Friday morning Dad took me and mom to Chesterfield train Station to catch the 09:30 train to St Pancras London.
We did not have to wait long before we were sat on the train and I got my mp3 player out to listen to my music and I closed my eyes whilst mom enjoyed looking at the scenery.
At 11:50 we pulled into St Pancras station. St Pancras railway station is a major railway station opened in 1868 and celebrated for its architecture. The station is situated in the St Pancras area of central London between the British Library and King's Cross station.
During the 2000s, the complex was renovated, expanded and reopened—branded St Pancras International—with a new security-sealed terminal area for Eurostar trains to continental Europe. The station is served by King's Cross St Pancras tube station on the London Underground network.
On arriving at St Pancras station mom and I had a look around the new surroundings. I had my photograph taken in front of the statue known as the meeting place.
The Meeting Place is a 9m high bronze of a couple locked in an intimate pose by the world renowned sculptor Paul Day. The couple stand underneath the famous St Pancras clock at the apex of the Barlow shed.
Sir John Betjeman
Sir John Betjeman was responsible for saving both the St Pancras chambers and the station from demolition in the 1960s. In tribute to the famous poet and railway lover an 8 1/2ft sculpture by Martin Jennings has been designed to stand at platform level to celebrate the man and his poetry. The sculpture features the poet looking up in awe at the splendour of the Barlow shed whilst catching hold of his hat.
Of course mom had to take my photograph with Sir John Betjeman.
The new London station features top quality retail stores, Europe's longest champagne bar and coming soon - a daily fresh farmers' market.
I think my mom would have liked to try the champagne, but it was too early so maybe she will have a glass on our way back home on Sunday.
We made our way to the underground as we had to get the tube to go to Tower hill. We were going to stay at the Guoman Hotel for the weekend.
As we walked out of Tower hill station the first thing we saw was the Tower of London.
There were a lot of tourists taking photographs and maybe planning to visit the Tower for the day. I have heard that the crown jewels are in there and maybe on another visit we might get to look at them.
As we walked passed the Tower of London I saw some beefeaters at the entrance to the tower. We were a little early to be able to go to our room so mom and I had a coffee at Starbucks in St Catherine’s dock beside the hotel.
St Katherine’s Dock was originally built in 1828 on the site of an old hospital of the same name, 11,000 people were displaced from the local area but London needed more docks because of the amount of trade coming up the Thames.
The docks were a new design for the time, two docks were dug out, East and West and they were linked to the river by a 180ft long lock. The shape of the docks meant they had a very long quayside for such a small area of water and warehouse’s were built right on the quayside so ships could unload straight into them.
St Katherine’s handled imports of sugar, spices, wines, rubber, carpets, marble and ivory but was also well known for shells, tortoise shell and mother of pearl and feathers. Back in the 19th century it cost £1 to dock and unload a ship for 24 hours. Like most London docks St Katherine’s was overtaken by modern container methods and closed in 1968.
In 1973 St Katharine's was transformed as one of London's most successful redevelopments, with residential and commercial areas and entertainment facilities.
This is Guoman Hotel where we stayed for the weekend seen from the river Thames side. We checked into our room at 13:30 room 836.
Our room overlooked the Thames. The last time I stayed in this hotel I was eight years old and it was called, “Thistle London Tower Hotel,” and it changed its name about two years ago. It was built as part of the redevelopment of St Katharine’s Dock, The Tower took 3 years to build and is on an island site located between the River Thames and St Katharine’s Dock. The opening ceremony on 19th September 1973 was carried out by Field Marshal Sir Richard Hull, GCB DSO, constable of the Tower of London.
We got showered and changed as our plan for today was to cross the Tower Bridge to the South Bank side and walk down to the London eye. Hopefully we would go on the London eye, have our evening meal before we go to see the Buddy Holly show at the Duchess theatre. Mom changed her shoes from her trainers to a pair of sandals, big mistake.
Tower Bridge is a combined bascule and suspension bridge in London, England over the River Thames. It is close to the Tower of London, which gives it its name. It has become an iconic symbol of London. Tower Bridge is one of several London bridges owned and maintained by the City Bridge Trust, a charitable trust overseen by the City of London Corporation.
Tower Bridge is sometimes mistakenly referred to as London Bridge, which is actually the next bridge upstream. A popular urban legend is that, in 1968 Robert McCulloch, the purchaser of the old London Bridge which was later shipped to Lake Havasu City, Arizona, believed mistakenly that he was buying Tower Bridge, but this was denied by McCulloch himself and has been debunked by Ivan Luckin, the seller of the bridge.
Once we had cross the bridge we walked down the South Bank passing some interesting building like this City Hall.
City Hall is the home of the Greater London Authority, and is a new building on the Thames situated between London Bridge and Tower Bridge, just a little way down from HMS Belfast. The striking rounded glass building was opened in 2002 and has a very unusual shape, intended in part to increase energy efficiency as well as to provide a striking landmark.
It has been compared to Darth Vader's helmet, a misshapen egg, a woodlouse or a motorcycle helmet. The first occupant, London Mayor Ken Livingstone, must have surely come up with the best one, calling it a "glass testicle". Given the taxes imposed on Londoners during his internship, many may be inclined to go with the Vader Helmet analogy. In fact the building does not belong to the GLA, but is rented on a 25 year lease (at an annual cost of £36.50 per square foot). Next to the City Hall is The Scoop, a sunken oval area used for outdoor displays during the summer.
The interior of City Hall is designed around a magnificent interior ramp down which the people can walk above the debating chamber. It is a 42m high, 10 storey building. Every one of the 3,844 glass panels that make up City Hall is unique and was cut by laser. Norman Foster, one of the principal architects, had previously used the ramp concept in Berlin's Reichstagsgebäude. (Again in a possible farce, this ramp has been likened to that in the penguin enclosure of London Zoo.). The top storey, referred to as 'London's living room', leads out onto a balcony with a 360˚ panoramic view of the city.
We continued our walk passing the HMS Belfast. HMS Belfast is the former Royal Navy cruiser that is now a permanent floating museum along the banks of the River Thames, just west of Tower Bridge near to London’s City Hall building.
As we walked further along the river bank we came to a shopping mall known as Hays Galleria. This was one of the first major developments in the SE1 area's recent regeneration. In 1651 Alexander Hay took over the lease on a brewhouse in Hay's Lane, and the business empire his family developed gave its name to Hay's Wharf, once famed for its tea clippers. Hay's Wharf pioneered cold storage, receiving new Zealand butter from 1867. In the late 1980s the main dock was filled in and covered with a glass roof, forming the main arcade of Hay's Galleria. A 60ft stunning sculpture by David Kemp called The Navigators now forms the centrepiece. In the main arcade chainstores such as Boots site side-by side with smaller businesses and craft stalls.
Eating and drinking opportunities include Cafe Rouge, Balls Brothers and Auberge . For book lovers the Riverside Bookshop is a must, while the Christmas Shop enables you to get festive all year round. The Cottons Club in the Lower Walkway boasts luxury swimming, squash and gym facilities.
In the summer and at Christmas the Galleria hosts lunchtime concerts, and every September the Oyster and Seafood Fair brings crowds from far and wide. Luckily mom did not want to look around the shops so we were able to continue on our way.
Next we came to the Golden Hinde a full-size replica of Sir Francis Drake's 16th century galleon, open to the public in a Thames-side dock in Southwark.
The Golden Hinde, London’s replica Tudor warship. An authentic replica of the galleon in which Sir Francis Drake sailed around the world in 1577 – 1580, our ship has travelled over 140,000 miles. She is now permanently berthed on London’s South Bank and is visited by 1000s of visitors each year, of equal appeal to those interested in Tudor life at sea, Francis Drake, or pirates!
This round open air theatre is the “Globe theatre” where many Shakespeare plays are performed. Although Shakespeare's plays were performed at other venues during the playwright's career, the Globe Theatre in the Southwark district of London was the venue at which the Bard's best known stage works (including his four great tragedies) were first produced. The Globe was built during Shakespeare's early period in 1599 by one of his long-standing associates, Cuthbert Burbage, the brother of the most famous Shakespearean actor of the Elizabethan Age, Richard Burbage. Maybe the next time we come to London we might have a look around the theatre.
