Cheers,

      I wish I could have taken photos inside St Paul’s but they’re not allowed.  As I knew that ahead of time, I almost brought no camera at all.  At the last minute I took my old smaller camera which weighs less.  I was glad I did as we could take pictures while outside at the dome.  This email is really just a very bit about St Paul’s which has a long, long history. 

Ru

Walking towards St. Paul’s Cathedral with Valerie in the tan coat.

December 29, 1940 And perched high above Fleet Street, photographer Herbert Mason captured the astonishing sight of the cathedral dome, surrounded by devastation but still standing proud. http://www.mirror.co.uk/ Read the amazing story below or the full story at the link above

The National Firefighters Memorial across from St Paul’s Cathedral      “On the 4th May 1991 Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother graciously unveiled the Bronze Memorial Statue following a moving service in St Paul’s Cathedral. Her Majesty congratulated the Trustees and the Guild of Firefighters, (now the Worshipful Company of Firefighters) together with the Sculptor John Mills, on this achievement. The Memorial, very aptly named “Blitz”, depicting an officer and two firefighters engaged on operational firefighting during the war years, had on its octagonal bronze base the names of some 997 men and women who sadly lost their lives during the conflict.      In 2003 the Memorial was elevated and the additional names of those lost in peacetime were inscribed in bronze on the raised base. The Memorial was re-dedicated to coincide with the Service of Remembrance, by HRH The Princess Royal. A total of some 1,192 names were added in bronze to the Memorial.      The original sculpture was the work of John Mills a very skilled artist. Rarely do you see such a work of art with three life sized bronze figures actively engaged in their professional duties. Carter Lane Gardens St Paul’s Churchyard City of London EC4M 8BX   http://firefightersmemorial.org.uk/index.php/memorial-sites/memorial “………It would take more than a miracle to save St Paul’s. It would demand acts of heroism from an army of ­firefighters, men and women, to keep 1,700 pumps working ­flat-out. They were hampered by ruptured water mains, which meant vital pressure levels were falling. Even the Thames was at a low ebb, so river water was clogging the hoses with mud. “While the men manned the pumps, the women were driving petrol carriers, canteen vans and staff cars into the thickest parts of the blaze, ensuring the pumps had fuel to keep going,” author Francis Beckett says……. Fourteen firefighters were killed that night and 250 injured, yet their sacrifice was barely ­recognised at the time. Two who died together tackling a blaze on City Road had to be buried together, because their widows could not afford separate funerals. It would have taken just one spark to ignite the roof timbers of the cathedral and turn the dome into a river of lead. But next morning amid the smouldering ruins it was still there, a stirring vision of hope for the country. In his own words, as he risked his life in the heat of the inferno, volunteer fireman Harold Newell summed up its importance. “If St Paul’s goes down, then we all go down,” he said…….” http://www.mirror.co.uk/  Read the whole amazing story here http://www.bromleytimes.co.uk/   One man’s memories.

Valerie and I had a wonderful tour of St. Paul’s Cathedral which has a long history way before the blitz. It was gutted in the Great Fire of 1666 and rebuilt by Christopher Wren.  http://www.stpauls.co.uk/Cathedral-History/Cathedral-History tells the history far better than I could. My favorite part of the Cathedral was the American Memorial Chapel. http://www.stpaulsusa.org/Pages/AmericanConnection.aspx tells the moving story of the American Memorial Chapel HONORING THE AMERICAN SERVICEMEN BASED IN THE BRITISH ISLES WHO LOST THEIR LIVES DURING WORLD WAR II.  We were a varied group of folks taking the tour: one woman was even from Ernakulam, India; the town where I had my Ayurvedic massage for my sciatica.  There were people from Australia and Israel as well as a few of us run-of-the-mill North Americans.     One of my reasons for wanting to visit St Paul’s was the “sort of challenge” from a bike buddy, Dick in Salem, VA to climb to the top of St. Paul’s dome.  It was one thing I hadn’t done when visiting Florence in 2000, climb the stairs to Brunelleschi’s Dome in the Florence Cathedral.   (I have hiked Mt. Snowdon in  Wales with my pal Martha ; but we missed being able to climb Mt Fugi while in Japan. )  So anyway, while we were at St Paul’s,  Valerie and I climbed the dome.  At one point, the stairs between the Stone Gallery and the Golden Gallery, change to those metal see through stairs and  wind around and around and up, which is very dizzifying as they would say in the play Wicked.  But just as we were about to begin climbing the stairs,  a school group of 10 year old kids started behind us.  Many were saying they were afraid but others were encouraging them.  The poor teacher was trying to figure out what to do.  All that discussion certainly took my mind off the stairs and focused me on staying ahead of the hordes of kids.  Valerie and I just kept going up not thinking about what going down would be like.

http://www.stpauls.co.uk/Cathedral-History/Explore-the-Cathedral/Climb-the-Dome Valerie and I walked from the Crypt to the Golden Gallery, so even more than the 528 feet.  The viewing platform of the Monument I’d climbed was 48.7 metres above the ground.

Looking down over the roof of St Paul’s and beyond from the lower Stone Gallery: you can see the London Wheel

Even higher: Looking down on St Paul’s itself from the Golden Gallery.

Outside on the Golden Gallery above the Dome. I took this photo of St Paul’s  from the ground  while we were on our “Blitz” tour.

I believe that’s the Millennium Bridge and the Tate Modern across the way. Water from the Thames was used to put out fires during the bombings except one fateful night when the Thames was at a very low tide.  But that story I’ll tell with the “Blitz tour.”

We didn’t receive a certificate as you do when you climb The Monument; but here’s proof we were up at the top.

