Cathedral

London January 2025 #7

London, Mobility, Travel

Today is Dishpan Day — All the photos that were sitting left over from yesterday and before! I’ll caption each so we know what we’re looking at.

It Evens Out

Getting to and settled in the airport hotel was a bit of a chore, but then, that’s why I loathe Heathrow. Some people were great, a few were awful. I used my Gett app to call a black taxi, and it had arrived in the time it took me to grab my suitcase and walk out the front door. My Cabbie was awesome, and we had a great conversation about the US and UK on the way to my train at Paddington. Heathrow Express took me to the airport in 15 minutes, where driving would’ve taken over an hour.

It’s a perfectly nice airport, but it’s gigantic. It reminds me of Boston Logan, except more sprawling and way far from the actual city you’re visiting. I might have to switch airlines to Nordic, who fly into Gatwick. I wonder if they have a rewards card. Or I’ll just start going to the tropics, since JetBlue flies to multiple destinations from Westchester Airport.

I left the first hotel at 11, got to Paddington about 12, grabbed a sandwich, got to Heathrow about 1 o’clock, and the airport hotel about 230. The disability helper dudes at Heathrow were absolutely wonderful. Still took forever, but they were so helpful!

There was a couple with six kids and lots of gigantic luggage on the shuttle bus. Seriously — the amount of luggage was truly shocking.

They were sitting in all of the labeled and marked disabled seats (with open seats up the two steps behind them), and had all their baggage stacked in a monumental teetering tower in the other flip-down wheelchair/disabled row. Did they move or offer? Of course they didn’t. They watched me stand with a cane and a rolling suitcase, falling twice (sideways) against the luggage rack while the bus humped and bumped and tilted speedily coursed around the airport ramps.

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Their luggage was stacked in the area directly in front of my foot.

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I could’ve enforced it, but it was a short trip and I couldn’t be bothered. By the time I got the driver involved and they’d moved, it would’ve been almost over anyway. You wanna be the asshole? Fine with me. A girl behind them apologized to me on their behalf after they got off.

All this aside, a nice surprise was waiting at the end of the journey! I don’t know whether it’s because I’m a member of their hotel club or whether I’m nice and I have a stick. Whichever, I was upgraded to an executive room, which is very comfortable. Very nice hotel too — excellent room service, restaurant, Starbucks, and pizza place inside the lobby, very friendly staff, everyone super helpful. I’m impressed.

I got here later than I would have liked, but check in being 2 PM, I would’ve paid more to arrive earlier anyway. It will be a nice spa day very much including room service and that amazing looking shower.

It is so nice to know I will have a comfortable night and then get on a shuttle that will drop me at my airport terminal in 10 minutes time. 

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IHG Rewards? A good attitude, plus the cane?

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Here come the random photos!

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Shakespeare’s Globe, in its current position.

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The Globe interior, via AboutBritain.com

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My 14GG John Collett curiously bought the land that The Globe was put on top of at exactly the time Burbage and Shakespeare lost their lease in Smithfield and were looking to move. Plus, the families knew each other.

Why on earth would prosperous wool merchant John (who had probably never even been to London) suddenly buy London land perfect for a theater? It would be like a successful Kansas farmer who’d never left his hometown suddenly buying a lot in 1870s New York City to build a telegraph office. It’s weird.

Anyhow, they took down the old Playhouse, salvaged the expensive beams and anything else of value, and barged it all over to the new site. (They did not do it overnight, despite the legend. That’s silly. It took a few months.)

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Big Ben Trapped! (Actually, big Ben is the name of the bell. Not the tower.)
Noted.
I like this Westminster Griffon.
Parliament
Low tide on The Thames. Little bitty antiques wash up all the time.
I’d be dead within a quarter mile.
Atmospheric wall.
They moved this to Borough Market from Covent Garden market.
Construction nervously near the remains of the bishops’ palace.
As it says.
Georgian-looking alley. Upon closer inspection, the Victorian’s faked it. Thanks, Victorians.
The footbridge, the wheel, the sky.
I actually did this, and lifted the barrel!
Many many bikes.
HMS Belfast and her neighbor, Tower Bridge.
More railroad arches. That’s my café first shop on the left.
Full view of Henry the pipe organ.
A burial fad from the ages – reminding us that we will be eaten by bugs. This was very popular with clergy and especially bishops.
The main organ façade at Southwark Cathedral. (There’s more than one.)
Said Cathedral in the sun.

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From the airport, Good night to you too! Perhaps I’ll see you tomorrow for a few final thoughts about the trip in general.

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London January 2025 #3

London, Mobility, Musician

It’s Music Day! Completely unplanned, but not surprising at all. (And it’s going to be a long one!)

I started my Sunday like most of my Sundays — at church!

I stopped at a great café on Clink Street and had a chat with the friendly barista, and then headed over to the cathedral a bit early so I could hear the (live) bell ringing.

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Full boys2men choir and a terrific organ, and some rather modern music. I was pleased to hear that rather than a blasty voluntary/prelude, James the organist played a quiet meditation that led into the service. (I do the same. For sure, it’s entirely possible that I absorbed this idea without noticing it, rather than coming up with it by myself.) At any rate, I like it. A bit more modern and sensible than trumpets blasting while people are trying to get in the frame of mind for a church service.

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After taking in the service, I proceeded to be their ideal customer in the cathedral gift shop.

There was a ceremony on London Bridge after the service today, so the place was lousy with bishops. Bishops here, bishops there, bishops everywhere. I forget what they were blessing, but the head of the Watermen‘s Guild was there wearing a big red cape with fur and shiny things on it.

I got back to the hotel about 1:30 and rested a bit, then headed back out at 3pm to visit and play Henry, the little pipe organ at London Bridge Station. (We’re old friends.) Henry is inside, but also kind of outside. So please forgive the clinks and clanks in my performance — it was probably about 40°F, my hands were freezing, Henry was feeling the cold (way out of tune), and I was wearing winter clonky shoes playing the pedals. I was shocked when I looked over at the phone and realized I’d been playing for 25 minutes! Here’s just a minute of it. Apologies to the folks who have heard me play this JC Bach thing 1000 times before.

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Finished the day around 4:30 at my favorite burger place (for the third time), directly across from the hotel.

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The burger joint, featuring a pink grapefruit spritz, and my collar.

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When I was feeling so poorly that first day and a half, I’d completely forgotten about jet lag. I’m used to feeling poorly if I’ve done much of anything at all, so it didn’t strike me as particularly odd. So I get a half-credit back. We’ll attribute 50% of it to jet lag. =)

That said, by the end of the second day, I was really feeling pretty good. Today, I feel great and have done quite a bit. I’d go so far as to say I haven’t felt this well in months, if not a few years. Of course, I’m in an ideal situation. I can rest as much as I like, go to bed at 8 o’clock, and sleep for 12 hours. All this on top of being in an atmosphere I love and having no responsibilities whatsoever.

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Here’s a picture of the super corny/gory The Clink Prison Museum. (“Free ‘behind bars’ photo with every admission!”) As I said, I’m not going in. But it makes for a decent photo.

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