Turning 40

After 40 in 1996:

     As I said in earlier essays, I didn’t cover every trip and SF con, only those that had some mention in a professional publication. The others places I went to but didn’t mention usually ended up in fan publications.

     Again, as I said before, I still did my SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) visits a few times a year each to New York City, Philadelphia, and within New Jersey as well as once a year to Washington, DC, and some parts of these trips ended up in pro publications and others in fanzines.

     Anyway, the first main trip I took after turning 40 was to Orlando, Florida, to visit Disney-MGM Studios (nowadays, Disney Hollywood Studios) and Universal Studios/Orlando. On day one, I visited Disney MGM Studios. On the way to this park, the shuttle driver told me that as far as he was concerned MGM stood for “Money Grabbing Mouse” because even if you just dropped people off in the parking lot, you had to pay for parking. That was why I had to pay more for a ride and a drop off/pick up to the Disney parks than I would the next day to go to Universal Studios. Anyhow, the first thing I saw was this theme park’s version of Main Street: It looked like a scaled-down version of Hollywood Blvd. from the 1920s and ‘30s—as I’ve seen in pictures. A replica of Grauman’s Chinese Theater was the entrance to the Great Movie Ride. Other attractions that I saw were the Magic of Disney Animation, Muppets in 3D, a film tribute to Walt Disney, and a car stunt show. I looked at a fake NYC street with the fronts of buildings, and other building fronts on other streets. For much of my time here, I spent it walking around and looking at the different theme areas. I was impressed with what I saw.
     The next day I went to Universal Studios Orlando. This park, too, had a midway of mostly Art-Deco buildings that imitated Hollywood from the 1920 and ‘30s. Unlike the California park, this park did not have a tram ride around studio back lots and stops for different special effects. Instead, this park made those special effects into different rides. Doing it this way took up more time to see those effects, and I suspect that the reason they didn’t have a tram ride at this park was to “out-Disney” Disney. The effects were just as good as in CA, and so were the buildings where they demonstrated how they did those behind-the-scenes special effects as well as the “ride the movies” rides. I especially likedET’s ride—in both parks—CA and FL. Nevertheless, while I did enjoy Universal Orlando, I liked the CA park better—maybe it had to do with the weather in CA and the layout of the park. Both of these parks in FL—Disney MGM and Universal--had their share of entertainment as well. Overall, I enjoyed my short trip to FL.

     On Memorial Day Weekend, I went to my first International Space Development Conference (con) (ISDC). This event took place in NYC at the Hyatt Hotel next to Grand Central Terminal. When I talked to a few different people in the past connected to ISDC, they told me that unlike other ISDCs, this con wouldn’t have any evening programming because being in NYC, most people expressed a desire to go out and see shows and other nightlife in the city. Therefore, I did the same. For the four nights I was there, I saw a 3D-IMAX film, Across the Sea of Time: NY in 3D; an Off-Off-Broadway show, Say Darling; an Off-Broadway show, Take it Easy; and a Broadway show, Grease. First, the film was about a boy coming to the USA for the first time, and his impressions of NYC. Second, the Off-Off-Broadway show was a musical comedy about an Iowa author who traveled to NYC to help the producers who bought his book to make it into a play. Third, the Off-Broadway show was a musical comedy about the romances of soldiers and the women they left behind during WWII. Fourth, the Broadway show was a musical comedy of the high jinx of teenagers from the 1950s. This show was a revival of the original show that came out in the 1970s. During the four days I was there, I was at ISDC sitting down and listening in on different talks, discussions, and presentations in different tracks: rugged individualism, space life sciences, large-scale programs, technology frontiers, education, science fiction (SF), etc. Later, I bought a few items in the dealers’ room—T-shirt and books, and I saw some lovely space art in the art show. I also saw some astronauts, especially Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin. To paraphrase what I said in DOTTY’S DIMENSIONS: THE PREFACE: It was like taking the space science tracks of different SF cons, and rolling them into one big con. I was very impressed with this event.

