St Pauls Cathedral 29th January 2011

After that we wandered along to St Pauls Cathedral.  As we arrived there was a bridal party just emerging and having photos on the steps.  Most of the men were in military uniform and they were the green berets.  They are the elite special forces over here.  So, lots of the lovely people milling around with beautiful clothes and stunning hats on the ladies.  In we go.  What an amazing building.

The current cathedral – the fourth to occupy this site – was designed by the court architect Sir Christopher Wren and built between 1675 and 1710 after its predecessor was destroyed in the Great Fire of London.  The first cathedral was built on the site in 604AD.
Its architectural and artistic importance reflect the determination of the five monarchs who oversaw its building that London’s leading church should be as beautiful and imposing as their private palaces.

Since the first service was held here in 1697, Wren's masterpiece has been where people and events of overwhelming importance to the country have been celebrated, mourned and commemorated. Important services have included the funerals of Lord Nelson, the Duke of Wellington and Sir Winston Churchill; Jubilee celebrations for Queen Victoria; peace services marking the end of the First and Second World Wars; the launch of the Festival of Britain; the Service of Remembrance and Commemoration for the 11th September 2001: the 80th and 100th birthdays of Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother; the wedding of Charles, Prince of Wales, to Lady Diana Spencer and, most recently, the thanksgiving services for both the Golden Jubilee and 80th Birthday of Her Majesty the Queen. The crypt below the cathedral holds the tombs of many history making people including Lord Horatio Nelson.  Christopher Wren (the architect) has many famous buildings and monuments to his name in London.  The cathedral artwork is truly amazing and we could just sit there and stare at the beautiful ceilings, mosaics and our surrounds.  Apparently during the war they had a special contingent on guard during bomb raids to put out small fires that were set from bombs and fires nearby. If these people weren't on watch then the cathedral may have been destroyed.  The dome in the centre is truly majestic and it has a second dome above it to keep it from weather damage.  The paintings are beautiful.

Tower Bridge 29th January 2011

Hard to believe that it has been a month since our last post.  We have done so many things since then.  Every weekend we find another place to see, to learn about, to photograph and to enjoy.  It is a wonderful way to start the weekend where Rod and I discuss what we will do for the day.  The weekend of 29th & 30th January we headed off to Tower Bridge.  This is the one most of us call London Bridge which in fact is wrong.  The idea for another bridge was started in 1876 because the London Bridge was not coping with the amount of traffic that was crossing the river.  A competition was held in 1884 and finally the design was selected out of 50 designs submitted.

It took 8 years, 5 major contractors and the relentless labour of 432 construction workers to build Tower Bridge.

Two massive piers were sunk into the river bed to support the construction and over 11,000 tons of steel provided the framework for the Towers and Walkways. This framework was clad in Cornish granite and Portland stone to protect the underlying steelwork and to give the Bridge a more pleasing appearance. 

When it was built, Tower Bridge was the largest and most sophisticated bascule bridge ever completed ("bascule" comes from the French for "see-saw"). These bascules were operated by hydraulics, using steam to power the enormous pumping engines. The energy created was stored in six massive accumulators, as soon as power was required to lift the Bridge, it was always readily available. The accumulators fed the driving engines, which drove the bascules up and down. Despite the complexity of the system, the bascules only took about a minute to raise to their maximum angle of 86 degrees.

Today, the bascules are still operated by hydraulic power, but since 1976 they have been driven by oil and electricity rather than steam. The original pumping engines, accumulators and boilers are now exhibits within the Tower Bridge Exhibition.  (All that was for those people who are technically minded).  A fascinating exhibition on the history, building of and how it still works today is in the upper walkways which are accesssible by lifts.  We also went down to the engine room to see the engines.  It is at present undergoing renovation so the bascules are not working until March.  It is still an impressive sight.  We had to follow the blue line to get to the engine room at the east side of the river.  They must have had problems previously with the tourists understanding so have now made it very clear.

