27 September 2013 ~ Stonehenge

Listening to:  Catherine Russell ~ New Orleans


Another day trip I did from London included going to see Stonehenge.

The ancient circle of Stonehenge is unique, an exceptional survival from a prehistoric culture. The monument evolved between 3000 BC and 1600 BC and is aligned with the rising and setting of the sun at the solstices, but its exact purpose remains a mystery.

Instead of a guided tour, everyone is given individual headsets to walk around the Stonehenge at one's own pace and listen at certain marker points.

Truly fascinating and mind blowing, to think this was created so long ago. Some of these boulders were brought in from about 500 miles away.

 

 

It was a great experience.

 

I offered a young girl to take her picture, so she reciprocated.

 

 

23 September 2013 ~ London Tower

Listening to: Fleetwood Mac ~ What Makes You Think You're The One

In the early 1080s, William the Conqueror began to build the Tower of London. Successive monarchs added to the fortress over the following centuries.

In the early 1080s, William the Conqueror began to build the Tower of London.

King Edward I (1272-1307) transformed the Tower into England’s largest and strongest concentric castle (with one ring of defenses inside another).

 

Edward’s reign saw the Tower put to uses other than military or residential. It was already in regular use as a prison (the first prisoner being Ranulf Flambard in 1100); and Edward used the castle as a secure place for storing official papers and valuables. A major branch of the Royal Mint was established, an institution that was to play a significant part in the castle’s history until the 19th century.

At the bottom of St. Thomas's Tower is Traitor's Gate. Prisoners accused of treason are supposed to have passed through, including Queen Elizabeth I.

Nice displays of captured guns. This Bronze Gun was cast by the founder Mohammed ibn Hamza for the Sultan Sulaiman ibn Salim Khan. This gun was intended for a Turkish expedition to  India to expel the Portuguese colonists. Captured in Aden in 1839, it is dated from 1530-1.

 

The Bronze Fortress Gun is believed to have been captured by the British forces from the forts guarding Canton during the Second China War (1856-61).

This gun, which weighs 5 1/4 tons, was commissioned by the Knights of Malta. It is richly decorated with a variety of images representing the Order's religious and humanitarian role. It is probably Flemish, dated 1607.

This building is home to the Crown Jewels, which are the most powerful symbols of the British Monarchy and hold deep religious and cultural significance in Great Britain's history. The mystique and beauty of the diamonds and precious jewels in the royal regalia have always held an unparalleled allure to visitors from across the globe.

See the line? No way was I waiting in that...so I guess I'll have to see the Jewels in another lifetime.

This is the site of Execution Memorial. The ten executed people remembered specifically are:
William, Lord Hastings 1483 
Queen Anne Boleyn 1536
Margaret, Countess of Salisbury 1541
Jane Viscountess Rochford 1542
Queen Katherine Howard 1542 
Lady Jane Grey 1554
Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex 1601
Highlander Farquhar Shaw 19 July 1743
Highlander Samuel Macpherson 19 July 1743
Highlander Malcolm Macpherson 19 July 1743

They was also a reenactment, but I had a boat to catch so didn't stick around for the theatrics.

 

22 September 2013 ~ River Thames

Listening to: Dred Scott Trio ~ White Room


I took a short boat cruise on the River Thames.

The London Bridge was one attraction.

I thought it would be more impressive.

This current crossing, which opened to traffic in 1973, is a built from concrete and steel. This replaced a 19th-century stone-arched bridge, which in turn superseded a 600-year-old medieval structure. This was preceded by a succession of timber bridges, the first built by the Roman founders of London.

The Tower Bridge was much more majestic.

The bridge consists of two towers tied together at the upper level by means of two horizontal walkways, designed to withstand the horizontal forces exerted by the suspended sections of the bridge on the landward sides of the towers, carried by the two robust towers.  The bridge's present color scheme dates from 1977, when it was painted red, white and blue for Queen Elizabeth II's silver jubilee. Originally it was painted a greenish-blue color.

We also past a replica of Sir Francis Scott Drake's ship. I think I jumped off a separate replica of this ship in St. Thomas.

This is the London Eye - a giant Ferris wheel. The entire structure is 443 feet tall and the wheel has a diameter 394 feet.

It is the tallest  Ferris wheel in Europe and was the tallest in the world until surpassed by the Star of Nanchang in 2006, and then the Singapore Flyer in 2008.

I had a ticket to ride it but never got on. It was so crowded that day I couldn't wait in line.

 

19 September 2013 ~ Around London ~ Part III

Listening to: Metallica ~ Whiskey in the Jar


Wardrobe Place is the site of the former house where the King's clothes would be stored. It has been converted into serviced apartments.

A plaque marks the site where William Shakespeare had purchased lodgings.

Next door is the Cockpit Tavern, which is supposedly on the site of Shakespeare's house. The pub was once a cock fighting arena, and the inside is round with an upstairs viewing gallery. It is one of the few pubs in the area open on Sunday.

 A modern reconstruction of the Shakespeare Globe, named opened in 1997 approximately 750 feet from the site of the original theatre. It was originally built in 1599 by Shakespeare's playing company, the Lord Chamberlain's Men. It was destroyed by fire on 29 June 1613. A second Globe Theatre was built on the same site by June 1614 and closed in 1642.

