So, after our best string of shows there yet, it was finally time to leave The North, and our beloved, strange little love of the Pineapple Pub & Hotel. Today we were off for London. Exciting. Ron and Barbara had yet to visit there, and it had been 20+ years since Lauri and I had been there together. And a nice, long, relaxing, train trip through the English countryside is always a nice way to spend an afternoon. Hedgerows and everything so green to our California drought-adjusted eyes.
So many of the train stations in London are extremely charming. Euston station is not one of them. Very bleak, utilitarian…like a hospital that’s been full to capacity because the Rolling Stones are doing a benefit concert in the hall, except there are no Rolling Stones. This is the hardest part of traveling: minds blanked out by the long ride, and new challenges to confront. What’s the nearest Tube station to our hotel? What’s an “Oyster” card? Luckily, though they may not be as gregarious as their neighbors up in Liverpool, the folks down in London were also very helpful. One lady who we never quite worked out if she was working with British Rail or was just a good Samaritan, walked us through a labyrinth of halls and escalators to get us on the right platform.
Earl's Court...isn't that the name of a famous Led Zeppelin bootleg?
Finally we stepped out of the set of Brazil, and onto the set of a film made in London!: We filed out of Earl’s Court Tube Station and began to ask the wise wizard of google how to get to our hotel.
Most of us were pretty wiped out by now, in need of a little rest. We’d just played last night and finished a first week of travel and 5 shows so far. Plus, being away from home in exciting new surroundings, we were definitely not leading a temperate life-style full of healthful rest. Lauri and I, being amongst the most stubborn and willful creatures, still heeded the crazy voice in our heads “You’re in London. It’s not *that* late. You should go bop around!”–so we did. We saw that St. James Park, Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, Westminster Cathedral….all that stuff was just a tube station or two away. We set off.
Lauri knocked, but when they saw who was at the door, they decided to pretend they weren't at home.