A walk around London, May 26

He Said:
Today was a great day out walking around London for perhaps 6 miles, seeing the sights, dodging cars, buses, bikes and people, and visiting some famous spots.  I had a free tourist map of London from which to navigate a walking route so as to see the best attractions, avoid the worst congested areas, and get to our preferred stops: the National Portrait Gallery and the Imperial War Museum.

What I found is that many areas in London have bottlenecks where cars, trucks, bikes and pedestrians must all squeeze through the same through road.  There are no side roads, even alleys or sidewalks that go through.  I'm sure the residents decided to make the back streets quiet, there is no parking and the roads are mostly dead ends,   After making it through these areas, we were able to find narrow back streets, long paths through the parks, and sidewalks along the river which made for pleasant walking.

The weather was perfect for walking, mostly sunny and not too warm.  There were millions of people out there with us, the city was mobbed; sightseeing families with their kids out of school for the week.


She Said:
Last night, Springwatch started on the BBC - my very favorite show ever.  The crew is in Minsmere, a giant open space preserve in Suffolk.  They have cameras everywhere - in trees, in nests, in the water, in blinds.  And, they photograph wildlife at this very busy wildlife time of year.  Birds, eggs, chicks, mammals, babies, fish, fish eggs.  Badgers, foxes, hawks.  Such a great look at Nature in all its beautiful and beastly glory.  Wish we could stream it in the States.  Couldn't last year.  Maybe this year.

We decided that we would walk everywhere today, as this was our last day in England and we were on a walking trip, after all.

Our first destination was The National Portrait Gallery, just off Trafalgar Square.  We thought we'd have it made today, as the Bank Holiday ended yesterday.  We learned that many schools take their week's Holiday this week, so there were certainly crowds galore.  Still, we had a nice walk through Green Park, down The Mall (two separate marching band parades - one with Philippino-looking soldiers and one the classic Bear-helmeted Queen's Guards with a mounted contingent), past the Queen Mum's statue where a kooky but earnest old guy was very carefully and obsessively laying flowers at the base of the statue and then saluting and into Trafalgar Square.
Another hawk ("Missy") like we saw in Dartmouth, being used to keep the pigeons at bay.  So majestic and lovely to watch.

The Portrait Gallery was less crowded than other museums, probably because there isn't much there to hold a kid's attention.  Yay!
The current exhibit was The Victorians, a very complete look at all the important Victorians - scientists, writers, artists, royalty, feminists, politicians, technologists, etc., etc.  Interesting, but probably more so to the Brits.  Many of the portrait subjects were unknown to us.  Still, I enjoyed it.  My favorite part of the exhibit was a case filled with photographic portraits of the daughters of very wealthy American businessmen/industrialists/financiers who married into the British aristocracy - very Downton Abbey-ish.  There were scores of them!

