Webbready

As I mentioned in a previous entry, I was able to visit London several years ago and I kept a rather dull, poorly written journal of my experience. This is another excerpt from the journal. Please be aware that I make no attempt to clean up the crude words as they are written, and that the names of locations may not be entirely accurate.

January 12, 2000

Today was a much more exhausting day than the previous one, although at present, I am more alert than I was at this time yesterday. The day began early and I ate a light breakfast in the morning. After almost forgetting my camera, I met outside with the group. Sad to say, it was hard to hear Dr. Adam’s instructions, a problem that would plague me for the remainder of the day. However, by careful and quick observation, I was able to get on the Tube with no problem. The ride was quick, but crowded. Getting off, though, was a simple as getting on.

Upon exiting the station on Tower Hill, the Tower of London was right before us. I attempted to take not one, but two pictures of the site, but the camera was a bit uncooperative and the end result was a pair of utterly horrible pictures. A few minutes later, we arrived at the entrance to the the Tower and were given an hour and forty-five minutes to explore the museum.

While I am not the most observant or learned visitor, I found that time passed quite hastily as I examined the exhibits. Like my fellow students, I was surprised by the size of King Henry VIII’s armor, but the true highlight of the armor section was the Japanese armor from Tokugawa Ieyasu that was given to King James I. After passing a few exhibits, the next portion of the Tower I took great interest in was the menagerie, which stayed in operation from the early 13th century to the 19th century. I was always under the impression that the Tower of London was strictly for humans. Lions, tigers, and other such creatures were kept there and occasionally pitted against each other. Coupled with the hundreds of dogs reported to have lived in the Tower, I realize now how difficult it must have been to maintain everything.

Nothing else in the White Tower caught my eye as wholeheartedly as the menagerie, but other portions of the Tower held plenty of items of interest. The Crown Jewels were more marvelous in person than as seen on film or on television. Unfortunately, I rushed through the exhibit as time passed so rapidly. One detail I was able to notice was that in part of the exhibit, the portals leading in and out of this section resembled the doors of a safe.

After this, I went to the Bloody Tower, which held a few surprises for me. First of all, this was the place where Sir Walter Raleigh resided as a prisoner. When I looked at his quarters, I was surprised at the relative lavishness of the place. He had furniture and books, objects that any common prisoner was surely deprived of. It was certainly a conducive environment to write in, which he did. Perhaps his punishment was to walk up and town the stairs connecting the two floors. They were spiraled, like many of the stairs in the tower, but also very tight. I was glad that it was not necessary to retrace my steps in order to find the exit.

The Medieval Palace was my next and final destination, and despite the relatively small size of the visit, once again, I had to rush. The King’s Hall caught my attention, or rather the costumed guides did, who wanted me to ask them questions. I was able to get a look at the genealogy of the Royal Family, which would be very helpful for remembering who is related to whom. In the throne room, the giant (and low hanging) chandelier was the first thing I noticed, but I did not spend much time in that room. Before I could even take another picture, it was time for me to begin my way back to the rendezvous point. Several minutes later, it was time for phase two of today’s venture — the walking tour.

Upon leaving the Tower of London, the first thing Dr. Adam pointed out was that Tower Hill was a site of public hangings. Next, we went to the nearby William Penn’s church, a beautiful place to visit. There was a round, clam-shell shaped object above one of the pews, but I had no idea what it was. Apparently, this place was used to visitors, as there was a noticeable sign warning visitors not to go beyond the sanctuary. One of the men at the church gave us wonderful tidbits of information, such as the fact that hairspray used to be made of sugar water. Dr. Adam, though, nonverbally insisted that we leave, and we left the church.

Our next stop was a place where there was a bust of Samuel Pepys, the famous diarist. Dr. Adam noted that during the years of the plague, his value continued to increase. We also learned that he was quite the ladies man, even though he was married.

Then we went inside St. Olave, a church that was more like a traditional church than a tourist attraction. Unfortunately, I cannot remember much else that was specific about either that church or the next few minutes that passed. All I can recall is walking for a considerable distance before stopping at the Bevis Marks Synagogue. From what I was told, it seems that a Quaker who was extremely generous bought the land for Jews and built a synagogue on the land so they could worship. That was quite a philanthropic act, especially considering the anti-Jewish sentiment of the time.

Some time after this, the group had to cross several busy streets and some of the students nearly got hit. Dr. Adam later told us the area had been bombed twice in the previous decade. Then we finally stopped at St. Boltolph’s, which used to be at the North Gate of London. We did not go inside, however, I could not help but notice the basketball game that was played on what resembled a tennis court.

On the way to the Barbican, there was much more information gathered. We learned of the first Hospital of Bethlehem — an institution for the insane and the origin of the word “bedlam.” Eventually, though, we reached St. Giles of Cripplegate, a church that had withstood the destruction of the immediate, surrounding area. Nearby were three large towers: Shakespeare, Marlowe, and Johnson. All of these three towers had flats one could buy — not rent — at a reasonable price.

Finally, after all this we reached the remains of the Barbican. We then went into the Cafe of the Museum of London, where I ate a light lunch. As soon as I sat down, a sudden exhaustion overtook my body, forcing me to cut short the next part of the day — the tour of the Museum.

The Museum held many objects and listed many facts for me to learn, but lethargy got the better of me. I was able to see the Lord Mayor’s coach, large and red with a gold trim. I went onto prehistoric London, but there was nothing there that was as captivating as in the Tower of London. Roman Londinium held some interesting exhibits and provided information to awaken my interest despite my sleepiness. For instance, while Romans were distant in the association with their gods and goddesses, local believers mixed their own beliefs and superstitions, superimposing those onto religious worship. Surprisingly, Hercules, one of the great mythical heroes, was actually worshiped as a full god…

Next came the Dark Ages, and not surprisingly, little was known, at least for the earlier part of the period. There was a change in the name, from Londinium to Lundenwic, and several other words that arrived in the English language came from the period of Saxon London. After this period, there was another era, but to be honest, I cannot even remember the name of this era. From 1066 to the rise of the Tudor family, this section had objects of interest to me — statues of the two of the Four Virtues, Fortitude and Temperance. Fortitude was plainly dressed with a man’s head near the base of the statue. Temperance, on the other hand, was clothed more loosely and appeared to be carrying something. Since I have no idea what the physical interpretation of either is supposed to look like, and since the statue appeared to have been damaged, I have no idea what Temperance held.

After this, though, I noticed little else. The imported Medusa head marble briefly caught my attention, but only for a second. While I wanted to look around longer, I felt that if I had, I would have surely fallen asleep on the spot. I doubt I will go back to the Museum soon, as between finding something to eat and writing journal entries, my evenings are quite busy. Still, I hated to leave so soon and I wish I were able to do it again. One day, perhaps, but not on this trip.