I just liked this sign. It is a construction company.

18 September 2013 ~ St. Paul's Cathedral

Listening to: The Allman Brothers Band ~ Ain't Wasting Time No More

My first glimpse of the Cathedral from London Square.

For more than one thousand four hundred years, a cathedral dedicated to St Paul has stood at the highest point in the City of London.

The present Cathedral is at least the fourth to have stood on the site. It was built between 1675 and 1710, after its predecessor was destroyed in the Great Fire of London, and services began in 1697.

 

This was the first cathedral to be built after the English Reformation in the sixteenth-century, when Henry VIII removed the Church of England from the jurisdiction of the Pope and the Crown took control of the life of the church.

 

The west front of St Paul's is dominated by a triangular relief depicting the conversion of the cathedral's patron saint to Christianity. Above it stands the figure of St Paul himself, flanked by other apostles and the four evangelists.

 

The two western towers are topped with a pineapple - a symbol of peace, prosperity and hospitality. Near the top of the south-west tower is a clock, which was installed in 1893 and has three faces, each more than 5 meters in diameter. 

 

Above the clock hang Great Tom, the hour bell, and Great Paul, the largest swinging bell in Europe.

 

A close up of the other tower and pineapple topping.



The statue of Queen Anne that stands in front of St Paul's. Anne was the reigning monarch at the time of the cathedral's completion. 

The figures on the base represent England, Ireland, France and North America, all of which Queen Anne laid claim to. This is the American Native American Indian figure.

I visited on a Sunday so the tour was not allowed inside.

16 September 2013 ~ On the way to The Old London for Lunch

Listening to: Bob Marley ~ Soul Rebel

Paternoster Square played a significant role in medieval times when the clergy of St Paul's Cathedral used to walk in procession along Paternoster Row, rosary beads in hand, reciting the Paternoster prayer. Elisabeth Frink's 'The Shepherd and Sheep' sculpture may well hark back to the days when the square was a livestock market. Today, a market of a different sort takes place here - the global market of the London Stock Exchange, and the recent site of Occupy London.

This shell décor supposedly symbolizes alms gathering by pilgrims.

The place is filled with jars of gob stoppers, rhubarb and custard boiled sweets, wine gums, cola bottles, midget gems - all the old favorites. Plus a selection of lollipops, chocolates, toffees, fudges, nougat - enough to keep most children (and grown adults with a sweet tooth, for that matter) happy. I kept thinking about Mary Poppins.

 

Decided to have lunch at The Old London.

Classic pub fare was served and I opted for the chicken/mushroom pie with mashed potatoes and mixed vegetables. I loved that the gravy comes in its own boat. Yummy!

 

14 Sept 2013 ~ Buckhingham Palace Changing of the Guard

Listening to: Levon Helms Band ~ Atlantic City (Merlfest, 4/26/08)

We were right on time to see the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace.

On the way down, saw these statues of King George VI (1895-1952), crowned king in 1937. He was left-handed but forced by his tutors to write with his right hand. He also developed a stammer at age 8, but his speech improved with the help of his wife and an Australian speech therapist.

Queen Elizabeth, 1900-2002, was married to King George VI. She was one of the most popular members of the royal family in recent times and helped to stabilize the popularity of the monarchy as a whole.

Standing guard on Stable Yard Road, in front of the house where Prince Charles lives.

Made it just in time to see the guards marching down the street towards the Palace.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xaPP4VAOso

I see where the Wizard of Oz movie got its inspiration for the Guards.

Here is the Palace. The crowds were massive.

Close up.

I offered to take a picture of a couple, so they took one of me.

The guards finally made it to the Palace gates.

http://youtu.be/HeoBxJxmMBw

I just had to get a shot of me with one of the official horses.

 

4 Sept 2013 ~ Westminster Abbey

Listening to: Bonnie Raitt ~ Pride and Joy (Tribute to Stevie Ray Vaughn)


I spent some time walking around Westminster Abbey.

Westminster Abbey is one of the world’s greatest churches, a designated World Heritage Site and ‘Royal Peculiar’, which means the Dean is directly answerable to the monarch. The coronation of Kings and Queens has taken place here since 1066, and many of the nation’s Kings and Queens are buried in the Abbey. Principal among them is St Edward the Confessor, King of England from 1042 to 1066.

 



Big Ben is the nickname for the great bell of the clock at the north end of the Palace of Westminster in London, and often extended to refer to the clock and the clock tower.



 

 

 



 

We arrived just in time to hear the 10 o'clock chimes.

http://youtu.be/7b73UOlATkE

St. Margaret's Church was consecrated in 1523, but is the third church to reside on the site. It is dedicated to Margaret of Antioch.







Notable features include the east window of 1509 of Flemish stained glass, created to commemorate the betrothal of Catherine of Aragon to Henry VIII. Other windows commemorate William Caxton, Britain's first printer, who was buried at the church in 1491; Sir Walter Raleigh, executed in Old Palace Yard and then also buried in the church in 1618; and the poet John Milton, a parishioner of the church.

I did not go inside as it was Sunday, so tours weren't allowed.