So it seems as if my last post published itself prematurely. How strange. I suppose I’ll pick up where I left off.
So yes, it’s hardly easy to believe that it’s almost over now. I feel there’s so much of London I still haven’t explored yet. Just the other day, I went to the BFI mediatheque and stumbled upon the South Bank Institute which is just this gorgeous pavilion with cafés and shops and little gardens. The architecture is beautiful and it’s always crawling with people just enjoying the day.
Speaking of which, the BFI mediatheque is an amazing place to spend a few hours. It’s a completely free service from the British Film Institute where you can browse their extensive archive of over 2,500 hours of British film and television episodes. There are these little booths and you just sit at the computer and watch. I was lucky enough to be required to spend some time there for my Contemporary British Film class. It’s a great place to hang out.
I saw Billy Elliot, finally. It was a weird thing, it really was, sitting in the audience in the Victoria Palace Theatre, a place I’d spent many an hour on YouTube in, watching performances, behind the scenes footage, anything. This was the show that got me interested in musical theatre, the show that made me want to start learning how to dance again, the show that made me want to actually pursue acting on the stage. It was incredible and I’m not ashamed to say I cried and mouthed along to basically every song.
It’s moments like these that I’ll remember, standing outside of the theatre, waiting to see Ruthie Henshall in the cold. Moments like sitting in a park I found on a walk through the East End eating a samosa. I’ll miss London but I think I’ll miss samosas even more. London samosas, I doubt they’re the same anywhere else.