Eltham Palace, Tower of London, Westminster Abbey

Back to the blog, because time is fleeting. The London Pass is a multi-use card, which, after one pays the set fee, allows access to a wide range of museum and attractions sights in and around London. We purchased a pass that allowed us to visit sites over a 10 day period, so we had to be busy for 10 full days. We've finally finished, but I haven't yet blogged it all. Let's try to do a little catch up. 

You may remember the Courtauld Gallery - Van Gogh, Picasso, you know, just a few old paintings. Well, they had, as you can imagine, lots of money, so, like any rich English family would do, they bought a little country place outside London. 

We took the Tube and train to the nearest stop then walked a short way to find the house. Along the way we passed this gate. I wonder if Cathy and Heathcliff's offspring live here. (I don't think this really is that house on the moors). 

No, here is our destination - Eltham Palace. The Great Hall dates back to the 1300's. Later it was for some time the boyhood home of Henry VIII. The Courtaulds bought it in the 1930's, quite a bit later. At the time the Great Hall was extremely dilapidated. The Courtaulds restored the hall to greatness and built an extension - the part you see on the right. 

By the way, Mr. Courtauld was no slouch. He was quite an adventurer who, at one point spent five months alone in Antartica. He was meant to stay only two, but the weather where he was was so bad that his rescuers didn't make it until three months later. According to the information at the house, his Primus stove had just failed, and he presumed he was finished when he finally heard his rescuers approach. Here we see his Balaclava - likely hand knit and absolutely necessary for survival. 

The house has wonderful grounds - although one is within easy reach of the city, this is country estate living at its finest. 

Inside the Great Hall, which had been used as a granary and a barn in earlier times, one sees these gorgeous windows. 

And a fully restored roof, maintained as it was in its heyday. 

Out on the very expansive grounds one finds idyllic spots to while away the hours. I can imagine myself here with a nice piece of knitting of a summer afternoon - perhaps a balaclava. 

Of course the Courtaulds entertained. Cocktails at five, I imagine. 

There was a phone - one can imagine a distraught owner having to call up the local constabulary, because of a rather messy body found in the shrubbery. 

The wisteria has been in bloom for awhile around London - this is a lovely specimen. 

There are pleasant neighbours. 

And a wonderful rustic wicker fence. 

The bridge to the hall also dates to the 14th century. Very well built and yes, it will support the Rolls. 

Off we go, leaving the Courtaulds to their tea, so we can drop in at The Tower of London, with a view to Tower Bridge along the way. 

The White Tower holds the Crown Jewels. We joined the throng to see them, but of course no photos were allowed. There was a moving walkway to take us past them - I'm sure just to make sure the crowd moved along. 

This 13th century beauty was, as the caption points out, used by the Kings to do their worship. 

And here a very broad view of history - Roman remains in an 11th century castle with a view of a 21st Century building. 

One of the Towers more important inhabitants. Superstition has it that if the ravens ever depart the Tower, "the Crown will fall, and Britain with it". 

Within the tower is a huge array of arms and armour as well as statues of the horses and armour of the many kings and nobles. This small suit was made for a young King Edward when he was only 13. 

An array of armoured breastplates. Geordie was not about to try these on. 

This is a wooden carved head of Elizabeth I. 

The shield is from Asia -a gift to the crown by a visiting dignitary. There were many more gifts on display including a Samauri's armour. 

And for some reason this gigantic wingéd dragon taking care of the gunpowder. Careful with those flames. 

Outside, another of the Queen's guard stands sentinel. 

We needed sustenance after touring the castle so stopped at one of the well-recommended places Geordie had discovered in his preliminary research. The Golden Union did indeed live up to its reputation. 

After lunch I insisted on heading to the Liberty Department store on recommendation from a friend in Vancouver. I wasn't expecting it to be such an interesting building. 

With a gorgeous elevator lined with carved panels. 

And the real draw, yarn in the Rowan shop. Note the yarn on the left. I bought a ball of it - colourway designed by Arne and Carlos, a couple of odd-duck knitters from Sweden and Norway. Their first book was 55 Christmas Balls to Knit. 

 The first of a pair of socks I started today with their self striping yarn. 

After Liberty I wandered the streets and found myself on Carnaby Street. It's a far cry from those heady days in the 60's when punk fashion and wild clothing were the order of the day. Now you can find a Nike shop and other chain stores. However, this particular shop did have a sense of humour. Look closely. The message emblazoned on the Union Jack is Happy Birthday Your Majesty. But look even more closely. The entire display consists of painted figurines of a waving Queen Elizabeth. And I mean waving - the figurines all have a moving part -in this case her very well-known queenly hand. 

We also got to wander through Westminster Abbey, walking in the footsteps of Will and Kate, Charles and Diana, and of course, that most amazing event, the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II herself. 

No pictures were allowed in the Abbey, so if you want to see the gravestones of all the famous people buried there you'll have to come over and see it for yourself. Outside was the Chapter House where that prohibition was not enforced. 

