I am now writing this to you from London, where I am for a few days visiting a friend who works in the City. Gosh, things are expensive. And crowded. It is much more crowded than I remember, but then I don't think I ever have been here in the summer. All my previous trips have been in the Spring or Fall.
Let me tell you something. Never fly from Miami to London on American. Their first class is not as good as other carrier's business class--I am thinking of Lufthansa, specifically. Not worth it.
I walked around the City today and took in the National Gallery and the British Museum. Unfortunately, half of the National Gallery was closed for some repairs for the weekend so I missed out on their later galleries. The British Museum was good, except they let you take pictures which means that you have to move around dozens of people with their cameras out getting pictures of the statues and themselves next to the statues and their friends next to the statues, etc.
I also took a trip down Jermyn Street and stopped off to get some shaving soap from Trumpers. Using fancy soap and a badger brush is one of my small luxuries that makes living in penury not as bad as it could be. It gives a man a measure of dignity unavailable to him otherwise. Speaking of dignity, or rather lack of, here is a picture that will probably make you mad. Most of you have heard about it, since The Roger wrote about it in The New Criterion when it was first unveiled (I can't link to the article since their website is problematic).
Disgraceful. But I will not dwell on the sad state of Britain since that would take all day, and we are all in kind of a sad state when you think about it.
Please update your whereabouts. The Slovenian mafia's been wearing out my telephone trying to track you down, and it's really messing with my latest fauxhawk.
Posted by: Sanjie | 06 June 2007 at 19:36
I have to say, I've always quite liked the statue of Alison Lapper. I don't see what's so wrong with it. People object because it's in Trafalgar Square, but TS is merely a public space, not a sacred one. I don't think Nelson would give a fig, in fact he'd probably admire Lapper.
Posted by: american fez | 07 June 2007 at 05:06
I don't see anything wrong with it, honestly. I mean, it's interesting, and it's different, and hell, I don't live in London so what do I care if it's destroying the cultural tone of the place?
It al comes back to me.
Posted by: Lucy | 21 June 2007 at 01:42