# Another 'Bank Holiday' outing.....



## WereBo (Apr 5, 2008)

Having been threatened with another warm and sunny Bank-Holiday (2 sunny holidays must be a new world-record, for the UK :grin, Mrs WereBo and I decided to avoid the traffic we encountered on our Whitstable-trip, earlier this month. I've been photographing 'The London Docklands' for ages, mostly from the South-side of the Thames, so we decided to actually visit the place to see what the fuss is about.... :laugh:

I was hoping to get some shots from the 'DLR' (Docklands Light Railway) but the windows were so dirty, the results were a dismal failure as the autofocus kept locking onto the dirt!

This was taken on the walk to Greenwich DLR station, one of the few remaining 'Thames Barges', that were used to transport goods along the Thames (Including oysters and other sea-food from Whitstable :grin - Ironically, the ancient rotting woodwork in the foregrounds is an old jetty that the barges used to moor at, when unloading stuff at Greenwich....











Old steps to the jetty.... (+ Mrs WereBo's elbow.... :grin











Nature conquers all, eventually.....











'Canary Wharf' DLR station.....











The tall skyscraper is Canary Wharf, it straddles the station underneath it










A couple of visiting aliens, enjoying the sun...... :grin:











Fountain immediately behind the statues.....


----------



## WereBo (Apr 5, 2008)

A pansy....











A nother pansy..... :grin:











Lotsa pansies.....











The next quay over....











Further to the right, some historical 'Street Furniture'.....


----------



## WereBo (Apr 5, 2008)

Crossing over the footbridge across the quay, I saw this around the footing.











Another view of the 2 cranes.... Yes, there are 2 cranes there :grin:




















A whole new meaning to 'Living On The Edge'..... :laugh:











Some more street-furniture.....











A view along West India Quay, showing the weedy-footed bridge.....











Although it's all clean and modern-looking, it's very 'sterile' with no real 'character'. Just as Mrs WereBo and went to leave, this family appeared, with their youngsters.....











Next, some shots of London, old and new.....


----------



## WereBo (Apr 5, 2008)

Just across the road from the 'Bank' DLR station, is this new building - It looks very 'Egyptian-Retro'..... :laugh:











Sadly this ancient church (St Mary Aldermary) is half-hidden behind a row of shops+offices, the shops extend just enough to block the light for the stained-glass window :sad: - There's been a church on the site for at least 900 years, this church was started in 1510, though it wasn't finished 'til 1629. It was later destroyed in the 'Great Fire of London' (1666) and rebuilt by Sir Christopher Wren's Office. Mrs Werebo (with the white hat) is taking a photo of the plaque on the wall.......











Inside is a stunning 'Fan-vaulted' ceiling....











Walking around looking at the burial-markers, I was stunned to find one for a daughter of one of my name-sake ancestors....







- A 'Sir Robert Hanson' no less, it really made my day :grin:











The organ-pipes are also amazing.....




















Back outside, just in time for a 'Morse-Code' message from 'Above'...... :whistling:


----------



## WereBo (Apr 5, 2008)

From the church, we meandered our way 'til we found 'Watling Street' who's history pre-dates the Romans arrival - *Link*











Looking along Watling Street towards St Paul's Cathedral....











A lovely little Laburnum tree, in St Paul's gardens...





















One of the buildings near the front of the cathedral has this unusual calendar on the front - Not a lot of use on cloudy days or night-time though :grin:











A few more streets brought us to 'Christ Church Greyfriars', built in the 13th century, it was destroyed in the Great Fire of London, rebuilt by Sir Christopher Wren (him again :laugh then badly bombed in WWII, this is all than now remains.....











For anyone who's seen the BBC-TV comedy series '*Little Britain*' (I can't stand it, personally), here it is....


----------



## WereBo (Apr 5, 2008)

One of the oldest churches still standing in London is 'St Bartholomew The Greater' (St Bart the Lesser' is a few streets away, but was closed). Founded in 1123 as an Augustinian Priory, it's been in continuous use since 1143, it survived the Great Fire of 1666 and both World Wars unscathed, but was mostly flattened during the 'Dissolution' (1536-1541, after Henry VIII ordered all churches, convents, monasteries and priories demolished)

From the street, the only clue is this Tudor building.....











From the back.....











The entrance to 'Great St Barts' - (Yes, I did stick my face in the Wisteria, sniffing deeply... :grin











The 'High Altar'.... (It's looking rather grainy/noisy, the camera's getting close to it's 'darkness-limit')











The Choristers practising for 'Evensong'..... The organ-loft, once the 'Choristers Balcony', is original 1143 construction and the power of that organ is phenomenal! I leant against a stone pillar to brace for a longish exposure and could feel the vibrations from the bass-pipes through the stone! (Hence the slight blurring)











More original building, up to the 1st tier of columns, if you look closely at the windows above, you can see the passages through the stonework, I assume for the window-cleaner... :grin:











A better view...