As we passed the Millennium Bridge we could see the dome of St Paul’s cathedral and tomorrow we were going to get a closer look at it. We seemed to have been walking a long time and I was beginning to think that we would never reach the London Eye.
The next bridge we came to was the Jubilee Bridge and I was to find out more about it tomorrow when we go on our river cruise.
At last I caught sight of the London Eye and we were hoping that we would have time to go on it before we went to the theatre, but it all depended on the queues.
We had to go to the County Hall to buy the tickets we wanted and as we made our way there we past quite a few mime artists.
We went into the County Hall to buy our tickets for the London Eye, River cruise & Madame Tussauds. At the entrance there was a wax statue of Pierce Brosnan as James Bond this was a photograph I had to take for mom.
At last we queued up to get on the London Eye, why I decided that I want to go on it I will never know as I don’t like heights. My hand got very sweaty the higher we went and I was starting to feel nervous, but mom made sure I was sat down and stood in front of me so that I could not look down. What I could see of the view looked good as I glanced out ever so often. It took about thirty minutes to do the trip and I was very happy when we were back to ground level.
It good to be back on the ground, but I am glad I managed to do the ride.
Next stop was finding somewhere to have our evening meal. We decided to go to Strada an Italian restaurant. I had a large spicy Italian meat pizza all to myself and it was great.
Although it was a warm evening we decided to eat inside.
Now it was time to make our way to the Duchess Theatre where we were going to see the Buddy Holly story. We walked across the bridge to Embankment station the up the road towards the Strand. The streets were very busy with tourist and people having a drink. Some people were stood outside the pubs as it was a warm evening.
We found the Duchess theatre easily and it was a good job too because mom was walking funny because her feet were hurting. We got ourselves a drink and it was not long before the show started.
The show opens with Buddy Holly's beginnings as a teenager in Lubbock, Texas and his emergence into the world of rock and roll with his fictional good friends and bandmates, drummer Jesse Charles (Don Stroud) and bass player Ray Bob Simmons (Charles Martin Smith), soon to be known as The Crickets. Their first break comes when they are brought to Nashville, Tennessee to record, but Buddy's vision soon clashes with the producers' rigid ideas of how the music should sound and he walks out. Eventually, he finds a more flexible producer, Ross Turner (Conrad Janis), who, after listening to their audition, very reluctantly allows Buddy and the Crickets to make music the way he wants.
While there, he meets Turner's secretary, Maria Elena Santiago (Maria Richwine). His budding romance with her nearly ends before it can begin, when her aunt initially refuses to let her date him, but Buddy persuades her to change her mind. On their very first date, Maria accepts his marriage proposal and they are soon wed.
A humorous episode results from a misunderstanding in one of their early bookings. Saul Gitler (Dick O'Neill) signs them up sight-unseen for the famous Apollo Theater in Harlem, assuming from their music that they're an African-American band. When three white Texans show up instead, he is stunned, but unwilling to pay them for doing nothing, he nervously lets them perform and prays fervently that the all-black audience doesn't riot at the sight of the first all-white band to play there. (In real life, that distinction belongs to Jimmy Cavallo and The House Rockers, who played at that venue in 1956.) After an uncomfortable start and an initially hostile crowd, Buddy's songs soon win them over and the Crickets are a tremendous hit. Gitler books them to come back several times.
After two years, Ray Bob and Jesse decide to break up the band, feeling overshadowed by Buddy and not wanting to relocate to New York City. Initially, he is saddened by their departure, but he soldiers on. When Maria announces that she is pregnant, Buddy is delighted.
On February 2, 1959, preparing for a concert at Clear Lake, Iowa, Holly decides to charter a private plane to fly to Moorhead, Minnesota for his next big concert. The Big Bopper and Ritchie Valens (who is reluctant to fly, but wins a coin toss with Tommy Allsup for the last seat) join him on the flight. Meanwhile, the Crickets, feeling nostalgic, appear unexpectedly at Maria's door, expressing their desire to reunite the band. They trace Buddy's next tour stop at Minnesota, and they plan to surprise him there. After playing his final song, "Not Fade Away," Holly bids the crowd farewell with "Thank you Clearlake! We love you. C'mon....we'll see you next year," unaware that, for him, next year will never come. A caption at the end reveals the deaths of Holly, Valens, and the Bopper in a plane crash that night and dedicates the film to his family and friends. The movie ends by saying "...And the rest is Rock and Roll."Both mom and I really enjoyed the show and everyone in the theatre stood up clapping shouting for more, so they came back on stage and did a few more songs.
On our way to Embankment underground to get our train back to Tower Hill we passed the Adelphi Theatre on the Strand where Joseph was showing and Lee Mead who plays Joseph was outside signing autographs.
It had been a fabulous day and I was happy to get back to the hotel and was hoping to get a goodnight sleep. I wondered what mom had in store for us tomorrow as I fell asleep.
Saturday morning I woke up feeling rested had a shower then we went down for breakfast. We had a buffet continental breakfast in the Brasserie. I started with cereals, fruit juice, and coffee, after I finished off with a Danish pastry and a croissant. I don’t usually eat that much for breakfast but mom said that I could eat what I wanted as long as I was enjoying it.
We walked to Tower Hill station passing the Tower of London and saw the tourist queuing up to go inside. This morning we were going on the underground to Westminster Bridge as we were first going to the Movie museum then on the river cruise.
As we got to Westminster Bridge I took a photograph of mom with the London Eye in the background on the other side of the river.
The cruise boat that we would be going on later would be at Pier 3 just in front of the London Eye.
You can see it was a lovely sunny day as I took the photograph of the Houses of Parliament when we were crossing the bridge to go to the Movie museum that was inside the County Hall.
The Movie Museum is actually called, “Movieum” and is located on the South Bank in the County Hall building. Some of the attractions are: -
Real Life Sets – Step into the action of the sound stage, where you can walk on set and be part of the movie making experience. Miniaturisation of Film – Oversized and undersized props provide a perfect photo opportunity for you to look like you're really in the Land of the Giants!The History of the Studios – Elstree, Pinewood, Shepperton. From the Golden Age to the Golden Compass, the Movieum features a revealing insight into the studios where movie history was made.
From Film Lover to Film Maker - A step by step guide to Film Making from an initial script to the final edit. Listen to Oscar winning artists tell their tales behind some of the biggest blockbusters of all time. Each department is broken down with separate explinations and documentaries. Add your own sound in the sound studio, fly in the clouds in our green screen virtual studio.
Prop Art - See some of the most famous props in film making history created and introduced by the most prolific artists of today.
The Granada Suite & Sherlock Holmes - Enter the world of Sherlock Holmes and discover the history behind one of the most popular characters in living history. The study set from the popular series has been faithfully re-created using all of the original set pieces, furniture and props, courtesy of the Sherlock Holmes Company with a gallery of photographs and posters. Relax in the period lounge and watch one of the TV series made popular by Jeremy Brett courtesy of Granada International.
I don’t think Dr. Who is around just as well as the Darlek looks as though he is waiting for him.
We had a good time in the Movieum and it was very interesting but it was time for us to get on the 11:45 river boat cruise up the Thames River.
We went down river first past the Houses of Parliament then the boat turn to go up river to the Tower Bridge. London's Houses of Parliament, also known as the Palace of Westminster, together with its nearby clock tower, form one of the quintessential images of London. Whether beheld by day or viewed at night when Parliament and Big Ben are illuminated, the Houses of Parliament look majestic.
The Parliament building, on the River Thames at Westminster Bridge, contains more than 1000 rooms.
We passed the HMS Belfast and the tour guide told us some history of the building on the South Bank side that we had walked passed yesterday evening.
The OXO building was originally constructed as a power station for the Post Office, built towards the end of the 19th century. It was subsequently acquired by the Liebig Extract of Meat Company, manufacturers of Oxo beef stock cubes, for conversion into a cold store.
The building was largely rebuilt to an Art Deco design by company architect Albert Moore between 1928 and 1929. Much of the original power station was demolished, but the river facing facade was retained and extended. Liebig wanted to include a tower featuring illuminated signs advertising the name of their product. When permission for the advertisements was refused the tower was built with four sets of three vertically-aligned windows, each of which "coincidentally" happened to be in the shapes of a circle, a cross and a circle. Liebig and the building were eventually purchased by the Vestey Group.
