We hadn't walked the loop since Monday, and it was now Thursday. Today's walk took us from Hayes and Harlington up the Grand Union Canal to Uxbridge. It was considerably shorter, at 8 miles, than Monday's epic walk. But we had pretty much tired ourselves yesterday in Arundel, walking about 5 miles as we explored the castle, its enormous grounds and gardens, and the town itself. However, we had trained for just such an emergency! The station at Hayes and Harlington is on the opposite side of London from our hotel in Croydon, but London's fabulous transport network got us back to where we had left off pretty quickly and easily. We were soon on the canal and walking our route once again.
The London Loop route maps are all on line, and the segments can be walked in any order. It's hard for people who have been only to central London to grasp how much green space the city has. 47% of London's 1500 sq. km is green space; that increases to 60% if you include the outlying open spaces. London has the world's largest urban forest. And so these photos might give you a better sense of what Deb and I experience when we visit London. All the comforts of a great city, plus enough nature to keep us more than happy on our explorations.
The Grand Union Canal, leaving Hayes and Harlington. The Loop begins on the canal, but leaves it from time to time to wander deep into vast park lands adjacent.
A foot and cycle bridge over a busy motor way.
A different view of London! We ate our picnic lunch on a bench atop a high hill overlooking--lots of green things!
Back to the canal for a time....
Off to explore a watery park. This is Little Britain Lake.
The River Colne stays with us for a large part of this diversion from the canal.
Back to the canal.
The Grand Union Canal joins central London to Birmingham, far to the north. We left it at Uxbridge. Uxbridge is the main city in the London borough of Hillingdon, which is 15 miles from Charing Cross. London is such a vast city!
That ended the major walking part of our journey. We spent Friday in central London, visiting the National Gallery in the afternoon, and attending a concert at the Barbican Friday evening. We heard the legendary Orchestra Baobab, an African/Latin group of 10 African musicians and singers, in an unforgettable live performance. They rocked the Barbican Centre for a set lasting 1 hour and 45 minutes! Malfino was the group that opened for them, in a pretty interesting 30 minute set.
Saturday we had a chance to either walk some more, or hear a young singer/acquaintance perform in a short comic opera. The day was gloomy, and I really wanted to hear Liberty sing once more. We heard her in 2015 at the London Early Music Festival, singing alto in the Trinity Laban choir, and doing solo work as well. We were extremely impressed with her voice (I wrote about her in the blog for Trip #13). It was easy to reach the church in which her group would be performing, so we hopped on a tram to Beckenham, eating our breakfast as we rode.
If the idea of a jukebox opera intrigues you, then this is the ticket.
Liberty starred as Priscilla, one of two of the spoiled step-sisters of Cinderella. The singing parts were lifted from famous operas by composers such as Mozart, Verdi, and Puccini, and English words from the Cinderella story were substituted for the original words. The performers consisted mostly of music students from Trinity. They had been performing all week, and had even sung it the previous night. Now it was Saturday morning and they were singing again, despite physical and vocal fatigue. They were troopers, every last one of them, including the girl who had to step in at the last moment and sing the part (for her first time in the role) of an absent cast member.
I can't begin to say enough good things about the performance, and the 60-minute opera itself. I am very happy that the cast got to perform it so many times, too. There wasn't a bad singer in the lot, and the acting was mostly first rate, too. However, Liberty and her stepsister, and their mother really stole the show. The three of them together created a great comedy team, and made the most of their on-stage time by keeping us laughing and watching them whenever they came on. Liberty, whom we heard previously in a solemn choral concert, really got to show her stuff today. Her voice is as lovely as ever, and if anything her expressive qualities have deepened. This was a perfect opportunity for her to sing classic opera, and display her wonderful acting talent and good comic timing. And her facial expressions! Hilarious! It was a morning well spent. We got to talk with Liberty after the show, and I was even on hand to take a group photo! So looking forward to hearing more from this multi-talented young woman!
The brilliant and very energetic cast of Cinderella. Liberty is at back, right, with her stepsister to the right of the soldier, and their 'mother' is between the soldier and Cinderella. Between the three of them they managed to mostly steal the show. The soldier was the person who stepped in last minute to take the role. Well done all!
After the performance we made our way to New Cross, where we met up with London friend Caroline for lunch. We had met up earlier in the week for dinner in Croydon. The rendezvous cafe was called Birdie Num Nums, a funny nod to Peter Sellers and the film "The Party." The restaurant was vegan friendly, and we settled in for a cozy chat and some great food.
A fun cafe in New Cross, and very vegan friendly. We met up with London friend Caroline for lunch and a catch-up chat.
Town Hall tower, New Cross.
New Cross Gate Station, on our homeward journey. London transport was really good to us all week, especially the regular suburban trains.
This was to be our last full day in London, so some more pubs were visited later on by Deb and me. The pub page is forthcoming, highlighting some of the new ones visited, and a few old favourites.
To Be Continued....
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