He Lived ... and He Died

I blogged last week about our visit to the Houses of Parliament. What we didn't know while we wandered around the corridors of power was that the news of Lady Thatcher's death had just been announced. 

We were on Whitehall when a friend texted me with the news, and almost immediately we saw the flags on the Scottish Office building being lowered. You can see the man, just below the Scottish flag, lowering it.

The flag on Admiralty Arch soon followed,

as did the flag at Wesminster itself.

All these events served only to cement the thought that had been in my mind for the whole trip to London:

And he died.

When we visited Hampton Court Palace, the home of King Henry VIII, I was constantly reminded of this: 

... and he died.

The additions to that beautiful palace were made for William and Mary. What can be said of them? Yes - they died.

Our visit to the wonderful Churchill War Rooms (of which more later) reminded us again and again that the good and the bad, the old and the young, the great and the small all live and then .... they die.

All these amazing buildings, the wonderful monuments, the aptly named streets, and the stunning historical sites: they are wonderful to visit and I loved being right there where the history of this nation has been forged.  But this is true of each person of whom I read; each person's home I visited; each person's footsteps in which I walked: 

they died.

What is it if we gain the whole world, then, and lose our soul? But, being safe in Christ, surely these visits serve to remind us all that we have only one life, and so we ought to take every opportunity afforded us to make a difference in this life.

There's nothing quite as inspiring as visiting where the famous once were, and are no more. 

And so, let us all seek Christ, and then seek to use our precious gift of life to live to His glory, and to make a real difference in this wonderful world.

Our Visit to the Houses of Parliament

The day we were able to visit the Houses of Parliament  ... Oh, and while I remember, could you all give a bit shout-out to Javier, please. Thank you, Javier! - Javier was our guide, and patiently put up with my ooh-ing, ahh-ing, my meditating, my slowness, my looking, my dreaming.

He and the Builder allowed me to stand and "just imagine ....". Often. 

There was, after all, a lot to 'just imagine'.

I stood at the Dispatch Box, where we see our Prime Minister standing each week to answer Prime Minister's Questions. I stood and quietly said, 

"Just imagine .... Winston Churchill stood here. Right here where I'm standing, he stood and spoke to his fellow MPs of the dire situation our nation was facing. In previous years, he'd spoken of the dreadful threat of fascism, of Britain's love of liberty and of the need to fight for it - to the death, if necessary. Some wished he'd stop rambling on about dangers from without, and dangers from within, and live and let live and let everyone get on with their lives in peace. Yes, some wished that. I'm guessing he wished he could too, but the truth had to be spoken, and right there where I stood - on that very spot, at that very table - Churchill had stood."

"Just imagine," I said to the Builder, "I am standing exactly where he stood. Right here."

And after the imagining, my mind went to times I remembered.

"Maggie stood right here when she proclaimed, 'I'm enjoying this!' ". Javier was too young to have remembered, and I'm not sure Maggie's last stand against socialism is too often talked about in his office! The Builder smiled indulgently. 

"Yes, darling. I've seen that ... Yep, she stood right there."

It is strange to stand in the very place where history has been made, and where it continues to be made. I wished I could have stayed for as long as I wished. On my own. I'm sure I'd have felt ready to leave at some stage - maybe sometime before dark .... Well, we will never know how long I'd have wished to stay, because we had to move on to see other parts of this strikingly beautiful building.

First, its sense of history strikes you.

Then, its beauty strikes you.

Finally, the size strikes you. The Chamber of the House of Commons is so small. The politicians that shout at each other across the chamber are only yards from each other. How can they be so rude!

I could see in my mind's eye Sir Geoffrey giving his resignation speech. 'Right there,' I pointed. 'That's where he was when he stood to speak'. 

I could see Dennis Skinner, in his own seat. In my mind's eye, he was still on the Government side of the House. 

I could see our own MP, Angus Brendon McNeill, and where he sits. 

I could see the House of Commons when it's 'standing room only', and hear the commotion of PMQs.

Can you tell I loved being there? Yes, I thought you probably could!

And the distance between the House of Commons and the House of Lords is so short. The door to the Commons, with its damage, caused by the Mace knocking to call the 'Commoners' to hear the Queen's speech.

When the Monarch speaks at the State Opening of Parliament each year, all are called to attend His, or Her Majesty. To  make a point, the House of Commons closes its doors to say, in effect, 'Nobody tells us what to do'. Parliament is supreme you see. The members of the House of Commons then come through to the Lords' Chamber to hear the Queen's Speech. You may have seen them on television, dawdling in - again making the point that 'we will come in our time. No monarch will tell us what to do.'

