Journal Entry 8: Whispering Gallery @ St. Paul's Cathedral

St. Paul's Cathedral is a tourist MUST SEE. Even non-catholics enjoy the building.The dome has graciously helped make the London skyline. St. Paul has been dedicated to on the current site of the famous cathedral since 604AD. The current Cathedral was designed by Sir Christopher Wren and was built between 1675 and 1710.



My favourite part of the Cathedral is located 99 feet from the ground: the Whispering Gallery. Reached by 259 steps and indoor, the Whispering Gallery is fun for anyone of all ages. A scientific marvel, a whisper from one point of the gallery can be heard at any other point directly across from it.



"Ornately curved and brilliantly coloured decoration abounds, and in a symmetry that is nearly overwhelming. As a place of worship St. Paul's may not be to everyone's taste, but as an architectural work, St. Paul's is a masterpiece." -Briatin Express




"It only works if you whisper, not if you talk. Lots of people try speaking normally and are disappointed. Even then, you have to talk in a 'loud whisper'. The guys who work in the place (deacons?) often give demonstrations.

You have to put your mouth less than six inches from the wall, and the listener should have their ear within six inches of the wall. The best place to speak is in one of the doorways, because you can put your mouth right at the wall without actually touching it." -BBC






When entering the Gallery, and looking down and looking up, one gets to appreciate the decorations and the architecture of the Cathedral. Had I been on a religious tour, I would have absolutely been engrossed in the history and spirituality that would undoubtedly overtaken my soul to another level. However, I just sit and enjoy the murmurs of little kids as the glee of hearing their peers in the other side of the room makes them gleeful.

Journal Entry 7: The Anchor Freehouse

What is London without speaking about a pub? The Anchor Freehouse was my choice to write about after visting it inour first pub crawl. The scenery is there. Right by the Thames, cobbled road, and a magnificent view of London.

For over 800 years, there has always been a pub at the site of the current Anchor. Frequented by sailors, it's now a mecca for tourists and office workers.


The Anchor dates from 1775 and has had many additions to it since it's original building thanks to fires in 1750 and 1876. The Anchor has many bars, a terrace on the rood, and a restaurant.



I have come to find that there has been a great deal of history at this site. Samuel Pepys, a diarist, saw the Great Fire of London in 1666 from the site. It was officially called the Anchor Tavern in 1770-75, erected by William Allen.

The Anchor has a late 18th-century front in brown brick. It is of two storeys and an attic and has a tiled roof with a dormer window behind the parapet. The main front has a three-light wood shop window with pilasters at the sides and hinged shutters. Above, on the first floor, is a shallow overhanging bay with double-hung sashes and glazing bars. On the flank (in Park Street) the windows have segmental heads, plain reveals and doublehung sashes with glazing bars; those on the ground floor have wood shutters. There is also a shop window of similar type to that on the main front.
The bar has plain dado panelling and a mantelpiece of late 18th century date. The back parlour has plain matchboarding of similar date with some later alterations.

Being in the presence of such rich history makes me think about how it would have been like to watch the Anchor change over the centuries. Witnessing the Great Fire from the location would have made for a morbidly unbelievable experience. To be a sailor and come to the Anchor would also be something of an experience.

Journal Entry 6: Warwick Castle's Archers

We went to Warwick Castle about ten minutes from Stratford-upon-Avon. Upon seeing the stone structure, I couldn’t help myself from saying “That is SO cool.”

Warwick Castle was built in 1068 by orders of William the Conqueror. It functioned as an active castle until the early 1600s which then was converted to a country house.


Warwick Castle was first just a motte-and-bailey castle, which is essentially a castle on raised land. About a century and a half later, the stone castle was built. And in the mid 14th century, the castle defences were updated by construction of archery towers.


The first lines of defence in medieval times were bow and arrows. The stone walls protecting the castle and the estate within the castle was accompanied by a moat (which now is just a really nice dip of grass). Had outsiders tried to overtake the castle, they would have had a difficult time climbing up the straight stone walls.


The view was also breathtaking, though I could imagine back in the day, there'd be less of modernism and more open fields.



While visiting the castle, I put myself living in the late 14th century. By this time, the towers had been constructed and archers could happily, or unhappily, protect their masters. Other than being deathly afraid of getting stabbed, archers had to be posted high above the ground, which would make me an awful soldier, as I’m terrified of heights.


Being at Warwick castle in modern times made me feel like I was at an amusement park and a renaissance fair (with fairly poor participants not dressing up). It was fun wandering about the grounds and carving my initials into one of the towers (I believe it was Caesar's Tower, which had already been tagged by hundreds of initial and name carvings)


But I realised, had I lived there back in the day, I would have surely met my future husband and would be forced to love him.

