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Published: January 25th 2014
Return from Bath
The train station here has an area for bikes as well - not as many as Holland, but still a well used mode of transportation.We have been keeping pretty low key in London since returning from our trip to Bath. There had been quite a few hard wind and rain storms that had gone through while we were gone and it didn’t seem to let up. The weather can switch quickly from a partially sunny day to a real rainy day. We have learned to always carry our umbrella with us, unfortunately with the high winds we don’t want our umbrella to end up like all the other broken ones laying around in the streets. With the wind the boat moves around at the dock much more than normal. Just a “gentle” reminder that we do live on a boat!
The other day we were walking down the street and we noticed that the number of tourists seems to have increased significantly. And then we remember this is a school holiday pretty much everywhere in the world. I guess it’s not surprising considering the fact that we live probably two blocks away from two of the world’s best-known tourist attractions, Tower Bridge and the Tower of London. As we walked down the street it’s very rare to hear English spoken; Italian, Russian, Polish, Spanish
New Year's Fireworks in London
What a great show they put on & fortunately the rain stopped in time as well! and a bunch of other ones we don’t even recognize seem to predominate. St. Katherine Docks is also a tourist attraction because of the boats and the fact that there are a number of old Thames barges tied up here. Also there’s taking photos of a number of very large yachts (over 40 m, 130 feet). Based on the number of cameras we see out taking photos of the marina, for certain Tsamaya is pictured in many homes throughout the world.
We had heard about the fireworks display on New Year’s Eve in London and wanted to attend. Bob is not crazy about crowds, especially the size they were predicting, but we (that’s a euphemism for “Janice said”) told ourselves that we were in London and had to at least attempt to go. We were just hoping that the winds would cut down so they would not be cancelled. As luck would have it, there was a break in the weather on December 31
st. Everyone in the marina that we talked to that had been to the fireworks in previous years told us we needed to get down to the viewing areas early due to the number of people
The Viewing Area
worked out well as we could see both Big Ben & the London Eye. in attendance. We left the boat at 9:15PM and caught the tube (subway) heading in the direction of where the fireworks could be seen. We were advised to stay on the north side of the Thames in order to get a good spot for viewing. An announcement came on the subway telling everyone should get off as the viewing areas that were closer were already completely filled. We did as we were told and found that as we exited the subway station we were part of a “tidal wave of people”. We became part of a ribbon of people walking as directed and turning just like a snake through the streets that were closed. The people in the “orange jackets” directed us where to go and we all dutifully followed their direction. It was amazing, no one complained or even slightly upset - we were just this incredibly large happy group of people following directions with none of us really knowing where we were headed; we just were walking as a mass. We finally reached a viewing area that was open and it wound up being a good one. From where we stood we had a great view of the
Ringing in the New Year
in London was lots of fun with a great fireworks display and an amazing crowd. London Eye, the incredibly large Ferris wheel where the fireworks would be set off. As we looked down the Thames we could see Big Ben in the background. Only thing now was to stand in place for a couple of hours before the show would begin! The tourists were out in full force (funny how we don’t consider ourselves tourists now that we have been in London since October) surrounding us with many languages being spoken. Suddenly we heard English (well, it more or less sounded like English) so struck up a nice conversation with Tommy and Darren. We had a great time standing there talking with the two of them. They're both from just outside of London and had come in just to see the fireworks. It’s amazing how quickly 2 1/2 hours can go, they were both lots of fun.
The time was finally drawing near, but the rain decided to start — fortunately it was a light rain. Many put their umbrella’s up which was definitely going to block the view, but just as quickly, the rain stopped, the umbrella’s came down and the fireworks were ready to go off — what a sight they were!
St Paul's Cathedral
designed by Christopher Wren is very impressive on the inside as well. We had a clear view of the fireworks which went on for quite some time. They were going off so fast and furious, the smoke from them was so thick that it actually hid Big Ben from view. We were very glad we pushed ourselves to leave the boat to go see them — we would have kicked ourselves if we missed not only the fireworks but the excitement of the crowd (or in other words, see Janice was right - remember that the next time). The British do know how to organize events that draw large crowds, everything went as smoothly getting out of the viewing area as it did coming. The subway stations were packed with people so we continued on our way and walked the whole way back. It was a pleasant evening and got us back to the boat about 1:30AM. Our plan was to get up the next morning and go into town to see the New Year’s Day parade. Surprisingly we found out that there were going to be about 2,000 cheerleaders from US High School’s in the parade as well as a few US marching bands. This parade was to start at about
The Main Doors to St. Paul's
are huge as can be seen in comparison to Janice standing nearby. 11:45AM and last for 3 hours! When we woke up in the morning the rain was pounding on our roof which finally persuaded us not to go. We did finally catch some of it on the news on our computer and saw that there were quite a few die-hards that were lining the streets in the rain. Guess we just aren’t as hardy as the British. We had met up with some of the US cheerleaders on the subway the night before — they were really excited to be in London for the event. We felt sorry for them that the weather did not cooperate, but from what we saw on the TV it didn’t seem to dampen anyone’s spirit — just like true cheerleaders! Remember cheerleaders are a foreign concept to the British, if you’ve ever watched soccer match over here you’d understand why, the fans do real well all by themselves.
