I spy with my little eye…

Aline writes: Well, a not so little eye! Kevin and I went on the London Eye while he was here (leaving Bill safely on the ground – it’s no place for someone who doesn’t like heights!) It was really enjoyable – it doesn’t actually stop for you to get on, but it runs so slowly that it is pretty easy to hop onboard. Each carriage seems to hold about 20 people, and it takes about 30 minutes to make a full circuit.

One of my favorite things was the brochure I bought – quite cleverly designed so that when you look North, West, South, and East, you can match the landmarks on the card with the view, since the directions were also labeled inside the carriage.

Looking at the view made me sympathize with Prince Charles and his campaign against ugly modern architecture - look at what surrounds St Paul's for example.


And it reminds me that London really does hold 7 million people!

The views were spectacular – but pardon the speckles as there were raindrops on the windows, and the darkness of the photos as the sun was setting!







But as you can see, London really is spectacularly beautiful city.

Pagans are alive and well here in London

Aline writes: Last week was the October Plenty Festival in London, a harvest fair with a wonderful pagan procession and entertainments. We went with my brother Kevin.

The parade gathered outside of Shakespeare Globe, and we all processed down to London’s Borough market (see earlier blog for details) together.


In the procession was the Berry Man (an Autumn version of the Green man)


and the Corn Queen, mentioned in 16th C literature.


The company performed many songs, comprised of many colorful charaters


They also performed a wonderful short 16th C German play, The Calf Hatching, which was hilarious. The plot? A doltish husband, a scolding wife. His fault the cow dies. How to get a new one before the shrew gets home? Hmm, sitting on that big piece of cheese and clucking like a hen should hatch a new calf. (Well, this is from the same country that brought you the Ring cycle).



The result? He’s accussed of being possessed, since he will only cluck like a hen. But all’s well that ends well, in a way that's much too complicated to describe, but it was very entertaining.


Then we had a picnic by the Thames. Yum.

Dirty Fingernails

Aline writes: Well, with our big beautiful communal garden, you wouldn’t think I would still have a hankering to garden, but there is something about digging your fingers into the soil that nothing else can replace. Or maybe it was pumpkin envy, watching the pumpkins grow out in our communal garden. But I was unwilling to offend some unwritten rules of British behavior by digging in our communal garden ☺

But perhaps the real impetus was an ad on the tube from beddingplants.com – 70 plants for 9.99. How could I go wrong?

But getting started was a little like the banana muffin saga – I had to gather all the ingredients. By combing through all the cupboards, I unearthed several pots. On the roof, I found a little trowel and fork. I then mail ordered my little perennials – pansies that are supposed to bloom in the winter even here. They came in this cute little container – little plugs of pansies.


But the dirt – how to get the dirt? Remember, no car! By chance a few months ago, I found a local nursery only 5 blocks away in the middle of a residential neighborhood. For those of you who garden in the south bay, it reminded me of Yamagami’s in Cupertino. So I tricked Bill into going over there with me to “look” at the dirt – of course, we ended up buying 3 big bags, and he carried 2 home at once. Then up the 4 flights of stairs. Whew. What a sweetie!

I enjoyed planting the little pansy plugs last weekend. Don’t they look sweet?


I checked them yesterday and they are doing well, except that some enterprising bird had pulled out several of the plugs, but they were easily replaced. I will post a pic later when I get some blooms! One good thing – it rains regularly, so I don’t need to water them!

He ain’t heavy, he’s my brother…

Aline writes: we have had a wonderful October, with 3 different sets of visitors from home. It was wonderful to see familiar faces, catch up, and tag along on sightseeing trips.

First Jen and her mom, Kathy. came. Unfortunately for us (but not for them), they were on their way to Italy, so we only got them for a few nights. But we got to see Hampton Court Palace and the British Library with Jen – and a wonderful dinner out with Jen and Kathy the night before they left. Here we are in our flat together…


Then my friends Karen and Larry came for two weeks. It was their first trip to London, and they saw a lot. I went to the Tower of London with them, which I hadn’t seen in 2 years. And Karen and I had lots of time to catch up – yak, yak, yak! Here’s a pic I took of them at the Tower…


Finally, last but not least, my brother Kevin came for two weeks. I had a great time accompanying him on museum trips, such as the Edvard Munch exhibit, and we went on the London eye together. Here we all are in our pjs one morning – Grommet misses him already, as Kevin played with him a lot!


It was a little taste of home, very sweet after several months without friends and family. It was also fascinating to see London through other people’s eyes!

Happy Anniversary

Bill writes: Yesterday was our 21st anniversary. Because the weather had obliged us by turning from 55 degrees, rainy, and gray Wednesday to 75 cloudless degrees on Thursday, we took the boat down the Thames to Greenwich. The London Eye looked like the flywheel of the London Aquarium.



While Tower Bridge was, in the words of our boat captain, "The most wonderful bridge in the world." A Londoner's natural bias, but true nevertheless.



Soon enough, we pulled up to the dock at Greenwich.



We had a nice walk around the town, including a bookshop equivalent to the "Pound Anything" stores--any new book was two pounds. So I got a science book and an nice hardback biography of Inigo Jones. Afterwards, we went up through Greenwich park to the Royal Observatory, where Aline did the requisite straddle across the international dateline.







Then, it was off to dinner at a nice restaurant followed by "Longitude," a play adaptation of the book by Dava Sobel.

