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Celebrating Thirty Years of Punk Rock

August 6 - 17, 2006
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The Big Bus Tour of London Continues...

Berkeley Square is a town square in the West End of London in the City of Westminster, originally laid out in the mid 18th century by architect William Kent. It is named after the noble Gloucestershire family of the same name whose London home, Berkeley House, had stood nearby until 1733. During his childhood, Winston Churchill lived at No. 48 Berkely Square. The house next door at No.50 Berkeley Square is the most infamous haunted house in London.
The square features a statue by Alexander Munro, a Pre-Raphaelite sculptor, made in 1858. The surrounding London Plane trees are among the oldest in central London, planted in 1789. They were absolutely beautiful.
The buildings around the square include several by other notable architects including Robert Adam, who designed Lansdowne House (since 1935 home of the Lansdowne Club) in the south-west corner of the square. As the tour moved on we were soon passing Hamley's Toy Store.

When William Hamley first opened a toy shop in London, Westminster Bridge had just opened to traffic (i.e. horses and carts). Even gaslights would not illuminate the city's streets for another half a century. The year was 1760, but William Hamley, a Cornishman from Bodmin, was not put off.
He filled his cramped Holborn shop with every toy he could find; rag dolls and tin soldiers, hoops and wooden horses, because he wanted the finest toyshop in the world. He even called it the 'Noah's Ark'.
So when Henry Charles Harrod opened a small grocer's in Knightsbridge in 1849, Hamleys was already a vastly successful 'Joy Emporium'. To celebrate, in 1881, William Hamley's grandsons opened a new branch in Regent Street, not far from Piccadilly Circus. Hamleys was there 11 years before Eros.

By the end of Queen Victoria's reign, croquet sets, cricket bats and footballs jostled with marionettes, magic lanterns and model sailing boats on the shop's packed shelves.
So great had the shop's reputation now become that Jean Jaques and Sons asked if they could launch their new 'Gossima' exclusively through Hamley's.
The public immediately took to the game, which they christened 'Ping Pong' after the noise made by the bouncing of its hollow white celluloid ball. Not until 1921 did it officially become Table Tennis.
In the same year, Hamley's reopened on six floors. Now toy theatres, Punch and Judy puppets, pedal cars and miniature railway trains helped to fill what was 'The Largest Toy Shop in the World.'
Ironically, this desire to provide the world's best selection of toys and games finally threatened to close Hamley's altogether. Its fleet of horse-drawn delivery vans was still at work each day when the economic depression across Europe forced the shop into liquidation in 1931.
Walter Lines chairman of the Tri-Ang Company, a man who had ridden on the delivery vans as a boy, saved Hamley's when he bought it and rebuilt its reputation. In 1938 he was rewarded with the Royal Warrant from Queen Mary. Her granddaughters, the young Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret Rose, both had Hamley toys in their nursery.

Even being bombed five times in World War II did not stop Hamley's. The staff (wearing tin hats) served at the front door, rushing in to collect the toys, and hand them over at the door. After the War it was business as usual; the Festival of Britain in 1951 brought a Grand Doll's Salon as well as a vast model railway to hypnotize children of any age. The new Queen Elizabeth II had not forgotten her own childhood companions. Both Prince Charles and Princess Anne received toys from Hamleys and, in 1955, her Majesty honored Walter Lines with his secondRoyal Warrant as a 'Toys and Sports Merchant'.
Hamley's became as much a London attraction as Buckingham Palace or The British Museum. Nowhere was the magic of childhood so precisely captured. And as toys changed, so did Hamley's; in 1981 it moved to 188 -196 Regent Street. It is still the biggest toyshop in the world.
Over the years Hamley's has developed an international reputation for choice, quality and innovation. The magical flagship store on Regent Street has over 7 floors packed full of toys and games, with live and interactive demonstrations.

