So I'm not liking the kitchen

I went to make some dinner last night on my break. I had picked up some pasta and chicken on the cheap and I figured that it would make a good dinner. So I go to fry up the chicken on our crappy stove and pans. Really, the things are just useless. I'm just about done cooking it, not really paying that much attention to things, when the fire alarm goes off. Normally, this would just be annoyance, not a big deal at all. Most people don't live above a pub that happens to share the same alarm system as the pub they live above. Shit. Luckily, it got shut off pretty quickly, so it wasn't a big deal. Though I have taken a fair amount of shit for it. Oh well, live and learn.

So I saw a red flag flying....

From The Globe and London by Night

(I've added a link to my photos)

...and decided that a tragedy would be a good way to spend a night. Back in the day, the Globe would fly a different colored flag to let people know what kind of play they were putting on. The play I went and saw was called Timon of Athens about a man who gives everything to his friends, more than he can afford really. When he finds himself in need though, they all refuse to help him. He is cast out of the city and finds a cache of gold which he gives to a captain who has also been exiled to go and sack the city. Things work out in the end, even if Timon does die.

I have to say that it was one of my favorite plays I have ever seen. Part of the great part of it was the intimacy. I sprung for a seat which was still no more than 20 feet from the stage. There was good sized crowd gathered right in front stage. I think the best part was the crowd interaction. Actors entered and left through the crowd and the actors interacted with the crowd as well. At one point, three actors dropped down into the audience and one of them grabbed a beer from a patron, finished and handed it back. Hilarious. Shakespeare was a really great writer. One of the jokes in the play was when two of his false friends searched him out, he heard them coming and had a fairly substantial bowel movement. And after a while, ended up smearing it in their faces.

I think the thing I liked most about it was there was no pretension here. Most shows I've been to on the West End try to be so lofty that, while being good, come seeming kind of silly to me. Here, these were just actors who knew exactly they were there, to entertain. And they did spectacularly. The set was simple, there weren't any really fancy tricks, just great acting, writing and a great time.


I've been wandering around a lot lately, walking as much as possible. That's been going good. After the play for example, I took a walk to a pub along the river with a great view and after a drink looking at the city headed home. The walk was gorgeous and I think I found some good pictures. It was pretty brisk last night, but it felt good.