In the late 1970s and into the 1980s there were several proposals to demolish the building and develop it and the adjacent Coin Street site, but these were met with strong local opposition and two planning inquiries were held. Although permission for redevelopment was granted, the support of the Greater London Council finally resulted in the tower and adjoining land being sold to the GLC in 1984 for 2.7 million pounds — who sold the entire 13-acre (53,000 m²) site to the not-for-profit Coin Street Community Builders for just £750,000.
In the 1990s the tower was refurbished to a design by Liftschutz Davidson to include housing, a restaurant, shops and exhibition space. The tower won the Royal Fine Art Commission / BSkyB Building of the Year Award for Urban Regeneration in 1997.
Sea Containers House was originally conceived as a luxury hotel. Its location, in the heart of London’s business district, led to the decision to complete it instead as office space.
American former Yale University graduate and United States Navy officer James Sherwood founded Sea Containers in 1965, with initial capital of $100,000[2]. Over forty years Sherwood expanded Sea Containers from a supplier of leased cargo containers, into various shipping companies, as well as expanding the company into luxury hotels and railway trains, including the Venice-Simplon Orient Express and the Great North Eastern Railway franchise from London to Edinburgh.
Although valued with a net worth of £60million in the 2004 Sunday Times Rich List, as Sea Containers hit financial troubles, he has resigned from each of his companies in 2006.
The Tate Modern Art Gallery in London is Britain's national museum of international modern art and is, with Tate Britain, Tate Liverpool, Tate St Ives, and Tate Online, part of the group now known simply as Tate.
The galleries are housed in the former Bankside Power Station, which was originally designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, the architect of Battersea Power Station, and built in two stages between 1947 and 1963. The power station closed in 1981. The building was converted by architects Herzog & de Meuron and contractors Carillion, after which it stood at 99m tall. The southern third of the building was retained by the French power company EDF Energy as an electrical substation (in 2006, the company released half of this holding).
Since the museum's opening on 12 May 2000, it has become a destination for Londoners and tourists. Entry to collection displays and some temporary exhibitions is free.
Tower Bridge was completed in 1894, after eight years of construction. However, many people don't realise why it was even built in the first place, or why it is so different from London's other bridges. The information below will fill you in on some of Tower Bridge's fascinating history.
Originally, London Bridge was the only crossing over the Thames. As London grew, so more bridges were added, but these were all to the west of London Bridge, since the area east of London Bridge had become a busy port. In the 19th century, the east end of London became so densely populated that public pressure mounted for a bridge to the east of London Bridge, as journeys for pedestrians and vehicles were being delayed literally by hours.
Finally in 1876, the City of London Corporation, who were responsible for that part of the Thames, decided that the problem could be put off no longer.
1910 The high-level walkways, which were designed so that the public could still cross the Bridge when it was raised, were closed down due to lack of use. Most people preferred to wait at the bottom and watch the bascules rise up! 1912 During an emergency, Frank McClean had to fly between the bascules and the high-level Walkways in his Short biplane, to avoid an accident. 1952 A London bus had to leap from one bascule to the other when the Bridge began to rise with the bus still on it. 1977 Tower Bridge was painted red, white and blue to celebrate the Queen's Silver Jubilee. (Before that, it was painted a chocolate brown colour). 1982 Tower Bridge opened to the public for the first time since 1910, with a permanent exhibition inside called the Tower Bridge Exhibition. The Walkways were glazed for the first time to house the new Exhibition. 1993 The centenary exhibition - The Tower Bridge Experience opened, featuring animatronic models telling the story of Tower Bridge. 1994 Tower Bridge became available to hire for parties and receptions. 2002 The current Tower Bridge Exhibtion opened, refocusing on the magnificent views from the Walkways and the history of the Bridge. 2007 Tower Bridge celebrates 25 years of welcoming visitors to its Exhibition
The boat turn around at Tower Bridge and then the building at the opposite side of the river were talked about.
30 St Mary Axe is a building in London's main financial district, the City of London. It is widely known by the nickname "The Gherkin", and occasionally as a variant on The Swiss Re Tower, after its previous owner and principal occupier. It is 180 metres (591 ft) tall, making it the second-tallest building in the City of London, after Tower 42, and the sixth-tallest in London as a whole. The building's name is its address — St Mary Axe being the street it is on.
The building was designed by Pritzker Prize-winner Lord Norman Foster and ex-partner Ken Shuttleworth and Arup engineers, and was constructed by Skanska of Sweden between 2001 and 2004.
Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, more commonly known as the Tower of London (and historically as The Tower), is a historic monument in central London, on the north bank of the River Thames. It is located within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets and is separated from the eastern edge of the City of London by the open space known as Tower Hill.
The Tower of London is often identified with the White Tower, the original stark square fortress built by William the Conqueror in 1078. However, the tower as a whole is a complex of several buildings set within two concentric rings of defensive walls and a moat.
The tower's primary function was a fortress, a royal palace, and a prison (particularly for high status and royal prisoners, such as the Princes in the Tower and the future Queen Elizabeth I). This last use has led to the phrase "sent to the Tower" (meaning "imprisoned"). It has also served as a place of execution and torture, an armoury, a treasury, a zoo, the Royal Mint, a public records office, an observatory, and since 1303, the home of the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom.
The City of London School beside the River Thames. St. Pauls Cathedral is in the background and the Millennium Bridge is on the right.
We were told that Danielle Radcliffe (Harry Potter) attended this school.
The City of London School (CLS) is a boys' independent school on the banks of the River Thames in the City of London. It is the brother school of the City of London School for Girls (a girls' school within the Barbican) and of the co-educational City of London Freemen's School. Intake is from age 10 to 18, although the majority of its pupils enter at age 11, with somewhat fewer at age 13 and some at age 16.
Cleopatra's Needle is in the City of Westminster, on the Victoria Embankment near the Golden Jubilee Bridges. It was presented to the United Kingdom in 1819 by Mehemet Ali, the Albanian-born viceroy of Egypt, in commemoration of the victories of Lord Nelson at the Battle of the Nile and Sir Ralph Abercromby at the Battle of Alexandria in 1801. Although the British government welcomed the gesture, it declined to fund the expense of transporting it to London.
The obelisk remained in Alexandria until 1877 when Sir William James Erasmus Wilson, a distinguished anatomist and dermatologist, sponsored its transportation to London at a cost of some £10,000 (a very considerable sum in those days). It was dug out of the sand in which it had been buried for nearly 2,000 years and was encased in a great iron cylinder, 92 feet long and 16 feet in diameter, designed by the engineer John Dixon and dubbed Cleopatra, to be commanded by Captain Carter. It had a vertical stem and stern, a rudder, two bilge keels, a mast for balancing sails, and a deck house. This acted as a floating pontoon which was to be towed to London by the ship Olga, commanded by Captain Booth.[1]
The effort met with disaster on 14 October 1877, when the Cleopatra capsized in a storm in the Bay of Biscay, with the loss of six lives - named today on a bronze plaque attached to the foot of the needle's mounting stone. Captain Booth on the Olga eventually managed to get his ship next to the Cleopatra, to rescue Captain Carter and the five remaining crew members aboard Cleopatra. Captain Booth reported the Cleopatra "abandoned and sinking," but instead she drifted in the Bay until found four days later by Spanish trawler boats, then rescued by the Glasgow steamer Fitzmaurice and taken to Ferrol in Spain for repairs. The Master of the Fitzmaurice lodged a salvage claim of £5,000 which had to be settled before departure from Ferrol, which was negotiated down and settled for £2,000.[1] The William Watkins Ltd paddle tug Anglia under the command of Captain David Glue was then commissioned to tow the Cleopatra back to the Thames. On their arrival in the estuary, the school children of Gravesend were given the day off when she arrived on the 21 January 1878.[2] The obelisk was erected on the Victoria Embankment the following August.
Cleopatra's Needle is flanked by two faux-Egyptian sphinxes cast from bronze that bear hieroglyphic inscriptions that say netjer nefer men-kheper-re di ankh (the good god, Thuthmosis III given life). These Sphinxes appear to be looking at the Needle rather than guarding it. This is due to the Sphinx's improper or backwards installation. The Embankment has other Egyptian flourishes, such as buxom winged sphinxes on the armrests of benches. On 4 September 1917, during World War I, bombs from one of the first German air raids on London by German aeroplanes landed near the needle. In commemoration of this event, the damage remains unrepaired to this day and is clearly visible in the form of shrapnel holes and gouges on the right-hand sphinx. Restoration work was carried out in 2005. The original Master Stone Mason who worked on the granite foundation was Lambeth born William Henry Gould (1822-1891), third great Grandfather to the noted Canadian sculptor and painter Christian Corbet (1966-)
Our River cruise lasted 45 minutes and there was so much to take in on what had been said. People were still queuing up to go on the London Eye it seemed busier than ever.
