The New Normal - Out of Africa to Christmastime in London, part 5, Blewcoat School, Westminster Cathedral and Shopping

We were wandering around on Tuesday, our last full day in London.  Heading for shopping, we literally ran into two really awesome buildings; the old Blewcoat School and the iconic Westminster Cathedral!  WOW.  

First, the Blewcoat school - It was built in 1709 to house a charity school started in 1688. It was taken over by Ian Stuart in 2013, who redid the interior to house his bridal shop. I don't think it's famous, but I'm really not sure.  We just really liked the old building, with a statue in front of it, and the amazing plantings around it.

A little while later, what should appear in our path but Westminster Cathedral.  I guess Westminster, being the "mother church of the Catholic Church of England and Wales", should be impressive, and it is.  

Construction on the Early Christian Byzantine-style building began in 1895 and finished in 1903, so it is not as old as some churches we saw in London. The exterior is made of brick and stone, giving it a colorful look.  

The interior is huge, with 54,000 square feet of floor space.  Much of it was not worked on until much later than the official "finish date", and has not actually been finished even now. I can't imagine what more could be done to make it more decorated, with all the marble and mosaic we saw.  I particularly loved all the different colors of marble.  Some pieces are framed, like a picture, with white marble; so the marble itself become the focal point.

There is a huge "high altar" in the middle, and the sanctuary is surrounded by smaller chapels.  The "grand organ", finished in 1932, has four manuals and 81 stops.  I would love to hear it someday.  There is another smaller organ as well.

The High Altar

Statue of St. Peter

Statue of St. Peter, foot

After marvelling at the cathedral for a while, we decided to have lunch.  We went into a nice little place called "Nightingale".  Since the restaurant was full, a women sitting alone invited us to join her.  We had the nicest conversation with her; that's what travel is all about.

We finally got around to shopping, which was the whole reason for the outing. We enjoyed the city streets all decorated for Christmas.  

Walking around the famous Harrod's proved to be challenging with the crowds, but we had fun anyway.  This department store is located on a 5 acres site, with 330 departments covering, 1 million square feet!

Harrod's

We arrived home to Casa on Wednesday after an uneventful plane ride (thankfully!)  There is so much more to see in England, and we want to return again someday.

The New Normal - Out of Africa to Christmastime in London, part 4, "Harry Potter" on stage

We were lucky enough to be able to get tickets to Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, playing at the Palace Theatre located in the West End.  The Palace Theatre is lovely inside and out.  The interior has 1,400 plush, comfortable, red seats, split across four levels and an amazing revolving stage.  The huge, brick building, designed by Thomas Collcutt, is beautifully ornate, including little cherub sculptures all over the interior. 

Shots taken from the restaurant across the street

The Palace opened in 1891 as the Royal English Opera House with a production of Arthur Sullivan's Ivanhoe.   Later, it was converted into the Palace Theatre of Varieties, and variety shows were performed and films were screened there.  In 1925, No, No, Nannette was the first musical to be presented in the space.  Since then, many musical productions have played there such as, Jesus Christ Superstar in the 70's for eight years and, starting in 1985, Les Mis for nineteen years!  In 1968, Judi Dench starred in Cabaret there; I would have love to have seen her in that show. 

Unfortunately, the doors of the theatre were closed during the both World Wars, and it actually was bombed during WWII. Luckily, the theatre was restored in 1985 and is quite an impressive place. 

The latest instalment of Harry Potter is a two-part stage play, which premiered on July 30th of this year.  We were fortunate to get great seats in the "stalls" on the ground floor, with full view of the action.  This new play by Jack Thorne is based on the original new story written by J.K. Rowling, Jack Throne and John Tiffany. I have read all seven Potter books, and was very anxious to see the eighth story presented as a stage play.  

We saw both parts on December 26th, as the show is intended, matinee and evening.  We were impressed with the new story, special magical effects and the very fine actors.  My favorite actor was the boy who played Scorpius, son of Draco Malfoy.  Anthony Boyle was very funny, and was also able to handle both the serious and physical parts required of the role.  

