Vacation in the UK and Ireland [2009]

If I should die, think only this of me:

That there’s some corner of a foreign field

That is forever England.

Rupert Brooke The Soldier

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June 9 to 11—London, England

This England never did, nor never shall, Lie at the proud foot of a conqueror, But when it first did help to wound itself. Now these her princes are come home again, Come the three corners of the world in arms, And we shall shock them. Nought shall make us rue, If England to itself do rest but true. William Shakespeare

June 9-11—London

I worked on the 8th but was very tired. I was excited about the trip and didn’t sleep too well. Julie and I spent Sunday get-ting ready for the trip as Cheryl and Larry went into Calgary for the day. They had brought Julie out over the weekend. On Monday morning, I drove to Chris’s house and dropped my car off there, where it would be parked until I returned. Chris and I drove to work together. Julianne, Cheryl and Larry picked me up after work and we drove to the airport.

Larry replaced the deadbolt on my apartment door during the day due to security problems. Julie was there alone, and when she was doing the dishes in the kitchen, somebody used a key to come into the apartment. She thought it was Larry and called out “Hi Larry, come on in.”. When she looked up, she saw a person leaving who was not Larry! The man was wearing a hoodie so she didn’t see his face. When Larry and Cheryl returned and heard what had happened Larry immediately went to Home Hardware, purchased a new deadbolt and replaced the one on my door. Because I had new keys, I had to make sure Chris had a copy so he could check my apartment. I left a key with Gloria, our re-ceptionist, and Chris picked it up. I emailed Condominium First and told them what had happened in case there were problems elsewhere in the building. I suspect that the in-truder was the boyfriend of the previous owner. I think they had domestic problems, and that is why she sold the apart-ment.

Cheryl and Larry drove us to the airport and dropped us off. They were anxious to get home because Anita was home alone.

Julie and I had supper in Montana’s. The meal was really good. We then checked our bags and got our boarding passes. We went through security after which we waited 4 hours in the departure area for our flight to board. The departure area at the Calgary airport has no amenities—no coffee shops, no book stores—how boring! The Cal-gary Airport Authority should upgrade them the depar-ture area to make it more comfortable.

We finally boarded our plane and we had really good seats—we were in the last row in the section, so we didn’t have anybody sitting behind us. We were also close to the bathrooms which was convenient. The flight was very long, and they didn’t serve a meal. Air Canada must be cutting back. We tried to sleep because we wished to avoid jet lag when we arrived in London but when depart-ing on vacation, a person is too wound up and excited to get much of a rest on the flight to their vacation destina-tion,

We arrived in London earlier than planned. The flight was really smooth. We had a little turbulence when flying into Heathrow but I like turbulence. However, Julie was un-easy and a little nervous. The weather was overcast and the skies grey.

June 9-London (Cont’d)

London from the air

Heathrow Arrivals

We found our way to the luggage kiosk and found our luggage. Julie had really colorful prints on her luggage so she had no trouble finding it. My lug-gage was Rick Steves luggage, and nobody else had that luggage. However, as it is grey, it is a little harder to find. We made our way to Customs without any problems. The last time I went through Customs, a lady jumped the queue in front of me and the queues were really disorganized. This time, how-ever, it was more organized and both Julie and I found our way to an agent without any problems. They checked and stamped our passports and we were off to the Heathrow Express.

The train ride into London was very smooth. The ex-press is a nice train and very comfortable. We ar-rived at Paddington and decided to take a taxi to our hotel. We walked through the large terminal. It was quite crowded as it was nearing rush hour, but we managed to make it to the taxi queue without any problems. The taxi cost about Ł18.00, which is the same as a cab ride at home. We split the cost; it was worth it not having to worry about getting to the tube with all our luggage and then finding our way to the hotel.

June 9-London (Cont’d)

Heathrow Express

Heathrow Airport—Arrivals

We arrived at the Tavistock Hotel and checked in. We had a nice room, with two single beds and a large bath-room. It wasn’t fancy but it was a good price, clean and close to the British Museum. Hotels in London are very expensive, especially in central London.

We were both tired after the long flight so we laid down for awhile and had a nap. When we woke up we went out for supper. There was a little store just around the cor-ner from the hotel where they served food. We had a full English Breakfast and it was quite good. After we fin-ished our meal, we bought some shampoo and soap and went for a walk around the area. We sat in the park across the street from the hotel and watched the people and traffic. We returned to the hotel and unpacked, then settled in for the evening.

