Guests: All TNG Cast Members, Rick Berman, Lolita Fatjo, Eric Stillwell
Disclaimer: No spoilers, my observations and opinions, enjoy!
My life is now more complete than ever. 8-) And I imagine for the other five or six thousand people who attended this show, perhaps for them as well. Like Patrick Stewart said, it could all end now and he would go knowing that he was utterly satisfied. I tell people this jokingly. And while really just joking, it's also the truth! :) It was incredible. I have no regrets about cashing in 40,000 FF miles to fly 3000 miles across the Atlantic for this momentous event.
I've been to conventions here in the US and Canada both large and small (some like Toronto Trek which are fabulous) but none have equaled the energy and excitement that was generated by this show. First, of course, because never before had all TNG cast been assembled together for one show (as far I know), and secondly because the RAH has great acoustics for resounding cheers and applause, and thirdly because those Brits are just SO into it! Everyone was nuts with the great amount of cheering, applause, and laughter. And clearly the cast was impressed as well for they commented that never had they received such welcomes or had such a response at a convention. This show clearly echoed what Star Trek is all about, the inclusiveness and diversity, for the audience was international with people from England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales, Germany, Holland, France, US, Australia, and who knows where else.
It was more like a show than a convention because it all took place in the large confines of the Royal Albert Hall with virtually no room for dealers rooms (although they did manage to squeeze in two tiny ones somewhere on the balcony level) or video or seminar rooms. The RAH is an oval consisting of a floor section (My friend T. and I had 8th row floor seats both days which we paid dearly for last Sept. but were damn worth it!), a section above the floor that cascades up around the oval, and then there are about 3 or 4 floors of boxes and other sections that go up around the sides. Several people like Jonathan Frakes commented that it was a "great room" perhaps meaning both the Hall and the audience.
Nichele Nicols happened to be in London on a book signing tour. She was signing books at the con and I got her autograph at Books Etc. the previous day. She was very friendly and doesn't look a day over 35... :)
I am going to give brief highlights and impressions of each member of the cast and then after that go into a little greater detail. Aside from that I don't have time so hopefully others (like Murray who did a great job) who were there can fill in. One of the only detractions of this con was people getting up and repeatedly asking the stars to say Hi to so and so or blow kisses or whatever. I'd never seen that done at any other con before and it was a lame waste of time!
Each guest was introduced with a lengthy resume by Eric and Lolita. Then smoke blew out in clouds from the stage illuminated by greenish lasers providing a triangular side across the front of the stage. Very cool. The guests came out through that amidst music and cheers. It was almost like being at an ancient Celtic worship, sacrifice sabbat as described in The Vampire LeStat, but not quite. ;-) One thread that appeared through everyone's talk was how much fun they had working on TNG, how good friends they all are, and how much they miss seeing and working with each other now.
Michael Dorn came out first wearing a gray Armani suit. I had seen him a few times before this so I thought maybe he would go into things I had already heard him talk about. But damn if he still wasn't as funny, charming, and interesting as ever! He said that the welcome they received at the London premiere of Generations in Leicester Square just the previous night was like nothing he had ever been to before. He thought they didn't have premieres like that anymore. It was at this that he felt like a big star with hundreds of fans screaming and calling his name. The premiere in the US was done by Paramount and very low key in LA he said. In fact every cast member commented on the premiere and how they were floored and happy with the response.
Next was Gates McFadden who wore what looked like a complete black, cotton body suit with a zipper that ran up the front, a hip length white jacket, and shiny black boots. During the initial photo feeding frenzy and applause she whipped the jacket open to expose her svelte figure for a few seconds. Very funny. Someone yelled she should take it off but no go. Unlike the subdued, serious character she plays, in spite of the fact that as she herself says that she is no spring chicken, Gates exudes a happy, vivacious, charming sensuality with a nice, down to earth overtone. This is an interesting contrast to Marina Sirtis's sex kitten, bad girl convention persona!
Gates almost didn't make it as she had to fly out from Hawaii and had to leave right after her appearance to get back for shooting of Marker on Monday. We're all very glad she did.
At the break after her appearance my friend and I were walking in the outer hall trying to get out for a breath of fresh air. We got caught up in a crowd of people and couldn't get by since they were all waiting for the exit of Gates from the Hall. People formed a narrow band to the exit while her waiting Mercedes was surrounded by ogglers waiting for a photo op.
