England April 24-May 9, 2024
LONDON
Day 1 April 24
Flights
April 23 Grenadine-Air.com flight 609 Flight#314DFC11 Bequia BQU – BGI (Barbados) @14:10-14:55
April 24 British Airways BGI-LHR @17:05-06:20 +1 8’15” US$757
My flight from Barbados landed at 06:20, I took the tube to my hostel, dropped my luggage and started my 3-day walkabout in London.
St. Pancras Renaissance Hotel. Originally the ticket office for the St Pancreas train station built in 1869, it became a hotel in 1873. The bar has a lot of original word work including a patterned diamond with flowers that is at the top of the panelled walls. On the other side is a dramatic staircase.
British Library. A huge relatively modern building with a dramatic 5 story rear. Don’t miss the Treasures of the British Library, a great collection of original books – Shakespeare, many religious texts (Korans, Bibles, Torahs, Bhuddist, Zoroasterism), Monte Python scripts, Beatles music, two of the four original copies of the Magna Carta, several composers, and many artists. Free
CITY OF WESTMINSTER
BT Tower is a circular communications tower owned by BT Group. The main structure is 581 feet (177 m) high, with a further section of aerial rigging bringing the total height to 620 feet (189 m). Completed in 1964, it became the tallest tower in London overtaking the Millbank Tower until 1980 (NatWest Tower). A 360° coloured LED screen near the top of the tower displays news across central London. It is an unusual tower in that it has 16 floors + a top complex, all sitting on a cement pillar.
In February 2024, BT Group sold the tower to MCR Hotels, who plan to turn it into a hotel. BT will retain ownership for a few years until the tower has been vacated.
Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology. Flinders Petrie (1852-1942) was the father of modern archaeology and established eugenics as a science. The museum contains 80,000 artifacts from throughout the Nile valley extending into Sudan – writing, jewelry, amulets, toys, coffins and the famous Tarklan Dress, the oldest known woven garment. It is on the campus of the University College of London. Free
The Cartoon Museum.
Oxford Street is Europe’s busiest shopping street with around 300 shops and welcomes more than 200 million visitors per year. At one end of Oxford Street is Tottenham Court Road station, and at the other is Marble Arch.
The Photographers’ Gallery. 4 floors of rotating photography exhibits – Deutsche Bose Foundation (the best photography in Europe from the last 12 months); Bert Harvey (WWII and culture). Examples of cartoons since the first in 1843 in chronological order. Great British humour. 9.50£
Hamley’s Department Store. The ultimate toy store – demonstrations, Lego masterpieces, great staff.
The Langham Hotel. 1865. 5 stories, the lobby has some nice marble columns.
Hyde Park Hotel. I’m not sure this exists as such. Google Maps shows a block-long set of hotels on both sides of the street. One is called ABC Hyde Park Hotel. They all have tiny lobbies.
Selfridges. A large 5-story apartment store established in 1909. The facade of the centre is great wrought iron and columns line the entire front from the 2nd floor up.
Claridge’s Hotel. 1856. 5-story red brick. Explore as much as possible as the dining room has unique metal chandeliers and stained glass panels in the ceiling. It is famous for its afternoon tea.
Handel and Hendrix Museum. A narrow 4-story brick row house. Handel lived here from 1723-1759, the last 35 years of his life and when he wrote many of his best works including “Messiah”. See several harpsichord, music and mementos. Jimi Hendrix lived here from 1968-69 (it felt like home). 14£
Brown’s Hotel. 1832. Great wood and leaded glass. The bar is special.
Royal Academy of Arts. It had two private exhibits (20 and 15£) and the free “Collection”. Showcases Lord Leighton (sculpture, paintings including the “Flaming June”). A copy (done at the same time) of da Vinci’s “The Last Supper) is much better (the original has deteriorated). Collection free, pay for exhibits 20 and 17£.
The Ritz Hotel. 1906. The lobby has a great round, several-story skylight.
From the Ritz, I walked by Buckingham Palace, St James Palace and St James Park (with the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Walkway).
Queen Elizabeth II Great Court, A convention centre with many facade components – glass and a green set of “louvres”. No Entry.
Walk by Westminster Abbey, the Parliament Buildings and Big Ben (completely renovated, the last time I was here in 2018, it was covered in scaffold).
