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We're safely back from our Eurpean trip, with nothing left to do but the laundry.

I enjoyed London, as always, though it gets more insanely expensive every time I'm there. (I arrived home to find a message from Visa asking me to please confirm some of the charges I rang up whilst I was away. Yes, I really did spend that much on a hotel, and thanks for reminding me.)

My excuse for going to London has ever been the theatre, and we saw some really outstanding productions this time round. Democracy was probably the best show we saw, being a play about left-wing German Chancellor Willy Brandt, although the RSC Othello, with Antony Sher as Iago, gives it a close run for its money. (As a bonus, we had front row seats for Othello, which put us right on the stage of the Trafalgar Studios. Stunningly good seats, if a bit alarming during the fight scenes.) And the play most likely to cause outrage in your average theatre-goer was definitely The Goat, Edward Albee's latest about a man who, um, loves a goat and the havoc it wreaks on his life. Jonathan Pryce played the lead and was outstandingly good. The play itself is extremely interesting. No, really.

On the music front, we got to see both Jane Birkin and Nancy Sinatra as part of Morrisey's Meltdown festival at the South Bank. (Nancy was too much fun, and did my personal favourite, Last of the Secret Agents, as one of her three encores.) We also managed to score tickets to Orbital's last ever London show at the Brixton Academy. That turned out to be a truly phenomenal experience. We'd seen them a couple of years ago, but Toronto audiences don't come close to matching the energy of a London crowd. The excitement when they did their version of the Doctor Who theme was amazing. Plus, it was neat just to be in the venue, after having read about it for so many years.

I also got to meet up in person with

faramir_boromir, and it turns out we share many of the same tastes in theatre and music. (Simon Russell Beale, ahhh.) Alas, I didn't manage to get in touch with

llinos. (Hope you're well.)

Now, I really should get cracking with that laundry...