world. Famous academy alumni include Elton John and Annie Lennox.

Tonight I’m attending a concert by the Academy Jazz Orchestra, with two guest performers – Jim Hart and Sylvaine Hélary.

The cost of the concert was £12, with a 2 hour duration (no interval). And it was wonderful!

Thursday, January 30 – Harrow on the Hill

I’m on a mission this morning to finalize the bookings for my April trip to Victoria Falls. And it was going pretty smoothly until I came to the return flight from Namibia to London on Ethiopian Airlines. I was able to take care of all the details via their website, until it came time to pay for the ticket. First attempt: Payment rejected. Mmmmm. Maybe my credit card company blocked it with a fraud concern. Called them. Nope. So I tried again on the website. Second attempt: “Payment In Progress” screen on an endless buffer. After 5 minutes I gave up and called to speak with a customer services agent. And I got through fairly quickly, which was nice. Well, surprisingly she had a record of my reservation. Really? She ended up emailing me a link which she said I could use to pay for the ticket. Third attempt: Of course the link didn’t work! I was still on the line with the representative while being denied once again; she suggested I try the link again in hour. Will do.

In the meantime, I also had to deal with an issue on a Tunisair flight that I had already successfully booked. I received an email from them yesterday stating (in French, by the way) that my 1pm flight from Casablanca to Tunis had been canceled, and they had rebooked me on a 2am flight. I don’t think so! Fortunately there is also a flight with the same itinerary offered by Royal Air Morocco, departing at 2pm. Perfect. I’ll book that and then cancel my Tunisair flight (in that order!). More on the cancellation process later…

Well, just like my Ethiopian Airlines experience, I got all the way through the reservation process on the Royal Air Morocco (RAM) website, only to be stalled when trying to make a payment. More frustration!

Okay, while I’m figuring out the next step with RAM, enough time has elapsed for me to go back and try the Ethiopian Airlines payment link that was emailed to me earlier. I click on the link…and I’m directed to a page telling me that my reservation does not exist! What the?!?

This write up of events may seem kind of short, but in actuality all of the above activities took a fair amount of time, and by now I’ve got a throbbing headache! I need to get out for a walk!

While I’m heading towards South Harrow I remembered that there is a travel agent near the Aldi where I shop. So I stopped in there to see if they could handle booking my tickets on Ethiopian Airlines and Royal Air Morocco. The woman there confirmed that they could and asked that I come back tomorrow at 11am, as she was rather busy for the rest of the day. No worries.

Alright! It looks like my problems may be sorted…

Back to the cancellation of the Tunisair flight. I called their customer service number (again a quick pickup – a good sign) to find out the cancellation process. Apparently I need to send an email to an address the representative provided, explaining my situation, and I will then receive the refund in 45 to 60 days. I’ll give it a shot, not very confident though. It’s not a huge deal, the flight was around $200. I’ll let you know what happens…

I need to do something enjoyable today!

Thankfully, The Old Speech Room Gallery at The Harrow School is open to the public this afternoon. On display is a new exhibit of Japanese woodblock prints, and what they are calling “A Cabinet of Curiosities”. There was a reception held for this new exhibit a couple of weeks ago, but I was unable to attend because it was on the same night of my booking for Dr. Strangelove. Bad luck on my part.

You may recall that I attended a reception at the Gallery last year, and I posted a few pictures then. I attempted to take some pictures of the woodblock prints, but they are housed in glass cases, and the reflections were problematic. Take my word though, the prints are beautiful!

Friday, January 31 – Harrow on the Hill

I’m in a good mood this morning. Looking forward to getting these problematic flights sorted!

I made it to the travel agency a little after 11, and the woman I’m supposed to meet with isn’t there! And the only person that is in the office can’t help me because she only works on Nepal bookings. Are you kidding me!

Time to regroup and go to Plan B (which I just though of!). Using my phone, I do a search for Travel Agents near me. And I fortunately find one that is close to the Harrow on the Hill tube station, and with very good reviews. Bonus!

Sidenote: While doing the travel agent search, I notice that the agency I first tried to use has terrible reviews! Lesson Learned: Don’t walk into the first place that happens to be convenient!

