On The Road Again UK TRIP 2001

Itinerary:
Sept. 20         fly Air Canada Halifax to London Heathrow
Sept. 21 - 25 London, Cottage Hotel
Sept. 25 - 29 London via Leigh-on-Sea (Dave and Nikki)
Sept. 29 - 30 Redditch
Sept. 30 - Oct. 7 Manchester
Oct. 7             London, Sheraton Heathrow
Oct. 8             Fly London Heathrow to Halifax
 
 

Part 1 Thursday-Friday Sept. 20 - 21 London On the road again, or, in the sky again, late, as it happened.   The Air Canada flight was delayed nearly an hour waiting for the plane to arrive from Toronto. Because of heightened security, I had already arrived over 3 hours early for a 9:15 p.m. flight. Both frustrating and boring but it can’t be helped.  The several small children I spied in the departure area seem fairly at ease with travelling, always a worry on an overnight flight.  I switched seats with a man behind me as he and his wife were not given seats together because the flight is full. That sorted, I settled in. The young man beside me tossed and turned a bit during the night but as usual, I am not able to sleep though I may have dozed off briefly. I watched the sun rise over the wing but the cloud cover obliterated any view of land below. Arrival: 25 minute wait through the customs “corral”. I snickered inwardly at the height that the customs clerk’s eyebrows shot up when she discovered the friends I was visiting were initially met through the internet and I patiently answered all her questions. Yes, I have met these people before. No, I’m not meeting anyone new. (Do they not realize that at some point, “internet” friends can actually become just “friends”?)  I do understand the concern for security, especially flying 10 days after world-shaking terrorist attacks, but the next time, I think I’ll just say I met my friends in school, eliminating any further cause for alarm. Found the Airbus, bought a ticket and landed at the Cottage Hotel, Euston Street, London by about 10:45. The hotel is a small one, not too expensive, some rooms en suite, some not, television, no phone in the rooms though there was an intercom in mine at least. Of course the room wasn’t ready that early so I left my luggage and decided I needed more in my stomach than just the juice and biscuits that were served on the plane for breakfast. Around the corner, on Euston Road and in the same building as the Euston Square hotel is a café, Giovanni’s Sandwich Bar. All day breakfast, very reviving. Had a bit of a chat with Giovanni while I sipped my tea and then headed to Liverpool street station to sort out a week’s transport pass for the train next week when I’m traveling back and forth with Nikki. Turns out that the pass I bought which I wanted to be useful for London busses and the underground conveniently included a full 6 zone transport pass. I had a bit of a walk in the immediate neighbourhood around Liverpool Station after a quick phone call home to say I arrived safely. I noticed a crowd behind the station in a small square surrounded by office buildings. Upon investigation, it seemed to have groups of people with one in each holding a number sign. I think it might have been a fire drill evacuation (didn’t want to think of bomb scare possibilities, that would come a few days later!) I found a lovely little square called Finsbury Square which had a bit of a park and a couple of bowling greens. There were flower beds and palm trees and there were a few Canadian bank buildings in the area as well. I stopped for a tea break at Starbucks and bought a few things at Marks and Spencers, some fruit, yogurt, bottled water and some bread and cheese to stash in the hotel room. By now I’m pretty shattered and it’s near the time I can get into the room so I returned to the hotel. The room was in the next building from the one where the desk and breakfast room is. I have a key for the building as well as the room. Thankfully my bags were dragged up to the room on the second floor for me. No lift, narrow staircases. Narrow continued to be the order of the day. I expected small but dear Heaven the room couldn’t have been more than about 8 feet across and it held two single beds! I chuckled, thinking Chris and I would be sleeping together even though that wasn’t in the plan! My friend Chris was supposed to be joining me for the weekend, arriving tomorrow afternoon, and this hotel was the one he has stayed at a few times. (Twin room, ensuite, £60 per night, breakfast included)  Anyway, the room is very small, bathroom equally so but functional and with a shower door not a curtain so there's no danger of flooding the place like at the Dolby in Manchester. I liked the way they got the beige curtains to  match the damp patches that were up in one corner! But over all , though the room could have used a coat of paint, it was still better than the one we had at the Inverness Court, the carpet was clean and the sheets and bathroom were immaculate. That’s really all that matters. I had a shower and read the newspaper I had bought and soon wished I hadn’t. I think I’ll avoid the news for the next few days as London is now on high alert for attacks. I knew the UK was strongly supporting the U.S. in the aftermath of the attacks but hadn’t realized how strongly and it’s a bit unnerving just at