London in a Day! Day 7 [Part 12]

London Day 7

Sunday Morning and it’s raining, but that wasn’t going to stop us. We had one day to see the City. Jeff spoke to his friend Ryan who suggested we hit a certain section so that we would catch a bunch of things at once and maximize our day. So we hit it and did much of it under the clouds, but it was great!

Ryan told Jeff that we should take the Tube to Charing Cross and walk around from there because it’s right near Piccadilly Circus and lots of other sites. So that’s what we did. I think that morning we walked to Anerley and took the Overground to Canada Water on the Jubilee Line. Then we took that to Waterloo and changed for the Northern Line to Charing Cross. When we got out we were right near the gate that leads to Buckingham Palace so we decided to start there. As we were walking down that long road that leads to the palace we could hear drumming. The next thing we know we see what looks like the royal marching band coming around the corner. Turns out we had just missed the changing of the guard. Damn! Oh well. We had no idea what time that was happening so I guess you can’t really miss something if you were never on your way to it.

Check the Clip of the Royal Band Marching

We kept walking toward the palace and of course there was a big crowd around it. If I were the Queen I wouldn’t want to spend too much time at that spot. Personally I would need people to get off my porch! That’s just too much. LOL.

We joined the crowd in taking photos and looking at the sculpture of Queen Victoria and the Roman soldiers that is right in front of the palace. This was the first time I really looked at the statue and all the other sculptures in the area. It really tells the history of London for better for worse. There are lots of references to Africa out there. I’m sure those are the things that people miss when visiting. Who want to think about that right? Well, it’s all there folks. Just look closely.

The Royal Homestead

Check out Medusa on the shield

The handsome Queen Victoria (lol)

After checking that out for a while we walked back up the road back toward where we came from, but decided to head toward Big Ben so we took a right and headed through a courtyard that turned out to be back of the Cavalry Museum. We didn’t go in, but we did have to walk under the museum archway to get back to main road where there were two men on horses “standing guard” in Cavalry gear. Okay, they were in uniform. There were lots of folks standing in front of the Mounties taking photos of their family and friends next to the horses. I will admit that I took a photo of the man on the horse as you can see below, but I couldn’t help thinking about the man and the horse while I was taking it. What a job!

I love the sign!

WWII Women's Memorial. I just loved that there was one for the women!

We walked down the street toward Big Ben and Westminster Abbey, when we realized we were right in front of 10 Downing Street, where the Prime Minster resides. Cool! We kept walking toward Ben and then there he was in our face. Jeff asked me to take a photo of him there. I think that was sort of his Eiffel Tower moment. From there we walked down the road to check out Parliament and then across the street to the Abbey. We couldn’t get in to either so we just took it in from the outside. That walked reminded me of when I did it the first time with Achuziam, Shawn, Lionel & Irv. It was just as good the second time around. Across from the Abbey there is a statue park of sorts. Along with a statue of Winston Churchill there was a statue of Nelson Mandela. There were other folks there too, but I can’t remember who they were. Really I was just trying to figure out how Mandela fit in to it all, but hey, I’ll talk take it!

Jeff & Ben

What are yo doing here Mr. Mandela?

After checking all that out Jeff wanted to go see the Tower Bridge, which was a train ride away. So we decided to find something to eat first and then jump on the train and head east to the Tower of London and the Bridge. We took a short walk and found ourselves by the Embankment Tube station. There were a few restaurants over there so we stopped, ate and then we were supposed to head to the Tower, but we decided to head toward Piccadilly first.

A rainy London day with Ben in the distance

London Eye

We start walking that way when, we were stopped in our tracks by the National Portrait Gallery and we have to go in! It’s only right and Paula would demand it. LOL.

So we went in and looked around for a bit. We decided to just do one floor because we could have been in there for hours and we didn’t have hours. Unlike the Lourve on the day I was in Paris, the folks at the Portrait Gallery were not having photos being taken at all. Jeff pulled out his phone and started to shoot a portrait of Paul McCartney and BAM, this woman popped up out of nowhere to shut him down! They were not having it. LOL. There is a really amazing portrait of Princess Diana in gallery among other great paintings, but that one really stood out for me. After being there for about 45 minutes we decided to head out. We walked toward Piccadilly and stopped at a store that Jeff saw a cool Marilyn Monroe picture in (I love Marilyn) to check it out. After seeing it and finding out it’s crazy price, we decided to skip Piccadilly and head back to the Tube and to the Tower Bridge. So we walked back to Charing Cross and got on the District or the Circle Line to Tower Hill. Now I don’t know which train we got on because there was all kinds of construction going on and we had to take one train because the other wasn’t running and it was a little hectic. Ah…just like New York!