And now there is finally a happy ending to my ordeal. This second agency was very helpful and able to get both itineraries taken care of. The combined bookings ended up costing me about £100 more than if I had booked online, But that’s fine. There was one glitch, but I anticipated it: The agency did not accept U.S. credit cards. Cash is okay though! And I just happened to have a fistful that I was going to use to pay my February rent. Sorted. (and back to the ATM to replenish the rent cash!)

Fortunately all this was done in time for me to get into the Capital for a tour of the U.K. Supreme Court that I had booked for 3pm…

I was surprised to learn that the Court only dates to 2009, when it assumed the judicial functions previously undertaken by the House of Lords.

This is the final Courtroom, Number 3. It is used exclusively to hear cases from U.K. Territories.

The carpet throughout the Court building depicts a pattern representing the four floral emblems of the United Kingdom: a Tudor rose, representing England, conjoined with the leaves of a leek, representing Wales; a flax (or ‘lint’) blossom for Northern Ireland; and a thistle, representing Scotland. The carpet was designed by Sir Peter Blake, creator of such works as the cover of The Beatles’ 1967 album, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.

I like the story behind this artwork. The painting has an estimated value of £400k, but the frame is worth double that at £800k! Why? Because it’s an original Chippendale.

This was a fun tour. Well worth the £10!

Travel Note: It is not necessary to book a tour if you’re interested in visiting the Supreme Court. The building is open to the public, free of charge. The only room that is solely accessed via the tour is the Library.

When leaving the tour I was rather amused to see this long line of people waiting to have their picture taken by the phone booth. Tourists!

Sidenote: Tickets for The Who concert went on sale this morning. And I went for it! (thanks for the encouragement Holly!)

Sales of tickets began at 9am (I completely forgot about this when I arranged to meet the travel agent at 11am. My mind was elsewhere at the time! It’s a good thing she suggested the 11am time. Stupid, but lucky…again!).

Anyway, I’ve booked tickets before with The Royal Albert Hall, and therefore knew to go to the website early, in order to be placed in a waiting room and then in a random queue at 9am. When the sales opened, I was number 2,510 in line. My estimated wait time was over an hour! But again, I’ve done this before and understood that the estimated times are typically much longer than what actually happens. In this case, I was at the front of the line in 23 minutes. And I ended up snagging a very good seat in a box. Brilliant!

Friday, January 24 – Harrow on the Hill

I’m taking a kind of off-the-beaten path walking tour today. I’ll be on the less-popular north bank of the Thames, heading downriver from The Tower of London. A walk less traveled!

The area covered includes the old docklands of Wapping, Shadwell and Limehouse, the original Tower Hamlets immediately east of the City. These districts have been redeveloped following the closure of London’s 19th century docks.

St. Katherine Docks, with Ivory House in the background. A hospital, medieval church and over 1,000 homes were demolished to make room for the dock, which opened in 1828.

The entrance locks to St. Katherine Docks. This narrow passage from the river is one reason the Docks were never a commercial success.

Wapping Pier Head. Georgian house built for officials of the London Docks Company. The garden covers the original entrance to the docks. (The Shard is everywhere!)

The boatyard of The River Police. Originating in 1798, the force was set up to deal with the endemic pilfering from the thousands of merchant ships moored on the river. They were the first properly organized police force in the country.

Limehouse Basin. This is the entrance to Regent’s Canal and thus to the whole of the national canal network.

This was an interesting area for wandering!

Saturday, January 25 – Harrow on the Hill

I was planning on sticking around the Hill today, working on the journal and travel planning. But it was just too nice outside; I had to get out and roam around. Let’s go!

I’ve chosen as my starting point Fulham Palace, located on the north bank of the Thames in southwest London.

Well, technically I’m starting my walkabout on the grounds of All Saints’ Church…

Fulham Palace was formerly the principal residence of the Bishop of London from the 11th century until 1973. The palace houses a number of restored historic rooms and a museum documenting its long history. The property abuts Bishops Park, once part of the estate, and contains a large botanical garden.