     Shortly after this, I experienced one of the saddest times of my life on June 11, 1996, when my mother, Julia Kurtz (1925-1996) passed away. Like my father, she was a lifelong smoker; she told me that she started at 16 and stopped in 1988. Again, similar to my father, it was too little too late.

     I kept myself busy, and in July, I attended Phorolic Con in Mt. Laurel, NJ. I liked these “relaxie” SF cons. I would watch some of their limited programming, go to parties in the con suite, look around the art show, and browse in the dealers’ room. Because the programming was limited, I was free to socialize with other SF fans in ways I usually didn’t at bigger SF cons.

     In early November, I took a short trip to the Province of Quebec, Canada. While there, I visited the cities of Montreal and Quebec City. I remember taking a bus tour of Montreal that showed us the sights of the old town and made a few stops there, and then, the tour took us to some newer parts of town and a stop at Mount Royale Park—the city’s namesake. The only French I had to remember was “Parlez vous Anglaise?” (“Do you speak English?”)
     In Quebec City, it was a bit different because as I went to a fast food place, I asked the clerk the same thing. Instead of answering me in English, this clerk asked me, “Parlez vous Francaise?” With this, I answered a sentence that I learned in college when I took French One: “Je nais par pas bien Francaise. Pouvez vous m’aider, sil vous plait?” (“I don’t speak French well. Could you help me, please?”) Maybe it was my accent, but her next question to me, in English, was “Are you American?” When I answered yes, she went on to speak to me in English. As I sat down, I then realized why she didn’t want to speak in English at first. She must have thought that I was a Canadian who didn’t want to speak French. (People have told me that some of the French-Canadians will not talk to other Canadians in English as a reminder that Canada has two official languages: English and French. With Americans, however, they have no quarrel, and they will speak English to them.) Otherwise, here, too, I took a bus tour of Quebec City that included seeing and stopping at the Old Lower Town—dating back to 1608, Old Upper Town, and other parts of town, especially the Plains of Abraham that ended the Seven Year War between Britain and France.

     A few weeks later, I was at Philcon at the Adams Mark Hotel on City Line Ave, in Philly, and like other general SF cons, I listened in on panels in different tracks: SF reading, writing, and art as well as costuming, space science—especially space exploration, and other subjects. I also visited the dealers’ room, art show, and con suite. At night, I would go to parties, and see the masquerade on Saturday night. By my way of thinking, this was a good SF con.

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1997:

     I started the year by going to Costume Con ’97 in Baltimore, MD, at the Lord Baltimore Hotel. Similar to other Costume Cons that I’ve been to, the activities at night included a SF and fantasy masquerade on one night, a historical masquerade on another night—both historically accurate and historical interpretation. (If a contestant wears a historically accurate costume, then he or she would wear an outfit where the materials of the costume—including the undergarments—and fastenings are authentic for that period. In a historical interpretation costume, the person’s costume could look accurate, but he or she could get away with wearing modern underwear and modern fastenings—if they were hidden—otherwise, that person would find himself or herself in fantasy.) Other night activities included hanging out in the con suite and going to room parties. During the day, I listened in on panels and talks on how to dress from head to toe. I also visited a few places in Baltimore: Walters Art Gallery and the MD Historical Society. I took many pictures of people in costumes as well as costumes on mannequins and dolls during my time there.

     In June, I took a short trip to Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. While there, I took a bus tour of the city that included a stop at Fort George on Citadel Hill, and a few other places. I also enjoyed the best fish & chips I ever had at the Split Crow Bar & Grill on the waterfront.
     The next day, I took the oldest continuously salt-water ferry across Halifax Harbour to Dartmouth. Here, I walked over to a history museum of that city in a black-marble-front modern building. Inside, I learned about, via exhibit items, videos, pictures, and texts, the natural and human history of Dartmouth—and its connections to Halifax. Then, I ended the day walking along the waterfront before taking the ferry back to Halifax.

     That July, I went to the last Phrolic Con. According to a few people I talked to, if the new hotel management had its way, there wouldn’t be a con for that year in the hotel. This relaxie SF con, however, did go well.

