In a Fog

E R or Elizabeth Regina or Elizabeth the Queen

2005-11-02T22:37:00.000-05:00

When you are in England everything seems to be monogramed with "E R" Sometimes without the crown.

That is because the Queen owns everything...sorta. She is the Queen, the head of state, the top of the heap.....You get the idea...

To continue, most national (I said most) are royal, The Royal Mint, the The Royal Botanic Gardens, The Royal Mail...Oh yes...The royal Mail.

When I was in Guildford I was intrigued by a couple of mail (or post) boxes on the street.

Here they are; can you spot the difference?

Give up?
Look under the pictures.

This is what I think...AR is Albert REX (Albert the King) and GR is George REX (George the King)
It is possible that it was too expensive to change these post boxes or the town (not a city or a village, thats another story) of Gulidford just liked them and wanted to be reminded of past monarchs. I'll never really know.

Think you know? Leave me a comment.

S.

PICTURES!!!!!

2005-11-02T22:23:00.000-05:00

I've been home a month

A month already? OK, if you insist.

I've gone through my 600+ pictures and sifted through them. Here are 240. Unedited, uncropped and small.

Please have a look and let me know what you think. London & Then Some

S.

Always ask for a discount

2005-10-24T15:00:00.000-04:00

Hamleys is a big toy store, it may be the biggest toy store in the world, at least that's what people in London told me. I needed a gift for my nephew, something not available at home. I hoped I could find something interesting and different for him here.
I was right, I found a card game called Top Trumps. A simple game of choosing the best characteristic from a list and challenging your opponent, the highest score wins.

The cards were not too expensive, about 6£ a set, one set would be good, I did get him other stuff too.

As is my usual custom, I asked the cashier for a discount, Se pleasantly refused me. I tried again, What about a tourist discount? Again the answer was a polite "no" Not one to give up easily, I asked about a Canadian discount, again "no" OK, my last try, I asked for a cute discount, I am cute.

This time I won, she told me that she would give me a 10% managers discount, at least that's what she told me it was. I laughed and thanked her. In return I gave her one of my Canadian flag pins. That got me a smile, as usual. She thanked me this time.

I managed to save a whole 60p on the deal, but it was worth it just for the fun of the game. Of course, I always ask for a discount.

Find out more about me day in London here: Sunday afternoon in London

They twisted my arm...ow!

2005-10-10T18:27:00.000-04:00

OK, not really.

As you may remember/know, I had out small Canada flag pins. Some times as a thank you or just because.

While In the British Museum - see Sept 16, 2005 - trying to not step on any little people (numerous school groups) I came across a group of boys in the Egypt collection. One asked if I was going to take their pictrure, I really didn't know what to say, its not often you get asked to take a stranger's picture, especially a child's in London. I said "no" because that seemed to be the right answer. I did ask why I would, the same boy replied that a couple of other people, another American, and someone else, had already taken their picture. I protested saying that I wasn't an American. I received a puzzled look , I turned around to show them the Canadian flag on my backpack. Canada the said together, I smiled and offered each of them a flag pin.

We talked for a couple of minutes, and with the help of their chaperone they were urged to get back to work. Before I could go, again I was asked to take their picture, this time I couldn't resist.

Can I get there from here?

2005-10-06T18:51:00.000-04:00

HA! In the Tube stations there were signs telling you where top exit for attractions, this is good, I say to myself, I don’t even have to ask to be oriented! I was wrong, as soon as you have left the safety of the tube station you’re lost again, no direction sign. In most cases there was a direction sign pointing out the right direction…if I could have only found those sign posts. One station had more than 10 exits. People were sometimes confusing too. The would be quite helpful, telling me how to get somewhere, but neglecting to give me one important detail, like after you turn right, take the stairs up one level.

I also had other tourists asking me for directions…Could it be the Big Canadian flag on my backpack. Do Canadians have a better sense of direction than anyone else?

Streets

2005-10-06T18:50:00.000-04:00

Don’t ask me about the streets, I spent so much time being “lost” it wasn’t funny. I would be walking down a street and look up to make sure I was still on the road I thought I was on, not only could I not find a street sign, but the name changed. It seems that every bend in the road means it gets a new name…it doesn’t surprise me what natives carry around a street guide. There is NO grid system in London, Don’t say I didn’t warn you!

Most people were friendly enough when I would ask for directions, if they could figure out where they were themselves.

The Tube

2005-10-06T18:44:00.000-04:00

I have been using the Tube almost since I arrived in London. Its simple, figure out where you are, then where you want to go; not so simple. The Tube is HUGE, lots of lines and lots of stops. Add to that the DLR and the train, you have a mess. In some cases there are multiple routes to the same place; some with no changes, others with two or three changes; sometimes you want the shortest route, other times you just want to sit for the longest period of time. It is comforting to know that even native Londoners have the same problem; I would usually find a couple of other people staring blankly at the tube system map trying to figure out where to go. Another thing, the Tube is HOT! One friend I met carries an extra shirt because he always sweats so bad on then tube he NEEDS to change when he gets to work.

Switching between lines is always a gamble because sometimes the distance between lines through the rabbit warren of tunnels could be as long as the walk to where you were trying to go.