Journal Entry 5: Mary Arden's Farm

Mary Arden was the mum of William Shakespeare. Mary Arden lived in this house as did her parents and had actually owned it when her father gave it to her. William Shakespeare came from a pretty well off family. The farm and the house have been dated to the early 16th century.

What’s really interesting about it is the front of the house that shows off to those passing by.


This is now the south part of the land, and is angled parallel to the street. Made from oak and dry-stoned walls, the front was very well preserved due to the stucco that had been placed atop of it centuries later. The windows of the house are the original and reconfirms that the family was indeed very well off.



The inside of the house, there’s more oak and uneven stone tiles, as well as an open fireplace in the kitchen that are dated to be part of the original house.

A Tudor farm, Mary Arden’s house is HUGE. Period actors showed of how the family would have lived back in the day. Particularly interesting to me was the farm aspect of the house. All the animals made me feel like I was in a petting zoo and brought out my inner kid.

It was until the period actors started talking about milking the goats that I brought back from reality.

It was through the words of the period actors that helped me imagine what it was like to live there as a servant. The duties and the supplies you had to work with to clean, were rather primitive compared to what we have today.


The food they ate, essentially all locally grown, was probably some of the freshest food. I could imagine myself working on the farm, taking care of the house, eating after the masters of the house, and then sleeping on the stone floor of the kitchen waiting for the next day to come.

Journal Entry 4: Warwick Avenue

“When I get to Warwick Avenue, meet me by the entrance to the tube.” The Welsh singer Duffy released a song called Warwick Avenue that I just had to see. Knowing absolutely nothing about the area, I hopped on the tube and found my way to the subject of one of my favourite songs.



I explored the region a little bit as I listened to the song on repeat and noticed signs that said Little Venice.



Intrigued, I followed the signs in the area of Maida Vale. The area is mostly residential with Victorian mansion flats, much like those of Kensington and Chelsea. In the southern part of Maida Vale, there are two canals, thus the name “Little Venice” that is home to many houseboats. Regent’s Canal and Grand Union Canal help make up the strip that is Little Venice. English poet Robert Browning used to live there in the 1860s. Putting myself back in that time, I’d think it’d be a nice change from the bustle of the street and a kind of serenity to live on the water. But I don’t know how that would fare if one got seasick easily.


--Lyrics to Duffy's Warwick Avenue from her debut album Rockferry

When I get to Warwick Avenue
Meet me by the entrance of the tube
We can talk things over a little time
Promise me you won't step out of line

When I get to Warwick Avenue
Please drop the past and be true
Don't think we're okay just because I'm here
You hurt me bad, but I won't shed a tear

I'm leaving you for the last time, baby
You think you're loving, but you don't love me
I've been confused, out of my mind lately
You think you're loving, but I want to be free
Baby, you've hurt me

When I get to Warwick Avenue
We'll spend an hour but no more than two
Our only chance to speak once more
I showed you the answers; now here's the door

When I get to Warwick Avenue
I'll tell you, baby, that we're through

I'm leaving you for the last time, baby
You think you're loving but you don't love me
I've been confused, out of my mind lately
You think you're loving, but you don't love me
I want to be free; baby, you've hurt me.

All the days spent together
I wished for better,
But I didn't want the train to come
Now it's departed -- I'm broken hearted,
Seems like we never started
All those days spent together
When I wished for better
And I didn't want the train to come

You think you're loving, but you don't love me
I want to be free.
Baby, you hurt me, you don't love me,
I want to be free; baby, you've hurt me.

--

Journal Entry 3: Holland Park

I decided to venture to west central London in the Royal Burough of Kensington and Chelsea to visit Holland Park on a whim. I have read that it was a very pretty place and when I got out of the tube, I was not disappointed. The houses were amazingly huge and so very beautiful. Though I understand that most have been converted to flats, some are still privately owned. Holland Park, both a district and a public park is really a sight for sore eyes. The park itself was bought by the London County Council in 1952 and has squirrels and peacocks, which is very odd for a public London park.



Having a walk about the park, it was completely gorgeous and oozed much needed serenity that made me forget I was in a big city.

I walked through the paths and wondered if seattle squirrels and London squirrels talked, if they could hear accents?


I went to Kyoto Garden in Holland Park and felt ever so calm as Japanese gardens can sometimes do that to a person.


Although the park and the garden is less than half a century old, the grounds on which it lies has a history of where Holland House used to be prior to the bombing of WWII, now only a portion of the house remains. Kensington and Chelsea area are really nice posh places to live. I gather that anyone who resided there came from money or was wealthy. It was just really nice to see a different part of the city where different social classes would have lived and walked through.