Author Archive: Bill Black
I'm a baby boomer, lefty Democrat, Boston Irish Catholic, born in 1953. I work as a public affairs consultant in Washington.
The Parthenon
A couple of years ago, I visited the Parthenon in Athens, Greece. It was a thrilling experience to be standing on the Acropolis, the huge 
elevated rock on which the Parthenon was built. I was struck by how poorly the Greeks preserved their historic artifacts. I think they were trying to improve the site, but much of it was simply piles of rocks. The Parthenon itself was basically a shell. Nothing inside, just rows of columns and some roof-type structures perched precariously on top. But there was nothing inside. Now I know why.
The interior of the Parthenon is in the Britsh Museum. There is a huge room with wall sculputures running down either side. At either end, there are a number of very impressive statues from the historic site.
If I was the Greeks, I’d be pretty pissed. I made this comment to a number of my British colleagues and one said, “Yeah, but if it wasn’t for us the whole thing would have been burned down.”
Rosetta Stone
The British Museum is the oldest museum in the world. The sheer number of artifacts is stunning. And they go back as far as you can go in human history, thousands and thousands of years.
The first thing you encounter coming in one door of the museum is the Rosetta Stone. In my ignorance, I didn’t know it was a real thing. Here it is. Created in 196 BC, it’s got Greek and Egyptian versions of the same text, which allowed researchers to beging to translate hieroglyphics for the first time. Discovered in 1799, it took 20 years to translate it.
St. Paul’s Cathedral
I have had a recurring nightmare all my life that I am ascending a very narrow, steep flight of stairs to some very high place, getting more and more anxious as I go up. By the time I reach the top, I am literally on my stomach, clutching the stairs and the floor at the top landing. The fear of heights is paralyzing. I have not had the dream in a long time, but it remains in my psyche.
Which brings me to St. Paul’s Cathedral. An amazing structure, which I believe provded the model for the dome of the U.S. Capitol. One of the coolest features is that you can go up to the dome of the cathedral, which provides the best available view of all of London.
Needing to get that picture I went up and the dream came back to me in force. There are 197 steps to get to the balcony inside the dome that overlooks the sacristy. I could not get near the railing to look down. But you have to walk along the balcony to continue the climb to the outside peak of the dome. I hugged the wall around the balcony.
The stairs to the top get narrower and narrower and at one point, both shoulders are touching walls. So, you get to combine your claustrophobia with your acrophobia. Then, you get to a wrought iron spiral staircase that provides a helpful view downward, way downward. Then, out you come for a stunning view. A few snaps and back down you go. quickly.
I expect that dream will be returning.
Spamalot
I saw Spamalot last night. As a devoted Monty Python fan, I knew I would enjoy it. I only hoped my expectations were not too high. They weren’t. It delivered. It provided the appropriate evocations of the source material and built from there. I particularly liked the thowaway line, “It’s got lovely plumage,” which harkens to my favorite skit, the “Dead Parrot.”
What struck me was how effective the show was at providing the best Broadway emotional manipulation, all the while ridiculing the Broadway conventions. The soaring showtunes about how silly showtunes are. I also felt uneasy about the gay and Jew jokes. Can the gays and Jews out there give me post hoc permission to laugh at those? Of course, similarly, I always feel a little uneasy about enjoying the song, “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life,” since the original was sung by Jesus hanging on the cross, compete with leg kicks. Still, it was a real high point of the show. And the entire audience sang along.
It was a great show and fun to see it in its natural habitat, here in London.
St. Martin in the Fields
I attended “Choral Evensong” at the Church of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, next door to the hotel. I have found that, when I travel to cities with a high proportion of tourists, I gravitate to churches. It’s the one place when authenticity reigns. Such was the case this evening. It was actually a special event in that it was the last service at the Church until at least September, when the renovation is scheduled to be completed. There was a bittersweet feel to the proceedings, but the music was very beautiful. See the following clip for a little taste.
At the clonclusion of the service the choir led the congregation out of the Church for the last time. The choir sang as people exited and gathered in a semi-circle around the door. Then the pastor very deliberately closed the door, locked it and turned and embraced a colleague. All but the embraces is show next.
London
OK, Im back, after 6 months away. My last post was in Berlin. Today’s post is from London. So, I’ve straddle the two major WW II capitols. I’m typing this on the banks of the Thames.
I arrived in London this morning and the weather is, well, like London. Cold and overcast. I’m staying at the St. Martins Lane Hotel, a very “new wavey” kind of place, with spare furnishing and wierd videos playing in the elevators. The staff is very accommodating, but I did run across the dimmest clerk I think I’ve ever seen. When I first arrived, the concierge told me that Trafalgar Square was close by. So, I dropped my luggage and came back down and, since the concierge was not at his desk, I asked the clerk at the reception desk where Trafalgar Square was. She seemed very puzzled, pulled out a map and scanned it very closely for a few minutes, scouring both sides of the Thames River and finally, uncertainly, sent me to the right going out of the hotel and directed me to an intersection and down a main street. I proceded with great suspicion.
At the intersection, there was a sign for Trafalgar Square pointing in the opposite direction, back from whence I came. Turns out that the Square was to the left, within sight of the front door of the hotel. I don’t know how this woman finds her way to work in the morning.
The Square was filled with people, but the most striking feature in the statue of Alison Lapper, which presides prominently over everything except the towerring stature of Trafalgar himself. It is a massive shite statue of a pregnant, handicapped woman. I remember seeing a news report about this stature some years ago, but was taken aback when I saw it, given its size and pronience. My picture is posted, but you should click here to learn more about it.
Another amazing discovery is the fact that the hotel is next door to St. Martin in the Fields. It is currently being renovated, so its covered with scaffolding. I’ve got quite a few classical CDs of music by Neville Mariner at St. Martin in the Fields. I’d always pictured some buccolic setting for this church, not plopped in the middle of London’s major intersection with cars, trucks and busses barreling by. Another bubble burst.
There is a fantastic concert being held tonight with Mozart, Back and Vivaldi. Unfortunately, I made the mistake of buying a ticket to the theater before leaving the hotel. Bummer! But they do have choir music on Sunday, so I will catch that.
As for the theater, it won’t be so bad. Front row balcony for Spamalot.
Mozart
