I walked around Covent Garden today. It's probably the most touristy place in London, but I'm a tourist, so what the heck. I have three distinct memories of Covent Garden from past visits.
ONE: In 1979 I bought a Britrail Pass and went up and down Great Britain for a month. While in London, I tried to see a play or a musical every night, as many as I could afford. Tickets were cheap then. During the day, I'd walk to a theatre, buy a ticket for something that interested me, explore the surrounding area, and then circle back to the theatre by evening.
The big hit Chorus Line was playing at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, in Covent Garden. When I reached the box office (the door at the right of the picture above), a production assistant pulled me aside and asked me if I was there for a dance audition. I don't dance, NOT A STEP, but a voice in my head said, "Say Yes," as if I would, through divine intervention, know how to dance, act, sing, and perform. I instantly pictured myself living a London life on the stage. Needless to say, I did not say yes. I went back home at the end of the month.
TWO: I came back in 1984 and stumbled onto a temp job with an NGO in the red-brick building on the upper right of the above photo. (As I recall, Covent Garden was just starting its current redevelopment, so there weren't huge crowds.) Once again, I had visions of staying and working for a global charity. That didn't happen either. I worked there less than two weeks and went home after six.
THREE: The picture below shows the arches in front of Saint Paul's Church Covent Garden, the so-called Actors' Church. In 2011, Ken and I came here. By this time, Covent Garden crawled with fellow tourists. There was a women's room in the Actors' Church with long lines. (It's no longer there.). At approximately the spot below, I saw Ken and a female stranger looking at me from a distance. They were looking at my feet. From the women's room, I had managed to drag about two feet of toilet paper on the bottom of my shoe. All three of us convulsed into laughter.
I didn't stay long today. Look at this mob.
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I still have a cold, and I wore myself out describing my Covent Garden memories, so I won't say much more today.
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It's been three for three as far as plays are concerned this last week. All three have been absolute winners. Today I saw Oedipus at the Old Vic. The very best part was the dancing, which I did not expect. It left me breathless. See the link below for a review from The Guardian. It explains it all.
RANDOM SHOTS OF THE DAY:
I had never heard these stories re Covent Garden. I need to hear more when you come back. Loving all the pictures too!!! Dolores
ReplyDeleteI'm surprised we didn't share the TP incident in 2011. The other two stories were from the wilderness years. You & I didn't see much of each other at the time.
DeleteThanks for the link to the Gaurdian Review! I enjoyed reading. I do hope that you loose that dang cold soon.
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