     For a few days in September, I revisited San Francisco. I remember getting on the plane in Philly and hearing the pilot say that we will be going soon, but she’s having trouble starting the engine! After a few minutes, she cancelled the flight, and we got on another plane to Chicago and made a connection from there to San Francisco. On the flight to Chicago, the pilot warned of a bumpy flight. Now I didn’t mind turbulence as long as the flight crew walked around the aisles, but I did get nervous when the captain ordered the flight attendants to sit down. It happened on this flight for about 30 minutes or so. While in the bathroom in O’Hara, I noticed that the seat of my trousers ripped, so I put my sweater around my waist to cover it. Then, the flight to San Francisco went smoothly, and once we landed and took the shuttle to Union Square, I walked to our hotel on Grant St. in Chinatown, check into my room, and I changed my trousers. After this, I walked back to Union Square and to Macy’s to buy another pair of pants. (One thing that surprised me, just like the last San Francisco trip, was seeing palm trees this far north.) The next day I revisited Chinatown. This time I visited the Chinese-American Historical Society museum where by way of pictures, exhibit items, and texts, I learned a bit more about what people of Chinese descent had to face in San Francisco and the USA. Then, I walked around the neighborhood and browsed at shops not only on Grant St., but also off the tourist path on Stockton St. This was where it seemed that more of the locals shopped. Besides the usual souvenir and gift shops that were similar to the shops on Grant St., Stockton St. also had stores selling household items, cleaning products, appliances, food, etc. Because I was staying right in Chinatown, I ate Chinese food at different kinds of restaurants: regular restaurants, dim sum houses, noodle houses, and dumpling houses. I would even go to the Chinese bakeries and buy either a custard tart, a sesame ball (a rice pastry ball filled with sweetened bean paste and coated with sesame seeds), an almond cookie, or an anisette wafer (similar to Italian pizzelles). Then, I would sit in a nearby park and watch the residents practice Tai Chi. Of course, I noticed the pagoda-shaped roofs on some buildings, on telephone booths, and the Chinese lanterns hanging in some places.
     On another day, after I revisited the San Francisco Shopping Center and its spiral escalators, I walked around the neighborhood where I noticed a lot of scaffolding and walked into the Ansel Adams Center. Those in power were restoring this place and only one of the five galleries stayed opened to the public. Here, I saw the black and white photos that Adams took, especially of national parks, and I saw other pictures that other photographers from his time (1920s, ‘30s, and ‘40s) took: Dorothea Lang, Margaret Bourk-White, etc. Then, I rode the California St. Cable Car back and forth. (If you want to ride a cable car, this line is much less crowded than the other two: Powell & Mason and Powell & Hyde.) 
     The next day, I went to Fisherman’s Wharf. This time, I visited the Maritime Museum and toured a few of the historic ships and a ferry docked nearby. Even though it was commercial, I did walk through The Cannery and Ghirardelli Square. (Yes, I did buy some Ghirardelli chocolate.) Then I bought some sourdough at Boudin Bakery. Nevertheless, I saved money by walking a few blocks south and had my main meal at an Italian restaurant in North Beach. (The cost of a meal here would be about the same as a seafood sandwich at Fisherman’s Wharf.)
     Finally, I spent my last day at Golden Gate Park and visited the CA Academy of Sciences. This museum covered mostly natural science subjects with an emphasis on the natural flora, fauna, and other stuff of CA as well as a planetarium and an aquarium. I especially remember riding the earthquake simulator. Then, the flight back to Philly went smoothly at first, but a few hours later, we hit some turbulence that required the flight attendants to buckle up until about a half hour before landing.

