Pages

Thursday 30 June 2016

Wednesday

Over breakfast, we planned to go on a walking tour of Legal London, so went to Holborn tube.  But when we got outside, the sunny day had become cold and wet and windy.  So we went straight back to the tube and headed for the British Museum.

Such has been London weather.  Nothing like I have experienced, but exactly what you read about.  It has been very changeable, which makes dressing difficult.  So I just carry a backpack with a warm layer, a wind/rain proof layer, a hat, an umbrella,  sunglasses, and am adding a scarf.  Then you can choose whatever combination you need for the next 30 minutes.

Saw an exhibition about Shakespeare - quite interesting.  It is 400 years since he died.  Last year London was full of the 800th anniversary of Magna Carta.  So this is how history helps tourism.  After than we went to the gallery where they have old stuff - like a letter from Karl Marx to his friend,from Henry VIII to the Pope,  and the rough draft of the Beatles songs Yesterday and Help.  There were also old books - old bibles, Korans, Buddhist scripts and others.  Pics not allowed in these exhibitions.

KM has got my cold.  Mine was bad for a couple of days but cleared quickly, so lets hope his does the same.

Tomorrow is Leicester - so should have some pics then.

Wednesday 29 June 2016

Parliament


Today we took ourselves to Westminster tube, hoping to see what we could of the Palace of Westminster and the Abbey.  I had given up trying to get tickets to go inside, including a guided tour - it was impossible online and the ticket office told me in person that there were queues.

So we just began walking around.  Eventually we got to the entrance for the public - and no queue.  So I went up to the nice ladies at the gate and asked if we could go inside.  "Yaas", she said.  Parliament was sitting in 20 minutes, and we could go to the public gallery.  Felt like we had hit the jackpot.  There is a rigmarole - security checks, filling out a ticket, putting ALL bags at the cloakroom, wearing a tag saying we had been screened.  But we made it. 

Saw discussion on labour and training.  Questions are short and to the point, and seeking information.  Answers were the same.  Quite different to the scuffle that our Parliament is at QT.  Neither  David Cameron nor Jeremy Corbyn were not present, but there were enough to make the show go on.  No pics allowed though.

We did see this tribute to Jo Cox in Westminister Hall, which is the oldest part of the joint and where they often have lying in state of VVIPs.
Some other pics inside...


We saw the "green" where the media gather and set up a studio with Westminster as a backdrop.  It was fenced off to the public.  Last year when BL and I were here, there was no media and no restrictions for us.
And looking the other direction...


Checked out the Methodist Central Hall nearby for lunch.  Plain and solid food - and no alcohol, not that that worried us.

Then we walked back to our unit.  At night, we have been buying prepared meals from the supermarket and heating them up in the microwave.

An interesting day - and Brexit still dominates.  Went looking for a Brexit T Shirt - but no luck.  Must be too serious even for TShirt writers.

Tuesday 28 June 2016

Canterbury - and trains, food and Brexit

Today we tried UK's fast train service to Canterbury.  Comfortable and fast, well, faster and fewer stops than their other trains. 

The ticket checker, whose name was Steve, came through the train, checking tickets and gave each traveller directions on where to go after they left the train.  He knew all the stops apparently.  Some people enjoy their job and it was good to see.


The cathedral was historic and huge.  Helpful guides were stationed around the place - with graphic detail about the murder of Thomas Becket, what happened to his bones etc etc. 
Also info about the bells - lots of them. The central tower also has a big bell, but they only chime it  - the tower is stable at the moment....   Later there was a sign saying that you cannot learn to ring bells at the cathedral but need to go to several other churches for lessons.  The pressure of being a big-name-church.
 Aussies featured at Canterbury.   George Gipps was Governor of NSW (1838-1846), and returned to Canterbury where he died.
James Beaney contributed to a museum and got a plaque in the cathedral.  Apparently he was a philanthropist in Melbourne as well.
And the tomb of William Broughton who was the first and only Bishop of Australia.




We have been taking advantage of the huge range of prepared meals at the supermarket, which we can heat up in the microwave.  Even saw one lady at the checkout with a single glass of wine (well sealed of course).

