We Had A Great Day Planned,

into town,

summer gear on, but first I should mention that I am only making 1 post today as we are out first thing Friday, back to Thursday, 

and remember the hat!

blue skies,

on the way out some work on one of the houses in the park was going on,

first stop Beckenham Junction station,

to this box by the side of, apparently it is like a post office,

you can, having printed a label, drop a parcel off and it will be delivered to wherever you want to send it, no queues in the post office,

next into Marks & Spencer's,

shopping finished onto the number 54 bus to the top of the hill,

and into the park,

straight ahead the courtyard,

in the distance the mansion,

I zoomed in,

what a glorious day,

in the gardens so unlike our normal visits here at the weekends, 

not a soul in sight,

past the small green behind the clock tower,

we were walking to our favourite table in the gardens that so few know about or use,

nearly there, and guess what? someone was sitting there eating their lunch! just our luck, never mind there were plenty of benches nearby,

we started to lay out our lunch,

a nice selection of sandwiches, courtesy of M & S 

I tucked in straight away,

before Diana had added the crisps,

we had a visitor so Diana took this short video,

our view from the bench,

these daisy like flowers almost glowing in the bright sunshine, then great news the dinner finished their lunch break so we moved to the bench and table,

so to celebrate I popped into the bar where this chap was most helpful finding some lime cordial for my larger,

time to get out the food,

as well as sandwiches we had gala pie, sausage rolls, coleslaw, Italian salami and cheese and to round off the meal cantaloupe melon, water melon and mango,

eyes down and tuck in,

our feast did not go unnoticed as we were joined not only by the robin, but a pair of squirrels, a blue tit or three and a pair of magpies, 

we relaxed before walking home, past the mansion,

to the park gates,

past the home that was being added to with a huge extension, turn left and we were home, where just a few hours later and a shower and change of cloths we were out again to Beckenham Junction, for the train to Victoria, some months ago knowing it was Diana's holiday we had booked tickets for the theatre,

out of the station and onto a number 38 bus,

and we were on our way, several stops later and we were at Piccadilly Circus,

 in the middle of it, The Shaftesbury Memorial Fountain, popularly known as Eros,

we were a tad early, so a coffee each,

and one of these for Diana,

we settled down to watch the world go by, 

then it was time to walk to The Theatre Royal Haymarket, it is a Grade I listed building situated in the heart of the West End, it is amazing to think that it was designed and constructed by John Potter in 1720, and it was not until September 9, 1776, the Second Continental Congress adopted a new name for what had been called the "United Colonies.” And the name “United States of America” became official,

the traffic here is none stop, do not be fooled into crossing without using the lights, it is a wide road, mercies face has fled as far as the traffic is concerned here,

safely across,

and inside, 

as the theatre started to fill,

what had we booked for? the satirical play by Dario Fo, titled The Accidental Death of a Anarchist, 

before the show started Diana took a few photographs of the inside of this amazing building,

the décor amazing,

and opulent to say the least,

the theatre filling up behind us, and then the show begun, and what a performance by all concerned, the plot is basically an Anarchist has fallen to his death from a police station window. The question is: did he jump or was he thrown? As the police attempt to avoid yet another scandal, a mysterious imposter is arrested and brought in for questioning,

the first half was so funny, and well acted as the Metropolitan police lied and squirmed their way out of and into more and more improbable situations, and if such a thing could be true the second half was more riotous than the first, I have never seen Diana laugh or jump so much in my life! the play is based on a true story, here is the true story of what happened on that fateful day, it should also be noted that the police in many counties arrested the players, the story line of deception a little to close for comfort! the play although a outright comedy it does indeed have a serious message, at the end of the play, this is it:

 "Since 1990, There have been 1,870 Deaths in Custody or Following Contact with the Police in England and Wales" for varication www.inquset.org an amazing record for any police force, and that total does not include Scotland and Ireland! in each country the actors take the dress of the national police force, so perhaps you can see why the police take exception to the deaths in custody shown at the end of each performance, 

I should say that the star of the show is Daniel Rigby, and what a star he truly is, also that when the play first aired in the UK back in the 1970s I did in fact buy tickets to watch it, a different cast of course today but still so enjoyable, some of the reviews, 

★★★★★

‘Thrilling entertainment’

Daily Mail

★★★★★

‘An unmissable police satire. The evening soars on quicksilver satire’

Metro

★★★★★

‘Shockingly funny. A breathlessly rapid-fire script.’

The Stage

★★★★★

‘Rocket-paced and utterly hilarious. A comic work for the ages’

‘If you see one play in the West End this summer, make it this one.’

Broadway World 

we made our way home being very lucky with both the bus and train with hardly any delays waiting, feet up for a coffee and one from Sherlock Holmes before we were off to bed.