Politics in the U.K. are interesting—Gordon Brown’s Labour party may fall. I noticed there were fewer tour-ists than when I was here last. Maybe it’s the weather, or because it was June. My last visit was in September. There were lots of people rushing around, however, but not crowds of tourists.

July 9-London (Cont’d)

Tavistock Hotel

Park across from Tavistock Hotel

We woke up at about 6:00 or 6:30 am, showered and dressed. The weather was very nice, sunny and warm, and the sky was blue. We watched the morning news and found out the Underground workers were on strike so the tubes were closed for 48 hours—just the amount of time we were to be in London. I was disappointed because we were planning to use the Underground to get around. I was glad I didn’t purchase a London Pass online prior to our arrival in London because we would have lost our money. We went down for breakfast and had a Full Eng-lish Breakfast again, which we enjoyed.

We thought about how we were going to get around and decided it would be best to buy a Big Bus Company sightseeing bus ticket. It covered central London, and stopped at all the places we were interested in seeing.

We arrived at Westminster Abbey early, just after they opened, so there were no queues—I was amazed. The last time Carla and I tried to visit Westminster Abbey the line-ups were so long that we decided not to see it. However, this time we walked up and were first in line. We bought our tickets and ventured inside.

June 10-London

We found Westminster Abbey really interesting. The only disappointment was that we couldn’t take photos inside. I obeyed the rule, but saw others who did not and I wished later that I had taken pictures. Julie and I spent a couple of hours in the Abbey. The crowds inside the ab-bey increased while we were there, and when we left there were long line-ups and it had started to rain. In fact, it was pouring.

Westminster Abbey

Westminster Abbey was consecrated in 1065. Techni-cally the name of the abbey is the Collegiate Church of St. Peter at Westminster. The abbey is the coronation site of English kings and queens. Both King Harold and William the Conqueror were crowned there in 1066.

We saw Edward the Confessor’s chair - the throne on which British sovereigns are seated at the moment of their coronation.

Westminster Abbey was spared by King Henry VIII when he dissolved the monasteries during the Reformation be-cause of its connection to royalty.

June 10-London (Cont’d)

Edward the Confessor’s Chair

Scenes from the Bayeaux Tapestry

Edward the Confessor

Many British kings and queens are buried within Westminster. Notable exceptions are Henry VIII, Charles I, and all the monarchs and royals after George II, who are all buried in St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle.

Burials at Westminster Abbey

Edward the Confessor (1003 to 1066)

Edward was an Anglo-Saxon king. Edward’s death led to the reign of William the Conqueror, the Duke of Normandy. Edward and his wife, Emma, died childless, which resulted in the Norman invasion deciding who would succeed him. Edward was canonized a saint in 1161.

Henry III (1297 to 1272)

Henry was the son of the infamous Prince John, later King John, of Robin Hood fame. Henry was married to Eleanor of Provence.

Edward I (1239 to 1307) and his wife, Eleanor

Edward (“Longshanks”) and his wife, Eleanor, are buried in the Lady Chapel. In 1774 Edward’s tomb was opened and Edward was found to be 6 feet, 2 inchs tall, clean shaven, and wearing a delicate crown. He wore the purple cloth of a Roman emperor, a jeweled clasp at his right shoulder. He held a scepter , crowned with a crucifix, in his right hand, and a rod of virtue in his left hand, topped by a small dove.

Henry III

Eleanor

June 10-London (Cont’d)

Edward III (1312 to 1377)

Edward the Third was the father of the Black Prince and John of Gaunt. Edward’s long and successful reign saw repeated military campaigns in Scotland and France. In 1337 he embarked on the first hostilities of the Hundred Years’ War. Edward maintained a splendid court and his personal treasure placed him among the richest of medieval kings. However, he devastated the Crown’s finances. Edward’s tomb lies in the Confessor’s Chapel. His effigy resembles the one of his son, the Black Prince, in Canterbury Cathedral, and both effigies were thought to be cast by the same craftsman.

Henry V (1387 to 1422)

Henry V was not expected to inherit the throne. He revived Edward III’s claim to the French throne and led an English Army into France in 1415, renewing the Hundred Years War. Henry led his army to victory against great odds at the Battle of Agincourt. In 1422 in France he became ill with dysentery and had to be carried on a litter. He felt humiliated that he could-n’t lead his army. Lying mortally ill for three weeks, he made arrangements for his successor. He was returned to Eng-land and buried in a magnificent tomb in Westminster Abbey.