I’m now going to take the Thames Path upriver towards Hammersmith…

Sidenote: I’ve taken this picturesque walk in the past, and documented it in this journal, so I won’t be going into a lot of detail this time.

Sidenote: It turns out this event is the Quintin Head, where “Head” indicates it is a time-trial competition rather than head-to-head. The course is 4.6km long, running from Chiswick Bridge (University Post) to Fulham Reach (between Hammersmith Bridge and Harrods Depository).

This crew is fortunate in that their team facilities are not too far from the finish area (note the Hammersmith Bridge in the background); thereby reducing the distance they needed to row back upstream.

Here are a couple non-regatta photos from my walk along the Thames…

Sunday, January 26 – Harrow on the Hill

Sidenote: I received an email informing me that The Who will be performing again this year for The Teenage Cancer Trust at The Royal Albert Hall. Two shows in March. I’m debating whether or not to attend the concert again this year. I’m leaning towards no. But, then again, it is The Who after all, and how many more opportunities will I have to see them in concert? (like zero!) Tickets don’t go on sale until Friday morning, so I have a few days to have a think on it. Your feedback is welcome!

Tuesday, January 21 – Harrow on the Hill

While reading through my journal from last year’s trip, Mary made note of the reference to my birthday. Well, all these months later she followed that up by inviting me to a birthday dinner tonight with her and Tony. How thoughtful!

Thank you so much Mary & Tony for making this a wonderful and memorable birthday!

Wednesday, January 22 – Harrow on the Hill

I’m staying on the Hill to attend a play this evening performed by the Harrow School students. I’ve talked previously (last year’s journal) about the quality of these productions. A very talented group of boys!

Tonight’s performance is Bleak Expectations, a Dickensian spoof based on a BBC comedy series by Mark Evans.

This was a fun evening. And it’s always comical watching the Harrow boys as they take on the female roles!

Update: The Jeff Beck Guitar Collection auction

The auction was held today. With all items sold, the sale generated a total of $10.7 million (£8.7 million) – which is more than eight times the pre-sale estimates. Wow!!

Let’s take a look back at the guitars I highlighted from my viewing on Monday…

1959 Gibson Les Paul (est. £40,000-60,000). Sold for $493k (£400k)!

A guitar signed by the performers at The Jeff Beck Tribute Concert (est. £4,000-6,000). Sold for $117k (£95k).

The Tina Turner guitar (est. £8,000-12,000). Sold for $543k (£441k)!! I guess I wasn’t the only one who liked this! (The bidding can be watched in the video link below)

The full action results are here.

And here is a 6 minute highlight video of the auction, produced by Christie’s.

Thursday, January 23 – Harrow on the Hill

I’m back into the Capital today to visit another auction house. This time it is Bonhams, to attend an exhibit featuring Lee Miller, entitled Lee & LEE. Haven’t heard of Lee Miller? Well, I’m ashamed to say that I hadn’t either. Ashamed because she led an amazing life. So amazing in fact, that Kate Winslet recently produced and starred in a movie about her!

If you’re not aware of Lee Miller, do yourself a favor and read this biography. Or watch the movie! (I did, via Hulu, a couple nights before attending the exhibit today. It’s very good)

(Briefly, she was a fashion model turned photographer and war correspondent)

I’ll be visiting Bonhams twice today – first to view the exhibit, and then back tonight to attend an invitation-only talk about the life of Lee Miller with her son and granddaughter. I’m not sure why I was on the invite list, but I’ll take it!

The exhibit contains both Lee Miller’s personal possessions and props from the movie. The exhibit’s title, Lee & LEE, refers to the person and the movie title, respectively. On the right is Lee’s actual uniform.

The movie did a great job of recreating actual photos taken by Lee Miller. The framed piece was photographed by Lee; the other two were recreated in the movie.

I have a little time to kill before I return to Bonhams for the talk, so I’m going to check out a place recommended to me by Mary and Tony.

The building now known as the Fitzrovia Chapel was built in 1891–92 as the Middlesex Hospital Chapel. As you can probably tell by this photo, it is a very small space.

The interior of the chapel features a rib vaulted ceiling richly decorated with polychrome marble and mosaics. The mosaics were completed in the 1930s.

