More food porn, and a tragedy of a play

Oh faithful reader.  Today's entry will start with food porn and end with tragedy.

I booked a table at Jamie Oliver's Fifteen, where we have eaten multiple times before.  It was both a quality eating experience AND a recurring theme/tradition.

Getting around in London is a matter of much discussion -- maybe more with newbies than with locals.  We discussed how to get there and how to get back -- we needed to be back "for 2" (as they say here) when the coach was to be at the students' flat to take us to Stratford.  We ended up on the bus across town, which did nicely through traffic and we were there a few minutes before noon.  We were the only customers then...some trickled in as we ate.

Here's an appetizer picture; it was harissa lamb croquettes. 

I am going to claim "most interesting entree" with this -- a double portion of their crispy pork cheek starter.

That's tomato romalade on the left...the pork cheek was like the croquette -- hard and crunchy on hte outside, almost creamy on the inside with just a soupcon of meat.  Yum.

The funniest bit of conversation may have been when I asked Barb and K how the pork chops were (they both ordered them) and M said "good."  I wondered about the vicarious nature of this, but maybe he just had food envy as he ordered the cod, the Rodney Dangerfield of fish, and wasn't thrilled with it. 

There was discussion about whether we need ever to return there...it was good, but there were complaints -- EH thought his food overhyped.  She had the onglet...the Rodney Dangerfield of steaks.

From there, to the coach and to Stratford-upon-Avon, an almost 2-drive (not quite the 2-hour tour of Gilligan, but still).  The driver was named Antony and he was Irish and entertaining.  He did a fake spit on the floor over English football, the same for a whole series of things, and had opinions that are NSFW about the city of Brighton (tomorrow's destination for the students). 

In Stratford we went for "coffee," which looked like this.

Then for a walk, the highlight of which was a charity that saved owls.  K took pictures of several (all?) and petted one -- that was part of the thing.  She didn't get the label that went with it -- they were all named --

Did I say that you could pet their chests? 

Eventually we made it into the play.

The new Royal Shakespeare Company theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon, from the "back" side

Let me just put it out there: I had no choice about the "seats".  By the time I booked in late February or early March (isn't that early enough?!?!??!), these were the best they had.  The price wasn't cheap.  But we sat on a plank, knees up, with a small place to set your feet, but no leg room at all.  Barb and some students ended up standing for the second act instead of trying to sit.

The play, King Lear, was a bit of a disappointment.  The students like it enough -- half or more had studied Lear  in Shakespeare class -- but they hadn't seen it before.  M, B & I have, multiple times, including a good production at the Globe with Julian Glover (of Bond villain fame) as Lear.

The biggest WTF of the show, which even novice readers of this blog may recognize, is that instead of that tragic end scene with Lear carrying in Cordelia's body, weeping and saying "if a horse, a dog, a rat have life, why not she?" they decided (we can speculate why) to wheel him in, half sitting, with Cordelia on his lap -- two unknowns pushed the cart onto the stage.  Not the same effect at all.  It's a famous play and a famous role with it being tricky to cast as the Lear has to be old enough to seem old and feeble and on the verge of dementia, but strong enough to carry Cordelia.  Likewise, as M pointed out later, Cordelia is always cast for a small woman.  Based on today's news back home, imagine Roseanne Barr as Cordelia and who you'd have to be...well, you figure out what the guy would have to be like to do that.

The stage before the production of Lear (they pulled this sheet off it midway through)

So, back on the coach and back to London.  Rather late.

Running short on days.  But tomorrow...a big adventure!!!