High Button Shoes

Well...there comes a time in every vacation when you have to do laundry...

I tossed all my clothes in a bag ( which is not many considering I packed EXTREMELY light for the trek. It really is amazing how little you can get by on. Far less than we think in our everday, urban lives!) and made my way to the local laundry mat. Would you believe £3 for a wash?!!! That's about $7 Canadian!! "£%&*....Christ!Well, in London at least, it seems there is a pub on every corner...and so there was on the corner opposite the laundry pat.

While I waited for my clothes, I popped into the pub for a cup of tea, so I could sit and read my book. ( at the time I was reading Jung For Beginners...I've since moved on to Freud for Beginners. Freud's a FREAK and Jung is extremely interesting!)

After about half an hour an older gentleman, who I took to be the manager, came out of the back room of the pub. ( In retrospect I think he was just coming back from the toilet.) I smiled, he asked if I was alright. ( the English don't say, "How are you?", they say " Are you alright?"...which always makes me wonder if I'm looking upset or in pain. " Are you alright?"...." Yeah, I'm alright, are you alright?"...." Yeah, I'm alright."...as though we've just been in a car accident!) Then he asked if I would like a drink. At this point, still thinking he was the manager, I was thinking, 'Wow - what great service!' I declined the drink, he offered coffee. I graciously declined the coffee and pointed out the tea I had just finished. He offered me more tea...and remembering years of improv training...I finally said YES. It was when he PAID that I realised he was not the manager...but most likely a regular. He also ordered himself and pint and then sat down with me...

Having unexpectedly found myself back in London, with no solid plans, I have been telling myself to be open to whatever the Universe might have in store for me - so I was open to the amusement of chatting with this older, English gentleman. His name was Paul...and before he told me anything about himself - he grilled me about myself. The conversation went something like this:
Are you married?
No - I have a boyfriend.
Sure you have a boyfriend.
Well, I have an ex-fiance who is now my boyfriend.
Ok - so that's TWO men in your life so far.
No - the ex and the current are the same person.
You're confusing me Luv. WHY aren't you married?
I'm not sure.
Yes you are. Come on, let's have it.
Um....I've been too busy.
Why?
Too focuseded on my career...
Why?
To make money?
Why?
To enjoy life...
You should be married with a bunch of kids running around.
I've been busy.
You're a clever one, aren't you?
Yup.
Aw - I can't stand clever women.
You sat at the wrong table then.

He was doing his best to charm me...and I was enjoying his company. There's something about old men that is truly delightful ( this guy was definitelyly in his 60's...though he swore he was only 35). He wanted to know what my "career" was all about, so I filled him in.

It was at that point that he got all excited and wanted me to ask him what he used to do. It turns out that Paul had been a child actor! When he was 11 his mother put him into the theatre and had him going on auditions. His first role was the juvenile lead in a musical called High Button Shoes at the London Hippodrome. ( The London Hippodrome was originally built to be a large, indoor water park in the early 1900's. They did LARGEspectaclele water shows...I guess witsynchronizeded swimming and fancy diving etc...It was later converted to a regular theatre that did large scale musicals in the 20's, 30's, 40's and 50's. It is now a big London nightclub.) High Button Shoes was one such musical, produced in 1948 with, none other than a 19 year old, Audrey Hepburn in the chorus! How crazy is that?! Paul also did a few other national touring shows, and even did a few TV shows in the early 50's. He said that because they did the shows live to air...they would do one performance of a play, live, on the Monday night...then they'd have to come back again on the Thursday and do it all over again!

To be honest - I was skeptical of all of this while he was telling me. I wondered if him co-incidentally also being an actor was a routine that he used to cruise chicks...When I got home I did some snooping on the internet, which is how I found out about the Hippodrome's history, etc...High Button Shoes is such an obscure musical ( it's only ever had 2 productions) that I am inclined to believe him.

Anyhow...as you can imagine...the conversation eventually got around to Paul hitting on me. It was sort of amusing and sad at the same time. I asked how he was enjoying retirement and he went on about how boring it is...and how he hates anything routine...and what he really loves are a great pair of legs, to have a laugh and to maybe, say, take someone like me on a cruise...(!!!!!) I laughed this off, a FEW times...and tried to change the subject by asking what things he recommend I try to see while I'm in London. His response?
" The inside of my flat, darling."

Unbelievable! He was relentless! I eventually bowed out - thank GOD for laundry that's on a timer in the public laundry mat! He did his best to keep me there...with the offer of more drinks ( I forgot to mention that he bullied me into a gin and tonic after I finished my tea.)...and looked really crest-fallen when I got up to go. Seeing how all of this transpired at, oh..4:30 in the afternoon(!), something tells me that good, ole Paul had many, many more hours of cruising time to exercise in the local pub!!!

And on my end....well, I'm curious to know what sort of energetic lesson the Universe is trying to reveal to me right now. Most of the social encounters with the opposite sex that I've had since I embarked on have either been with priests or old men. What's that about, I wonder?

Time will tell....