Final Thoughts and Farewell

Lunch at the Tate Modern with Shirley.

We've been home for weeks now, so it's time to finish up this blog as we look back fondly on our two months in London. (Then maybe I can go back, re-read my entries, and make corrections to the errors that I didn't see before, with my apologies.)

Did we get to see and do everything that was on our list? No. But that's all to the good. As Samuel Johnson said, "When a man is tired of London is tired of life; for there is in London all that life affords." We have more to look forward to in the future.

One regret is that we didn't get a photo of the two of us with Shirley's brother, who spent a few days in the flat with us on his visits to London. We had met Nigel before, but we'd never had an opportunity to get to know him, so we enjoyed getting better acquainted. He was a great "flat mate"-- an avid reader, and an interesting conversationalist, as well as being a thoughtful person, much like his sister.

Because we were able to overlap our visit with Shirley's return, we could hear all about her trip to Australia and have some time together before we returned home, which we savored.

From the theater (theatre) website

Those last few days were eventful. Shirley treated us to a night at the theater to see Arthur Miller's "The Price," which starred David Suchet (TV's Poirot) and Brendan Coyle (Bates in Downton Abbey). What a real delight to see those consummate actors, especially Suchet, who was absolutely brilliant in his performance as Solomon, an old Russian Jewish furniture dealer! The play offers insight into the price people pay through the decisions they make. It also explored how the stories we tell ourselves about our lives contain both elements of truth and self-delusion--in other words, a thoroughly enjoyable and thought-provoking evening.

We took in a Bonnard exhibit at the Tate Modern with Shirley as well, the most extensive exhibit of his work that I have ever seen. Bonnard said, "A painter should have two lives, one in which to learn and one in which to practice his art." I wondered if he said that based on his own experience. Because although I liked the colors and themes in his early art, it sometimes felt flat; it lacked the vibrancy and life of his later work. 

One of my favorite paintings in the exhibition

Soon it was time to say goodbye. That's always hard with good friends. But it helps knowing that because we have kept the friendship alive for more than 30 years, we expect to be friends for the rest of our lives. So goodbye means only "till we meet again."

For London, too, it's only till we meet again. How privileged Kevin and I feel to have experienced so many of the world's great cities in our life together, and now we have London on that list. It's especially sweet when you can stay and live for even a short while as a local. So no, we're not tired of London. And we're not tired of life. Thank you Shirley, for a marvelous experience!

Till next time....

Scenes from London

Here are some photos for the scrapbook of the other activities we pursued during our London winter. For example, we took a river cruise to Greenwich.

As we traveled on our river cruise, we spotted the ancient fortress of the Tower of London with modern cranes stretching high above it. The White Tower, most of which you see in the photo, was built by William the Conqueror in the 1080s. We've taken the tour of the tower many times, so we did not go on this visit.

We debarked in Greenwich near the Cutty Sark, one of the last of the British clipper ships, before walking up the hill to the Royal Observatory and the Prime Meridian.

The Royal Observatory holds the original timepieces by John Harrison, who developed a stable clock that could finally allow ships to calculate longitude and keep the mariners from being lost at sea. (If you haven't read the book, Longitude, or seen the wonderful video starring Michael Gambon, you are missing out on a fascinating story.)

Everyone who visits the prime meridian (the place where time begins), likes to straddle the line marking the division between the eastern and western hemispheres. 

The view, looking back at London from the hilltop, is something to behold too.

But Greenwich wasn't our only trip along the water. We also spent a day walking the Regency Canal from Camden Town Market to the Canal Boat Museum.

Along the way, we observed life on the barges and narrowboats. Some of them had commercial uses too.

We stopped to chat with the proprietor of the floating book shop.

His assistant notified him when customers arrived--much better than a bell, I think. (Woof, woof!)

Because we enjoyed such mild weather, we took several walks, including one with Teresa and her charming companions, Lottie and Rudy. What could be better than a stroll in Kensington Gardens followed by a coffee?

Lottie got a hug.

And then it was Rudy's turn.

Another spot we went for coffee was The Sky Garden in the building Londoners call "The Walkie-Talkie." Unfortunately, you have to reserve in advance (unless you want to go to the restaurant, with prices as high as the elevation), but the day we chose was cloudy. It was still enjoyable, and the coffee and muffin was good.

What can we say? These are some of the scenes of London that we will look back on fondly.

Rain or shine, London captivates us.

Remnants of Roman Britain

While we wintered in London, we took a trip to the second largest city in England. No, not Birmingham, the second largest by population today, but to Verulamium, which held that ranking in Roman Britain. Today the town is known as St. Albans, and Londinium, the largest city, is now London.

There is a saying in the U.K. that if you "scratch Gloucestershire, you'll find Rome," referring to all the artifacts, villas, and other items discovered in that part of the English countryside. But because the Romans were in Britain for nearly 400 years, you can find evidence of ancient Rome almost anywhere. 

The names of towns themselves can reveal their Roman heritage. Towns whose names end in -cester, -caster, or -chester, for example, were all Roman camps (castra) at one time, such as Winchester, Lancaster, and Manchester. And wherever you find a long, straight road in England, you can be sure it was once a Roman road, testimony to those outstanding engineers. St. Albans, dedicated to the first English Christian martyr, offers a glimpse of its Roman past with a marvelous museum and well-preserved mosaics. 

The museum makes it all come alive with performances by a "Roman soldier" who explains what life was like back in the Roman period from 43 to 410 B.C.  In the dim light of the museum, you could almost believe he was a spectral figure. The kids, of course, were fascinated with his sword.

He explained that while we tend to think of Roman soldiers in Britain as having come from Rome, they in fact were from all over the Roman Empire, and some were locals. No matter where they came from, after 20 or 30 years, they had the option of retiring with either a lump sum of money or a piece of land in the area. I think I enjoyed his talk as much as the children.

We were fascinated as well with one of the graves that had been discovered in the area. The gentleman pictured below was buried in an elaborate coffin wrapping of (I think) tin. (Sorry, the low light makes the photo a bit blurry.)

Later, back in London, we explored a secret Roman site. (Actually, it's not a secret, but it's not very well known.) In Bloomberg's European Headquarters building is the Mithraeum, or Temple of Mithras. It's free to visit, but you must reserve in advance online, because the number of visitors is limited.

The museum is spread over three floors, with exhibits displayed on the ground floor. Then you descend to another area which is quite dark, where you can view mystical film presentations as you await your turn in the temple, a half-story below.

In the temple itself, a sound and light presentation delivers an immersive experience, where light beams re-create ancient pillars and Latin chants ring eerily through the space. (The guide explained later that while historians can't be sure that chanting accompanied rituals in the temple, the words were found inscribed on a temple of Mithras in Rome, so the developers of the museum had the chant recorded using those words. It was very effective at sending chills up-and-down our spines.)

We ascended again and took a final look at some of the artifacts before we left. Isn't it interesting how little nails have changed in nearly 2,000 years? Some things withstand the test of time. I couldn't help but wonder, with so much in our digital world reduced to 1's and 0's recorded on fragile discs and tapes, what would an archeologist of the future find left from our society?

Note the nails at the center, top. They haven't changed much in 2,000 years!