While I found the whole thing quite funny my friend was disgusted. T., the good Buddhist (somewhat anyway), felt that she was not a fringe type fan who needed to have their existence validated by having Gates or any star lay eyes on them. (Now that's an interesting modern parallel to the Hindu concept of Darshan where it's considered good luck to see and be seen by the Guru or likeness of a deity. Hmm. :-) I countered that well, maybe that's not true of them, they just wanted a close up look at the star. To see not necessarily be seen.
After a minute Gates struggled to get through the crowd helped by two flanking bodyguards. Some selfish, rude fan popped out blocking her way wanting her to sign a cast photo. This created a somewhat uncomfortable situation fumbling for a pen and where others then wanted autographs but she had to tell them she needed to go.
I struggled and broke free of the crowd and had to pull T. forcibly by the arm to get her out also. This was great fodder for discussion about fringe (were they or not and were we) elements and how while it must be nice to be adored by people on stage, it shows the less desirable aspects of show biz when it becomes impossible to move about without bodyguards. The lack of security with so many people wanting a piece of you.
This pretty much occurred for every stage entrance and exit of the stars. Although perhaps to discourage this at the end of Patrick's appearance Eric announced that Elvis and PS had left the building!
Last for that day was Patrick Stewart who received the most rousing applause and a standing ovation from the entire hall at the end. When PS, who was dressed in jeans, black sweat shirt, dark brown leather jacket, and sneakers, came out he spent a few moments smiling and clearly (esp. from the perspective of those at stage front in the photo frenzy) soaking up and enjoying with all his being the adoration of his fans. When he went to one side of the stage there were so many flashbulbs going off it looked like fireworks.
PS had the hall in the palm of hands the entire time. He could evoke a laugh with a gesture; his timing was very good. His sense of humor was very British and very dry. He tried testing the acoustics of the hall by speaking without the microphone. He enjoyed a bit of banter with the crod about local British things like football and Manchester Union.
His time on stage was a pleasure to behold. The man exudes personality and presence in every fiber of his being. Someone finally asked him to say some trekisms like Make it so!, Tea Earl Grey Hot etc. and it brought the house down. You had to be there.
Patrick was a master at giving disingenuous and funny answers to the most ludicrous questions asked seriously or in jest. For example:
Question: I'd just like to know whenever the Enterprise is going into battle why is it the first thing that always happens is the starboard power coupling goes down?
PS: "You know, its so extraordinary you should ask that question. Because it is the question that has kept me awake at night ... (applause) There have been hours that I should've been resting on an operation and you know I have been crawling through those Jeffries tubes just trying to solve the problem of that starboard coupling. Um.
"What can I say? You know I think the charm about that is because Star Trek is essentially an allegorical show, I think what we take from that is that nothing is ever perfect. We're all flawed in some way. Even the starboard coupling. "
Rick Berman brought clips of Voyager and discussed things like Gene and how Voyager was developed and how he got involved in ST. The UK will not get Voyager until next October. After the 10 minute clip which included footage from the making of Voyager special, the teaser of the first ep, and a personal message from Janeway to British fans, he said it was even better than that. Hard to believe if you ask me. If only they really knew. Well, they'll find out.
The next day Levar Burton came out wearing Lennon sunglasses (which he took off) some sort of dignified professorial ensemble consisting of dark brown pants and shoes, light brown kind of tan jacket with a vest of the same color, white shirt, and no tie. He was bearded and said that to him that was Levar Burton. Berman allowed him to grow a beard for his wedding so in the photos he could look like himself. You see that result in some of the episodes.
Levar said hi to his family in the audience; his wife and 7 month old son. He said his son was a joy to him and his wife. Levar is a very positive, friendly, funny, warm, serious kind of guy who has a bright light shining from within that directs his life, interests and persona. Apparently at one point in his life he almost became a minister. He is very articulate and thoughtful when describing events in his life or his philosophies. For example at one point he described at length how he saw television as the most powerful and useful tool on the planet for disseminating information and how he felt Star Trek embodied what was best about TV, and those were the sorts of projects he wanted to involve himself with.
Levar said that he hated the visor; that it caused him a lot of pain the way it was attached (screwed in) to his head. People asked to elaborate on rumors about practical jokes and stuff on the set. He said they should ask Brent about that.
