Another Dinner with Friends

Peter and I spent our time on the boat today. At 6 p.m., our friends Alistair and Alice came by for appetizers and then we walked across the Tower Bridge for dinner at 7 p.m. at a Lebanese restaurant, where the decor included Middle Eastern tile work, ceramics, bright colors and garlands of flowers. The food was authentic and delicious and we enjoyed hours of conversation.

Peter, Alistair, Sherri and Alice in fezzes

Tomorrow Peter and I will visit Kew Gardens with Matthew. We've booked A Midsummer Night's Dream at the Globe Theatre for Saturday evening and Shadowlands, a play about C. S. Lewis for Thursday afternoon. 

A Lecture, More Museums and Music, Meeting with Friends

On Tuesday, April 28, Peter and I were supposed to go for a tour of the Charter House, an almshouse and estate in Clerkenwell, the history of which dates back to 1348. However, delivery of PVC sheets Peter is going to shape to fit the bimini frame was scheduled for that morning, so we cancelled that plan. There are plenty of tasks to do on the boat, and I am far behind in reading the designated books for two different bookclubs next week, so most of the day was passed with chores and reading for me. The PVC sheets arrived around noon, and Peter and I carried one of the four from the nearest road to the boat. They are not heavy but are awkwardly big. We then decided to use a dock cart for the other three and managed to get them to the gate to the dock. We needed someone to hold the gate open, and I asked a couple strolling by with their dog if they could assist us. It turned out that it made more sense for me to hold the gate and the men to transport the sheets to the boat. We then invited the couple (+dog) to the boat, which they were quite eager to see. It may have sparked a wild idea for them to buy a boat and adopt a similar crazy lifestyle as us!

While Peter worked on projects on his very long list, again, I spent some time on the phone and online with various northern European embassies trying to find a way to travel in the North and Baltic Seas for more than the 90 days allowed with a travel visa in the Schengen Area. It was a frustrating and fruitless endeavor which has caused Peter and me to rethink our cruising plans. Our current thought is to cruise from mid-May to mid-July and then travel to the East Coast of the U.S. (by air) to visit Katya and go on the annual Rodgers Family beach vacation in Maryland. We will then return to the boat, wherever she is in Scandanavia, and cruise for another month in continental Europe before returning to the south coast of England and making our way to Ireland, where we will probably leave the boat for the winter (as opposed to the previous plan to leave her in Spain). Like the water we travel on, our plans are fluid.

I finally got around to cooking some sauces for meals in the early afternoon. I made big pots of chana masala and ratatouille and some rice. Matthew was coming for dinner that evening and was looking forward to one of my home-cooked meals. Alas, just as I was finishing up, with the plan to finish the simmering of the chana masala before dinner, the liquid propane gas ran out, as we feared it would some time soon. The challenging task of finding a way to get more gas, by legal or illegal means, rose to the top of Peter's list!

An empty gas tank, purchased last year in Greenland

We had a Caesar salad for lunch. Afterwards, I went to the Post Office on Wapping High Street and then stopped at Waitrose as I returned to purchase food that can be heated in the microwave. I am still amazed at the small size of packages of food available here. 

The largest box of crackers I could find

Peter and I met Matthew at St. Olave Hart Street church (which is dedicated to a Viking warrior who became a saint) just after 6 p.m. Inside we accepted glasses of wine and plates of cake before seating ourselves in the front of the sanctuary. We were there to attend a 6:30 lecture by the author of the recently published First Kings: Forged by Vikings in England and Norway by R.A.J. Waddingham, which relates the ninth-century history of Viking raids and settlement in the British Isles and the subsequent conflicts and alliances between the Vikings and English and Norwegian leaders. These resulted in Athelstan becoming the first king of England and Harald Fairhair rising as the first King of Norway. Waddington is a dynamic speaker and accompanied his lecture with slides which elucidated the geography and lineages. Afterwards, we talked with the pastor about the church building history and members of the Cheap Ward, one of the 25 sections or aldermanries of the City of London, which are a survival the medieval governmental system. (The Court of Aldermen elects the Lord Mayor of London from among its membership.) 

