I first learned of of the lovely Ms. Simone in my early twenties as I was on the cusp of full fledged adulthood, when I heard Lauryn Hill belt out her now famous line  on the Fugees hit Ready or Not.  Ms. Hill kindly informed her hip hop rivals of verse that they could not compete with this legend when she so lyrically and eloquently proclaimed, "so while you imitating Al Capone, I'll be Nina Simone and defecating on your microphone."  This was the hip hop era of many greats including Jay-Z, Nas and the late Notorious B.I.G. and Tupac, an era when genre was still alive, innovative and cutting edge.  Thus, if Ms. Hill was so confident that Nina Simone could outshine these heavy hitters, then I certainly needed to be a devotee.

I have come to appreciate Nina Simone for everything she embodied in her career; her rage against racism and oppression, the pride of black America, her throaty emotional range in all her songs and her true devotion to her art.  In the light hearted cover of the Beatles' Here Comes the Sun she exudes the giddiness and excitement associated with the ballad.  In Four Women, the emotion in her voice easily glides from melancholic chamber maid to a vamp like sex kitten in a manner of four verses.  In Cotton Eyed Joe, she brings the fast paced line dancing song to an intoxicating slow breeze and then exudes the pain of a long suffering heart constantly absent a true love. Oh sweet Nina!

We lost Nina on April 21, 2003 after a long fight with breast cancer.   She lay down to sleep in her home in the south of France and died in her sleep.  I was at a loss as to what performance to share here with you on the blog so I painstakingly chose two of my favorites; the performance at the Greenwich Village's Bitter End Cafe in 1968 and Cotton Eyed Joe.  Enjoy!

Day 1 June 20, 2008

Arriving in London : Heathrow is a dump and the tube is weird

I arrived in Heathrow international airport at about 9:30 local time.  This was my first time ever in the United Kingdom but not my first time abroad so I had an idea of what to expect.  Before I go forward, let me just say an idea is like bubbles, they’re real but they burst easily!  The airport was nothing like an international airport in a major country.  I’ve seen far better airports in the third world.  To add insult to injury, arrivals message board confused my host about my arrival terminal and he spent an hour waiting for me in terminal three while I nervously awaited him in terminal four.  The geniuses who designed this airport did not think to make it convenient for those within the airport to effortlessly move from terminal to terminal. Thus, although fully equipped with tons of lifts (that would be elevators for us Americans), escalators and walkways, internal moves within Heathrow are not completed with smooth agility, but rather cautious baby steps and deliberate prayers.  After several frantic calls and a near nervous breakdown on my part, my host, Daniel joined me in terminal four about two hours after I arrived and we exited the airport to begin my London holiday, but first, I had to conquer the tube (the subway). 

 

Unlike the New York City subway, the London Underground stops running at midnight!  That’s right, this metropolis with millions of people using its public transport system, terminates daily at midnight.  It was not a problem though.   Just as the clock struck 12 (24:00 in Europe) Daniel and I jumped into the nearest pumpkin and moved swiftly onto the Muswell Hill area of London .

 

Day 2 June 21, 2008

Brixton and Central London

I started my first official tour of London in the South London neighborhood of Brixton.  Brixton is a small corner of south central London .  With its bustling population of African and Afro-Caribbean immigrants, it is the unofficial capitol of black London , but it ain’t exactly Harlem .  We walked along Electric Avenue (Anyone remember the Eddy Grant song Electric Avenue?) and toured the famous Brixton market, which boasted everything from Bob Marley and Jimmy Cliff CD’s to spicy jerk chicken.

 

Moving on to central London via double-decker bus, we took in all the cheesy tourist sites, Big Ben, Parliament, Westminster Abbey and The London Eye.  I snapped every photo I could of the black cabs, red double-decker buses and even yelled, “Hey Gordy!” as I walked passed 10 Downing Street, the Prime Minister’s residence.  We capped the day off with a walk along the Thames River which included performance artists, families, Shakespeare’s Globe Theater, lovely restaurants and even a book fair (of course I bought a book, how could I resist?)

 

Day 3 June 22, 2008

Hampstead Heath

After seeing a bit of urban London , we spent the next day taking in the breathtaking view of the London city center from Hampstead Heath.  The heath is ancient natural parkland which sits atop London neatly tucked away in Muswell Hill.  The expansive area is a favorite of Londoners and boasts several ponds, marvelous green spaces and awesome picnic areas.  On the way back from the heath, since we were already perusing old London haunts, we stopped to have a pint at a local pub, said to be haunted, and so aptly named The Haunt.  After some great ale, we headed back to Mussy (Muswell Hill) for some curry.

 

Day 4 June 23, 2008

The National Mall, Green Park and Buckingham Palace , the East End

Okay so Buckingham Palace is not that big.  Well actually it is.  Even bigger, it seems, is the long walk to get to the Palace.  The beauty of it is, and it is a real beauty, the Palace sits within Green Park , a small (so small it may actually be in the palace and not other way around) lush hideaway with moss-filled ponds and emerald grassy mounds.

 

Again a curry dinner satiated our appetites as we found ourselves on the East End, home of London ’s best curry restaurants, as the sun was heading west. 

 

Day 5 June 24, 2008

The bespoke suits of Savile Row, Galleries, Hyde Park and Abbey Road

So on my last full day in London , we strolled Savile Row, the golden mile of London shopping and the home of the bespoke suit.  You want to know why James Bond looks so good in his suit, go to Savile Row.  This has got to be the best place in the world to get a fine quality tailored suit.  No wonder I kept telling Daniel how great Englishmen looked in their suits.  From Savile Row we made our way to the museums including the Tate, the National Gallery and the National Portrait Gallery.  In the interim, we stopped to have lunch with an acquaintance of mine who is currently working and living in London .  She gave me some amazing insights into typical London life. After a long morning and afternoon, we took a pit stop at Hyde Park, the London equivalent of New York ’s Central Park .  Expansive lawns, fresh air and open space were just the antidote to a morning and early afternoon of pavement pounding.

 

The ultimate tourist act I committed while in London was imitating the Beatles famous walk across the Abbey Road crosswalk and I was dressed in all white just like John Lennon! I even got Daniel to succumb to the tourist forces and do the walk as well!  We capped off the day and my trip with my first official English dinner of fish and chips with mushy green peas and a toffee pudding dessert. 

 

Day 6 June 25, 2008

Going home or I’ll be back!

There were some surprises on this, my first visit.  London is not as safe as most European cities.  I was surprised because previous experiences in large European cities like Madrid , I felt safe walking the streets at night in most areas.  I did not get the same sense of security in London .  Also, any Americans considering traveling to the UK now; be forewarned about the exchange rate.  By the time I departed London , the exchange rate was at $2.02 USD to ₤1.00 GBP (Gulp!) One more thing, the language barrier, Shaw was right, England and America are two nations separated by a common language. They do not bother with using the letter ‘Z’ so authorize became authorise and no need to say thank you or goodbye when ‘cheers’ will do.  I had a great time and would love to return but until next time. . .

 

Cheers!