A quiet morning after a night at Sheila and Sean’s house. They made dinner for us which looked great but didn’t taste as good. But as usual we had a bit too boozy evening and pleasant company.
Saturday
After a late rise I walked round to the post office to buy a brown sourdough loaf before they sold out. When I arrived I faced a queue of local South Asians. They obviously appreciate the quality of bread available here.
I then continued my daily amble around the streets of Pinner. In the afternoon I piled one of the garden chairs after doing the same to the table and bench yesterday.
Maggi and I set off to Finchley Road for dinner and Hampstead Theatre. We had a nice meal at the Japanese Restaurant Yamatora, almost opposite the station. Apart from the quality of the food we didn’t over order so I didn’t walk down the road feeling overstuffed.
We then strolled down the road and more or less entered the theatre just as they allowed entry. Maggi wanted to read her book and she felt it would be quieter inside rather than out.
Theatre – Springwood
The lights dimmed and lo and behold the actors entered and rearranged the chairs and tables, taking some of them away. I wondered why bother just put them in the starting positions. I would rate the play Springwood 6 out of 10.
The plot concerns a meeting between George VI and Queen at the country home of Roosevelt in 1939 as the war approaches. George’s mission to convince Roosevelt to support Britain in the war. The play proceeds with a few amusing lines but the dialogue fails to come to life and everything remains fairly flat until the last scene of the first half.
At this point the play has its funniest moment and we slip into farce. After drinking late into the night and returning to his room the Queen enters and wants to call her daughters back in the UK. George goes back downstairs and returns having discovered Roosevelt in bed with his mistress. The Queen at the same time worries about the meaning of the next day’s picnic where the menu includes hot dogs. Is this an affront to the King’s dignity or what.
The second half of the play lasts just over 30 minutes and concludes with the picnic which takes place off stage with the King and Queen drinking beer and eating hot dogs to prove that the monarchy is just like all Americans.
Sunday at Vikki and Martin’s House
We drove over to Vikki’s for a late lunch, approximately 5 pm when we actually sat down to eat. Martin as usual work hard to make the afternoon successful. The kid’s splashed the place as they jumped around in the quite big pool which took up a large part of the garden.