We got to Tower Hill we checked out the Tower of London. Now I had been there before, but for the first time I think I was really starting to understand the history of the place and saw how intricate it is or was. We didn’t get to go on the tour, but next time I’ll make that happen. Jeff just wanted to see the bridge because it was his screen saver for the last few months so that he could manifest the trip. Well it worked and there we were.

Jeff at Tower Bridge

We hung out in the area for a while, but I was trying to catch some vintage gear or at least some cheap gear near a spot LyricL hipped me to. Let me break it down a bit in the clothes area. I didn’t really come to London to shop, but I came to London with a coat that I wanted to leave there. Yes, my plan was to get a new coat and leave my old one in London. You ever had a piece of clothing that you never want to see again? That’s how I felt about my coat. LyricL said we should head over the Liverpool Street as there was a huge outdoor market there on Sunday’s. That was great because we were meeting all the folks at the Vibe Bar on Brick Lane that night for LyricL’s show and that wasn’t too far from the Liverpool Street station.

Now this is where things get crazy. The plan should have been simple. Take the Circle Line from Tower Hill to Liverpool Street, but of course the trains were not acting right on that rainy Sunday. So what should have been a two-stop trip turned into many more and lots of walking. For some reason the Circle Line wasn’t going in our direction so we had to go back backwards. We took the Circle Line back on stop to Monument. Then we had to walk the long underground road from Monument to Bank. Now these stations connect, but it’s a like an over the river and through the woods connection. At Bank we took the Central line one stop to Liverpool Street. Now I know this doesn’t sound so bad on paper, but riding and walking it I knew that we were not going to make it to see be able to shop. It was all just taking too long.

Just for laughs

I just call it the Bullet *wink*

By the time we got off at Liverpool Street the sun and by the time we found the street market everyone had closed down. There were just a few vendors taking frames of their tents down. I was a kind of bummed about that, but there was nothing I could do. So we kept walking and asked someone how to get to Brick Lane and we were actually right down the street, which was good. So Jeff and I headed that way and decided to find something to eat since one of the many things that we were going to do was eat Indian food in London. Why was that on the list? Because the last time I was there Irv and I ate at this spot that changed my life! But that spot was near Hammersmith and on Brick Lane the Indian restaurants are on every corner and everywhere in between.

So we started walking down the street looking for a spot when we stumbled upon an indoor flea market that was still open and it was almost right next to the Vibe Bar, which was ultra convenient. Jeff and I went in and immediately I saw all of these things that I could potentially purchase, but I didn’t want to be to hasty. We looked at some things that the vendor right when you walk in had, but soon we kept it moving. There was some really cool stuff in there, but I was in search of a coat. Then I found it, but it was £185! Way out of my budget. But I took a picture of it because a girl can dream.

My Foxy Cleopatra dream coat!

After walking around for a while, we left, went one more spot and then decided to eat. Picking a restaurant almost turned out to be a real drama. Here in NY there is a street in the East Village called 6th Street. On 6th almost the entire block is Indian restaurants. So when you walk down the street, especially in the spring or summer, you can expect to be called to by various different folks to come into their restaurant. Well the same thing happened to us on Brick Lane and it was a little unnerving when you just want to sit down and eat. I won’t get into all that. I’ll just say that we found a spot, ate and then headed over to the Vibe Bar. Sadly that food wasn’t as amazing as the other spot I had been too, but I’m glad we did it. It was on the To Do list. Done!

We headed to the Vibe Bar and some folks were there already. LyricL was there, but I figured that since she was performing. Johnny was there, Bunny Bread was on the DJ set and a cat named F. Stokes from New York via Chicago, was rhyming when we came in and he was doing it! I was standing talking to LyricL when a Cyndi came up to greet us. Cyndi run a record store/clothing store in Brixon called United 80 and I was supposed to meet her earlier that day or the day before, but we never could get it together. She wanted to put my CDs in her record store. She was so sweet and gave LyricL and I both mustard scarves, which was really sweet. She is one half of the manVSwife DJ crew the Hands On Family. Yes it’s a husband and wife DJ team. Now that’s cool.

Bunny Bread on the set

LyricL & Chippy

Bunny is on Fire! (HA!)