Brent Spiner came on next and was the one wearing a mostly Hollywood standard uniform of black pants and jacket with a white turtleneck sweater. His hair is gray (he also wore glasses) and he said as Data they made him dye his hair. When the series started his hair was a lighter shade of brown that Data's hair, but once the series was over and he cut his hair short to let his own grow back in, it was gray. When told that Levar said to ask him about practical jokes, he said that those are things people do to those they don't like and everyone on TNG liked each other too much to do that. But he said they did have tons of fun.
Brent is a very funny guy but in a low key, dry kind of way with his impressions and postures mixed in. During the photo frenzy he affected a data smile kind of face and walked around stage while people snapped pics. He did his (so&so) local yokel southern accent impression which was very funny.
Someone asked him a question about the kind of mail he gets, what with the death threats and all. Brent imitated his talking about "the death threats and all" and then jokingly proceeded to elaborate on the kinds of mail he gets. First there are the letters by people who say they enjoy the show. Then there are the ones who are more into it and point out all kinds of details. And then there are the death threats. I don't know if he was serious or not. But it sounded funny.
Marina Sirtis came on later that afternoon. She was wearing a very short black dress which was more understated than usual for her. At least from what I've seen before. Marina looked like she had dropped a few pounds from last time I saw her Sept. 94 and for some reason was not her usual out there convention queen self but more understated. Perhaps because it was her hometown. I don't know. But I know all her jokes and stories from seeing her twice before (4 days) and it was odd cause what usually got a big laugh in the States or Canada didn't always as much in London and what might be least expected to caused uproarious laughter. So since I'd seen her before, this aspect made it still very interesting, fun, and not so predictable.
In case you never read my Toronto Trek 7 review of her, I'll simply restate that while she does portray a sort of sex kitten, bad girl "convention queen" persona (her words), she is a very honest, genuine, nice, down to earth person. It's evident this is true and that she really means it when she says she loves the fans in her closing statement. For every time I've seen her, she always closes with roughly the same statement. But every time I have seen her say it, it is never like she is saying well rehearsed lines. She seems to choke up and has to think about what she wants to say. In fact when Marina came out she was so touched by the adulation, screaming, and applause, she had to wipe away tears. In fact, Patrick himself was close to tears when someone asked what he missed most about TNG being over and he said it was his friends and he was so happy to be having dinner with them all in 90 minutes. BooHoo! 8-) Someone asked where and he commented "Ever optimistic!"
At one point while Marina was answering a question someone at a mic up in the balcony tried to interrupt but she shouted jokingly for them to shutup. It turned out to be Jonathan Frakes who chatted with her for a few minutes.
And closing the show was Jonathan Frakes wearing some kind of dark suit, gray shirt, and funny tie. He took the jacket off after things started heating up. Smiling that famous smile he talked, joked, and did silly things on stage like pretending to be Peter Pan taking off from the side row of steps near the stage. At one point he went to the rear of the stage and then rushed the front row yelling "AAAHHHHH!" and then abruptly halted at the end. He then commented that he wished he was that relaxed when he had come out. Jonathan seemed like a funny, personable, warm, not too serious kind of guy. He mentioned his wife and child were also in the audience.
Now more details. Excerpts. Quotes are quoted the rest is summary.
Nichele Nicols
was brought out by Eric after Gates McFadden for a few minutes.
She said that Boxtree publishing had just released her book in the UK just in time for the con and premiere and was there "so I can be here with you and show up and to tell you how much I love you and how excited I am that I can be here.....signing my autobiography and of course it is dedicated to all of you. Love you very much! Have a wonderful time! Live long and prosper! And may Star Trek live forever!"
I don't remember exactly what she was wearing but it was sort of purplish blue and billowy with a sort of big floor length shawl behind her.
Patrick Stewart
After basking in the glory, PS commented on it all by saying someone he worked with on A Xmas Carol: "She has brought into my life a very important concept that of never rushing important moments. Slow down, don't let it go past too quickly. Savor it. "
"But I only bring this up because stepping out onto this platform, in this building and by the way I want to make an apology um I'm very sorry that the organizers of this event could not find a more distinguished auditorium. "
PS "confessed" he'd never been in the RAH before but he was thrilled to be there. He then said he it was warmer there than he expected and he was going to "remove an outer garment." (Screams.)
