London

17 February 2007


Due to the fact that I am scared of flying my first (and last) view of London is always the cover of Pink Floyd's Animals album, better known as the Battersea Power Station. This is how I know we have arrived.


Getting off the Eurostar and stepping onto the platform at Waterloo station.


Fast-Forward a bit. After dropping off our bags at the hotel we head up to Abbey Road Studios to have a look around while the weather is nice. Abbey Road is located in what is probably my favourite part of London, an area called St John's Wood.


A short walk brings us to the façade of the world famous recording studio at number 3 Abbey Road.


The front wall of Abbey Road is constantly being written on by fans and tourists so they periodically re-paint it. They've just done so, as you can see.


A nice shot of the front steps of Abbey Road Studios. A couple of days from now we'll climb up those.... but all that's already covered in the separate "Live at Abbey Road" travelogue, of course.


Despite the fresh paint job there is still plenty of graffiti to be seen on Abbey Road's front wall.




And of course the famous Abbey Road crosswalk - reverse angle as to the one that everyone is used to seeing.


Ironically, I probably got a better picture of this guy on the crosswalk than his girlfriend did.


Everyone's seen the Abbey Road crosswalk from the famous Beatles album cover. But have you ever seen it from the reverse angle and up the street?


Before we head back toward the centre of London I take one last shot of Abbey Road Studios itself. Way in the back there - beyond the white walls of the front of the studio building - you can see a brick bunker looking thing. That is the outer walls of Studio 3, which is where I did my very first recording session at Abbey Road just over ten years ago.


A view of the crosswalk from the normal angle, but a wider angle. A mark in the road shows the place where the original Beatles album cover photo was taken.


Most people don't realise from the Beatles album cover that the crosswalk is actually at a Y-intersection and that if you just look slightly to the right (off camera in the Beatles album cover) there is this big monument thing in the middle of the intersection.


The Y-intersection is very obvious when you look at a map or satellite photo, of course.


A view of Abbey Road Studios and the crosswalk as seen from space.


The monument thing in the middle of the Y-intersection with the crosswalk and Abbey Road Studios in the distance.


Even the benches are victims of graffiti. So are the road signs.


Okay. One last look back at Abbey Road and we're off to more central London.


A short ride on the Underground brings us to Green Park.


Sebastiaan enjoys some Starbucks and the unbelievably good weather (for February).


A short walk through the park brings us to the Canadian Memorial.


The Canadian Memorial (as you can see) is dedicated to the Canadians who served in Britain during the First and Second World Wars.


This is new to me.... markers in the street show the way of the Princess Diana Memorial Walk.


Just across the street is Buckingham Palace. I think it's so funny that people want to have their picture taken with the police who guard the palace. These aren't the big-hatted army guys, after all. They are just police.



Speaking of the big-hatted palaces guards. This is one of them.


I think Londoners must feel the same way about the London Eye as Parisians did about the Eiffel Tower a hundred years ago. You can see it from everywhere.


Tourists always seem to be crowded around the fence in front of Buckingham Palace.




A better view of Buckingham Palace as we walk down the Mall.


A view across St James Park toward Buckingham Palace.


I am not used to seeing the London Eye everywhere in the distance.


Way back there in the distance is Buckingham Palace.


Something about this view reminds me of the Champs Elysées in Paris.


Which brings us to Trafalgar Square.

The Chinese New Year is tomorrow. I'd forgotten about that until just now when I see them putting up decorations.


The Nelson Memorial and the stage being set for the Chinese New Year celebrations.


One of my favourite views in London is Big Ben in the distance as seen from Trafalgar Square.


One of the lions at the foot of the Nelson Column.


Trafalgar Square in the distance as we stroll down Whitehall.


Everyone knows about the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace, but they do the same thing elsewhere in London as well: the Tower of London, St James Palace, etc. Here at Horseguards they do a changing of the horse guards (which is happening right now as we walk past).


A further few steps along Whitehall brings us to another interesting location...


This is Downing Street, home to 10 Downing Street which is where the Prime Ministers of Britain live... except for the current one who apparently moved next door to the residence of one of the other ministers because it was bigger.


Way in the distance is 10 Downing Street. When I first came to London you could walk down there. But then some IRA guys tried to mortar the place from a van and the security has increased ever since.


I take this picture not so much for the view of Big Ben, but also to show what great weather we're having today.


This is a rather iconic view of London, don't you think?


The sun begins to set in the distance over Westminster Abbey.



Across the Thames from Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament is the London Eye.


Time to head back Underground and give our feet a break.


The sun sets over Westminster Abbey far in the distance.


A short ride on the subway brings us to Covent Garden.


Covent Garden is home to all sorts of quirky shops and street performers.


Just behind Covent Garden is St Paul's Church. Not to be confused with St Paul's Cathedral.