Women of WWII monument. In the middle of a street, it is a modern large black rectangular block with 18 figures, many dressed differently but with helmets and hats concealing their faces,
Iraq/Afghanistan Monument. A large triangular-shaped limestone rock with a central bronze medallion (one side has 3 soldiers and the other several civilian figures. There are many military and people monuments in this area (the Embankment).
Gordon of Khartoum statue. A lovely black statue on a stone base. Major General Engineers 1885 (in Roman Numerals).
Benjamin Franklin House (1706-90). He lived in this 4-story brick row house. I don’t think it is ever open as there are no posted hours.
Savoy Hotel. 1889. 9 stories of white limestone. I entered at the back (originally the front) and was given a tour by a staff member. Lancaster Ballroom. First eclectic lift (1889, driven by steam). Great wood and plaster sculptures in the lobby.
British Library of Political and Economic Science.
Rules Hotel. 1792. Now only a restaurant. Many framed cartoon characters, antlers of many kinds of animals, great decor. Busy.
Maison Bertaux. 1887. Tea rooms, French patisserie. Quite small.
Central St Giles. Six 11-15 story buildings all with different coloured (red, orange, green, yellow, grey, black metal) facades. Office building.
Bow Street Police Museum. Open only 11-4 Fri-Sun.
LSE Library: The British Library of Political and Economic Science. At the London School of Economics, it has great work area in the basement and a sloped spiral staircase giving access to the 5 stories.
Twinnings, the Teahouse. The flagship store with a huge variety of teas, teapots, tea tasting, Free
Dr Johnson’s House. (1709-84) Author. A three-story house with manuscripts, books, and period furniture. It is a rare example of an original house in the “square mile” from this era and the only one of his 18 houses to survive. He lived here from 1748 to 1759, and compiled his famous A Dictionary of the English Language here. It has period furniture, prints, portraits and exhibitions about Johnson’s life and work. 9£
Ye Olde Mitre Hotel. 1547. Down a one-metre-wide lane, it was very busy with people in the lanes. Collections of beer bottles and beer mugs.
I was pretty knackered after this long day and had major leg cramps.
ON Clink261 +44 20 7183 9400 reservations261@clinkhostels.com. 261-265 Grays Inn Road, Kings Cross, London, England. I ended up sleeping for over 12 hours.
Day 2 Thur Apr 25
My second walkabout day but starting at 11 am.
Charles Dickens Museum. He lived in this 3-story brick row house in the 1830s with his family. It has his writing desk, letters, manuscripts and art. 12.5£ 10.5 reduced
Postal Museum. 18.60£ so I didn’t go in. It appeared to be more interactive for children.
Museum of the Order of Saint John. Some important dates: 638 – Muslims control Jerusalem, 1079 – first hospital Jerusalem, 1099 – Muslims capture Jerusalem, 1118 – Knights Templar, the military wing of the hospitallers, 1178 – Saladin captures Jerusalem, they go to Acre, 1291 – Acre falls,1309 – Rhodes, Malta, 1312 – Knights dissolved. Well-presented history of the order and its movement over the years. Free
125 London Wall. An 18-story, 82 m tall skyscraper built from 1990 to 1992, There are two twin towers with one straddling the London Wall (the wall was replaced with a mini-motorway).
The building is well known as the former UK headquarters of JPMorgan Chase, and most of the building now holds Lloyds Banking Group offices.
Museum of Methodism, First see the wonderful Wesley Chapel with wonderful stained glass. The museum has many portraits, hymnals and Bibles.
Dennis Severs’ House. I don’t think this is open. There were no signs or hours.
Brick Lane Market. A great eating place especially at lunch with many individual food stalls. It was very busy.
110 Bishopsgate (Salesforce Tower). 230 metres (755 ft) tall, including its 28-metre (92 ft) mast making it the second tallest building in London’s financial district and the fifth tallest in Greater London and the United Kingdom. 42 floors.
Construction 2007 – 2011. The facade and structure have large stainless beams with diagonals. There is a nice 70,000-litre aquarium in the lobby.
Tower 42 (NatWest Tower) is a 183-metre-tall (600 ft) skyscraper, the sixth-tallest tower in the City of London and the 19th-tallest in London overall. It was built from 1971980. Seen from above, the shape of the tower resembles that of the NatWest logo (three chevrons in a hexagonal arrangement).