     A month later, I met John Inman, the actor who played Mr. Humphries on the BBC comedy TV show from the 1970s and ‘80s, Are You Being Served? (AYBS). To back up on my story a bit—an editor friend of mine, Deena, phoned me and asked me if I ever saw AYBS, and I answered yes. I’ve been seeing this show since 1991. She told me that many SF fans also liked that show, and asked if it were possible for me to find out more about the show, especially about John Inman. I said that I’d try. Meanwhile, I have been corresponding to a few people in the UK who shared an interest in SF, so I asked them about AYBS and John Inman. One of them told me that her cousin was married to the president of the John Inman Fan Club, Carol. Therefore, I wrote to Carol and mentioned my pen pal, and about the many SF fans that liked AYBS and the Mr. Humphries character. Carol wrote back and made me an offer: She said that she liked reading travelogues and her husband liked SF and she heard about my writings from her husband’s cousin. Maybe I could swap my writings for her John Inman Fan Club newsletters. I agreed. Then, when I heard that Inman was going to appear at the Willow Grove Park Mall, Willow Grove, Pennsylvania, I went to see him at the Store of Knowledge. When John Inman found out who I was, he said that he enjoyed reading my travel and SF event writings that Carol mailed to him. This surprised me! I never knew that Carol mailed my writings to him. I thanked him and went on my way. The next week I visited DC where I saw the IMAX film Cosmic Voyage at the National Air and Space Museum. Then the next day, I saw John Inman at the Pentagon City Mall, Arlington, Virginia, and this time, he suggested that I should write my own newsletter. He seemed to me like a very nice and polite person.

     That November, I went to Philcon and did the usual activities of listening in on panels, watching the masquerade, buying stuff in the dealers’ room, looking at the art show, and going to parties at both the con suite and in different rooms. I also met some people from Balticon who didn’t usually go to Philcon, but they were there to sell memberships for the 1998 Balticon. Then they said that it was going to be a tough sell because the World SF Con or Worldcon would be in Baltimore in 1998, and many people might try to skip Balticon for the Worldcon. Because I haven’t been to Balticon for a few years, I bought a membership.
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1998:

     I got a new job as an assistant manager for a book distributing company in Camden, NJ. Therefore, with a better pay cheque, I could continue doing my travels.

     I went to Balticon on Easter Weekend at the Omni Hotel in downtown Baltimore. On Friday, after I registered, I went to a few panels about space exploration and later, the con suite, but not much else. Saturday, however, was very busy, and I visited the art show, and went to several panels dealing with space science, costuming, SF writing, and art. That night I took pictures of the costumers from the Masquerade. For Sunday, the con became much less busy, and I sat in on two panels about costuming and 3D art, and bought a few books in the Dealers’ Room. Compared to other local cons, Balticon still had a lot going for it, but compared to past Balticons that I’ve been to, Friday and Sunday didn’t have too much on its programming—but I assumed that this had to do with the upcoming Worldcon in Baltimore.

     Of course, the big SF con for me for 1998 was Bucconeer or the 1998 Worldcon. I stayed at the Days Inn because it was the closest hotel to the Baltimore Convention Center and registration. After I registered, I paid a visit to the very large con suite with its share of foods—and not just snack foods, and plenty of soft drinks in many flavors. I spent the next four days going to panels in different subjects: space science, costuming, SF writing, reading, art, fandom, and so on. When I wasn’t in panels, I listened to some filk singing (putting SF fannish words to popular tunes—mostly folk tunes), went to parties, visited the Art Show room, and the Dealers’ Room. The Art Show room was about the size of a mid-sized art gallery, and the Dealers’ Room reminded me of a flea market—but with mostly newer merchandise. Then there was the exhibit area where I saw texts, pictures, and items having to do with past Worldcons from the first Worldcon in 1939 to the previous year, past SF conventions, SF clubs, and items having to do with space exploration. One area also displayed past prize-winning costumes. The two biggest events were the Masquerade and the Hugo Awards Ceremony. (The Hugo Awards were named after Hugo Gernsback [1884-1967], editor of the first SF magazine,Amazing. He also coined the term “scientifiction” in 1926–later changed to SF in 1930. Fans who attended Worldcon could vote in advance for the Hugo Awards. Then according to the votes, the committee gave awards for the best novel, novella, novelette, short story, and other categories.) If that weren’t enough, I also noticed a fanzine reading room with fanzines (amateur publications) going back to about 1940 and up to more recent times. What I remember about the Masquerade was as I was sitting near the front, close to the stage, the emcee, Marty Gear, leaned on the table holding the costume awards. Suddenly I heard a crash and Marty fell backwards, and some of the awards crashed. During the contest, one group of contestants came on stage riding a bike that had a motorcycle-looking body. Then their cycle caught itself in a groove on stage, and the cycle fell forward—riders and all!  Later, I learned that Philadelphia won the bid to hold Worldcon in 2001. The next day, I paid for memberships for the 2001 Worldcon. Finally, I stayed at Worldcon 1998 until the Closing Ceremonies and had a great time.