June 10-London (Cont’d)

Edward III

Henry V

Edward V (1470 to 1483) & Richard, Duke of York (1473 to 1483)

The lost princes of the Tower were the sons of Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville. Edward V was king for a short time after his father’s death. Their bones were interred in Westminster Abbey on the orders of Charles II in 1678 af-ter being discovered in the Tower of London.

Henry VII (1447 to 1509) & Elizabeth of York (1466 to 1503)

Henry VII and Elizabeth were the parents of Henry VIII. They had a total of 8 children. The marriage brought to-gether the House of Lancaster (represented by a red rose) and the House of York (represented by a white rose). This marriage brought to an end of the Wars of the Roses.

The oldest son of Henry and Elizabeth, Arthur, Prince of Wales, was married to Katherine of Aragon, but Arthur died 5 months after their wedding. Henry VII then ar-ranged to have Katherine married to his second son, the future Henry VIII, so he would not be required to return her dowry.

June 10-London (Cont’d)

Princes in the Tower of London

Henry VII and Elizabeth of York

Henry VII convinced the Pope that Arthur and Katherine hadn’t consummated their marriage due to their young ages (Katherine was 14 and Arthur was 15). This would allow Katherine to marry Henry. It is not known to this day whether the marriage was consummated; however, Arthur seemed to think he had performed as expected on his wedding night, and because they were a young couple attracted to each other, sleeping in the same bed for 5 months, is there any way that the marriage could not have been consummated? The church issued a dispensation allowing Katherine to marry Henry, but indicated the uncertain consummation in the dispensation.

Only two of Henry VII’s and Elizabeth’s daughters lived to adulthood, Margaret, Queen of Scots, and Mary, Queen of France. Elizabeth died in childbirth trying to give Henry VII another son after Arthur died. Henry VII was devastated as they were truly in love with each other.

Henry and Katherine were married for several years and after many pregnancies resulting in miscar-riages, stillbirths, and infants dying before the age of 6 months, they only had one surviving daughter.

Margaret, Queen of Scots

June 10-London (Cont’d)

Katherine of Aragon Arthur

Mary, Queen of France, and her 2nd husband, Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk

Because none of the male babies survived, Henry became convinced that God was punishing him for marrying his brother’s widow. He was obsessed with leaving a son to take over his throne. His eye began to wander and landed on the young and beautiful Anne Boleyn, Anne had grown up in the French court and was an intelligent and interesting women, very well educated, who was a match intellectually to Henry. Henry fell in love with her, mostly because of a sexual attraction. How-ever, Anne wouldn’t become his mistress which made him even more in-terested. She set her goals high and was determined it was marriage or nothing. Henry had to rid himself of his present wife. He made applica-tion to Rome to have his marriage to Katherine annulled on the grounds that it was not legal to begin with because Katherine had been married to Henry’s brother.

Henry knew that he could father sons because he had an illegitimate son with his mistress, Elizabeth Blount. Therefore, he was confident that if he were to marry again, he would father a legitimate heir to the throne.

Politics and Katherine’s determination to remain Henry’s wife, because of her love for him and because of her position, led to years of negotia-tion to accomplish the annulment. Henry sent his secretary to gain audi-ence with Pope Clement IV to ask for an annulment, claiming that the dispensation given by Pope Julius II had been provided under false pre-tenses. Henry felt that Katherine had lied about the consummation of her marriage to Arthur. Katherine had relatives in high places, however, and Henry’s secretary was unable to meet with the pope.

June 10-London (Cont’d)

Anne Boleyn

Thomas Cranmer

Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor, was Katherine’s nephew and he also had the Pope in his custody (imprisoned). Katherine appealed to her nephew to assist her in her quest to save her marriage.

Henry turned to Cardinal Wolsey to find a way to achieve his goal of re-ceiving an annulment. Wolsey’s attempts lead to a statement from Rome that Henry would not be allowed to marry Anne until Rome had made a decision on the annulment. Wolsey failed, so Henry banished him from court, and Wolsey died in 1530 just before he was to be convicted of trea-son. Thomas Cranmer was then made Archbishop of Canterbury and now sat in judgement over Henry’s legal battles to divorce Katherine. Thomas Cromwell, a lawyer who favoured Anne, began the separation of the church in England from Rome. Henry became the supreme head of the church in England, and thus Henry could grant himself an annulment be-cause he didn’t answer to Rome.

