Yes, the news and politics are horrible, but I just got back from the UK!
I started out in Edinburgh. I tore around town, the high points of which were Edinburgh Castle; Holyrood Palace & Abbey; and St. Giles Cathedral; did a little tour of Castles of the Highlands (Doune, Inverary, and Kilchurn), and just generally had a great time. Then I headed down to
writerconuk and met up with 
shapinglight, gillo, bogwitch, lilachigh, speakr2customrs, along with some newer friends. It's all a bit of a blur, honestly. At the end, gillo gave us a whirlwind tour of the local sites, including Kenilworth Castle and the Bard's birth and burial places.
I dragged poorshapinglight all over the place. We walked all over her very beautiful city, Chester. Totally recommended, btw. The tour guide in Bath called it "the competition" and I can see why. Roman city walls, canals, the most amazing cathedral ever, and a ton of Tudor and Victorian sights of note. We drove around Northern Wales, checking out Conwy Castle, the genteel seaside town of Llandudno, the Great Orme, and the amazing "Stream in the Sky", the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct, an 18th century working canal system that is over a hundred feet in the air! The original log ride, I'm thinking.
We ran off to Bath and did all the Bath things: the Roman Baths, the Pump Room, the Abbey, Pulteney Bridge, the Assembly Rooms, the Fashion Museum, the Circus, the Royal Crescent, and tea at Sally Lunn's Buns! It was great. We also dd a silly "Bizarre Bath" tour, which ended withshapinglight in the stocks. She was very brave. Then we went off to see Stonehenge, the Avebury Stones, and the beautiful villages of Lacock and Castle Combe, both of which were absolutely gorgeous and in some cases, delicious. Do try the bakery in Lacock, if you're ever there. Both have been used as locations for films you've seen, like Pride & Prejudice (the good one) and a Harry Potter or three.
Then we were off to London, for an evening at the Victoria & Albert Museum and dinner with the beautiful and intelligent P, SL's daughter. The next day we met up withbrutti_ma_buoni for a walk along the Southbank, including the Globe, the Tate Modern, and gorgeous views of all sorts of Thames-side sights. We ended up attending Evensong at St. Paul's Cathedral, because we were in the neighborhood and because those little choirboys were adorable.
On my birthday, we went to the Wallace Collection and the National Gallery before heading off for a wonderful Sunday roast at a nice pub with P and her fella. I even got a present! The Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch, a tale of a modern London copper who ends up in the 2-person supernatural crimes division. Recommended!
I beat my end of trip blues by scheduling fun things for the very last day. Besides going to the Tower of London and getting the tour from Billy Beefeater, I attended The Libertine starring Dominic Cooper (Howard Stark in the MCU, as well as the eponymous Preacher) and Ophelia Lovibond (Kitty from Elementary). For once, I wasn't moping around the last few days, wishing I was home already. In fact, on the way to the airport I was wondering if it would be so bad if I accidentally-on-purpose missed my flight. I didn't, being a responsible citizen and all that. Tsk.
While there I got a sunburn, so you can all just stop lying about the weather. I am no longer fooled. Scotland in particular is heaven on earth. I'm going back soon, just to make sure.
I've been buried in work since I got back, but last night I got tickets to the touring show of Hedwig and the Angry Inch (thanksfeliciacraft!) and I just found out that they are doing a drag version of Buffy the Vampire Slayer in a couple of weeks at our local drag emporium, so I'll be going to that. There's also a wedding coming up and our buddy's Friday DJ slot.
In short, my reality is brighter and more musical than that "other" reality. *hand waves* What are you guys up to?
This entry was originally posted at http://rebcake.dreamwidth.org/44408.html. Please comment here or there using OpenID.
I started out in Edinburgh. I tore around town, the high points of which were Edinburgh Castle; Holyrood Palace & Abbey; and St. Giles Cathedral; did a little tour of Castles of the Highlands (Doune, Inverary, and Kilchurn), and just generally had a great time. Then I headed down to
writerconuk and met up with shapinglight, gillo, bogwitch, lilachigh, speakr2customrs, along with some newer friends. It's all a bit of a blur, honestly. At the end, gillo gave us a whirlwind tour of the local sites, including Kenilworth Castle and the Bard's birth and burial places.I dragged poor
shapinglight all over the place. We walked all over her very beautiful city, Chester. Totally recommended, btw. The tour guide in Bath called it "the competition" and I can see why. Roman city walls, canals, the most amazing cathedral ever, and a ton of Tudor and Victorian sights of note. We drove around Northern Wales, checking out Conwy Castle, the genteel seaside town of Llandudno, the Great Orme, and the amazing "Stream in the Sky", the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct, an 18th century working canal system that is over a hundred feet in the air! The original log ride, I'm thinking.We ran off to Bath and did all the Bath things: the Roman Baths, the Pump Room, the Abbey, Pulteney Bridge, the Assembly Rooms, the Fashion Museum, the Circus, the Royal Crescent, and tea at Sally Lunn's Buns! It was great. We also dd a silly "Bizarre Bath" tour, which ended with
shapinglight in the stocks. She was very brave. Then we went off to see Stonehenge, the Avebury Stones, and the beautiful villages of Lacock and Castle Combe, both of which were absolutely gorgeous and in some cases, delicious. Do try the bakery in Lacock, if you're ever there. Both have been used as locations for films you've seen, like Pride & Prejudice (the good one) and a Harry Potter or three.Then we were off to London, for an evening at the Victoria & Albert Museum and dinner with the beautiful and intelligent P, SL's daughter. The next day we met up with
brutti_ma_buoni for a walk along the Southbank, including the Globe, the Tate Modern, and gorgeous views of all sorts of Thames-side sights. We ended up attending Evensong at St. Paul's Cathedral, because we were in the neighborhood and because those little choirboys were adorable.On my birthday, we went to the Wallace Collection and the National Gallery before heading off for a wonderful Sunday roast at a nice pub with P and her fella. I even got a present! The Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch, a tale of a modern London copper who ends up in the 2-person supernatural crimes division. Recommended!
