

WTM
2003, London, England
November 9-13th, 2003
Prior to this trip, as I was waiting in the AC lounge in Calgary, sipping my
g & t, who should come in, but Sir Roger Moore and his very lovely wife. I
quickly called Tom to let him know and what does he say - get his autograph!
After much fortitude, I walked over to his wife while Sir Roger was getting
a drink and asked if it would be ok...of course she said. I had remembered
that they lived in Monaco, so had a really nice chat with her about the gardens
in the area then asked if I could get his autograph, not for me, but for my
husband who loved him in the James Bond series. He was very gracious and
asked for his name, then proceeded to write a nice note to him. Of course it
is framed now, (thanks to Hilda) and sits on Toms desk as a further reminder
of my bravery...
This was a really nice break for me…not only did I get a chance to go to the
World Travel Market show, which is huge! but I also had the opportunity to
spend time with Hilda, my guide that I have on all my England tours. I have
known Hilda since 1996 and the compliments that I get on her as a guide
happen each and every time we tour. She had booked us to go to listen to
Amanda Herries on Japanese Gardens the night I got in. This was one of a
series that the London Parks & Gardens Trust holds. I was really depressed
that I was going to miss Sue Shephard speaking on the Veitch Nurseries on
December 8th. I have her book Seeds of Fortune on the Veitch family, and it
is a fascinating read.
Of course before the show started, we had time to wander the streets of
London and find more secrets…London is full of them. A wonderful time of
year, the sun was shining, the leaves were falling everywhere! London Plane
trees with the most beautiful leaves were dropping around us, in perfect
shapes and so many colours – mostly browns, tans. Hilda told me that it was
not unusual to have trains not running on schedule this time of year for all
the leaves falling on the tracks. I could understand this. A magical time.
The first two pictures are from Hilda’s home…I spotted these tiny little
mushrooms growing in this old tree stump and they beckoned me to take their
picture…nothing unusual, but growing where nothing else would. Her front
garden is next – now this is November so much has settled in for the season,
but Hilda is a gardener, that we can see.
The third and fourth pictures
are at the Hayward Gallery. I had not seen this Gallery yet and wanted to
make a point of visiting as the exhibit ‘Saved! 100 years of the National
Art Collections Fund was on and is still on until January 18th, 2004. Of
course you can not take any pictures inside, but some of the works were so
beautiful that a picture would not do them justice anyway. I was extremely
impressed with Canova’s Three Graces. These were the daughters of Zeus and
the Art Fund helped the Victoria and Albert Museum and the National Galley
of Scotland in their joint purchase of this at a sum of 7,600.000.00 BP. The
Toilet of Venus by Velazquez was another beautiful work that was once
considered quite bold to have on display. Jacob and the Angel really took me
aback – incredibly strong and emotional. Outside was the Burghers of Calais
(the picture you see) and I had first seen this at Rodin Museum in Paris.
This cast was at the Victoria Tower Gardens until July of this year and
removed to be cleaned. Here you see it fully restored before it heads back
to its home.
Another beautiful piece of
artwork was the Cheetah and Stag with two Indians 1764 by George Stubbs. You
have to see this to really appreciate it. The eyes on the animals are so
real, the painting looks so real…incredible. Finally, one of the most moving
for me, was the last letter of Mary Queen of Scots, in her own hand, making
requests just hours before her execution on February 8th, 1587. There is
much more here to see, but these few items really impressed me. Visit their
site at www.hayward.org.uk
The next four pictures are around an area in London that is home office to
many barristers and judges. There is a chapel there called Lincoln’s Inn
Chapel and the undercroft is what you see there in one of them…the pillars
and bosses. In the days when the old hall was used as the Chancery Court,
Counsel would often meet their clients in the undercroft. At one time babies
were sometimes abandoned there, and often brought up by the inn, often under
the surname ‘Lincoln’. From its consecration in 1623 services have been held
here on a regular basis. John Donne the poet laid the foundation stone.
The bell came from Spain. It
had been captured in 1596 by the Earl of Essex at the siege of Cadiz. By
ancient custom it is tolled whenever news is received that a Bencher has
died. From this may have sprung Donne’s well known words, which end ‘Never
send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee’
Another picture you see what so cute I had to take it…the wig for sale – and
Hilda tells me that that is a very good price to pay! In one of my other
tours I tell you about my visit to the Halls of Justice and also about the
wigs they have to wear to this day.
We also visited a lesser known, but very exciting museum, that has been
likened to a mini British Museum called Sir John Soane’s Museum. Now this
man was one of England’s greatest architects. He died in 1837 and the museum
opened to the public soon after with his stipulation that it be kept as
closely as possible to the way he left it. Yellow and red were his favourite
colours and they are in the carpets, on the walls and add much to the
character of the place. That is if you can see them. This man loved to
collect and it is absolutely full of the most amazing things. The paintings
that he collected are breathtaking. There is a grouping of Hogarth, that
once the curator told us about them, just sprang to life before our eyes.
Visit this wonderful museum, it’s free but they need our support to keep it
up. Their site is at www.soane.org
Another wonderful place to visit is Dr Johnson’s House. Do you know that he
compiled the first comprehensive English Dictionary in this very house,
which was published in 1755? Also on display while we were there was an
exhibit called The Tyranny of Treatment. I took pictures of each of the
posters there so you could read them and react in your own way…quite happy
not to have been born at that time, I am! There is also a picture there of
his home #17.
http://www.drjh.dircon.co.uk/indexmain.htm
After all this Hilda and I were
getting hungry so she pulled me into this wonderful old pub called Ye Olde
Cheshire Cheese. Rebuilt in 1667! And take a look at the list of Sovereigns
it has seen. You see a picture there of Hilda holding up this thing – what
is it? Well, we ordered our sandwiches and were given this little gizmo that
vibrates or something when our meal was ready to be picked up at the
counter. We didn’t get a chance to see it in action though because they
brought our meal to us…but we laughed about this little piece of technology
in a pub so old.
The last pictures are of the
World Travel Market show. I had gone on Tuesday and then Hilda and I went
together on Wednesday…I came back with so much material. A great way to see
countries and what they have to offer all in one place.
So that is it, back home to digest it all…
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