London Belongs To Me

It was going to be just Michael and I for Christmas this year and, as James and Amber were heading to Australia for Christmas, they very kindly agreed that we could stay in their apartment while they were away.

The National Gallery was one of our first stops upon our arrival in London, as I had read that the famous painting, Monarch of the Glen by Sir Edwin Landseer was on loan from the Scottish National Gallery.  The painting was every bit as impressive as I had expected it to be and it was a thrill to see it close up.  There were also other paintings and drawings by Landseer of Highland scenes on display. Fun fact – Landseer was also the sculptor of the famous Trafalgar Square lions.  There was also a separate exhibition of Lorenzo Lotto Portraits, which was very interesting and has now firmly placed Bergamo on my wish list of Italian cities to visit so that I can see his altarpiece at Santi Bartolomeo e Stefano.

Possibly the best things about this time of year in London are the Christmas decorations.  London really goes all out to light up the dreary nights with twinkling lights as far as the eye can see and stores seem to try to outdo each other with window displays.  The absolute best display was Regent Street, which was lit by a multitude of angels strung across the road.  It was absolutely magical and I made sure that we walked down the street several times over our stay.  The other outstanding display was in Carnaby Street, which was lit by numerous neon signs quoting lines from the Queen hit Bohemian Rhapsody.  It was so colourful and you couldn’t help but sing along to the lyrics.  

We also took a trip out to the Churchill Arms in Kensington, which claims the title of most Christmassy pub in London with 97 Christmas trees and 21,000 lights.  Our visit took place in the daytime, however we were still able to appreciate the festive spirit.  It was also an interesting pub to visit anyway, as it was crammed with Churchill memorabilia.  

Christmas Day was absolutely lovely.  Michael had secured a last minute booking at Galley in Islington so we were able to simply stroll to lunch.  The four-course meal was superb, with each dish being a gourmet delight.  The service was friendly and attentive, making sure that Michael and I were well looked after.  A stroll along the canal after lunch was much needed, before heading back to the apartment.  

One of the things that I love to do when we are in London is to simply walk the streets.  It doesn’t matter how many times we have walked a certain route, there is always something different to see.  One thing that I had wanted to do for some time was to explore London by gaslight. 


It was a good time of year to do such a walk, as while it is cold, it gets dark at around 4.00pm so you can complete the walk before dinner.  Michael downloaded a map and we set off from Buckingham Palace and walked along The Mall, down Horse Guards Parade to Whitehall and then wended our way up to Covent Garden, checking out the gaslights along the way.  It was an atmospheric way to view the city and it wasn’t hard to imagine Londoners in Victorian times walking the same route.  

Michael and I journeyed out to Twickenham to visit Strawberry Hill House, the summer villa built between 1740 and 1790 by Horace Walpole, son of the first Prime Minister of Britain and author of the first Gothic novel, The Castle of Otranto.  We had chosen an excellent time to visit, as there was currently an exhibition, Lost Treasures of Strawberry Hill. Horace Walpole spent a lifetime collecting art, antiquities, curiosities and decorative arts, which he displayed throughout the house.  In 1842 the collection was dispersed and the exhibition brings back many items.  The house itself is very elaborate, with rooms built on in all directions and interesting interior design with gilded windows and oddly shaped rooms.  Among the artworks were pieces by Sir Joshua Reynolds, William Hogarth, Frans Hals, Anthony van Dyck and Hans Holbein the Younger.  There was even a red hat of Cardinal Wolsey on display along with the hair of Mary Tudor encased in a locket and a pair of gauntlet gloves worn by King James the 1^st.  The house and contents were fascinating and well worth the trip out to Twickenham.

We did our usual walks to the Broadway Market, Victoria Park and Columbia Road and along Brick Lane. It was while we were walking along Brick Lane that a German lady stopped Michael outside a clothing store and asked if he would come into the shop with her as she wanted to purchase a jacket for her brother in law and she felt that Michael would be about the same size as him. Michael affably agreed, entered the store and tried on a leather jacket.  The German lady was most grateful and explained that Michael was the same height as her brother in law and he had the same shoulder width as well as the same belly.  Luckily Michael isn’t overly sensitive!

Michael and I were lucky enough to stumble upon the London Mithraeum on one of our walks.  This temple to the god Mithras was built in the 3^rdcentury AD and was discovered on a bomb site in 1954.  The temple was dismantled and rebuilt 100 metres from its original position to make way for a new building.  Bloomberg acquired the site in 2010 and decided to dismantle the temple once more and return it to its original site.  The display is very well done and you descend 7 metres below the pavement level to the ruins, which are cleverly lit and special effects recreate a convincing atmosphere.    There are also many artefacts on display making it one of the best historical museums I have visited.

Our New Year’s Eve dinner was at Smokehouse, a restaurant that we have visited on previous occasions. The restaurant, as expected, was packed to the rafters, and we were seated smack in the middle.  The lights were very dim and not located near our table, so Michael and I had to read our menu by the light of the table candle, which was rather romantic.  We made our choices and enjoyed our wine whilst we waited.  We ordered bread with beef fat butter thinking that it sounded interesting for our entrée.  The bread arrived and we smeared on the butter and quickly realised that the butter was in fact dripping.  All I could think of was that my mother would have roared with laughter at the thought of us paying for bread and dripping!  Nonetheless it was delicious.  The wait staff were rushing back and forth in the dim restaurant and unfortunately, Michael stuck his elbow out just at the waitress was passing, which knocked her into our table, sending our candle flying and narrowly missing a diner at the next table.  The waitress was most apologetic however she didn’t replace the candle so Michael and I had to eat the rest of our meal in almost total darkness.  

On New Year’s Day we walked into London to view the spectacular parade.  The weather was kind and streets were crowded with people watching the dancers, acrobats, cheerleaders and marching bands. 

There were more than 10,000 performers in a riot of colour and noise who made their way through the streets.  It was all good fun and went for so long we were able to go off and have a pub lunch and when we returned the parade was still in progress.

Greenwich was the destination for another walk that I wanted to do – the Advent Windows.  Each year, people decorate various windows around Greenwich, which are then unveiled each evening in the lead up to Christmas.  The theme for 2018 was Field of Dreams and we followed the trail of a living Advent calendar.  Many of the displays had been created by local school children and it was fun just walking the back streets of Greenwich to discover them.

Our final day in London was spent visiting the Imperial War Museum.  We have visited this museum previously, however this time we were able to visit the Holocaust Exhibition, which tells the story of the Nazi persecution of the Jews and other groups before and during the Second World War.  There were many photographs, documents and artefacts and films on display.  There were also a number of personal stories detailed and the entire exhibition made compelling and unsettling viewing.