An Unforgettable Summer: R-O-C-K in the U-K

5/26/10
Location: London, UK

Ah, the gothic beauty of the Collegiate Church of St. Peter at Westminster. Or, as you may know it, Westminster Abbey. We arrived at Westminster a little later than our scheduled time because we decided to take the bus instead of the tube and let’s just say the bus was a leetle bit slower than the subway. Anyway, we made it. However, we didn’t have a tour guide or even the portable audio guides, which according to the website, are free…hmmm. I felt like I needed more information and at some points in my wondering around the Abbey, I actually craved and felt a pang in my stomach for wanting to know a how or why question. I guess that’s just my curious nature on steroids since there were so many tombs, memorials, sculptures, architecture, etc. to take in. and Regardless of the lack of guiding and information, Westminster Abbey is incredible. The sense of history and the passage of time is utterly overwhelming. The current church was built by Henry III in 1245 and I don’t think I’ve ever seen such beautiful architecture. Tombs and memorials aside, I could spend hours just looking at all of the pointed arches, vaulted ceilings, flying buttresses, stained glass windows, and altars.

There has to be thousands of people either buried or with memorials at Westminster. I couldn’t find a count on the Web anywhere, but Wikipedia lists the most notable here. It was so fun to find names I recognized like Charles Darwin, T.S. Eliot, Muzio Clementi, Isaac Newton, and Rudyard Kipling. It became like a giant word search for me: could I locate the famous names I knew amongst the thousands of people I’ve never heard of that died nearly a thousand years ago.

The grandeur and majestic air of the Abbey is something that must be felt, rather than seen. It felt like I was entering the hall of gods, like I was a peasant called to the palace of kings. In a way, I suppose I was, given the staggering number of royalty buried there. I’m not one for superstitions or belief in ghosts or things of that nature, but I swear you could feel something extraordinary when you walked through the Abbey. I don’t want to say vibes, but it was something like that. I don’t have a word for it. You could just sense all of the souls that were buried there through the centuries; it was like a weight that transcends the standard five senses. That’s the best I can explain it.

After Westminster Abbey, it was time to power walk through St James Park to get to Buckingham Palace in time for the changing of the guard. Buckingham Palace, as you should know, is the residence of the British monarch, who is currently Elizabeth II. There are a whopping seven regiments of guards that guard Buckingham Palace: The Life Guards, The Blues and Royals, The Grenadier Guards, The Coldstream Guards, The Scots Guards, The Irish Guards, and The Welsh Guards. Which is which? You have look very, very closely to tell and I have no idea which are the ones that we saw. Anyway, I wasn’t too impressed with the Changing of the Guard. The actual change process probably takes about 5 minutes, but all of the ceremony, pageantry, and fanfare lasts about an hour. I can only see so many bearskin hats marching and hear so many heavy brass songs before I must stifle a yawn. I get that protecting the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh is a big deal, but all of the pomp and circumstance got to be a little much for me. The only nagging question I had after seeing the soldiers in red do their thing was, “Can they see with those giant furry hats on?” They weigh 1.5 lbs and if they don’t obscure, they definitely must irritate the eyes.

After the Buckingham ceremonies, we hustled over to hop a ferry across the Thames to get to the Globe Theater. We were supposed to have a tour there, but I guess there wasn’t enough time to do one before the 2:00 P.M. showing of Macbeth that some of the group went to. For those of us who did not go to Macbeth but were going to another musical later that evening, we had to go back the way we came. Brock and I went back to Leicester Square to get tickets for us and Jonathan for the musical We Will Rock You. Yes, a musical that features the songs of Queen. Awesome, right? After getting tickets and having a hot dog and delicious Cadbury ice cream cone from a vendor for lunch, we had a couple of hours to spare before a group dinner at the Hard Rock Café.

Brock and I decided to go journal after getting tickets. We sought out a coffee shop near the Hard Rock, but couldn’t find one nearby. We ended up journaling at the swanky Intercontinental hotel. We were definitely underdressed, but we tried to act like we belonged and posted up at a table with leather chairs to get some writing and people watching done.

It was soon time to reunite with the rest of the group for dinner at the Hard Rock. First of all, I love Hard Rock Cafes. Seriously great tasting food, plus an immense rock memorabilia collection? Count me in. I’ve been to several in the US and got the requisite T-shirt (the decorative, girly ones, not the standard one) at each of those, so I picked up a purple and bronze tee from London. I was especially excited about London’s Hard Rock Café because it is the first one! It opened in 1971 and the memorabilia tradition began there in 1979 when Eric Clapton told owners Isaac Tigrett and Peter Morton that his red Fender Lead II guitar would look nice on the wall. The London Hard Rock is famous for still attracting rock stars like Clapton for burgers and impromptu jam sessions. I didn’t get to see that, but it was still very cool since I love old and new school rock-and-roll.

The rocking continued as Jonathan, Brock, and I’s next stop was the Dominion Theater for We Will Rock You. The jukebox musical was written by Ben Elton and Queen members Brian May and Roger Taylor. It’s been playing since 2002 and is the longest-running show at the Dominion. It was originally supposed to be a biography of Freddie Mercruy, but apparently Ben Elton found that too difficult to work with and suggested instead he, May, and Taylor create an original story that captures the spirit of Queen’s music. Hence, Elton created a computer-controlled dystopia that has banned human creation of music and one called “The Dreamer” must fulfil a prophecy for the return of rock-and-roll. It’s even more messed up than it sounds the “plot,” if you must call it that, is crap. The Daily Mirror wrote that “Ben Elton should be shot for this risible story,” and The Guardian quipped that WWRY is “ruthlessly packaged and manufactured.”

BUT, the crap storyline allows for over 20 Queen songs to be belted out by the incredible cast, and their powerful voices combined with the stellar instrumentals allowed for some goosebump raising renditions. There were a few songs I actually liked better than the originals. It was understudy night and most of the leads were portrayed by understudies, but it was nearly impossible to tell—they were amazing. It was more concert than musical, but it was a very fun ride. The little boy next to us said it well: “This is the best night out EVER!”

I really wish I would have budgeted for seeing a musical every night in London. I would have loved to see Wicked again, Hair, The Lion King, Legally Blonde, and many others. The energy and entertainment of a musical is unbeatable. I’m in awe every time I see one. Maybe it’s because I don’t sing well or because I’m too shy to have much of a stage presence, but I just think it’s absolutely incredible that those actors do what they do. The power to completely morph into another character and commit to it so well, and be so passionate that an entire auditorium completely believes you are perhaps the best lies ever told.