Next up, a long(er) walk over to the Imperial War Museum.  Even though R and I have been there before, there was a special exhibit that I was keen to see - Fashion on the Ration.  A look at how women (and men) coped with style and morale while being very limited in what clothes they could buy.
By the time World War II was in full swing, fully 1/4 of the British population was entitled to wear some sort of uniform.
"War and uniform bring people together...had there not been a war on and that soldier and that RAF boy had been dressed in civilian clothes, I don't suppose either of them would have dreamed of speaking to one another."
The demand for uniforms put great pressure on the textile and garment industries.  Everyone sewed to keep up with the need.
As part of the women's uniforms, they were allowed two pair of black wooly knickers.  The girls used to call them "Passion Killers"!
The American GIs had much flashier and better grade fabric uniforms and the N. Ireland troops became fed up with the Americans "owing to their wearing a collar and tie, they get the best girls".
There were strict regulations for the proper wearing of women's uniforms - "NEVER twist your hat into fancy shapes or wear it at the back of your head".
So many women worked in factories, so one of the posters of the day was "Be in Fashion - Cover Your Hair!"  This had to do with safety, but it had the added benefit of allowing the women to express some style by using different scarves to wrap their hair in.  It sounds minor, but the women really got into it.
Because of the Blackouts, an unexpected commercial opportunity arose - the manufacture and sale of luminous buttons and fabric flowers made of luminous material - once exposed to light, they retained it.  This made it easier for women to be seen by cars as they walked on the lanes and roads.
One handbag design accommodated a gas mask.
And, the "Siren Suit" was an all-in-one garment that was suitable for women to wear in air raid shelters.  It covered everything and still had ease of movement.
A woman, after donning heavy wool pants and a bulky sweater and putting a kerchief around her hair remarked "I had a good laugh at my appearance, but felt ready for anything!"
Trousers used to only be worn by wealthier women as beach wear.  In the 1940's, trousers became popular for all women for all occasions.
Another marketing slogan, designed to bump up retail sales: "Blackout?  Why Not Wear White?"
Re: Rationing
Clothing was rated on a "point" value.  Each type/item of clothing was given a certain points value according to how much material went into its manufacture.
A poster: "Don't Spend - Make Do and Mend!"
Vogue ran many, many articles during wartime on coping with clothes rationing.
RAF flyers were issued silk "escape maps" - silk scarves that were printed with maps of where they were flying and to be used if they were downed as a way to orient themselves and, hopefully, find their way to safety.  By 1945, these silk maps were surplus, and since rationing lasted for two years after the war ended, women snapped these up and made luxurious silk nightgowns and underwear out of them!
Women also improvised with jewelry.  The best raw material came from aircraft factories.  The small extra or broken parts could be reworked into earrings and necklaces.
And, of course, parachute silk was used whenever possible.  There was a beautiful wedding dress on display that was made from parachute silk and a photo close by the dress showing the bride happily wearing it.  This same dress was worn by 12 different women!  It was quite common to pass around clothes, especially a wedding dress, for all to wear.
One woman recalled that her mother made all her own clothes and all the clothes for her and her sisters, too.  Since they had a neighbor who was very into fashion, the neighbor would give her mom her older clothes (and, she was a large size) in exchange for her mom's clothing ration tickets.  Her mom would then cut apart her neighbor's larger clothes and be able to make several dresses for the kids.  The neighbor was able to use the extra ration tickets to buy new clothes.
"Utility" clothes became the clothing available in the shops.  These were clothes made from set patterns - only the trim or the buttons or the length or the neckline would be changed.
When available, women chose bright prints for a splash of color - this was a great morale booster.
Elastic was scarce.  It was banned for use in everything except women's corsets (girdles) and knickers.
Lipstick came in one color - Regimental Red!
Many dresses and scarves were made from patriotic prints.  One dress on display was made from a print comprised of tiny British flags, tiny spitfire airplanes and tiny Winston Churchill heads!
Through all the suffering and hardship, the rationing and the shortages, women still felt that "Beauty is Duty" and did their best to look as presentable as possible.
Interesting, great exhibit.

We hoofed it back home, mostly along the Thames. All told, we probably walked about 6 miles today. Not a bad end to a walking trip!

Stopped at Waitrose across the street from our hotel, bought half a rotisserie chicken and a couple of sides, and ate happily and cheaply in our hotel room.
Tonight is a reorganizing night for the suitcases, and tomorrow we blast off for Home Sweet Home.
We've learned a lot about center based walking trips - both good and bad.  Plenty to think about as we are already talking about next year's vacation!
Cheerio!

Wellington Arch

The Green Park

Marching down the Mall

The Queen Mother

King George

Shaun and E

Trafalgar Square

National Portrait Gallery

WWII Tank Crew Memorial

The London Eye

The Imperial War Museum

Along the streets...

On the Thames

London, walking in Kensington and Chelsea, May 25

He Said:
In the vast metropolis of London, we walked a few miles around Kensington and Chelsea and then down along the Thames.  It’s a huge change from the relative solitude of the countryside of the past 2 weeks; lots of people, cars, bikes everywhere.  We paid a visit to the Chelsea Physic Garden located near the River Thames in the same spot where it started as a study garden back in 1673.  It’s odd to think that back then, this spot was considered to be isolated way out in the countryside.  Hans Sloan, and other hard working scientists through the years, studied what plants can do to help people to heal and prosper.  Many of the medicines first discovered by harvesting plants have subsequently been replaced by chemicals synthesized by man at a lower cost, but it was the plants that created these complex chemicals whose benefits  could be studied.  Besides medicinal plants, the garden also contained plant foods and some decorative plants as well.  The docent was very informative about the large variety of plants and discoveries.