I'm Home

2005-10-03T14:24:00.000-04:00

Sigh…it was nice to be away from home and work, no worries and no (work) stress for a while. I’m glad to be back home though, it was time to go and get my life back together.

I am still in a bit of a fog – jet lag will do that to a person.

As you may have noticed there are a few days missing for my daily updates, have no fear, as soon as I can think again I will add my reports from St Paul’s Cathedral, The Museum of London and guilford where i explored a castle and St Catherines chapel

I’m off work again for the Jewish new year, so that will help my brain and I look forward to being back at work.

S.

Guildford

2005-09-30T23:34:00.000-04:00

I spent my last full day in the UK in Guildford. My host works in Guildford and I needed a relaxing day before I left. Guildford is another one of the UK’s (really) old towns dotted around the country. Another feature of the town was there is a castle to see; well, the remains of a castle.

I wanted to see a castle!

Guildford turned out to be a very charming (I can use descriptive words too) town. You know it’s a town and not a village because villages did not have market days, only towns and cities did. To continue, I walked into the town center; down the path and over the bridge, and towards the tourist information center. I needed to know what to see and how to get there…didn’t I?

Well, I tried to get to the castle, but they were repaving the paths and all signs indicated I should try another entrance, except all the entrances had the same sign…POO! This was not going to work; I walked down to the Guildford Museum; a small historical museum all about Guildford…who’d a thunk it?

The museum had local artifacts and information about the people that lived in the area. There was also information about Lewis Carroll (1832-1898), author of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass. He lived there, although he didn’t seem to be home….can’t understand why.

With instructions from the museum, I tried the castle again, success…sorta, I just walked on the newly paved walkway to the entrance.

The castle was amazing! Another 900-year-old building!!

The newly erected main floor made it easy to see the possible layout of a Norman castle. I was also able to walk up to the tower using one of the spiral staircases. The view from the roof was comparable to what I could see from the top of St Paul’s or the London Eye.

I wanted to see the Guildford Cathedral, but distance made it impossible; I did get some pictures from the roof of the castle.

I wandered down to the river to take some pictures of the locks and the birds, ducks and swans almost everywhere. With most of the “wild” animals they did not fly off as I approached. I didn’t have anything to feed them. They would have to look for food the way nature intended.

Time to head back. I found my bearings and made my way back to where we were going to meet to go home. I was a bit early and there was nowhere to sit. I decided to follow a footpath to see where it would lead me. I had nothing to lose, except my way (no bread crumbs) I followed the path along the backs of a row of houses towards a clearing, and then I walked through a small field and up a hill. As I turned to continue going up the hill, I saw an amazing site. I had no idea what it was, except that it was the ruins of a building. I’m pretty smart that way.

I was in awe of what was there, and completely unexpected. I was not able to find out more about it until I got home. Unfortunately there is not much information out there. Here is what I was able to find:

St. Catherine's Hill and Chapel On the summit of this hill stands the ruin of St Catherine's Chapel built in the 13th (14th?) Century by the rector of St Nicolas' church. The chapel was abandoned by the end of the middle ages, the church can be seen from across the valley and river and the hill makes a fantastic viewing platform.

Some (very) brief information about Guildford

The historic town of Guidlford is home to an historic guildhall and clock, castle gardens (the castle was built by the Normans, and at one time a palace of Henry III stood on the site), and the home of Lewis Carroll’s family—author of Alice in Wonderland. The Guilford House gallery is located in a 17th century townhouse, built between 1660 and the 1680s, that houses an art gallery. A museum houses artefacts and gives details of local history.

Here is some information about Guildford Castle.

Guildford Castle started out as a Norman motte and bailey castle, built soon after 1066. The wooden defences were replaced by stone ones during the 12th century, and the motte acquired first a shell keep and then the strong but not very large tower keep that survives today. As the only royal castle in Surrey it became the centre for administration and justice, with the keep converted to use as the county gaol. The royal apartments were moved to a palace in the bailey below, which under Henry III became one of the most luxurious royal residences in England.

After Henry III's death in 1272 the castle fell into decline, and the palace buildings were allowed to fall into ruin. In 1611 the castle was bought by a Guildford merchant, Francis Carter, who attempted to convert the keep into a private residence. This proved unsuccessful, and in 1630 the roof and floors were removed. In 1885 the ruins were bought by Guildford Borough Council.

This was borrowed from http://www.castlexplorer.co.uk/england/guildford/guildford.php

Other Buildings of note in Guildford

The Guildhall is a Tudor building to which a 17th century facade has been added (1683). The most prominent feature is the clock overhanging the street. The date on the clock is 1683, the inner works were much older (c 1560) but over the years as parts have worn these have been replaced. The original bell, now cracked and replaced with a new bell, came from St Martha's Church (on the ridge above Chilworth). The iron balcony is used for important proclamations. Within, in the old court-room are a set of standard measures presented to the town by Elisabeth I. These measures are one of the few complete sets in existence.

Abbot's Hospital (Hospital of the blessed Trinity), an imposing redbrick building was founded as an almshouse by George Abbot, a local man who rose to become Archbishop of Canterbury.