And here is the reason we've come to Covent Garden... TGIFriday's. My favourite London restaurant.


TGIFriday's is so popular that we have to wait an hour for a table. So we head back to St Paul's Church to sit and kill some time.


A memorial to Sir Charles Chaplin on the wall of St Paul's Church.


Finally we sit down to eat in TGIFriday's. I start off with some Potato Skins.


One reason I like TGIFriday's is that it is North American style food, which I don't get much of over here in Europe.


After dinner we take a bit of a walk before heading back to the hotel. This is Piccadilly Circus, of course.


Walking along the Thames at night with the London Eye in the distance.



I try to take various shots of the London Eye hoping that one of them will turn out.


I am surprised at the effect that changing the white balance on my camera has. The colour of the London Eye goes from Purple to Blue.



It really looks blue now, doesn't it? But it's not. It's still purple. It just looks blue in the photo because of the white balance.


This is something new to me. Just across from what I suppose is the air ministry there is a memorial to the Battle of Britain which contains some fascinating relief sculptures.






The Battle of Britain memorial with the London Eye in the background.



Big Ben as seen by night is really an amazing thing to see. I guess not so much because it's so beautiful or awe-inspiring, but just because it's something everyone has seen in pictures and to actually stand below it really drives home the fact that you are in London.


And so the day comes to an end with a ride on the Underground back to Baker Street.

18 February 2007


A new day begins in London and with an early morning walk we learn that the Spice Girls are getting back together.


Just outside the Baker Street Underground station is a statue of Sherlock Holmes.


Baker Street, of course, is where Sherlock Holmes is supposed to have lived.


Just up the street from the Underground station is 221b Baker Street and the Sherlock Holmes Museum. (Actually located at 236 Baker Street.)


It's still very early and the museum isn't even open yet. Usually there's a fellow dressed as a London "Bobby" Policeman standing outside.


Stepping into the main stairway of 221b Baker Street. These are the hats of Sherlock and Watson on the hat stand.


And this, of course, would be the sitting room where Sherlock and Watson would receive visitors and Sherlock's potential clients. Notice the many items from the stories scattered about the room.


One floor further up are some wax figures showing scenes from various adventures of Sherlock and Watson. In the foreground is one of my favourites, the Red-Headed League.


The toilet reminds me of the one in the Anne Frank Huis somehow.


Another scene is from... what is it? The Musgrave Ritual? I think so.


On the front door of 221b is a notice from the police regarding the murders of women in the Whitechapel area. The year is 1888 and the killer is Jack the Ripper. But we'll hear more of him later this evening.


Nearby is the one-time residence of some Argentinean guy that I've never heard of. Maybe Irma knows?


The skies are cloudy but it's not raining, so we decide to hop on a tourist bus for a ride across the city. It's a bit cold up here if you spend too long out in the wind.


And this is Piccadilly Circus, as seen looking away from the glare of the neon signs. They say that one cannot spend more than 37 minutes in Piccadilly Circus without seeing someone they know.


Curving around to Trafalgar Square we pass by Canada House, which is the offices of the cultural commissioner of Canada to the UK and where they put on art exhibitions and stuff like that.


The Chinese New Year celebrations seem to be in full swing at the moment we drive past.


And so we turn onto Whitehall, which seems familiar because we already walked down this street yesterday.


This is the Horseguards where we saw them changing the guards yesterday.


Continuing along we pass by the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben once again.


Crossing the Thames just upriver from the Houses of Parliament.


Still driving along, we pass behind the London Eye on the south side of the Thames River.


We cross the river again to the North side and continue along toward St Paul's Cathedral. Here we see a statue of a dragon, which is the symbol used in London to designate the barrier between the City of London and the rest of greater London outside of it. The City of London is a small area which has an entirely separate governmental administration than the rest of London. It's own Lord Mayor, it's own police force, it's own street signs. Anyway, I always find it interesting how they sneak in these dragons on the streets of London to mark the barrier. This particular one is rather obvious, but often they are more subtle and you barely notice them.


St Paul's Cathedral comes into view up ahead. One of my favourite things is to come into "The City" late in the evening because it's fairly deserted here outside of the business daytime hours. Sometimes it's a bit eerie and strange to be on rather quiet streets looking up at the looming cathedral lit up high above you.


Here is an example of the different street signs that show that you are in the City of London.


Continuing along, crossing the river yet again to the South side, takes us past the London Dungeon. I've never been to it, but there's always a big queue to get in.


Turning the corner we are about to cross the river, yet again, to the North side. I am always surprised by this huge block of land here across from the Tower of London. For as long as I can remember it's been empty and you'd think it would be a pretty valuable piece of real estate. At least they put up the City Hall (the weird building in the foreground) and used up some of the land.