Anne and Henry were secretly married in the winter of 1532, and she im-mediately became pregnant. They were married again in January 1533 to ensure the marriage was legal so the child Anne was carrying would be deemed legitimate.

Katherine swore to her deathbed that her marriage to Arthur was never consummated but she was desperately in love with Henry and didn’t want to lose him. Did she jeopardize her soul for the sake of love? We will probably never know.

Thomas Cromwell

June 10-London (Cont’d) Cardinal Wolsey

After the Archbishop officially proclaimed that the marriage of Henry and Catherine was invalid, plans for Anne’s coronation began. She was crowned and anointed Queen in a ceremony led by Cranmer. Preparation were made for the birth of the child, surely to be a son. On September 7, 1533. Anne gave birth to a little girl. Henry was disap-pointed and the festivities were scaled down. Although Henry was up-set that Anne had given birth to a girl, he remained optimistic that she would still give him a son. By 1534, Anne was again pregnant but mis-carried. In 1535, she again became pregnant and miscarried—this mis-carriage was a direct result of stress as Henry had been severely in-jured while jousting which was a shock to Anne’s system. Anne knew her life was in danger now because Henry’s eye was beginning to roam and he began to fancy one of Anne’s ladies-in-waiting, Jane Sey-mour.

Anne’s enemies at court began to plot against her and the King’s at-traction to Jane was encouraged. False charges were brought against Anne of adultery, which is punishable by death for a queen. Anne maintained her dignity throughout her arrest, trial, and the guilty ver-dict. She was beheaded in a private execution on May 19. She was bur-ied in an unmarked grave in the Chapel of St. Peter ad Vincula which adjoined Temple Green. The day after Anne’s execution Henry became engaged to Jane Seymour. They married soon after and Henry finally realized his dream of having a son—Edward. Jane died as a result of childbirth, and Henry was on the hunt again.

June 10-London (Cont’d)

Jane Seymour

Anne of Cleves, Henry’s fourth wife, is also buried in Westminster Abbey. Henry chose Anne from a miniature pained by Hans Holbein in which she appeared quite attractive. However, when she arrived in England and Henry saw her for the first time he was aghast. She was overweight, her face was scarred with pock marks, and she had strong body odor. He went through with the marriage ceremony but could not make love to her—he found her too repulsive. He gave her a peck, said goodnight, rolled over and went to sleep. The next morn-ing when asked if her wedding night was successful, Anne said it was. She was so naïve that she thought that small kiss was the sexual act. Henry could never get beyond a small kiss, and finally, to Anne’s dismay, had the marriage annulled. Anne was devastated as she had fallen in love. She was one of the lucky ones, though, she kept her head.

Other Burials

Others buried in Westminster Abbey are Henry VII’s mother, Lady Margaret Beaufort. She was a direct descendent of John of Gaunt and Katherine Swynford. She married Henry Tudor at the age of 12 and immediately became pregnant. Edmund died before Henry was born, and because of Margaret’s young age, she and her child almost died as well. She eventually remarried but never had any more children, probably due to health problems resulting from a pregnancy at such a young age.

June 10-London (Cont’d)

Anne of Cleves

Margaret Beaufort

Mary I (Bloody Mary) (1516 to 1558), buried in Westminster Abbey, was the eldest daughter of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon. Mary ruled for only five years, and was a fanati-cal Catholic. She married King Philip of Spain, and attempted to bring England back to the Catholic Church. During her reign, approximately 284 Protestants were executed, result-ing in her nickname. Upon Mary’s death, Elizabeth I, her sis-ter and Anne Boleyn’s daughter, was crowned queen. Ironi-cally, Mary and Elizabeth are buried together, with their joint tomb being topped by an effigy of Elizabeth.

Another Mary buried in Westminster Abbey is Mary, Queen of Scots. Mary was the daughter of James V and granddaugh-ter of Margaret, Henry VIII’s sister. Therefore, she was a cousin of Elizabeth’s. She grew up in France after the death of her father, and was married to the French dauphin when she was young. After he died, she returned to the country of her birth and married Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, with whom she had one son, James VI of Scotland and I of England. James was next in line to the throne after Elizabeth, and when he succeeded Elizabeth, England and Scotland were joined under one crown. Mary was used as a pawn by Elizabeth’s enemies, who wished a Catholic to sit on the throne of Eng-land, and Elizabeth was forced to have Mary executed, a de-cision Elizabeth always regretted having to make.

