Michael was in for a very busy week at work
and as he planned on working late each night and over the weekend, he suggested
that I head over to London for the week.
I couldn’t book my flights quick enough!
I arrived at James and Amber’s just in time for dinner and we had a
lovely evening catching up.
I was up early the next morning as I was
off to the Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich to undertake a tour of the
Painted Hall. The magnificent ceiling is
presently undergoing a massive restoration project, and for a limited time you
can ascend a giant scaffold 60 feet in the air to view up close The Triumph of
Peace and Liberty over Tyranny. We
donned our high visibility vests and hard hats and, after a safety briefing
from our guide, we climbed the 70 steps to the observation deck, where we were
within 2 feet of the actual ceiling. It
was incredible seeing the details of the paintings from such close quarters and
we were given large, hand held mirrors, so that we could view the works without
twisting our necks. There are over 200
allegorical, mythological and historical characters depicted over 40,000 square
feet. Our guide was informative and
enthusiastically pointed out various highlights of Sir James Thornhill’s
masterpiece. We were then given time to
ourselves to wander around and look closely at whatever interested us
most. It was a remarkable experience and
I really hope that one day I can return and see the completed restoration.
Lunch was next on the agenda, so I headed
over to the historic Greenwich Market for a quick bite and a look at the
various stalls. Then it was off to do
something that I have wanted to for some time – walk the Greenwich foot tunnel. This tunnel crosses beneath the River Thames
linking Greenwich with the Isle of Dogs.
The tunnel opened in 1902 and the entrance shafts at each end are
beneath glazed domes. I descended a
giant, spiral staircase and then walked the length of the tunnel, marvelling at
the fact that I was actually under the River Thames. There is one small section of the tunnel
which is considerably narrower than the rest, as that section was damaged by
bombs during the Second World War and the repair works included a thick steel
and concrete lining. It certainly was a
different way to access the other side of the Thames. I then walked the stretch of the river
between the Isle of Dogs and Tower Bridge.
I always enjoy walking along the Thames as there is so much to see along
the way and I can indulge in my favourite fantasy of “if I win the lottery,
where would I chose to live”. There are
so many lovely apartments lining the Thames and I think it must be marvellous
to live overlooking the river. I enjoyed
my walk so much that I continued walking all the way back to Angel.
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James had booked dinner at Ottolenghi in
Islington however he made a mistake, and had actually booked the restaurant for
the following evening. It wasn’t really
a problem as there are many other restaurants within easy walking
distance. We decided on a lovely Italian
restaurant and the three of us enjoyed a relaxing evening.
I had another interesting tour booked for the
next day – the Houses of Parliament. I
navigated my way through the first police check, where I was asked where I was
from and issued with my security lanyard and visitor pass. Next stop was to have my handbag
searched. Now, for Christmas Michael
gave me a beautiful antique gold harp necklace inlaid with a sliver of
Connemara Marble and it draws compliments whenever I wear it. The police officer conducting my bag search
commented that she liked my necklace. I
smiled, thanked her and puffed my chest out a little. Then she said -“it’s the Guinness symbol,
innit?” My chest quickly deflated! Then it was through the final security check
before collecting my audio tour. The
tour began in Westminster Hall, a vast area with a magnificent roof lined with
oak timbers. There were a number of
plaques along the floor commemorating various lyings-in-state of past
Sovereigns and others, such as Sir Winston Churchill and other plaques
commemorating foreign leaders who have addressed the parliament there, most
notably Nelson Mandela. It is considered
a rare privilege for a foreign leader to be allowed to address both houses in
Westminster Hall, hence the controversy when Donald Trump was invited for a
state visit. I then moved through into
St Stephen’s Hall where statues of famous parliamentarians including Robert
Walpole and William Pitt faced each other on either side of the wall. There were also beautiful stained glass
windows, mosaics and paintings throughout.
It really was quite lovely. Photographs
are only permitted in Westminster Hall and Stephen’s Hall. The next area was the Central Lobby, which is
very familiar as this is where television political reporters always interview
the politicians. It was a real thrill to
continue the rest of the tour through the lavishly decorated Lords Chamber with
its Royal Throne, Prince’s Chamber, Royal Gallery where state receptions are
held, and of course to see the Robing Room where the Queen puts on the Imperial
State Crown and her ceremonial robes before making her way to the House of
Lords. Then it was through to the
Members’ Lobby where I saw the damage to one of the doors between the Member’s
Lobby and the Commons Chamber caused by the Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod
knocking three times to deliver his summons to the State Opening of Parliament
and the statues of Winston Churchill and David Lloyd George, each with one
shiny foot where MPs touch them for luck.
The tour finished in the Commons Chamber, which was by far the plainest
room. The tour was utterly fantastic and
I would love to visit again, as it was impossible to take in all of the history
and splendour on display.
Lunch was a quick bite in the Houses of
Parliament café before I caught the train to the Natural History Museum. James and Amber had kindly given me a ticket
to the Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition. I had to queue for about half an hour to gain
entry to the museum, as it was school holidays.
Once I was admitted and had the obligatory bag check, I made my way to
the exhibition, which was blissfully crowd-free. The photos were truly astonishing in their
varied subject matter and clarity. My
favourite photograph was of an urban fox cheekily peeking over a wall. I enjoyed my time there so much that I
actually walked back through the exhibition to view all of the photographs a
second time.
Amber was meeting a friend for dinner so
James and I had a mother and son evening planned. We started with dinner at my favourite Afghan
restaurant, which was delicious as always.
Next was a visit to the cinema.
James and I are both Stephen King fans and as we have both read the Dark
Tower series of books it was only natural that we should go and see The Dark
Tower. The best that we could say was
that it was interesting as it had elements of the books however it was puzzling
as to what was included in the film and what was omitted. The actors were very good in their roles and
I am glad that I saw the movie. We
followed the movie with a gelato flower cone – delicious.
