almost caught up . . . not!

well, not really caught up but the laundry is done and i am packing my suitcase for my flight back east tomorrow. (still hoping someone will "pick up" my trip so i can stay home this 4th of July weekend). the sky is blue, kind of. the June Gloom is still hanging out over the ocean to the west. i think i mentioned seeing some cute dogs on sunday. these three were music lovers. we were also listening to Michael Sullivan in Manhattan Beach. there are also a couple of beach photos i took while rollerskating up to Manhattan Beach. and a few from the Riviera Village Summer Festival in downtown Redondo Beach on sunday.

a Jackchi or is it a Jackhuahua?

not sure what this cute bundle of fur is. i remember taking a photo of two of these dogs in Japan in the last few years.

still trying to find out what this one was. the owner said that this dog had recently won Best in Show at a Dog Show in Long Beach.

Michael Sullivan at Manhattan Beach's Metlox Music and Art Sunday Series

Jenny, one of Michael's dearest fans

a real "dog walker" or shall i say "dog carrier". they listened to the music for awhile but then i think the puppy got a little sleepy listening to the soothing sounds of Michael.

young rockers at the Riviera Village Summer Festival in Redondo Beach

aloha on sunday

concentrating on her hula-ing as well as her shaka-ing

life at Hermosa Beach

life at Manhattan Beach

coincidently i took this photo this morning on the way to the market

these Softbank commercials have been popular for a year or two now in Japan. i watched several of them today and will add another tomorrow before leaving for the airport. yes, the dog is the Father. no, i did not go to the gym today.

mind the gap and vice-versa

June Gloom in the morning and then some sunshine and then back to June Gloom. now back to last tuesday. by the way, this little video and all these photos were with my Casio compact digital and not the new Canon DSLR. more photos and video tomorrow as well as more on my sunday at the beach.

＜ー to the line i did not stand in for 6 hours at Wimbledon. remind me in december to enter the lottery for next year's tickets so i do not have to be one of the parenthesistic people.

speaking of Wimbledon (and i was to myself while watching it on tv), they just closed the 150 million dollar "roof" for the first time as the rain has begun to fall for the first time at this year's tournament. will Scotland's Andy Murray be around for the Quarterfinals?

and which one did i go to? both, of course. as you can see it was a beautifully sunny day last tuesday in London.

London? yes.

London? yes.

later that same day after a few red double-decker bus rides and a few Tube rides, after a walk thru a meadow and a walk along The Thames, i ended up in Regent Park which was a short walk from the Baker Street station (of Sherlock Holmes' fame). after having a "lolly" and taking a short break i continued thru the park to the north side near the zoo and found a beautiful walk along the canals which lead to the Camden Market. the Camden Market area reminded me of Venice Beach without all the homeless people, and without the beach. there were many young people and tourists, t-shirt and souvenir shops, trendy-ish cafes as well as a Starbucks or two. one short Underground ride or was it one with a transfer and i was back at the Picadilly Circus area. i arrived at Soho Pizzeria at 7pm just as Michael Storey was sitting down to the piano. another short subway ride and i was back at Victoria station. from there is was the 9pm Gatwick Express back to... Gatwick. here are a few more photos from last tuesday.

the bus i missed catching because i was taking a photo of an English dandelion.

a nice walking path along The Thames near Putney Bridge

fortunately/unfortunately i walked along the west side of the Boating Lake and came upon the canals so i didn't make it to the Queen Mary's Gardens. maybe next time.

