Friday

The Eternal Search for Bins

You may be wondering why I haven't written all week. If you are, you really need to have a busier life or have more hobbies. I have been sleeping, seeing all shows at the National Theatre that I haven't already, and searching for bins. Bins are what the Brits call waste receptacles or trash cans and there are not enough of them in London. Often I take a large bag just to carry waste until I find a bin, which may not be for hours and hours. You would expect that next to food kiosks you would have a bin. Not true. Sometimes they are in underground corridors with no food at all. Sometimes they are miles away from any food, behind a telephone box so as not to be visible. I believe they have a lovely and grand plan to hide bins. Sometimes I think I see a bin but it is for paper recycling and I only have old food wrappings. I wonder if it is to deter visitors from returning. But in the Underground they have many public announcement posters urging people to keep the city clean for the Jubilee and Olympics and bin trash - except there are not enough bins.

But enough of that. This week I have seen Antigone with Christopher Eccleston, Moon on a Rainbow Shawl, War Horse, and Chariots of Fire. Currently, I am waiting to see Detroit at the National Theatre as well. Moon on a Rainbow Shawl and Antigone I saw at the National Theatre as well. Detroit is the last show I have not seen at the National. I'm not sure exactly what I will do now besides see the two plays by Hare and Rattigan that are playing together. Monday I spent much of the day sleeping to recover from Edinburgh until Moon on a Rainbow Shawl started. Tuesday I spent all day at the Imperial War Museum until I saw War Horse. After class on Wednesday, I saw Chariots of Fire followed by Antigone. Today I spent all day at Hampton Court Palace reveling in architecture and history. I also got lost in the maze and frolicked in the gardens.

Soon my time in London will come to an end and I will go on to search for bins in other parts of Europe. But for now I'm hoping Detroit will be amazing though I doubt it will be better than Antigone.

2 comments:

anfield said...

I'm glad you got to see ANTIGONE.
About the absence of bins: it used to annoy me when I lived in White Notley and had no place to deposit the refuse from my Upper Crust sandwich as I passed through Liverpool Street Station. The bins were removed when IRA terrorists found them a lovely place to deposit a bomb. That specific threat may be over, but terrorism isn't.

Ash said...

I found the same thing about not having enough bins. What I usually did was use the ones in fast food restaurants. Or haul it around all day until I got back to my flat.