London and Lewes

It's only August 15th but the weather has really turned.  It's a lot cooler during the day, all of a sudden.  That has forced me--forced I say--to go to Marks & Spencer's and pick up a couple of warmer tops--which of course will never fit into my suitcase.  But that is a problem for another day.

Yesterday I was back in London.  The midweek super-off peak day pass allows you to leave Brighton only after 10AM.  So I was on the 10:15 on my way to Victoria Station.  And the Piccadilly line was working this time, so I was at the tickets office at about 11:30PM.  There were fewer choices this time--probably because of the later hour.  On my way to London I had decided to try to see either Once, the musical based on the movie of a few years ago, or Relatively Speaking, a comedy starring Felicity Kendal, who I remembered from many, many years ago in a show called The Good Life, about a couple who decided to live off the land--right in the middle of the city. Once tickets were gone, but there was a ticket for Relatively Speaking, so I was happy.

After a quick lunch, I decided to go the the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square and check out some paintings.  But already I had noticed there were more men in kilts in town than I ever remembered seeing.  Then I came across this...

Many, many Scotsmen crowded into the square, singing a song I was not able to recognize, probably because they were singing it so badly.

I later found out the the Scotsmen were in town for the football game between England and Scotland.  It was the first time the teams had met in fourteen years--and passions were high.  Scotland lost 3-2 that night.

And believe it or not, the thousands of kilted gentlemen were not the only amazing things in the square that day.  There was the Blue Rooster

Or how about the guy sitting with no visible means of support..

Or the fellow who decided to do a handstand on the head of the George Washington statue.

This is what I love about London, you never know what you will see.  And London loves its citizens.  Why else provide all these beach chairs for free, right in the middle of Victoria Embankment Park?

The play was great.  It involved a woman going to the country home of her ex-boss to break off an affair.  She was calling it quits because she had found another, younger guy, who asked her to marry him.  She told her new guy she was traveling to see her parents and mistakenly left the address she was going to at the apartment they shared.  She missed the train she was supposed to be on, but her boyfriend made the train, having decided to meet her parents and ask for her hand in marriage.  When he shows up at the boss' place and meets him and his wife (Kendal) hilarity ensues.  It sounds far-fetched--and it is--but it really was very funny and all four actors were terrific.

After the show, I walked down to the Thames and took this picture.  It was pretty busy on the river and there are a lot of new buildings going up.

After a stroll along the river, it as back to Victoria and to Brighton.

The day before I took a short trip to Lewes, pronounced Lewis just like the city in Delaware is, as Delawarians will quickly tell you.

The first day I bought a bus pass, the woman who sold it to me said that with it I could travel as far as Eastbourne to the east, Shorham to the west and Royal Tunbridge Wells to the north.  I had been to Eastbourne on the bus, driven through Shorham with my little rented car and so all that was left to take full advantage of the pass was to go to Royal Tunbridge Wells.  A little research indicated that it might be worth the two-hour ride, so I decided instead to go to Lewes on the same line.

Lewes sits in a valley, so my research told me.  Well, I can't really vouch for that.  I can say that the High Street is really high.  Here's what you see looking down a side street.

Shops on the High Street mostly sell antiques or antique books.  There are plenty of both varieties, including this one that looked incredibly old.

Down from the peak of high street, there is a pedestrian walk with a number of restaurants.

 I had a great steak frites at Bill's.  I was sitting outside, but this is what I saw in the restaurant.

It was like everyone was eating inside a storeroom.  Although you really can't tell that from this picture.

Lewes does have its own castle, but it cost money to get in and I figured you've seen one castle....

And there is a canal that runs through town.

I walked a way around the hill that is high street and came across this beautiful garden called the Grange.

Leading up to this manor house.

On the same street was this rather intriguing storefront.

The coffin-sized basket in the window perhaps gives you an idea of what they mean by original.

Down the street a little was the Anne of Cleves House.  One of the few wives of Henry VIII to survive the experience, Anne apparently lived in this house for a while.

As I approached I heard a simple little tune repeated again and again and I thought, that's strange that they would be providing music to the street.  Then I thought it was someone whistling.  It was only quite a bit later that I realized I had somehow set the alarm on my little burner phone and it was going off.  Now I myself have butt-called people with a phone in my pocket.  But butt-set an alarm?  That's a new one.

Anyway, now was the moment of truth.  In order to get to the high street and the bus back to Brighton, I had to climb back up the hill.  And I did so, on the aptly-named Rotten Row.

On my way up I passed a young woman who was rubbing the blisters on her feet, so I felt pretty good that in all the walking and climbing I have done here in Southern England, I have not gotten a blister!  I have probably put the hex on myself with that statement.  On the other hand, the soles of my feet feel like they have been whipped.

After Marks & Spencer and a little rest, I am going out tonight for the obligatory ghost walk through the lanes in Brighton.  Will report back.