The tour also took us through Piccadilly Circus, and soon we were in the Theatre District. One of the most important things to see in the district was Her Majesty's Theatre.
The current theatre is actually the fourth to occupy the site. The design is the vision of architect C.J. Phipps. Originally named The Queen's Theatre, the original was built by Sir John Vanbrugh and opened in 1705. The venue was renamed The King's Theatre upon the ascension of George I to the throne in 1714. From this period until the end of the 1700's the theatre was most often associated with Opera performances. In 1789 the theatre was destroyed by fire.
The theatre took two years to rebuild under the supervision of acclaimed architect Michael Novosielski. The restored theatre continued to stage opera and also ballet performances, which were extremely popular at the end of the eighteenth century. Mozart's first operas in London were performed at the Kings Theatre.
The royal architect John Nash added facades to the building during the nineteenth century. The Theatre was destroyed a second time by fire in 1867. The building's third incarnation was designed by Charles Lee and once again was a popular venue for opera. The theatre was demolished in 1892 and was once again rebuilt.
The current building was first opened in 1897 and has a capacity of more than twelve hundred across four tiers. The Theatre still stages occasional operas, though is now more often used to stage plays.
The name 'Her Majesty's Theatre' is now changed dependent on who is the current monarch. It is the only theatre in London that does this.

As the tour continued, the bust took us around the National Gallery, Trafalgar Square, and down Whitehall Street past the Admiralty Arch.
The Admiralty Arch is a large office building which incorporates an archway providing road and pedestrian access between The Mall, which extends to the southwest, and Trafalgar Square to the northeast. It was designed by Sir Aston Webb. It adjoins the Old Admiralty Building, hence the name.

The building was commissioned by King Edward VII in memory of his mother Queen Victoria, although he did not live to see its completion. A Latin inscription along the top reads:

: ANNO : DECIMO : EDWARDI : SEPTIMI : REGIS :
: VICTORIÆ : REGINÆ : CIVES : GRATISSIMI : MDCCCCX :

(In the tenth year of King Edward VII, to Queen Victoria, from most grateful citizens, 1910)

Admiralty Arch is a Grade I Listed Building. In the United Kingdom the term 'Listed Building' refers to a building or other structure officially designated as being of special architectural, historical or cultural significance. It is a widely used status, applied to around half a million buildings. A listed building may not be demolished, extended or altered without special permission from the local planning authority.
In 2000, the Cabinet Office moved into offices in the building, while maintaining its headquarters on Whitehall. It also houses the Prime Minister's Strategy Unit.
An infamous feature of Admiralty Arch is its "nose." On the inside wall of the northernmost arch there is a small protrusion the size and shape of a human nose. There is little or no public information as to why it is there. The nose is about seven feet high, and would sit at waist high for anyone riding through the arch on a horse. Tradition holds that it is Napoleon's nose. It was to be rubbed by anyone riding through the arch.
The fascinating info provided by our knowledgeable tour guide continued to keep me awake and I snapped off many photographs as we road through the twisting and turning streets of the Greater London Area.

A short time later, we came to Horse Guards, a large building in the Palladian style between Whitehall and Horse Guards Parade. It is marked by a statue of a mounted Guard.
It was built between 1751-1753 by John Vardy to a design by William Kent. The building was constructed on the site of the Guard House of the old Whitehall Palace, which had been destroyed by fire in 1698.
The building was the headquarters of the British Army's general staff and served as the offices of the Commander-in-Chief of the British Army until the post was abolished in 1904. Horse Guards subsequently became the headquarters of two major Army commands: the London District and the Household Cavalry. The building is the formal entrance to St. James's Palace via St. James's Park (though this is now entirely symbolic). Only members of the Royal Family are allowed to drive through its central archway. Horse Guards is always guarded by troopers of the Household Cavalry, both mounted and on foot; visiting the horses is popular with tourists. Two mounted cavalry troopers are posted outside daily from 10 am to 4 pm, and are relieved every hour. There are usually guided tours of the building on London Open House Weekend, which takes place in September.
Horse Guards Parade, a large parade ground off Whitehall Street in central London. It was formerly the site of the Palace of Whitehall's tiltyard, an enclosed courtyard for jousting (also known as "tilting").