This is a beautiful little gem in West London. I would have included some exterior pictures, but it is presently covered in scaffolding!

Of special note, the chapel was the setting for The King’s Christmas Message in 2024. You can watch the video here.

As I approached Bonhams, I noticed that there was a very long line of people waiting to enter. This surprised me; I didn’t expect the Lee Miller talk to be so popular. (probably due to the fact I had no clue who Lee Miller was until a couple weeks ago!)

This was an enjoyable day, as I became more knowledgeable about a very interesting woman. And it’s notable (curious) that there was no auction associated with this exhibit.

For those who would like more information on Lee Miller, here’s a link to a Q&A with her son (who literally wrote the book about her).

As a footnote, I came across this photo of Lee Miller when I visited The National Portrait Gallery a few days ago…

Monday, January 20 – Harrow on the Hill

There’s another guitar auction taking place in London! You may recall that during my visit last winter, the Mark Knopfler guitar collection generated massive sale prices. Well, I guess the estate of another iconic rocker, Jeff Beck, heard about this and decided to get in on the action! Can’t blame them!

Before heading off to Christie’s to view the guitars, I’m going on another walking tour – this time in the Central London enclave of Mayfair. Mayfair is known as an exclusive shopping, residential and business district in the heart of the West End.

And we’re off…

Just near the start of the walk, the front display of this restaurant on Piccadilly caught my eye.

From Monday to Saturday the church’s forecourt is taken over by a small market. Today were food stalls.

Another window display that I liked. This is the K. Minamoto confectionery store on Piccadilly.

I’m now inside Hatchard’s bookshop. It was founded at this multistory Piccadilly location in 1797, making it London’s oldest bookstore.

That was fun! Now, I’m heading down the road to Christie’s to check out some vintage guitars…

It’s probably not obvious from these photos, but there were a lot of people at this viewing (I was mostly patient; waiting for breaks before taking the pictures). It kind of surprised me. I don’t remember there being as many visitors when I attended the Knopfler viewing last year. But maybe the surprise is down to me favoring the work of Mark over Jeff!

Here are a few of the guitars that stood out to me…

I like the story behind this one! Jeff used the guitar when he worked with Tina Turner on the album Private Dancer. At the end of the session in 1984, he asked Turner to sign the guitar. She first autographed it in felt pen, but it was clear that it would not last. So instead she produced a knife from her bag and carved her name into the pink finish. She then rubbed green nail polish into the jagged letters to make them visible and permanent. (est. £8,000-12,000)

Like the Knopfler auction, I think the estimates here are very low! Maybe Christie’s does that on purpose? The auction takes place on Wednesday; we’ll see what happens!

For those who would like further information on the auction, here are some links:

Auction Home Page

Backstories

Walk around

Finally, I saw this on display at Christie’s and couldn’t resist sharing…

Thursday, January 16 – Harrow on the Hill

I’m heading into the Capital today to attend another West End play. Like Barcelona, I booked this a few weeks ago because of its popularity, and the fact that the production is ending in a few days.

(Booking shows at full price goes against my cheapness leaning, I know, but I do make exceptions! Typically I’ll look for same-day discounted tickets – see website reference further on in this Entry.)

Of course, I did some walking around in advance of the show. Here are a couple views…

The play takes place in the Noel Coward Theatre, located near Trafalgar Square.

Okay, enough with the suspense! The play I’m attending is Dr. Strangelove, starring Steve Coogan. It is based on the film directed by Stanley Kubrick.

Peter Sellers starred in the film; playing three different roles. Well, Coogan tops that by one! Pretty impressive, considering it is much easier to portray multiple characters in a movie than it is in live theater! They cleverly used a stand-in for him at times, with the substitute actor’s back to the audience. But still, there were many quick wardrobe changes for Steve! A fun show!

Travel Note: Here are a couple websites I use for West End (last minute) theater tickets and seating advice…

TKTS London

theatremonkey

I have a feeling I might have recommended these sites previously; if so, I apologize!

Friday, January 17 – Harrow on the Hill

My plan is to go off the beaten path today. Let’s do this!