     I also had a chance to see John Inman again for three times in 1998. First, I saw him again at Willow Grove Park Mall, and I was surprised to see that he remembered me. Again, he complimented me about my reports on travel and SF cons. Second, the next day, I saw him closer to home at the Cherry Hill Mall, Cherry Hill, NJ, where he suggested that I should put out my own publication. I told him that I would think about it. Third, a week later, I traveled down to Virginia Beach, VA, and saw him at the Lynnhaven Mall. I said to him, “I hope you don’t think I’m a camp follower.” Then, I mentioned making this weekend into a mini-trip by visiting the VA Air & Space Center later that day. I also mentioned my upcoming England trip, and that I was going to see his show when I there. His wished me a good time on my trips and said that he wanted a report about them later. Therefore, I visited the VA Air & Space Center. (I have a report about this place in one of my former regular newsletters, DOTTY’S DIMENSIONS.) That night, I saw John Inman on the local PBS station on TV. One of the studio employees interviewed him. The next day, on the way home, I stopped at the NASA Visitor Center on Wallops Island, Chincoteague, VA. It reminded me of a more low-key version of the VA Air & Space Center. They had exhibit items, pictures, and texts about this space center and what it does and about NASA. I also saw a humorous film about the everyday lives of the astronauts on Skylab.

     That November, I went to Philcon and enjoyed the usual panels, con suite, dealers’ room, art show, parties, and the masquerade. It seemed that almost everybody there was in a good mood because of Philly winning the 2001 Worldcon bid.

     Finally, in December, I visited England, and I stayed at the Tavistock Hotel while I was in London. Among the sights that I saw were the Theatre Museum, the Science Museum, the Museum of the Moving Image, and Little Venice. (All of these places I’ve mentioned in my publication DOTTY’S DIMENSIONS: OVERSEAS.) I also ate at the original Hard Rock Café, and I first ate there in 1976 when it was a former gas (or petrol) station. It only served hamburgers, displayed some rock memorabilia, and played rock music in the background. In 1998, it was a larger building with a much larger menu, more rock memorabilia on the walls, and even louder music. Another place I visited was Page’s Bar, a bar that displayed a ST décor of pictures, posters, ship models, and other items. I had a gin and tonic and a quick interview with the manager on duty; he told me that on certain nights, different ST fans came here and watched videos of ST TV episodes and films. Outside of London, I visited the Southend Sea Life Centre, Southend-On-Sea, Essex. (I have a report about this place in my OVERSEAS issue.) Finally, I went to Wolverhampton, West Midlands—after taking a train from London to Birmingham, and then, a commuter train to Wolverhampton. I checked into the Britannia Hotel, and that night, I saw John Inman perform in a pantomime play, The Adventures of Robin Hood, at the Grand Theatre. John played Nurse Wanda, governess to Maid Marion’s younger brother and sister. (I have a better description of pantomimes in one of my issues of DOTTY’S DIMENSIONS.) Because it was the opening night, patrons got a box of Cadbury chocolates, a glass of champagne, and a free program book. Now that was class! The next day, John’s assistant invited me to John’s dressing room to have a quick interview with him and take his picture. John was just as charming as ever as he told me his impressions of opening night. Then, he gave me a quick hug and wished me a safe trip. On the train trip back to London, a group of children sang Christmas songs in each car. I spent my last night in England at the hotel near Heathrow Airport; the next day I flew back to Philly.