A view along the Thames just before crossing the Tower Bridge.


I think this might be the first time I have ever taken a bus across the Tower Bridge. In fact I am sure that it is. Usually I just walk across.


A view of the Tower of London (not the weird modern building in the distance, the castle looking thing in the foreground) as seen from the Tower Bridge.


Look at the bottom of the picture. I think it's so funny that there's a playground in the former moat of the Tower of London.


Another view of the Tower Bridge, looking across toward the City Hall building.


I think a lot of people confuse the Tower Bridge with the London Bridge. Everyone knows the story about how some millionaire bought the London Bridge and moved it to Arizona, but there's still a newer London Bridge nowadays but it's just a plain old bridge and not the iconic symbol of London that the Tower Bridge is.



Remember when that whale was lost and swam up the Thames and eventually died? It's weird to think that there was a whale swimming around right around here this far up-river.


I am not sure how I feel about that weird artillery-shell-shaped building in the distance.


If we were visiting the inside of the Tower of London today, this is where we'd enter. However, I went twice before and it was expensive and gay, so I'd rather not repeat the experience again.



Probably the best part of the Tower of London is seeing it from the outside anyway.


Just across the street is the exterior of the Tower Hill Underground station. You can see a bit of old wall at the right. This is part of the original city walls of the City of London, built upon the Roman wall. You can even see the top of a statue of the Roman Emperor Trajan that they found when excavating around here. Anyway, the reason I take this photo is because it is right here where we'll be returning tonight to go on the Jack the Ripper walking tour.


One last look at the Tower of London before we hop back on the bus and head across the city a bit further.


Fast-forward a bit and we're at Hyde Park. The last time I stood outside of these gates was in July 2005 when I was going into the special Golden Circle entrance to Live8. I have taken the liberty of inserting a picture of the same area that I took back during Live8.


And the last time I was standing here I was getting ready to queue up to enter the Golden Circle of Live8 just ahead and to the right.


And finally, the last time I was standing here was right after the concert ended and I'd been standing in the same spot for 12 hours straight and was wandering out of Hyde Park along with hundreds of thousands of other dazed people.



Horses strolling around Hyde Park. That's pretty cool.


As you can see, the weather today is not as nice as yesterday. A bit grey, but it's not raining which is the most important thing, I suppose.


Which brings us to something I've not seen before. This is the Princess Diana Memorial Fountain.



Sebastiaan doesn't look too impressed, but I think when I die that I would like to have a memorial fountain. I like water things.


A further stroll through the park brings us to the Albert Memorial and the Royal Albert Hall.


I don't really understand the Albert Memorial, I have to admit. It's a bit overwhelming.


I am always reminded of how when Sting (or someone similar) plays at the Albert Hall they usually have to do like ten consecutive nights of performances to accommodate the demand to see them in such a small venue.


Ok. Enough walking. Back on the bus, which takes us past Harrod's department store.



We circle back around Hyde Park again and end up at the so-called Speaker's Corner. I'd like my friend Landon to get up here on a soap box and rant about something.


Come to think of it, maybe I should go over and rant about something. I could rant about being a G4 Loser, perhaps?


Continuing along through the streets of London.


And so we arrive at the British Museum. Like many museums in London the British Museum is free to visit, which is pretty cool.


We'll give our feet a break and just stick to the major attractions of the British Museum. First stop, the Easter Island head.


It's not one of the really big Easter Island heads, as you can see.



Photos from all sides for future reference, just in case we decide to construct an Easter Island head of our own.



We take a look around the gallery of Oriental Antiquities for a while.


There's something familiar - a Totem Pole. It kind of makes me a bit homesick.


I am not sure what these things are, but I liked the way the shadows looked on the wall that they were casting.


The first times I ever came here this was all open to the outside as part of an interior courtyard. And then I came back after they renovated it and was shocked to find it all enclosed and changed around.


On to some Egyptian stuff now.


Thousands of years ago someone took the time and effort to carve these things and now so many people just file past them.


Which brings us to the British Museum's star attraction: the Rosetta Stone. It's a bit like going to see the Mona Lisa in the Louvre.


I am pretty sure I've covered the whole story of the Rosetta Stone before but a quick summary for those who've just joined us.

Egyptian Hieroglyphs: No one could read the ancient form of Egyptian writing or decipher what the symbols meant. They looked like pictures (bird, eye, man doing this) but actually were not. Then a bit of incredible luck. Without really realising the significance of a hunk of stone found by Napoleon's men at Rosetta it was sent back to Europe, during the course of which the British stole it and took it to London. Eventually someone would notice that on this particular stone was written the same thing in three languages: Egyptian Hieroglyphs, another written form of Egyptian, and in Greek. As the latter two written languages were known at that point and thanks to the helpful practise of the Ancient Egyptians putting circles around important names a French guy (ironically) was able to us this to figure out how Hieroglyphs worked.