The story was funny, dramatic and even scary at times, and centers around grown-up Harry Potter. Harry's son is finding it difficult to deal with Harry's fame, and so the story begins.  That's about all I can tell you; we are sworn to "Keep the Secrets" so I can't say anymore about the plot or special effects.  Just know we give Harry two thumbs up!

We also enjoyed wandering around the theatre district and seeing the exterior of the various theatres.  Such fun!

The New Normal: Out of Africa to Christmastime in London, part 3, Touring England

On Christmas eve day we decided to leave London for the day.  We took a coach "Golden Tour" into the countryside. We toured Leeds Castle, Dover, Canterbury and a bit of Greenwich. Even the weather cooperated, so our all-day trip, with Mark as our guide, could not have been more enjoyable.

Richard in front of Leeds Castle

Our first stop was Leeds Castle, located in the heart of the countryside of Kent.  It is a lovely castle that has a history of being built and then rebuilt a number of times, depending on its residents.  The castle today is mostly 19th-century and has been open to the public since 1976.  The structures are built on two islands in the middle of a man-made moat that is quite deep.  The moat was created by Edward 1 in the 13th century by diverting the Len River to create the moat/lake. The estate was largely self-sufficient, but a lot of food had to be brought in when the royal court was in residence. There are also many species of birds on the estate, including the famous black swans.  A number of films and TV shows have used this location for filming, including some episodes of Dr. Who and the Bond film Moonraker.  

Beautiful Leeds Castle and lake/moat

Old Wall from a former structure

Moat view

On of the famous Black Swans; they are quite tame

The mill on the estate

Dining Room

Library

Richard II imitation by Richard Cram

Impressive-looking organ in the chapel at Leeds Castle

After the castle, we boarded our coach and headed for Dover, a town and port also in the county of Kent.  Dover is located across the narrowest part of the English Channel from France, so it has always been strategically important to Britain.  The famous White Cliffs of Dover, reaching up to 350 feet, stretch across the coastline for 8 miles.  Striking to look at, they are made of white chalk with streaks of black flint.  Massive tunneling has taken place at various levels of the cliffs at different times.  Dover castle can be seen on the top of the hill.  

White Cliffs of Dover

Richard on Dover beach; buildings in front of the channel; rocks brought in makes it hard to walk

Dover Castle

White Cliffs on the right; Dover Castle on top of hill

The English Channel, with France in the distance

Following Dover and a festive lunch, we made our way to historic Canterbury.  We walked around the city for about an hour, and enjoyed the "old feel" of the town and the Christmas lights and decorations.  We saw the outside of the famous Canterbury Cathedral, home of the Archbishop of Canterbury.  It was founded in 597 and rebuilt in 1077. After a fire  in 1174, it was rebuilt again, this time in a Gothic style seen below.  

Canterbury Cathedral

Canterbury Cathedral

Canterbury Cathedral entranceway

Clocktower  is the only remains of St. George the Martyr Church, destroyed in a bombing in 1942

St. Johns of Canterbury (1875), the only Roman Catholic Church in Canterbury

Richard on Butchery Lane

A very brief walk-through of Greenwich was our last stop. The coolest thing we saw there was the Cutty Sark (1869) through the glass building where it is currently housed.  This legendary clipper "tea" ship has been made into a museum.  I really want to go back to Greenwich someday to have the experience of going into the museum and walking under the ship, which has been raised over 3 meters.  

http://www.rmg.co.uk/cutty-sark/history/ten-things-you-should-know

Cutty Sark, Greenwich (decorated with a Christmas tree)

Cutty Sark Bow (from the indecent side)

Last, are scenes of London along the Thames taken on our boat ride back to Westminster.  

The Shard skyscraper on the right, tallest building in the UK at 95 stories, 1016 feet