This is a surviving piece of the wall paintings. It illustrates the Book of Revelations. The figure with the golden halo is St. John the divine, author of that unique book of the Bible. In the second panel to the right you see John twice - both in the boat and after he has stepped ashore on the island of Patmos where he wrote the book. Geordie and I have stood in the cave on Patmos and have seen the hole from whence issued the divine voice that dictated the text to him. 

A view over the cloister to Westminster, seat of government. 

And here a great panel showing the circumnavigation of the globe by Sir Francis Drake. He didn't quite make it to Vancouver, but Geordie points it out anyway. 

And as usual, a picture to end this blog post - a great statue of Sir Winston Churchill braving the winds of war to defeat the Germans. 

Tower Bridge, HMS Belfast, Southwark Cathedral and Hampton Court.

I'm doing catch up since I am far behind on my journal of our time in London. Hence the several venues I share with you here. 

With our London Pass we have quite a variety of venues to explore. One of the places we saw early on was Tower Bridge. It's of course an icon of London and a beautiful thing. You may know that it's a drawbridge, designed to allow large ships to go further up the Thames to dock. 

A view along the sidewalk - or the footpath as the English call it. 

And some structural as well as artistic detail. 

Up above, the crossing over the river now has a glass floor for those intrepid enough to step onto it. 

Like me. 

And there are mirrors above - for those afraid to look down?

The views of course are dramatic if the weather is good. There's The Shard - visible from many parts of the city. The igloo shaped building in the foreground is London's City Hall. 

In another direction, The Gherkin (or as I call it, The Pickle). 

Part of the tour of the bridge includes the engine room where the hydraulic works to raise the bridge are located. They are gleaming bright. And still in use. 

I sometimes think that the designers were making art as well as functional machinery. 

The firebox where the coal was shovelled back when that was the fuel used to fire the steam engines. 

After we left we walked along the south bank of the Thames where I captured a selfie with another iconic skyline building. Again, the British do love to name their buildings as they see them. The one on the left is The Walkie Talkie. 

Further along the river we came to the museum ship HMS Belfast. She's seen a lot of action including patrolling the Arctic during WW II. 

Inside we got down into the bowels of the ship. 

And high up on the bridge where someone had the opportunity to play Captain. 

Signs indicate where the Belfast saw action. This was just months before Geordie was born. 

And she also saw action while my mother was giving birth to me. 

Yes if you were injured you got to go to the sick bay, and if things were serious, the ship's Doctor might have a go at you. 

Although there were bunks on the ship, there were also times when the navy men slept in hammocks too. 

Off we are again - a new day, a new tour. The Globe Theatre - a faithful reproduction. You may be surprised to learn that until Sam Wanamaker, a young American actor, arrived in Londn to see the home of Shakespeare in London, there was no historic building - merely a plaque on a wall. 

Wanamaker made it his life's work to see that Shakespeare's memory and legacy were honoured by creating a society whose goal was to recreate the theatre which once gave life to Shakespeare's plays, in his time. Surprisingly, no funds from historic trusts or the British government were provided to see the theatre reconstructed. 

We were led into the theatre and got to sit inside for a silent running. This meant that we were witness to a practice by the actors with the director as they ran through parts of the play they were rehearsing - in our case, The Taming of the Shrew. What a great opportunity - alas, no pictures allowed, so I leave this section with one of the faithfully reproduced costumes used by the players, instead. 

Now, on to Southwark Cathedral which was nearby. (It's pronounced suth erk), by the way). The central nave is so beautiful. 

A quote from their own website: "We believe there has been a church on this site since AD 606. There may well have been a church here even earlier. Southwark Cathedral is the oldest cathedral church building in London, and archaeological evidence shows there was Roman pagan worship here well before that."

This is one of the roof bosses, shown as a display piece on the wall. This is the Devil swallowing Judas, a piece from the 15th century, which was rescued after a fire damaged the roof in the 1800's. 

As with any cathedral, stained glass is used to great effect. 

Another view of the nave with the lovely lighting of the roof. 

And Geordie's patron Saint - St. George slaying the dragon. 

And look, even closer to The Shard. 

Another day, another tour. This time we took the train out to Hamoton Court, built by Cardinal Wolsey, but confiscated by his King, Henry VIII, who did live here for a time. 

The approach is lined with carved fantasy animals, like these two, a unicorn and a dragon. 

Inside buildings like this, always look up. Sometimes you will see masterpieces of art, sometimes masterpieces of sculpture. 

We were entertained by a travelling band of minstrels who sang, danced and orated. 

Another wonderful ceiling detail. 

The King, Henry VIII himself. 

And his commode. Because even kings need to go. (In one spot I saw a sign that advised that if one had to go when other people might be in earshot, one should cough and make other noises so as not to sully the ears of others with your business there.)

On the dining table in a couple of rooms were these fantastically folded linen napkins. They were apparently created by the staff for the delight of the diners. They certainly put towel swans to shame. 

Down in the kitchens a man was turning a spit over a real fire, with several joints roasting. The soot and smoke of centuries is on the wall above the fireplace. 

In a courtyard is this clock tower. It's quite ornate and tells the seasons and the zodiac as well as the time. 

I leave you here as we left Hamotn Court, along the Rver Thames in Richmond on Thames. Did you know that, by law, all swans n England are the property of the Queen?