The London Eye was opened by the Prime Minister, Tony Blair, at 20:00 GMT on December 31, 1999, although it was not opened to the public until March 2000 because of technical problems. Since its opening, the Eye, operated by Merlin Entertainments but sponsored by British Airways, has become a major landmark and tourist attraction.
By July 2002, roughly 8.5 million people had ridden the Eye. It had planning permission only for five years, but at that time Lambeth Council agreed to plans to make the attraction permanent.
Since 1 January 2005, the Eye has been the focal point of London's New Year celebrations, with 10-minute fireworks displays taking place involving fireworks fired from the wheel itself.
In 2006 the Tussauds Group bought out the other two joint owners, British Airways and the Marks Barfield family (the lead architects). Following Merlin Entertainments purchase of the Tussauds Group in 2007, it now owns 100% of the Eye. British Airways continued its brand association, but from the beginning of 2008 the name 'British Airways' was dropped from the logo.
During the bidding process of the 2012 Olympic Games, the London bid organisers announced the Olympic emblem would be attached to the Eye for the duration of the 2012 Summer Olympics.[4]
In August of 2007, it was announced that London Eye could be temporarily renamed "The McCartney Eye" after Sir Paul McCartney of the Beatles. The renaming would coincide with the release of a McCartney related DVD set titled "The McCartney Years".
Mom decided that it was time to go for some lunch and I had already suggested that we might go to subway for a sandwich before we go to our next London sight which was to be Trafalgar Square. Before we crossed the bridge we saw some more mime artist and of course mom wanted a picture taken with Captain Jack Sparrow.
Just before we got to the bridge I notice this man posing as invisible man. I thought very spooky, but cleverly done.
We enjoyed lunch and made our way up to Trafalgar Square.
Trafalgar Square is a square commemorates the Battle of Trafalgar (1805), a British naval victory of the Napoleonic Wars. The original name was to have been "King William the Fourth's Square", but George Ledwell Taylor suggested the name "Trafalgar Square". Nelson's Column is in the centre of the square, surrounded by fountains designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens in 1939 (replacing two earlier fountains of Peterhead granite, now at the Wascana Centre and Confederation Park in Canada) and four huge bronze lions sculpted by Sir Edwin Landseer; the metal used is said to have been recycled from the cannon of the French fleet. The column is topped by a statue of Horatio, Viscount Nelson, the admiral who commanded the British Fleet at Trafalgar.
National Gallery, founded in 1824, houses a rich collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900 in its home on Trafalgar Square. The collection belongs to the British public and entry to the main collection is free, although there are charges for entry to special exhibitions.
Our next stop was Buckingham Palace and we decided to walk down the Mall to get there, but first we went through the Admiralty Arch. The Admiralty Arch has actually no connection with the navy, except that it is adjoins the Royal Navy HQ located in the Old Admiralty Building. However, the name continues the naval theme of Trafalgar Square on whose southwest corner the arch is located.
Admiralty Arch forms a gateway from Trafalgar Square to The Mall, the processional road running along St. James Park and linking Buckingham Palace to Horse Guards Parade. There is always a lot of traffic passing through Admiralty Arch, except on a Sunday when traffic is not permitted down most of The Mall.
We soon reached Buckingham Palace and there were lots of people hoping to see the Queen. Mom told me that when the flag was up that meant that she was in residence, but still we did not see her. Maybe she was busy.
Buckingham House, c.1710, was designed by William Winde for the first Duke of Buckingham and Normanby. This façade evolved into today's Grand Entrance on the west (inner) side of the quadrangle, with the Green Drawing Room above.
Buckingham Palace finally became the principal Royal residence in 1837 on the accession of Queen Victoria
The Victoria Memorial was created by sculptor Sir Thomas Brock in 1911 and erected in front of the main gates at Buckingham Palace on a surround constructed by architect Sir Aston Webb.
As we were not going to see the Queen we decided to make our way to the underground to go to St Paul’s Cathedral.
St Paul's Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral on Ludgate Hill, in the City of London, and the seat of the Bishop of London. The present building dates from the 17th century, and is generally reckoned to be London's fifth St Paul's Cathedral, although the number is higher if every major mediæval reconstruction is counted as a new cathedral. The cathedral is one of London's most visited sites. The cathedral sits on the edge of London's oldest region, the City. The City originated as a Roman trading post along the edge of the River Thames.
After seeing the queues to go inside the Cathedral we decided we would not bother on this visit to queue up. We sat to admire the building and give our feet a rest.
Mom wanted to go to the Docklands next, but the Jubilee line was closed down. We decided to make our way back to the hotel to freshen up before we went out for our evening meal.
We were hoping to eat at Wagamama’s a Japanese restaurant.
We got the underground to the Embankment to go to Wagamama’s near to the London Eye not realizing that there was one at Tower hill not far from where we were staying.
Once we got there the queue was quite long as we were eating later than we did yesterday, so we decide to walk to the one near to London Bridge only to find there was a long queue there. It was then that we were told that there was one at Tower Hill, so as it was near to where our hotel was we thought we would go there then we would not have to walk so far back to our hotel.
It was just after 8.30pm by the time we got there and they had stopped taking orders because they closed at 9pm. My mom felt so sorry that she had let me down and said that she would definitely take me to Wagamama’s for a meal at Covent Garden tomorrow before we got our train home. In the end we went to Café Rouge a French restaurant at St Catherine’s Dock right next to our hotel. Well mom said the plan was to have a meal then a walk, but instead we had our walk first then our meal.
It was 11pm by the time I got to bed and I was really tired and fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.
Sunday morning once mom and I had showered mom packed our bag and we went down for breakfast. We had to queue, but it was not long before we were seated at a table. After breakfast we went back to our room to pick up our bag and then we checked out of the hotel. We went on the underground to Baker Street station.
After more than 100 years a statue commemorating the world famous detective Sherlock Holmes has at last been erected outside Baker Street underground station in central London.
We walked down the street until we came to Madame Tussauds. As we had already got our tickets we did not have to queue long although there seemed to be a lot of people waiting to go in.
Madame Tussauds is a famous wax museum in London with branches in a number of major cities. It was set up by wax sculptor Marie Tussaud.
Madame Tussauds began working with Aardman in June 2005, with the aim of creating a Stardome visitor experience that fit well within the rest of the attraction. The renowned oxidised copper plate dome was created by Madame Tussauds, originally to house its London Planetarium show. The show proved highly popular for decades, but in recent years interest has declined dramatically. Many Londoners recall fond memories of a childhood visit, but haven't returned since.
Stardome the intense visual effects contribute to the pleasure of the experience. As the saucers, stars and galaxies fly by, the audience is treated to a genuine sensation of hurtling through space with a bizarrely comical collection of extra-terrestrials.
We walked in down a red carpet with light and cameras flashing as though we were celebrities, it was a weird sensation. Next we came into a room full of famous celebrities that we were allowed to be photographed with and of course mom got the camera out.
I must admit I was ready for a drink there were too many people at this attraction for comfort. We did not bother with the horror section as I was not feeling too good.
The Stardome was good, mom told me it use to be the Planetarium section. It was funny the aliens looking down at Earth trying to spot a star (Celebrity) and we had to wave to them.
There was just on place left for us to go and that was Convent Garden and first stop was lunch at Wagamama’s as mom had promised.
We were told it was Japanese food noodles, rice very similar to Chinese food I thought. We decided to have a noodle dish and I enjoyed it.
Finally time to have a quick look around Covent Gardens before we make our way home.
It was busy with tourist as you expect on a Sunday with lots of entertainers and shops to look at.
Time was passing quickly and we felt that it was time to go for our train. I bought a picture to remind me of my visit to London.
The next time we come I would like to go around the British Museum, the Science museum and the London Tower. Well maybe next year.
We caught the 3.30pm train from St Pancras station and dad was at Chesterfield station to pick us up at 6pm. I was looking forward to an early night because it was a college day in the morning and I had a lot to talk about.
