Monday, June 19, 1989

A Stroll Down Abbey Road ...

I woke up bright and early at 6.30 a.m. to begin packing the car with Dr. Morrison. After breakfast, and after bidding farewell to Fiona, Dr. M and I drove off at about half 9, while my parents and sister prepared to leave shortly thereafter by train.

We had a good run on the road from Neston to London, stopping twice along the way: once to eat a very mediocre hamburger at a stop along the motorway, and another stop once we arrived in London to (finally) see the Abbey Road studio.

So between Liverpool and London, I've now seen just about everything I needed to see with regards to The Beatles. Snapped a shot of the street where the Abbey Road album cover was shot (pictured above). Had to move quickly between traffic, and I didn't get a chance to get a photo of myself walking across. Yeah, I'm sure I'd be the first person that thought to do that! (Second photo is the main entrance to Abbey Road Studios. I wonder how many times did John, Paul, George and Ringo pass through that portal?)

We had no traffic problems until we hit London, but we managed OK. Checked into the Royal Society of General Practitioners (thanks to Dr. M, of course), where we plan to stay for two nights. Just as we were all unpacked, Mom, Dad and Angie all showed up.

Once we were all squared away, Dr. Morrison and I took off for Leicester Square, where we came away with five tickets to see the West End musical "Blood Brothers"- at half price, no less! We returned to the room, picked up my parents and sister, then headed for the show. It was marvelous. We enjoyed it tremendously... good music, good story, good acting, and even pretty good seats. (Third picture: The family outside the theatre after the show, sporting a souvenir programme. Next picture is my ticket stub.)

Following the show, we went to Chi-Chis in Leicester Square for dinner, and enjoyed a delicious Mexican meal. We then walked around Piccadilly Circus before grabbing a taxi back to the room, which is located just off of Knightsbridge, across from Hyde Park. It is also right next to the former Iranian Embassy, which was gutted by fire after a bomb exploded following a terrorist overthrow in 1980. For more details, check out the entry in the "Chronicles of the 20th Century" book.

We zonked out shortly after returning to the room.