London Calling
By great demand (I asked her), Jeannie is doing a guest blog of our three days in London.
We actually had 1 day exploring London, arrived at Piccadilly Circus from our accommodation near Hyde Park, via the Bakerloo line (built in 1908, the first line built on the Underground) in a rattly, noisy, sardine tube.
Piccadilly Circus is in the heart of London’s West End, the theatrical heart of London. The winged statue is of Anteros, not Eros his brother. Anteros is the god of requited love and stands atop the Shaftesbury Memorial Fountain. Piccadilly Circus was built in 1819.
Trafalgar Square has now acquired a new statue next to Admiral Horatio Nelson (he died leading Britain to victory at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805). The Lady in Blue statue was unveiled on the 10th September 2026 the day we flew into London! The 17 feet tall bronze sculpture is by American artist Tschabalala Self.
St. Paul’s Cathedral was designed by Sir Christopher Wren after the Great Fire of London in 1666. It amazingly survived heavy bombing in World War II. Both Sir Nelson & Sir Wren are buried there.
The street in front of St Paul’s was cordoned off with vans, film cameras & sound equipment & a transporter carrying police cars… not any old police cars, but Gotham city police cars. Maybe a new Batman movie? What would Sir Wren think of that?
The Tower Bridge which we never managed to cross but viewed from London bridge. Tower Bridge took 8 years to build with 5 major contractors & 432 construction work. It was finished in 1894, built to ease the congestion on London Bridge. London’s population at that time was expanding quickly & there were limited river crossings.
We came across a few sculptural installations on our meander through London.
The sign is in the entrance/exit to Piccadilly Circus tube station, the first to open in 1908! The photo on the right is representative of a Pangolin, the world’s most trafficked mammal.
The Golden Hinde above is a replica of the original ship built in 1973. It has sailed more than 140,000 miles, circumnavigating the world.
The original vessel was captained by Sir Francis Drake during his 1577-1580 circumnavigation of the world.
We went to a very enjoyable matinee performance of the Mouse Trap, in its 74th year! That’s a very long run! But nothing compared to The Globe Theatre. Shakespeare’s Theatre was originally built in 1599 by William Shakespeare’s playing company, the Lord Chamberlain’s Men. In 1613 during a performance of Henry VIII, a theatrical cannon misfired & ignited the thatched roof, burning the entire building down in 2 hours!
No occupational, health & safety in those days!
Fortunately no one was seriously hurt.
The modern Globe Theatre, known as Shakespeare’s Globe opened in 1977 thanks to American actor & director Sam Wanamaker. It sits just yards from the original 1599 site.
Until next time…
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