We stopped by the Vauxhall City Zoo which is just up the street from our house. Apparently, it is a charity - there is no admission - they work primarily with children from what this gal told us.
There were fowl - ducks, geese, chickens, roosters, turkeys.
Then there were some funky looking llamas - or maybe I just don't know too many llamas so they look funky!!
Of course, I loved the sheep - I knew the black faced suffolk sheep - there were others that looked like cheviot - the gal just called them white faced. I can't remember what she called the black ones.
They have riding lessons - we saw kids riding horses last night when we were walking home.
And then we had to say goodbye to the City Farm.
We had decided to go to the Cabinet War Rooms/Churchill Museum so we took the 88 bus back to Westminster and walked through part of Whitehall out to St. James Park.
We had walked down the steps in the picture below, but didn't see the entrance. I saw a business man approaching near where the gal in pink is on the left. Pardon me, can you tell me where the Cabinet War Rooms are? He looked at me like I was daft - then he pointed behind me to that black pavilion on the right tucked in beside the stairs - that is the entrance. I'm sure he was muttering to himself about annoying tourists as he walked away.
The War Rooms were busy. What an experience!! I love Winston Churchill and to see where he conducted the war, and then to see the museum with so much information about him and so many artifacts was fabulous. We were there for a couple of hours and could have stayed there for hours more. I had to force myself to walk past all the books in the gift shop - my bags are heavy enough!!
We were thinking of my aunt Hannie, her friends Jean and Virginia who were telephone operators during WWII down at Camp Edwards - now Otis Air Force Base. One telephone operator in the War Rooms worked 12 hours on and 12 hours off - except that she had a bed in the same small cubicle where her switchboard was so she was never really off duty.
The air quality was poor and all the rooms had metal fans high up on the walls. One of the woman was tape recorded talking about the need for light therapy because they worked so long under ground and did not see sunlight for long periods.
There were 6 and a half feet of concrete poured on top of the bunker to shelter them from 500 lbs. bombs - there was a bomb suspended from the ceiling at the entrance to the War Rooms. One of the woman working down there was taped talking about when one of the military men told her that if the Nazis bombed the Thames, they would all drown.
When the war ended, the fellow in charge of operations locked the door behind him - it was never opened again for decades - so everything was just as they left it.
There were pictures of politicians, military personnel, and workers. Jody took a picture of the telephone operators. I saw a picture of Clement Atlee who was deputy PM during the war years. The tour guide we had at Parliament had commented that Churchill had the personality and the ideas, while Atlee was the one who made sure everything got done during the war.
We were hungry, thirsty, and tired of standing when we left the War Rooms. We were seeing MacBeth tonight at the Globe theatre so decided to head down to Southwark to get a bite to eat. The day had cleared up so we decided to take the commuter ferry down the Thames. Normally, I am working inside 5 days a week for 8-10 hours so I enjoy being outdoors when I am off. And the three of us love being on or near the water. So we headed off to Westminster Pier.
I wanted the picture of the Union Jack.
Our water bus.
This was an enclosed catamaran, and it was only a short trip - we missed the stop for the Tate and the Globe so we got off at London Bridge. We saw a restaurant with outdoor dining to the left so we headed that way. We checked out the menu, but the atmosphere seemed a little formal so we walked a little further to a pub on the right which had outdoor seating overlooking the Thames - I think it was Horniman on Hayes. We were told to find a table and check the number on it - #408 - go into the pub, order, pay, and the food would be delivered - so we did. I ordered fish and chips - talk about fried!! Jody had gammon and eggs - Patty had a salad. We relaxed and enjoyed the view - I'm fascinated by all the people. Suddenly it was 4:15 pm - I was meeting Helen at 4:30 and wasn't sure exactly where! I saw a sign for Tooley Street - I knew Caffe Nero was off that street near Battle Bridge Lane. Patty and Jody walked along with me through Hay's Galleria. We turned left at Tooley Street - Patty and Jody were going to walk to Caffe Nero and then go to Borough Market. All of a sudden I heard "Is that Mary Ellen?" Helen was walking up behind us! After brief introductions, Helen and I headed for the cafe - Patty and Jody headed for the market.
Hay's Galleria has shops and restaurants and this fountain.
Helen's husband had dropped her off and went to park the car to take the train in. Unfortunately, the London Bridge stop was closed, and he had to go further on and double back. In the meantime Helen bought me my first coffee since arriving in England. We caught up on our families, how the trip was going so far, etc. - John join us, and we talked about politics, history, John's work experiences, life in general. The time past very quickly. Jody texted that she and Patty stopped for a Pimm's after marketing. We arranged to meet at the Globe.
John and Helen walked to the Globe with me. They pointed out so many points of interest along the way - I had my own private tour guides!
We met up with Jody and Patty in the lobby - took some photos - I am just realizing that the photos were all on Helen's camera except this one:
So we said goodbye to John and Helen as we made plans to meet next Tuesday before we go to the Globe again to see Merchant of Venice.
Helen had suggested renting cushions for the wood benches. So we did. I couldn't believe our seats! I was directly in front of the stage in the middle level!! Right in front!! Jody was 3 seats and a post away, and Patty who had bought a ticket just before the performance was one row behind and several seats away!
The above picture of the stage shows the open roof.
It was a little cool with the open roof - that must have felt good to the people standing around the stage. It must have been great to be standing and leaning on the stage. I think it might have been Helen who told me about the mad rush once the doors open to get up close to the stage on the ground level.
The play itself was great. The fellow who played MacBeth reminded me of the actor who played Othello in a production Jody and I saw in Boston. The oldest actor who played the king whom MacBeth murders was a little stiff which surprised me.
The play's opening witches scene was put to music which was different. The singers and small band were on the stage overlooking the actors. One of the actresses playing a witch had lost part of her right arm but like most people with disabilities she was quite able to compensate for it. In one scene where she was playing a soldier, other actors grabbed her by her stump to throw her around - I don't know whether or not I was more aware of her because I am a nurse - but she was excellent and very funny in one scene she starred in.
As Jody and I were just discussing - as we were sitting outside on our terrace/balcony in the sun - it is so interesting to see these plays a couple of times done by different companies. I wonder where or how they get the inspiration for their interpretations. Each production is different - I often wonder is it the director or the actors or both interpreting the roles. Some people think that Shakespeare is very high brow, but didn't he write for the masses as well as the wealthy and/or educated - isn't that who the groundlings in front of the stage were - so his words would have had a comedic twist, plenty of gore, and sexual innuendoes.
Anyway, we grabbed a taxi back to Vauxhall Station - I wanted to grab a snack for the morning to take my Ibuprofen, but they were closed. I went this morning instead.
We are talking about going to Camden Market and Regent's Canal today - so that will be another adventure!
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