Tiltyards were a common feature of late medieval castles and palaces. Horse Guards Parade was constructed by Henry VIII as an entertainment venue where tournaments were held. It was also the scene of the annual celebrations of the birthday of Queen Elizabeth I.
The area has been used for a variety of reviews, parades and other ceremonies since the 17th century. It is the site of the annual ceremonies of Trooping the Colour, which commemorates the monarch's official birthday, and Beating Retreat, a military ceremony dating back to the 16th century and was originally used in order to recall nearby patrolling units to their castle.

The parade ground is open on the west side, where it faces Horse Guards Road and St. James's Park. It is flanked on the north by the Old Admiralty and the Admiralty Citadel, and on the south by the Foreign & Commonwealth Office and the back wall of No.10 Downing Street. Access to this side of Horse Guards Parade is now restricted for security reasons.
For much of the late 20th century it was put to a rather less dignified purpose as a car park for senior civil servants. This use was ended in the 1990s. The catalyst for the clearing of the parade ground was the Provisional IRA's mortar attack on No.10 Downing Street on February 7, 1991, which was carried out from a vehicle parked near to Horse Guards Parade in Horse Guards Avenue. Not surprisingly, vehicles are now not allowed to park anywhere in the area.
We were soon in the area of Whitehall.
Whitehall was established on the site of Whitehall Palace, the residence of court until all but the banquet hall was destroyed by fire. Downing Street was named after Sir George Downing, the second graduate from the newly formed Harvard College in America. Downing bought land near Whitehall Palace and built a number of houses in the area.
The most famous address in Whitehall district is of course No. 10 Downing Street, the home of the Prime Minister. The black door of No. 10, guarded by a single policeman, is one of the most enduring images of London. The famous black door that appears in all the news reports is said to only open from the inside.
The black exterior was once the result of years of London pollution. The original brickwork is in fact a yellow color. It is now painted black to keep the familiar appearance.Downing Street has been the official residence of the Prime minister since 1732, when George II gave the property to Robert Walpole. No. 10 is not only the home of the Prime Minister; it is also the location of the Cabinet Room, State Dining Room, and official offices.Downing Street has been gated since 1987 when Margaret Thatcher was in office, preventing public access. There was a similar barricade in 1918 when violent protest by supporters of Irish Independence was anticipated. Number 11 Downing Street is the residence of the Chancellor of the Exchequer and number 12 is the Whips Office.

The tour continued and soon passed the Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament, Westminster Abbey, and crossed over the Westminster Bridge. It was constructed in 1854-62 from the designs of Thomas Page. It was the second bridge over the River Thames (London Bridge being the first) and was built to replace an older stone bridge. The 353m/810ft long bridge is one of the most elegant of the London bridges and commands a fine view of the Houses of Parliament. On the Westminster side of the bridge stands a huge bronze sculpture of Boadicea (also Boudicca), Queen of the Iceni, one of two British women to be mentioned by the Romans in their writings. She was the wife of King Prasutagus who was given the Client Kingship of the Iceni after the Icenian civil war of 47 AD. Following Prasuttagus' death, around 60 AD, the kingdom was pillaged by the imperial procurator Decianus Catus.

