Crosswords puzzles & Sudoku (A British obsession)

The British pride themselves on their mastery of the English language. Small wonder since they pretty much invented the language.
In order to proof that they still have it, many ponder over the crossword puzzles that are easily available on all newspapers daily. These crossword puzzles are so embedded in the culture that it's almost eerie how a Briton automatically whip out a newspaper, diligently seek out the crossword puzzles page and fold the papers to a comfortable size and start to ponder what's 11 across "Wonderland girl" (6). I've not the answer to that by the way.

Sudoku, the Japanese puzzle that took the whole world by storm is slowly replacing the crossword puzzle through. It's not difficult to see why; by replacing words with numbers, it's pretty much remove the vocabulary range barrier that many people (like myself) find hard to scale. London Lite now features three Sudokus but only one crossword puzzle in its daily weekday publication.

I could never figure out these puzzles; what the heck is "Wondergirl"?

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Shakespear Globe Theatre - Midsummer Night's Dream

Watching a play in the Shakespear Globe Theatre is like having a hotdog in Manhatten or feasting on a durian in Geylang. It's one of those things that a person should do at least once in his life.

Anyway, I ticked it off my list when we managd to get tickets for Midsummer Night's Dream. Like the Buckingham Palace, plays are performed only during the summer so tickets for seats are usually snapped up the moment they're made available online.

Although there are 700 tickets available for standing, many were still queuing up outside the ticket stand hoping to get ticket returns for allocated seats.

Traditionally, the seats in the theatre were meant for the royalty, the nobles and those who could afford the extravagance. It's not like they're especially comfortable other than the fact that they're sheltered. In fact, the theatre is making a tidy sum renting seat cushions at one pound per piece.

I would, however, suggest that you get those five pound standing ticket that'll actually get you a better view if you could remain standing throughout the 3hr play.

Incidentlaly, I realised that the Sat (21 June) that we caught the play was also the summer day with the longest daylight hours. Midsummer indeed!

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Spain vs Germany (Euro Cup 2008)

Even though England is not in it (sob), but the pubs are rolling out promotions to entice the customers to watch the game in front of the bar holding with a pint in hand.

So which team will you be rooting for?

Come on, leave your comments and we do a count!

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Synthesized 'Xian Qin' @ Covent Garden

This is the first time I've heard Xian Qin, a Chinese string instrument, being presented in a synthesized form.

The gentleman was performing to a crowd of delighted (though not as generous) tourists at Covent Garden on a fine Saturday afternoon.

Like most artists, he struggled to vie for passerby's attention who seemed to be more excited about getting souvenir for folks back home. But I must really say that he was doing quite a great job at that. The amplified tragic tune that he played got him a small crowd, which is more than what I can say for some of his counterparts littered around the area.

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Fancy a meal in the Crypt - St. Martins in the Fields Chuch

The name's a mouthful indeed. Recently restored, St. Martins in the Fields Church competes for domination for the skyline in Trafalgar Square with National Gallery and Lord Nelson's column. But what makes it special is not the rather interesting glassworks behind its alter (you'll know what I mean if you see it) but the Crypt that's below the Church.

For those of you who are tired of the Chinese buffets, rip-off eateries who have the cheek to call themselves restaurants, this is perhaps the answer for you. Though I must emphasize that the food is not fantastic either, but hey, you get to eat in a crypt!

Towards the late afternoon, the lights are dimmed and candles placed on the tables will be lit (by the staff, of course). That added quite a bit to the ambience. If not for the slight din due to the number of diners, it would be a fantastic setting for those horror stories...

Tired after a full day of shopping or just hanging out waiting for your play/musical to start? Why not just head towards St. Martins in the Fields Church's Crypt for a cup of tea for only 1.30 pounds? That's the best offer that you'll get in the area.

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