"I want to thank any of you who were either in Leicester Sq. last night...or any of you who were in the Empire cinema last night because I want to thank you for giving me such an exciting evening...that was the fifth time I had seen (the movie) and I have never enjoyed it as much as I did last night. ...I particularly want to thank you on behalf of my ...American brothers and sisters because I truly believe that they were as we say in England, Godsmacked (or something), by that reception in Leicester Sq. and then in the cinema last night. I thought days of movie premieres like that were long gone. So thank you for giving me and all of us that fantastic experience. And thank you too and I haven't had this opportunity much to say this here in England, but thank you too for your support of STTNG throughout these 7 years, through all of those pirated videos...."
Question: Did you ever have any problems with getting on with any of the crew and why.
PS: Repeats question. (Pause. Laughter.) The answer is unequivocally yes! And in the following way. Without exception every one of my colleagues have during the past seven years made my working life a virtual purgatory. By continuingly creating situations and making remarks and doing actions which would make me laugh so helplessly that it was very difficult to get on with the job. "
Related story how Dorn and Spiner did schtick during a scene when PS was directing an episode making him laugh before they would stop. "I adore and love and cherish every one of my fellow crew members because they are simply the most wonderful and delightful group of people that I have ever worked with. And they helped to make seven years which were sometimes a little uncomfortable more than tolerable. They made it look and feel like a perpetual party with one's very best friends. I have no complaints. "
Q: I believe ST has a deeply philosophical content and I brought up my children to enjoy watching it and I wonder on a serious note if you'd like to comment on your feelings on that. And could you possible say for us Make It So when finished....?
PS: "I don't think that my time with the series could have extended as long as it did if I had not been kept alert, interested and expectant by the moral, philosophical, and intellectual content of the show. We know about the (wide range of fans and fandom, professors, government officials,) and of course you all know that Dr. Stephen Hawking when he was in LA asked to visit the ST set. This is possibly about the biggest compliment we could be paid. So that aspect of the show has kept my attention throughout. And it is the multilayered nature of ST that has been so exciting. "
Question: "I just want to say I think you are a very good actor and one of my favorites on the show. And um..."
PS: "Hang on a minute! Just..did I hear that rightly?! One of my favorites?!?! Don't you think you'd like to rephrase that remark?!" (laughter)
Q: "No, I don't think so." (more audience laughter) (Then asks question.)
PS: Pauses. ".... One of my favorites!"
Q: "You won a close second..."
PS: "Oh! Just a moment let me guess...let me guess! (Silly cockney
accent) I love Data! Data's my favorite! Right?! It makes me want to
vomit! I love data! Data's my favorite, nyah nyah nyah!!! Data, Data
Data...."
Q: "Well, its not actually. Its Riker. But anyway...."
PS: ".... An excellent choice."
When he first started working on Star Trek he had no idea of its significance in North American culture.
Someone asked what he would miss about the series and what he
PS: "I miss my friends. I miss them....(a little bit choked up)...painfully. I ache for them sometimes. And uh it one of the reasons why in 90 minutes I'm so hungrily looking forward to sitting down to dinner with them. " Someone yelled out wanting to know where. "Ever optimistic!"
"In terms of the job I hope to be able to return to the stage in something I really want to do very soon. " And also bits in films and enthusiastic about directing.
again but this has been a memorable, quite unforgettable afternoon for me. I thank you, no matter where you're from, I thank you for your support on the series. .....if somehow it were all to come to an end in the next moment like that for me, in every possible way, I would be very very satisfied and quite proud that it comes after 7 years of work on ST-TNG. Thank you for your support. Its terrific. Be well. "
The Standing O and frenzy.
Levar Burton
"I'm a huge fan of Star Trek and was when I was a boy, a kid and I'll
tell you why. Gene's vision of the future was one that always spoke of
hope and that always meant a lot to me. To be able to turn on ST and
see Nichele Nicols in the future which said to me that yes, people of
color
will be there. ST has always been that sort of teaching tool as a piece
of
entertainment that causes us to dream. "
He said that a friend of his, one of the shuttle astronauts has said that it was ST and Nichele Nicols that inspired her to become a scientist and then an astronaut. Its remarkable that the flip phones we have now were designed be some kid who watched ST, grew up and went to MIT, and was influenced by that.
"ST has that ability to cause us to dream and we turn those dreams in reality so funny as it may seem to some people, we're creating the future with a television show. Which is one of the things I like best. We actually have an opportunity to impact the world in which we live. Not bad for a one hour episode of drama don't you think?! " (Applause)
"I am shocked and surprised at how popular the show is here. Its remarkably popular. And the other night at the Empire Leicester Square was just phenomenal...I mean it was really, really overwhelming! So is all of this. "
"So what do you guys want to talk about?" Unintelligible screaming. "What? Dinner last night? " They were hosted by PS at the Ivy. They brought out a table and he proceeded to pull out a tea bag and make licorice tea.
