I enjoyed a fun painting day with my friend Kate, starting on my England travel journal with a title page. I have a feeling that by the time I finish the whole book, I will have already returned to England or somewhere equally lovely. (And no plans are in the offing!)
I thought I should share the February books before March passes us by! February was a short and slightly disruptive month in my world. I had exhausted my supply of short books to add to quantity but I have several good ones to share with you this month.
It's time to take another break from the England posts and do a little home catch-up. Overall, late February and March have been a good months for the most part. We are beginning to see signs of spring, indoors and out. And while I'm not so naive to believe that winter is done rearing its ugly head for good, knowing that warmer days, bluer skies and beautiful blooms are on the way is a mood lift to be sure!
After our last post, visiting by the Tower of London and Tower Bridge, we decided to head back across the river and check out some of the buildings of the City, the square mile where much business takes place. We first stopped into All Hallow's by the Tower Church, the oldest church in the City of London and founded before the Tower itself, in 675AD. The altarpiece in the sanctuary, dates to 1957 and depicts The Last Supper, as seen by artist Brian Thomas.
An interesting fact is that the Great Fire of London started several hundred yards from the church, but the church itself survived. Admiral Penn, the father of William Penn (for whom Pennsylvania was named) and Samuel Pepys watched the city burn from the church's tower. Young William Penn was baptized there and American president John Quincy Adams was married there. It took World War II to damage the church, which was largely rebuilt after the war. (Only the walls and tower remained.)
After a full day (HERE and HERE) and a bad sleeping night (it was time to break out the emergency medicine my doc sent with me), we decided on a day of meandering. With theatre tickets that night and a late start, we could do as much or as little as we could manage. So, we decided we'd head toward the Tower of London.
I loved his colorful, abstract look at a walk through English history, highlighting such things as William the Conqueror, Queen Elizabeth I and even the ravens of the Tower.
I left off last time as we were in London's West End, just having wrapped up a lovely concert at St. Martin's in the Field. We had decided to go to Evensong at Westminster Abbey that afternoon and there is always a queue, so we thought we'd amble that way down Whitehall.
Charing Cross Road turns into Whitehall just after Trafalgar Square and as one approaches the government buildings. You'll find the Churchill War Rooms and museum in his area (highly recommended -- you can see an older post here) and 10 Downing Street. You'll also pass a number of war memorials, which I wrote about back around Veteran's Day HERE.
I love London's West End with its theatres, book stores, and more. Best of all, it's very walkable and so after our hearty English breakfast we set out for this area. The first thing we encountered as a marvelous (and totally unexpected) video installation focusing on the musical "The Lion King," which was celebrating 25 years on stage in London's West End.
There were enormous projections, along with models of costumes and the marvelous masks and puppetry. My photos of the costumes weren't good ones but this one intrigues me with its reflections.
Rick ticked off a bucket list activity when he went to Wigmore Hall. For me, the bucket list item to tick was a visit to Bletchley Park. This place, where some say "England won the war" by deciphering the German codes, has intrigued me through countless books, films ("The Imitation Game," among others) and television ("The Bletchley Circle).
When last we left our happy travelers, we had completed a road trip to Basildon Park, Hungerford, Burford, Snowshill Manor and Hughenden. We arrived home in time to get to a guitar concert at the wonderful crypt at St. Martin In the Field.
