Great Expectations

James and Amber were off on a Central American adventure and they kindly let me stay in their London apartment in their absence.  The day of my departure started early with the Anzac Dawn Service at Grangegorman Military Cemetery in Dublin, which was well attended.  The New Zealand Ambassador and the Australian Ambassador both gave readings and the service was moving as always.  I then said my goodbyes to Michael and set off for a magical week in London.

My first port of call was the V & A Museum where Queen Victoria’s sapphire and diamond coronet had just gone on display.  The coronet was designed for Queen Victoria by Prince Albert the year that they were married.  The coronet is displayed in a glass case on its own and is absolutely stunning.  I would have liked to have taken a photo however it was difficult to get past the parade of people all posing in front of the coronet trying to position themselves so that they would look as though they were wearing it!  I was also able to view Beyonce’s Papillon ring.  The ring is in the shape of a butterfly and is covered in green tsavorites and diamonds.  There is a spring on the back of the ring, which makes the butterfly wings flutter and it is absolutely gorgeous.  While I was at the museum, I also took the opportunity to have a look at the newly renovated Cast Courts.  The museum has done a wonderful job restoring and cleaning the casts and it is now a real pleasure to walk amongst the impressive monuments.  The door at the base of Trajan’s Column has now been opened and you can walk inside and truly appreciate its sheer size.    

I had read that there was an exhibition at the Wellcome Collection called Smoke and Mirrors: The Psychology of Magic, and even though I didn’t really know anything about the topic, I thought that I would pop in for a quick look.  The exhibition was so good that I ended up spending more than two hours, watching all of the audio visual films and looking at the exhibits.  There were magic props including Harry Houdini’s Bell Box and Tommy Cooper’s fez and videos of psychology experiments exploring how biases affect our perception.  It was all very interesting, especially as we are now living in the “fake news” era.  

I heard that a new Banksy artwork had appeared overnight at Marble Arch and headed over to have a look. I was a little worried that I wouldn’t be able to find it as I didn’t know exactly where it would be, however I needn’t have worried as there was a crowd gathered around the work along with news reporters.  The artwork (which hasn’t been confirmed as Banksy’s) shows a child with the Extinction Rebellion emblem alongside the words “From this moment despair ends and tactics begin”.  The Extinction Rebellion had finished their London protests the day prior and the artwork appeared at the police-sanctioned protest area.  The piece is very good and certainly looks like a Banksy original to me, although I will leave that to more qualified people to determine.  

The main reason for my visit to London was to take part in Twists and Turns, a walking tour of the places that inspired Oliver Twist.  The tour began at the Charles Dickens Museum and, as I was a little early, I decided to have a cup of coffee in the museum café.  I later learned that Amal Clooney, whose office is just up the road, sometimes calls into the café herself.  I might possibly have sat in the same chair as Amal Clooney!  How is that for a claim to fame?  Our tour guide was a friendly, knowledgeable gentleman and about 20 of us set off to follow in Dickens’ footsteps. 


What followed was a fascinating 2 hours exploration of the streets near Dickens’ home and hearing about the people and events that inspired Oliver Twist.  At one stage we ended up at Clerkenwell Green, a place that I pass through every time that I visit London as it is on my regular walking route, and saw where Oliver was accused of robbing Mr Brownlow as he browsed at a bookstall. We also walked the streets where some of the worst London slums were to see where Fagin’s den of thieves was set.


There were many interesting titbits of information shared along the way for example, I learned that the Postal Museum stands on the site of the old Coldbath Fields Prison which was notorious for its use of the penal treadmill.


Our guide also read extracts from some of Dickens’ works and letters at pertinent stops along our walk, which finished outside the Old Bailey.  I have participated in a number of walking tours over the years however I would have to say that this one was possibly the best one to date. 

I visited Somerset House to see the art installation Reduce Speed Now! by American artist Justin Brice Guariglia.  This consisted of nine large solar powered LED signs with words from international activists, poets and philosophers highlighting the world’s ecological crisis. It was thought provoking (if a little depressing) and I sat for some time just watching the ever-changing screens.  

I did make one mistake on my visit – I ventured to Harrods in the afternoon!  I should know by now that the only time to visit Harrods is within the first hour of the store opening otherwise you must endure the tourist crush.  To add to the mayhem, the food halls are being revamped as part of a two-year restoration project.  I managed to get hopelessly lost in the store, which normally I would quite enjoy however I just wanted to find the exit.  I did discover that the hideous statue of Diana and Dodi has thankfully now been removed.  Apparently it now resides at Mohamed al Fayed’s home.