Week 4 in London

 

   

George Orwell's home

 We agreed to meet Neil and Anne and go to the Portobello Market. We walked past the house of George Orwell author of the novel 1984.  Then we approached the market. An amazing experience of antiques, collectibles, clothing, food etc.  If you collect it, you can get one here.  I have never seen so much silverware, teaspoons, card collections, moneyboxes, toys, books, watches etc.  Absolutely amazing place.  In the clothing area we saw 100's of fur coats, stoles, hats etc.  Pearl necklaces by the mile and brooches and other assortments by the acre from every year starting in the 1800's.  Then the food area assaulted our senses with sights, smells and sounds. 

 Huge pans full of paella, whole pigs on a spit, pastries, breads, fruits and veges that I have never seen before.  

Is it a cauliflower?



Rod & Neil outside the British Museum.

 We then moved to another area of Notting Hill and found the travel Book Shop and the famous blue door.

Couldn't find Hugh

 

From there we went to the British Museum and had a look through the Egyptian Mummy exhibition.  There were lots of displays and also lots of people looking so after about an hour, we left for home.

The atrium at the entrance.  An amazing building architectually.



















Sat 15th Jan



Up kind of bright and early this morning cos it's Saturday!!!  The weather is cool (as usual) and grey but not raining.  Off we set onto the tube to head to Tower Bridge and Hampton Court Palace(Tower of London).  Due to planned engineering works we ended up doubling back and changing trains a couple of times and finally getting to where we wanted to be.  As we came out of the tube station we were standing looking at this wall which it turns out is the old wall to the Roman city which were first built in 43AD.  Can you believe something is this old right in front of us!!!  

The Roman Wall 43 AD



 



Hampton Court Palace (Tower of London)



Tower Bridge

 To the right was the majestic Tower of London and Tower Bridge.  Tower of London or Hampton Court Palace was first built by the Romans and had extra turrets and buildngs added through the years.  Most of it was built around 1066 and is where Henry VIII spent alot of his time killing his wives. 



We got to go through the dungeons and the torture chambers and believe me they are tiny little places and not very comfortable.  We then went through the area where they keep the crown jewels.  These are absolutely stunning.  Weren't allowed to take photos of course but the crowns and dinnerware and coronation regalia is just beautiful.





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The small space in which a prisoner was kept




 



Rod sitting near the battle ments where they
would shoot arrows out of the narrow slits.



Beverley's found a knight but he wasn't in shining armour.

Settling In

Have finally started to get settled into routine.  Only took about 3-4 days to find a flat in nearby Stratford.  It's fairly warm and comfy and after a couple of initial hitches (the shower wouldn't work and there were no heaters attached to the walls) we are now fairly settled with the bare necessities.  We have had a few trips back and forth to the shops a couple of blocks away to buy bedding, kitchenware and food which was a bit of a shock to the system having to walk everywhere.  We are enjoying the easy access to the tube and buses but every damn station is either up or down at least two flights of stairs.  My legs are constantly aching  which must mean it's working the seldom used muscles.  Last weekend was our first opportunity to sightsee and thankfully the weather was beautiful.  Cold but a clear blue sky for both days.
We arrived by tube to Westminster station and walked out of the exit and there was Big Ben right in front of us.  I was rapt to see it so close.  It is a most beautiful clock and with the sunshining on the black and gold it was breathtaking.  Rod couldn't stop laughing at me as I was so excited to be there by the river Thames looking at Big Ben on one side of me the Houses of Parliament beside it and the London Eye on the other side of the Thames.  Mind you, I was not conspicious as there were hundreds of people doing the same as me taking photos.  We spent the whole day there wandering around Westminster Abbey and we even went to a 3pm evensong in the abbey so we could hear the choir singing.  We sat in the area where they have the little red lamps where the dignataries sit for a wedding and it was magnificent to hear the church organ and to hear the choir (all men) sing.  The abbey is beautiful and just the sheer history of it is hard to believe.  After that off to #10 Downing St to see the PM but the whole street was behind big gates and we couldn't get near it. So we found the local pub and had fish and chips and a hot chocolate.   We then wandered up to Trafalgar Square and watched the nightlife till we were frozen and then caught the tube home.  Sunday we were up and away to see Buckingham Palace.  There was a sign out at the gates to say Changing of the Guard every alternate day (yes we were on the wrong day!!) but we saw the guards in their grey coats and big fluffy hats standing on guard.  we also saw alot of Police with machine guns (I think) hanging around watching us. The city is on high alert for a terrorist attack at the moment so there are police all over the place. We wandered down to the mews, found a royal souvenir shop (much to Rod's disgust) and of course I bought a teddy bear for Jamee lee. Then through St James park to see the squirrels and wildlife,orange and pink pelicans included.  We found the Royal Horse Guards Museum and stables and watched the changing of the horse guards.   The horses are magnificent animals and have to be a  minimum of 16.2 hands high.  They are black and beautifully groomed with highly polished tack.  They were stunning. Back on the tube and home to rest the weary legs.