THE END
We did not have to wait long before we were sat on the train and I got my mp3 player out to listen to my music and I closed my eyes whilst mom enjoyed looking at the scenery.
At 11:50 we pulled into St Pancras station. St Pancras railway station is a major railway station opened in 1868 and celebrated for its architecture. The station is situated in the St Pancras area of central London between the British Library and King's Cross station.
During the 2000s, the complex was renovated, expanded and reopened—branded St Pancras International—with a new security-sealed terminal area for Eurostar trains to continental Europe. The station is served by King's Cross St Pancras tube station on the London Underground network.
On arriving at St Pancras station mom and I had a look around the new surroundings. I had my photograph taken in front of the statue known as the meeting place.
The Meeting Place is a 9m high bronze of a couple locked in an intimate pose by the world renowned sculptor Paul Day. The couple stand underneath the famous St Pancras clock at the apex of the Barlow shed.
Sir John Betjeman
Sir John Betjeman was responsible for saving both the St Pancras chambers and the station from demolition in the 1960s. In tribute to the famous poet and railway lover an 8 1/2ft sculpture by Martin Jennings has been designed to stand at platform level to celebrate the man and his poetry. The sculpture features the poet looking up in awe at the splendour of the Barlow shed whilst catching hold of his hat.
Of course mom had to take my photograph with Sir John Betjeman.
The new London station features top quality retail stores, Europe's longest champagne bar and coming soon - a daily fresh farmers' market.
I think my mom would have liked to try the champagne, but it was too early so maybe she will have a glass on our way back home on Sunday.
We made our way to the underground as we had to get the tube to go to Tower hill. We were going to stay at the Guoman Hotel for the weekend.
As we walked out of Tower hill station the first thing we saw was the Tower of London.
There were a lot of tourists taking photographs and maybe planning to visit the Tower for the day. I have heard that the crown jewels are in there and maybe on another visit we might get to look at them.
As we walked passed the Tower of London I saw some beefeaters at the entrance to the tower. We were a little early to be able to go to our room so mom and I had a coffee at Starbucks in St Catherine’s dock beside the hotel.
St Katherine’s Dock was originally built in 1828 on the site of an old hospital of the same name, 11,000 people were displaced from the local area but London needed more docks because of the amount of trade coming up the Thames.
The docks were a new design for the time, two docks were dug out, East and West and they were linked to the river by a 180ft long lock. The shape of the docks meant they had a very long quayside for such a small area of water and warehouse’s were built right on the quayside so ships could unload straight into them.
St Katherine’s handled imports of sugar, spices, wines, rubber, carpets, marble and ivory but was also well known for shells, tortoise shell and mother of pearl and feathers. Back in the 19th century it cost £1 to dock and unload a ship for 24 hours. Like most London docks St Katherine’s was overtaken by modern container methods and closed in 1968.
In 1973 St Katharine's was transformed as one of London's most successful redevelopments, with residential and commercial areas and entertainment facilities.
This is Guoman Hotel where we stayed for the weekend seen from the river Thames side. We checked into our room at 13:30 room 836.
Our room overlooked the Thames. The last time I stayed in this hotel I was eight years old and it was called, “Thistle London Tower Hotel,” and it changed its name about two years ago. It was built as part of the redevelopment of St Katharine’s Dock, The Tower took 3 years to build and is on an island site located between the River Thames and St Katharine’s Dock. The opening ceremony on 19th September 1973 was carried out by Field Marshal Sir Richard Hull, GCB DSO, constable of the Tower of London.
We got showered and changed as our plan for today was to cross the Tower Bridge to the South Bank side and walk down to the London eye. Hopefully we would go on the London eye, have our evening meal before we go to see the Buddy Holly show at the Duchess theatre. Mom changed her shoes from her trainers to a pair of sandals, big mistake.
Tower Bridge is a combined bascule and suspension bridge in London, England over the River Thames. It is close to the Tower of London, which gives it its name. It has become an iconic symbol of London. Tower Bridge is one of several London bridges owned and maintained by the City Bridge Trust, a charitable trust overseen by the City of London Corporation.
Tower Bridge is sometimes mistakenly referred to as London Bridge, which is actually the next bridge upstream. A popular urban legend is that, in 1968 Robert McCulloch, the purchaser of the old London Bridge which was later shipped to Lake Havasu City, Arizona, believed mistakenly that he was buying Tower Bridge, but this was denied by McCulloch himself and has been debunked by Ivan Luckin, the seller of the bridge.
Once we had cross the bridge we walked down the South Bank passing some interesting building like this City Hall.
City Hall is the home of the Greater London Authority, and is a new building on the Thames situated between London Bridge and Tower Bridge, just a little way down from HMS Belfast. The striking rounded glass building was opened in 2002 and has a very unusual shape, intended in part to increase energy efficiency as well as to provide a striking landmark.
It has been compared to Darth Vader's helmet, a misshapen egg, a woodlouse or a motorcycle helmet. The first occupant, London Mayor Ken Livingstone, must have surely come up with the best one, calling it a "glass testicle". Given the taxes imposed on Londoners during his internship, many may be inclined to go with the Vader Helmet analogy. In fact the building does not belong to the GLA, but is rented on a 25 year lease (at an annual cost of £36.50 per square foot). Next to the City Hall is The Scoop, a sunken oval area used for outdoor displays during the summer.
The interior of City Hall is designed around a magnificent interior ramp down which the people can walk above the debating chamber. It is a 42m high, 10 storey building. Every one of the 3,844 glass panels that make up City Hall is unique and was cut by laser. Norman Foster, one of the principal architects, had previously used the ramp concept in Berlin's Reichstagsgebäude. (Again in a possible farce, this ramp has been likened to that in the penguin enclosure of London Zoo.). The top storey, referred to as 'London's living room', leads out onto a balcony with a 360˚ panoramic view of the city.
We continued our walk passing the HMS Belfast. HMS Belfast is the former Royal Navy cruiser that is now a permanent floating museum along the banks of the River Thames, just west of Tower Bridge near to London’s City Hall building.
As we walked further along the river bank we came to a shopping mall known as Hays Galleria. This was one of the first major developments in the SE1 area's recent regeneration. In 1651 Alexander Hay took over the lease on a brewhouse in Hay's Lane, and the business empire his family developed gave its name to Hay's Wharf, once famed for its tea clippers. Hay's Wharf pioneered cold storage, receiving new Zealand butter from 1867. In the late 1980s the main dock was filled in and covered with a glass roof, forming the main arcade of Hay's Galleria. A 60ft stunning sculpture by David Kemp called The Navigators now forms the centrepiece. In the main arcade chainstores such as Boots site side-by side with smaller businesses and craft stalls.
Eating and drinking opportunities include Cafe Rouge, Balls Brothers and Auberge . For book lovers the Riverside Bookshop is a must, while the Christmas Shop enables you to get festive all year round. The Cottons Club in the Lower Walkway boasts luxury swimming, squash and gym facilities.
In the summer and at Christmas the Galleria hosts lunchtime concerts, and every September the Oyster and Seafood Fair brings crowds from far and wide. Luckily mom did not want to look around the shops so we were able to continue on our way.
Next we came to the Golden Hinde a full-size replica of Sir Francis Drake's 16th century galleon, open to the public in a Thames-side dock in Southwark.
The Golden Hinde, London’s replica Tudor warship. An authentic replica of the galleon in which Sir Francis Drake sailed around the world in 1577 – 1580, our ship has travelled over 140,000 miles. She is now permanently berthed on London’s South Bank and is visited by 1000s of visitors each year, of equal appeal to those interested in Tudor life at sea, Francis Drake, or pirates!
This round open air theatre is the “Globe theatre” where many Shakespeare plays are performed. Although Shakespeare's plays were performed at other venues during the playwright's career, the Globe Theatre in the Southwark district of London was the venue at which the Bard's best known stage works (including his four great tragedies) were first produced. The Globe was built during Shakespeare's early period in 1599 by one of his long-standing associates, Cuthbert Burbage, the brother of the most famous Shakespearean actor of the Elizabethan Age, Richard Burbage. Maybe the next time we come to London we might have a look around the theatre.
As we passed the Millennium Bridge we could see the dome of St Paul’s cathedral and tomorrow we were going to get a closer look at it. We seemed to have been walking a long time and I was beginning to think that we would never reach the London Eye.
