The Westminster tourist circuit and Lord's

Walking around Waterloo in search of breakfast, I saw a nice perspective of the London Eye which I thought I'd show you. Across the road from where I took that photo I found my breakfast in the form of a sausage roll, but not what we'd generally think of as a sausage roll in Australia but more like the link sausage roll I had in Edinburgh, although it wasn't quite as tasty as that one. Nonetheless, it would fill the belly while I went and did the Westminster Walk that is outlined in my brilliant drizzle-proof Gregory's "London - City In Your Pocket" map thingy which has all the things to see and do, as well as maps and an invaluable map of most of the Tube system. It's been taken out of my bag and put back in so many times that I'm surprised it's in such good condition. Walking past South Bank I noticed that I was actually in the location where part of the film clip for Pet Shop Boys' "West End Girls" had been shot, so just add a picture of Neil Tennant against the House of Parliament and Chris Lowe looking off in some other direction and voila... West End Girls. I'd already seen Parliament House from my earlier travels but I'd not actually gone around the corner in order to see Westminster Abbey. It was nice, big and old, but then... that accounts for many of the buildings in this city so it was nice to see, but didn't seem particularly monumental. I'm sure the people who were excited enough to pay to get in would have thought it was pretty good. The tour, laid out by my pocket map then took me along Parliament Street past Downing Street, and then cutting through some buildings to St. James' Park. This park was really nice and it was actually a really good day for appreciating a park like this. Today was easily the warmest day so far in London and I spent quite a bit of time not even wearing my trusty Pop Will Eat Itself beanie. There were a few squirrels again, but they were this time outnumbered by the ducks and the pidgeons. There were even a few big old pelicans, who despite looking totally daft, enthralled people simply because of how big and funny looking they are. By the end of St. James' Park you arrive at Buckingham Palace. For someone not particularly fond of the concept of royalty, it was not particularly interesting... just another big old stone building really, but people were flocked around there in great excitement so I'm glad it meant a lot to them. I was then heading back towards where the changing of the guard takes place down the Mall when these posh looking horse and carts came past. That was a bit of fun, and certainly a nice change from cars and black taxi cabs. A little further along and down a side street and there's this band standing there getting ready to play a song. I was expecting something regimental, but was pleasantly surprised when they came out with a rendition of Petula Clark's classic "Downtown". Things were pretty great until I got to Pall Mall which is a bit of a dump, so I promptly got back onto the Mall and scurried back in time to see the changing of the guard. Essentially, it's a whole lot of dressed up men on horseback doing diddly-squat and then a few trumpet blows and two different sets of horses and horsemen going their separate ways. It was all very grand but I know little of the tradition and do not actually understand how this was ever a legimate and functional process. I'm sure Anna can enlighten me on this because she's very knowledgeable on the history of London. The guided map tour ended with a visit to Nelson's Column on Trafalgar Square but I didn't stick around as I had a London Eye flight to aboard. So after a quick look, and a quick walk past Scotland Yard, I crossed the Hungerford Rail Bridge Footpath across the Thames and over to the London Eye for my first decent experience in the ancient English art of queueing. Finally, by the end of the queue I was in the London Eye and weatherwise it was a really great day to be on board. A little hazy perhaps but the weather was really good and there was good visibility in all directions. Most people seemed interested in the scenery only, and one kid was fascinated by the fact he could see a man in a suit running, but I was just as excited about the structure of the London Eye itself. It's the world's largest observation wheel and it's a brilliant bit of engineering, considering they just build it alongside and over the Thames. Perhaps in some ways things like aeroplane travel, TV and Google Earth nullify the magnificence of being able to see such views, but it was a highly agreeable experience and thank you very much Anna for my ticket... it was really good to see some of the places I've seen so far from such a high vantage point. Upon alighting the London Eye we were promtly cleared out of the area by a patrol of stormtroopers, and I made my way back across Westminster Bridge, past all the dingleberries getting their photos taken, so I could get to Westminster station and catch the Jubilee line train back up north to St. John's Wood on my second attempt to get into Lord's. With a little bit of time to spare once I arrive in St. John's Wood I went into Tesco's Metro to grab some lunch and my second significant experience in the fine old English art of queueing. I kid you not, the queue to get to the checkout went around half the store. You effectively get into the queue and as you make your way around the queue you grab what you want off the shelf and pay for it on the way out. This odd method of acquiring lunch gave me an eclectic meal of sushi, Austrian smoked cheddar, and an energy drink made from taurine and various tropical juices. I returned to Regents Park to sit and eat my food before crossing the road over to Lords. For anyone with an interest in cricket, the tour is well worth the £10 entry. After waiting around in the museum, our tour guide Keith took us through various room in the Pavillion and gave us a comprehensive history of the origins of the Marylebone Cricket Club, Lords, and the functions of all the various rooms. Some of the rooms we went into which even members cannot get into are the room where any rule changes are made (and the Queen is hosted, if she attends) as well as the changing rooms for England and the away team. I even got to stand on the balcony where the Aussies celebrated their World Cup victory over Pakistan a few years ago. After the tour of the Pavillion, our brilliant tour guide Keith took us into the new media centre where the newspaper, radio and television coverage of Lords games takes place. Up that stairwell which you can see in the picture is where Richie Benaud and his fellow TV commentators watch the game from nowadays and have done so since the new media area was constructed in 1999. To finish the tour, we got to see Lord's from the stands and then back in the museum we got to see the Ashes themselves along with the interesting story of their origin and significance. Departing Lords I went in search of Abbey Road, got lost, and wasn't much fussed about trying to hunt around for it because my map for the area was pretty dodgy. So instead I ended up walking through a posh neighbourhood until i arrived at Warwick Avenue station and from there navigated my way back to Leanne and Greg's place.

It's still November 1st here, but in Australia it's actually my birthday right now... so it's a rather strange feeling being sort of in your twenties and sort of in your thirties at the same time - a little like standing between the Eastern and Western hemisphere in Greenwich. The itinerary for my birthday is now pretty freeform apart from the obvious Carter festivities. If I don't go back into the centre of London tomorrow, that may well be the last time I see the very centre of London for a decade or so. It's been great.