To mark the commencement of my 75th birthday year I made my first visit to London on January 2nd 2014 with the main purpose to make my first visit to the Royal Opera House for a revival production performance of Carmen. I had view the opera in a 3D relay from the Royal Opera and the purchased the 3D DVD so Iknew what to anticipate in terms of the setting.
I left early for South Shields metro station paying the £3.30 for the single journey rather than having a rush by waiting for the 9.30 use of what is now a combined bus and metro card. I took the opportunity of a special offer at the Costa Coffee to outlet to register for their card which enabled by to but a pot of porridge for £1 instead of the usual 1.99. It was a very good full post, between than those purchased at supermarkets these days from 50p at the lower end through to over a £1 and which have grown in popularity over the past year. This and coffee set up for the journey and where i then purchased a sandwich and a packet of Tyrell’s crisps which not much change from £5 if that.
I had a good start arranging a train to London which set off from Newcastle so there was no rush about finding a suitable seat one next to luggage area and which I was able to hold on my own for the journey. I had paid double by usual £15 for the journey (£31 plus postage ) but while this year will not be money no object I a determined to experience good and enjoyable activities through the year rather than attempt to concentrate everything on the birthday in March. However if this means paying more than usual then I will as well as taking a relaxed and leisurely approach hence going the day before. I topped up my Oyster card by £20 in arrival at St Pancras fro the cross Thames travel to Croydon the Luton to Brighton train.
I had booked two rooms at the Travel Lodge East Croydon three nights and one for me for the Sunday costing £212 for what effectively was 7 days accommodation average £30 a night which again although rising steadily from previous trips in previous years remains exceptional value for London.
For the evening meal there was a short journey to the Wetherspoons Inn the George for Curry night for under a fiver including a pint of beer, a pappadom and a naan bread. Coffee was later after a walk through the shopping centre to marks and Spencer’s for an umbrella where because there was price tag the end piece had come of something that would have cost over £10 possibly £15 was given away to me for £1. There was a cereal snack pot for the morning from the Sainsbury across the way.
In the morning the plan was take the bus through Sutton Kingston and Teddington where the first home was purchased for £5000 a short walk from Bushy Park closer than Teddington Lock and the TV studios. I made re mistake again of standing at the wrong bus stop so went for a Costa coffee given the half hour wait additional wait. The morning had started dry but there was the suggestion of rain later..
The bus soon crowded out and although thee journey was of interest and full of memories it was long. I marvelled as usual at the size of Busby Park. Lunch was in the small MS and coffee sandwich area at the front of the store. Two mixed four sections of sandwich with fruit juice was indeed expensive, just as well not paying. After lunch the plan had been to walk up to the first home but it commenced to rain quite hard so with a bus stop shelter across the way there was only a few second wait for a bus to the Kinston bus station where another was caught for Wimbledon and the tram stop. The torrential rain prevented a good look at Combe Hill one of the most expensive of Greater London Suburbs close to Richmond park. Fortunately the rain eased approaching the train station stop at Wimbledon and there is the confusing business of entering the station but having to card in on the Tram stop platform. It had stopped raining altogether arriving early afternoon with plenty of time to relax before changing into the new suit which thought was dark blue at the time but in more black with blue pin stripes and a glorious lining to the jacket and excellent fit a little of the large especially with the intention of losing weight further. The suit would have cost over £200 and was still the most expensive purchased at £165.
The contrast between the meal before the Opera House visit could not have been greater was some money saving offers for a Mac D meal where major refurbishment is being undertaken in the shopping precinct and food court adjacent to the main station from the stairway. I will leave the R.O.H experience to the second part of this writing.
We had an unplanned day on Saturday with the taken to see the Mandela Film, a long walk to Freedom at the Cineworld in the Millennium dome. Breakfast was taken at Mac D on the corner by the Travel Lodge of a bacon roll and coffee. It was tempting to journey on the Emirates cross Thames Cable Car but again the weather was against so a good coffee at Costa kept us going until the showing but which was delayed because of technical difficulties. After the film we made our way back to East Croydon fro Sausage and mash at the George where football was being shown on the TV in the alcove where we found a vacant seat. We then had a pleasant walk through the town centre to international food zone at the end other end of town and where I discovered the former hospital building was not a huge cleared site.
There was breakfast at George on Sunday before making my way to London to see my companion off on the train home before a meeting which was to confirm the need to spending the past six weeks feverish research resurrecting matters which I thought had come to an end , albeit an unsatisfactory ending in March 2003 ten years before.
By one of the interesting, and I suspect stage managed coincidences the death of Nelson Mandela was announced during the premier of the film Mandela The Long Walk to Freedom. These days Mandela is spoken of in the same breadth as Mahatma Ghandi who cut his teeth so to speak also as a lawyer in South Africa before honing his ideas into Satyagraha whose effectiveness contributed significantly to gaining independence for India and also similarly when it can to the state with power recognising the game was up so speak there was only on man to negotiate with, although in India there were two with Jinah the leader of the Muslims which divided India creating Pakistan.
On reviewer in the Guardian describes Mandela as a conservative film abut a radical although Mandel could also described as a conservative in the sense of being a traditionalist with a tribal village background from which he was able to break from in becoming a slick city lawyer, representing black countrymen during the worst years of Apartheid as the regime attempt to cling to its ruthless racism in the face if the increasing winds of change., The film pulls no punches revealing Mandela as a typical young man on the make interested in sex but not in marriage and good family life.
The script is adapted by William Nicholson from Mandela's 1995 autobiography with the British Actor Idris Elba in the title role and a performance just as good as the winning actor in 12 years a houses. He is courted by the revolutionary bombing throwing African National Congress and dawn in by events and once in he becomes an active participant in the violent struggle. Once captured he faces the death penalty for which he expects and it is the regime which works out it is better to isolated him rather than made a martyr.
It can be argued that Mandela only became a symbol rather than an important force change and that it was opinion in the West, especially by the UK and other European states which created the inevitability of change rather than the activities of the ANC.
Much has been made that on release he had and his second wife Winnie found themselves with very different outlooks on the future. Winnie, understandably wanted absolute power and revenge for the crimes committed by the White minority over the decades of brutality and humiliations while Mandela and years after year of think throughout the best way to lead his country if the opportunity was to come his way. It is for his statesmanship and reconciliation that he is rightly proclaimed as one of the great historical figures fro achieving statehood for black majority without the kind of bloodbath usually association with such situations with Syria the latest we are witnessing today.
The problem for someone like Mandela is that the choice he made, the right one, inevitably meant that others corrupt or seeking power for power’s sake would become the government. Only dictators with personal armies and a web of informers, secret police and elimination of all rivals for power can hope to remain in control of what happened for long especially as the more open the society the more the International companies and the nation governments will all attempt to cash in. The film was engaging and times, a good film but not a great one.
On Monday I enjoyed a bacon roll and coffee in the sandwich and cake shop on the corner before another early start for the homeward journey, this time only paying £15, with the journey uneventful and the rain keep clear for the walk from the Metro station up the hill home and the great unpack. However instead of writing up the experience as has been practice several weeks were to pass.
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