On the top section of the High Street lies the Royal Grammar School. Founded in 1509, granted a charter by Edward VI in 1553. The school contains a chained library, started with books bequeathed to the school (1573) by John Parkhurst, Bishop of Norwich, a native of Guildford. The books include Sir Walter Raleigh's History of the World, written whist he was a prisoner in the Tower of London. A document (1598) referring to a match of cricket played by the boys (c 1550) is one of the earliest references to the game. Two models of the earliest cricket bats are on display within the library.

Natural History Museum

2005-09-29T22:12:00.000-04:00

OK, I seem to have neglected talking about the The Natural History Museum

I was as impressed with the building as with the actual collection. As with most things in London, the museum has been around in some form or another since 1753 ...when physician and collector of natural curiosities, Sir Hans Sloane, left his extensive collection to the nation... The current building dates from about 1883.

The collection includes:

55 million animals, including 28 million insects

nine million fossils

six million plant specimens

more than 500,000 rocks and minerals

3,200 meteorites in our collections

Well...thats quite a bit, isnt it?
Needless to say, I didnt see everything.

Fossils, plants, animals, insects, the human body and how it works, rocks, minerals, gold, silver, copper, diamonds, iron, the earth and how it works (there is a giant spring in the middle that has to be kept wound) and numerous school groups.

This leads me to a story.

As I wandered through the museum, I noticed that lots of the boys, in high school, wore their ties very short and some had pins at the bottom. I asked one boy about the pins, he explained that there were for various school sports; this case he was the captain of the cricket team. Dont ask me about cricket, Ill just refer you to the Insect collection. I thanked him, before I could offer him a flag pin, he was gone.

Later, in the gift shop, where I didnt buy an 8 £ mug, and while waiting at the cash, I asked another boy about his short tie, he response was quick and too the point...Fashion I had my answer.

He asked if I was from America, I responded that no, I was from Canada, and offered him a flag pin. I also offered the other kids around (3 or 4 flag pins) He was very cheeky, asking me more questions in the 4 or 5 minutes were together than I could answer. I did my best.

We all paid and went on our way, less than a minute later, a small group of students from the same school surrounded me asking for pins, of course I gave them each a pin, more smiles and more rapid fire questions. How did they know about the pins? The boyfrom the cash.

Their teacher tried to get them together, but without much luck. I moved into a corner to pack myself to get on my way and again more students. I had a problem, there were 8 or 9 of them, but I only had 4 pins left. I wasnt happy, and I know I was going to disappoint some of them. I explained that I only had 4 pins and that couldnt do anything about it. I reached out and put the 4 pins in 4 hands. I apologized again, they thanked me and started to walk off to join their classmates, I had to find out who told them about the pins, boy number 1 again. I laughed and told him that I didnt have any more, so dont send anyone else.

They and I were finally on my way out, we ended up walking to the tube station together, more questions and more of the teachers trying to control them.

I would have loved to chat with them, given them a lesson about Canada, but that was not part of their teachers plans.

We went on our separate way at the Tube station.

I didn't get much else done, museums are exausting.

S.

A Museum, A church and A Needle

2005-09-28T19:30:00.000-04:00

Museum of London

“The Museum of London Group represents a quarter of a million years of history and over seven million modern Londoners. Our collections include over a million items.”

That’s about it! The Museum of London is a historical museum, from prehistory to the Romans through medieval times right up to the present. A couple of notable items are The Lord Mayors coach

“a masterpiece of wood-carving, gilding and painting, built in 1757 and still rolled out every year for the Lord Mayor’s Show”

There is also a gallery about the great fire in 1666, explaining its cause and the results.

From inside the museum you can see a portion of the old Roman wall, from outside, you can walk right up to this section of the wall. Again London’s history comes alive and is tangible.

St Paul’s Cathedral Is big, very big. St. Paul’s was designed by and built between 1675 and 1710 by Sir Christopher Wren after the 1666 fire destroyed the previous cathedral.

It is not the first church to stand on this spot; there have been three before since 604AD. Like all of London, this place has a history.

This was the first church of any kind that I could climb to the top of the dome. There are three galleries or levels that are open to the public. The first is the Whispering Gallery, this circles the dome and if you pay attention you can here people speaking from almost anywhere on the gallery. Either Wren knew what he was doing or he was very lucky. The Stone gallery is next; it is the first of the two galleries that are open to the air. The Golden Gallery is almost at the very top of the dome it is a total of 530 steps from the floor of the cathedral, almost 85 meters up.

The view from the top is amazing, spectacular, out of this world…. The only place that offers something comparable is the London Eye, except St. Paul’s is open to the elements

The Crypt contains tombs, memorials, a chapel, the gift shop and café. Nelson, Wellington and Sir Christopher Wren's Tombs are here great men of London and the UK. There are also memorials to other people, like Alexander Fleming the discoverer of penicillin. There were also tombs and memorials to loads of people I’ve never heard of. Then again, who’s heard of me?

Cleopatra’s Needle
(http://www.akhet.co.uk/cleo.htm)

“Cleopatra's Needle is located on the Thames Embankment in London close to the Embankment underground station. The Obelisk was actually constructed for Tuthmose III and is carved with Hieroglyphics praising Tuthmose and commemorating his third sed festival. Later inscriptions were added by Ramesses II to commemorate his victories.”