Silly traditions?? Some say so, but each element is there for a reason. I don't think the fact of the supremacy of parliament is 'silly'. There is no harm, then, in keeping the quaint ways of showing it.

And there it all is, wrapped together in that wonderful building. No wonder our politicians are in danger of living 'in a bubble'. It really is another world in there. A world I was happy to visit. A world I'd visit again and again if I had the opportunity. Indeed, it's a world in which I'd love to get lost ... If only the Builder and Javier would wander off somewhere and leave me.

Oh well, that wasn't to be, so it's back to reality.

The only part of the building in which we were allowed to take photos was Westminster Hall, the oldest part of the Palace of Westminster. Westminster Hall dates back to the time of William II.

Our Queen has addressed the members of both Houses here - the House of Commons and the House of Lords - a number of times, including at the time of her Silver Anniversary, her Golden Anniversary and, most recently, at her Diamond Anniversary.

President Obama has also stood where I stood to take the photo and addressed the two Houses, as has Nelson Mandela.

I think the latest person to be given this honour is Aung San Suu Kyi, the Burmese pro-democracy leader.

Monarchs and the queens of monarchs have lain in state here, and Sir Winston Churchill's body lay here in state before his funeral.

So much has happened right here. The trials of Charles I took place here, and of William Wallace who was, interestingly, charged with being a Scottish Patriot. He was not charged with treason as others were.

As I say, so much history; so much to interest, but more on this day of our holiday in the next post.

(Are you tempted yet to visit London?!)

The Natural History Museum

A visit to the Natural History Museum in London ought to have been a great day out, but strangely, for me, it just wasn't. 

There were some exceptions to the general dullness of the visit: one was a butterfly exhibition which happened to be on when we visited. These wonders of the insect world are so beautiful .

The colours, 

and the symmetry of their patterns - magical. 

Their joyful fluttering around and gentle alighting on folks' arms would lift the mood of anyone.

See this fella? 

Here he is from another angle. Would you look at the detail in his antennae ... This is ah-maz-ing! 

I like this guy. He seems to my like the kind of fella a kids' movie could be based on. He is full of personality.

I realized whilst there, that although there were some things of interest at the Natural History Museum, I seem to enjoy reading or learning about people more than things.... or at least things that are connected with people. (More on this when we visit Hampton Court Palace in another post.) This lady here, Mary Anning, collected many fossils during the first half of the 19th century from the English coastline near her home.

Another highlight from the trip was the building itself.

It was so beautiful,

and was opened in 1881. The building was built specifically to house the Natural History Museum collection. 

Awesome.

There are some wonderful stuffed birds in the museum too.

Seriously cute ones.

Cute? Or dopey? Or ugly? Couldn't quite figure with this one, 

... but there were some extremely handsome specimens to be found too.

I'm not sure what it is with this fella: 

Is it white marble statues?

Or men who sit cross-legged?

Of men who've lived, and died, and whose legacy I count as less than helpful?

Or a combination of these?

Having said all that, would I recommend a visit to the Natural History Museum? 

Yes, I probably would. After all, it's free to get in! And the building itself is marvellous, and the Dodos and other stuffed birds look so beautiful / funny / odd / dopey.

I think I missed the Wow! factor, because nature, to me, is full of wonder and awesomeness and beauty and magnificence. 

I guess that's what happens when you leave the Wonderful and Awesome and altogether Lovely and Magnificent Creator at the door of the building.

Could You Guess Where We've Been?

Now, had I not told you last week where we were heading, would the next two photos not shout London to you?

Churchill looking onto the newly named Elizabeth Tower and Big Ben,

and the very same tower with a London red bus and black cab in the foreground.

Did you know that the London cabs were all painted black initially when Queen Victoria's husband, Albert, passed away. In her grief, she asked for all cabs to be painted black to reflect her sorrow and they have remained black ever since.

No doubt there will follow more photos of our capital city, but for now, I have a sore throat and the shivers. I want my bed ...

Oh, we also have a wedding tomorrow. I may even give you a glimpse of the bride tomorrow on Homeschool on the Croft's Facebook page. 

A Trip to London: Part II.

Before I show some photos from my latest trip to London, I just want to check whether my blog readers are as shallow as the Homeschool on the Croft Facebook readers. I posted this photo the other day whilst in Inverness, with the caption:

Waiting for an appointment ... Me an' my book

Would you credit the responses? Here are some of them:

It's the lovely rings I noticed!

I noticed the ring too! lol Mine is *very* similar with sapphire in middle and 3 diamonds on either side - just smaller stones! :)

I have a ruby as my engagement stone. I love it and get so many compliments on it.