Peter, Matthew and Sherri in the front row right in front of the speaker

Not being able to offer Matthew a hot meal aboard Mantra, we went to a nearby pub, The Crutched Friar, for dinner. It was a very noisy place. Not only did it have big screen televisions (which I detest in eating establishments), but, unlike in the U.S., the audio was on at a high enough volume to compete with loud voices, which erupted into shouts every time one of the two teams competing in a German vs. French team match scored. However, the menu was appealing, and I chose butternut squash ravioli and Peter and Matthew selected wagyu hamburgers. Unfortunately, they were out of these selections. I settled for the other vegetarian entry, but that was also not available. Peter and Matthew had burgers and fries while I contented myself with a side dish of sweet potato fries. 

After dinner, we walked to St. Katherine Docks. On Mantra, we enjoyed cookies and Matthew and Peter had beers while we chatted for a couple hours. Matthew, who lives alone, was happy for the chance to talk.

Each day, as we stay up later, we get up later in the morning, a couple hours after sunrise. Yesterday, April 29, it was nearly 9:00 when I arose. Not being able to cook breakfast as usual, I, as well as Peter, had a bowl of cereal. I then prepared a bucket of bleach and water and cleaned the pilot house and cockpit. I think the last of the m old has been eradicated now.

After a quick lunch of crackers and cheese, I left to visit another museum, this time the Wallace Collection which is displayed in 25 galleries in the Hertford House at Manchester Square, the former townhouse of the Seymour family, Marquesses of Hertford. It is named after Sir Richard Wallace, who was the illegitimate son and heir to the unentailed estate of the Richard Seymour-Conway, the fourth marquess. Sir Wallace's widow bequeathed the entire collection to the nation in 1897. 

The collection includes exceptional paintings, sculpture, ceramics, furniture and arms and armor. Artists represented by some of their masterpieces include Titian, Velázquez, Rubens and Van Dyck as well as Frans Hall, Joshua Reynolds, Jean-Honoré Fragonard and François Boucher . In addition, there are pieces of Limoges enamel, maiolica, Sèvres porcelain and bronze sculptures. The museum is famous for its collection of 18th-century French paintings, decorative arts and furniture. Works of the ancien régime; wealthy British families purchased most of these pieces after the French Revolution, when the Republic sold them, free of taxes.

I joined a docent tour led by a delightful woman with an expansive knowledge of the works and their acquisition as well as the historical times of their creation and acquisition. Then, I spent time on my own, as impressed by the rooms themselves as much as the works. The design of each room is highly coordinated, mimicking the strict etiquette of 18th-century French palaces. The walls are covered in brilliantly hued silks; ornate crystal chandeliers hang from the high ceilings; rich woods such as mahogany are featured in doors and trim; and gold touches highlight architectural features.

One of the rooms of arms and armor

Knights' armor

Turkish design Minton-tiled alcove off the Smoking Room

Former Billiard Rom

A gallery in the Wallace Collection

The Great Gallery

East Gallery room

Another East Gallery room

Large drawing room

Large drawing room looking into the another room

Oval drawing room

Sèvres porcelain display

Drawing room displaying ceramics and furniture from France

Room with works by Thomas Gainsborough and other British artists

I left the Wallace Collection just before it closed at 5 p.m. and made my way via the Elizabeth Line to Milton Concert Hall at Guildhall School of Music and Drama, meeting up with Peter's cousin Wendy and her decades-long partner Don as well as Peter in the lounge, where we embraced and then enjoyed refreshments before entering the venue to enjoy a piano and voice concert featuring the works of Nadia Boulanger and her pupils, including the famous American composer Aaron Copeland. Boulanger was a French music teacher, conductor and composer who taught many of the leading composers and musicians of the twentieth. She was the first woman to conduct many major orchestras in America and Europe.

The piano was played brilliantly by several different students, and the short pieces were sung individually, with exceptional vocal tone, texture and resonance, by multiple young sopranos and one tenor. Extremely talented, the singers, we noticed, still lack the stage presence, dramatic gestures and personality of older and accomplished performers. Still, this did not diminish the quality of their music.

After the concert, the four of us stopped by Mantra (to show off the boat) and then went to dinner nearby Poplars Restaurant at the Dickens Inn, where we enjoyed more conversation about family and the state of the world.

It is another bright and sunny day here in London, even bordering on warm in the sunshine (but not the shade). We are even able to let in some fresh air through open hatches. I am going to the Tate Modern this afternoon while Peter continues to work through his task list at a slow but steady pace. This evening we will get together with friends for dinner.

