Reigns, Rains & Trains in London

We coulda seen The Six when it opened in NYC a few years ago. But we didn’t.

It went on to win the Tony and other awards,

It’s a British-born musical that salutes the unsung six wives of The Tudor King Henry VII during his brutal reign over England. Seemed like the perfect show for our London stay.

And perfect it was. Staged as a musical contest over who suffered the most as Henry’s wife. As you know, there were beheadings, murders, neglect and death in childbirth for these ladies. This may seem a macabre setup for a raucous and joyful pop musical but it works. The six wives each have a chance to sing their stories and hearts out. They all have amazing acting chops and lungs! It was a funny, fun, fabulous and short musical of about 1 hour and 20 minutes. We were happy to be able to get home by 10.

Oh, did I mention there’s a major transit strike this week? Almost none of the underground subway is running. The buses are seemingly skipping stops and routes in solidarity or overload. Four million daily rides needed replacing!

We walked to our bus stop for the #19 which never came. Two scheduled #19 buses just up and bolted for parts unknown. After 45 minutes, we started walking back along the bus route and finally got a bus home later in the route. We were home by 11:30. Two hours of travel!

Friday, the long awaited rains came. Our plan was to spend an afternoon at the National Art Gallery. Our first time there. We walked to our local bus stop and the #19 appeared only 2 minutes late. Surely we’d be at the museum in 30 minutes.

Surely not! Traffic was so backed up because of the train strike and the rains, that the bus barely moved. An hour later, after ditching the bus a few stops early and braving the light showers, we arrived at the museum.

How did we miss this museum on past visits? It’s a phenomenal edifice like The Met in NYC. We checked the floor plan and went straight to our happy place. The Impressionists from pre to post. So many old friends from Renoir to Monet, Degas, Pissarro to Van Gogh and so much more. A wonderful collection.

Too soon, it was time to retrace our steps back to Islington for our 6 pm dinner reservation at Trullo. We walked to the bus stop. And waited. And waited as the crowds of commuters grew ever longer. We decided to walk 20 minutes further up the route to try again. A young woman had the same idea and beat us there! We caught the bus. But once again, the bus could barely budge on the route .

And this time the rain was pouring, the windows were fogged up, we were hot and packed like anchovies.

But that wasn’t the worst of it. We were standing next to a young woman with headphones on holding an endless “Valley Girlesque” conversation with her imaginary (to us) friend.

Here’s a sample of the prattle: “I dunno. Dunno. Didn’t get the partics on it. So hot in the bus. Not mad at you. No never. What’s that? Dreadful loud innear. The boys have a gig this weeken. Dunno if I’ll go. No dunno. Really? Sorry. “. Basically, this soliloquy went on for an hour. She was totally oblivious or indifferent to the stares and shrugs around her. But no one said a word.

We arrived for our Italian dinner at Trullo damp, starving and 40 minutes late. Thankfully, the food was excellent and the staff was kind. Plus the wine helped.

A 15 minute walk home afterward and we were snug as bugs in our apartment. We vowed not to go anywhere by public transit the next day. Not until Friday when the strike ends and full train and bus service resume.

Thursday, we woke up late. The sun was back and we decided to walk to another local nabe for fresh baked goods and a few other provisions.

We walked back (3 miles RT) and made a delicious lunch of eggs, smoked salmon on fresh baguette and a jelly donut for dessert. Plus freshly brewed espressos.

As I sit here, post lunch, writing my post, Andy is writing music. The rains just returned in earnest. We are happily at home. Dinner is an easy trip later to Dishoom in Shoreditch for modern, spicy Indian food in a cool restaurant…recommended by a local!

For more on The Six, the Wikipedia post:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Six_(musical)