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1999:

     On my last year before I started publishing DOTTY’S DIMENSIONS, I started the year by going to Costume Con 1999 at the Cherry Hill Hilton, Cherry Hill, NJ, in February, for four days. During those four days, I listened in on panels, talks, discussions, and presentations on how to dress from head to toe, how to make certain garments, working in the garment industry, and the differences between hall costumes and competition costumes. (Hall costumes are costumes SF fans wear around the convention, but they don’t enter them in the Masquerade. Whereas SF fans wear competition costumes in the Masquerade. Hall costumes are usually more durable and the wearer keeps in mind that he or she may have to answer the call of nature and do other bodily functions while wearing the costume. Competition costumes only have to hold up long enough for the stage presentation and photo shoot.) For two of those days, I also went to the local malls, Cherry Hill and Echelon, to pick up some “costume-like” items for the con. I also took many pictures of the costumers, as well as costumes on display on mannequins. At night, I partied in the con suite on one night, and on Friday night, I watched the Friday Night Social. (This is a costume party with a different theme. Some past costume cons themes were Medieval, Renaissance, and Roaring ‘20s. The theme for 1999 was costumes from Gilbert and Sullivan plays or Victorian costumes.) For the next two nights, I saw the SF and Fantasy Masquerade on Saturday night, and the Historical Masquerade on Sunday night. This con offered plenty of eye candy.

     In early March, I went to the best Lunacon ever. The Lunarians, a NYC area SF club, played host to Lunacon at the Rye Town Hilton, Rye Brook, NY. This SF con had the right amount of panels for me to listen in on--space exploration, costuming, SF reading, writing, art, computers, running cons—especially Worldcons, and so on. In addition to panels, I also saw the art show, dealers’ room, and con suite. At night, I went to room parties and the Masquerade on Saturday night. I remember a woman wearing a bug costume who called herself “The Y2K Bug.” Therefore, I really enjoyed this con and hoped that Lunacon could continue running their cons like the 1999 con.

     This year also got a bit stressful for me because I had a few health problems—nothing very serious just more annoying than anything else. Next, the publicist of somebody I interviewed had a misunderstanding about me, but I straightened it out. Then, my bosses pulled out of the franchise they were in, and I wasn’t sure if I would still have my job because of this. In October, I learned that my job would be very secure, and I got a promotion to regional manager of this independent book distribution company in 2000.

     In September, I traveled to Charleston, West Virginia, to see John Inman, but I also took the time to see the WV State Museum on the state capitol complex. Compared to other state museums, this museum was somewhat small but packed with plenty of exhibit items covering the natural and human history of WV, including the blue NASA jacket that astronaut Jon A. McBride wore on the space shuttleChallenger on October 5, 1984. That night, while I was in the hotel’s bar & grill, I saw John Inman sitting at the bar, so I went over and said hello to both him and his assistant. John was very polite to me for that brief moment, and I went back to my table shortly afterward. Later, that night I was prepared to see him on TV, but the station had technical problems, so no show. The next day, I had a hassle trying to get a picture of him from some of the personnel from the local PBS station. I had clearance with his publicist beforehand, but these local PBS people didn’t care. Nevertheless, I did make my way over to John and ever the gentleman, he posed for a few pictures for me. (I have more details about this “event” in DOTTY’S DIMENSIONS: THE PREFACE.) Once on stage, John talked a bit about himself and answered a few questions. This event did not quite turn out the way several people in the audience expected, me included, and I noticed many disappointed people leaving the hotel that night. As far as I know, nobody blamed John Inman for this event. Most of them knew that the local PBS people mismanaged this event.

     That November, I attended the best Philcon ever because for the first time, this con had its own science track, and a lot of it covered space science—especially space exploration. I spent most of my time in the room with the science track panels. When I wasn’t there, I also listened to panels on other subjects: fandom and SF writing. Then I visited the Art Show room, Dealers’ Room, and Con Suite. What I remember the most was buying a long-sleeved space T-shirt with the images of the inner solar system on the front, and the outer solar system on the back. I wish I had the name and address of this dealer because I would like to buy more of these kinds of T-shirts.  

