Air Canada now has a new category: Premium Economy, which gives you, for a significant fee, what you used to get for free - more room, a full meal, a blanket and pillow, and "free" checked bags. But it gave us a pleasant trip. And we were on their new Dreamliner plane, which had the added advantage of being quieter than their other jets. To our pleasant surprise, Daniel met us at the airport. How lovely to see him in his Santa hat, smiling and waiting for us.
Our time in London was full of social time, with musical interludes. First, the music. First thing was on the day after our arrival, December 19. We went to hear a rendition of Handel's Messiah at the Temple Church. If you know of the Knights Templar, this is their home church. It is 900 years old, and beautiful. Interestingly, there is a Temple neighbourhood in central London, mostly for lawyers. But when the monarch of the day let the lawyers use it, they had as a condition that they support and maintain this church in perpetuity. So it's well-cared for, and it shows. (You may also remember it from the book "DaVinci Code", where it figured as well.)
Then, on Christmas Eve Eve (the 23rd), we went to a Carol Service At St. Paul's Cathedral. This was free, but admission was on a first-come basis. Thank heavens there are places for 3000 people, and we got in after a line-up that lasted about thirty minutes. The choir included a boy soprano, the acoustics were marvellous, and the experience quite uplifting.
At the end of that service, we got talking to one of the "wardsmen" (I think that's what they are called), who wear tails and have a medallion around their neck to indicate their status. But he told us that his parish is not St. Pauls, but rather St. Bride's, just down the hill and also a Christopher Wren church. He said that they had a choir known in London as one of the best. So we resolved to go for a service, which we accomplished on the Sunday after Christmas, for Evensong. The church is magnificent, actually rebuilt after it was bombed in WW2, and small. Acoustics were terrific, and the choir, eight choristers only, was exceptional.
So lots of good music.
The other non-family thing that we did was actually Darlene alone: when we knew we would be in England for the solstice, she signed on for a tour of Stonehenge on the solstice day. We got a bit suspicious when they did not answer our emailed questions. When we were walking about London, we decided to stop in on them. Their address was in the middle of the jewelry district, and no one at the address had heard of them; neither were they on the building's directory. Hmmm....a scam? But they came through in the end, and after getting up at 3AM to get there, she was able to get right up and touch the stones - something which you usually cannot do at all. For her it was indeed a spiritual experience. For me, ....well, I had a good sleep while she was there.
But of course, the main reason to be there was for family. We had some time with Katy's Mom and Dad, and Katy's family, including an elderly aunt, many cousins, and so on, came over on Christmas Day,with some staying for dinner. We actually met Claire, Katy's mom, on three occasions for a talk and for lunch; her dad we met once only, on Christmas.
And the time with Katy and Dan was very full and happy. They were wonderful hosts, allowing us into their home for two weeks, and being gracious about the sharing of their space. We helped with the cooking and cleanup, did some shopping with them, and basically settled into a routine with them. That is, until December 28, when we heard that their long-awaited kittens were ready for adoption. And then we had the pleasure of watching these kittens disrupt the routine in a wonderful way. We had two days with them before we had to leave, and of course get updates on a regular basis about our "grand-kittens".
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Location:Southwark, London, England