Just behind the 'High Altar' is the 'Lady Chapel'.... (For any Americans interested in their history, the Lady Chapel had been previously used for commercial purposes and it was there that Benjamin Franklin served a year as journeyman printer - There ya go, how many folks knew that? :laugh











The Lady Chapel organ.... :grin:











Although I'm not a Christian, this church is one of the 'warmest', welcoming and peaceful places I've ever visited, we were both sorry to leave there, to continue our journey :sigh:


----------



## WereBo (Apr 5, 2008)

A rare sight in London nowadays, 'The Shard', St Paul's cathedral, 'St Sepulchre-without-Newgate' (the 4-spired steeple, 'without' indicates it was outside the old city-walls) and the 'Old Bailey' all together - I had to stand on a low wall and hang onto the railings with 1 hand, while snapping with t'other hand to get it :grin: - A pity about that crane though..... :sad:











Just up the road from there is this wonderful parade of olde shoppes - It's hard to think all of London once looked like this....




















Next to there is 'Chancery Lane' leading to 'Lincoln's Inn Fields' (London's largest public square and once the most popular place for duels to be held :wink, 1 side of the field is this old Tudor building, now used as offices for Barristers and Lawyers etc. Every chimney has a different pattern.....





























Just along another nearby street is a building that, during WWII, was the head-offices of 'W H Smith', a chain of newsagents, books and stationary shops. This plaque on the wall outside still has the shrapnel-damage from then....











Finally we reached Covent-Garden', once famous as London's flower-market but now shops and street-performers - This guy caught my eye with his fire-breathing tuba..... :grin: - I couldn't see how it worked, but each note produced a flame out the top.




















The only disappointment to the day was when we reached our favourite Tapas bar near Trafalgar-Square, only to find it had closed and become a Mexican eatery :sigh: - We ended up walking another mile or so and had a Chinese meal in Soho instead, it also gave me a chance to tape my feet back onto my ankles, they were threatening to fall off, after the 10-12 miles we'd walked.... :laugh:

On getting back home, I checked on the internet and found the Tapas-bar had moved approx 300 yards from where we were - If ever anyone finds themselves in London and fancies some very good Spanish food, look for 'La Tasca', highly recommended by Mrs WereBo and I :wink:


----------



## Done_Fishin (Oct 10, 2006)

Great photos and commentary Werebo .. once again taken me down memory lane to see sights seen in my youth ... and some that I have yet to see!


----------



## WereBo (Apr 5, 2008)

Thanks DF, it was definitely a memorable day out :grin:

We're hoping to get back to the 'Great St Barts' church for the 'Evensong', later this month - The folks responsible have organised a troupe of mediaeval string-players to play 'Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis' (written by Ralph Vaughan-Williams) during the service, time to see how well I can use the camera's video functions methinks :laugh:

(Note to self - don't forget the tripod.)

I'm also planning another 'Day-shoot' at '*Hever Castle*' (the childhood home of Anne Boleyn), in August. The day will be wonderfully finished off with a concert by 'Steeleye Span', the electric-folk group from the 70's (Tickets are booked and printed, all ready in my paws for the day :laugh


----------



## Done_Fishin (Oct 10, 2006)

Sounds great .. Evensong and Hever Castle .. remember cycling down past Hever Castle about 35 years ago when I was dating a girl from Lingfield .. we went there together but it was closed that particular day so only ever got to see the gates outside. I look forward to seeing yoiur photo's with great interest!

if you like Church music you might like 

Haggard - Rachmaninov: Choir (2) - YouTube

not keen on any of their other stuff but this piece of music could turn an agnostic into a believer !!


----------



## Basementgeek (Feb 7, 2005)

Neat "old" buildings. Hard pressed to find 100 year old buildings around here.

Our river is to small for anything but some pleasure boats in a few places.

Nice pictures ! ( I will admit I had to look up bank holiday)

BG


----------



## WereBo (Apr 5, 2008)

Thanks BG, nowadays it's one of the few pleasures I can find with living in London :laugh: - If you've ever seen the BBC-TV soap 'Eastenders', that's near identical to where I am, except I'm on the South-side of the Thames - Meeting 'civilised' folks helps me keep my sanity :grin:


@ DF - I tend to appreciate church music lots more when I'm actually there in the church and can feel the subsonics through the floor, as well as the acoustics and ambience - I bet that piece you posted would become absolutely magical then :wink:


----------

