London - a Vigil & a Show

Jo and Asher had to work on Monday so I was left to my own devices. I travelled to London by train and wandered along Southbank and into Westminster area and near 10 Downing Steet. I had fish and chips for lunch like the good tourist I am, paying a fortune as good tourists do.
In the late afternoon, I ended up near Downing Street where I found myself in the middle of a vigil by Jews for the Hamas attacks on Israel in the last 48 hours. The gathering started small, but after a couple of hours it has grown to over 5000 people, nearly all of them Jewish, and the whole area of London was blocked off progressively as the police became aware of the huge number of Jews assembling and the huge security risk that represented.
There was a stage set up and all the most significant Jewish leaders gave passionate speeches, including the Chief Rabbi of London and the Ambassador from Israel. There were also eloquent speeches from ministers and leaders of the British government and opposition, all of whom passionately condemned Hamas as criminals and terrorists and stating categorically that the UK stands with Israel. It was witnessing history to be present. Some of the Jews around me asked me if I was Jewish. They all seemed to know each other.
I got there strong impression from the way people were dressed and their demeanour that I was rubbing shoulders here with some of Londons most elite and rich citizens. There were concerns that there might be some Palestinian agression towards the crowd, but apart from and few minor scuffles and pro Palestinian people yelling out, it was a peaceful and respectful gathering. At the end of the speeches the crowd all broke out in a moving rendition of Hatikva in Hebrew, the Israeli National Anthem.
Many of those present knew or were related to some of those killed, injured or abducted two days ago.
After the speeches and the singing was over, I walked to the area near Tower Bridge to find the theatre where I had booked tickets to the show Guys and Dolls. I had been involved in this musical when I was in year 9 at school and I was keen to see it again. It was an amazing show. It started at 7.30pm and concluded at 10.30pm. I then caught a couple of trains to Godalming and then walked to the flat just after midnight where my adventure for the day ended.Read more