I beat my end of trip blues by scheduling fun things for the very last day. Besides going to the Tower of London and getting the tour from Billy Beefeater, I attended The Libertine starring Dominic Cooper (Howard Stark in the MCU, as well as the eponymous Preacher) and Ophelia Lovibond (Kitty from Elementary). For once, I wasn't moping around the last few days, wishing I was home already. In fact, on the way to the airport I was wondering if it would be so bad if I accidentally-on-purpose missed my flight. I didn't, being a responsible citizen and all that. Tsk.
While there I got a sunburn, so you can all just stop lying about the weather. I am no longer fooled. Scotland in particular is heaven on earth. I'm going back soon, just to make sure.
I've been buried in work since I got back, but last night I got tickets to the touring show of Hedwig and the Angry Inch (thanks
feliciacraft!) and I just found out that they are doing a drag version of Buffy the Vampire Slayer in a couple of weeks at our local drag emporium, so I'll be going to that. There's also a wedding coming up and our buddy's Friday DJ slot.In short, my reality is brighter and more musical than that "other" reality. *hand waves* What are you guys up to?
This entry was originally posted at http://rebcake.dreamwidth.org/44408.html. Please comment here or there using OpenID.
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Comments
I'm not up to anything near as fun. We're off to a local to see Henri Herbert tonight but that doesn't have a patch on your jet setting fun.
Speaking of our theatre scene, I can't wait for Hamilton tickets to be on sale!!!
Edited at 2016-10-06 01:37 am (UTC)
OMG, Hamilton! I am excite! They are going to air it on PBS on Oct. 17, though, so warm up your DVR! I am also psyched to see Fun Home!
I'm not familiar with Fun Home, but the description at the Curran website sounds wonderful. It's so exciting to welcome new productions to SF.
Apparently SHN was "sold out" of their seasonal subscriptions due to the inclusion of Hamilton. It's going to be a full house!
We never hear about Chester, over here. So it was a revelation and made me think that the whole country must be like that — although I know it can't be.
You didn't drag me anywhere, btw. I loved every minute of it.
Also, I'm so pleased you liked our little cathedral. David Starkey (bad-tempered TV historian) called it a mean little place. To be fair, he was comparing it with purpose-built cathedrals like Lincoln and York Minster, but still....
Come back soon! It's even cheaper now.
I saw that the pound was "downer" but it sounds pretty much like when I was there. I must admit, friends in the past have come back shocked at how expensive everything was, and (while all the bills haven't come in yet) I doubt I'll feel the same. It's about like the rest of Europe, I suppose. That probably doesn't cheer you up much, does it?
Just today I've had to restrain myself from posting a testy answer to someone who assured me we were going through a 'revolution', and the 'stage' I was worried about (ie. people feeling they have carte blanche to be as racist as they like) would soon be over.
Just managed to prevent myself from saying that populist revolutions have not historically been that great for minorities, also that the current government is nationalistic and is also acting a bit socialist, and please try running those two words together.
I didn't say it, though. I just told her that I was happy for her she felt so optimistic. Then I even deleted that.
Up until this election cycle, I've always associated "populist" with leftist, which is what we had here back in the 1920s, ruthlessly quashed, but eventually leading to FDR, our most left-leaning POTUS. What I'm saying is "populist" never seemed like a dirty word until recently. I'm having trouble with the cognitive dissonance. I mean, Bernie Sanders is seen as populist and hei s a right-thinking guy. Right as in "correct", of course.
I just heard on the radio that studies show that people in the USA don't want their children marrying members of the "other" political party anymore. It would be funny if it weren't so sad.
Edited at 2016-10-06 09:41 pm (UTC)
If anyone describes themselves as the second, my hackles rise and I regard them as an enemy ever after. I just don't believe in 'good' nationalism, and some of the sickening statements coming out of the Tory conference have only reinforced my belief.
I know some people would be annoyed and say that's simplistic, but there it is. ;(
The drag version of Buffy sounds hysterical! I wish I could see it. Also, waiting desperately for Hamilton to get around to this part of the country.
Are you on the West Coast? Because it won't be long before Hamilton gets here. Also, it's going to be on PBS on Oct. 17, which is soon!
I'm definitely jealous that you are seeing Hedwig and the Angry Itch. The BtVS drag show sounds like a hoot.
It was awesome to see you. Just wish I'd been able to enjoy a little more of the time you were around. I'm glad you got to the theatre too, though!
Good thinking!
I hope you're all shored up now. But if not, I'm confident you'll get there. I really appreciate you coming out to give us the benefit of your local knowledge. Although lunch was probably the nicest, because we got to just chat! Next time, more hanging out, yes?