Monday, March 17 – Harrow on the Hill

I’m heading into the city this evening to attend a West End play.

Retrograde is based on a true event in the life of Sidney Poitier; a key moment in his career during a time of rising McCarthyism in 1950s Hollywood. The play delves into Poitier’s friendship with left-leaning Black actors like Paul Robeson, which made producers wary of hiring him. In this instance, the studio required Poitier to sign a loyalty oath in order to land a role, but ultimately he refused.

The view from seat H16 in the stalls. The entire one-act play took place in this studio head’s office.

I really enjoyed this. And like the story of Lee Miller, it is a part of history of which I was completely unaware (of course I have knowledge of McCarthyism, but not Sidney Poitier’s personal confrontation with it).

Sidenote: Five years ago today I was in Salta, Argentina, and pretty much clueless as to what was going on in the world. Thankfully, I was messaged by family and friends, alerting me to the fact that airports around the global were shutting down, and I may want to think about getting my behind back to the U.S.! What followed was a crazy few days of scrambling for flights, being placed in quarantine, and navigating deserted airports and roadways. It was rather stressful at the time, but looking back, I feel like it was something I’m grateful to have experienced (sounds weird, I know). If you’d like to relive my odyssey, here’s a link to the Entry in my Journal that begins the narrative.

Tuesday, March 18 – Harrow on the Hill

Thanks to another tip from Mary, I’ve booked a tour today at nearby Headstone Manor.

Built in 1310, the moated manor house known as Headstone Manor is the earliest surviving timber-framed building in Middlesex. The land on which Headstone Manor stands belonged to Wulfred, Archbishop of Canterbury, in 825 AD. It remained in the ownership of the Archbishops until 1546, when it was surrendered to Henry VIII. Soon after, he sold it to one of his court favorites, Edward North, and it remained in private ownership for almost four centuries.

Over time, Headstone Manor fell into a state of disrepair, and much of its surrounding land was sold off. In 1925 Hendon Rural District Council bought the site. It then passed into the control of the London Borough of Harrow after local government reorganization. After years of increasing dilapidation, the decision was made to turn the site into the home of Harrow Museum, which opened in 1986. The first stage of restoration at Headstone Manor began in of 2004, with the most recent work completed in 2017.

From Byron House, it was a 45 minute walk to the Manor.

The moat that surrounds the Manor. On the left is the Small Barn (now the Museum), and the chimney of the Manor can be seen on the right.

Entering the grounds of the Manor. On the left is the Granary (ca. late 18th century), and on the right is the Great Barn (ca. 1506).

The Buttery (a cold storeroom for keeping food fresh). This space has changed the least since the house was built in 1310.

The guided tour lasted an hour and cost £4. (there were about a dozen people taking the tour) This was a fun visit on a beautiful day!

I saw this sign by the moat. I did not know this, did you? We would always take bread for feeding when visiting the duck pond in Madison.

Thursday, March 20 – Harrow on the Hill

It’s another beautiful day, and I have a couple events booked in the Capital, so let’s go!

Before grabbing the train, I stopped at the Wenzel’s in the Harrow on the Hill station to buy a baguette sandwich. This will be my lunch as I lounge in one of the London parks.

Sidenote: I have come across no Wenzel’s bread/sandwhich shops in Central London. Curious. I’ve only found them in the outlying areas; typically close to a tube station. Must be their strategy – avoid the high real estate costs of London. Anyway, I digress…

I settled in Upper Grovesnor Park, where this impressive sculpture is located. Seems like odd subject matter for a London park though, right? Entitled Lioness and Lesser Kudu, it was created by Jonathan Kenworthy, who had been commissioned by the Duke and Duchess of Windsor to produce an animal art piece for Eaton Hall in 1998. However, it was subsequently decided that it should be moved to Grovesnor Park for the enjoyment of the general public, where it has remained since 2000. There you go!

I have a 1pm timed entry ticket (£17) to visit The Royal Mews.

The Royal Mews is a collection of equestrian stables that are part of the British royal family. In London, these stables and stable-hands’ quarters have been located within the grounds of Buckingham Palace since the 1820s.

For the visit, on display are royal carriages, a royal vehicle, and even a couple horses! The Royal Mews is also a working part of the palace, where horses and people live and work, and where carriages and cars are in daily use, supporting the work of the monarch as head of state.

My next event isn’t until 7:30pm. It’s such a beautiful day, I think I’m just going to walk around the city.

My venue this evening is in east London, so I ended up walking from the Mews down to the river, crossing the Chelsea Bridge (at Battersea Park) and heading east along the south bank. I’ve posted a lot of pictures from this walk previously; here are a couple favorites from today…

Sidenote: I was wearing my Wisconsin baseball cap again today, and received two “Go Badgers” shoutouts during my walk – one on the south bank, and one while crossing the Tower Bridge. Very cool!

Tonight I’m attending a Gresham College lecture. These events are free, but require a ticket because they usually sellout. Thanks to (another) tip from Mary, I first attended a couple of the Gresham lectures when I was in London last year.

Tonight’s talk focused on the work of Jimi Hendrix; specifically the technical aspects of his guitar playing. Some of it was over my head, but still very interesting (and entertaining)! It just further reinforced my belief (and pretty much everyone else’s) that he was the greatest of the rock guitarists (apologies Mr. Clapton!).

If you’re interested in viewing the video of the lecture, it’s available here.

I knew I did a fair amount of walking today, but didn’t think it was massive. I was wrong! 31k steps!

Friday, March 21 – Harrow on the Hill

I woke up this morning to the news that Heathrow will be shut down for at least 24 hours due to a power outage. Yikes! Thankfully, I have no immediate upcoming travel scheduled.