this point. Pretty soon, with my energy flagging and my eyes starting to feel like Mr. Sandman had left his calling card, a nap was in order. There were roadworks pounding out a teeth rattling tap dance on the pavement outside but the closed window and the fact that I hadn’t slept in about 30 hours made quick work of dozing off. I revived in time to have a bite to eat, watch Coronation Street and read for a while before crashing out again for the night Saturday Sept. 22 Museum of London, Royal Academy of Arts The breakfast room in the basement of the main hotel building is very pretty, lots of china plates on a shelf that circles three sides of the room, windows on the front and back walls with plants on the sills and more china, plates and jugs. Some old cabinets. The wooden tables are covered in pink and blue with standard issue crockery. Breakfast was a bit on the meager side with one egg, one rasher of bacon, one sausage, toast, and a half of a small tomato, warmed (and fresh not canned thankfully). There was juice and tea and cereal available as well which I didn’t have. I decided I would go to the Museum of London at the Barbican Arts Complex for a couple of hours this morning. I had been there once before in 1993 and really enjoyed it though I was in a bit of a rush and jetlagged during that visit. I got off the underground at Moorgate and had a wander through the Barbican complex, discovering a lovely old church, St. Giles Cripplegate. It was closed on weekends but a sign I was able to read through the window in the door informed me that a church has been on that site for about 1000 years. It seemed that this church had survived the 1666 fire but did sustain major damage in 1897 and in the Blitz where not much was left besides a shell.   The ages of buildings here is a  never-ending source of amazement to me. Canada is so *new*  by comparison! The Museum of London contains the history of the city of London from Roman times through to the 20th century, all told through artifacts found from archaeological excavations and museum pieces over the years. There is jewelry, furniture, paintings, prints, clothing, ceramics. There are reproduced rooms, dioramas and models. It’s really fascinating and you could spend all day there. Admission is only £5 and the ticket is good for a year as well. I did the upper level which ends at the Great Fire of London 1666. There were renovations going on downstairs for a new exhibit opening this December and I wanted to get back to wait for Chris. Only he didn’t show up. There was a message at the desk so I called him and unforeseen circumstances have prevented him from making it to the city. Damn!  My stomach was rumbling so I had to attend to that while I decided what to do with the rest of the day. Across the street from the hotel is a pub, the Jolly Gardener. The weather has turned out to be absolutely summery so I went across, ordered a plate of spaghetti Bolognese and took it and my beer out to a picnic table outside. The food was really good, and beer hit the spot as the sun warmed my bones and lifted my spirits somewhat. Well, it’s not as if I couldn’t find something to do on my own in London, is it, disappointed though I was. He promises to make it up to me next weekend and believe me… he will! I had a brochure that I picked up in the lobby and discovered this weekend is the last weekend for an 19th century art exhibit at the Royal Academy of Art titled “From Ingres to Matisse” and also the first weekend of an exhibition titled “Rembrandt’s Women”.  The first exhibit, in a brightly lit gallery on the top floor, had a number of Impressionists including one that really struck me called “Coming in From the Field” by Breton. Three women walking barefoot with the taller of the three in the middle embracing the other two while the shafts of wheat are bent gently in the breeze along the sides of the road. That spoke to me of the friendship between myself, Tracey and Josephine so I bought a postcard for each of us. The Rembrandt show was in a series of older, darker galleries featured sketches, drawings, etchings and paintings of women in Rembrandt’s life. It was fascinating to see how he viewed them, from maternal to erotic, regardless of body type or age and all of them were curvaceous to varying degrees. Leaving there I walked along Picadilly and admired the architecture. That is a repeating theme in my journeys. I love buildings and am constantly branding myself tourist as I walk along gaping up at them, searching for ornamental touches, unusual shapes and rhythmic patterns in the structures.  