Letters From London: WALTZING INTO LONDON TO SEE MATILDA

Boy, am I going to miss all the STUFF that goes on in London. There is not only the beauty of the countryside and the London Temple grounds, but the theatres, museums, galleries and over-all history of the place. It is such a blessing to be spiritually fed by serving in the temple during the week and then seeing and experiencing all that this country has to offer on the weekend.

After we finished our shift at the temple last Saturday (May 3^rd), we quickly hopped on the train for a 40 minutes ride to Victoria Station in downtown London. There, we met with the Turners (Ian, Maggie, Jacob, Emily and Ross) to see a musical called, Matilda. I’m embarrassed to admit this, but, I’ve never read the book (shocking) or seen the movie, so we didn’t know what a treat we were store to see. We took a London taxi to the Cambridge Theatre and you could have walked there by stepping from one car or taxi bonnet to the next, it was so crowded.

The sidewalks were literally covered with vacationers going from one site to the next. Has the tourist season already started? We found the Turners, who, by the way, had a couple visiting them from Las Vegas. It turns out that this fellow (try as I might, I can’t remember their names, sorry) baptized Ian when he was serving on his mission in England in the mid 1970’s. We thought that it was wonderful for them to reunite here in England and it was great to actually meet them, too.

Maggie and Carolee

The actors where "Stonking" And talented!

Love the way the Brits describe their theater

The musical was a special treat. However, part way through it, I turned to Maggie and expressed that it wished I could understand all of what they were saying. She expressed the exact same thing to me! What can I say? You just can’t put a cast of young kids, screaming the words and singing the lyrics at the top of their lungs and combine that with old people, who can’t hear or understand them. Niel understood nothing. But, we got the jest of what was going on from the adult cast members. We walked into the production with a little trepidation and walked out with smiles on our faces. Personally, I loved it. The music and stage and special effects were brilliant! Love the Turners for inviting us to go with them.

The next day, which was Sunday, and after just a few hours of sleep, attended church and prepared ourselves for a Temple Missionary Fireside. The Pinegars from the Visitor’s Centre had asked us temple missionaries to provide a musical fireside of our own. The young missionaries have been doing it on a regular basis. They are all very talented spiritually, as well as musically. Many of them have written their own music to share the gospel message and their own testimonies. So, we didn’t think we could even begin to compare with their firesides. We did quite well, though. You’ll all be surprised to know that we actually got Niel to sing in the choir. He wasn’t and still isn’t feeling too well (got a bad cold), but he helped us out and we needed his help. You’ll also be surprised to know that I wasn’t at the piano, doing the accompanying, but singing tenor with the choir. Guess I’ve been put out to pasture again to refresh other talents.

London Temple Choir rehearsal

London Temple Choir Trio

Temple attendance has been slow this week. We had record crowds during Easter week. Apparently, it is a tradition for families to come to the temple on Good Friday. The families picnic and mingle on the grounds if the weather is good and they fill the temple sessions all the day long. We were not there to help, as we were with Julie and Will in Cornwall. I guess they needed and missed us.

Parker Larsen turns 13!

We want to wish our grandson Parker Larsen and Kim Eberhard (Carolee's brother) happy birthdays. We are still trying to find a good time to get in touch with them.

Our grandson, Luke was also baptized last Saturday. He is sure a handsome boy.

(Like all of our grandsons) Way to go Luke!