I went to Handel & Hendrix in London, the former Handel House Museum that I visited in 2007. It was the home of George Frideric Handel from 1723 until his death in 1759. Jimi Hendrix lived in the top floors in 1968-1969. When I was here before, his flat was empty, with some photographs of him on the wall and nothing else. They have since fixed up the rooms, reopening in February 2016, with a recreation of the bedroom as it looked when he and Kathy Etchingham lived there. Yesterday was Hendrix's birthday, so I might have gone then had I known. It would have been more crowded, though.

View from the bedroom

The second room was used to store guitars and clothing, and for friends to crash. On display here were graphic representations of his record collection and I enjoyed flipping through them and seeing his eclectic taste. They included Django Reinhardt, Subbulakshmi, The Mothers of Invention, Pierre Henry, George Harrison's Wonderwall Music, and the Beatles' Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band.

View from the upstairs landing

A third room had photos, timelines, and displays (the Octavia Pedal, first heard in Purple Haze, for example). There was a video interview with Hendrix conducted by Hugh Curry for the CBC, another video, and a couple of headphones for listening to songs.

On display in the costume room on a lower floor was a red velvet jacket that Hendrix had worn for a gig in North Yorkshire in 1967.

I'm probably the only person of my generation who didn't know Hendrix was left-handed and played right-handed guitars upside down, which contributed to his unique sound.


In the Handel part of the house, I'm not sure what has been changed from my first visit. You walk through Handel's composition room, his music room (which had a couple of harpsichords and where they have performances), and, on the floor above, his dressing room and bedroom. There was also a detailed exhibition on John Beard, the 18th century English tenor for whom Handel wrote many parts.

Regent Street has been all decked out for weeks now.

I forgot to take photos of the two blue plaques (Handel and Hendrix), but they are in my 2007 blog in the November 18 entry for anyone who absolutely must see them.

My dad is home from the hospital after 16 days and is doing very well. I'm looking forward to seeing him in 25 days.