You can tell where our priorities are! I love you engagement ring too! (but I do know that Thomas J. is the famous "Stonewall" Jackson)

I'm so glad I have a different class of Blog readers. I do, don't I?

~      ~      ~

After our day in Inverness, Katie and I flew to London for a whistle-stop visit. We saw friends, saw Buckingham Palace, went on the London Eye (and so saw all of London from the air). And then we visited the Tower of London.

Having spent 45 years never visiting London, I have now been a London tourist twice within the space of four months. I could seriously get used to this level of frequency. I could also become a Tour Adviser ...

We thought of taking the Boris Bikes around London,

but decided on the Original Bus Tour once again.

Advice #1 - if you're visiting London, the Bus Tour is a definite Must Do. The Yellow Route with this company always has a live guide (rather than the recordings listened to through headphones). You must go for the live guide tour. These guides can be mines of information, and not only are they hugely knowledgeable, but can be very, very funny too. 

Of all the bus guides we had last week, the fellow in this photo was the best. 

Katie and I also went to the Tower of London this time. 

This was our Beefeater guide. He was great! Informative (not with any great historical detail, but good all the same); great fun; and hilariously patriotic! 

He'd served in the Marines for twenty-two years.

Ahem ... in the BRITISH ROYAL Marines. Get it right.

Parts of the Tower of London complex have been there since William the Conqueror's day: this photo is of the White Tower, built in the 11th Century. 

That is a long, long time. So much history. So many lives lived here. So many lives ended here. 

This is where Queen Anne Boleyn lost her head. And Lady Jane Grey.

Sad, sad times.

Tower Bridge is so lovely.

We also went on The Eye.

Thirty-two capsules, representing the thirty-two buroughs of London. Each capsule holds around twenty-five people - the capsules are much larger than I'd expected, and though I didn't count the number of folks in our pod, there were probably between twenty and twenty-five. Even with that, we didn't feel crowded at all.

This was taken when we were fairly near the top. The Palace of Westminster is on the right, with the clock and Big Ben, with Westminster Abbey just behind that.

I'm glad we did this. If I ever get the opportunity to take the trip at night, I probably will. London is lovely at night.

I don't want to bore y'all with too many London photos - again! But I will write at least one other post showing some more photos of our capital.

Kindness: It Makes all the Difference

When we were in London, there were a few 'little' instances took place that added so much to our experience in the city.


The first evening we spent in London, we were in Covent Garden heading towards Haagen Dazs, when we were handed a tract by a gentleman on the street. We'd walked quite a few yards before we realised what we'd been given, and after we read it, we headed back to speak to our tract-giver. The gentleman was from Columbia, and barely had any English. I was so moved that this man, with his inability to speak in the language of the country in which he was, was doing all he could for the good of the souls around him, and for God's glory.


No English, but a love for His Saviour and for his fellow-man. I felt privileged to have met him, and to have been able to say a very few words to him.

~      ~      ~

In general, we found the people with whom we came into contact kind and thoughtful. Although we didn't have a lot to do with rail staff, the little we saw was so encouraging. And we did have one amazing experience which still leaves us speechless when we talk about it. (You like that? .... speechless when we talk about it ....!)


Okay, so I'm not quite speechless, but my jaw was almost hitting the floor when it happened.


On our last day in London, we left our luggage in the Left Luggage at Waterloo Station. As you can imagine, the station, and the left luggage office, was jam-packed. We put in our cases and left the station immediately. We then did some sight-seeing. Around lunchtime, the sun decided to peek out and show its face, and when I went for my sunglasses, I couldn't find them anywhere. I knew I'd had them on the train into Waterloo in the morning, and I knew I'd taken them off when I was handing my case in, but I couldn't think what I had done with them. In the end, I bought a cheap pair at Spittafield Market, and used them the rest of the day. (I simply cannot do without sunglasses if there is any sun.)


That was the day we had our visit to Hummingbirds Cake Shop.


And to Churchill's War Rooms.


Late in the day - during rush hour, actually - we thought we'd make our way back to the station, pick up our cases, and head out to London City Airport. Waterloo Station was teeming. Really teeming! We fought our way through the crowds (this is the best of being all of 5 foot zero - there are many routes on the lower level, through which you can battle). We queued in the Left Luggage, and finally gave our tickets to the two members of staff. One went off for the (large, ahem) cases, and when he came back, he took a look at us and asked, 'Did you lose your sunglasses this morning?'.


Gulp. I could not believe it! He had found my glasses, kept them safe, and then remembered the person who'd lost them!


He had seen hundreds of people that day after all!


We were absolutely gobsmacked. Splutteringly gobsmacked....! But there were my sunglasses, sitting on the desk, awaiting my return.


