London – Part 2
Tuesday 30 October 2007
We are now 11 hours behind Sydney as they went back and Sydney went forward 1 hour at the weekend…
Walking Tour at St Paul\’s.
It went for 3 hours was quite tiring and some times very cold. We began at St Paul\’s YHA which used to be the quarters for the St Paul\’s Choir for many years. The local or city council wanted to widen the road in front of the building and the choir objected saying that there wouldn\’t be enough room for them, although not sure how they meant it, and so they moved to another building. Their building was sold to the YHA not sure when for the princely sum of $1 or was it £1? Of course it cost a lot to repair and renovate the inside of the building and there is still one room, the chapel, that has been \’registered\’ or \’qualified\’ as a \’heritage\’ room and is not able to be renovated. I will look into that room when I stay at the hostel on 2,3 and 4 November.
We crossed the Millenium bridge, pedestrian, over the Thames, which when opened in 2000 and had a lot of people of it, it swayed and did funny things. So it was closed for 6 months while it was stabilised. Then along Southwark (pronounced Southek) which was where the workers lived, past the Tate Modern, The OXO Tower, the Royal National Theatre, Hayward Gallery, Jubilee Gardens and Waterloo Pier, and the \’London Eye\’ which takes about 30 minutes to do a turn; heard the history of railways and lines and bridges changing, being re-built, and changing hands over the years; heard about and saw the netting that is put across part of the Thames to collect any river rubbish; over the bridge, not sure which one, back to walk up past Buckingham Palace, be told which is the Australian, NZ and Canadian gates, past Clarence House and St James Palace, Philip and Camilla live in one of those; James Park and then Green Park to Piccadilly. Past The Ritz, the second most famous hotel in London, the Savoy being the first. [This latter hotel was the first to have en suites and electric lighting in London, and the Savoy Theatre in the centre of the building used to house G&S productions. Sullivan would be inside the theatre on a new production\’s first night, and Gilbert would pace up and down in the Park in front of the Savoy. Maybe it was the other way around, however there is now a monument to both of them, one in the building and the other in the park outside! which had nothing to do with the break up in their creative relationship.]
Then we gave up on the tour at Piccadilly Circus, now 9.50p as I was cold, bought a Hungry Jacks so I could eat on the underground on way back, only 5 stations, to King\’s Cross St Pancras. The 3 people on the walk were all from this hostel and we got back to the hostel quite easily and thankfully to a warm, comfortable place. It is a very good place to be in the YHA at St Pancras. Staff at reception, some good, some not so,it is v clean and boasts that, it is very central and easy access to underground, buses and national trains. Also the British Library is opposite as is the newly, soon-to-be-officially-opened St Pancras railway station. I put the links in here before. The trains want to compete with airlines from the continent, and market the time saved in immigration, waiting, on and off planes, security etc. to business people. For example less than 2 hours from Brussels to London. The St Pancras building is beautiful and being renovated into luxury apartments, and the station itself will be worth seeing. The Queen her little royal self will open – and by the way, had an opportunity to go see HM in her carriage with all the trimmings etc and the Saudi Arabia boss at 10a this morning outside Buck Palace but decided against it – may have meant lotsa people and anyhow had to organise getting the farmlist book to me. Note – this should come tomorrow……………….so i extended yet again another night at the hostel and leave here Thursday morn. Now I have to find a place for one night somewhere.
What else happens in London? I am very pleased I can walk so many places or then catch a bus or train if I want. Bus trip is .90p train £1.50.
There is a survey mark at the base of the King Charles 1 statue in Trafalgar Square, the Nelson Column place, and this is the base for ALL measurements from London to the World! So actually I was right in the middle of London. Also at Trafalgar Square just below the National Gallery (got to go there soon too) is the measuring marks used for years to measure inches, feet, yards, rods and perches – wonderful old stuff.
Will tell you more as I move around. I found some books in their common room, a great comfortable room at reception, ground floor, large windows so the street can look in and the guests can look out. So I finished Wendy Harmer\’s book, her 2nd one, and laughed all the way through. What a wit and an understanding of culture and people. Any male or female, Australian, would enjoy I am sure. And now I have picked another real life book to read b4 I leave of a woman from Taree who got sentenced to prison for 10 years before she was released. She had been set up by the corrupt courts and cops, and her husband, and spent 2 1/2 years clearing her name. Sounds pretty sordid eh?
Till next time.