Our Visit with Ron & Maurene, Part VII: London (day two)

(Note: if you want to scrutinize any pictures, they are enlargeable by clicking on them)
Tired, but happy from our first day in London we returned to Ron's car and went in search of something to eat. That took the form of an excellent dinner at the charming Gate pub (The Old Curmudgeon had the fish & chips -- excellent!) in the Mill Hill area (the old London stomping grounds of Ron and Maurene), we took our night's rest at a Day's Inn at a highway rest stop. The rest stops in England are a little more extensive than what The Old Curmudgeon is used to Stateside. He feels lucky if the rest stop has indoor plumbing and you don't have to pump your own water. In England the rest stops can include restaurants (as in food not from vending machines), lodging and shopping (groceries, book stores, etc). Darned civilized of them.

We returned to the tube station the following morning and made our way, with the unerring navigational skills of Ron, to the Tower of London. Having slept through most of his history classes, The Old Curmudgeon had pictured the Tower as a tall, circular structure that was a multi-use facility. He discovered that the "Tower" is actually a complex -- it's own village, comprised of a number of structures. It is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. For "the big picture, click here.Outside view of part of the Tower of London. The moat was drained in 1847 by order of the Duke of Wellington. It has been filled in and grass planted. Those slits (called arrow loops) are to accommodate the shooting of arrows at unfortunate, would-be wall-scalers.

For a sense of scale, we have included Miss Lauren (preparing to storm the castle).


We approach the Western entrance, which is between, if J. R. R. Tolkien will forgive me, the two towers. In reality, the two towers are considered to be one structure called, oddly, the Middle Tower. It's not clear what it is in the middle of, except that when there was an actual moat, it was certainly in the middle of that. One would enter the Middle Tower via 2 drawbridges and causeways back in the day. A causeway connects the Middle Tower with the Byward Tower. These two towers were the gatehouses for the complex and were built between 1275 and 1281


Grif, Bobbie and Lauren pose just inside the Middle Tower prior to incarceration.


Lauren and Mark pose. Fortunately, the Beefeater (formally and collectively referred to as The Yeoman Warders of Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, The Tower of London) hasn't spotted us as yet. It should be noted that the "EIIR" on the front of the uniform has nothing to do with the Emergency Room. It stands for "Elizabeth Regina," which is confusing because that's not her real last name.

At any rate, the Yeoman Warders began their guard duties in 1485. Today's Warders must be former senior non-commissioned officers retired from the Army, Royal Marines or Royal Air Force with at least 22 years of experience. They must also have been awarded both the Long Service and Good Conduct medals. Members of the Royal Navy are not eligible because they take an oath of loyalty to the Admiralty rather than to the Crown. Warders and their families live within the confines of the Tower in living space dating back to the 1300s.


Employing an old ruse, Grif and Lauren hide from the guards in the sentry station.


If you look closely, you can see the business end of the original portcullis of the "Bloody Tower." Originally referred to as the Garden Tower, it was where Sir Walter Ralegh (he was such a stupid get!) began his History of the World while imprisoned. It wasn't so bad for him. He had frequent visits from family and conducted scientific experiments on the grounds. King John the Good of France also had an enforced residency here for a while and had with him his organist and Master John the Fool among other members of his court.


The so-called White Tower, built by William the Conquerer. The Old Curmudgeon is told that it is one of the best preserved 11th century buildings in Europe. The history of the tower begins in 1066 with the death of the childless King Edward (The Confessor). With no direct heir, there were several claimants to the throne. Harold Godwinson (Edward's brother-in-law) was immediately crowned. However, William, Duke of Normandy insisted that he also had been promised the throne. William decided it might be best if he were to just nip over to England with an army and overpower King Harold. The event at which this was accomplished is now called the Battle of Hastings. William followed this feat by essentially laying siege to the city of London and scaring the city leaders into submission to him. William had the White Tower built to remind everyone in the area who the big dog was. He wasn't the first either. About 1000 years earlier, Roman emperor Claudius invaded the area and created London. William was able to use parts of the old Roman city walls in the construction of the Tower. Some of the building stone used by William's builder was brought from Normandy. Construction was underway sometime in the 1070s and was complete by 1100.


A view of a tower of the White Tower. The lower area of this tower was undergoing some renovation the day we were there and was mostly covered by a large tarp.


St. John's Chapel within the White Tower has one of the best preserved Anglo-Norman church interiors in existence. Henry III added stained glass windows and a figure of Christ.


I suppose this needs no explanation. It is closely associated with the phrase, "Off with their heads!" Of course you had to be someone of consequence to be separated from your head. Commoners were merely hanged outside of the walls. Many noteworthy personages were beheaded at the nearby Tower Hill (site of an ancient settlement). However, there were seven nobles who were beheaded at the Tower Green, within the complex. Among them were several spouses of Henry VIII as well as Lady Jane Grey (the uncrowned Queen Regent of England and Scotland for nine days). The ax shown here is thought to be from the Tudor years. The chopping block is believed to be the one used at the last public beheading on Tower Hill in 1747, with one, Lord Lovat, having the honor of marking the end of an era. By the way, Anne Boleyn did not lay her head on a chopping block. A special swordsman was brought from France who did the job in one swing as Queen Anne remained standing. Just thought you might want to know.


Waterloo Barracks. Built to house 1000 men. The first floor is now the Jewel House where the Crown Jewels are kept. The Crown Jewels have resided at the Tower since 1303 (after they were stolen from Westminster Abbey and later recovered). Viewing the Crown Jewels requires one to stand upon a moving conveyor belt which transports you slowly past the display case of 2 inch thick glass. You may repeat the exercise as many times as you wish on both sides, but you are prevented from standing and staring in any one place.


