Tuesday, June 20, 1989

A Rare View of the Changing of the Guard ...

The weather remained excessively hot today, but it could hardly dampen what we did today. After breakfast, we walked down to Buckingham Palace and St. James Park, with our intentions of watching the ceremonial changing of the guard.

At 11 a.m., we ENTERED the gates at Buckingham Palace, and were given a very rare opportunity - we watched the changing of the guard from the inside of the gate, actually leaning against the walls of Buckingham Palace while the ceremony took place. There was a certain self-satisfaction we felt from seeing all of the people on the outside of the fence clamoring for a glimpse of the guards, while we were on the opposite side, with a clear, unobstructed view. Thanks go to Dr. Morrison for having friends in all the right places!

When we left the palace, Mom, Dad and Angie returned to the room while Dr. Morrison and I took the Underground to Piccadilly to do some shopping. We went into a Specialty record shop of nothing but Film and Show soundtracks, where I found the record that my friend Scott has been searching for unsuccessfully for many years: "Meatballs," his favourite film. Hope he still wants it. If not, I'll gladly keep it.

In another shop, I bought a few postcards, and then browsed around Tower Records until 5.30, when I returned to get ready for tonight's West End show. Dr. Morrison and I left for "Les Miserables," while my parents and Angie went to see "Starlight Express" (which I had already gone to see during my high school class trip to England in 1987.)

We met Dr. Morrison's niece Rosemary and her sister Angela outside the theatre, having a drink before the show began. Then Dr. Morrison, Angela and I parted with Rosemary and took our seats up in the peanut gallery. I mean, they were way up there. It unfortunately took away from the show experience for us, not too mention the unbearable heat. Although the music and acting and the story were all excellent, because of our partially-obstructed position, and because of the projection of the voices, it was often too difficult to follow what was going on exactly. If I see it again, I want good seats or I'll pass. (Pictured at top is the Palace Theatre. See those windows at the top? That's about where we were in relation to the stage at ground level.)

So in the same day... awesome seats for the Changing of the Guard, horrible seats for "Les Miserables."

We met up with Rosemary at the show's end around 11 p.m., and then ate at a French restaurant nearby (very continental cuisine this week). The food was excellent, although the portions were small. But they were just the right size for me tonight.

We talked and concluded that after Dr. Morrison returned home, Angie and I could stay with Rosemary, while Mom and Dad might possibly stay at Angela's house. We'll see how that works out.

Wow! Yet another full day gone by!