The rest of my time in London was spent wandering the city streets, walking along the canals and the Thames and visiting the parks and gardens to see the spring flowers. 

 
 

 

London is lovely any time of year, however it is in the Spring when it really comes to life.  I am very lucky as it will only be a few weeks until I return to London again.  

 

The Garden of Earthly Delights

Three years ago, a planned visit the city of s-Hertogenbosch was thwarted by the terrible terrorist attack on Brussels’ airport.  We finally had a chance to put the city back on our travel itinerary however, this time we bypassed Brussels and instead flew into the city of Eindhoven.  The flight was pleasant and we were able to catch a train from Eindhoven to s-Hertogenbosch (or Den Bosch as it is colloquially known).  Our hotel, The Golden Tulip, was situated right in the middle of the city and we lost no time in setting out to explore our surroundings.

Den Bosch is a picturesque walled city with a large market square and a number of canals winding throughout.  It was a pleasure to wander the cobble stone streets and we enjoyed browsing the market stalls in the square.  Michael particularly enjoyed sampling the herring on offer at the fish stalls (I stuck to the frites).  

The Jheronimus Bosch Art Centre is housed in the former St James’ church and, while there are no original paintings there are prints of everything that Bosch painted.  This meant that you could get up close to the prints and really appreciate every detail.  There were also a number of models of Bosch’s creepy creatures hanging from the ceiling and scattered throughout. 


One of the highlights was a reconstruction of an astronomical clock, which used to stand in St John’s Cathedral back in 1513.  The clock shows moving figures depicting the Last Judgement and the visit of the Magi to Christ. The most fascinating component was the scene depicting the virtuous souls ascending to heaven and the doomed descending into hell.  The church building itself is stunning to look at with a massive dome and beautiful stained glass windows.  We were able to take a lift to the tower and admire the view over the city. 
 
We also descended into the old boiler room of the church where there was a recreation of Bosch’s art studio.  The whole experience was fantastic and we spent a couple of hours there to ensure that we saw everything.

Michael and I also visited the Cathedral Church of St John, which dates back to 1220.  The Cathedral has an interesting history, starting out as Roman Catholic and then switching to Protestant in 1629 when Catholicism was banned. Napoleon was responsible for restoring the Cathedral to the Catholics.  It has been extensively restored over the years and is luxuriously decorated with statues, arches and large windows.

One of the dishes that we were advised to try was a Bossche bol.  Imagine a huge profiterole filled with whipped cream and coated entirely with dark Belgian chocolate.  They are absolutely delicious and we made sure that we tried one each day!

Another highlight of our stay in Den Bosch was a boat trip on the Binnendieze, the collective name for the century-old system consisting of all the waterways within the city walls. The commentary was in Dutch so whilst we couldn’t understand the guide, we could appreciate the beauty of our surroundings. 


People built their homes and shops over the water so the boat took us through various tunnels and we saw where the bats lived.  It was a very relaxing ride and it showed us a different perspective of the town.

We also managed to fit in a visit to the Het Noordbrabants Museum, which houses paintings by Van Gogh as well as an impressive collection of Brueghel works.  The museum itself is set in the most beautiful gardens, which were visible from most of the gallery’s windows and made for a lovely place for us to have our lunch in the sunshine.

Michael and I reluctantly said goodbye to Den Bosch and caught the train back to Eindhoven where we would spend two nights.  The contrast between the two cities was marked with Eindhoven being a very modern metropolis.  A large section of the city was destroyed by Luftwaffe bombing in World War II, and the post- war reconstruction left very little historical remains. 


Still, it was a pleasant enough city to stay in and Michael located a brewery where he was able to sample different beers.

We took a day trip to Maastricht, which was only a one hour away by train from Eindhoven.  This was a beautiful mediaeval cobbled old town on the banks of the Maas River.  It was a lovely and sunny and we spent the day alternating between wandering the streets and sitting in the sunshine in one of the huge town squares.


 It was Easter Monday and we were fortunate enough to see a Sacramental Procession through the city. 


One of the more sobering sights were the Stolpersteine (stumbling stones), which we saw in front of various shops and houses.  These stumbling stones are little brass plaques mounted onto a concrete cobble stone inscribed with the name, date and concentration camp to which a victim of the Nazis was sent.  They serve as a reminder to the horrors of the past and we have seen them in a number of European cities along our travels.

Michael and I thoroughly enjoyed our visit to the Netherlands and look forward to exploring more of this wonderful country someday.