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Incoming Guard
Guarsmen marching up The Mall to Buckingham Palace.Wednesday 19 May.
Thanks everyone for your messages received today.
BA's website is currently showing our Athens flight as leaving on schedule on Tuesday. We're keeping our fingers crossed that there won't be any further hiccups. It's hard to get at all excited about the next phase of our holiday however until that plane is in the air.
It was another beautiful day in paradise here today, with temperatures forecast to continue to rise into the mid 20s. After doing our household chores, we set off for another walk around the city centre. We went in by bus again, getting off at Green Park to have another look at the elephants. Their presence around the city is being described at the biggest outdoor art event in London's history. We found 3 more in Green Park that we had missed on Sunday.
From Green Park we crossed over the Mall to St James's Park, just before a Guards brass band, Platoon of Guardsmen, and troop of Horse Guards passed down The Mall on their way to Buckingham Palace for the daily Changing Of The Guard ceremony./ St James's Park was still colouful with Spring flowers, and full of
You
A grey squirrel in St James's Park people; both tourists, and locals picnicing and enjoying the warmth of the sun after a really miserable Winter here. The main attraction for us however was our furry friends, the squirrels. We have never failed to find them in one particular corner of St James's Park, and they have never disappointed; running back and forth, up and down trees, and performing for food. Peanuts in their shells are their favourite. They sit up on their back legs, holding a nut with their little front legs, and nibble away at the shell to get at the nuts. To a lot of English people they are vermin; nothing more than furry rats, due to the damage that they do to their gardens, bird-feeders etc. Foxes are not considered any more favourably for similar reasons (similar really to how we view possums; the only good one is a dead one!). To us however, they are really cute critters who are fun to watch. They can be found in most parks around London and other parts of England.
From St James's Park we walked through Horse Guards Parade, down Whitehall (past Downing St) to the Houses of Parliament on the Thames. We stopped
here for our packed lunch, in the shade of the trees on the West bank of the river, right opposite the London Eye. This enormous wheel, which provides tremendous views from its big glass pods, is a landmark that can be seen from many parts of the city. Walking downriver along the west bank, we passed a line of at least 50 big tour buses parked along the roadside from all parts of Europe. In this same area we found two more elephants. Passing Waterloo Bridge, Blackfriars Bridge, The Millenium Footbridge, Southwark Bridge, and London Bridge, we turned North to find The Monument, an impressive stone column topped by a gold structure that was completed in 1677 to commemorate the Great Fire of London and the rebuilding of the city. Its column encases a very tall spiral staircase with 311 steps, leading to a viewing platform near the top. We first climbed this in 2001 on our first visit to London. That was just before it closed for about 3 years for a major programme of repair and restoration costing 4.5 million pounds! This included replacing all 311 stone steps with new marble ones. The structure of the tower is
Horse Guards Parade
The barracks, stables, and parade ground of the Horse Guards, as seen from St James's Park. amazing, tapering slowly from bottom to top. The stone walls reduce in thickness from 6 or 7 feet to 2 feet, and the steps from 3 feet across to 2 foot across. Numerous slots in the walls allow light in and air to circulate, while the lower walls have shafts through them to (presumably) lessen the total weight.
We made our way home on the Tube from Monument Station, a bit foot weary (me) but having had an enjoyable day out. Cheers for now.
P&K
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Ian Spurrier
non-member comment
The squirrels are grey not red!!!!
Sorry folks, the pesky squirrels are GREY American imports, not the native British Reds, which they have nearly wiped out due to their more aggressive behaviour and the fact that they carry squirrel pox to which they are immune but is deadly to our Reds. Some of them have a reddish hue as they cunningly try to fool you into false protective feelings. They are VERMIN and can be legally killed (humanely of course). Enjoy the summer! Best regards Ian (greys so far - 21).