Sublime Sunday

OK WELL WE HAVE TO START OFF ON A NONSUBLIME NOTE, with the mystery of bloodstains by our bathroom door. Every day in the same place. Matran accused ME of doing it (for obvious reasons) but I put on my most innocent face and said I did not. (You still have to make a performance in my house even when your're telling the truth. That's the kind of house it is.) All suspicion is pointing at the Gnome - our other mysterious housemate not yet mentioned....

What a brilliant autumn day. Autumn is my favourite time of year because it gets cold again. Ever since a certain addiction crept up on me about seven years ago I have been totally averse to the summer and all it's hot-sweats. Yucgh!

Well there is no ground breaking news. I think my gremlins had a goblin in their midst last night: they were misbehaving something chronic. Pinging back and forth as if they were practising for school sports day. Itchy went berzerk. At one point she looked like she would take off and fly...


Now here's my Official List.
10 Sublime Things About London...
(I had to think about this for over five minutes!)
These are not meant to be particularly "imaginative" selections; they're the ten things you gotta see as a tourist:~

(In no particular order by the way.)

~ Theatreland When I was little I imagined "The West End" was an end... somewhere in the West. But it is not. It means basically the main area of town where you'd hang out anyway as a tourist. So unlike in New York there's no Broadway/Off Broadway/Offoffbroadway distinctions to fret about. Just lots of really good plays to see. And nowadays loads and loads and loads and loads of musicals.

~ River Thames "Sweet Thames run softly till I end my song/Sweet Thames run softly for I sing not loud nor long" said TS Eliot in The Wasteland, aparently quoting Spenser. Yes it's just a boring old river. But it does have rather nice embankments...

~ The Tube Well it's a bit grimy and noisy and overcrowded... but it IS the most convenient way of getting around and London would not be London without it.

~ Tate Britain There's also a Tate Modern but I think the best stuff is on Millbank near Pimlico Tube. Especially the PreRaphaelite collection...

~ St James's Park Smallest and prettiest of London's parks

~ Buckingham Palace Come on! Who can resist the chance for a poke round the Queen's own house... She has a Blue Drawing Room, A Yellow Drawing Room and so on... It's just a question of scale. Antiques aside, these rooms are big enough to play squash in...

~ St Pauls Cathederal/Westminster Abbey London's biggest churches. Very historical

~ Houses of Parliament (or Palace of Westminster, if you prefer). You can get tickets and queue up for the public gallery. Unfortunately because of a flour-tossing incident at Tony Blair it's now glassed off. But you can still have a good leer down during Prime Minister's Question Time (the bit most likely to be shown on the news)... great stuff

~ Harrods With one million square feet of selling space this ties with New York's Maceys as the largest shop in the world. What distinguishes this from Macey's is what distinguishes gold from rusty old iron for Harrods is a luxury emporium and if you like shopping you cannot say you've shopped in London if you've not shopped here. (Harrods Lights cigarettes are very good and no more expensive than Marlboros if you're a bit broke.)

~ The London Eye This is a giant ferris wheel on the south bank of the Thames almost opposite the Houses of Parliament. Being amid a medium-rise city you get a fantastic view all around...

O! By the way! If you click on my River Thames link you get a lovely shot of my (supposed) ideal home, the docklands' Ontario Tower...

And now changing the subject entirely, here is one of my alltime favourite Bible passages...

And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.

And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.

And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.

And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.

And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.

He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.

Revelation 21

Video of the day:
I can't believe this but some twat has gone and deleted the cosmic barber's adaggio so I had to dredge up this one
Azusa Pacific University Choir - Barber's Adaggio

If you like this, try for my extract of Ave Maria/Barber's Adaggio by SFX Liverpool Boys' Choir. It is pretty overpowering.

Video 2
Shostokovich Second Waltz from Jazz Suite
Aw! Innit cute all those old people dancing...

"Video 3" (sorry it doesn't move) (click here to see it for it's not on my blog)

Shostokovich Waltz

As featured in Eyes Wide Shut (with still from film)

There is something terribly compelling about this waltz. It is my favourite "waltz" of all time...