Guest Post by Willis Eschenbach. WARNING: This post contains no scientific content of any kind, just a story of our travels.
So we made it to London, a place that up ’til now I’ve only known through family stories, and books and song lyrics, viz:
Your old man took her diamonds and tiaras by the score
Now she gets her kicks in Stepney, not in Knightsbridge any more.
The Rolling Stones
So it’s great fun to actually see some of the places I’d only heard of. We’re staying in New Cross, south of Stepney. It’s great, kind of a low-budget district, lots of Africans live here so it feels down home. Today, we walked to the London downtown area along the Thames, here’s a 180° panorama I took looking both ways along the river.
(Click any photo to embiggen.)
It was kind of sad to see the river, thought, because what in my mind was still a huge artery of global commerce with wharves on both sides now has very little traffic, and that mostly tour boats. My great-grandfather sailed the world from England, so the Thames was his main highway, filled with adventurers, freebooters, slavers, whalers, scurve-dogs, freighters, pirates, and both high- and low-budget swabbies of all kinds … all gone now, but it’s still a lovely river.
From there, we walked along the river to the Tower Bridge:
Dang … if that kind of crazy skyline doesn’t inspire a man, nothing will. We crossed the river, and walked around the Tower of London, which isn’t a tower at all, false advertising if you ask me. From there, we wandered over to see Big Ben. Now that sucker should be called the Tower of London by my lights, I hadn’t realized it was so … well, in a word, “big” …
Then on to the Westminster Cathedral, home of the royal nuptials, lovely stone filigree, stained glass, and such.
From there we went and spent an absolutely delightful afternoon at the British Museum, looking at, well, everything that British explorers managed to plunder over the last five centuries or so, which adds up to a big pile of impressive loot. It was one of the most well-organized and pleasant museums I’ve been in.
Now, I like to ask people what surprised them the most about their travels. Some years ago a friend of mine from the Solomon Islands went to London for the first time. When she got back, I asked what had surprised her the most … she said “They have white people sweeping the streets!”
In any case, for me, the surprises so far have been:
1. The juxtaposition of the old and the new. Along the riverside, I saw new concrete poured around exposed stonework that was likely there 400 years ago.
2. Raw antiquity. The publican said “this is a fairly new pub, built in the late 1700’s” … the oldest building in Sonoma County (where I live in California) is from about 1870, and because of that it’s a state historical monument. Here, it would be considered a new building.
3. People of unexpected colors and appearances speaking English, not with the accent of their home countries, but with a broad British accent.
4. The British Museum actually thinks that there were people who were native to the Americas, they call them “Native Americans”. I guess the Brits didn’t get the news … as far as anyone knows, not a one of them is native to the Americas, they were all early Asian immigrants.
5. The Brits do love their bricks. Yellow brick, red brick, brown and black bricks, if the anti-neutron bomb made every brick in London vanish, there wouldn’t be one building left.
6. The occasional need for an “English-to-English” translation app for my iPhone … as GBS remarked, two countries separated by a common language.
7. According to the statuary in the British Museum, most of the Romans had tertiary syphilis that destroyed their noses, as you can see in this photo I took today:
So that’s the new news from the Old Countries including Rome …
Tomorrow I have to good fortune of a lunch meeting with Benny Peiser of the Global Warming Policy Foundation. We’re here in London through Thursday, then off to Stonhenge, then Bath, then ???.
The other good news is that I got a UK sim card for my phone, so for the duration of our UK travels you can reach me at 074 4838 1774.
My best to all, thanks for everyone’s comments, keep the travel suggestions coming.
w.
Well, none of your posts do Willis, or did I miss one?
[REPLY: MikeB, do you practice at being a jerkwagon trying to spoil peoples’ enjoyment, or is that just a gift you were born with?
Nature magazine and other scientific journals have thought enough of my scientific work to publish it … and your work? -w.]
They are building some huge docks in London, so enjoy the river whilst it is quiet. Would be glad to take you for a pint in the backstreets. Visit Borough market if you can, you can visit the Tate and the Globe at the same time if so inclined.
Good call on the British Museum.
There are lots of the greatest museums in the world gracing London.
But the British Museum is the best… because we don’t do petty pilfering.
Glad you noticed the bricks – attractive don’t you think?
If you get as far North as Newcastle you’ll need yet more ‘English to English’ translations..
Just as a riposte to the British Museum’s mis-characterization of ‘Native Americans’, Big Ben is actually just a bell – nothing to do with a building at all 🙂
Want to visit an unintended solar power project?
The Walkie-Talkie Building in Central London.
Who, what, why: How does a skyscraper melt a car?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-23944679
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2409710/Walkie-Talkie-building-melting-bicycles-Light-reflected-construction-City-skyscraper-scorches-seat.html
It is in central London.
I thought syphilis was unknown in Europe until after 1492 or so.
See Avebury, and do go down into the baths, in Bath, if you’re interested in old. Roman ruins are still being uncovered in the isles, long forgotten.
I enjoy your posts – thanks for sharing. Visiting London is one of my 5 year goals.
Willis, ignore MikeB, your posts are great I have enjoyed them all, even all the science.
If you’re going to visit Bath, you should “go the extra mile or so” to Bristol to see Brunel’s SS Great Britain in dry dock – right up your nautical street I imagine (although maybe not your wife’s!)
Stephen, just now – from the photos above it looks like he’s seen it already!
willis youre ok by me.
I look forward to reading your work.
Im betting MikeB does as well…he managed to get a comment up pretty quickly.
