London

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Last day in London, what to see? Andy and I decide on the National Army Museum which is located in the Chelsea District of central London adjacent to the Royal Hospital Chelsea, the home of the 'Chelsea Pensioners'. A Chelsea Pensioner or In-Pensioner is a resident of the Hospital, a retirement home and nursing home for members of the British Army. From 2009, women have been allowed in. There are around 300 retired British soldiers living there. Each pensioner is issued with Blues (day to day uniforms) and Scarlets (parade uniform). They wear their Blues on a daily basis. Prior to the 1950's the rooms measured 6*6 feet. They now have ensuite facilities, a writing desk and natural light. The Royal Hospital Chelsea was founded in 1682 by King Charles II.

Andy and I went in to look at the cemetery and then decided to have a coffee there. Here we meet 2 very interesting gentlemen who are residents. One was telling us he was meant to go to Australia as a Barnado's child but was rejected as he was illegitimate and not an orphan. The other was telling us he was meant to go to Maralinga but someone else went instead. I personally think both of them were lucky.

After this we headed to the National Army Museum just down the road. This has a different emphasis to other military museums. There was a lot on the influence of the military on things such as nursery rhymes (who knew Humpty Dumpty was about a cannon falling off a wall), fashion, music, films and movies portraying national identity, social status and morality. There was also an excellent display on enlistment posters and toys, computer games and the like based on military activities. The museum also had an emphasis on how the military has driven innovation and advances in medicine.

From here we decided to visit to St Paul's Cathedral. It is a beautiful church. We arrived in time to be able to climb to the tower. To the Whispering Gallery it was 163 steps, then another 119 steps to the Stone Gallery and then another 152 steps to the Golden Gallery, making a total of 434 steps. The highest point of the Cathedral is 365 feet representing the days in a calendar year. Apparently I am not the only one who complains about the stairs, Christopher Wren before the building was finished used to have the builders pull him up in a basket.

When we got down a service was about to begin so we listened to the choir for a bit before we left. We then crossed the Millenium Bridge to the Tate Modern so we could go to the 10th floor to get a good picture of St Paul's. We then wandered down to Blackfriars and had a drink at the skinny pub. Then we had to find St Andrew's of the Wardrobe. A bite to eat then back to Earl's Court to pack for the start of the journey home tomorrow.

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