The next morning I farewelled James as he
and Amber were off to Turkey for the long weekend. Once again I wasn’t too sad saying goodbye as
all being well, we will see them again at Christmas. I made my way to Buckingham Palace as I had
ticket to view the State Rooms again. I
had retained my ticket from last year’s visit as it entitles you to free
re-admission for a year. I had wanted to
visit again as there was a special exhibition of official gifts presented to
Her Majesty during the past 65 years. There
were many lavish and sometimes odd gifts on display including a portrait of Her
Majesty woven from banana leaves and a 100ft totem pole. One wonders what the Duke of Edinburgh had to
say about some of the gifts! There was
also a tribute to Diana, Princess of Wales in a special display in the Music
Room. The centrepiece was Diana’s desk
from Kensington Palace with personal objects selected by Princes William and
Harry such as her ballet shoes and cassettes.
It was only a small display however it was strangely moving. I spent the rest of my time at the Palace
looking carefully at the beautiful artworks and furnishings and listening to
the very interesting and informative audio guide. I finished the tour sitting in the sunshine
in the garden enjoying an ice cream. It
was a little disconcerting then to learn that only 8 hours later there was an
attempted attack on police outside the palace. A man drove his car at a police
van and then lunged for a 4ft sword that he had hidden in his car. I am not sure what he was trying to achieve
by attacking such a heavily secured area and thankfully the police only
received minor injuries.
In the afternoon, I took a walk to the
Supreme Court in Parliament Square, as they were having an open day. The building itself is very grand and was
completed in 1913 and was used by Middlesex County Council for their
administration and council meetings.
When the building was chosen as the home for the Supreme Court, a major
renovation operation took place to restore the building to its former
grandeur. A relief frieze runs around
the outside depicting historical scenes including King John handing the Magna
Carta to the barons at Runnymede.
Inside, after passing through security, I was able to view the
impressive triple height library and access one of the Courtrooms. There was also a permanent exhibition giving
an insight into the work and history of the Supreme Court. It was all very interesting.
It was time to head home, and with the
house to myself, I started to binge watch The Crown on James and Amber’s
Netflix. I thought it was very good
particularly John Lithgow’s portrayal of Winston Churchill. Now I just have to wrangle another invitation
to stay at James and Amber’s so that I can see the second series!
The weekend is always my favourite time in
London, as I get to visit the different markets. I started on Saturday with a visit to the
Broadway Market. I love the walk along
the canal to get there, although I must have enjoyed my walk a little too much
as I missed the turnoff and kept walking, not realising my mistake until I had
gone way past it. I doubled back and
enjoyed looking at all the food stalls while sipping my coffee. It is a great market and I love the relaxed
vibe of young people enjoying themselves with dogs and children
everywhere. I started to get very hot,
as I had only packed warm clothes for my visit, so I decided to walk back along
the canal to Angel to buy some t-shirts.
I called into Marks and Spencer (I love that store), selected a few tops
and returned home to change. I was
really hot by now and was convinced that the temperature must be over 30
degrees. I was amazed to find upon
checking the weather that it was only 24.
I really am going to have trouble readjusting to Australian weather when
I return home!
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| Graffiti in Angel |
Sunday was Columbia Road Flower Market day. It doesn’t matter how many times I visit that market as I always find something different to see. I went nice and early so it wasn’t too crowded and it was lovely to see all the fresh flowers and listen to the banter of the market-stall holders. Next stop was Victoria Park to see the market there. This market has grown since my last visit, and as it was such a lovely day, there were people everywhere enjoying the park and market. I then took a walk into the city to Seven Dials, Covent Garden and wandered the general area. I have said it before, but time really is a luxury.
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I followed the moving crowd to the carnival
and I have to say, I have never seen so many police officers in one area. They kept arriving by the coach load and
would make their way to their positions in a slow moving conga line, each
holding on to the belt of the police person in front of them. It looked as though the police would
outnumber the crowd at one stage, but then the people just kept coming. I found myself a position on the parade
route, and then settled back to watch the dancers, musicians and floats. The costumes were amazing with sequins and
feathers in abundance. The dancers
happily posed for photos with the spectators and it was almost impossible not
to join in with the dancing, so loud was the music and so intoxicating was the
rhythm. The air was full of blue smoke
from the many jerk chicken vendors and I just had to have a Jamaican patty. I must have spent a good while people
watching and it was lovely to see everyone having such a good time. I saw no anti social or drunken behaviour,
just people of all ages having fun.
I took a walk around the whole area and it
was confronting to come across the horror of the burnt out shell of Grenfell
Tower. We have all seen the terrible
news footage of the fire and many photos of the tower shell but nothing can
prepare you for actually seeing it.
Police had blocked the main access street to the tower and it was
touching to see the number of people who approached the police to shake their
hands and pay tribute to the victims. A
minute’s silence was observed at 3.00pm and performers lowered their music and
walked respectfully past the area.
I must admit that my party mood evaporated
at this point, so I decided to take a walk up to Kensington Palace. It took me a great deal of time to negotiate
my way through the crowd however I eventually emerged unscathed. I had tried to obtain tickets to see the
exhibition Diana: Her Fashion Story, however the exhibition remains fully
booked. I now wanted to see the White
Garden, which had been planted with white flowers and foliage in her
memory. The garden is viewed from a
public walkway and is really very beautiful.
I then took a walk to the main gate and although the anniversary of her
death was still three days away, tributes had already been left and a small
crowd gathered to look at the flowers, photographs and hand written notes. It really is extraordinary to think that 20
years have passed.
v
The next day I just had time for a quick
tidy up and a final canal walk before it was time to make my way to the
airport. I miss you already London.