There are a lot of airline offices along Picadilly and I passed the Burlington Arcade, a Victorian covered shopping center. I decided to have a browse and let me tell you, that is the ultimate window shopping experience!!! The shops are very exclusive with, no doubt, prices to match. The far end comes out on New Bond street with it’s plethora of designer shops such as Armani, Ferragamo, Tiffany’s, Chanel, Ralph Lauren… you name it. Way out of my league. My quest for a cup of tea ended in a Pret a Manger shop and I bought a sandwich to take back to the hotel. I’m not all that comfortable with finding a place to dine in the evening on my own and prefer to eat in the hotel room though I don’t mind eating out alone at lunchtime. Partly it’s caution, making my way back to the hotel after dark alone and partly it’s from sheer exhaustion, having been on my feet for hours. Sunday Sept. 23 Westminster Cathedral,London ping The sky is dark, gray and cool today. I am meeting a group of Corrie friends for a “ping” after lunch but had to decide how to fill the morning. I had breakfast and went to Euston station to get a newspaper and a large tea to bring back to my room for a relaxing start to my Sunday. I thought I would go and have a look at Westminster Cathedral. The pub where I’m meeting everyone is on Trafalgar Square at the top of Whitehall so it’s within walking distance of the Cathedral if it doesn’t rain. (It did) I took the tube to Victoria station and started walking in the general direction of the cathedral according to my map. I ended up approaching it from the back, past a lot of old Victorian buildings, many of which echo the Cathedral which is constructed of  red and white striped brick and stone. I arrived at the door at 11, right in the middle of High, or “Solemn” Mass. I could hear the choir and suddenly felt a need to attend Mass, something I hadn’t done in 25 years without a reason (weddings, funerals, christenings etc.) I put away my camera and went in. The cathedral was full, with quite a few people standing at the back or along the side aisles.  I am not a church goer but was brought up Catholic and like a great number of people in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks on NYC and Washington, felt the need for a little restoration of the soul. Just the sound of the choir echoing gloriously off the exquisitely painted ceilings and the thunder of the massive pipe organ making your chest vibrate was an experience not to be forgotten. After mass I took the lift up the bell tower for a 360? look out over a gray and dismal looking London. There is a small  balcony out a door on all four sides of the tower. Back down in the nave I wandered around with the other tourists and admired the friezes and sculpture and mosaics on the walls of the side chapels. You could still smell the incense  closer to the altar. I had a quick browse in the gift shop for a postcard but wasn’t very impressed with most of what they had on offer as far as other articles. Seemed kind of cheap and cheesy to me. I begin the walk towards Whitehall with a stop in a department store called Army & Navy for a bathroom break but the gusts of wind soon carried a heavy misty rain so I took refuge in a bus shelter and took the bus the rest of the way to the Lord Moon on the Mall, where I was meeting my mates. J.D. Wetherspoon’s owns a chain of pubs around the country and they situate them in renovated old buildings. This one was an insurance company or bank. I was early and it was crowded so I bought a pint and perched on a stool near a ledge where I could lay my glass. I did get a table after about 20 minutes but didn’t keep it very long because not long after hearing a few police vehicles screaming by, the owner came around to everyone and informed us that we had to evacuate the building out the back door. Seems there was a “suspect” car down the road and the police were evacuating the whole street! Yikes!!!!  This isn’t all that unusual for London but a first for me and how was I going to find my friends! I later told another Londoner friend of mine about the evacuation and she exclaimed "Oh, what a bore!"  about which puts it pretty much into perspective for me! We all traipsed out the back door and I walked around to the corner on Trafalgar square scanning the crowds. One of  my friends, Glenda, came across the street just then an I filled her in on the situation. She didn’t seem too fazed but we hung around for awhile trying to spot the others and figure out what to do. She knew of another pub on the far side of Trafalgar Square called Chandos where we could go but the problem was, how to let people know!  In the end we weren’t allowed to hang about any longer so we wrote a note and hung it out of the letterbox of the pub and headed over to Chandos, just by St. Martin’s Lane.  Fortunately most of the people we were expecting and two we weren’t found the note and managed to locate the pub. I say “two we weren’t” expecting because two of our friends, John and Nikki from Manchester, unexpectedly turned up which was a wonderful surprise. They were on their way to Glastonbury for a week’s holiday so came down a day early for the get together.  We all had a lovely visit and it was great to meet two new members of our internet chat group face to face who had traveled up from Dorset! We stayed at Chandos a few hours and then, when the dining room there proved to be full, acted on Barry’s suggestion to return to the Lord Moon for a meal. It was open and Whitehall was all clear by this time.  I had a filling meal of bangers and mash and lots of great company. It was a day of moving emotions , renewal of old friendships and the making of new ones. Tomorrow I’m taking an Original London Walks all day tour of Richmond and Hampton Court. Cross all my bits for good weather!

On to Part 2 and Hampton Court....

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