Britain is still digesting Brexit.  This must be what a revolution feels like. Half the Labour front bench has resigned, even though they didn't initiate the referendum.  Boris says UK is part of Europe anyway, the Scots are getting restless, and even the Aus Republicans are making noises. And Kin Mun couldn't get his AU$ out quickly enough when he saw the exchange rate on Saturday.

Monday 27 June 2016

Marx - and mutts

Today we went on a walking tour of Karl Marx in London - his ideas and where he lived.  As usual, walking tour guides in London are very entertaining.  Heiko Khoo was no different.  We were treated to the ideas of Marx, his analysis of capitalism, and jokes and humour.


This is where Marx lived, complete with a blue plaque.


and a hairdressing salon - but no relation.  The three volumes of Das Kapital used to guide business  were a shaggy dog story.

And talking of dogs, some have it better than humans - this one had a Louis Vuitton carry pack.  Wonder what Marx would have made of that?

We caught up with Anne (aka "Arne" in London) and among other things,  further discussed Brexit.

The weather is very changeable.  It can rain and then be sunny all in the one day.  This evening it was cool and windy.

Tomorrow we have to move to another unit, then will go to Canterbury for the day.  We stay in London till Thursday, when we go to Leicester for 5 days.  We have figured out that we can live stream ABC raido for election news, but not television.  We have set aside Saturday morning from 9am (here) to listen to the results. 

Sunday 26 June 2016

Brexit - and mistresses - and the law

Yesterday Britain digested Brexit.  It still is today.  The BBC has had nothing else, although a gay pride march is getting some attention today.  In the half kilometre between Russell Square and our apartment, we overheard three conversations in the street about the result. We talked to the ladies in the office here and one said her family was split and she was not surprised by the result. The lady who changed our sheets was from Eritrea - her husband had come here as a refugee.  She wasn't eligible to vote and wanted to return to Eritrea if conditions improved.  But she too was talking about Brexit and gave me an explanation of how local people didn't like migrants because they "destroyed" the environment (make allowances for the limited English).

But I couldn't help but reflect on how something in UK can affect the world.  Can you think of anything happening in Australia that would have the same impact?!  Some advantages of being at the "arse-end" of the world, even if we have to put up with jet-lag.



Have been taken by this blue plaque that we pass most days. Doesn't take much to get a blue plaque it seems.  How does it compare with the efforts of Charles Dickens and John Nash (also with blue plaques around here)?


The Courts of Justice in The Strand.  Very impressive - now we know why NSW has some beautiful court-houses and jails. 

Friday 24 June 2016

Friday

A quiet day today, enforced because I have come down with a cold.  We checked the Brexit results when we got up during the night, but no final results till the BBC called it at 5am or so. Interesting times indeed.  And a warning for politicians, including ours, to ensure that the benefits of neo-liberalism and globalisation are available as widely as possible.


One pic today - it is a glace chilli from Fortnum &Mason. We were warned that it was a chilli and hot.  I had a taste but KM happily ate the rest.  Think I prefer their fudge.



Uxbridge - and the Battle of Britain (BoB)

Today we went to RAF Uxbridge. It was the headquarters for No11 RAF, responsible for the defence of London and south-east England.  The Operations Room will be a familiar sight to anyone who has watched any WW2 docos/movies.

The bunker, 50 feet below, has been left as it was, and only recently been restored and opened to the public.  It is operated by volunteers.  Our very enthusiastic guide was over ALL the detail of RAF aircraft, BoB details such as dates, weather conditions, what happened each day and what the Germans did.  He explained what all the numbers and boards and lights and those little blocks meant.  Trust the Brits - no just going up and shooting German planes - but a very orderly and systematic chain of communication and decision making.  (Reminds me of their church bells - you just don't pull the ropes and ring the bells!)

A few interesting things - and sad.  With victory, we forget that the BoB was a close run thing.  The Brits knew that they would lose a land operation.  They were losing pilots, and had to train new ones as quickly as they could.  The inexperienced pilots were put to the back of the formation, but the Germans figured this out.  Oh dear.