After F. Stokes finished his set there was a bit of break in the action. At that point other folks started so show up. First Yvonne, then Hannabiell & Yilis, then Rob & Kat, then Kelli, Max and Ten Mill. Later on down the line was my friend Michael and then John showed up with one of his friends. Yeah! Much of the gang was all there.

Jeff & Kelli's High School Reunion!

John & Jeff

Me & Bunny

Yilis, Hannabiell & Max

We all chilled and talked and then it was time for LyricL to do her thing! She burned up that set. It was amazing! It was so nice to see her do her own show since she had been helping me out on vocals etc. all week. Power to her once again for all the love she showed me all week. After Lyric’s set Bunny spun for a while again and then it was time for Homeboy Sandman.

Love the Action in this shot

Now, I heard about this brotha since before I arrived in London because Johnny told about him. I listened to a couple of the Morpheus Soul podcasts with Homeboy on them and he was amazing on the show, but in person it was FIRE! Damn! I might have said this before, but I’ll say it again. Hip-Hop Lives! F. Stokes, LyricL and Homeboy Sandman proved that for sure. Bunny Bread too because he was killing the set!

Homeboy Sandman Killin' it!

After the show ended we all hung out for a while and took photos. Talked and laughed until it was time to say our farewells. It was hard to say goodbye, but I didn’t cry. It was too good a week to cry. John had given Jeff and I the time of the last trains heading to Anerley. Luckily we were right down the street from the Overground so it was a straight shot. I don’t remember what time he told us we could catch the train, but then I got a call from him saying that he thought he got the times wrong and that he was probably on the last train going to Crystal Palace, which would go by Anerley. So with that, we really said our goodbyes and headed to the train as fast as we could. If you remember, the last time we thought we wouldn’t make it all the way home we actually made it because another train came to take us further south. John told us to call him if we could only get so far and he would give me back the money I gave him to play the gig so we could catch at cab! [Angel 14] What?? He told me he wasn’t expecting to get paid so if we needed it he would give it back. Amazing.

Vibe Crew

So Jeff and I got to the Shoreditch High Station on the Overground and Jeff needed to top up his Oyster as the train was coming in the station and I think it was the last one. So one of the folks working at the station just let us through because otherwise we wouldn’t have made it. We ran up the steps and caught the train. Okay one leg down. We didn’t even know where it was stopping, but we had to get on. So we rode for a while and I was praying that the train would go at least as far as New Cross Gate, but alas it only went to New Cross. Not the same at all folks. So we got off and I called John. It just so happened he was at a pub right down the street from the station. I love it. So he came down and scooped us up and we walked back to the pub where he was hanging and called us a cab. He wanted us to hang and we would have, but Jeff had to leave for the airport at 5am so there was no time to hang. I was already close to or past Midnight.

It took the cab driver a minute to find us, but then he showed up. We said our final farewell to John and then headed back to Anerely.

Jeff still had a bit of packing to do and he was going to take a cab to the airport because his flight was too early in the morning to be messing with the train and it would have taken too long. He also realized that he needed to be at the airport earlier than he thought. So there was no need to go to sleep at all. So we stayed up and talked with Kevin and Michelle for a while. We didn’t even get to hang out with them much even though we were at their house. That’s just how these things sometimes go. Everybody is busy. They were great hosts though. I’m so thankful for them. Tomorrow...New York bound.

Kevin & Michelle

Showtime! Jazz Re:freshed Day 4 [Part 9]

London Day 4

When we last left our hero…

I was getting up on Thursday morning determined to do something else besides just do the show that night. Jeff still hadn’t seen any sights in London except through a car window so we had to do  something, anything.

The night before we were trying to figure out how we could go sight seeing with all of our gear in tow for the show that night. LyricL then suggested that we drop everything at her friend Bunny’s place, which is also Uprock Studios and then we could do things from there. Jeff is a huge Beatles fan so he wanted to go to Abbey Road, and it just so happened that Uprock is very close to Abbey Road. Also Bunny said he wanted to interview me for his blog Code Emphasis. Okay. So here was the plan. Get up, head to Uprock, drop our stuff, go to Abbey Road, come back to Uprock to do the interview, then head to the Mau Mau Bar for soundcheck. Sounds good right? Well…

We wake up and it’s raining. Probably the first “real” rain we’d had since we got there. I say real because it had rained a bit, but it was off and on rain. Nothing that hung around for too long. But on Thursday it really rained.