Someone asked how technical he was. "Let me explain something to you. I play an engineer on TV. 90% of the time Levar has no idea what the hell Geordi is saying! "
Someone asked about pranks and he said to ask Brent about that. "We had a lot of laughs in the 7 years. In fact I'm sure this isn't the first time you'll hear this on this stage this weekend but the thing that I miss most about not being in production on NG is the laughs that I had with my friends. We had a great time. (They) were some of the funniest people I've ever had the pleasure of meeting, knowing, and working with and uh its a hole in my life. The good thing about being the family that we are is that we will continue to be a part of each others lives for the rest of our lives. But to not be able to be together every day is uh a bit painful."
Someone asked if he would do something like Roots again. "Well, stories like that are rare. Let me tell you a little bit about my philosophy about this medium television. I believe I truly believe this, television is the most powerful tool we posses as a civilization for addressing social growth and change." He then repeated it like a professor or the TV school show host he is! "Why? Because its everywhere. There are very few places on the planet where one can go where TV is not. Television has the opportunity to be an awesome presence in our lives. And television at its best can be a remarkable thing. TV at its best to me is TV (my abbr.) that is not just entertaining, it is TV that is informative, that is enlightening, in some way uplifting, TV that is even enobling of the human spirit. TV at its best can and should be a unifying force for the human family as we journey forth towards self awareness. And Star Trek is an example for me of TV at its best. I have tried in my career to associate myself with projects that have that thread running through them. Roots was certainly one of those projects. "
" But ST, and Roots, and Reading Rainbow, these are to me all best uses of the medium. Taking the medium and using it with whatever wisdom we possess, with whatever consciousness we can bring to the medium. To program the medium with the highest good of all peoples concerned is what I believe TV should be about and its one of the reasons why I'm so proud to be associated with a show like ST that does us to dream and really advance human civilization to that next level while its within our grasp." (Applause)
Someone asked what its like to wear the visor and does it cut off a lot of his vision. Levar laughed. "Yes. I used to bump into everything on the set in the first few years. Wearing the visor is...can I be honest? Its a pain in the ass!" He said he felt wearing that thing made him a better actor. He became adept at eyebrow acting. The visor reduced 80% of his vision. But he got used to it. However he is now firm that he does not want to wear the visor anymore in the movies since in the 24th century that can certainly make it smaller or give him back his eyes.
Someone asked if wanted to direct DS9 since he directed Voyager but he said he had a hard time relating to DS9. He said he wanted to spend the next 20 years mostly producing and directing.
Someone asked given his ideas about TV what he thought of the coverage of the OJ trial. "Part of the sickness I think of the 20th century is that we have become too dependent on this visual medium for all of our stimulation. And the danger in that is that our hunger, our appetite for being stimulated is growing way out of control. .... I don't know that we are doing ourselves a great service by focusing so much attention on and Ron Goldman. But for me the real tragedy is the children of OJ and what their lives are going to be like."
He said he was not putting himself above it, like everyone else he watched traffic accidents as they go by on the highway, "But I think that we really need to look at that urge that we have and is this really the highest, best expression of human nature. I think not."
Someone asked could he say hi to so &so and so on...oh never mind.
Brent Spiner was his best man at his wedding two years ago. Frakes, Dorn, and Stewart were his "groomsmen."
Regarding the series changing or not after Gene's death. "I don't think the series changed at all in fact I think that after Gene's passing it was really clear to us that more than ever before we wanted to stay that course, we wanted to adhere to the vision which you know there's a saying that says 'If it ain't broke, don't fix it!' . You know what I'm saying? Um....Rick Berman did an excellent job I think of maintaining the integrity of Gene's Vision and I think that we were all aware that it was really incumbent upon us to keep to nature of Gene's Vision intact. That was the best tribute that we could ever to pay to him. Because what he created was in essence wonderful and really shouldn't be messed with. I mean there are certain changes obviously as with any life Star Trek is definitely alive. It has a life of its own. As it grows there are going to be adjustments and changes here and there but at its core the thing is and always will be exactly what it is."
