We left our hotel on foot -- it's in a safe neighborhood --
and headed toward Whitehall, with the opportunity to at least glance at Westminster Abbey along the way.
London is full of historical markers, some of which are entirely unexpected.
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| A couple of years too early to start passing those incessant anti-Israel resolutions |
Whitehall is the centre (we're still in England, remember!) of the administrative arms of the British Government, with a collection of impressive older buildings.
Next to some of these grand old buildings are the kind of newer constructions that drive that eminent architectural critic, Prince Charles, crazy. It's easy to understand why.
We wanted to get to the Churchill War Rooms early, and it's a good thing we did.
It's an extremely popular tourist attraction. We arrived at 9:30 in the morning, and didn't leave until almost 2 in the afternoon. We could have stayed longer. It's such a fascinating place.
It's not only about Churchill of course, but about the whole war effort that was directed for years from this heavily reinforced underground complex that had been presciently put into place in the late 1930's.
When the war ended, the complex was sealed up and essentially forgotten. It wasn't until the 1980's that the War Rooms were finally unsealed and opened to the public as a museum.
The necessity for this underground command centre is immediately apparent upon entry to the museum, where they hang this unexploded German bomb. On its side is an inscription noting the almost 30,000 civilian Londoners who were killed during the Blitz.
Descending further underground -- the complex was built under the much-reinforced floors of a nondescript government office building -- there are series of narrow hallways and cramped office and living spaces from which Churchill and his Cabinet and his Generals ran the Second World War, working, eating, and sleeping underground for days on end. The space is preserved pretty much intact, in the same condition it was left in August 1945, when Japan surrendered.
Here's the Cabinet Room.
The quality of the mannequins in and around the working rooms is remarkably realistic.
The war of course, was carried on 24/7, so there was often no opportunity for the staff to ascend to the outside world or to have any idea what the conditions were above ground. So they thoughtfully posted a sign each day reporting the weather, as in this case, which was pretty much the same weather we were enjoying!
Here was Churchill's office.
Highest priority items were assigned to this bin.
Churchill pretty much kept up all his above-ground habits, including smoking cigars non-stop throughout the day, and of course, eating well. His dining room may have been the only space in the complex with any decor other than maps.
Churchill brought his cook from Chartwell, the celebrated Mrs. Landemare, to take care of him underground. Despite these rudimentary kitchen facilities, the quality of Mrs. Landemare's cooking was such that Churchill told her on VE night that he would not have been able to manage the war without her.
Churchill's sleeping quarters -- which he used as infrequently as possible -- he wanted to be above ground, where the action was -- much to the consternation of his bodyguard, Inspector Thompson.
Spanning the globe, the war was run using telecommunications and graphic aids we would today consider astonishingly primitive.
All those pins and bits of colored yarn were employed to keep track of the forces operating in the wide-flung theatres of the global conflict.
Naval maps plotted not only the location of Allied vessels, but also the whereabouts and activities of Nazi U-Boats.
In this case, the U-Boat active along the US East Coast.
There is a great deal more to the War Rooms Museum, and as noted, we could have stayed hours longer.
Outside once again, we passed the statue of Lord Mountbatten, the Last Viceroy of India, great-grandson of Queen Victoria, uncle to Prince Phillip, and cousin of Queen Elizabeth.
Evidently the IRA thugs who murdered Dickie Mountbatten in 1979 still pose a threat, so his statue is in a somewhat isolated location, surrounded by a stout fence, and patrolled by sub-machine gun wielding police guards.
Other British war heroes are left in peace, such as Lord Kitchener of Khartoum. He and 600 others drowned when the ship carrying him to Russia to negotiate with the Tsar struck a mine and sank off the Scottish coast in 1916.
And "Bobs" Roberts, perhaps the smallest -- but also the fiercest fighter in the Victorian-era British Army. He died in the trenches in France in 1914. http://www.nam.ac.uk/exhibitions/online-exhibitions/britains-greatest-general/frederick-roberts
All these statues are in the vicinity of Horse Guards Parade, which was the site of the beach volleyball competition during the 2012 London Summer Olympics.
At this point, my camera battery gave out, so I am unable to include photographs of Covent Garden, where we wandered around in search of -- and eventually found -- the kebab stand recommended by no less than the New York Times.
Or of the various shops -- John Lewis, Fortnum and Mason, Aspreys, etc. -- all so crowded you'd think they were giving stuff away! -- where we searched for -- and finally found -- a lovely wedding present to bring home for our friends Mike and Mary-Jo.
That evening we took the train to Bromley for dinner out with our cousins and their children -- both track stars; apparently the fastest white kids in the county.
The next morning, we strolled around in search of some sort of brunch, for our last meal in England.
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| Steak and kidney pie, some sort of sliders, fish and chips, mushy peas. All on one plate! |
This was not the car that took us to the airport!
Nor this one. They were waiting on a wedding party.
And here we are at Heathrow, excess baggage combined and wrapped so as to at least minimize the preposterous British Air baggage fees.
And so finally, to home.
Finis.