Cheers,

  Just want to send a  “quick”  email saying that Valerie and I had been at the other Apollo Victoria Theatre  where we saw Wicked and not at the Apollo West End where The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night was playing and where the roof caved in last night.    Pretty scary.   I remember when part of our just renovated Vinton Branch Library collapsed, but the quick thinking of the staff who worked there got everyone out unhurt.  Of course it was a much smaller space, but still very scary.   The Apollo Victoria theatre holds 2208 people!  I think it was quite full too and some performances when I looked for Ticketmaster tickets were sold out!!!

   Both Valerie and I thoroughly enjoyed our experience at the Apollo.  We had super seats,  3^rd row of the stalls in the middle of the row so we felt “in the play” at times.  It was definitely worth the ton of money we paid for our tickets.   I’ve learned since then, better to go to Leicester Square and stand in line and pay a whole lot less. (We have cruising friends who are giving the gift of “line standing for them” to their visiting daughter and her partner.)   But Valerie and I had a specific play to see and a specific date so I opted for Ticketmaster.  And it was almost watching the play on DoraMac.  We only had to walk the 5 minutes to the Tube at Tower Hill and then get off at Victoria to walk the 5 minutes to the theatre.  Really easy. 

  The performance was wonderful.  Harry Potter meets Legally Blond meets Thelma and Louise with a very tiny bit of Ann Frank.  Sound intriguing?  Made me want to revisit The Wizard of Oz.  One of my favorite TV shows when I can see it is Once Upon A Time which has now added Elphaba, The Wicked Witch of the West,  who I can no longer see as Wicked but really rather heroic!  I liked the music quite a bit too.  Made me want to see more plays while we’re here. 

  I have no photos; sorry.   Didn’t even think to bring my camera because I was afraid they’d not be allowed in.    Actually none of the places Valerie and I visited allowed photos, Wicked, St Paul’s Cathedral or Westminster Abbey.  I could actually concentrate on the tour guide!  But I am really sorry I have no photos to share. 

  Yesterday afternoon Randal and I went on a London Walks.  It was “The Blitz” and focused on the area around St Paul’s Cathedral.  Very sad but very interesting.  I did take photos then and eventually will get around to writing all the stories we heard.

   So that’s about it for today.  Our Chinese daughter Singkey is arriving today from Birmingham University.  She will spend several weeks with us during her winter break.  For her it will be only partly break as she has her Master’s thesis to work on.  But we will do some fun things too. 

    Ru

    Synopsis and Song List

The musical begins in sorcery school where two young students, Elphaba and Galinda, are thrown together in a tumultuous relationship that will span ambition, morality, love and eventually friendship. At first, bubbly Galinda clashes with down-to-earth Elphaba, a conflict further complicated by the fact they both begin to have feelings for Fiyero, a Winkie prince. However, they both realise their powers as sorceresses and work together to fight the oppressive regime of the Wizard, who is slowly but surely stripping away the rights of Animals. As Elphaba’s power threatens the establishment, she must decide if she is willing to risk everything to save Oz.

Apollo Victoria Theatre

17 Wilton Road

Westminster

London

SW1V 1LG

Currently showcasing hit musical Wicked, the Apollo Victoria Theatre has a heritage dating back to 1929 when it was opened as a state-of-the-art cinema, commissioned by Provincial Cinematograph Theatres (PCT) to accommodate the growing popularity of ‘talking pictures’. The theatre was designed by the architect Ernest Walmsley Lewis along an Art Deco style that still remains to this day; upon its official opening in 1930, the Gaumont British News charmingly called the interior of the theatre ‘a fairy cavern under the sea, or a mermaid’s dream of heaven’. In the decades following the theatre, known as the New Victoria Cinema, was renowned as a place to watch film, variety and even big band performances within walking distance of bustling Victoria Station.

Past Shows

Despite its cinematic origins, the building closed in 1975 and was reopened as the New Victoria Theatre, shifting its focus on to more musical content. A concert was scheduled to celebrate the new opening, with Shirley Bassey performing as a headline act! The theatre hosted a series of well-loved musicals in the late seventies and early eighties including Fiddler on the Roof, The Sound of Music and Camelot, before becoming the venue for the debut performances of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s exciting new musical Starlight Express. The interior of the auditorium was completely redesigned for the production, with race tracks running through the audience and modifications to incorporate a split-level rollerskating rink.

The rehaul proved to be entirely justified when Starlight Express went on to have huge success, playing at the theatre for an amazing 18 years before finally closing in 2002 to make way for another Lloyd Webber musical, the Bollywood-inspired Bombay Dreams. The A. H. Rahman production ran for two successful years before ending in 2004, after which it was followed by the classic Saturday Night Fever for a brief stint and then Movin’ Out, the Billy Joel musical. This moved out in February 2006 to allow for preparations for Wicked, which opened in September the same year to rapturous praise and overwhelming commercial success, with the musical presently going from strength to strength and showing no signs of slowing down for the foreseeable future.

The Apollo Victoria Theatre is one of London’s largest theatres, with the capacity to seat 2208 people during a performance. It is built on two levels; the upper tier, known as the Circle, and the lower tier closest to the stage, known as the Stalls.

Levels

Unlike a lot of other London theatres the Apollo Victoria is only split across two levels as opposed to three or four. This does have its advantages, as it means that whatever price you pay you are unlikely to be stuck right up in the gods on the fourth tier, although it can make choosing your seat a little harder as it is difficult to know which tickets provide the best value for money.

Access and Facilities

•A cloakroom is available

•There are bars on both levels

•There are male and female toilets located on both levels

•Wheelchair access is available on the Circle level