Lady in Blue

I played tour guide yesterday, taking Dave's nephew and his fiancee around Westminster for some sightseeing. We walked from Covent Garden in a circle through Soho, and then down Whitehall to Parliament Square, and then over the Westminster Bridge to the London Eye. That was a fair amount of scenery for a single day!

Along the way we passed the newly-unveiled sculpture on the fourth plinth in Trafalgar Square, "Lady in Blue" by Tschabalala Self. It's described on the fourth plinth web page as an homage to a young, metropolitan everywoman.

"Lady in Blue is a woman that many can relate to. She is not an idol to revere or a historic figurehead to commemorate. She is a woman striding forward into our collective future with ambition and purpose. She is a Londoner, who represents the city’s spirit."

I do love her energy. She's very dynamic.

We ate lunch at a dumpling place in Chinatown that was delicious, ordering a variety of little plates that added up to a meal.

Then, last night, we ordered pizza and watched "Chimp Fever," an HBO documentary that the young folks recommended. It's a mind-blower in the tradition of "Tiger King," about a woman who is ordered to surrender the chimpanzees she's keeping in a Missouri shelter to PETA so they can be re-homed at a more suitable sanctuary. Of course she feels she's being wronged and she holds one of the chimps back, keeping it in a cage in her basement. She's quite a character herself, sporting wigs and false eyelashes and a Trumpian spray tan, and the show explores her devotion to the chimps, as delusional as it may be. We watched two episodes and it was fascinating but also kind of sad. We'll certainly finish it, though.