In the Footsteps of the Tudors - Free In-Person Guided Walking Tour with Maggie
Today, I was with London History and Culture: Experience London/Britain/Europe, for In the Footsteps of the Tudors - Free In-Person Guided Walking Tour with Maggie. Another new group for me. Tickets from Eventbrite - and it's just as well someone put a reminder up yesterday that we had to book through Eventbrite, because that had completely escaped my notice. Rain died off in the morning, and it was a bit warmer, mercifully! This walk wasn't until evening. So I wasn't too rushed, for a change! Slightly, though - and with the buses delayed again, I took the Tube.
Arrived with a little time to spare - bless the location finder on the Meetup page, which links straight to Google Maps. I wasn't the only person slightly confused - but in due course, saw the group at the bottom of the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth memorial:
Wow, what a change from yesterday - it was warm and sunny, to the extent I wished I'd brought a hat. Anyway, we next meandered around the corner to St. James' Palace - specifically, to the courtyard from which the proclamation of the new monarchs is read:
Now, I was quite impressed with the amount I learned on this walk about the Tudors - for instance, I didn't know that this was the favourite palace of Mary I: nor that she occupied the King's apartments, while her husband, the King of Spain, occupied the Queen's!
It was fascinating to hear how what are now royal parks used to be private hunting grounds for royalty. Coming to Whitehall, I was interested to learn that the MoD occupies the site of what used to be Whitehall Palace (after which the street is named):
In Parliament Square, we stopped outside the Privy Council Building - I never get tired of its sculptures!
Our guide reminded us that the frieze to the right is of Jane Grey accepting the crown:
A word or two about Westminster Palace - apparently, it was during the reign of Henry VIII that it became primarily the seat of government, as opposed to a royal residence:
Well, after we had seen and heard all about the Tudors, we thought it'd be nice to head to the pub - and happily, our guide, Maggie, joined us! The nearest was the Red Lion, so off we went. It's cosy - a bit too much, as we couldn't find anywhere to put ourselves that wasn't in the way! We couldn't hang around the "reserved" table, even though there was no indication of when the reservation started. We couldn't hang around the area where the glasses and dirty plates and cutlery were collected for cleaning. We couldn't stand in the middle, because we were in the way. We finally got a spare bit of bar, but although we could stand there, we couldn't pull up a seat. Honestly.. and I don't even want to describe the state of the toilet, with toilet paper everywhere and an overflowing bin! If you can, I'd find a different pub..
Having said that, the company was excellent, and a few of us finally repaired to Chinatown, where someone knew a cheap and tasty place to eat. We hurried along to Wong Kei, where the decor is reminiscent of a canteen, but the prices are good and the food is, indeed, really tasty! We had to be quick though - it was already after 10, and they close at 10.30 on Sundays. Recommended though - and the tea is free. Cash only.
So, an excellent evening all round! Delighted I gave this group a shot - I was impressed by both the company, and the guiding.
Tomorrow, it's likely to be film - but a couple of big releases were not yet rated when I wrote this preview the other night. Failing those, what was coming up was Squaring the Circle, a documentary about Hipgnosis, which handled the artwork for many iconic albums.. Can't say I've ever heard of them, but it sure does have famous contributors! Showing in the Curzon Bloomsbury - so not a hardship.
But now that those major releases are rated.. it's looking like Oppenheimer, which has an unusually high rating for a mainstream film! Directed and co-written by Christopher Nolan, it has Cillian Murphy in the title role, with Emily Blunt as his wife, Matt Damon as Leslie Groves, the general and engineer who oversaw the Manhattan Project, Robert Downey Jr. as Lewis Strauss, the politician involved, Kenneth Branagh as Niels Bohr, who was part of the British mission to the Manhattan Project, having fled to Britain by that stage, Tom Conti as Einstein, Matthew Modine as Vannevar Bush, who initiated and initially led the Manhattan Project, Florence Pugh as Jean Tatlock, who was having an affair with Oppenheimer, Rami Malek as David Hill, a physicist on the Manhattan Project, Casey Affleck as Boris Pash, the military intelligence officer who investigated leaks on the Manhattan Project, and also looked into Nazi Germany's atomic capability, and Gary Oldman as Truman! Crikey, were they all there to walk out of the film premiere recently..? Anyway, the trailer looks absolutely awesome. Also showing in the same cinema.
On Tuesday, booked with TAC to see The Pioneers in The Forge. Last I heard, it was closing down - I guess it's under new management.
On Wednesday, with Up in the Cheap Seats for an opera at the Arcola, as part of Grimeborn - this is No for an Answer.
On Thursday, it's also looking like film - what was coming up was a documentary, again in the Curzon Bloomsbury, called Iraq's Invisible Beauty. Ah, but.. Squaring the Circle doesn't seem to be on that day. And guess what? Barbie comes higher-rated than what I'd planned to see! Again, the trailer looks excellent - stars Margot Robbie, with Ryan Gosling as Ken. Lots and lots of pink. Showing in - you guessed it - Curzon Bloomsbury - at lots of times, which should work well with my removal to my new flat that day.
Then I'm back to Ireland for the weekend again. On the 31st, as I won't have started a job by then, even if I have secured one, I've signed up for A Summer's Day in Hyde Park, with Paul and Tim's Greater London Talks and Walks. Hope the weather is kind..
On the 1st, back with TAC for a play called The Grain Store, set in Stalinist Russia, and showing in the Mack@Mountview - yay, for once, something closer to my new place!
And on the 2nd, back at last with The Horror Book Club. It's been a while since they were doing anything I was interested in - but I can hardly miss this, a meeting about The Fog by James Herbert. He remains my favourite horror writer overall, and the best descriptive writer I've ever read - to the extent that he literally changed the way I look at the world. And would you believe it, the club has, apparently, never done anything by him! This is, actually, the book that got me back into horror after an absence of years, during which I was traumatised by my reading of another of his, The Rats.. So, well, I can't miss this, can I? And I've just come across a reading of The Fog by Christopher Lee..
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