I’m starting out in East London, visiting a museum that peaked my interest.

My journey takes me to the Bethnal Green tube station. At the exit to the station is this memorial, entitled Stairway To Heaven. It is in remembrance of a tragedy that occurred here in 1943. In fact, it was the worst London civilian disaster of World War II, yet no bombs were involved. 173 were killed – 84 women, 62 children and 27 men, and over 90 were injured. Basically, this involved a panicked crowd attempting to descend a dangerous stairway in the dark. Please use the link above to read more about this sad story.

(I was disappointed that the base of the memorial was enclosed by a fence. Not sure why; it didn’t look like there was any work taking place.)

This is the Young V&A Museum. That’s right, it’s a children’s museum. What can I say, I’ve pretty much never grown up (as I’m sure most of you who know me will attest!)!

There are some amazing things on display…

Wow! I was pleasantly surprised to see this iconic Japanese print on display in the “Where are you going to go?” area of the museum.

Pretty cool museum, am I right?

My next stop led me back towards Central London, neat The Tower of London.

St Dunstan in the East was a church that is located in an inconspicuous alleyway halfway between London Bridge and the Tower of London. It was largely destroyed in World War II, and the ruins are now a public garden.

My next stop took me further west, near St. Paul’s Cathedral…

In 1900, the park became the location for George Frederic Watts’s Memorial to Heroic Self-Sacrifice, a dedication to ordinary people who died while saving the lives of others and who might otherwise be forgotten.

My final destination is a short walk away…

The history of the Charterhouse begins in 1348 with the Black Death. The site was a burial ground. In 1545 it was transformed into one of the great courtyard houses of Tudor London. Then in 1611 the property was converted to a school for the young and an almshouse for the old. The almshouse remains in occupation today, while the school was re-located in 1872 to Godalming, Surrey.

Here are a couple exterior views of the grounds…

Sidenote: You may have noticed that I’m including more links in the Journal this year. I hope you find them useful!

Sunday, January 12 – Harrow on the Hill

I braved the cold however and ventured out for a walk and to run some errands…

Tuesday, January 14 – Harrow on the Hill

A beautiful day is forecast, with high temperatures in the upper 40s. I think a walking tour is in order!

My area of focus is Hampstead Heath, to the north of the city. The walk starts at the Archway tube station in Highgate.

The Gatehouse pub in old Highgate village. The Bishop of London once owned a park here, and the pub stands on the site of one of the three gates that led into the park.

I am now entering Hampstead Heath, a park covering 790 acres. (for comparison, Central Park in New York City is similar in size at 843 acres)

A view from the Heath back to Highgate. That’s St. Micheal’s on the right. On the left is Witanhurst. At over 90,000 square feet, it is the second largest private residence in London, after Buckingham Palace.

Kenwood House (ca. 17th century) was a private residence as late as 1927; it is now a public museum.

For those of you that are fans of the film Notting Hill, these photos may look familiar. For a refresher, take a look at this clip of the movie within a movie.

It was a perfect day to visit the museum; barely any visitors. Even the curators were commenting on how quiet it was! And the best part? It was free!

I’m now departing the Heath and heading into the village of Hampstead…

This was a fun day! A lot of walking (29k steps), and a little muddy on the Heath! (I was provided with disposable shoe covers when I toured Kenwood House)

Thursday, January 9 – Harrow on the Hill

Only one night of jeg-lag-interuppted sleep? Maybe (hopefully!)? I got in a full 8 hours last night, straight through. Whoo hoo! And I ended up spending another lazy two hours doing some reading before I was finally motivated to get up and do something! Come on, I’m on vacation (sort of). Give me a break!

I attended a Harrow School event this evening with Mary & Tony. It was a conversation with Sir Gregory Doran in The Ryan Theatre. Sir Gregory is the former artistic director of the Royal Shakespeare Company, amongst his many other accomplishments.

It was a fun event. Sir Gregory had interesting stories to tell, and there were some good audience questions, mainly from Harrow School students.

Subsequent to the talk, Sir Gregory was available for a signing of his book, and Mary ended up buying one as a gift.