Boadicea took the matter to a higher Roman authority, which resulted in her being publicly flogged and her daughters violated.
Indignant at her treatment, she instigated a rebellion within her tribe and, joined by the Trinovantes directly to the south, plundered the Romano-British towns of Camulodunum (Colchester), Verulamium (St. Albans) and Londinium (London) before being beaten in a battle with the forces of the governor, Suetonius Paullinus, near Manduessedum in the midlands.
The chronicles of these events, as recorded by the historians Tacitus and Dio Cassius, were rediscovered during the Renaissance. This led to a resurgence of Boadicea's legendary fame during the Victorian era, when Queen Victoria was portrayed as her "namesake." Boadicea has since remained an important cultural symbol in the United Kingdom. The statue portrays Boadicea and her two daughters in a scythed chariot, a war chariot with a blade(s) mounted on both ends of the axle, drawn by two charging stallions. The figure was commissioned by Prince Albert and executed by Thomas Thornycroft. It was completed in 1905. On the opposite side of the Thames, Victoria Embankment extends below the bridge and above the Albert Embankment with St Thomas's Hospital.

The Florence Nightingale Museum is located at St Thomas' Hospital, which faces the Palace of Westminster. It is open to the public seven days a week. The museum tells the story of the life and work of Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern nursing in the United Kingdom. In 1860, four years after her famous involvement in the Crimean War, Nightingale founded the Nightingale Training School for nurses at St. Thomas' Hospital.
Florence Nightingale was born into a rich, well-connected British family at the Villa Colombaia in Florence, Italy. She was named after the city of her birth, as was her older sister Parthenope (the Greek name for the city of Naples). Her parents were William Edward Nightingale and Frances ("Fanny") Nightingale née Smith. Her parents forbade her to practice nursing, and instead insisted that she engage in marriage and a family. Inspired by what she took as a divine calling, experienced first in 1837 at Embley Park and later throughout her life, Nightingale committed herself to nursing. This demonstrated a passion on her part, and also a rebellion against the expected role for a woman of her status, which was to become an obedient wife. In those days, nursing was a career with a poor reputation, filled mostly by poorer women, "hangers-on" who followed the armies. In fact, nurses were equally likely to function as cooks. Nightingale announced her decision to enter nursing in 1845, evoking intense anger and distress from her family, particularly her mother.
She cared for poor and indigent people. In December 1844, in response to a pauper's death in a workhouse infirmary in London that became a public scandal, she became the leading advocate for improved medical care in the infirmaries and immediately engaged the support of Charles Villiers, then president of the Poor Law Board. This led to her role in the reform of the Poor Laws, extending beyond the provision of medical care.
In 1846 she visited Kaiserswerth, Germany, and learned more of its pioneering hospital established by Theodor Fliedner and managed by an order of Lutheran deaconesses. She was profoundly impressed by the quality of care and by the commitment and practices of the deaconesses.
Nightingale's career in nursing began in earnest in 1851 when she received four months' training in Germany as a deaconess of Kaiserswerth. She undertook the training over strenuous family objections concerning the risks and social implications of such activity, and the Roman Catholic foundations of the hospital. While at Kaiserswerth, she reported having her most important intense and compelling experience of her divine calling.
On August 12, 1853, Nightingale took a post of superintendent at the Institute for the Care of Sick Gentlewomen in Upper Harley Street, London, a position she held until October 1854. Her father had given her an annual income of £500 (roughly $50,000 in present terms) that allowed her to live comfortably and to pursue her career. James Joseph Sylvester was her mentor.
The museum has a resource center which is open by appointment to students, academics and other researchers, who may utilise the museum's collections, books and documents related to Florence Nightingale.

The tour continued on its way and the guide described all the fascinating sites. I was entralled with Amy's knowledge of the area and I thought it was wonderful to learn so much about the buildings and landmarks of the famous city.
I was sometimes amazed at the tight turns the Big Bus made to get down some of the twisting and narrow streets of London. It almost seemed the bus driver could ignore the laws of physics as he made the turns. It made me wonder if all the busses in London might have a little bit of Dr. Who's Tardis in them. (Think about it… Huge bus, tiny corner of a narrow street… not to mention the fact that we were passing by monuments and buildings from all different ages of history. It was a bit like warping Time & Space. But, I digress… Back to the story.) And speaking of breaking laws, the bus was soon in front of the Royal Courts of Justice.