June 10-London (Cont’d)

Mary Queen of Scots

The joint tomb of Elizabeth with her sister Mary

Charles II (1630 to 1685) is buried in a vault in the south aisle of Henry VII’s chapel. No monument was erected for him but a life size wax effigy, 6 feet 2 inchs tall, stood by his grave for over a century. This figure is now located in the Abbey Museum. Charles I, his father, was executed by Oliver Cromwell and the republican Commonweath, which ruled England for a number of years. After Cromwell’s death, Charles was asked to return to the throne of Great Britain as a Protestant king. Charles always maintained a tolerance for religions as much as those times would allow. He was very intelligent and a patron of and participant in scientific research. He was called the “Merry Monarch”, and not considered to be a particularly good king; however, dur-ing his reign England was a stable and prosperous country. He was ex-tremely fond of his subjects, leading them through the Great Plague of Lon-don and the Great Fire of London, two of the worst disasters in England’s history. During the Great Fire he went into the streets of London and assisted the firefighters as they tried to save as many houses as they could.

Charles married Catherine of Braganza but they never had any children. Even though he loved her deeply, he had many mistresses, probably due to the insecurities of his youth. Towards the end of his reign he had to deal with the succession of his brother, James, who was a Catholic. England did not want a Catholic king. Charles felt that the succession was a constitutional is-sue and would not exclude his brother. The Princes William and Harry, sons of Charles and Diana, are direct descendents of Charles II through their mother Diana, who was descended from four of Charles’ illegitimate sons. A Stuart will sit on the throne once again, hopefully as Charles III.

June 10-London (Cont’d)

William III (William of Orange) (1650 to 1702) and Mary II (1662 to 1694) are buried in the south aisle of Henry VII’s chapel. Mary was the daughter of James II, who lost his throne because of his Catholicism and stubborn streak. He believed in an absolute monarchy, so the English Parliament forced him to abdicate. They invited his daughter and her husband to jointly rule Brit-ain. William was the son of Mary, Princess Royal, oldest daughter of Charles I, and William II, Prince of Orange and Count of Nassau, so both Mary and William were in the line of succession. They were Protestant as well.

Other notable people buried in Westminster Abbey are Alfred Lord Tenny-son, Rudyard Kipling, Sir Laurence Olivier, David Livingstone, the Scottish explorer, Charles Darwin, Sir Isaac Newton, Geoffrey Chaucer and Sigmund Freud.

I really enjoyed our tour of Westminster Abbey because I had never been there before. I loved the wax effigy of Charles II as he is my favourite king. It was really life like and gave me a good idea of what he was like. We couldn’t take pictures, though, which was very disappointing. I did find photos on the internet where people had broken the rules. I wish I had broken the rules too.

After leaving the Abbey we had lunch in the Methodist Church across the street. They have a cafeteria in the basement, and we shared “bangers and mash”. When we left the weather was still fairly warm and the streets were getting really crowded. The queues at the ticket booths at Westminster Ab-bey were very long— we were glad we had visited there first thing in the morning.

Mary II

June 10-London (Cont’d)

William of Orange

We walked across the bridge and waited for our next Sightseeing Bus to arrive. Our next stop was Harrods Department Store. We went to the souvenir section first and I purchased gifts for people at home. I bought a watch for myself which I hoped I wouldn’t be allergic to. We wandered around the store and looked at the expensive designer clothes. Some outfits were over Ł1,000. Smocking is still in style in the U.K. Flowery patterns are also in style; they are quite loud and neither Julie nor I liked them. They were too 1970’s. We saw many girls in footless tights and smocks or dresses and they were really cute.

After we left Harrods I bought a pay-as-you-go phone at a Carphone Store. It only cost £5. I bought £20 worth of time. Afterwards we looked in a few other stores, then set out for the bus so we could go back to our hotel.

We boarded the Sightseeing Bus that would take us to the transfer point for our bus going to the British Museum. It was rush hour, and the traffic was unbelievable! It took 2 hours to go about 5 or 6 blocks. There were people running around, cabs and cars darting in and out of traffic, and city buses just sitting at their stops. What an effect the tube strike was having! Our bus finally arrived at the next stop, and the driver shut the engine off and told everybody they had to get off. He was done for the day. We were on our own, miles from our hotel, on the opposite side of London by Hyde Park. We were just a little panicked. We followed a group of people just praying we would see a city bus stop with British Museum on it, and God, Francis and Mom must have been guiding us, be-cause we suddenly arrived at a bus stop where we read Bus #7 - British Museum. We waited for about 45 minutes and our bus came. It was packed but emptied gradually as we drove east. After awhile we were able to sit down. We were amazed at the crowds of people still wandering around trying to find their way home.