It is a twin to a similar Obelisk in New York City

It’s there; its old and I saw it!

The Imperial war Museum

2005-09-27T21:34:00.000-04:00

The Imperial war Museum is not just a museum that glorifies war, despite what you might think. This museum is, like every museum, an archive of what was. As you walk up to the museum you are greeted by two huge guns (12 inch if I can remember) from a battle ship. As you walk in, above you are a collection of Britain’s war planes; a sopwith camel, made famous by Snoopy, to a spitfire. On the floor are a collection of tanks, both from the allies and from the axis(?) powers. There are “memories” of the war with a set of searchlights on the floor anchoring the multimedia displays.

There are two exhibits of special note; the first is about British children during the war (I will verify the correct name later) showing how the children managed during the Second World War. They cover everything, home life, school, and play, food and life after the war. The exhibit revolves around a 1940’s house, the bedrooms, kitchen and living rooms. What was typical, and the rationing and conservation that was needed. I happened to go through this exhibit with a group of school children, (8-10 year olds)

The war is only history to me; I was born 16 years after the war as part of the baby boom. As well, there has not been a war in Canada. There is very little I can directly relate to. I know about rationing in Canada, my grandfather worked as a concessionaire and the old Montreal Forum (he sold candy) and was able to bring extra candy home for my mom and her brothers; but this too is not part of my personal history. I am at a loss when it comes to the war.

The second exhibit is about the Holocaust. The Holocaust is explained using artifacts, models, multimedia presentations and personal histories. Its causes, the victims and the perpetrators are all examined. The exhibit also examines the reactions throughout the world and the response to it.

This was one of the most difficult Holocaust exhibits I have seen. I think partly because It was so close to where it actually happened. I don’t really know.

I also was able to get to Old Spitalfields Market. It was a bit disappointing, there were not many vendors and they were doing major renovations to the building. Can’t have everything.

S.

Its Monday, must be Greenwich

2005-09-26T20:30:00.000-04:00

I took the Thames to Greenwich; I needed a change from the Tube or Bus. The cruise is just over an hour long. It was worth the extra time and money. London from the river is a different experience; you can see details of the city not visible from the roads. One of the operators kept us entertained with a running commentary. He made a possibly boring trip more interesting. He also pointed out some specific sites from various stories or historical events. We landed in Greenwich and I set off for the Royal Observatory. Down the street, towards the Maritime Museum, around the building, through the field, up the hill, and there it was…more hill to climb. OK, not a hill, but big steps.
I made it! THE Royal Observatory and the Prime Meridian, the place where time begins 9as they say in Greenwich. Zero degrees east or west. This is it, the beginning.

OK, not that impressive, but there aren’t too many places on earth you can stand on both the eastern and western hemisphere. I suppose you could try standing on the International Date Line, but you might have a small problem, most of it runs through the Pacific Ocean.

Without going through all the history, buy an international agreement this was chosen as the 0° line of Longitude. I had a tour of the buildings and the observatory. Every day at 1 PM the red ball drops signaling to the ships the correct time, so that they can verify their clocks. The BBC and the CBC still broadcast a 1 PM time signal for everyone to set their watches. This was another of London’s pieces of tangible history. Although you can’t touch the instruments (they are too fragile) you can touch the buildings.

One notable building is the Camera Obscura; A blackened room with a pinhole on one side. In this case the pin hole was in the roof and with a series of mirrors the image is projected onto a table so it is easier to see. This was one of the earliest forms or creating a “photographic” image. I was able to get a couple of digital pictures of the live projected image. I used the newest photographic technology to capture an image produced with the oldest technology, pretty cool, ‘eh!

I met a group of students fro St. Georges School, I asked if they were going to or coming back from a dragon slaying, unfortunately all I got were strange looks. Their teacher had to explain the joke. It took a couple of tries, but they eventually got it. These were 12-14 year old students. Was this a reflection of the education system here, I hope not.

From here I head back down the hill. On to the Maritime Museum. The museum contains a collection of Britain’s maritime history; from royal barges covered in gold (yes real gold), explorers artifacts, information about the oceans (Britain is an island), a titanic exhibit, and general information about Britain’s maritime history. Arranged in a kind of chronological order, if not an order you can follow, you are taken through a logical progression of history and information.

Something I wanted to see were some of the first ship’s chronographs, these are very accurate clocks used on ships to navigate and to tell where they are. Based on measurements from the prime meridian (remember the observatory stuff)

Based on time (see the chronograph) and speed a ship’s captain could work out where he was east to west and based on the stars how far north or south he was. A ships captain could then with some accuracy plot a course.

I was able to take the DLR or Docklands Light railway back to London. The DLR is similar to Vancouver’s Subway system, except the tunnels are similar in construction to the Channel Tunnel, a tunnel boring machine was used to cut the hole and a second machine was used to place pre formed concrete blocks around the hole, thereby creating a lined tunnel. The DLR is mostly completely automatic.

