London Today, Yesterday, and Tomorrow

 

London has a sameness, an old grandmother of a city, but at the same time, you might easily be surprised by changes.  

 

Where I stayed in Kensington, there were five coffee shops on the street facing the hotel. Four of them no longer accept cash.  Gotta use a card.  One waitress offered to take cash, but added, “I have no way to give you change.”  It was £5 for coffee and toast.  I had a £20 note.  No choice but to use my card.  Nothing appeared on the menu and no warning on the front door that said cash was not used.

 

London (don’t know about the rest of Britain) is not the only place on earth getting rid of cash. Sweden is almost cashless and furthermore your card better be a “tap” card, although some places may still accept the old fashioned cards.

 

In London pubs, at least ones I went to, do accept cash, but I wonder for how long.

 

Not everything is changing. Pubs are still open at eleven o’clock or noon. I don’t know why; some are 11 and some are 12.

London has a vast array of museums of every sort, 192 museums in fact, placing them #5 in the list of cities with the most museums.  You can look up the rankings, but you probably want to know who is #1. Paris with 297.

 

My favorite London museums are, in no special order:

 

The British Museum with everything imaginable, including miles of architectural exhibits from all over the world, as well as the famous this and that, of which my favorite is the Rosetta Stone, from which linguists learned the secrets of many ancient languages.

 

The National Gallery, housing art of every sort, including a masterful collection of Impressionist paintings.

 

And very close to the National Gallery is The National Portrait Museum where I recently viewed a collection of David Hockney’s work. 

 

The V & A Museum (Victoria and Albert), which houses so very many cultural items.  I had a wonderful guided tour, with a guide who knew everything about clothes worn through the ages.

 

There are many war museums, including Churchill’s War Rooms and The Imperial War Museum, plus many others.

 

Special exhibits change, so look before you go.

 

How about evening activities?  My favorite, bar none, are the theatres. I buy my tickets at the discount kiosk in Leicester Square. Leicester is pronounced Lester.

 

Very easy to get around in London.  The Tubes (Underground rail) connect every part of the city. With a new twist, you no longer have to use an Oyster Card as a ticket, which is a card that you refill with £ on machines (that are in every station). These days you can use your credit or debit “tap” card to ride.

 

How about getting from the States to London? There are Atlantic crossings if you prefer to go by ship.  Or, if you want to dash over and back, air travel is in great supply.  My two favorite airlines to London are Virgin Atlantic and British Air.  Not fond of the U.S. airlines. 

 

Heathrow and Gatwick are the two major airports that service London.  Very similar in distance, but my favorite is Heathrow with an easy tube ride to the Kensington area where I usually stay. Lots of nice hotels, pubs, restaurants, and transportation to every part of the city.

 

I’ve been to London off and on for over five decades and written of my adventures.  Below is a list of those on my blog.

 

https://stroudallover.blogspot.com/2017/11/theres-something-about-london.html

 

https://stroudallover.blogspot.com/2016/01/posh-london-tour-of-st-james-street.html

 

https://stroudallover.blogspot.com/2015/04/london-various-pubs-various-pleasures.html

 

https://stroudallover.blogspot.com/2015/02/going-down-tubes-part-tube.html

 

https://stroudallover.blogspot.com/2014/12/finding-london-bookstores-adventure.html

 

https://stroudallover.blogspot.com/2013/11/the-national-portrait-gallery-london.html

 

https://stroudallover.blogspot.com/2012/06/down-tha-local-tasty-british.html

 

https://stroudallover.blogspot.com/2021/11/theatres-fun-in-london.html  Especially for plays, it’s best to check online.  Theatre productions come and go.

 

When to go?  I like early fall, or early spring.  Not so crowed and I’ve had great luck with the weather.  BUT, whenever you go, London is going to be a wonderful treat!

The National Gallery: Australian Impressionists

InsideThe National Gallery

Yes, I’m going to talk about one of the great art museums in the world, but first let’s chat a bit about London itself.