June 10-London (Cont’d)

Harrods

Both Julie and I are not impressed with the Big Bus Sightseeing Company. Their tickets are not cheap, and their bus drivers are very rude. That day we rode on two Big Bus Company buses, and both drivers were loud, rude, and obnoxious. The only friendly people were the ticket sellers - they were quite nice and help-ful. If the Big Bus Company drivers are stressed out in June, at the beginning of the tourist season, what must they be like in September, towards the end of the busy tourist season.

Our Bus #7, bound for Russell Square and the British Museum, arrived at our stop after about 30 to 45 minutes. We promptly got lost after we stepped off the bus. I don’t know how we managed to do it, but we always seemed to set off in the wrong direction. People who live in London are friendly, though, and are al-ways ready to help with directions. Once we were on the right track, we found a pub about a block from our hotel and stopped for take-away fish and chips. Julie had a beer while we waited for our order. I had a few drinks of it and it tasted really good after all the walking we did that day. We were surprised to hear that our server was from the Maritimes (New Brunswick) and was happy to serve somebody from home. Once we got our meals, we went to our hotel room and put our pyjamas on. We ate supper, then settled into bed, watched Coronation Street, then went to sleep.

June 10-London (Cont’d)

Today, our first full day in London, we found to be stressful be-cause of the transportation situation, the crowds, and the rude tourists. It rained off and on all day but we had umbrellas and raincoats so we didn’t mind the weather. The temperature was quite warm. We did enjoy the tour of Westminster Abbey, the views of the Parliament Buildings and Big Ben, and the Thames, and found London very interesting.

Lion on the shores of the Thames

June 10-London (Cont’d)

Westminster—Parliament Buildings from across the bridge

Big Ben from across the bridge

I woke up at 5:00 am and couldn’t get back to sleep so I lis-tened to my MP3 player. I finally fell asleep and woke up at about 8:30. Julie didn’t sleep well either. We went down for breakfast and then rested for the morning, with both of us fal-ling asleep again. I think we were both suffering from jet lag and the busy day before. Our booking included a Full English Breakfast, which we enjoyed. At noon, I walked down to the Internet café close to the hotel and emailed Chris to let him know we were safely in London.

When I returned from the internet cafe, Julie and I set out for the British Museum. We toured the museum for a few hours and I took lots of pictures. The British Museum is so huge that you could never cover the entirety of it in one day. Every time I visit the museum they have different displays. The Sutton Hoo display is always there as are the Egyptian mummies. I am always fascinated at the artifacts found in the Sutton Hoo burial ship. The Wetwang Chariot Burial display contained the skeleton from the Early Iron Age buried in the chariot. The person must have been an important women in the com-munity because very few people were buried with chariots in

the Iron Age. Her body was in a fetal position. We also saw a crystal skull. It was interesting be-cause I had just recently seen the Indiana Jones Movie “The Crystal Skull”.

June 11-London

Sutton Hoo Helmet

Wetwang Body and Chariot In Situ

After we had toured the displays, we walked through the concourse on the first floor, and purchased souvenirs at the small shops. I purchased a pewter figurine of a terracotta warrior from the First Emperor: China’s Terracotta Army exhibition for C.J. and Josh. We purchased coffee and a few cakes at the coffee shop and sat at a ta-ble in the concourse so we could watch the many people touring the mu-seum. It was a busy afternoon for the museum. When we walked back to our hotel the weather was very pleasant – warm and breezy. Traffic was still heavy because of the strike. I took some pic-tures because people at home would not believe the throngs of vehicles and people. The strike is due to end at midnight today. The people of London and surrounding areas were extremely upset that the strike was allowed to happen at all. Keith was staying in London on June 11. He and Douglas were working with some Chinese clients. As Julie and I walked back to our hotel, I wondered how they made out. When I returned to work Keith told me that they had a difficult time getting to the airport be-cause of the strike, and that his hotel was very expensive. The hotel was located close to Hyde Park, and was four times as expensive as the ho-tel I booked for the end of our trip which was also located close to Hyde Park. When I told Douglas that, he was surprised that you could book a hotel for such a reasonable rate so close to Hyde Park. Luckily their hotel was chargeable to the project.

June 11-London (Cont’d)

British Museum

Pleasant weather after our visit to the museum.