London - Winnie and Witches

(Vee reporting)Thursday May 25th....today is my soulmate's birthday!!! We got up surprisingly early despite our late nights, and were already excited for the day ahead. Shortly before going to bed the night before, Cliff had already identified another play that has the highest rating given by the critics in London, and was also recommended to us by some folks here at the Madison house. With "The Crucible" in mind, and having learned that a Matinee was being played today we went in search of a cozy coffee-shop to complete our itinerary for the day. We found a small but very friendly place only a few blocks away from where we are staying. The Lavazza coffees were delicious, and so were the freshly backed pastries that we picked. During breakfast we had decided that we were going to try to get discount tickets for the play that Cliff had read about, but since it would start at 2:30pm, we would try to sneak in a visit to the "Cabinet War Rooms" and "Churchill Museum" first.
Sure enough, we got our 50% discount tickets for the play and made our way straight to the museum. The "war rooms" are the underground goverment and miliatry facilities or base from where Churchill (British Prime minister during WW2) and his staff managed the country during the time when Hitler and the Nazi party had made their goal to invade London. During 1940 and 1941 London suffered military bombing attacks on almost a daily basis, and it became crucial to guarantee the safety of the british goverment if there was any hope to resist the invasion. The incredible part of this exhibition is that it is not an exhibition. After VJ-Day, Churchill's goverment and military personnel who had been living underground for all these years, simply locked the place and left it untouched. Only 10 years ago was this underground fortress opened for the first time, and it was found exactly as it was left. Meeting rooms, gigantic maps filled with pins and notes, pencils, bedrooms, kitchens ...all as it had been left 60 years ago. It was almost surreal, even the smell seemed authentic. The "Churchill Museum" is the only area that was recently installed in one of the former meeting rooms. Unfortunately we were not able to spend all the time we wanted to in this section of the exhibition because we had a play to catch; however what we were able to see was incredibly impressive. The whole exhibit was very much computerized, with top technology used that I haven't seen in other museums (yet). Anyway, by 2:15 we HAD to leave, our play was starting in only a matter of minutes.
By now, Cliff and I have become masters at scanning a city-map in seconds and identifying the quickest route from point A to point B. We arrived to the theater right on time, and once again we were thrilled by the position of our seats and the beauty and character of the interiors of the place.
"The crucible" is the real-life dramatic story of the "justice" system in a small village outside of Boston in the 16th century that unfairly condemns and executes innocent women and men accused of witchcraft and the corruption of the church. (a.k.a., "The Salem Witch Trials") The play was so powerful and emotionally charged that more than once I had to swallow my tears. The quality of the actors, the script, the set and the story itself make this play probably the best I have seen in many years. Completely satisfied, but still heartbroken we left the theater. For this experience alone, I will not forget this day.
It was only 6pm and the day was still young and we had not yet eaten a proper meal. We walked through Chinatown and Cliff picked a cheap little Chinese buffet for only 5 pounds, and we loaded up and enjoyed. Then, we decided to relax a bit and had an enjoyable walk through Saint James Park, a beautiful green area filled with wild birds of all kinds of species. The weather turned out to be simply perfect and the sunset turned the sky into a beaituful mix of pinks and light blues. We continued our walk towards Buckingham Palace, and as good tourists, we made sure to take some pictures and video of the guards who patiently deal with shameless lookers like us. We then decided to head north towards a very expensive shopping area (Bond Street) that would eventually lead us to Oxford Avenue and then to our home. It is always fun to watch people, especially the unmistakeable sophistication of the Brits (men and women).
The day was simply beautiful and we decided to end it with a good pint of beer..Cliff's style. We ended up getting some delicious beers from the same bar where Cliff used to hang out when he was visitng London many years ago. It was just fun to be able to get our beers, go out and sit on the street wall where many other britons were enjoying their beers. We said our cheers ("cheers, prost, salud, and salute!"), drank our tasty beverages, and headed back home. To my love: Happy birthday Cliff and good night!