Museums and Cygnets

This morning, Peter and I went to the weekly gathering of Ocean Cruising Club members currently at St. Katherine Docks for hot beverages and conversation. Afterwards, Peter spent the day following up on supplies he ordered for the bimini and other tasks and I, after tidying up the aft cabin and researching how to stay in the Schengen Area for more than 90 days while cruising (a dilemma still not resolved), set off to see more artwork. My first stop was the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square. 

National Gallery

Last Friday, having spent hours there, I had still not had time to visit all the rooms and listen to the audio tour of the most important paintings in the collection. After two hours of admiring not only artwork but the superb interior space of the museum, I had visited every room, viewing and learning about European painting from the mid-13th century through the 19th century. The Gallery has such an impressive collection of works by Botticelli, van Eyck, Uccello, Raphael, Leonardo di Vinci, Michelangelo, Caravaggio, Rembrandt, Velázquez, Turner, Degas, Monet, and Van Gogh among others. It was wonderful to have the opportunity to spend so much time there.

Interior in the National Gallery

Another room and ceiling in the National Gallery

Afterwards, I walked past two Horse Guards by the Parade Grounds and some of the amazing architecture of Westminster Borough to reach the Tate British, where I went mainly to see the large collection of paintings and sketches by Joseph Mallord William Turner. 

Horse Guard

Horse Guard

Whitehall architecture

Victoria Tower, Palace of Westminster

Considered by some to the be greatest British painter, Turner's Romantic work was controversial during his time, enormously admired by some but dismissed by others. A child prodigy, he entered the Royal Academy of Art at the age of 14 and became a member a year later. His work features dramatic palettes, stunning use of light and and ephemeral atmospheric effects. He is best known for his marine paintings, some featuring naval triumphs and others depicting shipwrecks and violent seas; his landscapes; and his depictions of classical mythology. In his late career, his paintings tended to be centered on atmospheric moods and luminosity, with very little precise detail, almost abstract. Looking at his paintings again today, I experienced awe at his techniques and his presentation of light but also, like some of his critics, was not impressed with the lack of detail in some of the work.

I returned to the boat around 6 p.m. After I rested by feet for a few minutes, Peter and I went for a walk to Wapping Canal to see six recently born fluffy cygnets and their graceful and sleek parents, who were busy pulling up weed from the bottom for the little ones to eat. We joined others who lingered to find joy in watching their activity.

Parents diving for food for the cygnets

Cygnets and their mother and father

Peter was in the mood for British food, I guess, so we stopped at Waitrose where he bought a pork pie and some olives for his dinner (even though I had planned to make chana masala and rice). I made myself a quesadilla topped with salsa and fresh avocado. We played a game of gin as rain pattered briefly on the deck above, the first precipitation since I arrived here 11 days ago. The weather gradually is getting warmer, which I appreciate.

More Churches, Music, Landmarks and Museums Plus the London Marathon!

There is so much to see and do in London, that it is difficult for me to find time to post. I will catch up now. This is a lazy day of hanging on the boat and around the dock.

On Friday,  April 24, I cleaned the saloon and did other chores around the boat in the morning and then went to St. James Piccadilly on the the No. 15 bus to attend a concert by a young trio of artists playing violin, cello and piano. Some of the music they played included pieces they had commissioned for their own performance. The music was avant-garde but not edgy or discordant.  

Trio at St. James Piccadilly

Afterwards, I walked down the block to Hatchard's bookshop to purchase another book I must read, this time for the family book club. As I was walking through Piccadilly Circus, there were people handing out Magnum chocolate and hazelnut coronets for free. Since I had only had some crackers and cheese around noon before I left the boat, this was wonderfully serendipitous. 

Piccadilly Circus

Then I spent three and a half hours at the National Gallery, roaming through the rooms while listening to about half of the five-hour audio tour of more than sixty masterpieces on display. Peter met me at 6 p.m. so that we could attend a musical presentation at 6:30 in one of the rotundas featuring two women performing their own music, one on harp and the other playing field recordings and singing. The half-hour performance was haunting and lovely and drew a large audience. After that, we went to another part of the museum where a curator and four poets were doing a tour and readings. The poets had written works inspired by the particular paintings we were viewing. 