Mr Left Luggage, I do not know your name, but you deserve Employee of the Month.

~     ~     ~

We came across another thoughtful member of staff on the Paris Metro. We had all eaten our (rather rushed) meal, and were heading back to Gare du Nord Station. A waiter recommended the Metro and so we arrived underground with no idea which platform on which we ought to be. I asked a member of staff, and in very broken English, he tried to guide us to the correct platform. We could see he was pointing along the platform on which we were and was then indicating a right turn at some stage.


And so off we went. Down the platform, looking for our right turn - albeit being distracted by our constant blethering! Unbeknown to us, the right-turn was a Y-type, and we walked past it quite unaware that we were heading to Nowhere. Time was of the essence too, and we needed to get back to the Eurostar station jolly quick!


Just then I felt a tap on my shoulder. Here was the Metro worker who'd given me the original instructions. He has seen walk past the entrance, and had run the length of the platform to set us on the right path. This was way above the call of duty, and his kindness allowed us to find the correct train, get to the main station on time, and catch our Eurostar back to London. 


Again, I do not know this fellow's name. He didn't know us, and will never see us again - daft bunch of British tourists, who don't even have basic French (guilty as charged, m'lud). I wish I was able to thank him personally for his efforts.

~      ~      ~

We had talkative fellow passengers, who were helpful and pleasant. We had folks actually come up to us on a platform and asking us where we were looking to go - clearly the gentleman in question had seen the looks of bewilderment! A young man turned back on a stairway to carry my case down a stair, and I saw a number of folks on train carriages ready to help if a lady was struggling with heavy bags.

~      ~       ~

To many, the little occurrences will seem insignificant but they made such a difference to our stay in the city. It certainly taught me too, that 'insignificant' acts of kindness are not insignificant at all. They can make someone else's day! So, let's all take every opportunity we can to Make the Day for someone - even for a stranger who may cross our paths only this once.

London, for all your busy-ness, you are a wonderful city to visit.

London III - The City at Night

Have I said that I loved London?

Some things are worth repeating, I guess.

The night we arrived in London and took the train from the airport into the city, I became aware of that 'feeling' I get in cities at night. I just loved it.

So here, I'll post some of the photos I took in the evening whilst in London.

Having been in Covent Garden, and having had something to eat, we took a wee wander around Chinatown. It looked so pretty at night.

We didn't have dessert in the first restaurant because we planned to head to ...

Yep, we headed here for our ice-cream, only to be met with this sign in the window:

WHAT?! 

Er.... WHAT?!?! How could they? Did they not know I was coming? Oh well, I didn't exactly starve: I had a beautiful crepe with chocolate sauce, strawberries, strawberry ice-cream and toffee ice-cream.

Yum. Yum.

~    ~    ~

Another evening - oh, hang on - it may have been the Haagen-Dazs evening. Food muddles my brain, but it matters not.... one of the nights we were there, we were getting ready to head home when we decided to take a detour just so we could see the following two sights at night.

I'm telling you ... coming up from the tube at Westminster, and walking onto the pavement to be met by this sight was absolutely worth the hour less in bed.

I have to admit to being blown away. Even speechless (hard as that is to imagine).

I loved London. I loved the city at night. And I loved seeing our Houses of Parliament with the clock tower and Big Ben all lit up. Sadly, I wasn't there to hear the midnight chimes, but we did hear the 11.30 ones. 

De-lightful!

When I made a 180 degree turn from taking the above photo ...

... this is what I saw. 

The London Eye - lit up at night and very beautiful.

This giant Ferris wheel was opened in 1999, and I believe it's one of the most popular visitor sites in the UK. Apparently on a clear day, you can see for a distance of 26 miles from the top. Sadly, we didn't have time to go on it, but it was worth making the effort to see it at night.

~    ~    ~

One more night-time-in-London

On Thursday evening, we were at Horseguards Parade for the Beating Retreat ceremony. 

I can't tell you how much we enjoyed this experience.

The event warrants a separate blog post, so for now I will only post these two photos. The first photo shows  a 'horse' from the War Horse play. His entrance was accompanied by music from the Mounted Bands of the Household Cavalry and the song Only Remembered, sung by a solo singer.

The second photo shows the Mounted Band and Musical Ride from the Royal Cavalry of Oman. Male and female riders gave such a display of elegance and beauty. It really was breathtaking.

There really is something about nighttime in a bustling city. I suppose the last time I really experienced this was in Glasgow's West End many moons ago, before babies took over my life. Of course, y'all know me well enough to know that I wouldn't choose to live back in a city, but I did love experiencing the hustle and bustle of city life last week.

I loved it far more than I'd expected to.