It has several tenants with offices and restaurants. A LED multi-media lighting system is on levels 39 to 45
Leadenhall Building is a 225-metre-tall (738 ft, 48 floors) skyscraper that opened in 2014, It is known informally as The Cheesegrater because of its distinctive wedge shape. It features a tapered glass façade on one side which reveals steel bracings, along with a ladder frame to emphasise the vertical appearance of the building. The steel “Megaframe”, is the world’s tallest of its kind. The flat side of the building is also encased in glass,
Bank of England Museum, Established in 1734, it was the first bank with a building. It had many additions that were finally demolished. Good history of the building, a discussion of bank notes. Free
The Sky Garden. On the 35-37 floors, it offers 360° views. Free but requires a ticket available at Skygarden.com. There was a very large lineup, all with presumed reservations.
No 1 Poultry. An office building completed in 1997 and clad in pink and yellow limestone in even stripes.
The Cross Bones Cemetery. This had about 15,000 burials between 1708 and 1853 when it closed. Archaeological digs uncovered 148 skeletons, one a 16-year-old girl with tertiary syphilis and it opened in 2011. It was called the cemetery of outcasts as it contained sex workers, immigrants and poor. Now it is a garden with no visible graves and is open for tours from 12-2 pm Wed-Fri. However good views are obtained at the gate and “ribbon wall”.
Golden Hinde. The original set sail in 1577 from Plymouth. Captained by Francis Drake, it circumnavigated the globe over 3 years. It was put into a dry dock and rotted away by the mid-1600s. It was rebuilt in 1974 and went 100,000 miles around the world. It has been in this dry dock since 1996. 6£
Clink Prison Museum. Several prisons existed here between 1127 and 1789. It is the source of the name “clink”. Not seen
Shakespeare’s Globe. A replica theatre with regular performances. Tour 27£ Not seen.
National Theatre. A performing arts venue on the South Bank and founded by the actor Laurence Olivier in 1963. It tours productions at theatres across the United Kingdom and has transferred numerous productions to Broadway and toured some as far as China, Australia and New Zealand. Each of the three auditoriums can run up to three shows in repertoire, In June 2009, the theatre began National Theatre Live (NT Live), a programme of simulcasts of live productions to cinemas, first in the United Kingdom and then internationally.
It has a brutalist concrete structure. It was not open to be viewed inside.
This was as cool as yesterday requiring a puff jacket and rained in the later afternoon. I finished the day very tired.
ON Clink 261
Day 3 Fri April 26
Another big walkabout day. This one seemed to have a lot of 1-2 km distances between sites.
Abbey Road. I took the underground to near Abby Road and walked the .2 mile with all the other people going there. It is a little underwhelming – Abby Road is an unimposing 2 lane street without much around.
London Central Mosque. A modern mosque with one minaret (on a reinforced concrete pillar), and a large gold dome. Inside the prayer room is a large square with 4 small pillars at the corners supporting the huge dome. Mostly blue with a line of Qoran and calligraphy around the base, The mihrab is a brass filigree.
Merchant Square Footbridge (Fan Bridge). This short bridge crossing is not to be missed. Twice a week on Wed and Friday at noon, they raise the bridge to create the fan. The bridge has 5 sections that each elevate differently. Amazing.
The Rolling Bridge. A few hundred metres down the Grand Union Canal, this is an arched suspension bridge that is supposed to roll up. But that doesn’t work anymore.
Alexander Fleming Museum (1881-1955). He lived in the second-story room here when he discovered penicillin.
Peter Pan Statue. In Hyde Park along the Serpentine. A lovely intricate black statue with a small Peter standing on a plinth adorned with characters from the book.
Serpentine Galleries. A one-man show by Yinka Shondare, a famous Nigerian/British artist. Don’t miss this as the art is unique and quite nice. One of his oddest is the War Library with hundreds of specially bound books, most with gold lettering. He has recreated many intricate buildings decorated with his famous patterns inside. Also, several figures were painted with Dutch paint, with its vibrant colours. Free
Albert Monument. The grandest monument in the world.