We have arrived!

View of the snow from the plane.  Arriving into London.

After 29 hours on a variety of planes through Aucklan - Bangkok - Vienna and finally Heathrow London we staggered (about 40 mins sleep each on a chair in the airport) out of customs and found Neil (Rods nephew) who was patiently waiting for us.  The day was crisp and cold and there was alot of snow everywhere but the roads were clear.  Neil drove us to his house in Surrey which is a classic english style 2 story house with a narrow staircase upstairs (exactly like in Harry Potters uncles house in the first movie).  A welcome cup of tea and cinamon toast!! (so yummy) and we then were dragged off to the village pram race.  This is a tradition were groups of people, mostly young, had to take a pram?? around a course that involved six pubs.  On the way they collected money in buckets from the onlookers.  At each pub they had to stop and consume a pint.  You can imagine the day.  Freezing cold conditions and some of the participants dressed in next to nothing drinking 6 pints.  It was rowdy and boisterous and loads of fun.  Rod and I played the japanese tourists and clicked madly at all the wonderful costumes and "prams".  AFter we had lost the feeling in our toes and fingers we came back to the house and went to bed for a couple of hours.  Up again for tea and then try and stay awake before bedtime.  Now this is really hard when you have gone so long without sleep and it is dark at 3.30pm and you are in a warm, cosy house.  We managed somehow and sleep through till 6am.  First full day and off we went to catch the train and underground to find where my school is, which of course is at the opposite end of London to Surrey. After quite a few changes and reading maps, we managed to find the place.  Looks fairly modern and of course is behing a 15 ft fence.  Wrote down a few real estate agents numbers then headed back home.  Very weary once again.

This is in relation to the student fees protests.

Day 2:  Up and off to the agents.  Bank holiday is over and shops are open for 2 days before shutting again until the 4th Jan.  Boxing day sales are on here with a vengeance.  people queuing for 2 hours to make a purchase, shops jammed packed with people and people grabbing stuff off others.  It was amazing.  I watched from the outskirts and decided it was not for me.  Anyway, after looking at 4 flats we settled on a new place in Maryland which is a 10 min bus ride (double decker london bus) and really close to a large shopping centre.  It sounds very flash because there is a concierge on the door and it is nice but very basic.  We need to go out now and buy linen, crockery, food etc to get settled.  So, today is all planned for us and probably tomorrow too.

The Beatles???

 We met up with Anthony last night (my son).  He is looking great and it was so good to see him.  He took us for a drink down Brick Lane in Whitechapel (where Jack the Ripper lurked).  It is such a funky area, with a whole row of restaurants and bars of all varieties.  We settled on a place with big comfy chairs. The tube is great but it takes two flights of stairs to get to each train and so we are certainly getting our quota of walking in. (Might actually be good for me).  By the time you make all the connections home it's about an hour and a half travelling.  Got to try and work out my buses and the best place to buy groceries and things today so gotta catch that train.  Toodles

The third of six pubs.



The Cave Girls







Two Days left of School

Wow!! Almost there.  This week has been crazy.  We have both got our loaded for travel money cards sorted, our International Drivers Licences done and our doctors visits completed.  So WOF on us both passed, we must be rady to go.  Bags arepacked, house is nearly finished, gardens are tidy.  Just need to clean the windows, wipe out the cupboards etc...etc...etc... Can we please just go, I am so ready.  Gorgeous days at school this week, the kids are just really enjoying their last few days as a unit and we have had alot of laughs and fun.  Hope some of them stay in touch.  Looking forward to this weekend when we have "Christmas" with Melanie & Jamee-lee.  Her first Christmas.  Boy, I'm gonna miss her. Well, off I go, get my bucket and cloth, there are cupboards that need wiping out.  Talk to you in a week.