[Elfsea] Trip to London

[Glen Wilkerson]

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Between kids and school and scouts and church, they haven't played SCA for quite a while - but for those who still fondly remember Lord Galen and Lady Arreanna Litlepage of Redore, I thought everyone might enjoy hearing of their recent trip.

Don Alaric

-----Original Message-----
From: Glenda Simmons <glendasimmons at wtez.net>
To: Craig Schmidt <cschmidt at tosohquartz.com>; Glen Wilkerson <gdwilkerson at earthlink.net>
Cc: Margaret Martin <pairofmedics at worldnet.att.net>; Mark Rakestraw <mrakestraw at erols.com>
Date: Monday, July 09, 2001 8:15 AM
Subject: London


Well,

We have been to London to see the Queen and missed her by 5 minutes.

We left DFW Tuesday, 3:40 pm, 4 weeks ago (time sure flies) and got into London Gatwick Airport about 9:30 am on Wednesday. After going through customs and getting my first passport stamp, we caught the train into Victoria Station.

Our bed & breakfast was in a row house two blocks from the station. Very nice for transportation. One thing that we did this trip was get an "In-Suite" room. We didn't have to trudge up or down to take care of business. This did make for the room being on the third floor (our forth, they don't count ground level in the numbering). By the forth day my feet and knees would start hurting just looking at the front door.

We did a lot of stair work while we were in London. Most of the tubes (subways) are down at least one flight of stairs. One tube was down five. The tube is a great way to get around town. We got it down to just figuring if we were going to be going a particular direction and matched the line and direction of travel. All of them are color coded. If one train was full, another one would be along in less than eight minutes. Most of London that we were interested in on this trip was just a short walk from the tube stops.

Our first outing after dumping the bags (one each plus a day pack) was to Canterbury. We saw the cathedral (13 chapels that we saw, plus the main worship area, other areas are not open to the public), a monument erected by a  James Simmons for his donation of improvements to a park during the year 1790. Had a grand time walking around the town. Went from the train station, past the student apartments, to a Norman wall and castle, to downtown, old downtown, ancient downtown, and then to the cathedral gates. You could see the progression from one age to another by the width of the streets. The oldest ones were just about one car wide and are now for foot traffic only. The houses and business were built at the curb and each story overhangs the lower level just a little so that not much light makes it to the pavement.  We had supper in a real pub - the Thomas Becket Pub. It was small but wonderful. Black wood, just a few locals having a brew or supper and no TV. On back we went to plan our next day and get some sleep.

Day 2 was spent on the top deck of a tour bus. We had a bright sunny day with mild temperatures to roll around London. This was a great way to get an overview of where things were located. We did the river tour and decided to return to a few locations before the day was over. We returned to watch the closing of the gates at the Mews (royal horse troop's stable). The march the guards for the day out and inspect them and them dismiss them. One of the men didn't have his spur on correctly. I don't know if he got a demerit or not. The horses and riders that have been on standing duty are then called into the yard and inspected. The guards salute their horses by slapping their neck and rump and then take them into the stable. We went to Tralfgor Square. The bird feed venders are not allowed to sell in the square any more to discourage the pigeons but people bring their own food and the birds are still plentiful.

Day 3 was spent at the Tower of London. The name is a bit misleading as the Tower is a compound not just one building. The main building is the White Palace (limestone and sandstone) that has been everything from a palace to a barracks. The mint and armory have been there at one or another and is now a muesum. The original main entrance is still the only way in. Original to the building are french still fireplaces - a hood reaching into the room with a stone harth for the fire to be built on and a very steep chimney. Reported to be the best at the time but not very good at making heat or removing smoke. The armory holds the crown jewels. Best to see the jewels at 9 am before the crowds come in. There are all of the crowns, orbs, swords of state and ceremony and robes, ceptors, and spoons. The other parts of the compound include houses from Henry VIII and later that ring the green square where noble prisoners were executed. Prisoners of lower rank were taken out to trator hill just outside the walls and executed to the publics delight. They have the rooms that Sir Walter Raliegh used while he was imprisionded. His wife and children were allowed to live ther with him. The warders of the Tower are men who have served at least 22 years in the armed services and attained at least a master sargent rank. They and their families are allowed to rent (cheeply) houses inside the Tower. The river is next to the Tower and the Tower served at one time as the toll booth for river commerace. We got pictures of the Traitor's Gate and the Water Gate. The one for those out of favor and the other for head's of state coming on offical business. The armor and sword display room is fantastic. There was a man several hundred years ago who went around designing display rooms for the castles. He used pistols to twine around pillars, short swords for sunbursts, and long swords all over the place. Henry VIII's arnor is on display in the plate armor room. Glenn would just about fit it as Henry seems to have been a giant of a man compared to the other armor. A 5-6th grade class was touring the room and were delighted to point out the cod piece of great size Henry had included with the armor. Also got a photo of Henry's portrait that was on display.

Day 4 was the British Museum and general tourist gauking.

Day 5 was our last day to catch London sights. We dashed off to the Globe Theater. London at 9 am Sunday is rather quiet. The Globe is the only structure in London to have a thatched roof. The great fire in ____ several hundred years ago caused a bill to be passed that out lawed thatch roofs. Slate and tile are the norm, but the theater group installed a sprinkler system that will soak the thatch in 30 seconds and the city fathers allowed the Globe to be rebuilt to Shakespeare original. The theater is rather smaller than I thought it would be, the 5 pince groundlings are now 5 pound groundlings and the fire marshal will only allow 1,000 patrons into the Globe instead of the 3,000 that would be packed in earlier times. The stage is fantastic with painted ceiling and pillars (1 tree per pillar, 3 stories tall), trap doors and even a pulley system based on original designs. Jeremy is thinking that it would be fun to spend a summer semester there some time. We went to Victoria/Albert museum and skipped a great part of the displays so we could get to the good stuff (swords, full sized plaster casts of all of the world's best sculptures, and a display of glass by Chulley that was just being set up)

We caught a train (not the subway) to Northhampton to spend two days at High Gate House where John was attending a conference. I got the run of the garden but could not go onto the farm due to the huff and mouth quarantine. High Gate was an inn on the main highway during the 1700's. We were in rooms that were built where the stable had been. Our room was in the "Bridle" #111. Our room was dedicated to the 1982 Grand National Champion, Grittar. We would like to go back to Northhampton to tour and explore the history. Our cab driver gave us the quick version from the station and there is as much to see there as in London.

I guess that we will make plans to return some day and see more. Maybe we won't look quite so much like tourist the next time (mouth open, head turning left-right nonstop).

Best to you,

Glenda & John



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