Beer, the Bard, and David Hyde Pierce

A few weeks ago, my friend Jenny & I went to see a Wednesday matinee of the show "La Bête" starring the American David Hyde Pierce and Brits Mark Rylance and Joanna Lumley at the West End's Comedy Theatre. It's a story set in 17th century France about a royal acting troupe. It was a great show (Mark Rylance is brilliant), and anyone who's able should try to catch it when the entire cast moves with it to Broadway in mid-September. The most exciting part was afterwards: as Jenny & I were leaving the theatre, we saw a small group gathered near what we assumed was the stage door. iPhone cameras in hand, we joined them, and sure enough, after not much of a wait, the cast made its way out. How wonderful & gracious they all were, taking the time to sign autographs & pose for pictures (keep in mind they had to return to the theatre in just a few hours for the evening show.) Best of all was having the second opportunity of my not-yet-too-terribly-long life to meet and chat with David Hyde Pierce. David's grandfather and subsequently his father both suffered from and succumbed to the affects of Alzheimer's Disease, and David has worked tirelessly over the years as a spokesperson and true advocate of the Alzheimer's Association in the US. I had a chance to meet him several years ago at a Candlelight Vigil in Washington D.C. and he was just as lovely and personable this time around. Most of you know that I lost my mom to this awful disease and I told David quite truthfully that as much as I enjoyed and admired his acting work (I watch Niles go head to head with Frasier daily over here) I will always love him best for his work on behalf of the Alzheimer's Association.

Last Saturday, Chris & I went to see Shakespeare's comedy "A Comedy of Errors" at the Open Air Theatre at Regents Park. It was a lot of fun, despite the fact that the first 15 minutes or so were a bit over our heads - ya know - it was Shakespeare and all. But the second half more than made up for it and we really enjoyed it. And the theatre was beautiful - especially since the weather cooperated. This past Monday I was with Jenny again, this time for a visit to the Victoria & Albert Museum. We went for the wonderful "Grace Kelly: Stlye Icon" exhibit, and it certainly was aptly named! Not only did they have many of the outfits from her wedding trousseau, but also dresses from several of her movies (best were from "High Society") as well as her more "funky" looks from the 70's and early 80's.

Finally, yesterday, Chris & I visited the Great British Beer Festival in Earl's Court. Lots of beer and lots of fun. You pay an admission fee, then a few quid for a souvenir glass (that you can return for a refund before leaving if you want; we didn't) and then you can go up to one of hundreds of different taps for an inexpensive taste of either 1/3, 1/2 or a full pint. They had bottled beer available as well. The event was sponsored by a group called CAMRA, which stands for "Campaign for Real Ale" and they are very big on promoting what they consider to be "real ale" made from traditional ingredients by a very specific process. It's all greek to me, but Chris was happy and I tasted some beer that I wouldn't have thought I liked, but I did. So it was a successful day. In case you're interested, earlier in the week of the festival, Castle Rock's Harvest Pale, Nottingham was voted Britain's Champion Beer (we tasted it and liked it) and winner of the Michael Jackson Award, which is given annually to the best American Cask Real Ale went to the Smuttynose Brewery's Big A IPA, from Portsmouth, New Hampshire. (Anyone heard of it...?)

In between all this "culture", I've been thoroughly enjoying fitness walks 2 or 3 times a week with a walking group based out of the Hampstead Garden Suburb Institute. They are guided walks/hikes through parts of Hampstead Heath & the Heath Extension so I never have to worry about getting lost (not that I ever was lost) and they are also silent, so no mobile phones and no chatting. Even tho' this is meant to be meditative, I can't say that I'm always thinking on a higher level than what I'll be picking up from the grocery store when I'm finished, but many times I am concentrating on the beautiful surroundings and thinking of my family and my friends and it's a good thing.

And Kyle got a job! He's been in it for a few weeks now and so far so good. He's sort of a "chef-in-training" at a local family owned, newly opened restaurant. Although they are getting progressively busier and he stays quite busy while he's working, he is rising to the challenge and I'm sure learning a lot, not only about cooking, but about the way a restaurant works. What more could an aspiring chef hope for?

My sister Maria arrives this week for an 8-day visit and I am quite excited! Maybe I should ask her to be "guest blogger" while she's here!

http://picasaweb.google.com/swronsky/CulturalFun#