Mind the Gap!
Almost twenty three months ago, we landed in England. We spent nearly a week with Dave and Deb and walked to a nearby museum which was all kinds of fun. But we didn't do any real sightseeing. When we got to Oxford we were so focused on learning what we were doing, and getting to know the young adults that we didn't get back into London to do "sightseeing" at all. We just went into meetings. We kept saying we would do all that when summer came and most of the students had gone home.
Well, COVID, Gilbert AZ, and lockdowns happened and as we come down to the end of the mission, we are feeling bad that we never even did the usual tourist things.
Today - we did the usual tourist things. Not many, but satisfying - and we put nearly 6 miles on our feet. We are both exhausted. We went with the Roskelleys, who know their way around London, since two years ago their assignment was in London's outskirts. They did a lot of exploring and love this place.
We followed them down the street to the underground tube, hurried through corridors and labyrinths, up stairs and downstairs and through turnstyles. We arrived at a place close to the Thames. We walked a little way, passed the London Tower where the crown jewels are, and up to the London Tower Bridge, a very impressive structure.
It was the beginning of the day, and I chose the elevator up one side. We met the Roskelleys on the top where we walked across to the other side in an enclosed sort of tunnel. Part way across we walked over the glassed in floor where you could see pedestrians and cars crossing the bridge as well as boats going under the bridge.
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| Mirror on the ceiling and glass on the floor made an interesting picture. |
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| SK being SK |
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| The Shard, tallest building in London...a beautiful place to eat close to the top, but enormously expensive - we hear on good report....seen from the bridge. |
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| Isobel Roskelley was careful to wait to snap the picture until a red double decker bus was on its way across the bridge. |
SK enjoyed that immensely.
Before we left, we walked through the engine room which was so very interesting.
We walked along the Thames for quite a distance looking for Shakespeare's Globe theater and St. Paul's Cathedral, both of which we had hoped to see, but reality crowded in and we decided to head for the London Eye instead.
Part way there, SK had a brilliant idea - take a cab. It truly was brilliant, since we watched from the comfort of the car as the blocks glided by and realized it was at least a mile and a half from where we had been. The driver took us straight there, and it ended up costing less than 10 pounds, which we all agreed was a bargain.
The London Eye is a giant Ferris Wheel of sorts, built about twenty years ago for a World's Fair. When the fair was over, and they began to dismantle it, people protested because they had come to love it. Bingo! it has become one of London's icons. You can't hardly find a London souvenir that doesn't have The Eye on it.
There was a fairly long line or queue of people waiting to get on. We walked into the ticket office, purchased tickets to get on immediately and went to stand in line, but they took us right up to the front! We never did figure that one out, but we were most grateful.
It is slow moving....so slow that people get off and get on without it having to stop. In fact, we got off, a crew of about 8 boarded the little car, cleaned and sanitized it, got off, and the next group of about a dozen got on.
When it is high tourist season and when COVID isn't lurking about, the pods will hold 25 comfortably, but there were only about 10 or 12 of us, and we had plenty of room to move about and take pictures from all angles, or to sit on the bench in the middle if we chose. I would do that again in a heartbeat. Even with the rain coming down, the views of London were spectacular. It was worth the price.
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| St. Paul's cathedral nestled in among the buildings. It is the domed top church top center. |
Upon getting off, we decided to just return to our apartments by Hyde Park Chapel and rest for a couple of hours before our evening of entertainment, We are older and not in as good a shape as Roskelleys, and today we clearly felt it. We were both grateful to put our feet up and rest.
At 4:45 we met them out front retraced our steps to the tube, which had to be a mile and repeated the process of getting from one point in the city to another. When you get on or get off of the tube, a loud voice announces "Mind the Gap" - meaning watch your step - there is a gap between the train and the platform.
We met Elder and Sister Wardle at a Thai restaurant - which was awesome. Their mission call is to establish diplomatic relations with embassies in London. They are quite an amazing couple. They spend a lot of time visiting ambassadors, describing to them what our church does in the way of humanitarian assistance, and generally getting to know them so that if a need arises, the church can help.
They told us of the many ways and the amounts of money that help people around the world. It is jaw-dropping, but they said that you will never read about it in the newspaper. And the church doesn't broadcast those things, but the missionaries who serve know and they are amazed.
After dinner, we walked to the theater to see Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Coat. It was an energetic and fun production. The whole audience loved it! They clapped, and sang and at one time yelled out things like "Joseph I love you!" or "Will you marry me?" As we crowded down the stairs to exit the theater, I felt a little anxiety to be in the press of people, with COVID still a concern, but I also felt a sense of sheer joy that we can join 2,000 others to enjoy a play together.
Back through the underground, back down Exhibition Road, into the old and stately apartment building, down the stairs to the vacant apartment, into the flat, and onto the most comfortable chair. Shoes off, feet up, pajamas on.
I don't know if we will ever again have a day like today in London, but it was glorious.
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