The docklands are just that, the old London docks, a series of canals and wharfs. I passed by Canary wharf, built by Olympia & York That Canadian company. They call the tallest of the buildings Canada place. A pretty good name if you ask me J

I will post links to more complete information about the Observatory, longitude, chronographs, Canary Wharf and the DLR.

Sunday afternoon in London

2005-09-25T22:45:00.000-04:00

Chris and I went into London for the afternoon (and evening…if you must know)

We walked through Leicester Square for a bit then I was taken into the Trocadaro Club, a HUGE video and game arcade, four floors of fun and terror. Well…only a bit of terror…the shocking chair, you sit on it hold the handles and you get shocked. Why? I don’t know! ‘nuff said about that!

We went to HMV to look at the music sealection, then in to the Virgin Megastore…yes THE one and only, another really BIG thing in London. Why is everything so big here; something to prove London? ‘eh?

All this is around Piccadilly Circus, No tents, no clown or trapeze…where is the circus?
I know, I know…its not That kind of circus. Circus from the Roman circle (or square sorta)

We walked down Regent Street, a long curved road with really nice victorial buildings on both sides…at least I think they were Victorian…I’ll get back to you on that. We made our way to Hamleys, the worlds biggest toy store (their words, not mine, but it was huge!)

I wanted to get a stuffed giraffe, but I didn’t think a life-sized stuffed giraffe would fin it my suit case, that and it was ₤3500. I suppose that and the stuffed elephant from Harrods would make a great gift for someone. From there we walked back along Regent Street towards the BBC building. Time for some food, it was getting towards dinner time. Chris opted for KFC, yeah that stuff….I passed. Pizza Hut was my choice, although at 99p for a tiny slice I only had 1 slice. I would get something at the train station, if there was time. There was about 20 minutes before our train, I had a bagle with smoked salmon with cream cheese, a reasonable ₤3.45 Reasonable till you remember that it is over $7.00 CAD. Oh well…I gotta eat.

An hour on the train and we were home.
A cup of tea some TV and then time for bed.

The 2 Tates

2005-09-22T00:30:00.000-04:00

After a chat on the train, I found out that there is a boat that connects the two Tate Galleries. This sounds like a plan, I will go to The Tate Britain, then the Tate Modern.

The Tate Britain contains a chronology of British art from the 1500’s to the present. I was amazes with the depth and breadth of the collection; every age and every style. If you follow the galleries in order you can se the progression in technical skill and style. The style usually matched the times, what was going on in society.

I will post links and pictures later.

The Tate Modern contains a very broad based collection of Modern art; Picasso and Warhol to name a couple.

The Tate Modern is housed in an old electric generating station, making good use of an old building also allowing the galleries to have huge spaces.

Modern art forces you to think about what is and what isn’t art. What makes a makes something art.

Some examples:

“The Fountain” an urinal on its side signed and dated. Is this art?

“9 Tables” This, on first look is nine concrete blocks, but on closer examination there are parts cut out. These are the negative spaces left when a table is removed, the cut out spaces in the blocks are where the legs and rails would be. Is this art?

“Tomato sauce” By Andy Warhol. This is a copy of a Heinz tomato sauce box. Is this art?

I can’t answer these questions for you. I think art is in the eye of the beholder.

Comments?

S.

Two Squares and a garden?

2005-09-21T21:30:00.000-04:00

Leicester (Pronounced Lester) Square, Trafalgar Square, Canada House, Covent Garden

This was going to be an “interesting” day; I was going to meet another online friend. We’d been talking for a few months, and since I was going to be in London, it was a good excuse to meet for lunch and some chat.

We met for lunch and a nice café, had lunch and we talked about everything, especially about how we were going to change the world. I talk a lot about changing the world, don’t I?

Anyway, Leicester Square, was interesting, it is the hub for the London theater scene. There is a bronze statue of one of the greats of theater; Charlie Chaplin. Around the center of the square there are bronze plaques in the ground with the names of all the commonwealth countries, their capital city and their distance from London; of course I looked for Canada.

We made our way down to Trafalgar Square, four giant bronze lions, a tribute to Lord Admiral Nelson, similar but taller than the tribute we have in Montreal. I think Montreal’s was first. Trafalgar Square is surrounded by Canada House, The National Gallery and Portrait Gallery and St. Martin in the Fields church; the one with the choir.

Canada House was the highlight. Aside from the security check, I was “home” Canada House as well as being part of the Canadian Embassy, is set up so that Canadians in London can keep in touch with home. There are newspapers from Montreal and Toronto, computer terminals with e-mail access, information about Canada, and a small research library with Canadian books.

I was able to show off, after all this was MY country, I knew about the pictures and the places mentioned in the books.

What I found strange was, no one was around from Canada house. There was no one to answer questions or to keep watch on the place. We did meet another family from Canada…Oh, Canada is a BIG place, they were from Alberta.

We made our way to Covent Garden, but I couldn’t find any flowers. Strangest garden I’ve ever seen.

NO!!

I knew it is a market. It wasn’t what I thought it would be, I was expecting something more like a big farmers market and crafts. There were crafts, but mostly it was retail shops and restaurants. There what seemed like a big flea market.

I wanted to see the London Transport museum, but it is presently closed for renovations, oh well.