We got our stuff together and headed for the train at Anerley. Kevin was kind enough to drive us to the train again. On this short ride to the train we were listening to the radio and the announcer was talking about seeing some celeb at some event, but the thing that caught me was that he said she was looking “quite fragrant.” I love that! I have to remember to use that from now on when I see someone looking good.

We got on the Overground at Anerley and took that Canada Water and switched for the Jubilee Line toward Stanmore to Kilburn. LyricL told us to call her when we got there because she was coming from a totally different direction.  So I called when we got out and it was really raining then. We had all kinds of gear with us, but we didn’t think we would be going very far. When I spoke to LyricL and she told me to go to the bus stop on the same side of the street I was on and go toward Kilburn High Street. At least I think that’s what she said. The point of this matter is that we got all turned around in the pouring rain. When we got on the bus I felt like we were riding in the wrong direction and I was correct, but it took us some time to figure that out for real.

Jeff and I got off the bus after talking to LyricL and realizing we were going in the wrong direction. We stood at the bus stop trying to figure out the directions when another bus came by and properly splashed me. Okay, at that point all I could do was laugh. We backed away from the stop and called LyricL one more time to get clear and we figured out we should head the other way because that’s where she was. So we got on another bus headed back toward the Tube we just got off, but when I told this to LyricL she still thought we were going in the wrong direction. It was a total “Who’s on First” moment. LOL. So after some back and forth she told us to just wait at the Kilburn stop we got off the Tube and she would come get us from there.

After all this back and forth it had gotten really late. I was feeling bad because I knew there was a possibility that Jeff wouldn’t get to go to Abbey Road because I still had to do this interview with Bunny and then we had to head to the Mau Mau for soundcheck.

When LyricL arrived she suggested getting a mini cab to our destination at that point. So we did and headed to Uprock. I knew upon our arrival that I wouldn’t have enough time to go to Abbey Road. I told Jeff he could go on his own, but he chose not to. I was kind of bummed about that, and tired, but the show must go on.

Uprock Studios is a very cool place. It’s really the musical home of my crew of folks that produce Jazz Re:freshed, and my man Daz-I-Kue who now lives here in ATL. Daz still calls Uprock home along with Bunny Bread, Adam Rock, Top Rock and whole host of magical musical folks who are part of the legendary West London crew. If any of you out there like broken beat, well this is where all the magic happened. Of course I know there are some out there who will disagree and I may not have all my facts totally straight, but that’s where it started for me. At least with those people and the Bugz in the Attic crew. I’m not going to give you the whole Bugz history, but I highly suggest you check them out as a collective and individually.  Their music is amazing!

Anyway, Bunny interviewed me for Code Emphasis and then we had to get ready to roll to Mau Mau. Turned out Bunny had to bring the drum kit from Uprock to the Mau Mau so we called a big cab, all piled in, drums included, and headed to the club.

At this point I was really late for soundcheck. I didn’t mean to be, but it was sort of how the whole day had been rolling. Also when we got there Tim had brought his own kit so Bunny didn’t have to bring the one from Uprock. We didn’t find this out until we were in the cab and almost to the club so it was too late to turn back. When I walked in I was surprised to see my aunt Helen and uncle Richard were already there! Yes this is the same aunt and uncle who were in Paris the week before when I was there with Burnt Sugar. They extended their trip and came to London for a couple of days after Paris. I really love them for that. So we all settled in and started getting the band ready to check.

Marquee!

Jazz Re:freshed @ the Mau Mau Bar

Now the Mau Mau Bar is not a huge place, but it’s a very cool space. The thing about the space is that if you have a large band like I had that night, you have to split up the band on either side of an aisle so that folks can get to the bathroom. So on one stage with me was the drums, bass, guitar and backing vocals. Then on the other stage was all the horns and percussion. It’s still a very cool setup. I could see everyone and that’s really all that matters.

Jeff & Scott (on trumpet) warming up their fingers pre-show

John breaking down the math. LOL!

Stage Left

LyricL & Tuca setting stage right

The Mau Mau also doesn’t really have a space where you can change. The last time I played there LyricL and I changed in the bathroom of a restaurant across the street. This time things were a little better. Chippy, who worked the door, had a friend named Chris who lived upstairs from the club and he was kind enough to let Hannabiell and I change in his apartment. Thanks Chris!

Hannabiell warming up pre-show

Hannabiell, fresh and ready to go!

