Lazy Morning, Wicked Afternoon

May 30, 2011 Lazy morning, Wicked night

This morning we had a bit of a lie in, as our friends Pete and Nicole would say. In fact, Emma slept past the point where we could eat breakfast at the hotel . . . And it was served until 11am on this "bank holiday Monday." When she finally got showered and ready to start the day, we headed across the street to Waterstones, a bookshop in the O2 center across the street from our hotel. Emma and Wade both finished their current reads last night, hence the lie in today. We had lunch and then spent a bit of time on the internet before heading out to the British Library. We spent the bulk of our time there in a section labeled Treasures. While we were disappointed to discover that Beowulf and Alice in Wonderland were not available for viewing, we still considered it a successful visit as we saw many other important works. In addition to the Gutenberg Bible and pieces of the Codex, we enjoyed looking at works by Shakespeare and Chaucer before marveling at pieces of the Magna Carta, then returning to the literature section. I particularly enjoyed viewing some handwritten works by Virginia Woolf and the notebooks kept by a 12-17-year-old Jane Austen. A writing desk believed to be a gift to Austen from her father was an addition to the collection since our last visit. Emma seemed to enjoy the music section a good bit. I found myself wishing that Ms. Judy could see her as she poured over the scores penned by Mozart and listened to works by several composers. Leonardo da Vinci's notebooks and works by Charles Darwin were other items of interest to all three of us. When the library closed, it was time to head to Victoria Station to meet the Henrys for a pre-show dinner.

For those of you who don't really know our summer plans, I should share that this time around we'll be joined by some Stillwater friends. Right now, we are in the same hotel as the Cook family. Jeremy is teaching at Regent's College with Wade and is joined here by his wife and their three children who served as excellent playmates for Emma on Sunday afternoon at the Princess Diana Memorial Playgrounds, which the kids have dubbed "Peter Pan Park" as the equipment is themed straight out of the JM Bairre novel. In addition to having the Cook kids to play with, Emma is fortunate to have Caroline and Abby in town, and we are very much enjoying the company of their parents as well. Caroline and Emma went to school together in Pre-K, Kinder, and 1st grade at Sunnybrook and we have been blessed to know their family. They'll be with us here in London until Thursday when we'll all hop on the Eurostar and head for Paris. Today, we'll be joined briefly by Lexi, a college student who has become part of our family this year. Lexi pauses in London on her way to Africa for the summer before she studies in Slovenia for the academic year. I have a feeling we'll all be choking back some tears during tomorrow's goodbye. Finally, one week from today in Paris we'll be joined by our friends Lori and Owen and their boys Toviel (8) and Mattai (6). We'll spend a few days together in the city before our two families climb into a van and head for Switzerland, Austria, and Germany together. Other than the occasional outing with our Semester at Sea friends, we tend to travel as a trio, so this summer should prove to be a bit different than summers past.

The third stop was a charm for our group as both Shakespeare's and The Duke of York pub were full. Our crew devoured fish and chips at the aptly named Stage Door before wandering over to the Apollo Victoria theatre. After making some t-shirt purchases for the girls, we took our seats in the second and third rows, center stage. There are times when sitting so close isn't ideal (at the Nutcracker Ballet in Tulsa this could prevent seeing the dancers' feet) but this was not one of them. The brilliant performance of Wicked was enhanced by our proximity to the stage. Following the performance, Wade pointed out the side door where many cast members would likely exit. Emma wanted to stay and try to get autographs. What follows serves as an example of why she's blessed to have Wade for a father. I'm thinking this is not a great idea. First of all, we have very little she can have signed. Since she's seen the show twice before, we didn't purchase a playbill or booklet. True, she has her ticket, which is a full sheet of paper since we printed them online, but none of us has a pen. How can one ask for an autograph with no pen? Additionally, it's after 10pm AND it's beginning to rain. Clearly, we should go. About the time I am going to press these issues, out walks the actor who plays Fiyero, pen in hand. Not only did Emma and Caroline get his autograph, but Wade took a photo of the three of them as well. The actor who played Bok came out next, but he didn't have his own pen. That's too bad, I thought. Emma will be disappointed. Then, I heard her ask someone next to her if she could borrow her pen! Who would refuse two cute little girls? Certainly not that person. The most brilliant part of all, was when the girls asked some of the principal females (Nessarose, Elphaba, and Glinda) for their autographs and then asked if they had pens! Elphaba did not, but she went around asking for one until she could sign for them! Even Abby decided to come over for the photo ops with Elphaba and Glinda. I think this will be an experience they'll remember for years to come, and it's one they wouldn't have had without Wade's encouragement.