Outside, brightly colored fireworks spit upwards out of backyards, flowering concussively in the night sky. It could be the 4th of July. Instead, it’s Bonfire Night (also Guy Fawkes Night), when the British celebrate the foiling of the Gunpowder Plot to overthrow the government.

I’m borrowing their excitement for my own celebration. It has been strange watching this momentous election from a distance and, in the last few weeks, I have felt disconnected. Obama’s victory speech occurred while I slept. Tonight, I went out and bought a bottle of American beer, sat down in front of the computer, and watched the speech on YouTube. Yes we can. And we did. Bless you, President Obama.

Despite this victory and other political successes, my feelings are hard to describe. I am taken aback and disturbed by our failure to defeat Prop 8 in California. I feel at once proud of my country, and revulsion for my home state. And then there is the current financial crisis. And the 2 wars. And…so much else.

What can I do? I feel inspired and I feel tired. Remember, remember, there is much work to be done.

A word to the wise pirate: Avoid British pickles. Especially, if you are expecting something comfortingly crunchy and dill. And pickle relish for hot dogs? This is as close as it gets.

Though they are chains, the fact that we’re very budget conscious right now makes us grateful for good deals, especially Sainsbury‘s Basics line. Baked Beans for 22p/can. Good veg soup for 17p. Bags of carrots or bananas for 68p and £1.08 respectively. The Duchess and I have fun playing the Poverty Game, in which we to attempt to spend as little as possible on weekly rations for the ship. This leads to interesting conversations*:

The Captain: Hey, lentils for 88p/kilogram.
The Duchess: Oh yeah?! GREEN lentils for 84p/kilogram!
The Captain: Eh, it’s only 4p difference, and I like regular lentils bet-
The Duchess: ARE YOU TRYING TO LOSE THE POVERTY GAME?!!
The Captain: …
The Duchess: That’s what I thought! (Drops green lentils in basket.)
The Captain: Green lentils it is.

Especially appealing to these Yank pirates is what the British consider basic. We were thrilled to find that among necessities liked bread, eggs, and milk, Sainsbury’s includes among its essentials baked beans, lemon curd and frozen Yorkshire pudding. We couldn’t agree more.

It’s worth noting that the foods sold are remarkably eco-, vegetarian-, and animal-friendly, as well as anti-GMO, and pro-local, sustainable, and organic farming. Much more than chains stores in the states. So, at least for now, Sainsbury’s gets 2 hooks up.

*Actual in-store conversation. (The Duchess is not a competitive person normally. In fact, she hates competition. But ain’t no one gonna beat her at the poverty game.)

The show explores ideas of permanence, with math as the starting point and through-line. Sound dull? Not it the slightest. The ideas are brought to life via the relationships of two couples: the professional relationship of Indian mathematical prodigy Ramanujan and Cambridge professor G.H. Hardy, author of “A Mathematician’s Apology“, in the early 20th century; and the modern day relationship between an Indian-American businessman and his British mathematician wife.  Brilliant stagecraft and an intricate but tightly woven text, bring both ideas and emotions come alive in equal measure.

The Captain bought himself a copy of the play and found, on his long tube ride back home, that numbers had begun to infiltrate his awareness. The number of steps down the theatre stairs (14). A glance at the watch at precisely 22:22:22. A tube stop clock reading: 23:02:08 (2+3+2=8).

For extra points, who among you landlubbers can answer this: What is the square root of -1?

There was only one problem. A problem we discovered the afternoon of the party: There was no charcoal to be found. The grocery store directed us to some street vendors. The street vendors directed us to Robert Dyas. Robert Dyas directed us back to the grocery store.

Nobody had it.

And why? Because here charcoal is considered to be a “Seasonal Item.” As in, “I’m sorry, sir, you can check aisle four, but as charcoal is a seasonal item, it’s likely been replaced by the Halloween candy.” Surely, this was a dry British joke. Clearly the men with cameras we’re going to pop up at any minute, and a handsome man was going to come forward with a broad smile and say “Sorry old chap,  but I am quite terribly afraid you have been Punk’d. Cheerio!“

But a trip to aisle confirmed that the charcoal had been replaced by crepe paper witches and Cadbury and Willy Wonka’s sugary offal. Of course, given the weather here, it makes sense. But for a man born and raised on the seasonless waters of Southern Californya, it shocked.  In the end, we “barbecued” the food on the stove.

The Captain and I thought the play was absolutely brilliant, effervescent and fun. The cast were excellent, really making the language clear while milking it for every possible laugh, and our location really placed us the middle of the action. At various times the arch way became a garden with love seat, a fishing hole, a tree stump in the woods or various other locations. There would be actors on the stage in front of us responding to actors on the walkway behind us and we looked back and forth between them as the banter and physical comedy flew over our heads. The two female leads were exceptional as were the actors playing Master Page,  Master Ford and Falstaff. Falstaff is a much loved Shakespearean character, fat and bawdy, always thinking too much of himself and making dirty jokes. He was definitely funny, but in this play he is really present to be the butt of jokes and set-ups by Mistresses Page and Ford.

-The Tempest