Following the event, we made our way back to Byron House and sat down to a wonderful meal prepared by Mary.

Thank you so much Mary & Tony for a most enjoyable evening!

Friday, January 10 – Harrow on the Hill

I’m back into the city today, mainly to attend a play this evening.

I made my way in early so that I could partake in a favorite activity – just walking around this picturesque city (even on a cloudy winter day!). I made a loop from Green Park into Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens, then into Kensington and back to Trafalgar Square.

It was a little chilly, so I wore my Motion W stocking cap on the walk. Well, near Hyde Park Corner I got an “On Wisconsin” shout out! That was pretty cool. Badgers are everywhere!

Located in an obscure alley in Kensington is this classic car dealer. I like stopping by when I’m around to see what’s on display.

I also like checking out the Burlington Arcade, off of Piccadilly, to take a look at what’s on offer – mainly at the vintage watch shops. Classic cars and vintage watches. I can dream, right?!?

The play I’m attending didn’t begin until 8pm, and the theatre happens to be located near Trafalgar Square. That worked out nicely, because The National Portrait Gallery just happens to be open late on Friday nights. The perfect spot to roam while I warm up a bit!

And wow! My favorite piece in their collection is back on display! During my last two visits to London (last year and in 2020) it was in storage. This is a large piece, as you may be able to ascertain based on the size of the placard on the left: 64 in. x 61 in. Do you know who this is?

I think one of the reasons I like this piece is because of the title. Funny!

Okay, I’m off to the show!

I would say the main reason I chose this play was because it is the stage debut of Lily Collins. Folks of my generation will probably know her best as the daughter of Phil Collins. While most everyone else will recognize her from Emily in Paris.

The play takes place in a Barcelona apartment, and starts out as a possible one night stand between a Spaniard from Madrid and a tourist from the United States. It turns into much more though, as layers are revealed. It ran about 90 minutes with no intermission. I liked it! And was lucky to book a ticket, because the production ends tomorrow!

Travel Note: Another great night of sleep!

Saturday, January 11 – Harrow on the Hill

A couple items of financial note today…

I’m paying my rent in cash. That entails a few ATM withdrawals (due to daily limits, etc.). The notes I received were a mix of 20s and 10s. Of those about 5% were of this type…

Kait tipped me off last spring when the King Charles notes were introduced. However, here we are several months later and only a few are in circulation. Interesting…

And speaking of interesting, how about this?

A letter coincidentally arrived for me in the mail this week! I haven’t lived here since 2010, and I emptied my Barclays bank account in 2014. At least I think I did; maybe I should check! (watch this space) The letter is a request for me to fill out a tax residency form. Crazy!

Monday, January 6 & Tuesday January 7 – transit from Madison to London

Hello again everyone. Welcome back! Thank you for your continued interest in my winter travels.

I’ve returned to London, with a similar plan as last year – enjoy the city while using it as a base to visit other places in the region. A big thanks to Mary & Tony for welcoming me back to the very familiar Byron House. I’m thrilled to once again call Harrow on the Hill my home (for a few weeks)!

I’m planning on making a slight adjustment to the Journal Entries this year. I feel like I got too much into the minutia of my daily activities previously; nobody cares if I went for a walk or to the grocery store (boring!). So this year I may not have an Entry for every day of the week. I’ll only do a post if I see or do something of interest (hopefully that will be almost daily!). This will mainly apply solely to my time in London; I foresee being busy on a daily basis during my travels away from the Capital. And I hope to avoid posting pictures that are similar or identical to those from my time here last year. No promises though! I do have some favorite locations!

My itinerary from Madison to London was identical to last year:

• 6am departure from Madison to Newark
• Loooonnnggg layover in Newark
• Early evening departure to Heathrow, with a 6:45am arrival

Like last year, I used miles to upgrade to Business Class for the trip. It was especially nice because I had the use of the BC lounge in Newark during the layover. And there is also a little-known arrivals lounge at Heathrow that I also took advantage of! I utilized the shower facilities at both locations!