I walked back to Victoria Station along The Whitehall (check this) I walked till the parliament buildings, from there I took a bus the rest of the way.

The National Gallery and Portrait Gallery are planned for another day.

S.

A tangible history

2005-09-21T03:21:00.000-04:00

There is something about London that keeps coming back to me. The history is real and tangible. You can feel it. I know this may sound a bit strange; every city has a history that’s real. In London you can actually touch it; the easiest way to explain it is, the town I’m staying in, has been occupied since roman times, the house I’m in is an old Victorian, yes its been renovated, plumbing and heating have been added, and there is electricity. But this house has been here since the late 1800’s, not only this one, but the houses for blocks around. The street barely has enough room for 2 cars to pass. Most of central London is the same. At the Tower of London I was able to run my hands along walls that have been there for over 900 years. At the British Museum, I was able to hold artifacts that are thousands of years old; a stone tool, a ceramic tile, and others.

Montreal has a history too, 360 years, but most of that history is centered around the old port area, the rest of the cith has been developed and redeveloped over time. Where are the narrow streets? Where are the old houses along those streets? Gone and forgotten I would suggest.

Who are we?
Where did we come from?
Where are we going?

Some of the answers are in our history.

S.

Keeping Busy

2005-09-21T03:15:00.000-04:00

Sunday
Brighton
We went down to Brighton and the Beach. We explored the pier and walked along the beach. The beach is interesting in that it is a pebble beach. Small rounded beach pebbles, until you reach the high tide mark where it becomes a sand beach. Brighton is a sleepy town south of London, very relaxed compared to London, with very few CCTV closed circuit TV) cameras. It is the artsy “wild” part of England lots of small shops selling almost anything you would want. A bit bohemian.

For dinner we went to Harry Ramsden famous fish ‘n chips for….wait for it….Fish ‘n Chips!! We started in the restaurant, but after waiting way too long we made our way to the take-away (take out) counter. For about ₤5 we had fish, chips and a drink, I had the cod; deep fried with a light batter. It was quite good. We may go down to Brighton again for dinner with a friend of Chris.

Monday
Doing things here always seem to take longer than you expect. Monday for example, I was hoping to do the Tower Bridge, The Tower of London and St. Pauls. Good plan right. I thought so too. I take the earliest train with an off peak rate, 9:00 am, to London Bridge, the closest to everything. And then head for the bridge.

The bridge exhibit explains the history and building of the bridge, allows you to walk across the two foot paths at the top of the bridge, you can even go into the old engine rooms to see how the bridge was operated. Nineteenth century engineering at its best.

Just a note, Tower Bridge is NOT London Bridge. There has been a bridge at “London bridge” since Roman times, and the bridge has been rebuilt many times, the current bridge is of modern design and construction. Tower Bridge was built to help ease the congestion in and out of London. There is more information on the web.

After getting a quick and too expensive lunch, I head for The Tower of London. I purchase my ticket and head toward the welcome center, where there is a brief introduction to what is in the tower, then I make my way into the tower. A guided tour seems the best way to get the most out of the tower. The tower is not what you would expect of a “tower” it is more like a castle with towers. To continue, There are tours given by the Yeomen Warders, or Beefeaters. They bring life to the tower, explaining the history and telling stories about who did what to whom and why…sometimes.

They point out the main buildings, major historical facts, and explain who they, the Yeomen Warders are. They are the Queen’s personal bodyguards. They are all retired military personnel holding the rank of sergeant major. Aside from the Queen’s family and personal staff, they are the closest to her.

The tour is about an hour long, but they do not take you through the armory or the crown jewels…not those jewels!

The crown jewels are the Queens crowns and other symbols of her power. Whatever you think of the Queen and the royalty, the crown jewels are stunning. There are gems from all over the world and pieces from the early kings and queens. Although the Queen owns the crown jewels, I doubt you’ll find them on eBay any time soon.

From the crown jewels, I went to the White Tower, the oldest part of the Tower of London. The White tower was the first castle built to show the king’s power. It is 900+ years old!

Four floors of history, including artifacts, weapons, real suits of armor, especially Henry VIII’s with a, shall we say, large cod piece…if you get my drift.

The Bloody tower was next. I’ll find an explanation somewhere on the web J

Back to where this all began, I spent more that 3 hours exploring the tower and its galleries. It was now after 4 pm, and the tower bridge would be raising at 4:30 this afternoon, something that doesn’t happen too often.

By this time is was too late to get to St. Pauls. It will have to wait.

Tuesday
I went to the Jewish Museum, both Branches, Finchley and Camdon Town, only a couple of tube stops away from each other. Both museums contained the history and artifacts of the Jewish community in England, The Finchley branch was a social history, with a special emphasis on the holocaust, with a survivor’s story in his own words and his family’s pictures and artifacts. Camdon Town’s branch was a religuos history, with lots of holiday and synagogue artifacts. It was interesting not because of what was in the collection, but the age and the stories about where things were found. There were pieces from the 1600’s and 1700’s
From the Camden Town museum I head up to Golders Green. I need some meat! And Golders Green is where I will find kosher restaurants, a butcher and a baker, no candle stick maker. Although Golders Green was the heart of the Jewish community, it no longer is, but it remains central to the Jewish community. I got a small kosher salami and some karnatazel hurray!!