Regent Park's Boating Lake and wildlife

the canals

indoor/outdoor shopping at the Camden Market

Camden Market area

Picadilly Circus area

Michael Storey times 2

not your usual "additional information" sign

yes, it is written in English but i am still not sure of the meaning. to Google or not to Google? i think "franked" has something to do with "metered" or "stamped" mail but i am not sure which is which. as for Fly Tipping, i have no idea. i am pretty sure it is not the same as "cow tipping".

while i was sleeping . . .

the grayness, the June Gloomness has returned. i will rest a little more after yesterday's long day of travel and hope the sun returns before my walk to the beach for the Riviera Village Summer Festival. maybe i will unpack my suitcase tomorrow. here is a little greyish, coolish, squirrels scurrying around, birds chirping, crows ka-ka-ka-ing quiet sunday morning music from my favorite English pianist, singer, harmonica player, gentleman Michael Storey. this is from last tuesday at Soho Pizzeria in Soho (the one in London not New York). as Michael told me, "where the pizza is good but having the live music there is best" (or words similar to those and with a wonderful British accent).

gone but not forgotten. just before we closed the doors on our flight to London on thursday evening someone received a text message that Michael Jackson had died. we didn't have any other information until we arrived friday morning at Gatwick. and now it is sunday morning and i have all the facts i need. he died on thursday. he was an incredible one-of-a-kind musician/entertainer/human being. and will be missed and remembered by millions of people. the above 45 rpm record is from 1971 . . . Got To Be There. i will play it and the other Jackson Five/Michael Jackson 45's i have as soon as today's Vinyl Cafe is over and play them again when i return from the beach. not sure where my Thriller cd is. the sun and blue sky have arrived. time to pack my backpack and head toward the beach.

_____________________________________________________ 9pm

another nice day of music and sunshine. but, i think yesterday's long day caught up to me as i fell asleep shortly after returning home from the beach. more about the festival, more about the aloha, more about the sunshine (and lack of sunshine), more about my rollerskating, more about the ocean, more about the dogs. and yes, there will be more from London. and finally, more about these two wonderful musicians tomorrow. いつも明日

Michael Sullivan (the third Michael of this blog today which i believe is a record for the number of musical Michaels in one blog posting) on guitar and vocals. and the multi-talanted Walter on sax and flute.

long story short

i am/we are home.

waiting for the bus at LAX after flying from London to Philadelphia to Los Angeles.

a few images from my yesterday in Brighton.

yes, those are stones

and more stones and more stones

reserved seating

Tony on/in Brighton beach, and more stones

Royal Pavilion (backlit)

enjoying the last rays of the English sun

Royal Pavilion (frontlit)

Alcea (better known as hollyhocks) in the Royal Pavilion gardens

no and yes

no, i still haven't seen any hotaru (firefly) and yes, i will be flying back to London tonite and then hopefully from LGW to PHL to LAX on saturday. i think there is a summer festival in Redondo Beach's Riviera VIllage this weekend so i should be able to hear some music and the ocean on sunday.

yes and no

yes, i went to Wimbledon . . . no, i did not stand in line for 6 hours to get in. by chance, i met the Captain and wife on the 9pm train back from Victoria Station to Gatwick. they stood in line (in the queue) for 5 hours and 45 minutes to get a "grounds pass" for Wimbledon. it was a beautiful gorgeous sunny day and i couldn't see stand in line for that long with the possibility of not getting in. tonikaku (anyways), i did see and do a lot today. some of the highlights were of course peeking in thru the gates of All-England Championship at Wimbledon, a Buddhist temple, a windmill museum, a huge park, make that two huge parks, with the later being Regent Park, several rides on the doubledecked buses, more than several rides on The Tube, a walk along a pictuesque canal, Camden Market, Piccadilly Circus, and lastly Michael Storey at Soho Pizzeria in Soho. time to rest my feet, my body, my eyes. tomorrow will be a long flight back to PHL.

ps. i did get my leave for Sept/Oct/Nov.

Okagesama

finally a nice blue sky morning. finally i went for a nice walk. unfortunately tonite's flight to Philly is full so i have decided to take the 135pm flight. i am sure i will have plenty of more beach days to come especially if i get my 3 month leave-of-absence for sept/oct/nov. i think i will find out tomorrow if i got it.

i am heading east today, slowly ever so slowly

well, now i am back east. tomorrow evening i will fly to London and maybe just maybe, i will try to get into Wimbledon. by the way, do you know how to get to Wimbledon? practice, practice, practice. oh, we had an interesting guy on the flight today. i didn't know who he was but he was fun to talk to... Rikki Rockett.