STL DPB ON THE ROAD - WHERE TO GO HARRY SPOTTING

 

The plaza outside busy King's Cross railway station in London. This side looks very different from the old 19th Century facade. This is the station where the famous Mr. Potter would find the mysterious Platform 9 3/4 to board the train to Hogwarts.             

STL DPB ON THE ROAD - MISERY

This show has been playing in this theater for decades. It's a wonder that it still sells tickets but it does. The image brought back a memory.

August 1989. I had a big herniated lumbar disc and was scheduled for surgery the next month. Bad pain down my left leg when I was up very much. Our family had scheduled a trip to London and Ireland before my injury. I asked my surgeon whether I could go. He gave me a prescription for Vicodin and said to do what I wanted.

So off we went with a rented wheelchair. We went to this show, with me sitting in a handicapped area at the back. I have a strong memory of sitting in my chair on this corner in the West End swirl after the show, trying to wave down a taxi from a position where I was very hard to see. Let's say it took a while.

There were some benefits from this situation. My wife and I got into the London Zoo for free because I was an "invalid" and she was my "pusher." And later, when we got to Ireland, I found that Vicodin and Guinness was the perfect pain cocktail.             

STL DPB ON THE ROAD - SELF PORTRAIT WITH BLUE TAPE

We're sitting in a lounge at O'Hare Airport in Chicago as I write this.  I spent much of the flight from London editing pictures and there are still more to go. This is in the Tate Modern museum, which is full of cutting edge stuff. One room had mirrors of various sizes hung from the ceiling. The mirrors and walls were edged with blue masking tape in two widths. That's it. And then I walked into the scene.                

STL DPB ON THE ROAD - IN THE NATIONAL GALLERY

Here we are in the American Airlines lounge at beautiful (not) Heathrow Airport, waiting for a flight to Chicago and then home. Paris is definitely off. Besides, my back has not been doing well at all and trekking through another set of museums would be really hard. We may try it again in the spring.

We returned to the National Gallery to catch some of the stuff we didn't get the first time. This is the central rotunda. But for now I'm actually looking forward to a nice nine hour sit.                

THE EASY PART OF PORTOBELLO ROAD

Portobello Road, in the Notting Hill area of London, is known for its antiques dealers. On Saturdays, vendors of everything you could imagine set up stalls in the street in the street in front of the usual shops. It turns right from this viewpoint, becoming much narrower and horribly crowded. We used to go to London in the winter to avoid the crowds but on a mild October day the hoard was too much for us.

As I mentioned on Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=10160630841302313&set=a.128314812312 , we have canceled the Paris half of out trip. Mass French labor protests could slow life to a crawl. There is a risk the air traffic controllers could go out on strike, which could leave thousands stranded. We're playing safe and going home from London on Tuesday.