That Wooden "0"

A proper good morning to you.
Tomorrow is my last full day in London. It’s been great getting to be here so long, and I’ve been able to enjoy a lot of things without driving myself nuts with frantic running around. My problem is—as it always is—that the appetite grows in the consumption. I have found out about even more lovely things to see near London, so I know I’ll have to come back.
Today’s weather was a surprise even to the forecasters, which I think might happen pretty often in England. It was warm, but we had steady rain. Thinking back on the humidity yesterday, it seems like a natural development. I had plans to stay out and maybe tube up to Hampstead to walk on the Heath. Maybe tomorrow. Today the lure of going home to have tea and put my feet up was too great.
But before that—yes, I was out and about.
I walked down High Holborn and ended up at St. Pauls. Before that I went into the Thameslink Station, which I should have done weeks ago, only I didn’t. So many things lie within reach although not within reach of my Oyster Card because I asked. Nevertheless. . .
Passing St. Paul’s I crossed the wonderful Millennium Bridge once more, delighting in the views. I gave money to a beggar. They annoy me, but I felt sorry for his patient dog. Turning left on the south bank, called Southwark (Sothark) or Borough, I strolled to the reconstruction of Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre.
The Globe was the dream of American actor Sam Wanamaker, and it more than fulfills his conception. As far as they could, given modern building codes, they reconstructed the thing with authentic proportions and building materials. One can visit only as part of a tour or in attendance of a performance. I had the tour but now, of course, I want to see a Shakespeare play there.
First there is an exhibition explaining the construction and some of the materials used. Building materials, tools, costumes, props, musical instruments are all on display, accompanied by videos or recordings.
Our tour was giving by an energetic young man named Andrew with an actor’s voice. He was both knowledgeable and entertaining. The theatre itself is surprisingly beautiful. The sides and ceilings of the stage are painted and so are some of the boxes for the high folks. Her majesty attended the very first opening night and sat in one of them. Andrew told us that Philip, Duke of Edinburgh is their royal patron and shows up regularly as he loves theatre.
Most of the construction is of thick oak posts and beams. They used authentic pegs rather than anachronistic metal nails to hold it together, and the city government of London allowed them to use thatch—normally illegal in the city limits--on the roof in the interests of historical accuracy as long as a sprinkler system was installed.
Most of the stage and the area where “groundlings” stand is open to the sky, and the rule is that the show must go on no matter what the weather, but spectators are not allowed umbrellas, which block the view of other members of the audience. Luckily no performance was scheduled for today.
I walked around Southwark for a while, as it is an area of London I had not visited. I looked in at the Borough Market, of course, but was not impressed. Maybe it’s better on weekends because a lot of the stalls were closed when it was midday today.
I recrossed the Millennium Bridge and walked down Ludgate which becomes Fleet Street and then the Strand. There I visited the Temple of Tea—Twinings--and bought one of their traditional blends that I have never seen in the United States.
It was raining pretty hard by then, as I made my way up from the river through Covent Garden. I stopped for some goat cheese at Neal’s Yard Dairy as my days of saturated fat indulgence are almost over. I am having it for dinner on crisp whole wheat cracker. The contrast with the rich, buttery, salty cheese is just like heaven.
Cherrio.