Hail Britannia!

We recently had been in touch with an old curling friend, David Cruickshank, who is now outside of London with his wife, Nancee. John has never been to London and with London being a quick two and a half hour trip on the Eurostar, this was a great opportunity to see the city.

Paris is a beautiful city. Lovely weather with everything stylish about it, its monuments, museums, cafes, the bridges and walkways of the Seine and the grand rues. However, there is something appealing to the grit of London.

The Cruickshanks recently moved to Iver near Uxbridge, about a 45 minute tube ride west from downtown London. They are still in the exploratory phase and have been making trips to the local countryside as well as London as they learn about their new home. So we decided to spend our time together galavanting in the Cotswolds during the weekend and John and we waddled around London during the weekday.

Piccadilly Circus, Charing Cross, Baker Street were all convenient tube stops. From Trafalgar Square it was easy to make our way to the numerous parks of the city where the penguins played in Queen Mary's rose garden, to Buckingham Palace and Downing Street and Westminster, and along the Thames to visit the Tate Modern which was brand new when Joyance and Towel were last here.

How often does a museum permit photos inside? Towel ands Joyance used to visit the Tate Modern quite a bit the year the lived in England. We love all the free museums of London. The $20 entry fee at New York's MoMA is just staggering; we should make a point of making the most of the Target Free Friday Afternoons at MoMA as soon as we get back to New York and while Joyance is still on leave.

Right beside the Tate Modern is the Shakespeare's Globe Theatre. At £5 a ticket, we had to catch "The Merry Wives of Windsor". We were definitely all in the mood for some good mischievous comedy. How could we pass up some good Shakespeare at the Globe while in London? It didn't matter that only standing room tickets were available. In fact, they were closer to the stage and it was so cool to be transformed centuries back in time and watch the play like a common 17th century groundling in the pit.

Instrumentalists introducing "The Merry Wives of Windsor" at Shakespeare's Globe Theatre. Full of double-entendre and mistaken intentions, the play was hysterical. A wonderful end to a fun time in London.





Towel with the English roses.
















While we're at it, we'll continue snapping photos of amusing goods and packaging for sale abroad.
I understand that not every nut particle can be avoided in a factory that works with them, but what is this company's operation like that the "May Contain" list is so inclusive?


Not sure if natural pebble is what I want printed prominently on my toilet paper.


Hey, penguins!


Teeth and lips gummies? Creepy.


So all the other bags of crisps featured pictures of the ingredient representing the flavor (e.g. onions, pepper, barbeque.) So why does the mature cheddar have a picture of three older women?