Jinkx as Judy

Whew! I was out and about almost all day yesterday, because I had theatre tickets in the afternoon. I came across this sculpture near Liverpool Street on the way to the theatre. (More about that in a moment.) It reminds me of the Atomium in Brussels, though obviously not as large.

The day began quietly enough. I watered all the plants and finally did some maintenance on our big yucca.

You may remember this yucca used to have two stalks, and both were scraping the ceiling. Dave and I have been debating what to do with it. I considered planting it outside, but I don't think it would survive a cold winter. We moved it onto the patio several weeks ago, and the top got pretty badly sunburned because it wasn't used to being outdoors. So yesterday I cut off one stalk and cut the other shorter, but left some leaves so the plant could continue to photosynthesize. The cut stalk should grow new sprouts, and when that happens I'll cut down the other tall one too.

Anybody want yucca cuttings? I have a ton of them.

My theatre ticket was for 2:30 p.m., so just after lunch I left the house and headed to Walthamstow, in northeast London. Getting there involved taking public transport in a sort of V shape on the map, going southeast into Westminster and then back out again, if you can imagine that. Unfortunately, I discovered midway there that part of the tube was shut down for an emergency and I had to devise an alternate route, which made me a little late -- but I was meeting some friends so they arranged for me to pick up my ticket at the window and all was well. I only missed the first ten or fifteen minutes of the show, and I was hardly the only one, given the transit snafu.

I was seeing Jinkx Monsoon as Judy Garland in a play called "End of the Rainbow." Monsoon became famous more than ten years ago on "RuPaul's Drag Race," which I have never watched. Many of the audience members were young people obviously there to see Jinkx and familiar with her Drag Race persona -- I wondered how much they knew or even cared about Judy Garland. But it was a good play, if a bit strenuous, and Jinkx did well singing Garland's famous songs and portraying her struggle with disastrous addictions. It's great that she's helping to bring Garland's legacy to a younger generation.

It struck me that if the audience members were 25 or so, as many appeared to be, their seeing this play would be like me seeing one about Mary Pickford or Jean Harlow -- actresses so far back in the foggy past that I can only barely picture their faces. Then again, everyone sees "The Wizard of Oz," so that gives Garland a sort of evergreen fame.

Afterwards my friends and I decamped to this terrific pub in Walthamstow. It had a huge outdoor seating area both in front and in back, so we could enjoy the summery weather while we had some food and a couple of pints.

The window grill in the men's room made clear which loo I was in. Yes, the women's room said "Girls girls girls."

Afterwards, as I walked back to the tube, I passed this building, known as the "Ancient House." It turns out that it may indeed be the oldest house in London, built in 1435 or thereabouts, during the reign of King Henry VI. Inside it has been remodeled and looks quite comfortable.

Fortunately, by this time, the tube was running normally and getting home was much easier!