After the first weekend of the New Year, I flew to London to
see some friends, visits which were long overdue. I stayed with a dear friend I
have known since 1966. The first week of the New Year is usually not a good
week for plays or concerts. Musicians and actors are still recovering from the
busy time before and around Christmas and are away on a well earned holiday.
But we managed to go to smaller venues, a concert in Wigmore Hall by excellent
musicians, who enthusiastically shared their love of early music with us and
played historic instruments. The intimacy of a smaller Hall also adds to the
enjoyment. Besides, Wigmore Hall is worth seeing because of its Art
and Crafts decorations.
Below: a closer look of the mosaic in Wigmore Hall
Choral Evensong in Westminster Abbey is something I never
miss when I am in London.
A side entrance of Westminster Abbey, and the windows lit aftyer the Choral Evensong
We also went to a lunchtime concert in the church of
St. Martins in the Fields, followed by a pleasant lunch in the crypt. The
proceeds partly go to a project for the homeless.
The organ of St. Martin's in the Fields
In the morning we visited the Goya
exhibition in the National Gallery opposite, as far as I was concerned a
stunning explosion of colour, of silks and velvets jumping from the canvas,
asking to be felt and stroked. Goya was an extremely prolific artist. I only
knew his dark scenes of war and suffering. The portraits don’t seem to be by
that same artist. In spite of the crowds, we did enjoy the exhibition
enormously.
Rain and Sunshine.
A look at Trafalgar Square from the restaurant of the National Gallery, looking at the announcement of the Goya Exhibition outside
Below: St. Martin's in the Fields in the sun
Trafalgar Square with to the right Nelson and his famished horse
I spent a day visiting another friend, John, the widower of
my oldest friend, a friendship which began when I was only 14 and she 15, a
lifelong friendship. I was one of their bridesmaids, quite an experience for a
Dutch student. Her unexpected death in December 2014 was a great shock. I could
not attend the memorial service, and had promised to come and see John later.
Only now, a year later, have I fulfilled that promise. It was good seeing him,
talking about happy memories, sharing the good things, and the sadness. He took
me out for lunch to a beautiful, trendy gastro pub in the country, The
Rambler’s Rest, in Coulsdon on the North Downs. He is a very kind man, misses
his wife terribly and is very lonely, in spite of his two sons who do a lot for
and with him, and his three adorable granddaughters.
Some pictures I took walking through London which was still decorated for Christmas in several places
Covent Garden in festive mood
Below: The London Eye
We met for the City Walk on Tower Hill, with a view of the Tower
The buildings have nick names. Above is the Carbuncle, or Walkie-Talkie. The black dots are window cleaners
Two pictures of the "Cheese-grater"
Modern buildings are scattered among really old and older ones. Building activity goes on everywhere in this part of the City, the financial district
Especially those guided walks are worth doing. I have done
several over the years, and they are really very interesting. The guides are
well informed, and they show you parts of London, hidden alleys and courts,
even Londoners do not know about. Our guide was a very enthusiastic woman, who
kept going in spite of the most unpleasant weather. Standing next to the Gherkin was quite
exciting. Seeing the window cleaners hanging suspended against the Carbuncle
seemed even more frightening than watching bungee jumping! The building has
been given the prize for the ugliest building in London.
Different views of the "Gherkin"
The Gherkin is energy neutral
left: An old convent, and now a church. There are 49 churches in the City which covers just a square mile. Non of them have a parish any more and they are now used for functions. They are only open during the week.
The Tea warehouse from which tea was sent to Boston. It was dumped in Boston harbour and never paid for. Below the hoists attached to the warehouse can be seen, which are no longer in use.
Below: A house built over an entrance to a small alley
Above: The markers for the City of London
Gillespie Road near Arsenal Stadion on the day of a match! Supporters booths, and lots of people around, even on a very wet day.
This was the first time I flew with Cityjet into London City
Airport, and it was quite an adventure. From Rotterdam it is a short flight,
but even so we were offered coffee, tea or another drink plus a snack. It was a
small plane. Once over London the approach to the airport was fascinating and
rather scary. It was a clear evening and already dark. We seemed to cross the
Thames several times, circled the Shard, another striking new building, could
almost touch the high rise office buildings in Canary Wharf and flew low over
the illuminated Tower Bridge. I felt like Peter Pan! Without seeing any place
where we could possibly land, we dived down and touched ground. A heroic act in
my opinion, or a conjurer’s trick perhaps. Unfortunately I did not have my
camera within reach, so no pictures.
Some views of London City
On my flight back there were too many low
hanging clouds to see much, alas. I just got some glimpse of the still remaining
docks. I did get a good view of the area near Rotterdam and was amazed at the
extent of brightly lit glasshouses. Why switch off religiously every light when
leaving a room at home, when so much energy is spilled on growing products
under unnatural circumstances? I must admit the orange squares, although
unnatural, looked quite cheerful.
Glass culture in the west of Holland near Rotterdam
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