Old Father Thames

Michael decided to take a long weekend so that we could visit friends in London.  It would be our first trip to London since James and Amber returned home to Australia, so it would be a very different experience for us.  The flight to Gatwick was a little bumpy but nothing to overly concern us until we started our descent to the airport.  The turbulence really started to rock the plane and I was beginning to get anxious.  Suddenly, just as we were about to land, the pilot gunned the engines and we took off sharply.  You could have heard a pin drop as all the passengers fell silent.  The pilot addressed us a few minutes later and apologised for the aborted landing however the wind was just too strong to land safely and he would have to try again.  We circled the airport for a while until we approached the runway again where we landed heavily.  I joined in the applause of the grateful passengers and was very thankful that considering how often we fly, seldom do we have any cause to worry about our safety.

We checked into our Whitechapel hotel and decided to set off to explore. The weather was appalling with lashing rain and high winds, which made it unpleasant to walk about.  We did our best but eventually gave in and found a pub to shelter until the worst had passed.  The rest of the day was spent dodging showers until dinner at Tyyabs and an early night.

The next day the weather couldn’t have been more different.  The skies were clear and apart from the odd puddle or two, you wouldn’t have known how much it had rained the previous day.  This was just as well as we had booked a walking tour with the enticing name “Burnings, Butchery and Black Death.”  We met our guide outside Barbican station and set off with another dozen or so people to discover the gruesome past of the area.  The tour lasted about two hours and we covered a distance of only two miles however every step was steeped in history.  We began outside the Charterhouse, which Michael and I had visited on one of our previous London trips, and discovered that the beautiful park out the front was in fact where thousands of Black Death corpses were disposed of during the fourteenth century.  


 The tour continued around the Smithfield Markets area where the guide regaled us with stories about the animal and human slaughter that has taken place over hundreds of years.  We learned about the body snatchers and regular bloody executions that took place in the area outside St Bartholomew’s Hospital.  We also retraced some of my steps from the Charles Dickens’ tour that I took earlier in the year, so Michael was able to see for himself where the most notorious slum in London was and where the novel Oliver Twist was set.  The guide was engaging and knowledgeable and by the end of the tour I really felt that I had learned a great deal. 

All that talk of murder and blood shed made for thirsty work, so Michael and I decided a roast lunch was in order.  The Old Red Cow is renowned for its Sunday roast and we were lucky to obtain a table.  We proceeded to enjoy a roast meal that even James would have agreed was top notch.

Suitably refreshed, we set off to explore more of the city.  We didn’t really have a set plan in mind, instead just wandered about the streets stopping to look at anything that sparked an interest.  It was too early for the Christmas lights as most of the streets would hold their official lighting ceremonies over the coming weeks, however we could see them hanging over the roads in readiness. 




I did want to see the Christmas windows along Regent and Oxford Streets, as I knew that the big stores would already have their displays.  We could see a crowd had gathered outside of Hamleys and decided to see what was causing the interest.  It turned out that Simon Cowell was posing for selfies with his fans.  Michael was more interested in his flash Tesla while I couldn’t have cared less for either the man or the car.  The shop windows were pretty though.  The Selfridges Christmas windows were very disappointing this year.  The theme is Future Fantasy but I am not sure that children would be very impressed.

Michael and I took a bus to St Paul’s Cathedral so that we could walk across the Millennium Bridge in the dark, as I wanted to see The Illuminated River, a long-term art commission that will eventually light up the major bridges across the River Thames. 




At present there are four bridges which light up at night and we walked along the river to have a look at them all:  Southwark Bridge, Millennium Bridge, Cannon Street Railway Bridge and London Bridge.  They all look very pretty however, I think that the Millennium Bridge is my favourite as the pulsating lights mimic the movements of the people crossing.  Eventually 15 bridges will be lit along the Thames and I hope that one day I can return to see them all illuminated. 

The following day started with a walk around the Whitechapel area.  We didn’t have to walk far before Michael pointed out an interesting building, which turned out to be the Old Whitechapel Bell Foundry.  I was enchanted with the building and decided to look up its history.  To my dismay, I discovered that this foundry, which has been operating since the 1740s, was sold last year and a developer is planning to turn it into a boutique hotel.  The UK Historical Preservation Trust (founded by Prince Charles) is fighting the new owner and Tower Hamlets locals have been protesting also.  It would be a real shame to lose the historic foundry, which has made some of the world’s most famous bells, including the Liberty Bell and the bells in Westminster Abbey and Big Ben.  I hope that people power will win the day.

The main purpose of our trip to London was to catch up with friends, Peter and Marna, who were on holiday from Australia. 


 

We met for lunch at Duck and Waffle, a restaurant and bar on the 40^th floor of the Heron Tower in Bishopsgate.  Needless to say the view over London was magnificent and after ordering our meals, we settled back to catch up on 7 years worth of news.  There was no way that we could cover everything over lunch, so we adjourned to a nearby pub to continue our chatting.  I think that we would have continued well into the evening if Marna and Peter had not had a concert to attend.  It really was a fabulous day and hopefully we can look forward to seeing them again in Melbourne next year.

We were due to fly out of Gatwick on the Tuesday evening, but, before doing so, we had one more important visit with Michael’s Godmother, Margaret.  Margaret has recently moved from Orpington and we arranged to visit her new home.  We caught the train to West Wickham where Margaret met us at the station.  A short walk took us to the centre of town where we quickly found a restaurant, ordered our lunch and set up catching up on all the news.  Margaret looked a picture of health and told us all about her upcoming travel plans.  After lunch, we took another short walk to see Margaret’s new home.  It is absolutely lovely and cosy and we enjoyed a cup of tea and slice of Battenberg cake before Margaret walked us to the bus stop.  Hopefully it won’t be long until we see her again and we hope that she will take up our offer to come and visit us in Dublin.