Manchester International Film Festival 2020: Part I
Tuesday March 10th
Even though Andy is British, I was glad to find out that he loves coffee. We had a delicious breakfast, and then Anna took Cindy & I on a lengthy walk along the River Thames. She introduced us to Greenwich; A cozy, special, borough of London filled with maritime history. Greenwich was completely new to us and we liked it immediately. Across the river, we could see the O2 Arena¹ where I had sat in with Alice last year to this very day.
We walked to the Cutty Sark². Built in 1869, the famous ship was one of the last tea clippers, and made an impressive number of trips for its time.
Anna left us to explore on our own. We wound up at an open market that was sparsely attended and enjoyed a lunch of fish and chips in an empty restaurant.
That evening, Andy made a wonderful Thai dinner.
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Monday, March 9th
Cindy and I landed in London and booked a driver to Greenwich to stay with our friend’s Anna and Andy. Andy informed us that he was working remotely from his home office due to the (at the time) unfolding COVID-19 pandemic. We assured him that we had been careful about washing our hands and sanitizing every step of the way.
Anna was anxious about rehearsals for an all Chuck Berry show that Ron Wood would soon be doing in London next week. Anna is Ron’s guitar technician. She was also concerned about flying to LA to start rehearsals for the Rolling Stone’s tour. Andy looked concerned as well.
Andy and Anna described how they were about to extend their kitchen to make it larger. I told them that most of our friends would say they’re planning to “blow it out” – a term that Anna adopted right away.
They are an exceptionally nice couple and are very dear to us. We shared great conversations, laughed, ate, and then we called it a night.
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Wednesday, March 11th
After hanging out with Anna and Andy, Cindy & I walked back to the Cutty Sark and explored the nearby Old Royal Naval College³, which is full of historic buildings to explore. Through the massive windows of the massive building, we heard a large ensemble of students playing West Side Story.
We made our way across the street to the Queen’s House⁴, which is now a Royal Museum art gallery. It was built in 1616 as a "house of delight" for James I's wife, Anne of Denmark. The staff was extremely welcoming and happy to answer any questions we had. Hardly anyone else was there so we had freedom to gaze at each of the great paintings as long as we liked.
Cindy, of course, was drawn to the ornate shiny, silver gilt dresser set, originally from Woburn Abbey⁵. My favorite part was three portraits of the Queen, which had been propaganda for England to announce the Royal Navy’s victory over the Spanish Armada. The portraits, with the Queen’s hand resting on a globe, were a proclamation of England’s new world power.
A staff member explained that an official portrait had been sent to artists in other countries to copy precisely. Their copies were for people of status to display as a show of their allegiance to Queen Elizabeth I, and to England. One copy had already been on display at the Queen’s House Museum, but the other two were on temporary loan. This was the first time three of these portraits have been shown together. The precision detail of each copy was amazing.
We hiked up the hill to the Royal Observatory⁶, which was closed by the time we got there, but the view was spectacular. Outdoors, mounted on a brick wall, is the big Shepherd Gate Clock⁷ that keeps precise Greenwich Mean Time.
That night, we wanted to take Anna & Andy to dinner so they suggested an Indian Restaurant. We walked there and claimed a corner table. Afterwards, we went to a nearby pub, where Andy and Anna first met. The irony is that Anna doesn’t drink, she just liked to hang out there. “So you married a dry barfly,” I said to Andy, ha! We sat at a fairly isolated table. It was a warm friendly place and the regulars knew our friends well. Cindy loved the sparkly lights and we enjoyed hearing the story about how Anna and Andy met.
And the reason for our journey was about to unfold as Cindy and I would be on our way to Manchester for the screening of Live From The Astroturf, Alice Cooper at the Manchester International Film Festival.
To be continued…
Travel with us!