Royal Albert Hall of Arts and Sciences. A wonderful large oval performance hall. A wonderful collage of hundreds of artists who have played there is great fun to try to recognize the people. Everyone is in it. 17.5£, 15.5 reduced.
Royal College of Music. This has three performance theatres, a library and a museum. A quintet of 4 guitarists and a clarinet player were playing in the museum (very unique).
Emirates. In the NM Architecture series.
Michelin House. A lovely art deco building with a restaurant and many tile pictures of cars. A large stained glass window has the Michelin Man.
Aesop. This Australian beauty supply company builds unique flagship stores. This one was in the Duke of Cornwall Square. A large round stainless “counter” had some sinks with products to try. A fan of pillars comes out of the back of the counter and spreads across the ceiling.
Chelsea Physic Garden. Established in 1613, this is a great garden with several glasshouses, a pit glass house and thousands of plants, all well labelled with their medical uses. I don’t believe in naturopathy. 15£
St Georges Wharf. I luxury development with St George Tower and Riverside, a block-long set of apartments with many shapes, overhanging balconies and green glass.
SSI Building (MI6 Building) is the headquarters of the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS, MI6), the United Kingdom’s foreign intelligence agency since 1994. The numerous layers create 60 separate roof areas. 25 different types of glass were used (triple glazed for security. Large parts of the building are below street level and has two moats for protection. A brutish building of reinforced concrete and green glass.
Graffiti Tunnel. Called Leake Street Arches, this is a long tunnel completely covered in graffiti, including most of the high round ceiling. Some are interesting. There are sets of tables/chairs, and some bars.
ON Clink 261
Day 4 Sat Apr 27
Rent a Campervan from Spaceships.com Apps Court, Hurst Road, Walton-on-Thames KT12 2EG
I took the underground to Waterloo, the train to Hampton Court (9P) and an Uber to the Spaceships office in Walton on Thames (9.75P). 27/Apr/2024 10:00 am to Thu 09/May/2024. 13 days @£27.00 per day (10% discount). Total GBP £379.67.
There was no one there and thankfully another client knew what to do. An email gave a code to the key box and my keys were there. I set off on my drive about through South England. There were big distances between all these places in the rural area south of London.
BedZED (Beddington Zero Energy Development) is an environmentally friendly housing development designed to create zero carbon emissions, it was the first large-scale community to do so. 82 homes were built from 2000–2002. Space-heating requirements are 88% less, Hot-water consumption is 57% less, water consumption is 50% less and car mileage is 65% less. The ‘Living Machine’ water recycling facility had been unable to clean the water sufficiently. The cost of the facility also made it unviable. Passive heating from the sunspaces had been insufficient. Because of its location, the development requires the constant use of cars by residents. This negates its fundamental raison d’être, other than as an interesting experiment.
An apartment complex with 2 stories of brick and an odd third story of wood overlapping the edges with balconies, natural roofs and odd chimneys (vanes) that rotate with the wind (purpose)?
Shirley Windmill (Wandsworth Common Mill). White base, grey brick tapering mill with 4 metal vanes on a metal rotating cap. Guided tours about once/month, free.
House of Dreams. The personal house of Stephen Wright and his partner, this is one of the most eclectic and bizarre places – almost everything is a mosaic of tiles, dolls, and anything all interspersed between his philosophy. This is only open one day per month by appointment. I just happened to arrive on that day. 12£
LImehouse Link Tunnel
Arena Tower (Baltimore Tower or the Slinky as it resembles the popular toy). A dramatic skyscraper in Canary Wharf – oval, slowly enlarges to the top and is ringed by balconies. The 45-storey building comprises 366 residential apartments and is 149 meters in height.
Peckham. In the NM Urban Legends, Rye street is a famous shopping street. It has a very diverse ethnic makeup (many Nigerians). It has become very gentrified with many cafés, wine bars, niche shops and artists’ studios.
Vagina Museum. Discusses gender issues, milestones in gender rights, anatomy, misconceptions. misogony. Free by donation.
The Viktor Wynd Museum of Curiosities, Fine Art & Natural History. The ground floor is a bar with fine art. The basement is an eclectic collection of oddities – hairballs, two headed lambs and Fiji mermaids, taxidermy, the skeleton of a giant anteater, shrunken heads, dead babies in bottles and parts of pickled sex workers, celebrity faecal matter, erotica and condoms used by the Rolling Stones. 10£
Thames Path. A great walkway along the south side of the Thames.