The next bridge we came to was the Jubilee Bridge and I was to find out more about it tomorrow when we go on our river cruise.
At last I caught sight of the London Eye and we were hoping that we would have time to go on it before we went to the theatre, but it all depended on the queues.
We had to go to the County Hall to buy the tickets we wanted and as we made our way there we past quite a few mime artists.
We went into the County Hall to buy our tickets for the London Eye, River cruise & Madame Tussauds. At the entrance there was a wax statue of Pierce Brosnan as James Bond this was a photograph I had to take for mom.
At last we queued up to get on the London Eye, why I decided that I want to go on it I will never know as I don’t like heights. My hand got very sweaty the higher we went and I was starting to feel nervous, but mom made sure I was sat down and stood in front of me so that I could not look down. What I could see of the view looked good as I glanced out ever so often. It took about thirty minutes to do the trip and I was very happy when we were back to ground level.
It good to be back on the ground, but I am glad I managed to do the ride.
Next stop was finding somewhere to have our evening meal. We decided to go to Strada an Italian restaurant. I had a large spicy Italian meat pizza all to myself and it was great.
Although it was a warm evening we decided to eat inside.
Now it was time to make our way to the Duchess Theatre where we were going to see the Buddy Holly story. We walked across the bridge to Embankment station the up the road towards the Strand. The streets were very busy with tourist and people having a drink. Some people were stood outside the pubs as it was a warm evening.
We found the Duchess theatre easily and it was a good job too because mom was walking funny because her feet were hurting. We got ourselves a drink and it was not long before the show started.
The show opens with Buddy Holly's beginnings as a teenager in Lubbock, Texas and his emergence into the world of rock and roll with his fictional good friends and bandmates, drummer Jesse Charles (Don Stroud) and bass player Ray Bob Simmons (Charles Martin Smith), soon to be known as The Crickets. Their first break comes when they are brought to Nashville, Tennessee to record, but Buddy's vision soon clashes with the producers' rigid ideas of how the music should sound and he walks out. Eventually, he finds a more flexible producer, Ross Turner (Conrad Janis), who, after listening to their audition, very reluctantly allows Buddy and the Crickets to make music the way he wants.
While there, he meets Turner's secretary, Maria Elena Santiago (Maria Richwine). His budding romance with her nearly ends before it can begin, when her aunt initially refuses to let her date him, but Buddy persuades her to change her mind. On their very first date, Maria accepts his marriage proposal and they are soon wed.
A humorous episode results from a misunderstanding in one of their early bookings. Saul Gitler (Dick O'Neill) signs them up sight-unseen for the famous Apollo Theater in Harlem, assuming from their music that they're an African-American band. When three white Texans show up instead, he is stunned, but unwilling to pay them for doing nothing, he nervously lets them perform and prays fervently that the all-black audience doesn't riot at the sight of the first all-white band to play there. (In real life, that distinction belongs to Jimmy Cavallo and The House Rockers, who played at that venue in 1956.) After an uncomfortable start and an initially hostile crowd, Buddy's songs soon win them over and the Crickets are a tremendous hit. Gitler books them to come back several times.
After two years, Ray Bob and Jesse decide to break up the band, feeling overshadowed by Buddy and not wanting to relocate to New York City. Initially, he is saddened by their departure, but he soldiers on. When Maria announces that she is pregnant, Buddy is delighted.
On February 2, 1959, preparing for a concert at Clear Lake, Iowa, Holly decides to charter a private plane to fly to Moorhead, Minnesota for his next big concert. The Big Bopper and Ritchie Valens (who is reluctant to fly, but wins a coin toss with Tommy Allsup for the last seat) join him on the flight. Meanwhile, the Crickets, feeling nostalgic, appear unexpectedly at Maria's door, expressing their desire to reunite the band. They trace Buddy's next tour stop at Minnesota, and they plan to surprise him there. After playing his final song, "Not Fade Away," Holly bids the crowd farewell with "Thank you Clearlake! We love you. C'mon....we'll see you next year," unaware that, for him, next year will never come. A caption at the end reveals the deaths of Holly, Valens, and the Bopper in a plane crash that night and dedicates the film to his family and friends. The movie ends by saying "...And the rest is Rock and Roll."Both mom and I really enjoyed the show and everyone in the theatre stood up clapping shouting for more, so they came back on stage and did a few more songs.
On our way to Embankment underground to get our train back to Tower Hill we passed the Adelphi Theatre on the Strand where Joseph was showing and Lee Mead who plays Joseph was outside signing autographs.
It had been a fabulous day and I was happy to get back to the hotel and was hoping to get a goodnight sleep. I wondered what mom had in store for us tomorrow as I fell asleep.
Saturday morning I woke up feeling rested had a shower then we went down for breakfast. We had a buffet continental breakfast in the Brasserie. I started with cereals, fruit juice, and coffee, after I finished off with a Danish pastry and a croissant. I don’t usually eat that much for breakfast but mom said that I could eat what I wanted as long as I was enjoying it.
We walked to Tower Hill station passing the Tower of London and saw the tourist queuing up to go inside. This morning we were going on the underground to Westminster Bridge as we were first going to the Movie museum then on the river cruise.
As we got to Westminster Bridge I took a photograph of mom with the London Eye in the background on the other side of the river.
The cruise boat that we would be going on later would be at Pier 3 just in front of the London Eye.
You can see it was a lovely sunny day as I took the photograph of the Houses of Parliament when we were crossing the bridge to go to the Movie museum that was inside the County Hall.
The Movie Museum is actually called, “Movieum” and is located on the South Bank in the County Hall building. Some of the attractions are: -
Real Life Sets – Step into the action of the sound stage, where you can walk on set and be part of the movie making experience. Miniaturisation of Film – Oversized and undersized props provide a perfect photo opportunity for you to look like you're really in the Land of the Giants!The History of the Studios – Elstree, Pinewood, Shepperton. From the Golden Age to the Golden Compass, the Movieum features a revealing insight into the studios where movie history was made.
From Film Lover to Film Maker - A step by step guide to Film Making from an initial script to the final edit. Listen to Oscar winning artists tell their tales behind some of the biggest blockbusters of all time. Each department is broken down with separate explinations and documentaries. Add your own sound in the sound studio, fly in the clouds in our green screen virtual studio.
Prop Art - See some of the most famous props in film making history created and introduced by the most prolific artists of today.
The Granada Suite & Sherlock Holmes - Enter the world of Sherlock Holmes and discover the history behind one of the most popular characters in living history. The study set from the popular series has been faithfully re-created using all of the original set pieces, furniture and props, courtesy of the Sherlock Holmes Company with a gallery of photographs and posters. Relax in the period lounge and watch one of the TV series made popular by Jeremy Brett courtesy of Granada International.
I don’t think Dr. Who is around just as well as the Darlek looks as though he is waiting for him.
We had a good time in the Movieum and it was very interesting but it was time for us to get on the 11:45 river boat cruise up the Thames River.
We went down river first past the Houses of Parliament then the boat turn to go up river to the Tower Bridge. London's Houses of Parliament, also known as the Palace of Westminster, together with its nearby clock tower, form one of the quintessential images of London. Whether beheld by day or viewed at night when Parliament and Big Ben are illuminated, the Houses of Parliament look majestic.
The Parliament building, on the River Thames at Westminster Bridge, contains more than 1000 rooms.
We passed the HMS Belfast and the tour guide told us some history of the building on the South Bank side that we had walked passed yesterday evening.
The OXO building was originally constructed as a power station for the Post Office, built towards the end of the 19th century. It was subsequently acquired by the Liebig Extract of Meat Company, manufacturers of Oxo beef stock cubes, for conversion into a cold store.
The building was largely rebuilt to an Art Deco design by company architect Albert Moore between 1928 and 1929. Much of the original power station was demolished, but the river facing facade was retained and extended. Liebig wanted to include a tower featuring illuminated signs advertising the name of their product. When permission for the advertisements was refused the tower was built with four sets of three vertically-aligned windows, each of which "coincidentally" happened to be in the shapes of a circle, a cross and a circle. Liebig and the building were eventually purchased by the Vestey Group.