I had a nice nighttime (early morning) view of the Thames as we approached Heathrow. I was lucky – sitting in a window seat on the correct side of the plane. Lit up were the Tower Bridge, St. Paul’s, the Eye, and Big Ben. I know, a photo (or two) would be nice, but I was half asleep and just enjoyed the view (maybe it was all a dream?).

After spending some time in the arrivals lounge, I was on the SL9 bus for the ride to South Harrow. It had snowed a little before I boarded the bus, but stopped (and mostly melted) by the time I made the walk up to the Hill. It was wonderful to see Mary and Tony again, and we caught up over some tea and cake. Thank you Mary!

I had an Uber pickup in Madison at 4am on Monday, and coincidentally arrived at the doorstep of Byron House at 10am on Tuesday (4am in Madison). So, a 24 hour trip! Of course, only about 9 hours of that was actual flying time!

Wednesday, January 8 – Harrow on the Hill

I tried to stay up as late as possible last night, but failed miserably, falling asleep around 7:30pm. And then woke up around midnight. Ugh! Was back to sleep around 2:30am though, and made it all the way to 10am. Not terrible, I guess. Hopefully tonight will be better!

It was really tempting to just lay around the flat all day, but I eventually found the motivation to make a trip into the city. I mainly just walked amongst my favorite places around the parks and the Thames (did 20k steps for the day). I ended up in Trafalgar Square, with a visit to the National Gallery. While there I took advantage of their daily one hour tours, where a curator provides background on 4 different works in the collection. One of my favorite activities (and it’s free; another favorite!).

Trip Wrap Up

Before I get into the gory details of the trip, a couple more photos to share…

Below are some lists I compiled during the trip. Most are ranked in no particular order; the exception would be if a list is numbered.

Favorite Experiences

• A return to Byron House (and spending time with Mary & Tony)
• Visiting Ruth & Kent
• Hard Rock Cafe Tour
• Stamford Bridge (Chelsea Women’s Soccer)
• Lunchtime performance at the Royal Opera House
• Big Ben Tour
• The Who at The Royal Albert Hall
• Bach’s St. John’s Passion at St. Paul’s Cathedral
• Mini Day at Brooklands Museum
• The Picture of Dorian Gray
• The Ladder of Kotor Hike
• The Dave Matthews Band at The Royal Albert Hall

Favorite Places Visited (thanks for the suggestion Kait!)

1. Qatar
   • Visit Ruth & Kent
   • Itinerary
   • Food
2. Montenegro
   • Ladder of Kotor Hike
   • Perast
   • Train Ride to Bar
3. Bulgaria
   • Hotel
   • Monastery
   • Opera
4. Bosnia and Herzegovina
   • Mostar
   • Bobsled Track
5. Romania
   • Peles Castle
   • Transylvania
   • Opera
6. Slovakia
   • Hotel
   • Good for Walking
7. Albania
   • Low ranking likely due to my poor choice of locations to visit

I excluded the U.K. and Austria from the list. The U.K. dominated my time, and I only spent one full day in Austria.

Favorite Accommodation

• Byron House, Harrow on the Hill
• Underwood Manor, Doha
• Art ‘Otel, Sofia
• Morrol’s Boutique Hotel, Bratislava

Favorite Meals

• Welcome Dinner hosted by Mary & Tony
• Georgian Restaurant with Ruth & Kent in Doha
• Thai Restaurant with Ruth & Kent in Doha
• Turkish Restaurant with Ruth & Kent in Doha
• Pre-concert Dinner hosted by Mary & Tony
• Pre-Byron Talk Tea hosted by Mary & Tony
• Dinner at The White Horse with Mary & Tony
• Baguette sandwiches from Wenzel’s

You can probably spot a trend here! I rarely went to restaurants when I was on my own. I guess I find dining with myself rather boring! Undoubtedly a lost opportunity on my part, but it wasn’t a huge priority for me. A lot of times I’d just grab something from a grocery store or a takeaway place. And I had my own kitchen in Byron House.

Let’s Crunch the Numbers

Below are a bunch of statistics from this trip and all of my other winter escapes. This is where my weirdness shines! Feel free to scroll through quickly as your eyes begin to glaze over!