All of a sudden from the balcony level someone asks, Mr. Burton! Mr. Burton!" We look up and its Brent Spiner sporting a perfect British accent! Brent said that at the premiere Patrick Stewart admitted that Data was his favorite character. Was Data Levar's favorite character as well?
Levar admitted that yes, Data was his favorite character as well.
Gates McFadden
While the photo frenzy occurred at the foot of the stage, Gates
whipped out a camera of her own and proceeded to take some shots for
her kid as she said. Then after a few minutes someone from the side of
the stage called to her and it was Michael Dorn! He came out on stage,
said that she said he could have this dance and he swept her up and
they proceeded to waltz about on stage. To the delight of all.
Rick Berman He said one of the statements he hears most around his offices is 'Gene wouldn't like that...' or Gene this and that. Someone gave him a bust of Gene's head which sits in his office. He put a blindfold on it to illustrate to the naysayers that Gene would not have wanted people to blindly follow what he set down. That it should evolve and it does. Anyway I took a posting which I responded to which explains more than I have time to now.
Newsgroups: rec.arts.startrek.current
From: zmax@world.std.com (David Weinstein)
Subject: Re: Royal Albert Hall Convention - Did You Miss a GREAT Con
Organization: The World Public Access UNIX, Brookline, MA
Date: Sat, 11 Feb 1995 05:01:06 GMT
hobbs@dbsuk1.enet.dec.com (Lilian Hobbs) writes:
>For all you Rick Berman bashers out there, think again. It came across
at the
>con that he really understands Gene's vision and is really trying to
ensure
>his model of the future is followed. IF anyone else took over the reins
ST
>would be much worse I can assure you. Rick even brought us a
specially
How much worse could it get?! :) (Maybe it would've been nice if he had
consulted some fans or the public to ask them what they would like
to see in a new ST show instead of creating it in a vacuum with two other
people in a room somewhere as he said in the con.)
Yes, he seemed that way as you put it.
However, don't forget that he put a blindfold over
the eyes of the bust of Gene that sits on his desk.
And that since Star trek has become much more commercially viable,
"The Franchise" as he and Paramount call it, that means more
mainstream
accessibility, thus as some see it poorer quality. So where does that
leave his carrying on "Genes Vision" as he claims to?
I don't know. On the one hand he seems sincere, on the other who he
really answers to are not the hard core 5500 in the RAH. (But those who
buy the Troi and Picard dolls...:)
***
All this and so much more. I'm sorry I don't have time to do more. I have to go watch reruns of Beavis and Butthead on eMpTyV! 8-P So just a few more short notes.
Watch episodes of all the different shows on the giant view screen, and take part in the trivia contest. Watch the other customers dressed in all manner of costume. And by 7pm its usually packed. Esp. for the convention. We had to wait an hour to get in that Sat.
Pages has a great selection of beers, bitters, and ales on tap. To get there take the underground to Westminster (or St. James Park or Victoria). From Westminster you can take the 88 bus which goes directly in front of the pub. Or go west on Victoria Street and take a left down Great Smith St. which turns into Marsham St. Pages Bar is on the right.
Bung The Fob
I think this would make a great title for a British game show. Those
wacky Brits have all kinds of expressions and words foreign to American
English. Such as bung, fob, tot, and snog. Bung can be used many
ways such as "Lets bung that data into the computer." or "Why don't you
bung over to the pub." A fob is a knickknack of some sort, I think. Tot
is
"Why don't we tot on over there." Snogging I saw used in an article
about picking up women.
Contaminated Phone Booths / Let's Clean Up London
A disturbing thing is happening in London which was not present a
couple years ago. Go into any phone booth, open or enclosed, and the
walls are covered with little paper sex ads. What's worse is even the
ancient and beloved red telephone booths are infested as well. And how
can you Londoners and proper British citizens allow the sacrilege and
defilement of these quaint temples of British nostalgia and history? I
just
don't know. They ought to pass a law. Something needs to be done
about it!
I'll tell you what I did. Several times a day when either using a public phone or passing by a contaminated one, I stopped for a minute and removed all the pieces of paper and threw them away. T. joked after I took some down that that would be a lot of numbers to call! I said I figured there were probably around 15,000 phone booths in London and after doing three T. said, "3 down, 14,997 to go!"
So if you are visiting London or live there, please do your part to help clean up London and get rid of this horrible scourge. Empty a phone booth or two a day! Thank you!
###