VIPs, including Churchill visited.  It was outside that he gave the first version of his "so much owed by so many to so few", which was later refined in his speech.  I did wonder how he coped with the 76 steps.   From the outside, you would never know there was so much below ground.  According to our guide, many locals had no idea the bunker was there.   Pic of the entrance below.  (The plane and the flowers, are of course, post-war).

Thursday's bits & pieces - Brexit and bridge

I commented earlier on the Brexit campaign.  We began to see the first of the "Leave" posters as we went outside London yesterday.

Today, the day of the poll, we got talking to "In" supporters at a stall in Uxbridge.  They were Labour Party people.  One commented that people's concerns with immigration and fear of losing government services was a big factor for supporters of the "Leave" campaign.  He even mentioned big corporations.  So, with such an accurate analysis of the neoliberal problem by a major party, why not fix it?!  Pic of the stall below.
Between our unit and Russell Square station (550m), there were TWO polling places.  We went in to one of them to chat to the workers, just before the polls opened.  The polling places were small, and people had to go to their local polling place to vote - just as in Singapore.  No posters outside either.

And saw this today outside Uxbridge.  We dared to walk across it..

Thursday 23 June 2016

Thomas Stamford Raffles - best known as the founder of Singapore. And food and bells.

Today we began our "Raffles Project", beginning with the last chapter!

We saw Highwood House, his final residence and where he died in 1826.  It is now divided into flats, so we went inside the grounds to take some piccies.


We tracked down his grave, at St Mary's, Hendon.  Raffles was buried outside the church because he disagreed with the vicar over slavery - Raffles opposed it. The curate today at St Mary' s was suitably embarrassed over this fact.  When the church was renovated and extended in 1915, his bones were found, and they ended up inside after all.

.

After getting lost on the buses, we eventually found St Paul's, Mill Hill, where his widow was buried. Her tomb was just outside the back door of the church. 

The church was built by William Wilberforce, of anti-slavery fame.


Today we also had a good meal at a Mill Hill pub.


And 8 bells at St Mary's.  The ringers are at the back of the church.  Some info for those interested.




Wednesday 22 June 2016

Tuesday in London - and there is an election over here too.

We are gradually getting over the jetlag. Went to St James Garlickhythe but found it closed (maybe the jetlag is affecting my reading of the website).  So took pics of St James and his staff outside. It's claim to fame is the Jubilee Bells.  These bells were specially cast for the Queen's jubilee, were used in the Thames River pageant and eventually installed in the church.  Garlickhythe is a reference to the wharf where garlic was sold, and apparently you can get your pilgrim credential stamped here on your way to Santiago.  Not today though.



Walked around the City of London, including Guildhall.

Had dinner with Anne and Dan tonight at a Vietnamese restaurant in SoHo, although the pics below are where we went for coffee.  Good to catch up with them both, and benefited from Anne's local knowledge of choice of restaurants. We haven't got much beyond the very good Pret a Manger.



Before coming to London, we were aware of Brexit and expected lots of election stuff around the place.  But there hasn't been much to see. Saw this discreetly placed behind the window of a house near Russell Square. (Couldn't avoid the reflection)



And saw this at Soho.


Tugs at the British heartstrings no doubt.  Well, our pollies hark back to Menzies and Curtin from time to time.  But that is the sum total of electioneering that we have seen.

Tuesday 21 June 2016

London - Day 1b

Woke up early, arranged to meet Anne for dinner on Tuesday, and went walking around Picadilly.  Bought our fudge at Fortnum & Mason, and saw some lovely cakes.


 Found the food court at Selfridges and for outrageous prices, had some good food.  KM had a very good Indian thali, while I had meat and two veg, one of which was mushy peas - the two major cuisines of this country



Later in the day we went looking for St Vedast - a neighbour of St Pauls Cathedral.  We wanted to hear bells and knew it was their practice night.  We were welcomed by the ringers and KM got to ring some call changes.  Despite my protestations of only having had 7 lessons, Tom, the tower captain very generously said "Well this can be your eighth" So I got to do some rounds - doing the back-strokes while Tom took care of the handstrokes.  It was a very good experience!  I didn't take any pics of Kin Mun - sorry. Next time


.