Election Day in London

I didn't find out the outcome of the election until breakfast on the seventh, the day after the election.  Once I had the news I was hoping to hear, I was ready to start the day. After bidding my hostess farewell, I hoofed over to my friends' B& B.   We set off around 9:30 into central London.

Photo by Helen Mongan Rallis.

Our train back to Worcester wasn't due to leave until about 3:30, so we decided to explore.  Helen, Kaitlin and I went to The Tower of London.  Kathryn had "been there" and "done that" so she set off on her own.

I had a bit of a "cultural experience" when looking for a toilet.  I stopped in at a tourist office and asked one of the employees there if she could direct me to the nearest loo.  She mentioned (with a bit of a 'tude, if you don't mind my saying) that it was in a neighboring building.  I stepped out of the shop to see what her reference was and she yelled out (in a rather snide tone) "You're welcome!" (clearly implying I was not welcome, but rather a rude American who didn't know my manners).  Chastened, I tried to explain, but there was no way to make it right.

The adult ticket was 19 pounds.  We entered through a gate and immediately connected with a tour in progress.  Our guide was a Yeoman Warder who seemed to enjoy telling tales of horror.

Photo by Helen Mongan Rallis.

This guy reminded me a little of the tour guide at Bodmin Jail.  Both had that morbid sense of humor, working the audience to get a rise out of them.  Mr. YW, however, was sober and well turned out...still, he seemed to take pleasure in sharing the story of Anne Boleyn's beheading.  As most people know, the broad outline of her story is that after failing to produce a male heir, Henry was ready to move on to the next wife.  He accused her of incest and adultery and doomed her to execution. Apparently there was a long held belief that she lost her head to an axe still held at the tower, however the truth is that she bravely faced her fate but insisted that because of her slender neck the executioner should use a sword.  She lost her head on the green behind the place where our guide was talking.

We also heard the story of King Edward IV's two young sons, Edward and Richard, who were conveniently labeled illegitimate so that their uncle Richard III could be crowned king.  The boys were imprisoned at the Tower, only to vanish, "never to be seen alive again".  Mr YW said the bones of two young boys had been discovered in the Tower walls.

It's amazing to think that the Tower originated in the early 1080s under William the Conqueror primarily  as a fortress, but it also served as a prison early on in the Tower's history.  It also became a site of executions and safekeeping of royal treasure.

One of the most popular exhibitions is, of course, the Crown Jewels.  Unfortunately, photos are not allowed.  It is completely understandable, but it is frustrating to see all that treasure and not be able to memorialize it with a photo, but that's why they sell the guide books. Quoting from the book I bought, "Most of the gold and silver jewel-encrusted pieces on display in the Jewel House are those objects used at the coronation of a sovereign and are collectively known as Coronation Regalia."  During the Commonwealth Era, Parliament sought to do away with all remnants of the monarchy, including the crowns and royal regalia.  Those objects have been replaced and additional items have become part of the collection.  The Tower has been the repository of the Crown Jewels since the 17th century.    Thomas Blood (referred to as an "impudent Irishman") attempted to steal the jewels, but his efforts were thwarted by the unexpected return of Edward's son who raised the alarm.  Today, the jewels "include the Cullinan 1 (the First Star of Africa) set in the Sovereign's Sceptre".  It is "the largest top quality cut diamond in the world weighing just over 530 carats.  The Koh-i-Nur diamond from India is set in the Crown of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother.  The stones in the Imperial State Crown include the legendary 'Stuart Sapphire', the 'Black Prince's Ruby' and the 'Queen Elizabeth's Pearls'.  This last crown has 2,868 diamonds, 17 sapphires, 11 emeralds, five  rubies and 273 pearls."

The exhibit was really wonderful, but we were ready for a little "buck-you-uppo" so we headed over to Tower cafe and tucked in to a nice lunch of bangers and mash.

Photo by Helen Mongan Rallis.

After our nosh, we walked around a few of the towers.  The Tower grounds feature a number of metal wire sculptures of animals representing creatures who were once part of the Royal Menagerie.  The first creatures arrived in 1199.  For over 600 years, the beasts included lions, tigers, ostriches, elephants and snakes. 

We walked  around and learned about methods of torture and methods of defense.

Photo by Helen Mongan Rallis.

We also visited the gift shop were we found an array of crowns and princesses.

We walked a great deal of the Tower grounds, but then it was time to meet up with Kathryn.  We all wanted to commemorate the election with a picture in front of the American Embassy.  I had visited the embassy 40 years ago during the 1972 election--it wasn't exactly deja vu since the outcome of that election wasn't what I had hoped it would be, but it felt good to be on U.S. soil for this occasion.

Photo by Helen Mongan Rallis.

We wanted to make sure we made the 3:30 train back to Worcester, so after our photo shoot, we walked through a section of Hyde Park.

Photo by Helen Mongan Rallis.

It made for a pleasant end to our trip.  The train ride back to Worcester was uneventful, which was just fine by all of us.