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Published: September 6th 2013
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Well here I am in what could be called the heart of Empire - well at least it would have been called that in Dickens day.
As the plane was around 2 hours late leaving NYC that obviously meant that I was late arriving in Heathrow where I was soon on the Heathrow Express heading towards Paddington station. From there it was easy as Sandra had sent me clear instructions on how to get to her place and, after ringing her to let her know that I'd finally arrived, she walked down to meet me. Lovely to see her again and settle in; that first shower was heaven but not before a cup of tea! By the time I'd unpacked and had a bite to eat John had arrived back from his tennis game and it wasn't long before we were heading out.
First stop was the newly opened Dickens Museum at Doughty Street (after a renovation thanks to the National Lottery). Having never been there before it was great a look around. It was a very nice home for an up and coming young and newly married Dickens. As Catherine and Charles Dickens loved to entertain it was
very interesting to see the kitchen from which the cook had to prepare their dinner party food; not something I'd like to do in what seemed like fairly basic utensils. Sandra and John accompanied me but, since they'd been there numerous times before, they retired to the cafe while I looked around.
From there we went to have an early dinner at an Asian Restaurant which was delicious. It also gave us time to have a relaxing chat. Then it was off to a Dickens Fellowship Central Branch meeting at which Mike Newell, the director of the latest movie version of "Great Expectations", starring Ralph Fiennes & Helena Bonham Carter, was the speaker. That was very interesting and quite entertaining; Mike seemed to be a frustrated actor! Thankfully it was not too late an evening as I was beginning to fade a little after only getting two short sleeps on the plane the previous night. So you can imagine the pleasure it gave me when my head finally hit the pillow!
Refreshed and raring to go my first port of call after breakfast the next day was to the Tate Modern Cafe which I'd walked along the embankment
to from Waterloo station. There I met Kerrii's friend Melinda; she spoke to our First Sat group quite some time ago so some of you may remember her. It was really lovely to see Melinda again and we had much catching up to do so we hardly had time to draw breath! When it was time for a parting of the ways we walked along the Millennium Bridge to St Paul's Cathedral, an ideal spot for a photo opportunity, and then said our goodbyes.
My first stop on my lonesome was Australia House where I joined a queue to vote. That was quite exciting, chatted to fellow Australians there for the same reason. It all went very smoothly being so well organised although it did take me a while to fill out the Senate paper which was a bit like a tablecloth with 110 candidates. I never vote above the line, preferring to give my own preferences, so with such large numbers of candidates I didn't want to make a mistake.
From there it was off to the Royal Courts of Justice for a little look around before heading to Lincoln's Inn Fields, an area which has not
Catherine & Charles Dickens' dining room
Where many a sumptuous meal was consumed! apparently changed much since Dickens days. I wasn't the only one enjoying the park; being such a glorious day lots of people were having lunch there. My first port of call of the places surrounding the park was the Sir John Soane's Museum which was quite a treasure. Formerly his home, Sir John Soane (1753-1837) was a neo-classical architect who collected paintings, drawings and antiquities and which are displayed just as he left them. Bequeathing his collection to the nation his son contested the will; an action which took 30 years to reach a verdict on (his son lost). It is reputed to be the case on which Jarndyce Vs Jarndyce in Dickens' "Bleak House" is based; well at least that's one of the many theories!
The next place I visited in Lincoln's Inn Fields was John Forster's house; Forster was Dickens' greatest friend and his first significant biographer. Well you can't go inside the place, it was just a case of seeing it from the street. Then I went to the Hunterian Museum which is in the same area and is the museum of the Royal College of Surgeons. A collection bought together over four centuries by a
Part of the kitchen
Where those sumptuous meals were prepared cast of colourful characters including the surgeon and anatomist John Hunter (1728-1793). You would have loved that Kev!
Late in the afternoon I went back to St Paul's, over the Millenium Bridge to visit the Globe Theatre although I couldn't go in. My final visit was to some of the exhibits at the Tate Modern since Melinda and I had only spent time I the cafe.
Finally I caught the train back to Putney for a delectable meal with Sandra & John washed down with some very nice wine. Needles to say I'm enjoying myself!!
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Louise Owens
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Hi Michelle, Loved reading your blog entry. I really enjoy visiting the Sir John Soane Museum too - I didn't know about the possibility that Jarndyce vs. Jarndyce was possibly based on Soane's will! I just watched 'Bleak House' on DVD this week, so it's fresh in my memory. Enjoy London! Cheers, Louise