Were ARE those tall hairy hats? This sentry appears to be attached to the Queens Color Squadron, a unit of the Royal Air Force. The big hat guys are with "Her Majesty's Coldstream Regiment of Footguards," or simply, the "Coldstream Guards." They are a regiment of the British Army.


While strolling the grounds we came upon a dramatic presentation. The sword-brandishing red-haired woman appears to be unprepared to accept any guff from the fellow in the red. She reminds the Old Curmudgeon of someone he knows.

Order having been restored there must always be some sort of lecture given about appropriate behavior.

Arch of the Wakefield Tower. Built between 1220 and 1240 as part of the lodgings of Henry III, it would have been at the edge of the Thames in those days, prior to construction of the outer wall.

The next few shots are of some architectural details that the Old Curmudgeon particularly liked:














Having secured a Royal pardon, the former prisoners of the Tower take a moment to contemplate freedom. It may be just some people talking, but these people don't have to walk through this world all alone (10 points to name the song).



Upon egress, we are rewarded with a view of the Tower Bridge.


Lauren and Mr. Hollister pause by the famous structure.


After a well-seserved ice cream break, it's time for us to find our way to #5 Savile Row.



Here's a trademark diagonal shot by Grif showing the address. Bobbie is trying to decide if that is a bird, a plane or Superman up there in the sky. Actually, she is showing Lauren a historic rooftop. More about that momentarily.


As may be seen in the above photos, 5 Savile Row is the location of the James Hyman Gallery which is exhibiting the photographs of Linda McCartney.


As luck would have it, after descending the steps to the gallery, we noticed that Sir Paul was checking out the exhibit. When he noticed the flash of my camera, he came over to us and spoke to us for a while. When he found out Grif was a Beatles fan, he graciously offered to get us into his sold out concert in Liverpool over the weekend. OK, I totally made all that up. This picture is from the BBC.

We all enjoyed the exhibit and were a little surprised that all the photographs appeared to bear the signature of the artist, who, we thought, must have signed a passel of them prior to her death. The Old Curmudgeon has since learned that the signatures are facsimiles. Be that as it may, there were no prices evident and The Old Curmudgeon knows that means he cannot afford to purchase any. We all left the gallery with a very nice (and free of charge) publicity postcard featuring one of the pictures.

Next door to 5 Savile Row is 3 Savile Row. That address doesn't mean anything to many people. And yet, there were a group of people across the street from #3 taking pictures of the building. What in the world could explain that?

It doesn't look particularly special...


It's not a bad looking building, but why is there that big piece of wood over the front door? Are they protecting the door from souvenir hunters of some kind? Hmmm.


What is it about that roof?




Grif and Lauren each pose at the famous door. But famous for what?





Well, it seems that way back in January of 1969 there was a little disturbance at this address caused by a band playing on the rooftop. So many people congregated to hear the performance that commerce in the area was affected. The police were summoned and attempted to end the performance. They weren't entirely successful. Sadly, it turned out that this was the last time this particular band would perform together live.



Tearing ourselves away from the former Apple headquarters, we make our way to Leicester Square, where Indiana Jones is making his impending arrival known.




Here Bobbie copies Grif's photographic style on him. He poses near the hand prints of the man who, to we elderly, IS Bond. James Bond. AKA Sir Sean Connery.



The Old Curmudgeon could be enjoying all of this if her weren't searching the guidebook for a route to Abbey Road.


Here Lauren tests her hands in the prints of Helen Bonham Carter, known to fans of the Harry Potter movies.





Um, The Old Curmudgeon admits he doesn't remember precisely what street we are looking at but remembers he liked the curvy look. Perhaps some knowledgeable soul can help. Actually, I knew all along that this is the famous Regent Street. I was merely baiting Ron to see if I could get a response. Yeah, that's the ticket!


The Theater Royal Haymarket is the third oldest London playhouse still in use, dating from 1720. That is a bit misleading, as this particular building dates only back to 1821. It is the site of the first scheduled matinée performance in history. It also may boast the first use of the picture frame proscenium.


Men, all the Old Curmudgeon can say is that whether or not we have all ever been to London, we all surely have been here at one time or another.


From Leicester Square, we hoof on over to the Hard Rock Cafe for a quick souvenir stop. Lauren sports her new cap.

There is one more destination scheduled for our busy day -- a famous cross-walk:

August 8, 1969, at 11:35 AM the four fellows from the roof at Savile Row have moved operations to Abbey Road, which they cross several times for an iconic photograph.





While it is true that none of us are blessed with good singing voices, we do all have the gift of being able to cross the street, which we do here in homage to the Fab Four. As all of us are appropriately shod, there should be no rumors regarding our untimely mortality.

The famous studio.

Bobbie by the famous door and steps where many a superstar has taken a smoke break.


The Old Curmudgeon, who's reputation as a singer has preceded him, finds himself locked out of the studio.

The wall at Abbey Road Studios is repainted anew every six months so that pilgrims have a regular tabula raza for their artistic expressions.


Grif left this Lennonesque caricature of John...

as well personalizing the wall with his own name and motto.

After a full and satisfying day of walking the streets of London, we return to Mill Hill for the not insignificant drive home. Having several hours together traversing a darkened English countryside, The Old Curmudgeon and The Vicar (having once, a long time ago been college room mates) began (as old men will sometimes do) reminiscing about The Old Days. It wasn't long until they were seized with extended spasms of laughter so extensive that tears were evident. A wonderful end to an amazing day.

Next: Stonehenge