Sabbatical Day 15, part 2: London’s Calling
In my early twenties I listened to the CLASH and their hit song, London’s Calling.
Now war is declared and battle come down
London calling to the underworld
Come out of the cupboard, you boys and girls
London calling, now don't look to us
Phony Beatlemania has bitten the dust
London calling, see we ain't got no swing
Except for the ring of the truncheon thing
Meltdown expected, the wheat is growing thin
Engines stop running, but I have no fear
'Cause London is drowning
I live by the river
Forget it, brother, you can go it alone
London calling to the zombies of death
Quit holding out and draw another breath
London calling and I don't want to shout
But while we were talking, I saw you nodding out
London calling, see we ain't got no high
Except for that one with the yellowy eye
Engines stop running, the wheat is growing thin
A nuclear era, but I have no fear
'Cause London is drowning
I, I live by the river
Engines stop running, the wheat is growing thin
A nuclear era, but I have no fear
'Cause London is drowning
I, I live by the river
And you know what they said? Well, some of it was true
London calling at the top of the dial
And after all this, won't you give me a smile?
I did some bus line research last night and found a nearby bus line that would take me Hyde Park Square. That spot would put me close to my first planned stop, the Serpentine Gallery and Black Chapel exhibit.
My friend Rabbi Lisa Greene recommended the Black Chapel exhibit to me. It’s the creation of a Chicago artist, Theaster Gates, and is described as meditative. You can read more about it here: https://www.serpentinegalleries.org/whats-on/serpentine-pavilion-2022-black-chapel-by-theaster-gates/
I left my hotel about 9:10am and walked to the bus stop, a short distance away. That bus ride took me through Piccadilly Circus and eventually to Hyde Park.
From the Hyde Park Square bus stop I had a twenty minute walk through the Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens. Along the way there was a lovely lake with opportunities to row and observe lots of water fowl.
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| This is also part of Princess Diana’s water fountain |
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| This connects to the last photo in this group |
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| Princess Diana’s fountain |
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And, there was the Princess Diana waterfall. In wetter, cooler weather the walk would have been gorgeous. But in this drought and heat, the grass is burned to a crisp and it was hot and dusty, not even 10am. But there were carriages and horses and lots of people out and about.
The Black Chapel was indeed an amazing exhibit.
My only desire would be for places to sit. It’s described as contemplative, but there is no place to just sit and be. Plus there was some guy in the exhibit with a photographer taking pictures of him. From the appearance of it I thought it was the artist himself, but the exhibit attendants said that it wasn’t him. So that’s weird and kind of wrong, to use someone else’s art for your own self promotion. The attendants were friendly, one of them has a friend who is a biochemical engineer professor at UofM Ann Arbor. Small small world I said. They directed me to a bus that took me back to Hyde Park Square and from there I walked to Buckingham Palace.
I am not a big fan and follower of the Royals. I have a moderate interest I’d say. But it was interesting to observe Buckingham Palace. The area was full of people. And, perhaps it was near time for the changing of the guards? I don’t know, I didn’t stick around to see. From there I walked to Parliament, past lots of other stuff I don’t know what it is, and eventually made my way to Westminster Abby.
I arrived at Westminster at about 11:10am. The line was long, very long, very hot. And the woman behind me was reading from a London tourist guidebook, out loud to her boyfriend, in Spanish. It was a little annoying. I kept thinking, can’t he read along for himself? Does he need her to read to him. I was being petty, which I can be when I am feeling hot and crowded and a bit claustrophobic.
But the line moved along quickly and maybe 30 minutes later, give or take, I was inside. The place was absolutely mobbed. But I just decided to deal with it. I put on my headphones and paid attention to the little self-guided tour.
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| Here is where I sat, lit a candle, submitted prayer requests. |
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| Standing in line, waiting to get inside |
Oh my. The long, rich history of that building, that place. Oh my. The people buried there. The events that have taken place there. It’s just profound. I went very slowly through the guided tour, looking, listening, and knowing that I would hardly remember any of it. But still doing my best to just be present to it all. I came to the end of the tour and wandered into the cloisters and down to the cafe for a little something. The cafe is lovely. I had a delicious sandwich, warmed cheese and ham on a crispy bread of some kind. It came with a salad and fries. I ordered a lemonade and then a large (750ml) bottle of water. I drank the lemonade and some of the water and then refilled my water bottle with the rest of the chilled water. Then I went back into the Abby. This time I purchased an additional ticket to go to upstairs gallery for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. I saw some of the artifacts for the Jubilee while at Holyrood in Edinburgh. The items on display at the Abby were more expansive, including artifacts from the history of the Abby and the history of royalty, along with funeral effigies (fascinating to look at the images of the bodies, how small the people were, how life-like the faces and eyes are of many of the effigies. There was an ornate altar missal with gold leaf, in Latin, from the 14th century and lots of other fascinating items. It was well worth the additional five pounds I paid to see it.
Then I spent some time in the nave, in the meditation corner. I said some prayers, made some prayer request. Lit a candle. I planned to stay for the afternoon, just being in the space. But they kicked us all out a little after 2pm. I intended to stay for Evensong, but that was at 5pm. I wasn’t sure what I’d do for 3 hours.
I made an attempt to bide my time by walking around the area. It is, as you might imagine, a wealthy area, the Lamborghini kind of area.
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| Downing Street, the Prime Minister’s home, heavily guarded. |
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| Downing Street, Prime Minister’s home |
Finally about 3pm I was feeling hot, and worn and I had no idea how to find a bus back to the hotel from exactly where I was. I did know how to find a bus from where I was yesterday, so I decided to walk about 20 minutes east to the street I was on yesterday. That was a long, scorching hot walk. I may have gotten a tad bit sunburned. But along the way I stopped in at a grocery store for a bottle of cold water and a salad for dinner. I made it to the bus stop and a bus arrived just as I did. I was back in the hotel about fifteen minutes later. By this time it was 4pm, and I was hot, sweaty, sunburned, and beat. I really wanted an iced tea but the hotel restaurant was closed. So I went to my room. I took a long shower, drank a bunch of water, and then packed. I leave super early in the morning. I have a car picking me up at 3:45 am. (Oh I hope I wake up, I set three different alarms). It took awhile to pack, I have more stuff. But I did it. Now I only have my pj’s to pack into the backpack and my morning clothes to put on.
London has been, overall, a really good trip. I am so grateful I got to see as much as I did. And, as much as I love love love the history of Westminster Abby, and I’m glad I came. I think I will have a fondness for St. Paul’s. It was so much more of a spiritual place, the ability to just sit in the space. To be invited into silence and prayer. Evensong. It was truly lovely. London became more of a real city to me, instead of just a crowded busy urban center, once I figure out the bus lines and had a better sense of freedom. I’d take a bus and the train to the airport if I weren’t leaving at 3:45 am…
Anyway, hopefully I will be up promptly and ready to meet my car. I hope all goes well at Heathrow. I have a 7am flight so that should help. And tomorrow I meet up with my husband, and a long long long awaited holiday in Paris.
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