The Royal Courts of Justice, commonly called the Law Courts, is a building that houses the Court of Appeal and the High Court of Justice of England and Wales. Courts within the building are open to the public although there may be some restrictions depending upon the nature of the cases being held. The building is a large grey stone edifice in the Victorian Gothic style and was designed by George Edmund Street, a solicitor turned architect, and built in the 1870s.
The Royal Courts of Justice was opened by Queen Victoria in December 1882 and became the permanent home of the Supreme Court. It is on The Strand, in the City of Westminster, near the border with the City of London and the London Borough of Camden. It is surrounded by the four Inns of Court.
Those who do not have legal representation may receive some assistance within the court building. The Citizens Advice Bureau has a small office in the main entrance hall where lawyers provide free advice. There is usually a queue for this service. (I wish they had something like this in the States…)
There is also a Personal Support Unit where litigants can get emotional support and practical information about what happens in court. The main criminal court (Crown Court), housed separately, is the Central Criminal Court, popularly known as the "Old Bailey." (For you movie buffs, that was the first building blown up by the character "V" in the beginning of the film "V for Vendeta.")
The Temple Church is a late 12th century church located between Fleet Street and the River Thames, built for and by the Knights Templar. Popularly known as the Knights Templar or the Order of the Temple, the order were among the most famous of the Christian military orders. The organization existed for about two centuries in the Middle Ages, created in the aftermath of the First Crusade of 1096 to ensure the safety of the large numbers of European pilgrims who flowed toward Jerusalem after its conquest. The Templars were an unusual order in that they were both monks and soldiers, making them in effect some of the earliest "warrior monks" in the Western world. The order's Knights were also famous and easily recognized, with a white surcoat with distinct red cross emblazoned above the heart or on the chest, as seen in many portrayals of crusaders. Members of the Order played a key part in many battles of the Crusades, and the Order's infrastructure innovated many financial techniques that could be considered the foundation of modern banking. After Jerusalem was lost to Saladin in 1187, the Crusades gradually wound down and European support for the Order began to falter. In the early 1300s, King Philip IV of France (also known as "Philip the Fair") was in desperate need of money to continue his war with the English. Already deeply in debt to the Templars, on Friday, October 13, 1307 (a date incorrectly linked to the origin of the Friday the 13th legend), Philip had many French Templars simultaneously arrested, charged with numerous heresies, and tortured until they "confessed."

This action released Philip from his obligation to repay his loans. King Philip also pressured the church to take action against the Templars. When a pope refused, Philip had him kidnapped or executed, until a pope to his liking was named to the position.
This finally resulted in the installment of Pope Clement V, a childhood friend of Philip's. In 1312, under pressure from King Philip, Clement officially disbanded the entire Order at the Council of Vienne. In 1314, the remaining leaders including Grand Master Jacques de Molay were burned alive at the stake in Paris. The remaining Templars around Europe were either arrested and tried under the Papal investigation (with virtually none convicted) , absorbed into other military orders such as the Order of Christ and the Knights Hospitaller, pensioned and returned to the secular life. In some cases, the former Templars evidently fled to other territories outside of Papal control, such as England and excommunicated Scotland. But questions still remain as to what happened to the thousands of Templars across Europe, or to the fleet of Templar ships which vanished from La Rochelle on October 13, 1307. Also, the extensive archive of the Templars, with detailed records of all of their business holdings and financial transactions, was never found. (Having been a big fan of the Knights Templar as a teenager, I was fascinated by the thought of finding their lost treasure, but only for a moment....)

Two Inns of Court (Inner Temple and Middle Temple) both use the church, which is famous for its effigy tombs. It was heavily damaged during the Second World War but has been largely restored. I snapped off many more photos as the tour made its way through the city.


Next Installment: Even More of the Big Bus Tour
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