Tuesday Night
I went back to Brighton with Chris to see one of his friends perform and to be at the launch concert for a new album for Kit Ashton http://kitashton.com . A good time was had by all J

Train Strangeness
I take the train into London every day, it seems that I can take a train the leaves Horsham at 9:00 AM and arrives in London about 10:10 am. I can also take a train that leaves Horsham at 9:20 AM and arrives in London at 10:15 Either train is ok, because the museums and attractions only open at 10 or 10:30. I just thought would mention it because it’s strange

S.

The British Pub

2005-09-18T19:32:00.000-04:00

Have you ever been to a get together with your friends? Beer, games, conversation?

That is the definition of the British Pub. We went out for drinks tonight. The Bear was the name of the pub. Even if you can’t read, the big bear hanging right over the door will tell you exactly where you are. That goes for The Black Jug restaurant around the corner, their sign is a…you guessed it, a big black jug.

Back to the pub, It had the feeling of someone’s living room, and it may very well have been, because the pub’s owner lived right upstairs. The experience was made more pleasant when I asked about a particular beer, the owner offered me a sample, only a couple of ounces, but I did end up getting a pint.

We played darts, my buddy played the flower machine…a very sophisticated video lottery terminal that actually pays out cash and I enjoyed my beer.

We moved to the front room and talked about how we are going to change the world; When we have the time.

Maybe I’ll open a British pub when I get home….or maybe not; I might be too busy changing the world.

S.

The British Museum

2005-09-16T23:31:00.000-04:00

AMAZING, OVERWHELMING, WONDERFUL, INTERESTING

The British Museum is one of the oldest, or the oldest museum in Europe.

I think you get the idea. I am very jealous of the school groups I saw in the museum today. I never had the chance to see a real mummy when I was studying world history. I didn’t even start studying world history until I was in high school, these kids were in 4th year (same as grade 3)

The Egyptian collection and the Rosetta Stone were the highlights form me. To actually see not just one mummy but almost a dozen blew my mind.

The British Museum has collection dating from prehistory to modern times. Greeks, Romans, Medieval Europe, the Renaissance, old British burial sites and everything in between. The collection is amazing!

S.

Horsham

2005-09-15T19:28:00.000-04:00

I needed a break from the madness of London, something a bit calmer. I explored Horsham, the city I’m staying in.

It seems that there is almost as much history here as there is in London. Horsham is over a thousand years old, closer to 1500 years old. .I explored the historical museum, and the shopping areas. Unfortunately it rained…wouldn’t you know it, the one day I want to relax and explore I can’t because of the weather.

Horsham have been a city since roman times, mostly as a center for trade of some form or another. Farming and light industry made up the bulk of the trade.

I was also able to do some urban exploration http://www.uer.ca we explored a 100 year old minister’s house. The house is slated for destruction to build apartment buildings. I suppose when your city is over 1000 years old, a 100 year old building is not that old.

Due to rain, fire and a lack of concern, the house is collapsing allowing more rain and weather to get in. I will post pictures when I have better access to the net.

History is relative. With Canada being 138 years old, and Montréal being about 360 years old, we are very young when compared to the major cities of Europe. When Montréal was founded most of the major European cities were already big and bustling. I am not trying to minimize Montréal’s importance as an important city or as my home, it’s that Montréal’s history isn’t very long.

Most of the cities and town I pass on the train are still filled with old Victorian buildings; in fact I’m staying in a Victorian house, modernized of course. That doesn’t exclude the drain pipes running down the outside walls. I’ll have pictures later.

The walls are not thick enough to have the pipes running inside, or if they are thick enough, they are solid brick. The weather here is not as cold as at home, so there is very little risk of them freezing. This is not just typical of residential buildings in small towns, but in the center of London’s consulate district.

S.

Is it Tuesday already?

2005-09-13T19:03:00.000-04:00

I managed to get into London via a different train route, I ended up at London bridge station. I will still se what I want, just in a different order. I can manage that. London Bridge station is not as big as Victoria, but just as busy. I have a feeling that all of London's stations are busy, especially at the end of the day.

The HMS Belfast is a permanently moored WW II warship that has been converted to a museum; part of the Imperial war Museum - Already on my agenda. I have been on many military vessels when they come into Montreal, usually about 30 minutes of a visit with very little information about the systems. The Belfast is different, A self guided tour takes you through almost all of the ship, including the boiler and engine rooms. You get a look at what life was like, the mess (kitchen and dinning rooms, bathrooms, sick bay, the dentist, food storage and the ammunition storage and gun loading system. What I thought would be 30 minutes became over 2 hours. I had to change other plans today, nothing to worry about. I made better plans for another day.

I had a second day with the Big Bus tour, including a river cruise, From the Belfast I walked over Tower Bridge and checked out the exhibits there, I will do the Tower Bridge and the Tower of London together on one day.

The river cruise was a 20 minute trip from the Tower Bridge to the London Eye. The 15 minute wait became 45 minutes. It was not a complete waist, I met some other tourists, an American couple on vacation and an older couple with their grandsons. We chatted about London, Canada and the States. It was pleasant and it made the time pass more quickly.

