Witnessing London

London, England. I would say that the weather was nice today, but I’d have to admit that there were periods of intense rain and hail, with the periodic sunshine. Good thing we were in a restaurant for the worst of it.

It was a let’s-get-a-few-errands done kind of day, with a matinee as a centerpiece. We started out at Leicester Square, to get some half-priced tickets first thing in the morning. Last October, we stayed right on the square, and it was good to see that they have finished the renovation of the famous Odeon, just in time to premier “The Avengers.”

We walked down to Trafalgar Square, just to visit the gift shop of the National Portrait Gallery and to say hello again to St. Martin-in-the-Fields, since so many Raj churches in India were built on its model. Then it was down to the Strand for a bus to Fleet Street to find a certain optician that sells our French glasses. Don needs new clip-on sunglasses. That store was closed, but the one two doors down was open, and was able to deal with the situation. One problem solved.

We had lunch near the station, (cue Don) and then it was off to the theater. Before that, we found a little hole-in-the-wall shop in one of the tunnels that offered to solve all cell phone issues. The Pakistani owner solved my problem nicely, but I did realize I wouldn’t have ventured into the shop without our Indian experiences where we successfully relied on lots of holes-in-the-walls to fix what we needed fixing. We have learned.

We did get the tickets we wanted – the matinee performance of “Witness for the Prosecution.” This clever production of a courtroom drama took place in an actual courtroom near Waterloo, in the London County Hall. Very well done, and very atmospheric in a gorgeous setting. The folks in the higher priced jury box actually had to work. They were sworn in and had to render a verdict at the end. Good old Agatha Christie – the girl knew what she was doing.

Don’s Food Corner

It was a meal red-letter day of sorts. We had our first actual real hamburger since the beginning of January. Bumping into this excellent meat-centered restaurant was a lucky fluke. The hamburger promised to be made with Scottish beef. It was topped with a hefty piece of Cheddar cheese and rested on a toasted bun, which is always a sign of a place that knows its hamburgers. Jo is the one who took on this hamburger. I had a nice piece of grilled Scottish salmon and some cold vegetables – and a lot of Jo’s fries. (I can’t lose the momentum from my one-week Ayurvedic rejuvenation program, especially after wolfing down that chicken pie yesterday and all the cakes that followed.)

We also had water from the tap (along with Diet Coke) in glasses filled with ice. After nearly four months without either drinkable tap water or safe ice cubes, you can imagine how thrilled we were. I fear that we will adapt to this western diet.