Big Game

Although I often wish I were back in London, I'm just as glad today that I'm not needing to ride the tube to or from my Chelsea residence. There's a big game going on at Stamford Bridge, which I could see right out of my flat windows. It's the superstructure in the distance here:

The neighborhood pubs will also be stuffed and buzzing with noisy and boisterous patrons. So a quiet late lunch or early dinner would be out of the question. But how much fun it would be to join them!

I know about the game because, thanks to the miracle of satellite television, I'm watching it live in my den this morning here in San Antonio. Sigh. And wishing I was in one of those noisy neighborhood pubs, if not actually in the stands at the grounds. Or maybe even just sitting in the flat and listening to cheers and groans coming in through the window, directly from those stands.

Although, I don't envy the folks on the tube when the game lets out. They might have to wait several trains to get a seat!

Adeus, Felipão...

I'm beginning to think I called this blog closed a little early. I keep coming up with ideas to post.

Like yesterday, when I got in the car to drive home from work and heard that Big Phil had been sacked as Chelsea's manager! I couldn't help but think of the picture I took on the left last October. The very large sign was on the wall above a Brazilian restaurant near Chelsea's home ground, which is also near where I lived. I wonder how the the restaurant folks feel about fellow Brasileiro Phil Scolari now.

Ah, well, being the manager of a top flight English soccer team has to be one of the least secure jobs in the world. Especially at a club like Chelsea that has a lot of really high-paid players and doesn't like being stuck in fourth place in the league. I rather expect the nil-nil draw with Hull last weekend was the last straw.

I was a follower of English soccer before my trip to London, but now, with that experience behind me, the European soccer news I get here has a special poignance. It was pretty cool to open my windows and hear the cheering from Stamford Bridge on game nights!

Another new guest!

Just a quick post to celebrate my sister's arrival in the land of bubble and squeak. Henry met her at the airport to allow me some worktime in the flat. (Other than grading papers, I'm now set, work-wise for the break week and shouldn't have to spend too much of that time working!) Then we took a walk around the neighborhood, including through the Brompton Cemetery, where Henry took this picture, followed by a provisions run to the big Tesco.

One of the stops during our walk was at Stamford Bridge, the nearby home of local Premier League-leading, super-rich Chelsea Football Club, who I've tried not to like since they're resembling the Yankees more every day, but just can't help it since they have two of my favorite England players in their squad. When I saw this display, which lets you be a part of the team, and noticed that the empty seat was right in between these two guys, I couldn't resist doing the cheesy groupie thing. Henry obligingly took the picture. Go Blues!

The River and the Sea

Most of our activities today centered on the Thames, with corollary stops concerning Britain's maritime history and current sporting scene.

We took a very interesting and entertaining tourist boat from Westminster Pier to Greenwich (reasonably priced, especially with my Oystercard discount). Our guide identified several buildings whose functions I had wondered about.

I know I've already been to Greenwich, but I didn't get to see everything I wanted to there before, and it was on Hal and Sally's list of things to do. I went through the National Maritime Museum this time, while the kids went to see the Observatory and Prime Meridian. Although I was under some time constraints, I enjoyed the museum, especially the ship models and beautifully displayed sextants, astrolabes, and other seagoing paraphernalia. One of my favorite items was this ship's doctor's kit, which reminded me of the doctor who was such a great character in Master and Commander.

Another stop at the Greenwich Market finished off our visit. This time I knew to eat at the food stalls there and had a yummy "Turkish pizza." Hal and Sally opted for more familiar fare, which you can see being prepared in the photo at the bottom of the post. Who would have thought I'd be able to capture a scene like this on this part of the globe? London really does contain a little bit of the whole world in its environs.

We walked under the Thames, just for the heck of it, using the Greenwich Foot Tunnel. Then we picked up the Docklands Light Rail for a land-based trip back to the center of town. The picture at the top of this post was taken as we approached the Tower, with, of course, the Tower Bridge as a backdrop. You can ask me privately why we were standing next to that life buoy. We spent most of the day debating whether to shell out the £16 necessary to take the Tower tour. We ended up deciding not to do that, at least not today, when we saw the weekend crowds.

Instead, we relaxed in the Hung, Drawn and Quartered Pub across the street and watched the second half of an exciting football match between Chelsea and Man U. Chelsea, my favorite London-area team, came back with a late equalizer to tie 1-1, a reasonably good result. And we were pleasantly surprised to find that the libations didn't come at touristy prices.

All that remained to our day was a provisions run to the 24-hour Tesco that we found out, upon arrival, isn't really open 24 hours, at least not on Sundays. Not to fear, stops at a couple of small markets on the way home that were open provided what was needed for a nice pasta dinner in. Quite worn out from another day of sight-seeing, Hansel-and-Gretel-ing in the maze that is the London transport system (a truly remarkable achievement of civilization, but devilishly complicated), and just enjoying ourselves, we're probably going to make it an early night. More of the same is on tap tomorrow!