More of the BIg Bus tour, just a continuation of yesterday's extravaganza.

The Tube is HUGE!! There are so many stations. I hadn't been on the Tube yet and wanted to experience it. I asked directions, I didn't really know where to begin looking on the system map. It was no more difficult that Montreal's Metro.

The millennium Bridge - it doesn't bounce anymore. When the bridge was completed and opened, as people started walking on it, there was a marked bounce and sway in the bridge. . it was open for a weekend, then closed for 18 months to get it fixed. They added dampers to control the sway and bounce. All is well, the bridge leads right to the Tate Modern, I have that on my agenda too.

People have said to me the London is very expensive. I agree, if you're a tourist, because of the exchange rates, London can be very expensive, every £ (pound) has the value of about $2.25. That is a lot of money. I bought a sandwich today, it was £1.75, quite reasonable for something from a train station shop, almost $4.00 CAD, Yikes!

My feeling is that if you live here, it is a very reasonable price. Milk is about £1.40 a liter, comparable to about $1.30 a liter at home...sorta if you convert it is very expensive.
Tourists are on a fixed budget with a limited amount of money to spend 9in their own currency) it can get expensive to visit.

Aside from people grumbling that thety don't have enough money, it seems to be quite reasonable to live here.

S.

My First Day In London

2005-09-13T01:29:00.000-04:00

My first task is to get in to London…Simple really, just take the train….chuc chuc chug….an hour later I’m in Victoria Station, where do I go?!?! This place is BIG! People everywhere, shops, sign everything. I do have a plan, The Big Bus Tour, a bus tour of the city with the ability to get off and on the bus throughout the day (Big Bus Tours)

This is my lucky day, they have a special offer, the tout, the London Eye – A very big ferris wheel - and Madam Toussauds wax museum for 40₤ Consider the fact that the tour is 20₤ the wax museum is 20₤ and the London Eye is over 10₤, this works out quite well.

The tour is a great way to get an over view of the city, the lay of the land, where the major landmarks are and where the best shopping is!

Madam Toussaudsis the gold standard of wax museums, the exhibits are setup so you can actually walk around the “people” and take pictures with and of them. It’s fun, especially when you can take your picture with Steven Speilberg.

The museum has movie and tv stars, famous historical people, world leaders, and even a couple of fantasy and comic book characters. The tour ends with a 10 minute show in the planetarium.

The London Eye is BIG!! The best views of London, unless you are flying overhead.

From the Eye you can almost all of London’s landmarks, St Pauls, The Gerkin (a gerkin shaped building) I didn’t name it…

Big Ben (which is the bell btw not the tower) and the British parliament, almost everything.

London seems to be a very walkable city, there are signposts, and guide plaques on a number of street corners. People seem to be friendly and if you ask, will even give you directions; even other tourists will give you helpful advice.

Tomorrow I continue with the big bus tour and take a Thames river cruise, maybe not a cruise, but a….ok a cruise.

I will add links and pictures when I can get more consistent internet access

P.S. Spelling doesn't count

S.

2005-09-12T00:30:00.000-04:00

Sometime late at night – Or was it Monday sometime?

I was feeling much better and awake today. We went for a walk through Horsham, where I am staying, that’s about an hour south of London. My friend is hosting a bar-b-q for some of his martial arts friends, we need to prepare. SHOPPING!! We need to get food, some bar-b-q stuff and some chairs and tables.

I was also asked to do some home repairs…Is my genetic disposition that obvious?

Nothing too serious, look at a misbehaving bathroom faucet, fix some lights in the kitchen and help assemble the new garden furniture. I think I can manage all that in three weeks.

Back home after the shopping, hot dogs and hamburgers and of course veggie burgers for me.

Everything setup, where is everyone…uh oh…it’s been cloudy and grey all day, maybe no one will show up. We wait patiently, and taa daa people arrive!!

All nice people and we spend the afternoon and evening chatting; about nothing and everything.

My first full day in the UK

Hurray!!

Boy am I tired

2005-09-10T18:25:00.000-04:00

Saturday, September 10, 2005
Whenever….

Foe what its worth, do not take a 10:30 PM flight to Europe, it will really mess you up, you arrive in the middle of the day and everything is almost a blur. That being said, The flight was good, my seatmate was pleasant, and the movies were watchable. I did not sleep on the plane, they kept feeding us. One hour we took off we got supper (or dinner if that’s what you call it) four hours of movies, breakfast, then we landed At Heathrow, 15 minutes early; we had to wait for our gate to become available.

The bus to Gatwick was pleasant if not a bit long. I was picked up and taken to my friends house where I am now. Big blur till Sunday morning.

On My Way

2005-09-09T18:01:00.000-04:00

I'm off! and I'm leaving ...as my mother used to say.

I'm going to London, UK for 3 weeks. I haven't been to Europe in about 3 years.

There is lots of information about London on the web, a good place to start is London on WikiTravel another good site is The Internet Guide to London.

I'll add more links to the places I've seen As Time Goes By.

Enough of this...it's time to get going.

TTFN - Ta ta for now!

S.