On January 2
nd we had made arrangements to go to the Evening-song being held at St. Paul’s Cathedral in London. We hadn’t had a chance to go inside this magnificent Cathedral before this. Fortunately for us when we were in Guernsey in the Channel Islands this
Queen Victoria in statute
form in front of St.Paul's Cathedral. last summer we met Paula and Malcolm while waiting in line to get into the Victor Hugo home. We found out at that time that they are members of the Ontario Choir and would be singing a few nights in London just after the New Year. That told us about it and we had kept this tidbit of information “on file”. We kept in touch and made arrangements to meet for dinner after the Evening-song. It was a spectacular venue for a musical rendition of the Psalms. A special treat was that because we had friends in the choir we were seated up in the Quire giving us a chance to see a bit of the Cathedral that normally is closed to tourists. We will definitely have to find time to take a tour of St. Paul’s before we leave as the interior is amazingly beautiful. After the performance we had a pleasant evening visiting with them and even made it to a couple of pubs. Thanks Malcolm and Paula for letting us know about this evening’s events and for such a pleasant evening. You never know what may develop from just talking to people in line — if you
haven’t tried that yet, you just may want to strike up a conversation with the person you are standing next to when waiting for an event. It definitely has turned out well for us!
As far as sightseeing this has been very limited recently. We did take advantage of a more pleasant but windy day (no rain was predicted, only chilly from the wind) and went to Greenwich. Some of you may recognize that name from the Greenwich Meridian (aka 0° longitude). We found that there is a lot to see in the area. Our intention was to go to the Greenwich Nautical Museum; they have an exhibit going on with paintings by Turner that we want to see. Almost as soon as you get off the train you see the Cutty Sark. For those of you that aren’t aware, it was a British tea clipper ship built in 1869. It is unique because it has an iron frame and a wooden hull and was one of the fastest sailing cargo ships ever built. With the opening of the Suez Canal in that same year steam ships had a much shorter route to China. After a few years on
View from the Millinieum Bridge
looking back toward St. Paul's Cathedral. the tea trade the Cutty Sark began trading wool from Australia. By 1895 she retired as a trading ship and worked as a cargo ship in Portugal. Since 1954 she has been in dry dock in Greenwich and makes quite an impressive statement when arriving in Greenwich.
The Royal Naval College located in Greenwich was the next place we entered. The buildings were originally constructed between 1696 to 1712 as the Royal Hospital for Seamen and were designed by Christopher Wren. It seems that almost everything in London was designed by Wren after the great fire. The hospital moved in1869 and between 1873 through 1998 it had operated as the Royal Naval College.
Two highlights at the Royal Naval College are the Painted Room and the Chapel. The naval veterans who lived here were known as Greenwich Pensioners and were obliged to worship in the Chapel daily. The original chapel did not have pews causing the injured veterans to stand during the service. The chapel had been completed in 1751, but a terrible fire destroyed it in 1779 (Bob wondered if it was set by the pensioners that were forced to stand every Sunday). James Stuart was appointed
Are We Still In January in London?
It appears that some of the flowers & shrubs may be confused - it definitely looks more like spring! to re-design the Chapel in 1781. A mixture of new and reused materials was made into a paste which could be placed into very detailed moulds before firing. This resulted in very detailed and intricate statutes as well as the crest of the Royal Hospital. The ceiling design made up of plaster squares and octagons is quite striking as it is similar in look to Wedgwood Pottery using the same light blue and cream color scheme. The very intricate central design was carved rather than made in a mould.
The Painted Hall was designed in 1698 and was originally intended to be an eating area for the naval veterans. When it was completed it was decided that it was too grand for such a purpose and became one of London’s earliest tourist attractions charging approximately $3 for admission. Some of the veterans were even hired to provide guided tours at the time.
James Thornhill painted the interior dome of St. Paul’s Cathedral in London and was commissioned to decorate this hall as well in 1708. He was charged with the tasks of including as many references to the importance of the navy in Britain’s fortunes. He painted directly
The Saying Says It All
but if you don't get the meaning, the sticker on the back tells that it is running on electricity. on to the dry plaster over a 19 year period. He was paid only £3 per square yard for the ceiling and £1 for the walls. This is known as the finest painted architectural interior by an English artist which resulted in Thornhill being knighted in 1720. The triumph of Peace and Liberty over the forces of Tyranny was shown in the main central oval. Thornhill mixed Christian, Greek and traditional British symbolism while King William and Queen Mary are enthroned in heaven. Added to the mixture of symbolism, signs of the zodiac and the four seasons surround this oval design which is to show the passage of time.
