I spent a happy day last week booking theatre visits for later this year. I currently have 6 performances scheduled, and hopefully tomorrow will secure a couple more as the various theatres reopen their box offices to tempt me.
And, gloriously in yesterday’s sunshine, I made my way up to London for the first time in four long months. Despite my local train line being ‘engineering-ed’ for the day, I managed to get on a very crowded bus to Richmond Station which was not suffering the same ignominy. As I often do, I got off the train a stop before Waterloo and emerged at Vauxhall (to the sight of a street urinal (in use!) right in my path towards the river – what bizarre changes have occurred over these past few months), and set off along the river towards St Thomas’ Hospital to meet my daughter at Waterloo. I was touched to see en route the new National COVID Memorial Wall, covered in red and pink hearts – one for each death (I think). Although I didn’t much like the numerous cellophane parcels of rotting flowers alongside, the wall itself is somehow rather affecting in its simplicity and slightly random nature. The hearts are all different sizes and people have chosen to write on them in different ways. I could have spent ages just looking at it, but I was on a timetable so hurried on by.
We later walked through Covent Garden and it was lovely in the sunshine, with lots of people at the outdoor tables in their perspex boxes with (at the time unnecessary) heaters. This now resembles many other European cities I have visited where these outdoor arrangements have been common for some time – I guess because they have more reliable weather than we do.
After a long chat, some food and some exploring, I said goodbye and returned across Waterloo Bridge as the sun was lowering and the light was beautiful. Still one of my favourite ends to an evening – the walk back to the train.