Performers in front of a Claude painting at the National Gallery

After that, we explored the museum some more, particularly interested in the Van Gogh's and other European paintings from same era. Shortly before the museum's closing, we left and walked through Trafalgar Square and towards the river, where the tower of Big Ben and the Houses or Parliament were brilliantly illuminated. Hungry, we walked along the Embankment until we came to a restaurant on the edge of the Embankment Gardens where we enjoyed pizza and sandwiches.

Nelson Column in Trafalgar Square

Big Ben and Houses of Parliament

On Saturday, April 25, Peter and I walked to Watney Market in Shadwell, a densely populated area of East London with a large Muslim population, many originating from Bengal and Bangladash. Clothing and jewelry were on sale in the stalls in addition to fresh produce. Most of the women were dressed in hijabs and some were in burqas. 

Watney Market

After purchasing some fruit and vegetables, we separated, with Peter going to the boat and me wondering around Shadwell and Spitalfields. There is a lot of graffiti and occasional murals, some of which are stunning, including "The Land is Calling, which depicts rural life in Bangladesh, situated by the entrance to Banglatown on Brick Lane. 

Entrance to Banglatown

Walking to Banglatown, I passed by Brick Lane Jamme Masjid. The building was first constructed in 1743 as a Protestant chapel by the Huguenot community in East London. In 1891, it became the Machzike Hadath, the Spitalfields Great Synagogue; the area was populated by Jewish refugees from Russia and Central Europe. In 1976, it opened as a mosque serving the growing Bangladashi community. 

Jamme Masjid

As I was returning to the boat, I passed "Goodman's Field Horses," comprised of six larger-than-life horse sculptures and water features. The plaque reads"Having escaped from their livery stables, six horses gallop through the streets of London. Careering through crowds of pedestrians until they are brought to a halt by the traffic flow on Leman street." 

Two of the six horse sculptures by Leman Street

I stopped at Waitrose, my second trip there, and once again, I found the packages of cheese and dried goods to be really small, which will be particularly frustrating when I provision for the summer. For example, the largest packages of shaved parmesan cheese are smaller than the smallest ones in the U.S. 

The rest of the day was spent on boat chores. The interior cleaning is now finished. From various positions, I cleaned all the ceiling, walls and cabinets. 

Sherri cleaning the galley

Today the big event--for thousands of people--has been the London Marathon. The halfway mark of the route was only two blocks from our boat and we arrived early enough for me to get a place right along the barrier fence, so I had great up-close views of the participants. First came the wheelchair racers and then the runners. It was so exciting! And the new men's world record in the the marathon was set at 1 hour,  59 minutes and 30 seconds by Sebastian Sawe of Kenya. We saw him run by (but I did not get a photo).

I spent a couple of hours there. At first, there were small groups of four to six racers and some lone individuals. After about a hour, the course became packed with an endless stream of runners joyfully or exhaustedly going by. A few were in costume; we spotted a number of Spidermen, a few Harry Potters and even a couple of flamencos. 

Even now, at 6 p.m., the marathon excitement continues as various groups of runners meet up with their supporters at pubs and bars. The nearby dockside Dicken's Inn erupts with cheering every time another finisher arrives.

Peter--after days and days of painstaking and mentally painful research, drawing and calculations--has finally just ordered the supplies he needs to make the bimini cover from PVC, aluminum and vinyl. The frame was installed a few weeks ago. It is, indeed, a daunting task, one that almost anyone else would have sourced out. 

As we spent time on the boat this afternoon, we heard the harmonies an a cappella singing group. We we went out on the aft deck, we found that a group of men were serenading patrons of the dockside cafes with a few songs. This type of unexpected and delightful and not infrequent occurrence of entertainment is such a part of London. 

Men's a cappella group in blue

Churches, Music, Architecture, Presentations: London Has It All

Our morning yesterday started with a lie-in and then an Ocean Cruising Club get-together on Lema, a beautiful sailing ship from Barnstable, Massachusetts, docked nearby. My shopping expedition yesterday was a failure. Unfortunately, the shops are no longer offering clothing for cold weather; everywhere there were summer dresses and other clothing. I purchased a black cashmere sweater, but it turned out to be too big, so I wore my flowered black summer dress with a cream-colored sweater in the evening. 