One thing that makes London so easy to visit is the transit system.  Subways, buses, taxis are all available, convenient, and very affordable.  But, another thing that’s even better is that you can easily walk between many attractions.  Five minute walk too much?  Drop into a pub and refresh yourself.  Consider it a stroll between pubs.  I do.

Let’s say you’ve just taken the Piccadilly Line to Leicester Square to buy some discounted theater tickets.  From there you can walk six minutes in one direction and you’re in Piccadilly Circus, with the famous statue of Eros at it’s epicenter, and where the finest of London’s shopping streets, Oxford, Piccadilly, and Regent Streets branch out like the spokes of a wheel.

The famous Covent Garden is only seven minutes away.

From the balcony of The National Gallery looking into Trafalgar Square

Walk another direction for six minutes and you’re in the equally famous Trafalgar Square, with its heroic column holding a statue of Admiral Lord Nelson.  You’ll pass The National Portrait Gallery on the way, which is also well worth a stop.  From Trafalgar it’s a quick walk to The Strand for more shopping, some famous restaurants (Simpson’s on the Strand) and the famous Savoy Hotel.  Pop into the American Bar for a drink and a gander at all the photos of the celebrities who’ve imbibed there.  Maybe you’d like to visit the parade ground for the Queen’s Cavalry, and stroll past Number 10 Downing Street, home to the Prime Minister.  Fourteen minutes, max.

Honestly, we’re only talking about a few easy steps from one perfect spot to another.

When you enter, don't forget to look up!

But, while we’re in Trafalgar Square, let’s walk up the short staircase to The National Gallery.  Free admission and open over 360 days a year.  What’s special about The National Gallery?  One of the most famous art galleries in the world.  Name some painters you like, or that your art teacher mentioned while you thought about the cute blond at the desk across the room.  Rembrandt?  Van Gogh?  Monet? Michelangelo?  Bells ought to be clanging!  They’re all there, from the old masters to the French Impressionists and beyond.

The current special exhibit is Australian Impressionists.  Yes, there is a fee for the specials.

Let’s digress and talk about the Impressionists.  I thought they were all French, sez you.  That’s what I thought too.  Boy was I wrong.  The French are only the most well known.  You might like to know (because of your insatiable thirst for knowledge) that the label impressionism began as a satirical term by an art critic writing for a Parisian newspaper, as in “It’s not really art, just an impression.” The strict judges of the French art establishment wouldn’t let Monet, Renoir, Pissarro. Cezanne, Degas and others, enter the prestigious events at the Académie des Beaux-Arts.  Not to be stifled after being turned down several times, the artists formed their own group and had their own exhibit.  The public went wild.  Seldom does the establishment know what the public wants.

What freed artists from the old rules?  One thing was the invention of the camera (1814) and by the 1860’s it was in wide use. Remember Mathew Brady and his famous American Civil War photos?   No longer did artists have to paint an exact replica of what they saw. 

What was different about the Impressionist paintings?  The artists used lighter colors, feathered brush strokes, and faintly recognizable forms.  They also had a passion for painting en plein air, meaning outside, which allowed them to paint as the natural light changed during the day.  As light changes, color changes. Ever see an exhibit of Monet’s Water Lilies?  He painted dozens of gargantuan canvases, attempting to capture the changing light, a reflection of how he viewed the same scene.  Monet found that light changes every seven minutes.  We intuitively know that the day grows lighter, then darkens, but every seven minutes? You can easily test it yourself with a camera and a watch. 

But, enough dallying.  Let’s get to the Australian Impressionists, and specifically the four artists on exhibit, which runs through 26 March 2017.  You don’t want to miss it.  The word I use to describe these paintings by Tom Roberts, Arthur Streeton, Charles Conder, and John Russell is:  Astounding!

