September 14, 2009

In London


Arrived in London yesterday in the wee hours, and spent the day walking about the city, and growing accustomed to the Underground. Midday had a fine walk from Charing Cross up the Strand and across Waterloo Bridge, from which the snap above "Time Pieces" was taken, and then on to lunch with Giles Goddard and Simon Sarmiento. This morning, said Morning Prayer in the Chapel at St Andrew's, on this the fortieth anniversary of the founding of the Brotherhood of Saint Gregory. At breakfast sampled the fabled Marmite, but also some fine English marmalade. Hope to head off to see the Tate Britain, though the Turner exhibit is not yet open, and much of what I would have liked to have seen will be by this time likely moved into that installation. Still, no doubt there will be Constable, Blake, and others. On this my first trip to England I can attest that the sky looks just as Constable, Turner, and others, have shown it to be.

Tobias Stanislas Haller BSG

10 comments:

Tim said...

Oh hello - welcome to the right (in several senses) side of the Pond :)

Leonard said...

Have a heaven trip!

June Butler said...

The London Eye! I've never seen it, except in pictures. The Tate is lovely.

Congratulations and blessings on the 40th anniversary of of the founding of the BSG!

You didn't say if you liked the Marmite.

Erika Baker said...

So near and yet so far - how long will you be in London for? I don't suppose there's any chance of meeting up?

IT said...

Hope you are having a wonderful time. London pays off the walker willing to be lost, you turn a corner and suddenly see a bit of Dickens, or something Georgian, and fragments that are even older.

There is a great group called london Walks that leads small groups for distinctive experiences, led by expert guides, often actors -- they cost a few quid, generally start and end at an underground station, and explore different themes or areas (e.g., legal london, or Dickens, or ghost stories, or theatre-land, etc etc) . WELL worth the time.

Ah, I envy you, seeing her for the first time. When a man is tired of London, wrote Johnson, he is tired of life.

Tobias Stanislas Haller BSG said...

Day Two: meetings have started but before the first I managed to make my visit to the Tate Britain and see the Blake, Constable, and Turner -- thought there is so much of the latter I had to be selective.

But this won't be the last trip. The committee is likely to meet twice a year for the next few years, so there will be a chance not only for more museums, but also to gather with some of y'all English types. I'm hoping to add a day or two before and after a subsequent meeting, so Tim, Erika -- I'll keep you posted. This time round was just too short, though I'd made plans to see Giles and Simon some weeks before.

IT, it really is a spectacular city; I'm enjoying the contrasts of architecture -- took a picture today of the Abbey, an ancient stone building (don't know what it was -- looked like a guardhouse or prison!) and a Henry Moore sculpture all in the same shot!

More tomorrow, though it is a very full work day...

Unknown said...

London is by far my favorite city in the world, and I've even dreamed of living there for a time. As for surprises while walking, once I got lost in Westminster (near the Parliament building, not in the Abbey) and kept turning corners and walking down streets to find my way out. Then what to my wondering eyes should appear? The Wippell store. Mine eyes have seen the glory. . . !

Doorman-Priest said...

Leeds is a much nicer city.

Tobias Stanislas Haller BSG said...

DP, I'd love to travel further north next time I'm in England. About all I know of Leeds is based on Pusey's contribution to the churches, and a line from a play by Joe Orton about "some sort of fluff... They make it in Leeds." Obviously not enough on which to base a proper opinion; so I do hope to visit one day.

JCF said...

On this my first trip to England

:-0

Good googly-moogly, no wonder "Mother Church" has gotten so {blanked} up: Tobias, it's due to your absence!