Although it may be rooted in some early marketing activities, the model train around the Christmas tree is a treasured tradition in many families. In Steve’s family however the American Flyer layout was permanently installed on the underside of the ping pong table in the basement. Our kids remember our Lionel layout on two sheets of plywood during their growing up years. Then there was the great HO layout that Steve and a friend built upstairs in our Woodlawn house after our sons left for college. These days there’s not room here at the house for a permanent setup so bringing out the American Flyer is a treat and a fresh locally grown Fraser fir trimmed with our potpourri of Christmas ornaments is a perfect excuse to set up our circa 1948 set!
Off the beaten path is Hampstead is the more than three hundred year old Burgh House with a fascinating history. It’s now a community center, local museum, gallery, concert venue, event space, and more open to the public four days a week. We popped over for a bite to eat and to peruse the galleries to learn a little more about Hampstead history.
Ever since its debut on Broadway the two of us have wanted to see “Wicked the Musical”. Today we realized that dream. In the Apollo Victoria Theater in London’s West End we were witness to the incredible prequel to The Wizard of Oz, the story of the Glinda the Good and the Wicked Witch of the West.
London’s National Portrait Gallery’s temporary exhibition, “Six Lives: The Stories of Henry VIII’s Queens” presents an amazing collection of portraits, jewelry, personal effects, books, costumes, and more to illustrate not only the lives of the six women who married the second Tudor king, but the effort across five centuries to keep their memory alive.
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