What’s so special about the Australian painters?  For me, even more than the French impressionists, they bring a scene to life.  You find yourself stepping into the painting to feel the swirling dust, to smell the cows, and hear the sound of a rippling stream.  But, endless discussion of paintings is as sleep inducing as slugging through the rules of Ping Pong, so let me stop there and just offer some poor photographic evidence of what I mean.  Photos weren’t allowed in the museum and stern faced attendants saw to it, so I had to scavenge on the internet.

I have asked myself, what is it about the Impressionists that over a hundred years later still grabs people and makes them stare and dream?  My answer is: unexpected encounters that pull you in and brand your memory.  The Impressionists were experimenters, changers, collaborators, switching from one style to another, merging reality and dreams.  Even today they still represent freedom of expression.  No rules except eyes, light, and a paintbrush.

And the style and feeling weren’t exclusive to the French.  John Paul Russell painted along side Van Gogh, and in fact was the only Australian artist to be directly in touch with Monet.  Yes, these men and women in many ways broke down the walls of art.  They were slaves to shifting light and ambient hues, and shameless copiers who borrowed from each other.

These photos in no way do justice to the paintings. But, they give you an idea of how the artists captured the raw roughness and stark beauty of turn-of-the-century Australia.  You just gotta go see the actual painting for yourself! 

Charles Conder:  A Holiday at Mentone

Arthur Streeton:  Fire's On!

John Russell:  Rough Sea

Tom Roberts: Winter Morning After Rain

Tom Roberts:  Bourke Street West

The National Gallery, Trafalgar Square, London!  Somebody in your party lukewarm about art museums?  Use this to entice them:  Pubs are close, very close, before and after.

Buckingham Palace: Changing of the Guard Part II

Are the weapons real and are they loaded?  Yes and yes.  Impressive that these are real soldiers and well trained, and when not guarding the Queen, they’re deploying with their units around the world. Many of them have had combat tours. And the weapons you see are real and loaded.  They aren’t at the palace just for show.

At the beginning of a guard’s tour of duty, he is told the following: "You may not eat, sleep, smoke, stand easy, sit or lie down during your tour of duty".

At Buckingham Palace the guards are inside the gates, mainly to prevent incidents with tourists who in the past have interfered, but also because of the terrorist threat.  When the guards are outside the gates, as they sometimes are, there is a procedure for dealing with unruly miscreants.  The first thing they do is come to attention, loudly stamp a boot and say, “Stand back from the guard.”

The second step is to move his weapon into a ready position.  In the third step, he will point his weapon.  Following that, the next step is to signal for help (there’s a button inside the guard station), or detain the person himself.  That seems to be all that is needed. To date, no weapons have been fired while on duty at Buckingham Palace.

Should you get in the way of a marching guard, he will shout, “Make way for the Queen’s Guard.”

What about the bearskin caps?  Real or fake?  REAL, made from Canadian black bear skins.  Cost is exorbitant:  £1,224 (2016 price), or about $1555.45 each. 

Are animal rights folks going crazy?  Yep.  Have the British backed off?  Nope.  Still, bearskin may be on its way out after a couple of centuries of tradition, not because of animal rights, but because of cost. My observation is that from the beginning of recorded history, economics have played a more important role in change than any other single factor, whether the topic is “the divine right of kings,” the rise and fall of dictators, who wins an election, or the cost of bearskin caps.

What about the bands?  Each regiment has its own, except for the Household Cavalry regiments, who only have one combined band.  They march from Wellington Barracks to the palace for the ceremony.  In the Changing of the Guard, normally two bands play, one for the oncoming regiment and one for the retiring regiment.

The cavalry rides from the nearby Hyde Park Barracks.

Cavalry?  Really in the 21^st Century?  Yes and no.  When not guarding the monarch, the Household Cavalry Regiment (HCR) horsemen are also ‘real soldiers’, serving in their operational role as a Formation Reconnaissance Regiment, riding in armored fighting vehicles.

Things to know about the Cavalry:  The horses are known as Cavalry Blacks and stand at least 16 hands high (5 1/3 ft or 64 inches).  No stallions and most are geldings.

