Day 5 in warm, sunny London. Tops of 17 degrees, low of 6. Sunrise at 6.21 and sunset at 7.45.
Started today with a full English breakfast - sausage (small), baked beans, egg, bacon and toast.
The cost of food and drinks in general is on the high side. Today we managed a brekky for 3 pound 95 pence about eight dollars each in Aussie dollars. There is no shortage of cafes about with full English breakfasts on offer. One strange observation is that there are two different prices one for eat in and one for take away.
Our BIG draw card today is to see Westminster Abbey. We purchased a three day London Pass for 80 pound each, this has allowed us to enter lots of the major tourist attractions. We have certainly made great use of this pass.
Now how can I best describe Westminster Abbey - stunning, amazing, grand, imposing, history abounds everywhere. It is of course the Abbey where recently Kate and Will got married, Will's nana Lizzy was crowned there - in this chair, the coronation chair. It is looking a little worse for wear and not very comfortable but it is 719 years old - see information below plus a link to more information of the Abbey.
http://www.westminster-abbey.org/visit-us
The Coronation Chair was made for King Edward I to enclose the famous
Stone of Scone, which he brought from Scotland to the Abbey in 1296,
where he placed it in the care of the Abbot of Westminster. The King had
a magnificent oaken chair made to contain the Stone in 1300-l, painted
by Master Walter
and decorated with patterns of birds, foliage and animals on a gilt
ground. The figure of a king, either Edward the Confessor or Edward I,
his feet resting on a lion, was painted on the back. The four gilt lions
below were made in 1727 to replace the originals, which were themselves
not added to the
Chair until the early 16th century. The Stone was originally totally
enclosed under the seat but over the centuries the wooden decoration has
been torn away from the front. At coronations the Chair with the Stone
stands facing the High Altar. Every monarch has been crowned in this
chair since Edward
II in 1308, except Edward V and Edward VIII, who were not crowned. At
the joint coronation of William III and Mary II in 1689 a special chair
was made for Mary, which is now in the Abbey Museum. The Chair was taken
out of the Abbey when Oliver Cromwell was installed upon it as Lord
Protector in Westminster
Hall. It was used by Queen Victoria at the 1887 Golden Jubilee
Services in the Abbey. During the Second World War the Chair was
evacuated to Gloucester Cathedral and the Stone was secretly buried in
the Abbey. Most of the graffiti on the back part of the Chair is the
result of Westminster schoolboys
and visitors carving their names in the 18th and 19th centuries. The
Chair was kept in the Chapel of St Edward the Confessor for many
centuries until that chapel was closed to general visitors in 1997. In
February 1998 the Chair was moved out to the ambulatory and raised on a
modern pedestal near
the tomb of Henry V. In April 2010 it was moved to a specially-built
enclosure within St Georges Chapel at the west end of the Nave for
essential conservation work.
A new plinth and canopy display for
the Chair in this chapel was designed by the Abbey's Surveyor Ptolemy
Dean in 2013. During conservation and cleaning, under the supervision of
the Hamilton Kerr Institute, a rare pigment called orpiment was
discovered in the compartment which housed the Stone and tiny traces of
vivid colour were found on the Chair. New wooden tracery was put in at
the front of the Chair (the original had been missing since the 18th
century). It was discovered that originally there was no seat and a
cushion on top of the Stone was probably used in earlier times.
We joined a personal guided tour and had a VERY informative tour of places off limits to the general public. Our guide Kath was a fountain of knowledge and we were both informed and amazed at the grandness of the site.
We were in the Abbey for over 4 hours. Truly a highlight thus far.
Next we went to the Guards Museum, lots of medals, uniforms, swords belonging to the Guards who
have a responsibility to guard the Queen on ceremonal occasions and they are an Army Regiment. It was interesting to learn about the different uniforms even down to the position and number of buttons on the coats.
On our adventure we found another great book store called Winstones - 5 levels. Of course Peter was found in the gardening section (again!!!!). You know I'm kidding he of course was in the military section.
The days just fly past and we knew that our travel companions were to arrive from down south of London having visited some of their family. We started our journey back to the hotel, caught the underground from Piccadilly Circus subway along the Piccadilly line back to Gloucester Road station .We joined Fiona and Neil and I lead the way to a close cafe serving six pound pizzas. I do not mean the weight of the pizza !!! Another fantastic day. We are certainly enjoying the sights and history of London.