With the need to show the British navy and its command, a captured Spanish galleon is at one end of the Hall while at the other a British man of war stands ready with is gun ports ready for action. With the importance of astronomy to navigation, Thornhill also incorporates many of the famous astronomers of his time as well as of ancient times.
The upper hall shows Britain’s maritime power with the ceiling panel showing Victory saluting Queen Anne and her husband George of Denmark. The west wall
A Lovely Evening of Music
and conversation with Malcolm and Paula - thanks! incorporates the new royal family from Germany, George I and his family. The artist even includes himself in this painting with well-known items of his trade, paintbrushes and palette.
The painted room became the place that Nelson’s body laid in state after the battle of Trafalgar before being taken by river to St. Paul’s Cathedral. A truly impressive room for all to come to pay their respects. With 300 naval-themed paintings here between 1824 and 1936 the Painted Hall was known as the National Gallery of Naval Art. As you leave the room in the reception area there are names of the patrons with the monetary amount that they gave listed – this included £6,472 from Queen Anne, funds from various titled persons such as Lords and Sirs including those that provided £50 for the completion of this magnificent room.
There was so much to see here, but our time was running short and the winds were cold with blowing rain thrown in for good measure. We had originally heard that the day was going to be a mild one, but it did not turn out to be so. With the limited time remaining we climbed the hill
Cutty Sark is located at Greenwich
and has been here since 1954. Built in 1869 for tea trade. to the Royal Observatory. Here we were able to wander through the numerous exhibits, many of them being interactive and well designed for kids of all ages. Fortunately on display there was the collection of Amateur Astronomical Photographs on display. Each photo seemed to be more impressive than the last with the winner definitely deserving of its award. This is a yearly competition with entries from all over the world.
The National Maritime Museum is also located in Greenwich. We definitely want to see what they have here, but we had to save it for another day as closing time was imminent and we were also losing steam ourselves. Fortunately for us Greenwich is only a short train ride away from where we are located in London.
The London Boat Show ran from January 4 – January 12
th so of course we had to get tickets to attend for a few days. It definitely cannot compare to others we have attended, but it was still worthwhile in many ways. We were able to pick up a few things we needed for the boat (was that need or want?) and Bob had a chance to ask some of the
The hull is wood
over an iron framework on the Cutty Sark. vendors some technical questions to assist in troubleshooting some issues we are dealing with some of our equipment. It also was a great couple of days seeing what new gadgets were on the market that they feel “everyone must have”. Fortunately we had quite a bit of willpower and didn’t break the bank at this Show!
January 13
th was the day that Janice flew out of Heathrow to head to Albany, NY via Charlotte, SC while Bob stayed back in London to work on some projects on the boat and “hold down the fort”. For both of us this is something new, the longest we have ever been a part in our almost 40 years of marriage is about three weeks when we were in Botswana and Janice went home to see her father when he was diagnosed with cancer. Luckily with Skype we have been finding it easier than we anticipated because we can talk pretty much every day for as long as we want. Of course Bob keeps reminding Janice that he’s amazed how quiet the boat is and of course he is enjoying the fact that he can play his music as loud as he wants.
A view of the Royal
Observatory located in Greenwich. Of course without his personal tour guide he spends most of his time on the boat beating his head against the hull trying to figure out why the electronics are not doing what they’re supposed to.
Here it is January 24
th and it is hard to believe that almost 2 weeks have passed already with only 5 more weeks before Janice flies back to London. Bob keeps reminding Janice that it is about 44 degrees in London while upstate NY is currently in a cold snap with -2 to +4 degree weather. Janice is enjoying her time visiting with her Mom, sisters and families while Bob keeps busy working on the boat (or that is how the story goes!)
Fortunately Janice is going to be able to take a whirlwind trip out to the Trumansburg/Ithaca area to catch up with a few friends, swing up to Syracuse to check in with our financial advisor to be sure everything still is on track. Just hoping that the winter weather complete with snow this weekend isn’t too bad for the drive.
Hope everyone is doing well and staying warm wherever you are this winter! As always, we enjoy hearing
Examples of Figureheads
that originally were on various ships that plied the waters. from you
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Nelson Terwilliger
non-member comment
It is always nice to hear from the both of you. I enjoy the historical connotations and related pictures. History was my minor in college. I think it is wonderful that you have been able to visit all of the places that you have. Something in restrospect that I bet many of us wish we had planned or thought about! Wishing you continued good health, safe travel, and a Happy New Year.