In the 1982 Hyde Park Bombing, four horsemen and seven horses were killed.  On their ride to Buckingham Palace, the Household Cavalry salutes the monument.

Want more? Juliet Blaxland has written a book on the horses, titled:  Nimrod, A Cavalry Black, from foal to retirement, with part of the proceeds going to The Household Cavalry Foundation charity.

Yes, there is a lot more to know, but you already know more than 99% of the folks who view The Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace!  Relax, enjoy the music and the ceremony and the pageantry that has been a part of British history for hundreds of years.

As a side benefit, here’s a free mental check on your short-term memory.  If you fail this quiz, put down that bottle, sober up and try it again.

Does that guard have a white and green plume on his hat?  Then he’s a member of…………

That right, he's a Welsh Guard.

And from which regiment are these red-coated Cavalry? 

The Life guards, of course.

Check this photo.  Is the Queen in residence?

 You bet she is!  Another way to tell?  Four guards in front of the palace, she's there.  Two guards means she's not.

Finding London Bookstores! An Adventure

Besides pubs and theater, other musts for any worthwhile, thinking traveler to London, are the array of not-to-be-missed bookstores.  I’m not talking about the grab a novel newspaper stands in the airports, or the thin selection in American malls.  London is blessed with tome filled islands of wonder that lure you inside and steal your hours, soaking in the smell of printed works, reveling in the atmosphere of rebounding knowledge, in the presence of brilliant minds.  Speaking of brilliant minds, in my benevolence, as you might guess, I have a few personal treasures to share.

Foyles Books on Charing Cross Road.  Five stories high.  There are Foyles outlets all over London.  But, you’re going to Leicester Square to pick up theater tickets anyway, so why not wander down Charing Cross Road, which is noted for its array of second hand bookstores.  Forget the musty stacks for now…although they do have the charm and elegance of gray haired men, with frayed cuffs and knotted ties.   Time is short.  Let’s keep going down a few blocks and step into the Foyles flag ship.

Used books on Charing Cross Road

Teenage brothers, William and Gilbert Foyle failed their Civil Service Exams and decided to sell their textbooks.  The rest of the story reads like a script for a Hollywood movie.  Bought used textbooks, sold them for a profit.  Opened a store, outgrew it, opened another, etc.  Finally settled in the current location in 113-121 Charing Cross Road (1929!).  See, even in a depression, there are those who roll their money to the bank in wheelbarrows!  Foyles has branches all over the world, but I always prefer the original.  By the way, Foyles is still family owned and operated.  (http://www.foyles.co.uk/about-foyles)

You step through the door into the world of books.  First thought.  This shop isn’t so big. Hahahaha…you’re only in the new book section, surrounded by a few thousand selections.  Traipse upstairs, or downstairs.  There are more worlds to conquer.  Now, get to it.

Hatchard’s  has been selling books from the shop on Piccadilly since 1797!  Prime location, right next to Fortnum & Mason.  Now owned by Waterstone, Hatchard’s is still a fabulous bookstore of high, polished-wood shelving, and there’s no way I can think of stepping into the food emporium next door before I gaze over a few new titles, and browse the never-ending stacks that stretch through fiction, non-fiction, art, travel, and god only knows what else.  It’s a wonderful place to get lost in your dreams.  Hatchard’s often features book signings, with significantly famous authors.  (http://www.hatchards.co.uk)