Let me just say that Chris's apartment was so cute! I really love being able to take a peek at how apartments are in different neighborhoods and different parts of the world. Something that I have always loved and wanted was an apartment that had split-levels. Not like a staircase, but just a couple of steps down or up into the living room or the bedroom. I always thought that was cool and Chris had that.

Scott and I pre-show

Hannabiell and I chatted with Chris while we were putting on our makeup and he said he would come down to see the show and he actually did, which was very cool. We finished with our makeup, gathered our things and headed back down to the club. We had nice crowd brewing and it was almost time to go on.

Horns getting their charts together

Tuca! Ready to Rock!

Jeff! Ready to go!

Max on Sax!

I asked my uncle if he would video the show for me, which he did and my aunt took some awesome photos. Hannabiell was concerned about Yillis not making it because her train got delayed, but the made it, which was great! She didn’t miss a thing. I checked to make sure we were all in the house, Justin a.k.a. Top Rock introduced us and we were off.

Top Rock with the intro

The set list for the night was Out of My Mind, I Am American, Can’t Blame a Tree, Box, Give it to Me, I’m a Woman (I’m a Backbone), Go Head & Rise and the blaK Girls remix. It was an amazing night and set. The horns were in full effect and everything just came together.

The people! In front, my girl Van.

The afterglow

To see the complete set of show photos check out Flickr! Enjoy! 
photos by my Aunt Helen & Uncle Richard

I’ll just say this about the show. FIRE!!!  Everyone in the audience was so beautiful. I felt so blessed to back in that space again. The people there really love music and that’s what it’s all about folks. I played my tambourine, played John’s bass, danced with the people and with LyricL. It was so much fun!

Adam Rock! The man who makes is all happen!

When the show was over a few people came over to talk to me who were from the States and they were so excited about “Can’t Blame a Tree.” It was actually a white woman who said she was from Florida and had done some work around helping the Jena 6. This world get smaller and smaller. Another woman was so excited about “Out of My Mind”, but that song is not on my EP so I promised to send it to her. In fact I should do that right now! LOL! My friend and vocalist Michael Ashanti came to the show. He’s another one of my Ex-Pat friends from New York, but living in London. My friend Lindsay was there with his wife who I was happy to finally meet. It was so good to see him although it was short. The Temporary Residents crew was there, who I would get to spend much more time with on Saturday.  Ah, gang's all here.  My aunt and uncle left pretty much right after the show, but Jeff and I would hook up with them the next day.

I signed CDs and almost sold out. At the end of the night I only had two left! That’s what I’m talking about! After meeting and greeting I pulled my things together and Max said he would take us back to Anerley again. I love Max! He’s so sweet that he actually took Hannabiell, Yillis, Jeff and I back to our respective spaces. But before we went home we had to have an after show hang right?

Max decided to take us to Chinatown for some food there since that is one of the few places you could find food at that hour. So we piled into Max’s ride and headed that way.

The welcome dragon in Chinatown

We found a place to park and walked through the red light district to Chinatown. There were all kinds of restaurants open, but Max took us to one that he knew and they had a table for us in the corner in the back. We settled in, ordered, ate and talked for a while. It was a really nice end to a really great evening. This was another moment in which I was feeling especially blessed and so so thankful.

Jeff's plate? The meat special! What happens in London... LOL!

After eating we headed back to the car and back down south. Max dropped Hannabiell and Yillis in Peckham and then we were off to Anerely. We were soon at the house and saying out goodbyes to Max. Luckily it wasn’t the last time we would see him, but I was so thankful for him. I really had to hold back tears of gratitude. He’s such an amazing guy, that Max, and super humble. I found out during that trip that Max played with Prince when he was in London doing all those shows. I think that’s the beautiful thing about musicians. If the music is good, no matter if you are Prince or Shelley Nicole you will be there. I’m like that too. I just love music. No matter who is playing it, if it’s good it’s good.

So another night in London down. Show three tomorrow at Native Tongue. The horn players were so hyped after tonight’s show that they said the would come do it again with me the next night and I hadn’t even asked them. Blessings, blessings.

Thanks again to my London band & the Jazz Re:freshed crew: Tim Rickard, John Calvert, Tuca Milan, Hannabiell Sanders, Alam Nathoo, Scott Baylis, Max Grunhard,  LyricL, Adam Rock, Justin "Top Rock" McKenzie, Chippy, Bunny and anyone I may have forgotten, you are not forgotten. XXOO

Words to live by