In the late 1970s and into the 1980s there were several proposals to demolish the building and develop it and the adjacent Coin Street site, but these were met with strong local opposition and two planning inquiries were held. Although permission for redevelopment was granted, the support of the Greater London Council finally resulted in the tower and adjoining land being sold to the GLC in 1984 for 2.7 million pounds — who sold the entire 13-acre (53,000 m²) site to the not-for-profit Coin Street Community Builders for just £750,000.
In the 1990s the tower was refurbished to a design by Liftschutz Davidson to include housing, a restaurant, shops and exhibition space. The tower won the Royal Fine Art Commission / BSkyB Building of the Year Award for Urban Regeneration in 1997.
Sea Containers House was originally conceived as a luxury hotel. Its location, in the heart of London’s business district, led to the decision to complete it instead as office space.
American former Yale University graduate and United States Navy officer James Sherwood founded Sea Containers in 1965, with initial capital of $100,000[2]. Over forty years Sherwood expanded Sea Containers from a supplier of leased cargo containers, into various shipping companies, as well as expanding the company into luxury hotels and railway trains, including the Venice-Simplon Orient Express and the Great North Eastern Railway franchise from London to Edinburgh.
Although valued with a net worth of £60million in the 2004 Sunday Times Rich List, as Sea Containers hit financial troubles, he has resigned from each of his companies in 2006.
The Tate Modern Art Gallery in London is Britain's national museum of international modern art and is, with Tate Britain, Tate Liverpool, Tate St Ives, and Tate Online, part of the group now known simply as Tate.
The galleries are housed in the former Bankside Power Station, which was originally designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, the architect of Battersea Power Station, and built in two stages between 1947 and 1963. The power station closed in 1981. The building was converted by architects Herzog & de Meuron and contractors Carillion, after which it stood at 99m tall. The southern third of the building was retained by the French power company EDF Energy as an electrical substation (in 2006, the company released half of this holding).
Since the museum's opening on 12 May 2000, it has become a destination for Londoners and tourists. Entry to collection displays and some temporary exhibitions is free.
Tower Bridge was completed in 1894, after eight years of construction. However, many people don't realise why it was even built in the first place, or why it is so different from London's other bridges. The information below will fill you in on some of Tower Bridge's fascinating history.
Originally, London Bridge was the only crossing over the Thames. As London grew, so more bridges were added, but these were all to the west of London Bridge, since the area east of London Bridge had become a busy port. In the 19th century, the east end of London became so densely populated that public pressure mounted for a bridge to the east of London Bridge, as journeys for pedestrians and vehicles were being delayed literally by hours.
Finally in 1876, the City of London Corporation, who were responsible for that part of the Thames, decided that the problem could be put off no longer.
1910 The high-level walkways, which were designed so that the public could still cross the Bridge when it was raised, were closed down due to lack of use. Most people preferred to wait at the bottom and watch the bascules rise up! 1912 During an emergency, Frank McClean had to fly between the bascules and the high-level Walkways in his Short biplane, to avoid an accident. 1952 A London bus had to leap from one bascule to the other when the Bridge began to rise with the bus still on it. 1977 Tower Bridge was painted red, white and blue to celebrate the Queen's Silver Jubilee. (Before that, it was painted a chocolate brown colour). 1982 Tower Bridge opened to the public for the first time since 1910, with a permanent exhibition inside called the Tower Bridge Exhibition. The Walkways were glazed for the first time to house the new Exhibition. 1993 The centenary exhibition - The Tower Bridge Experience opened, featuring animatronic models telling the story of Tower Bridge. 1994 Tower Bridge became available to hire for parties and receptions. 2002 The current Tower Bridge Exhibtion opened, refocusing on the magnificent views from the Walkways and the history of the Bridge. 2007 Tower Bridge celebrates 25 years of welcoming visitors to its Exhibition
The boat turn around at Tower Bridge and then the building at the opposite side of the river were talked about.
30 St Mary Axe is a building in London's main financial district, the City of London. It is widely known by the nickname "The Gherkin", and occasionally as a variant on The Swiss Re Tower, after its previous owner and principal occupier. It is 180 metres (591 ft) tall, making it the second-tallest building in the City of London, after Tower 42, and the sixth-tallest in London as a whole. The building's name is its address — St Mary Axe being the street it is on.
The building was designed by Pritzker Prize-winner Lord Norman Foster and ex-partner Ken Shuttleworth and Arup engineers, and was constructed by Skanska of Sweden between 2001 and 2004.
Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, more commonly known as the Tower of London (and historically as The Tower), is a historic monument in central London, on the north bank of the River Thames. It is located within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets and is separated from the eastern edge of the City of London by the open space known as Tower Hill.
The Tower of London is often identified with the White Tower, the original stark square fortress built by William the Conqueror in 1078. However, the tower as a whole is a complex of several buildings set within two concentric rings of defensive walls and a moat.
The tower's primary function was a fortress, a royal palace, and a prison (particularly for high status and royal prisoners, such as the Princes in the Tower and the future Queen Elizabeth I). This last use has led to the phrase "sent to the Tower" (meaning "imprisoned"). It has also served as a place of execution and torture, an armoury, a treasury, a zoo, the Royal Mint, a public records office, an observatory, and since 1303, the home of the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom.
The City of London School beside the River Thames. St. Pauls Cathedral is in the background and the Millennium Bridge is on the right.
We were told that Danielle Radcliffe (Harry Potter) attended this school.
The City of London School (CLS) is a boys' independent school on the banks of the River Thames in the City of London. It is the brother school of the City of London School for Girls (a girls' school within the Barbican) and of the co-educational City of London Freemen's School. Intake is from age 10 to 18, although the majority of its pupils enter at age 11, with somewhat fewer at age 13 and some at age 16.
Cleopatra's Needle is in the City of Westminster, on the Victoria Embankment near the Golden Jubilee Bridges. It was presented to the United Kingdom in 1819 by Mehemet Ali, the Albanian-born viceroy of Egypt, in commemoration of the victories of Lord Nelson at the Battle of the Nile and Sir Ralph Abercromby at the Battle of Alexandria in 1801. Although the British government welcomed the gesture, it declined to fund the expense of transporting it to London.
The obelisk remained in Alexandria until 1877 when Sir William James Erasmus Wilson, a distinguished anatomist and dermatologist, sponsored its transportation to London at a cost of some £10,000 (a very considerable sum in those days). It was dug out of the sand in which it had been buried for nearly 2,000 years and was encased in a great iron cylinder, 92 feet long and 16 feet in diameter, designed by the engineer John Dixon and dubbed Cleopatra, to be commanded by Captain Carter. It had a vertical stem and stern, a rudder, two bilge keels, a mast for balancing sails, and a deck house. This acted as a floating pontoon which was to be towed to London by the ship Olga, commanded by Captain Booth.[1]
The effort met with disaster on 14 October 1877, when the Cleopatra capsized in a storm in the Bay of Biscay, with the loss of six lives - named today on a bronze plaque attached to the foot of the needle's mounting stone. Captain Booth on the Olga eventually managed to get his ship next to the Cleopatra, to rescue Captain Carter and the five remaining crew members aboard Cleopatra. Captain Booth reported the Cleopatra "abandoned and sinking," but instead she drifted in the Bay until found four days later by Spanish trawler boats, then rescued by the Glasgow steamer Fitzmaurice and taken to Ferrol in Spain for repairs. The Master of the Fitzmaurice lodged a salvage claim of £5,000 which had to be settled before departure from Ferrol, which was negotiated down and settled for £2,000.[1] The William Watkins Ltd paddle tug Anglia under the command of Captain David Glue was then commissioned to tow the Cleopatra back to the Thames. On their arrival in the estuary, the school children of Gravesend were given the day off when she arrived on the 21 January 1878.[2] The obelisk was erected on the Victoria Embankment the following August.
Cleopatra's Needle is flanked by two faux-Egyptian sphinxes cast from bronze that bear hieroglyphic inscriptions that say netjer nefer men-kheper-re di ankh (the good god, Thuthmosis III given life). These Sphinxes appear to be looking at the Needle rather than guarding it. This is due to the Sphinx's improper or backwards installation. The Embankment has other Egyptian flourishes, such as buxom winged sphinxes on the armrests of benches. On 4 September 1917, during World War I, bombs from one of the first German air raids on London by German aeroplanes landed near the needle. In commemoration of this event, the damage remains unrepaired to this day and is clearly visible in the form of shrapnel holes and gouges on the right-hand sphinx. Restoration work was carried out in 2005. The original Master Stone Mason who worked on the granite foundation was Lambeth born William Henry Gould (1822-1891), third great Grandfather to the noted Canadian sculptor and painter Christian Corbet (1966-)
Our River cruise lasted 45 minutes and there was so much to take in on what had been said. People were still queuing up to go on the London Eye it seemed busier than ever.