London Aquatics Centre was the main venue for the 2012 Summer Olympics for swimming and diving. It has two 50-metre swimming pools, It is a dramatic design – 45 metres and 160 metres long with a wave-like roof. The 50-m pool is 3 metres deep in order to be fast. Its floor can be moved to reduce its depth and moveable booms that allow its size to be changed.
Stratford Station is a major multi-level interchange with metro and train in a modern
Westfield Stratford City is the largest urban shopping centre in the UK by land area and the 4th-largest shopping centre in the UK by retail space. The usual stores in this huge place.
London City Hall. It opened in 2012 as an exhibition centre for sustainable architecture, known as The Crystal that was the first building in the world to reach the highest sustainable award level. The building control devices, such as lighting, windows, blinds and heating, are connected using the KNX protocol.
Abraham’s Mill, Upminster. With a stone base and white tapering clapboard sided, it appears modern and in use with metal vanes, a rotating cap and a vane that helps change direction.
Go to ENGLAND – SURRY, SUSSEX and KENT
Return from England – Surry, Sussex and Kent
Day 14 Thur May 9
The Hoover Building is an Art Deco opened in 1933 as the UK headquarters, manufacturing plant and repairs centre for The Hoover Company. The building is now owned by IDM Properties and has been converted into apartments.
It was referred to in the press as a ‘Modern Palace of Industry. During its heyday in the 1930s, 1,600 people were employed at the site, which was considered a model factory with regard to worker welfare.
The ambitious design took on a grand, palatial facade of huge columns and recessed glass bay windows, but the most iconic feature was the central entrance which was decorated above with a dramatic, geometric sunburst pattern, which sat beneath the huge “Hoover Limited” lettering.
Trellick Tower. An older concrete apartment block with decks and an elevator tower concrete to even floors by a passageway. Opened in 1972, it was commissioned by the Greater London Council and designed in the Brutalist style by architect Ernő Goldfinger. High-rise apartments and Brutalist architecture were falling out of favour by the time the tower was completed, and it became a magnet for crime, vandalism, drug abuse and prostitution. Conditions gradually improved in the 1980s and by the 1990s, the tower had become a desirable place to live, and although it still contains predominantly social housing, demand for private flats has remained high. |The tower is 98 metres (322 ft) tall (120 metres (394 ft) with a long, thin profile, with a separate lift and service tower linked at every third storey. It contains 217 dwellings and all the apartments have balconies. The other building, containing shops and amenities, has seven floors. All apartments have large windows facing the balconies. It was intended to be a good example of social accommodation alongside modern design.
2 Willow Road. House and Biographical Museums is part of a terrace of three houses in Hampstead, London designed by architect Ernő Goldfinger and completed in 1939. It was one of the first Modernist buildings acquired by the Trust, giving rise to some controversy. Goldfinger lived there with his wife Ursula and their children until his death in 1987.
It was constructed using concrete and a facing of red brick. A number of cottages were demolished to allow for the construction, which was strongly opposed by a number of local residents including novelist Ian Fleming and the future Conservative Home Secretary Henry Brooke. This incident led Fleming to name his villain Auric Goldfinger by way of revenge. No. 2, which Goldfinger designed specifically as his own family home, is the largest of the three houses and features a spiral staircase.
Goldfinger himself designed much of the furniture in No. 2, and the house also contains a significant collection of 20th-century art.
Portobello Road Market. A lively street full of restaurants with outside seating and many shops.
I finally delivered the van at 16:30. It took a long while to pack and clean it up. A lovely woman gave me a ride into Walton on Thames. I waited for bus 555 to Heathrow for 30 minutes when a fellow told me about all the 5-hour delays at Heathrow with many people missing their flight. So I called an Uber for 45£ (instead of 4) to make sure I didn’t miss my flight. However, the problem was solved and Heathrow was fast to navigate.
Flights
May 9 Ethiopian Airlines ET701 LHR-ADD – 21:15-07:00+1. 2′ layover
May 10 ET913 ADD-DOU-SSG @09:00-13:15 /6’15”
GO TO EQUATORIAL GUINEA – Country #191.
