“London Bridge is falling down, falling down…” That’s rubbish; London Bridge is doing fine in Arizona!
"London society is full of women of the very highest birth who have, of their own free choice, remained thirty-five for years."~Oscar Wilde
After my tutorial on Friday, Alex and I went to Gloucester Green to catch the Oxford Tube to London. The ride to London takes about an hour and a half, and after a long week of doing work, the hour nap was much needed. We arrived in London and found the weather to be much milder than in Oxford. On Thursday of this week, Oxford got hit with a snowstorm like they haven’t had in about 12 years. The snow stayed on the ground for about 2-3 days and is now gone, but it was nice to get out of the black sludge and into a somewhat cleaner city.
Victoria Station is the main bus/train stop in London and is located about 15 minute walk southwest of Buckingham Palace. We were waiting to catch up with a friend, so we had time to see a few sites in the evening. First on the list was the impressive Westminster Cathedral. The cathedral is a Byzantine-style church and was basically like a massive Greek Orthodox church without the million icons. Don’t get me wrong. They had icons, just not the usual amount that one might expect in a Eastern Orthodox cathedral. It was very impressive and still retained a very reverent, awe-inspiring atmosphere. You’ll hear later on about my complaints with St. Paul’s Cathedral, but Westminster was a very nice place.
We then decided to head over to Westminster Abbey which is just up the street. I wanted to check out the gift shop for an Arthurian picture book I had heard was neat, but finding none, we decided to attend an Evensong service in Westminster. It was basically a service which entailed the choir singing, a pretty organized liturgy, and a lot of things you might expect from a high Anglican service. But the real delight comes after the service. One of the primary goals for this trip, besides seeing Slough (location where BBC’s The Office takes place), was to get into the Jerusalem Chamber in Westminster Abbey where King Henry IV died, but more importantly where the Westminster Divines promulgated the Westminster Confession of Faith. I asked the Cantor after the service if it was possible to get in (the Chamber is always closed to visitors) and he told me to ask the Dean who was busy getting his picture taken with many of the people who had come out to the service. I waited until the crowds died down and then approached him and told him my situation and my pilgrimage to see where Presbyterian history was made. He was very friendly and immediately took me directly into the Jerusalem Chamber and explained a bit of its history. It was a delight.
That evening we stayed in a hostel. Before going there, I went to a club to get a beer and seeing as their draught beer was out, I decided to represent and drink American.
Hostels. I could actually do a whole separate blog on this, but I will refrain from moaning and groaning too much. Let me say this: To save money on this trip and because I have to, I will stay in hostels, but let it be known, I will never enjoy them. Sleeping in a room with ten other people you don’t know is not something I’m fond of and I spent at least an hour wandering if I was going to wake up, catching someone staring at me in my sleep. Hostels are gross; avoid them if you can afford it.
I got up bright and early and kicked off the day with a visit to the British Museum. It was right next door to the hostel and provided an interesting start to the day. I saw the Rosetta Stone and learned a lot about ancient near east societies. One of the pictures below is me standing next to some artifacts of the Akkadian Empire. This was mainly for Thomas who likes The Rock and his portrayal of the Scorpion King in The Scorpion King. Another highlight for me was seeing the artifacts from Sutton Hoo which is an ancient burial ground for a great Anglo-Saxon warrior king; probably some relation to myself.
We then got ourselves a subway pass to save time and much needed walking energy and soon arrived at St. Paul’s cathedral, or more aptly named “The Den of Robbers.” They now charge to get into a house of God, and after charging you an outrageous price, they tell you you can’t take pictures. Being the rebel I am, I took several pictures out of spite. You’ll see below a picture of a statue of St. Augustine which was located in the Whispering Gallery in the dome of St. Paul’s. We climbed to the top of the cathedral and there took pictures of the extraordinary view of the city of London. In one, you will see me pointing to the Globe Theater which we visited later that evening.
The highlight of my trip was seeing the Wesley Chapel and Bunhill Fields located north of the city of London and St. Paul’s cathedral. I spent a good amount of time checking out the church. I saw the pulpit from which Wesley used to preach. Below the pulpit is an arch, through which one can see the plate and cup used for the Lord’s Supper, visually representing that it is the preaching and the sacrament which are the chief means of grace for God’s people. I saw the organ on which Charles Wesley wrote many of the Church’s beloved hymns. We also received a guided tour of the home of John Wesley and saw the place where he was buried in the back of the church.
Across the street is Bunhill Fields, where one can find the graves of John Bunyan, Susannah Wesley (mother of John and Charles), William Blake, and Daniel De Foe. Pilgrim’s Progress is a personal favorite, and I just started Grace Abounding, so seeing England’s greatest writer’s grave was quite unbelievable.
After the Chapel and the Fields, we caught the subway back towards the Globe Theater and took a tour of the reconstruction of Shakespeare’s original theater. The tour guide was quite a personality and gave us a well-informed history of the place and the theater culture surrounding London at the time of the world’s greatest playwright. I have also made plans to see Othello at the Globe in May before I return home, so I am really looking forward to that.
All in all my weekend was a success. Even after two and half days in London, I feel as though I’ve barely scratched the surface of this wonderfully historic city. I look forward to returning, but appreciating the fact that tonight I will be sleeping soundly in my bed in the midst of friends and not creepy foreigners.
After my tutorial on Friday, Alex and I went to Gloucester Green to catch the Oxford Tube to London. The ride to London takes about an hour and a half, and after a long week of doing work, the hour nap was much needed. We arrived in London and found the weather to be much milder than in Oxford. On Thursday of this week, Oxford got hit with a snowstorm like they haven’t had in about 12 years. The snow stayed on the ground for about 2-3 days and is now gone, but it was nice to get out of the black sludge and into a somewhat cleaner city.