Touring Hampton court is absolutely necessary. It doesn’t look like much from the outside, but, it’s one of the few bits of history that hasn’t been redecorated out of existence. The redecorations are the history there. Another place still in good form is St. Albans, a short hop to the west of London by commuter rail. They have an old Norman cathedral that hasn’t been rococoized, and an old medieval clock tower which is occasionally open for touring, and some nice broad fields for wandering around or biking. You will need a cab unless you like hills. If you make it there, stop by a pub called the Hare and the Hounds. It’s really for the locals, has low ceilings, an authentic old-style tap system, and a couple of fireplaces that are probably not in operation this time of year.
Since you’re giving out your phone number, I can just call. 🙂
Willis, if you hit the Fenland, I’d be delighted to show you Cambridge and thereabouts. Or if you need any help: gs437{the character we like to omit}cam.ac.uk. I’ll be out to Scotland between the night of Sep 6 and morning of Sep 10; available outside those dates.
0750
642
1257
You must be dead tired after having seen all the views shown on your pictures in one day.
rogerknights says:
September 3, 2013 at 1:56 pm
7. According to the statuary in the British Museum, most of the Romans had tertiary syphilis that destroyed their noses,
I thought syphilis was unknown in Europe until after 1492 or so.
——————————————————————————————-
I think you missed the ironic humour.
The address of the solar focusing building is 20 Fenchurch Street according to the BBC.
Google puts 20 Fenchurch in what appears to be the wrong spot. It seems that The building is on Fenchurch between Philpot Ln and Rood Ln.
The hotspot is on Eastcheap, the boulivard to the south.
51°30’39″N 0° 5’1″W (Google Earth)
@Willis – not sure how long you are in the UK for – but try to see some ‘real’ countryside, e.g. get ‘up north’ to the Lakes or the Yorkshire Dales or even Devon and Cornwall, etc; as well as the city type exploring! If you do manage to get up north somewhere – I’d be pleased to meet up and buy you lunch or even a pint of decent beer. Oh, and don’t forget the Natural History museum in London – a must for any scientist type!
**** Welcome to England ****
A few years ago I would have suggested the Science Museum as a do not miss but having visited recently there is so much claptrap in there about “Climate Change” they have even added the “Climate Change” theme to the Henry Ford exhibit ( I kid you not ). Moan over.
London suggestions, City Cruises to Greenwich Observatory and the Cutty Sark, The Shard / Millenium Wheel for the view, rowing boat on the Serpentine in Hyde Park (also is close to Buckingham Palace and Knightsbridge / Harrods if interested).
Out of London, Dorset – Corfe Castle and Jurassic Coast, Yorkshire Dales – Ilkley (riverside walk and Cow and Calf rocks, Bolton Abbey (Abbey and riverside walk), Malham Cove and Gordale Scar (geology), the Lake District – Buttermere.
Have a wonderful holiday
Richard.
Pedant alert:
Your picture is of Westminster Abbey not Westminster Cathedral.
The former is Anglican (Church of England) as set up by Henry VIII, the latter is the modern Roman Catholic cathedral just down the road.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westminster_Cathedral
Dang, I live in a beautiful city!
Have a great holiday…
A visit to East Anglia and the CRU in order? It would be interesting to watch them pull the “look what you’ve done, you naughty little GIRL…I’m MELTING!” act, or in your case they might shout, “We are FREEZING.” But the way, it doesn’t seem “toasty” there today. Is it?
Max
I was born a mile from Tower Bridge. My mum used to play on the cannons there when she was a kid.
Have not been back down for about 20 years, but keep promising myself.
Enjoy.
Paul
Hi Willis
I’m a researcher at the Environmental Change Institute at Oxford University – and skeptic. Been reading WUWT and your posts for a long and happy time!
If you were coming back from Bath via Oxford I would happily show you the sights – I could even buy you a pint where Clinton didn’t inhale!
Steve
Willis:
You say you are going to Bath.
I write to make a suggestion for the benefit of the ladies in your party.
In the evening take your swimming costumes to the ‘new’ spa and bathe in the natural waters on the roof. You can do this whatever the weather. The combined dinner and spa is a bit pricey but well worth it. You eat dinner in the cafe wearing your spa dressing gowns which you only hire, but you get to keep the slippers as a momento.
I promise that your ladies will talk about soaking in the hot spa water on the roof for years to come.
Richard
No scientific content? Why, you could be a …. no, that would not be fair. 😉
As for embiggen, is that near Biggen Hill?
Decades ago I was helping some colleagues in England.
On a weekend day, we trouped off to an airshow at Biggin Hill Aerodrome. A person working for our supplier in England offered to meet us there with his son, and bring a picnic lunch.
So we parked outselves beside a runway or such and waited to see him, realizing that with a huge quantity of people about that might be difficult.
Meanwhile one of our group went off to find a book seller stall to meet someone who had a history book for him.
After a while, a person walks out of the crowd steaming by and says “Are you ……?”. On establishing we were with him, the person gave us a book, declined payment, and walked off. OK, I was tall and dark-haired like my colleague.
After a long while, during which we contemplated sausage rolls to sustain us (and hopefully liquid other than warm beer), we spotted the lunch bringer and his son.
They did not look like most of the crowd, who were locals, probably below average income – the show was no charge except for car parking, people streamed in on foot, bicycle, and bus.
Then we realized how much we stood out – Canadians and Americans, not dressed like most of the crowd.
Willis,
As you’re in London until Thursday and given your love of the sea, I suggest a visit to HMS Belfast, just opposite the Tower. Then if you have time, a few hundred yards upstream on the south bank there is a replica of the Golden Hind.
Hi Willis
You may be disappointed to be greeted in London with the Californian weather, but don’t despair by Friday forecast is the good old English summer will be with us again.