Accidental London

Bill writes: We were wandering down towards the Thames after class today, walking along the river, when we noticed a building on the right. It looked more or less like a modern, glass-fronted hotel, but the sign said "Somerset House." We walked through the building, through a cafe, and out the back door into what the sign described as a courtyard.

It turns out that Somerset House is a renaissance palace, built in the 1500's and remodeled in the late 1700's. This is the courtyard that was hidden by the back door of a small, cafeteria-style cafe:



It was a little like walking through the lobby of the Best Western and finding the Château de Versailles. And if you think I'm exaggerating (which I generally do), look at the courtyard of Versailles.

Click here.

Two Guys

Bill writes: I always pass this sculpture as I walk along the canals to Paddington Station. Usually he's alone, but this time he had some company.

Fall is Here

Bill writes: It's October and the charitable eye of London's summer sun has begun to blink. The whole city is moving a bit slower. The summer festivals have ended, the hot days of rowing on the Serpentine and tanning on deck chairs rented by the hour are over, and have been replaced by scenes of padded children bundled by parents trundling them to and from school. The black flowers of London's umbrellas are open to the rain now; it is time to take up port and cigarettes.

London’s Temple Church

Aline writes: I have long wanted to visit the “Templar” church in London, and on our second try, we actually found it open. It is part of the Temple complex in London, located in the warren of the Middle and Inner Temples, now inhabited primarily by lawyers. You can’t see the church from any street, so you have to know where to look. But I love round churches, and this is a beautiful one.

In the courtyard outside the church, there is a statue of two Templars sharing a horse


The church itself is composed of two parts, the round and the chancel, and was the headquarters of the Knights Templar in England.


The round was built in the 12th century, and was consecrated by the patriarch of Jerusalem, Heraclius, while the chancel was built in the 13th century. Learn more on the fabulous church website, which has several pages on the history of the church.



Here is an inside view from the chancel looking toward the round



And this was taken inside the round




The pictures really don’t do it justice – I found it a serene space that was peaceful and inspiring. And the effigies of the nine knights inside the round, one of them being William the Marshal, Earl of Pembroke, were quite moving.








Finally, this is one example of the different grotesque heads lining the walls of the round



You will just have to visit it yourself!

In Search of the London Stone

Bill writes: There is an ancient legend regarding the founding of London. After the fall of Troy, Brutus, the great-grandson of Aeneas, liberated a group of Trojans living in poverty in Greece. After sailing from Greece, Brutus and the Trojans wandered, until Brutus one night had a dream. In this vision, the goddess Diana prophesied that he would travel to an island far to the west, where he would build another Troy. There, in the words of Milton, "Kings be born of thee, whose dredded might shall aw the World, and Conquer Nations Bold."

Eventually, he found Albion, where, again according to Milton, "Brutus in a chosen place builds Troia nova (New Troy), chang'd in time to Trinovantum, now London."

Although it may be only a legend, it is possible that one tangible piece of the myth still exists in London: the London Stone, the supposed altar stone of his temple to Diana.

I'd read about this stone and was determined to find it. Unfortunately, it isn't in the British Museum or the Tower of London. After some digging into the documentation, I found that this centerpiece of British mythology is built into the wall of an old bank building across the road from Cannon Street tube station. A thousand people walk past it every hour and never know it's even there. Placed behind glass and iron railings rests this unassuming two-foot stone pillow of oolite limestone.



Although a number of people stopped to watch me taking pictures of the stone, no one I suspect knew of the treasure in the wall, nor the importance of the foundation stone of London history.

Horses - in London!

Soon after we moved to London, I thought I was dreaming on the morning I awoke to the sound of horses right outside our bedroom window. I couldn’t believe my eyes: dozens of horses, some pulling large grey wagons, trotting down our street just after dawn. That memory has stayed with me all these months, a mystery I couldn’t figure out.

Monday morning, déjà vu! I awoke once again to the sound of horses trotting on pavement. I ran to the window, waking Bill up with one word: “Horses!” He ran for the camera, and we were able to capture the mirage on film. There really are horses in Maida Vale! Well, it turns out they actually live up the road in St. John’s Wood, all 111 of them. They are the King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery, and as they break in new horses, they apparently take them out for training exercises. It’s like having over 100 horses suddenly trot down Fair Oaks Avenue in Sunnyvale. And not only trot, but they actually stopped for several minutes to load a problematic horse into their bus/trailer, holding up traffic for blocks. Well, I guess when you are the King’s Royal Horses (by the way, what King? Shouldn’t they be the Queen’s?), you can do whatever you want!

This is from our front window


A picture from our roof terrace


A close-up of the cart they pull


And the van they load the misbehaving horses into


Thanks to Bill for leaning out the window and scrambling up on our roof terrace to get some photos before they trotted off….

Ken Livingstone's Big Party

Aline writes: In mid-September, the Mayor threw a huge party for all of us: The Mayor's Thames Festival. There were 2 full days of activities all along the Thames, including a riverside bazaar with food, arts, and crafts from around the world, Thames treasure hunts for kids, mass choirs, 135,000 mini lightbulbs that lit up the river walkway, and more. But the best was last: the Sunday night parade and fireworks. It’s like a big goodbye to Summer. Boo Hoo – I am cold already! (you laugh, but just ask Bill!)

Here's a big sandcastle in progress...



The night parade had lots of wacky costumes and beautiful illuminated creature floats





I loved these - don't ask me why since I don't eat meat! - Or maybe that is why...









Once the parade made it from Westminster, down the Embankment, over Blackfriars bridge, then down the South Bank, there was a stunning fireworks display