NOTES ON
1958 - Day out in
London
http://comp.uark.edu/~dsears/photos/Eileen58london/
London
was a magnet. One of dad’s free passes
– that we used over and over again – was to London, so we could go whenever we
wanted at minimal cost. We got to know
the city well, the neat places, the underground routes – we never used
buses. They were not cool.
My
favorite places:
The London Planetarium. One of the most inspirational places on
Earth whose demise is documented in the wikipedia article.
The Science Museum. Another highly inspirational place with
Herschel’s telescope, chemistry diplays of all sorts (I loved the huge periodic
table with examples of every element and the reconstructions of laboratories
through the ages – why was the modern lab so boring! – the coal mines, the
steam engines and locomotives).
The Natural History museum Dinosaurs and meteorites, and those fantastic
endless galleries of minerals!
The London Zoo A favorite place to go, but always with mixed feelings
at the site of all those caged animals.
The London Museum The best history museum in London,
with the diorama of London during the great fire.
Madam Tussauds More Mum’s favorite than
mine. She loved to tell us to ask the
policeman on the staircase for directions; we did, and he never replied, Mum
loved it. She promised that when we
were old enough we could go into the chamber of horrors. We did, and wondered what all the fuss was
about. They were so obviously wax
figures. I was always intrigued by the
origins of Madame Tussauds, she was a macabre witness of the reign of terror,
and I wondered why waxworks were so popular.
Royal Institution I only visited the RI to attend public lecture, but I loved those lectures and they probably turned me onto to science more than anything else, certainly they have inspired by own teaching. I like the story of Wimshurst, who ran away because he was too nervous to lecture. To this day they lock the door after the speaker enters the lecture hall. Partly because of my visits to the RI I have always had an interest in and admiration for Michael Faraday.
The Tower of London A place of blood, crown jewels, ravens and quaint uniforms. Should we really have picnics on the lawn? We did not go in often, but often went by and I thought of the pain the place represents.
Kensington Gardens That wonderful monument to Prince Albert and the British Empire and the equally fascinating statue of Peter Pan. I loved them both and have pictures of them, e.g. here. We often had a picnic lunch in the Gardens.
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The London Underground map. It would be my job to work our route across London, and at one time I had the routes to all the major sites memorized. |
We could either take the Maidstone East Route, which would arrive in Victoria Station, or the Maidstone West Route that would arrive in Charing Cross. We preferred the Maidstone West route since it was closest to home, even though it meant changing in Strood. There was a Lyons Tea House near the station that we would sometimes stop in for a cup of tea.