Chapter 118: Dedicated to RtC

nerd blog post #130

I am in the Royal Leamington Spa! It is wonderful to be in such a nice apartment, enjoying time with Doctor. But this nerd blog post is about London, so I'll discuss the Spa latron....

I returned to London on Saturday night and took the metro to meet Raffi and his uncle at a pub near the Globe. We had a pint and it was nice to see U. Greg again. When he left, Raff and I headed to another pub and then home.

He had Sunday off and it was nice to spend the whole day together in London. We had planned to visit a couple of markets and then Rose Bakery London-stylez, but all were closed by the time we got there late afternoon! So instead, we walked and walked. We spent time in Green Park where Raffi practiced his clown juggling and we also went to Tower Bridge and that area. For dinner, we went to the same Chinese place from a few nights prior where a delicious and massive meal is under 6 pounds.

Monday was the day of his show and while he rehearsed in the morning, I met Doc at London Bridge and our first stop was to pick up his big suitcase which was being stored at church. His friend is the rector there and it was in the vestry. We got the special, secret code so he could get it later instead of lugging it around. So then we went for coffee and sat there chatting so long that lunchtime crept up and we ate there.

At 130pm, we met Talia and Alex at the Globe and got our free tickets to the show. We stood in the pit thing, right up by the stage and under the sky. It was magical being there. Not only is the space beautiful, but it's also so historic. And to see Raffi on stage gave me such pride. The whole show was really great. They had music and singing and the monologues were top-notch. Raffi's stage presence is captivating and his movement training at clown school shone through. I am so glad I saw it and it was great to have friends there to share the experience with. After the show, we ate delicious cake and drank cafe in the Globe's fancy restaurant. Then we all attended to business and so split up for a few hours. When we reconnected (just Tal, Alex, Doc and I), we went for Chinese (yup, same place!) and then met Raffi and the other actors at a pub. It was an amazing day and evening - one of the most memorable in a long time.

Tuesday was also a wonderful day. Raffi and I spent the afternoon at Camden Market, which no one told me about before! It is a jewel in the city and maybe the world. I looooved it. Stalls upon stalls of amazing and affordable cool things. I can't really explain how much I loved this neighbourhood, but I will never visit London again without paying a visit to this place. We had lunch there and then walked along the river for a long time, accompanied by a very nice swan that we named and talked to. We also visited Regent's Park but the zoo was closed and I didn't spot any animals from the fence.. Instead, we walked until the sun went down and then had a really nice fancy dindins at a buffet Thai veggie restaurant. It was nice.

The hours to follow, and the next morning, were very hard. I had debated not nerd blogging about this, but it feels strange to not include that Raffi and I decided to say a final goodbye on Wednesday, as he headed off to LA and then back to Paris, and I continued my travels. It's a more complex and personal story than I can write about right now. I do hope that he has a wonderful visit with his family and a successful year 2 of clown school. Writing of our adventures in The Hinckster will be missed, and I award 503 points to the man who made my time in France as beautiful as it was, and made Paris the city that I fell in love with over and over again. His companionship was one of a kind, and cherished deeply.

After the goodbye, I made my way to the train station and came as quickly as possible to a most supportive Doctor. I knew he'd have the right prescription! He met me with a bouquet of flowers (the first in years!) and we came back to his apartment, chatting and laughing the whole way.

More on this land soon... I hope this finds you all well!

Much love,

Hincks.