Last night I had a dream that John and I took a vacation in England and we were in London at a shop in a mall and in this shop in the mall they had a clothing donation bin for a local charity thrift store and the only item in the bin was an Edwardian gentleman's riding suit. It was kind of well worn, probably belonged to someone's grandfather but in pretty okay shape. It was just my size and I remembered that I was in a play my friend Brian Morton was directing and the one item of costume we weren't able to find was an Edwardian gentleman's riding suit. From on stage the wear and tear wouldn't really be noticeable to the audience and our costume person would be and to easily fix the most visible damage. I was pretty excited that I'd found the outfit so I asked the clerk in the store if I could just give them an appropriate cash donation and take the suit because I was only going to be in London for a week and I really needed this suit for a costume in a play I was in.

The clerk looked at me and shook her head and said "No, I'm sorry, that wouldn't be proper." So I asked her if she could tell me what charity thrift store the suit was being collected for so I could maybe go there and make an arrangement to buy the outfit. Once again she gave me a pained look and shook her head and said "No, no, that wouldn't be proper at all. I'm so sorry."

So I got an idea and took a piece of paper and wrote my cell phone number on it and a brief note explaining who I was and why I needed the suit and to please call me and perhaps we can make an arrangement for me to purchase it before I left.

So I'm walking around London with John and showing the city to him since I've been there before and told him about a recurring dream I have about being in London trying to find an ATM so I can pay my tab at a pub and I'm telling him how the London in my dream differs from the real London. While I'm showing John the city I get a phone call from a woman at the thrift store who found my note and she wants to discuss selling the suit to me. I ask her where we can meet and she says she's in Hyde Park and I tell her I'm very close to Hyde Park so I can meet her at Speaker's Corner.

So I get there and I see she's holding the suit and I tell her my story about how I'm a Canadian actor and I'm in a play and the one bit of costume we haven't found is an Edwardian riding suit in my size and it's a wonderful coincident that I have found exactly the bit of clothing I needed while on vacation.

She gives me this doubtful look and says "I don't believe there are actors in Canada. All the actors over there are Americans are they not?"

So I explain to her that there are lots of actors in Canada and I'm friends with many of them and Canada has it's own theatre, film and television industry and we might not be as globally known as our American cousins are but it is indeed a legitimate industry in Canada.

She gives me this look like she's going to accept what I say is true even if she doubts it. Then she says, "Well this whole affair is highly unusual you see. This is just not the way it's done over here. I need to know what play are you in before I know if I can sell you the suit."

And this was where I drew a blank. I couldn't think of the name of the play I was in. But I did remember the basics of the plot so I told her "Well, I can't remember the title as we haven't yet started rehearsals but I know what the play is about. I play a middle aged Englishman who is... um... a banker, or a barrister or a solicitor some sort of businessman. My character has been a bachelor his entire life as he has had a laser like focus on his career, and now he's reaching the point in his life where he knows he doesn't have as many days ahead as he's had behind him and he realizes he's never really lived. He worries he may have wasted his youth and he feels lonely now. He meets this younger woman and he falls in love with her and she ignites a new passion for life in him he didn't think he was capable of anymore. But sadly she's not of his class and he knows their relationship would be seen as scandalous by his peers and he's torn between doing what's "proper" and what will make him happy."

The woman from the thrift store gives me this look and says "You do realize that is the plot of almost every British play that isn't Shakespeare."

I shrug and tell her I don't know what else I can say because I just can't remember the name of the play, but it's very important that I get this costume.

So she tells me that she'll have to take this up with her superiors and she'll call me back if she can sell me the suit but that I shouldn't get my hopes up because this this whole thing seems very improper. I tried to reassure her that there was nothing unseemly about this play at all and she says "Well yes, I suppose you would have to say that, wouldn't you."

So we part ways and I'm hoping she'll call me back to sell me the suit and I send Brian a message on Facebook saying I might have found the riding suit costume we need but I need to know the name of the play. While I'm waiting for Brain to message me back John and I head off to Soho to meet up with some English friends of mine for a night on the town and I woke up before I met up with them.

So I'm sorry to all my dream British friends out there that I missed out on our get together, and dream Brian if you can give me the name of the play I'll try to re-dream it so I can get us the riding suit costume we need for that one scene in the second act.