My afternoon out was not a total waste, however. I stopped in two churches nearby. The first was All Hallows Church By-the-Tower, a Medieval Anglican structure which is the oldest church in the City of London, founded in 675 AD. (Some research questions this claim.) The church owes its survival of the Great Fire of 1666 to Admiral William Penn (father of William Penn, the founder of Pennsylvania) who had his men from a nearby naval yard blow up the surrounding buildings to create firebreaks. During the Great Fire, Samuel Pepys climbed the church's tower to watch the progress of the blaze and what he described as "the saddest sight of desolation." Pepys, along with Penn, was a member of the Navy Board and was instrumental in advising King Charles II to pull down buildings to create firebreaks during the Great Fire. The Church was severely damaged during the Blitz but was reconstructed and rededicated in 1957.

Windows of All Hallows By-the-Tower Church

Interior, All Hallows By-the-Tower Church

The other church I stopped in was the Guild Church of St. Margaret Pattens. This church is first recorded as a congregation in 1067. The current building was designed by Christopher Wren after the Great Fire destroyed the 1538 structure and was completed in 1687. It became a guild church rather than a parish church in 1954. The deep pink ceiling contrasting with the white walls and dark wood is stunning. There is also a display of pattens in the narthex of the church. The church's name is traditionally said to derive from wooden-soled overshoes, later soled with raised iron rings, that, as elsewhere, parishioners would be asked to remove on entering the church. These raised shoes enabled people to walk about the streets of London without muddying their feet. Items shown included iron ring pattens, a pair of inlaid ivory pattens as well as a beautiful pair of brocade shoes with matching pattens. 

The Guild Church of St. Margaret Pattens

Pattens on display at the Guild Church of St. Margaret Pattens

I returned to the boat, Peter and I had a quick early dinner of grilled cheese sandwiches and dressed to go to the Royal Academy of Science for our friend Roger Highfield's presentation entitled "Battle for Reality: Why Science Matters in an Age of Misinformation." He recently received the The Royal Society David Attenborough Award and Lecture for outstanding public engagement with science. We met Liz there and joined her in the "invited guests" section (which we were not expecting) of the hall. Roger's speech was both informative and thought-provoking. After the speech and the presentation of the award, invited guests joined together for a lovely reception in another room, enjoying wine, canapés and interesting conversation. 

Liz, Roger, Rich and Peter at the reception after Roger's speech (They were all housemates in Oxford.)

Today (Thursday, April 23) has mostly been spent on the boat. Peter is laboriously sourcing materials for the bimini cover, experiencing a lot of frustration. I went out for a couple hours this afternoon to return the cashmere sweater and do some sight-seeing. Liz has very thoughtfully lent me a London City Walks guidebook and I used it to learn more about the City of London. The Monument to the Great Fire was the first stop. Along Lower Thames Street, I admired architect Horace Jones's Billingsgate Fish Market (no longer operating as such) then passed by the hall of the Guild of Waterman and Lightermen. Built in 1780, it is the only remaining original Georgian Hall in the City. Next on the walk was the ruined nave of St. Dunstan. The church was destroyed on May 10, 1941, by the Germans and, since it did not have a parish, was never rebuilt.

The Monument

Guild of Waterman and Lightermen

St. Dunstan's nave ruins

I attended a one-hour lunchtime concert at St. Olave Hart Street Church. The concert, featuring a soprano and a pianist, included works by Schuman, Chopin, Ravel and Weil. 

Pianist and soprano at St. Olave Hart Street Church

This church is where Samuel Pepys and his wife Elizabeth worshipped and are buried. He is most well-known for the secret diary he kept in the 1660s. It was discovered and decoded in the early 19th century. It is one of the most important primary sources of the Stuart Restoration. Pepys's diary provides a combination of personal revelation and eyewitness accounts of great events, such as the Great Plague of London, the Second Anglo-Dutch War and the Great Fire of London. 

A gateway, with its tympanum carved with skulls and crossbones, leads into the small churchyard which is planted with medicinal herbs. (The gateway prompted Charles Dickens to call the church St. Ghastly Grim.) Pepys had an entrance to his pew built into the wall (now bricked over) so that he could go directly from his office to church without getting wet. His nearby home burned during the 1666 Fire.

Tympanum over the gateway to St. Olave Hart Street Church

Now it's time to make a late dinner. More of London adventures tomorrow!