     Finally, in December, I visited England. This was the first time since 1980 that I took a major trip without my husband. (His work with Y2K kept him from taking this trip.) I wasn’t too concerned because back in 1976, I took my first trip overseas alone. I arrived in London on a Sunday morning, and after I checked into my hotel, The Royal National, I walked over to the main Friends (Quaker) Meeting House. For the past few years, I have studied this religion, but I never got around to attending a Friends meeting house. I decided to do that on this date. (It brought back memories of my first trip to London in 1976 when I went to a Sunday service at Westminster Abbey. Back then, I was flirting with becoming Anglican; I became Anglican/Episcopalian in the 1980s. In 1999, I was curious about the Friends/Quakers.) Therefore, I sat in on an unprogrammed meeting—silence except for when someone felt the urge to speak or pray. (You can Google Quakers to learn more about this religion.)
     For the rest of my stay in London, I visited the following places: Burgh House, Leighton House, a boat tour of the River Thames, Design Museum, and Sir John Soane’s Museum. (I’ve covered all of these places in my OVERSEAS publication.) Then, I took a tour though the Original London Walks Tour: The Magical Mystery Tour—a walking tour of places in London where members of the Beatles lived, worked, or shopped. The person conducting this tour was the president of the Beatles Fan Club. He showed us places in Soho and then, after a Tube (Underground) ride, we arrived at St. John’s Wood and Abbey Road Studios (outside only). We also crossed that Abbey Road crosswalk as seen on the Beatles Abbey Road album. After the tour, when I got back to the lobby of my hotel, I discovered that my wallet was missing. I mentioned it to the hotel security, and he gave me the phone numbers of the police and some credit card companies. I phoned all of them, and then, I phoned my husband. He phoned the other two hotels and placed the credit card charges to his card. The next day, I filed a report with the London Underground. (In January, the Lost Property office of the London Underground found an envelope that was in my wallet, but not my wallet.) Thank goodness, I didn’t put much money in there or my passport! The only cash in my wallet was a ten-pound note and some odd change. (From now on, I wear a security pack under my clothes where I keep most of my cash and credit cards.)
     I spent the next few nights in Westcliff Hotel, Southend-On-Sea, Essex, and I noticed that I was losing my voice due to a cold coming on. The next night, I saw John Inman at the Cliffs Pavilion in a pantomime called Jack and the Beanstalk where John played Dame Wanda, Jack’s mother. (I have an explanation about English Pantomime theatre in one of my issues of DOTTY’S DIMENSIONS.) I noticed that John did similar routines and songs as in the show I saw him in during the previous year, and he wore some of the costumes from the year before as well. Nevertheless, when I saw him inside the stage door, he was just as nice and friendly as ever, and he was still in his make up because he had another show to do shortly afterward.
     The next day, I took the train back to London, but I also encountered delays because the train also broke down. We had to get on a shuttle bus that dropped us off in London. Between the delays on the train, and getting the Tube to another part of London, it was late afternoon by the time I checked into the Poste Forte Hotel (the former Kensington Close Hotel—the hotel I stayed in back in 1976.) Once I was in my room, I cleaned up, got dressed up, and walked next door to the former London Tara Hotel, but in 1999, they named it the Copethorn Tara Hotel. (Back in 1976, the Kensington Close was a two-star hotel, and the London Tara was a three-star hotel. In 1999, the renamed Poste Forte Hotel was a four-star hotel, and the renamed Copethorn Tara Hotel was a five-star hotel.) I had a formal tea that included several small sandwiches and pastries, and after that, I went across the corridor to their pub for a gin and tonic. This was a civilized way to end a mostly uncivilized day. Finally, the next day I took the Tube back to the airport, but I lost my balance and took a hard fall. My leg was hurting, but I got to the airport and onto my flight to Philly. After I was home and undressed, I noticed that my leg was black and blue. Despite my wallet theft, my getting a cold and losing my voice, and getting my leg hurt, I planned to return—but with my husband.