The London Eye was opened by the Prime Minister, Tony Blair, at 20:00 GMT on December 31, 1999, although it was not opened to the public until March 2000 because of technical problems. Since its opening, the Eye, operated by Merlin Entertainments but sponsored by British Airways, has become a major landmark and tourist attraction.
By July 2002, roughly 8.5 million people had ridden the Eye. It had planning permission only for five years, but at that time Lambeth Council agreed to plans to make the attraction permanent.
Since 1 January 2005, the Eye has been the focal point of London's New Year celebrations, with 10-minute fireworks displays taking place involving fireworks fired from the wheel itself.
In 2006 the Tussauds Group bought out the other two joint owners, British Airways and the Marks Barfield family (the lead architects). Following Merlin Entertainments purchase of the Tussauds Group in 2007, it now owns 100% of the Eye. British Airways continued its brand association, but from the beginning of 2008 the name 'British Airways' was dropped from the logo.
During the bidding process of the 2012 Olympic Games, the London bid organisers announced the Olympic emblem would be attached to the Eye for the duration of the 2012 Summer Olympics.[4]
In August of 2007, it was announced that London Eye could be temporarily renamed "The McCartney Eye" after Sir Paul McCartney of the Beatles. The renaming would coincide with the release of a McCartney related DVD set titled "The McCartney Years".
Mom decided that it was time to go for some lunch and I had already suggested that we might go to subway for a sandwich before we go to our next London sight which was to be Trafalgar Square. Before we crossed the bridge we saw some more mime artist and of course mom wanted a picture taken with Captain Jack Sparrow.
Just before we got to the bridge I notice this man posing as invisible man. I thought very spooky, but cleverly done.
We enjoyed lunch and made our way up to Trafalgar Square.
Trafalgar Square is a square commemorates the Battle of Trafalgar (1805), a British naval victory of the Napoleonic Wars. The original name was to have been "King William the Fourth's Square", but George Ledwell Taylor suggested the name "Trafalgar Square". Nelson's Column is in the centre of the square, surrounded by fountains designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens in 1939 (replacing two earlier fountains of Peterhead granite, now at the Wascana Centre and Confederation Park in Canada) and four huge bronze lions sculpted by Sir Edwin Landseer; the metal used is said to have been recycled from the cannon of the French fleet. The column is topped by a statue of Horatio, Viscount Nelson, the admiral who commanded the British Fleet at Trafalgar.
National Gallery, founded in 1824, houses a rich collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900 in its home on Trafalgar Square. The collection belongs to the British public and entry to the main collection is free, although there are charges for entry to special exhibitions.
Our next stop was Buckingham Palace and we decided to walk down the Mall to get there, but first we went through the Admiralty Arch. The Admiralty Arch has actually no connection with the navy, except that it is adjoins the Royal Navy HQ located in the Old Admiralty Building. However, the name continues the naval theme of Trafalgar Square on whose southwest corner the arch is located.
Admiralty Arch forms a gateway from Trafalgar Square to The Mall, the processional road running along St. James Park and linking Buckingham Palace to Horse Guards Parade. There is always a lot of traffic passing through Admiralty Arch, except on a Sunday when traffic is not permitted down most of The Mall.
We soon reached Buckingham Palace and there were lots of people hoping to see the Queen. Mom told me that when the flag was up that meant that she was in residence, but still we did not see her. Maybe she was busy.
Buckingham House, c.1710, was designed by William Winde for the first Duke of Buckingham and Normanby. This façade evolved into today's Grand Entrance on the west (inner) side of the quadrangle, with the Green Drawing Room above.
Buckingham Palace finally became the principal Royal residence in 1837 on the accession of Queen Victoria
The Victoria Memorial was created by sculptor Sir Thomas Brock in 1911 and erected in front of the main gates at Buckingham Palace on a surround constructed by architect Sir Aston Webb.
As we were not going to see the Queen we decided to make our way to the underground to go to St Paul’s Cathedral.
St Paul's Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral on Ludgate Hill, in the City of London, and the seat of the Bishop of London. The present building dates from the 17th century, and is generally reckoned to be London's fifth St Paul's Cathedral, although the number is higher if every major mediæval reconstruction is counted as a new cathedral. The cathedral is one of London's most visited sites. The cathedral sits on the edge of London's oldest region, the City. The City originated as a Roman trading post along the edge of the River Thames.
After seeing the queues to go inside the Cathedral we decided we would not bother on this visit to queue up. We sat to admire the building and give our feet a rest.
Mom wanted to go to the Docklands next, but the Jubilee line was closed down. We decided to make our way back to the hotel to freshen up before we went out for our evening meal.
We were hoping to eat at Wagamama’s a Japanese restaurant.
We got the underground to the Embankment to go to Wagamama’s near to the London Eye not realizing that there was one at Tower hill not far from where we were staying.
Once we got there the queue was quite long as we were eating later than we did yesterday, so we decide to walk to the one near to London Bridge only to find there was a long queue there. It was then that we were told that there was one at Tower Hill, so as it was near to where our hotel was we thought we would go there then we would not have to walk so far back to our hotel.
It was just after 8.30pm by the time we got there and they had stopped taking orders because they closed at 9pm. My mom felt so sorry that she had let me down and said that she would definitely take me to Wagamama’s for a meal at Covent Garden tomorrow before we got our train home. In the end we went to Café Rouge a French restaurant at St Catherine’s Dock right next to our hotel. Well mom said the plan was to have a meal then a walk, but instead we had our walk first then our meal.
It was 11pm by the time I got to bed and I was really tired and fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.
Sunday morning once mom and I had showered mom packed our bag and we went down for breakfast. We had to queue, but it was not long before we were seated at a table. After breakfast we went back to our room to pick up our bag and then we checked out of the hotel. We went on the underground to Baker Street station.
After more than 100 years a statue commemorating the world famous detective Sherlock Holmes has at last been erected outside Baker Street underground station in central London.
We walked down the street until we came to Madame Tussauds. As we had already got our tickets we did not have to queue long although there seemed to be a lot of people waiting to go in.
Madame Tussauds is a famous wax museum in London with branches in a number of major cities. It was set up by wax sculptor Marie Tussaud.
Madame Tussauds began working with Aardman in June 2005, with the aim of creating a Stardome visitor experience that fit well within the rest of the attraction. The renowned oxidised copper plate dome was created by Madame Tussauds, originally to house its London Planetarium show. The show proved highly popular for decades, but in recent years interest has declined dramatically. Many Londoners recall fond memories of a childhood visit, but haven't returned since.
Stardome the intense visual effects contribute to the pleasure of the experience. As the saucers, stars and galaxies fly by, the audience is treated to a genuine sensation of hurtling through space with a bizarrely comical collection of extra-terrestrials.
We walked in down a red carpet with light and cameras flashing as though we were celebrities, it was a weird sensation. Next we came into a room full of famous celebrities that we were allowed to be photographed with and of course mom got the camera out.
I must admit I was ready for a drink there were too many people at this attraction for comfort. We did not bother with the horror section as I was not feeling too good.
The Stardome was good, mom told me it use to be the Planetarium section. It was funny the aliens looking down at Earth trying to spot a star (Celebrity) and we had to wave to them.
There was just on place left for us to go and that was Convent Garden and first stop was lunch at Wagamama’s as mom had promised.
We were told it was Japanese food noodles, rice very similar to Chinese food I thought. We decided to have a noodle dish and I enjoyed it.
Finally time to have a quick look around Covent Gardens before we make our way home.
It was busy with tourist as you expect on a Sunday with lots of entertainers and shops to look at.
Time was passing quickly and we felt that it was time to go for our train. I bought a picture to remind me of my visit to London.
The next time we come I would like to go around the British Museum, the Science museum and the London Tower. Well maybe next year.
We caught the 3.30pm train from St Pancras station and dad was at Chesterfield station to pick us up at 6pm. I was looking forward to an early night because it was a college day in the morning and I had a lot to talk about.
THE END
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