Countries Visited

I traveled to 9 countries on this trip, 7 for the first time. I have now visited 88 countries. I’m so lucky to have had the opportunity to pursue this passion. I don’t take it for granted. Below is a breakdown of visited countries by continent (and the % of countries I’ve been to on each continent):

• Africa: 3 (6%) – planning on increasing this count next winter!
• Antarctica: 0 (0%) – still hoping to make this my 100th country (in 2027?)
• Asia: 21 (47%)
• Europe: 35 (73%)
• North America: 19 (83%)
• Oceania: 2 (14%)
• South America: 8 (67%)

Trip Length

1. 2024 London: 108 days
2. 2023 Caribbean: 100 days
3. 2019 South America: 77 days
4. 2022 Hawaii: 66 days (cut short due to high costs!)
5. 2020 Europe: 33 days
6. 2020 South America: 30 days (cut short due to Covid)

Trip Cost

Total

1. 2023 Caribbean
2. 2022 Hawaii
3. 2019 South America
4. 2024 London
5. 2020 Europe
6. 2020 South America

Per Day

1. 2022 Hawaii (23% higher than second place S. America; what a surprise!)
2. 2019 South America (skewed higher by Galapagos Islands and Easter Island)
3. 2023 Caribbean
4. 2020 South America
5. 2020 Europe (skewed lower due to the use of frequent flyer miles for the transatlantic flights)
6. 2024 London (lower due to a) the use of frequent flyer miles for the transatlantic flights, b) visiting Balkan countries in the winter)

Steps

Total

1. 2024 London: 1.68 million (767 miles!)
2. 2023 Caribbean: 1.32 million
3. 2019 South America: 1.09 million
4. 2022 Hawaii: 1.07 million
5. 2020 Europe: 550 thousand
6. 2020 South America: 440 thousand

Per Day

1. 2022 Hawaii: 16.2 thousand
2. 2020 Europe: 16.1 thousand
3. 2024 London: 15.5 thousand (redeemed myself after last year’s embarrassing performance!)
4. 2020 South America: 14.5 thousand
5. 2019 South America: 14.4 thousand
6. 2023 Caribbean: 13.2 thousand

2024 Extremes

• Most: 31.0 thousand in Bucharest
• Least: 1.5 thousand on the day after my arrival in London

Postcards

I mailed 8 postcards to Oliver on this trip (from all of the countries I visited except Austria; I was only there one full day, a Saturday). One is still in transit; below are the mailing times for each of the 7 received (thanks for your assistance in documenting this (and promoting my dorkiness!) Holly, Mike & Ray!):

1. United Kingdom: 8 days
2. Bosnia and Herzegovina: 16 days (this surprised me; I would have expected Sarajevo to be one of the slowest)
3. Montenegro: 18 days
4. Romania: 21 days
5. Qatar: 22 days (this surprised me too; by how long it took!)
6. Slovakia: 23 days (the postcard wasn’t thrown in the trash at the post office after all!)
7. Bulgaria: 25 days

I kind of have a feeling that Albania will windup being the slowest, but maybe they’ll end up making me eat my words!

Planes, Trains & Buses

• Planes: 20 flights totaling 26,026 miles (the circumference of Earth is 24,901 miles)
  • Longest: Heathrow to O’Hare on 25 April
  • Shortest: O’Hare to Dane County Regional (Madison) on 25 April
• Trains: 3 trips in Bosnia and Montenegro (plus several rides in and around London!)
• Buses: 5 trips in Austria, Slovakia, Montenegro and Albania (plus several rides on the SL9 to and from Heathrow!)

Trip Map

The trip map, which is linked on the 2024 London+ homepage, is up to date.

Favorite Pictures

I snapped close to 4,000 photos on the trip. Here are a few of my favorites…

Well, that about does it! Please let me know if you have any suggestions for things to add to my lists, or photos I’ve overlooked.

Thank you so much for following along. I hope you’ll join me again next year!

(Spoiler Alert: Mary & Tony have gratuitously offered me the use of their flat again next year, so I’ll be making a return visit to London! My mission in 2025 will be to use London as a base to visit Africa. Can’t wait!)