When I left London for Prague the sunniest, and one of the warmest, Februaries on record had just ended. It was in the mid fifties and sunny as I rode the train to Gatwick. Not any more! It is still warm, got up to 50F today, but windy and drizzly. Tomorrow will be worse. It is predicted that we will have gales up to 80 mph by evening. People are being told to stay home, and the home office just hopes that the worst is over before the Monday morning commute.

And I have a ticket to see a musical treatment of the life of Sister Wendy in Hackney! I hope I don’t get blown off the platform waiting for the overground.

Today I went by tube to Monument to take a stroll by the Tower of London, across Tower Bridge, to visit the Design Museum. Monument (Bank and Monument) is so named for the monument to the Great Fire of London found next door. Not too much to look at right now:

I liked the walk down Lower Thames to Custom House and then along the embankment to the visitor centre for Tower of London. The Tower itself is more interesting to me for what the site and architecture hold than for the inners. I’m sure this comes as no surprise to those who have been reading these accounts for any time at all. I walked the perimeter of the site and took loads of snaps. Check the Day 27 Gallery for more shots.

After crossing Tower Bridge in a brisk wind I strolled along Shad Thames and the southern embankment to the Design Museum. They are hosting two shows, “Jean Prouvé: The Poetics of the Technical Object” and “Brit Insurance Design Award Winners, 2008.” Both good exhibits. I particularly enjoyed the award winners. This was quite the contrast to the unfulfilling show I saw in Prague.

I then high-tailed it up to the Barbican Theatre for a matinee of The Harder They Come, a new musical based on the 70’s movie of the same name. What a good time that was. I was lucky to check the web site this morning and get a last minute 5th row seat in stalls for only £10! The book has its problems, but the staging was innovative, the cast energetic and enchanting, the music expertly played and sung, and the whole works was lushly lit. High praise, and the longest standing ovation I have witnessed here, from a standing room only crowd.

That standing room only crowd was part of “2008 East: a festival championing the best of East London” This comprises dozens of arts groups, shops, restaurants, museums, etc. all trying to bring focus to the lively arts, entertainment and life styles of this vibrant part of the city. I thoroughly enjoyed my part of it, and would have gone to another show, “Marilyn and Ella” in Stratford, but with train works going on, and the weather threatening, I thought better of it and headed home. A quick stop for Kabob and then settle in to write and listen to the Beeb.

I’ll leave you with this interesting view of a shop window being (un)dressed in The City:

Ta!