London November 2006
Unusual drama surrounded this trip, as we wanted to meet our
new granddaughter before leaving the country! Lauren Dorothea Strong Albers was
born November 2nd, so we boarded the plane with visions of Lauren in
our heads!
London was cold and rainy most of our nine-day stay, but it
was fabulous just the same. We had seen the main sights in London, so focused
on some new attractions like the Tate Modern. Took a city tour given our
catatonic jet-lagged state. The best time to arrive anywhere is just before
dinner. We arrived at 7am and needed to stay awake if possible. Quite a
challenge!
After a full night’s sleep, our Renaissance! We smile, we
tour, and we are engaged!
It’s Remembrance Day (November 11 &12). The Queen
presided over the ceremonies honoring the war dead, including Americans who
helped Britain. I remember listening to Europeans my parents’ age talking about
World War II as if it had happened recently even though it was then 1963-64.
We walked along the Thames admiring the old stone buildings
in London. They age so gracefully.
Visited the Turner watercolors at the Tate Britain. They
still have a major impact on me. My favorites are unfinished and abstract. I
think it’s great that Turner insisted the exhibit be free to the public. Bought
Lauren a first Christmas stocking in the gift shop.
We went to Leicester Square and bought discount tickets to
“Blood Brothers” at the Phoenix. London’s theater area is lively and bright.
The play was okay and well enacted.
Meeting my third cousin, Jan Barber, was so interesting. She
contacted Dad (DMS) for genealogy online and they’ve been e-mailing and
comparing notes for 3 years. She brought us a Christmas pudding. Her cousin,
Vince, joined us. Then, later in the week, another cousin, Sandra, kept us
company. They are related to Grandpa Freeman via his grandfather, William. The
cousins were eager to hear about Grandpa’s jolly personality, his singing
little folk songs, and buying candy bars for all.
Not so jolly was the purse-snatcher at our lunch restaurant.
None of us had a clue. Jan’s lovely bag was stolen off the floor at her feet.
We toured the Tate Modern housed in a power station and presented by a huge
piazza complete with a James Taylor sound-alike street performer. The museum’s
very high ceilings are dramatic. An interactive slide exhibit drew smiles from
all ages swooping down the various coils. My favorite piece was a nearly life-sized
sculpture of 7 men sitting on bleachers and laughing! I wonder if it was done
by the same sculptor whose “men on monkey bars” made me smile in Oporto?
On to the British Museum. I now understand why people travel
to London just to see this marvel. Some artifacts include the history of how
they were discovered. This adds lots of intrigue. After all, we may someday see
a glimmer of silver, as a 9 year old did in 1740’s near the River Ty. She
brought it home and there is stands in the museum- a detailed gorgeous silver
platter! Other favorites of mine were the cleverly carved chess set which
inspired a scene in a Harry Potter film; the Rosetta Stone and, most of all,
the elegant Reading Room now open to the public. Seas of leather bound books,
soft lighting, study desks and beautiful domed ceiling. I have to admit the
Library of Congress and University of Washington reading rooms are mere
reflections, though lovely.
Also fun to see is a display of silver candlesticks, gold
coins, etc. shown exactly as found buried years ago when the owner left them in
his yard for safekeeping. (No safety deposit boxes then). How about a gold
metal cape, An exquisite pitcher with an adorable metal duck on the spout.
Mike’s meeting group sponsored an evening reception at the
Museum of London complete with a bawdy tour guide highlighting aspects of
Victorian history and decadence; Stilton cheese and Welsh rarebit appetizers
while I examined the Punch puppet.
I asked my newfound cousin if I could see her everyday life
in West Byfleet. She directed me by train first to Guilford where we strolled
(soaked) in the castle gardens and enjoyed the Alice in Wonderland sculpture.
Jan doesn’t blink at the thought of a 1.5 hrs. train trip to London with its
concomitant walks. No mystery why my English countrymen are slimmer than we in
USA.
Then to West Byfleet and her charming home. We chatted over
hot chocolate and tea and felt we had known each other for ages. Bentley, a
handsome black cat, was adopted by Jan when he was 10 years old, rested
comfortably by the glass door overlooking the lovely garden.
I like her use of
‘posh’ to describe selecting upstairs seating in the fish restaurant.
There we had linens for our fish and chips. She explained that chips are
irregular. French fries are something else!
Every since the 70’s I’ve been telling Beatrix Potter’s The Tale of Peter Rabbit. No wonder I
booked a trip to the Lake District to visit her former home at Hill Top. I
decided to opt for first class train seats as it included breakfast and dinner
and was a long trip. We arose at dawn, paid way too much for a cab, met the
tour contact person and were escorted onto the train and to our seats. All was well until the conductor checked our
tickets. We had been put on the wrong train! It took two hours to transfer and
meet our local guide in the Lake District. There were two others on the tour:
Boston College students spending a quarter in London. We became acquainted as I
searched for them to alert them to the mistake. The conductor gave us one pass
for the four of us, so we stuck together.
Despite the rain and the delay, we enjoyed our travel
through the beautiful Lake District. The Beatrix Potter center is a bit worse
for wear, but the English cream tea at the Tailor of Gloucester Café with scones
was awesome. Seeing Hill Top and the garden that inspired Mr. McGregor’s
garden, surveying the countryside she surveyed, was wonderful. Autumn colors
decorated the area. The layered stone fences use rock from Ice Age glaciers.
Walls formed without mortar allow the water to drain through and thus preserve
the fence.
We saw William Wordsworth’s home and burial place plus lots
and lots of sheep!
When we toured London with a third cousin, Sandra, we ate at
a pub and heard the waiter call the silverware “picks and shovels”. Enjoyed
Cornish pastry with smashed vegetables while Mike had fish and chips.
We visited St. Paul’s Church, learning that Mike’s relative,
John of Gaunt, was buried there, but that church burned to the ground. The
present church was built on top of the flattened ruins. On to Westminster
Cathedral where we found ancestral
burial sites of Edward the first and second plus many, many other famous
peoples’ graves and memorials.
We said goodbye to cousin Jan, eager to host her when she
travels to the USA.
Mike and I visited the British Library staring long and hard
at the Magna Carta and thinking of Mike’s ancestor King John. The newish
facility soars. It’s huge with a grand piazza. In the center is a glass-walled
core collection of rare books called the Kings Library. We saw this
configuration at Yale’s library. It resembles a shrine to the ideas in these
books.
The collection includes precious letters, scores, and books:
a Gutenberg bible, music by the Beatles, Beethoven, Mozart; manuscripts of
Tolstoy, Austen, Chaucer. Wow!
We returned to the massive British Museum focusing on the
mummies and medieval England.
Our London stay finale was perfect- dinner at the elegantly
decorated Criterion Restaurant off Piccadilly Circus. On to India………
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