May 28, Darwin's House and Covent Garden

Yesterday I had a very productive day; managed to finish the outline for a book proposal and get much of the first chapter done; this morning I finished the first chapter and sent the whole package to my editor to see if it is about what she had in mind. Then I headed for the train station - and immediately ran into a little hitch. The bike front tire, fixed just a week ago, is flat again. Fortunately Joy was heading out to the gymn so she gave me a lift to the station.

A second minor hitch: The bus company web page said there is a bus from Orpington to Down House (where Charles Darwin lived most of his life) every 20 minutes, but it was actually over an hour - who knows when the bus company last updated their web page. Once I got there, it was very nice. Not impressive in the way of the castles and monuments I have been visiting, but still nice to walk through the rooms where Darwin lived and did his work. I couldn't figure out if there was a no photos prohibition - there probably was since no-one else was snapping pictures, but I snapped a couple of the study where he wrote Origin of Species and several other books that would have made his reputation even without that book, and one of the billiards room, with the desk where he did much of his correspondence. They had very good displays, nothing new if you have recently read a good bio of Darwin, as I have, but clear and well presented. One thing I did find new and fascinating - they had put together a flip-card display showing the evolution of whales over the past 55 million years (based on fossile evidence). It was also enjoyable to walk on the "gravel walk," the long garden walk where he did much of his thinking. It would have been more enjoyable but there were faorly large crowds, which made it difficult to get into an appropriately reflective mood. Over lunch I met a charming English couple who live in Orpington and drivve out there just for lunch once a week; we had a great conversation and they kindly drove me back to the train station.

Their lift got me back into London quite a bit earlier than I really needed, so after I dropped by thed ticket office to pick up my ballet and opera tickets, I wandered around Covent Gardens a bit - it is interesting, although not a place I necessarily want to go often. There was a very indifferent street performer, a gymnast / juggler who managed to keep 6 balls in the air for about 45 seconds, and did ten pushups on his thumb. He promised for a finale to do a sideways flip over a chain held 5 feet above a 14 year old boy lying on the pavement, but his audience manner was so incredibly irritating that I left before he got around to it. To state the obvious, I have seen better!

With an hour to kill before my dinner reservation, I sat down at a sidewalk cafe on Wellington Street, one block away from Bow Street and the opera house, to have a cappuccino and begin writing this blog. I had decided a couple of weeks ago just to eat where I had dinner with Lynne before we saw Warhorse, partly because I knew how to get there and it's very close to the opera house (I didn't know that I wouldn't be rushed for time) and partly because I enjoyed the dinner I had there.

Dinner was quite good - baked halibut in a sauce, oven roast potatoes and asparagus. They had an interesting dessert, mango with raspberry ice cream, but the dinner filled me up too much so I reluctantly passed on it.

The Royal opera house is quite plush - seats more comfortable than anything in Portland, and they actually have room for my knees, plus vents under every seat so there is at least a bit of fresh air. The Royal Ballet performed three pieces, the first two to modern music and the third to a Bizet symphony. The dancers are of course superb. The first piece, Chroma, was set to music by Joby Talbot and Jack White III, choreographed by Wayne MacGregor (none of these names mean anything to me either.) I liked it by far best of the three. Costumes were minimalist, a soft fabric rather like short nightgowns that didn't get in the way of the movements or distract in anyway. Choreography was very lyrical, almost romantic, with lots of influence from modern dance; at times it was quite enchanting. The second piece, Tryst, was set to music by James MacMillan, choreography by Christopher Wheeldon. This piece was more classical in tone, but still with a lot of modern dance influence. The choreography was highly stylized, almost machine-like at times. Although there were some very fluid, lyrical moments it generally seemed, compared to the first piece, almost soulless. I enjoyed it, but kept losing the thead - I don't think it lacked coherence so much as that it failed to maintain attention. The third piece, Symphony in C, was set to the piece by that name by Bizet, choreography by Balanchine. It was the most classical of the three, danced in tutus and en pointe, very lyrical and romantic. I liked it a lot, but the first piece was still the best of the lot for me. During the first intermission I asked the usher about the vents, and we struck up a conversation which we resumed at the second intermission. She was a nice, interesting person, aspiring actress, very enjoyable to talk with.

It was an altogether satisfying day, very relaxing, altogether successful. I feel quite rested up and ready to work through much of the rest of what promises to be a rainy weekend.