Daunt Books, 83-84 Marylebone High Street , is not easy to find.  (http://www.dauntbooks.co.uk) By the way, the street is pronounced Mar-lee-bone.  Nearby are Marylebone Road (huge), Marylebone Rd (small), and Marylebone Street (tiny) Follow my directions closely:  Take the underground to Marylebone Tube Station. (Baker Street Station is closer, but who knew?) Get out of the underground and up to the road.  Look perplexed.  I scratch my head.  Ask a few people for directions.  Watch them scratch their heads. Unfold my map and notice that London is a tiny dot, while the rest of England unfolds endlessly.  Notice the huge Landmark Hotel.  Race inside.  Get a better map from the concierge and let him mark the spot.  Walk down Marylebone Road until I’m blocks past Madame Tussaud’s.  This isn’t turning out well.  Did the concierge say to turn at Madame Tussaud’s?  Maybe.  Memory isn’t what it used to be after that last pub.  I wander the several blocks back to Madame T’s.  Turn at the spot I think I remember and find myself on Luxborough Street.  Keep walking he said.  I had several pints of beer an hour ago.  This is beginning to be troubling.  Rain with a chance of soggy socks.

Luxborough Street is a looooong street.  I pass the point of bladder control and am headed toward the abyss of self-control.  I hurry back to the Landmark Hotel, which is several blocks behind me, but offers the only faint hope I’ve got.

The Landmark gents room is a lovely place.  All polished marble and mirrors.  I spend an hour there, holding my own, idly watching people come and go as I continue to unleash a torrent of after-market beer.

I begin again.  Past Madame Tussauds and a hard right turn.  Looks familiar.  Oh, yeah, been here before.  Seems like only moments ago.  Luxborough Street, check.  Somewhere, the hip bone has got to be connected go the thigh bone.  I run into Crawford Street.  But, since this is a T intersection, I’m faced with a dilemma.  With great trepidation (and half my brain calculating how far it is back to the Landmark), I chance a left turn.  This may be the longest walk since Chairman Mao took his first step on the thousand mile journey.

My need to find Daunt Books has changed from sunny joy, to golden rapture (at finding a men’s room), to steel gray determination, to the red heat of passion.

I once again stop and ask directions.  The lady backs off a few steps and wraps her arms protectively around her child.  It’s over there, she points and I hear the click of her heels as she speeds the kid to safety.  Was it my tone, or the perhaps the way spittle flew in wide arcs?  It’s getting dark.  If this fucking place is closed…

I catch a glimpse of heaven.  The magic words, Marylebone High Street.  I ask again, just to be sure.  Daunt Books, I say so calmly I don’t recognize my own voice.

Right over there.  The man points across the street and down about fifty paces.

I race.  Blessed sweet mother of angels, it’s open!  I gander at endlessly long oak shelves, stare up at the high gallery, peel back a few covers, browse until my eyes ache.  Find tales I simply cannot live without. Daunt Books specializes in travel, but they have everything.  Although parts of the building date to 1912, the owner and the name date only to 1990, when the shop was purchased by a former banker, James Daunt.  No matter the date or pedigree, this is another London treasure.

It’s now pitch black outside and I have no remote idea how to trek back toward any known tube stop, or bus stop, or where I might find a frightened mother and child to clear the path ahead.

Ah, but all is well.  Diagonally across the street is a championship pub. Prince Regent, reads the sign over the heavy stone front.  Better yet, the bar is not crowded and they have my favorite, DOOM Ale on tap.  It may be raining outside, but in here it’s sunny as a warm day on the beach with a bosom buddy, and the gents toilet is only a short glance from where I’m celebrating with a few pints.

Before I finish this thumbnail sketch of London booksellers, I must mention one small bookshop that never makes anyone’s list.  South Kensington Books is just steps away from the South Kensington tube stop.  It’s small, it’s independent, but two things make it really special:  price and selection.  Most of the books, which include best sellers and many prominent authors, sell for half price or less.  We’ve all seen half-price bookstores, but I’ve never seen one that grabbed me and made me walk out the door with three books under my arm.  Only an iron will and the airline’s baggage limit stopped my free-fall toward financial ruin.

Don’t for a minute think the South Kensington underground station is out of the way.  Right on the Piccadilly, District, and Circle lines.  Very artsy, quaint area surrounding the tube stop, including pubs, coffee shops, restaurants, and ice cream parlors.

As was famously said, A man who’s tired of London is tired of life.

Remember this short list of bookshops.  They’re my favorites.