Victoria Station is the main bus/train stop in London and is located about 15 minute walk southwest of Buckingham Palace. We were waiting to catch up with a friend, so we had time to see a few sites in the evening. First on the list was the impressive Westminster Cathedral. The cathedral is a Byzantine-style church and was basically like a massive Greek Orthodox church without the million icons. Don’t get me wrong. They had icons, just not the usual amount that one might expect in a Eastern Orthodox cathedral. It was very impressive and still retained a very reverent, awe-inspiring atmosphere. You’ll hear later on about my complaints with St. Paul’s Cathedral, but Westminster was a very nice place.
We then decided to head over to Westminster Abbey which is just up the street. I wanted to check out the gift shop for an Arthurian picture book I had heard was neat, but finding none, we decided to attend an Evensong service in Westminster. It was basically a service which entailed the choir singing, a pretty organized liturgy, and a lot of things you might expect from a high Anglican service. But the real delight comes after the service. One of the primary goals for this trip, besides seeing Slough (location where BBC’s The Office takes place), was to get into the Jerusalem Chamber in Westminster Abbey where King Henry IV died, but more importantly where the Westminster Divines promulgated the Westminster Confession of Faith. I asked the Cantor after the service if it was possible to get in (the Chamber is always closed to visitors) and he told me to ask the Dean who was busy getting his picture taken with many of the people who had come out to the service. I waited until the crowds died down and then approached him and told him my situation and my pilgrimage to see where Presbyterian history was made. He was very friendly and immediately took me directly into the Jerusalem Chamber and explained a bit of its history. It was a delight.
That evening we stayed in a hostel. Before going there, I went to a club to get a beer and seeing as their draught beer was out, I decided to represent and drink American.
Hostels. I could actually do a whole separate blog on this, but I will refrain from moaning and groaning too much. Let me say this: To save money on this trip and because I have to, I will stay in hostels, but let it be known, I will never enjoy them. Sleeping in a room with ten other people you don’t know is not something I’m fond of and I spent at least an hour wandering if I was going to wake up, catching someone staring at me in my sleep. Hostels are gross; avoid them if you can afford it.
I got up bright and early and kicked off the day with a visit to the British Museum. It was right next door to the hostel and provided an interesting start to the day. I saw the Rosetta Stone and learned a lot about ancient near east societies. One of the pictures below is me standing next to some artifacts of the Akkadian Empire. This was mainly for Thomas who likes The Rock and his portrayal of the Scorpion King in The Scorpion King. Another highlight for me was seeing the artifacts from Sutton Hoo which is an ancient burial ground for a great Anglo-Saxon warrior king; probably some relation to myself.
We then got ourselves a subway pass to save time and much needed walking energy and soon arrived at St. Paul’s cathedral, or more aptly named “The Den of Robbers.” They now charge to get into a house of God, and after charging you an outrageous price, they tell you you can’t take pictures. Being the rebel I am, I took several pictures out of spite. You’ll see below a picture of a statue of St. Augustine which was located in the Whispering Gallery in the dome of St. Paul’s. We climbed to the top of the cathedral and there took pictures of the extraordinary view of the city of London. In one, you will see me pointing to the Globe Theater which we visited later that evening.
The highlight of my trip was seeing the Wesley Chapel and Bunhill Fields located north of the city of London and St. Paul’s cathedral. I spent a good amount of time checking out the church. I saw the pulpit from which Wesley used to preach. Below the pulpit is an arch, through which one can see the plate and cup used for the Lord’s Supper, visually representing that it is the preaching and the sacrament which are the chief means of grace for God’s people. I saw the organ on which Charles Wesley wrote many of the Church’s beloved hymns. We also received a guided tour of the home of John Wesley and saw the place where he was buried in the back of the church.
Across the street is Bunhill Fields, where one can find the graves of John Bunyan, Susannah Wesley (mother of John and Charles), William Blake, and Daniel De Foe. Pilgrim’s Progress is a personal favorite, and I just started Grace Abounding, so seeing England’s greatest writer’s grave was quite unbelievable.
After the Chapel and the Fields, we caught the subway back towards the Globe Theater and took a tour of the reconstruction of Shakespeare’s original theater. The tour guide was quite a personality and gave us a well-informed history of the place and the theater culture surrounding London at the time of the world’s greatest playwright. I have also made plans to see Othello at the Globe in May before I return home, so I am really looking forward to that.
All in all my weekend was a success. Even after two and half days in London, I feel as though I’ve barely scratched the surface of this wonderfully historic city. I look forward to returning, but appreciating the fact that tonight I will be sleeping soundly in my bed in the midst of friends and not creepy foreigners.
5 Comments:
You forgot to mention the Unilever series...
Great synopsis of a weekend well spent Eric. Thanks for the neat tour! I like how you made it to the pulpit.
ewww. got chills thinking about the hostels...i hear they can be quite adventurous.
i am quickly becoming the only completely uncultured one of us....oh well. we can't all have fun all the time.
You can't truly experience Europe unless you stay in at least one hostel. I have to ask - you didn't stay at "The Generator," did you? Because I did, and it was an absolutely horrific experience. If so, I could see your point and would encourage you to give hostels another shot.
Aaron,
No, I dont think it was called "The Generator." But I did eat breakfast in the hostel next to a guy who slurped every bite of cereal he took. Doesn't anyone have manners anymore? No? Well, I guess not. There was a time when people had manners, but I guess it's of a bygone era, a time that no one seems to remember except for m...Plaski!
Bill,
Actually, it wasn't in the picture but there were bongo drums off to the left-hand side, as well as a nifty powerpoint with scenic pictures of crosses and picturesque landscapes, and a few footprints in the sand.
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