She Said:
Lovely, quiet walk through the back streets of Kensington and Chelsea, then along the Thames to the Chelsea Physic Garden.  In the many, many times I have been to London, I have never been to the Chelsea Physic, so this was a real treat.  Though the weather wasn't exactly sunny, it was warm and pleasant - a nice day to walk around among plants.  Volunteers give tours, so we took one.
In 1673, the Society of Apothecaries started the Physic Garden as a way to grow and study the plants of the world that might have medicinal qualities.  When the garden was instituted, it was in the middle of the countryside!  Now Chelsea is firmly in the city (as evidenced by the helicopters and planes flying constantly overhead and the bustling Thames-side road bordering it.)
However, it has and will stay put. In 1687, Hans Sloane bought all the property that is now Chelsea for a song way back then and, being a doctor and a scientist himself (he was the genius who brought cocoa beans to England from Jamaica and figured out how to make chocolate) willed that the land that the Physic Garden occupies would be theirs, in perpetuity, for £5 a year.  The Earl of Cadogan owns large swaths of Chelsea now (Physic Garden included) and still leases it to the Society of Apothecaries for that same £5 a year.  Nice guy!
(In 1849, the chocolate recipe was bought by the Cadbury brothers, and the rest is sweet history.)
The plot is a microclimate within London, so many plants grow there that would not normally grow in other parts of the city.
The most influential document relating to medicinal plants was written by the Greek, Pedonius Dioscorides (no wonder nobody remembers him), while he was working for the Roman Emperor, Nero.  He collated info on all the known medicinal plants at that time.
All other Western records of medicinal plants added onto his findings.
And, a Dr. Miller, in the 1700's, wrote the first real garden manual that, even today, garden manuals are modeled after.
There are several sections to the Garden.
The Pharmaceutical Garden -
Even though there are over 4000 plants that are known to be medically beneficial, only about 60 are currently used for medicinal purposes.  All other curative plant bases are now synthetically produced.
This part of the Garden has plants that pertain to Oncology, Cardiology, Dermatology, Anesthesiology and a bunch of other ologies.
There are ceramic apothecary jars (modeled on the original jars used) placed next to certain plants that describe, in 1700,1800,1900 lingo, the way the plant can be used for cures.
There is a Garden of Useful Plants.
Sunflowers were planted at Chernobyl because they leach toxins out of the soil.
A Garden of Edible Plants.  (The basics - veggies.)
And, crazy fun facts throughout the Garden:
17th c. Plague doctors wore protective clothing with floral nose gays concealed in their masks.  They carried pomander canes, which were canes with aromatic spices in the perforated ball handle of the cane.
Pre-1750, plants were named with ridiculously long names (counted one plant named with 7 names).  After 1759, the new way of naming plants by only Genus and System was instituted and is still used today.
The Apothecary crest is a radiant Apollo fending off Pestilence (who looks like a bird-dragon).
We spent some time poking around in the greenhouses.  I did not know that the Jade plant is from South Africa or that so many plants' secretions can be used for poison darts!  (In fact, at the beginning of the tour, our guide cautioned us to not touch any of the plants as there were many that were highly poisonous, for example, a skinny, bare tree branch that secretes ricin).

We walked by the Chelsea Royal Hospital, the site of the Chelsea Flower Show (being torn down this week) and the home of the Chelsea Pensioners.

We walked over to Ebury Square and had a late lunch at Daylesford Organic Store and Farm Restaurant, a great place that I try to eat at whenever I'm in London.  The food was awesome, as expected.  R's beer (St. Peter's Ale) was organic and is brewed and bottled in Suffolk in a bottle that is a faithful reproduction of a 1770 flask-shaped bottle.
We skipped dessert because we were stuffed, really stuffed (I had chicken, asparagus and leek pie and R had salmon and lentils).

We thought we might get a tour of the Royal Albert Hall, but we arrived after the last tour had started, so back to our great neighborhood and our great hotel and our great shower.
Ready for Happy Hour..