Continuing on our tour of things that the British have stolen and stuck in the British Museum, we now come to ancient Persia.


If you look closely you can see the lines and lines of inscribed text cut into these relief murals. Much like Egyptian Hieroglyphs this cuneiform writing was a mystery to decipher. Probably taking a clue from the deciphering of the Egyptian Hieroglyphs using the Rosetta Stone the ancient Persian writing was deciphered in precisely the same way - by locating carvings where the same thing was written in three different languages, two of which were known and the third being the cuneiform writing.

Why do I mention all of this? I don't know. I just find it interesting and rather fortuitous that the ancients wrote the same things out in different languages because otherwise we might never have figured some of these writing systems out. There are, in fact, some forms of writing that remain un-figured-out.


What I failed to mention about the Rosetta Stone is that the Egyptians have asked that it be returned to them. This is also the case for our next stop in the British Museum, the so-called Elgin Marbles... which are so-called because it was a guy who was Lord of Elgin (or something) that stole them from the Greeks. This collection of carvings are the original carved façades of the Parthenon in Athens and of course the Greeks want them back.

I am of two minds about such matters. On one hand, the British colonials did pretty much steal this stuff. On the other hand, I've seen how some countries take care of their own stuff, which is to say that they don't and that the stuff is probably safer in the British Museum anyway. On a third hand, perhaps it might deserve to be said that the Elgin Marbles really aren't THAT interesting that you'd hop a flight to Athens to see them. As for the Rosetta Stone... well, the French stole it from the Egyptians in the first place. The British only stole it from the French. Thus leading to a wonderful maze of legal and ethical arguments to be made. Not to mention the probability that had the French and British not stolen the Rosetta Stone, that it wouldn't be of any significance anyway since no one would have used it to decipher anything and it would currently be in use as a bench in the Cairo Museum.


I love this picture. Totally unintentionally the couple walking in the centre of the picture are in slightly stark focus while the others around them are in motion and blurred. It kind of looks like an ad for fancy jeans or something.


Big Egyptian head. I am sure the Egyptians want it back.


Before we leave the British Museum behind we stop in for a look at the British Library reading room. The collection of books and writings that was once contained here at the British Museum (such as the Magna Carta, Shakespeare and The Beatles' song lyrics) now has its own library elsewhere in London, but the reading room with it's cool curved roof still remains.



And so a quick Underground journey brings us back to the Tower of London where we are meeting up for dinner.


Thanks to modern technology we are able to meet up with my friend Landon from Canada for dinner at Wagamama's.


After some pretentious healthy noodle food we head over to go on the Jack the Ripper walking tour. Somewhere in the gather crowd is a couple from the United States who have flown here to London this weekend to meet up with us. I've never met them, but apparently at least one of them is a fan of my music and considers it worthwhile to fly across an entire ocean to see me perform.


No sign of the couple from America yet, but the walking tour guy is already collecting money and signing his book for people.


I really did not want to include this photo, as it is so terrible, but my friend Landon was kind enough to snap a photo of all of us together just before the walking tour and I include it because I feel it is a noteworthy occasion when people you've never met fly to Europe from America to see you perform (David and Marianne at the left). I hope it was worth it for them.


Ok. So the Jack the Ripper walking tour begins and Donald Rumblelow explains the minor significance of the Tower of London in the story.


The walking tour eventually brings us to Mitre Square, which is where one of Jack the Ripper's victims was found.


Down this passage the Ripper walked with his prey (except that it was much narrower and unlit in those days).


A City of London street sign marks the location as being Mitre Square.


I love this picture because it shows the boundary between the City of London and the rest of London (in this case the East End). The City of London is one of the wealthiest bits of land in the world, the East End of London is not, and the contrast from one side of the street to the other is remarkable.


As he was being pursued by the police, the Ripper left a message in chalk in the doorway of this building. In the bottom right you can see the doorway as it looked then and see that it is still easily recognisable today.


That strange artillery-shell building dominates the skyline in this part of London.


And so the walking tour comes to an end near the very pub where the Ripper's victims would drink - the Ten Bells pub.

I have a busy day ahead of me tomorrow, so I head back to the hotel to get some sleep.

19 February 2007

Live at Abbey Road

I've already covered the Live at Abbey Road session in a separate Travelogue, of course. But what I didn't include in that were the few photos that Landon took on his way to the studio that morning.


As I was standing outside the studio waiting for the musicians to arrive I remember seeing this goofy guy getting his picture taken on the crosswalk. Landon arrived shortly after and if you look at the zoom-in down in the bottom-right you can see Leo unloading his gear from Remco's van in the parking lot of Abbey Road.


And so Landon arrives as I am talking to Remco.


A terrible picture of me in the parking lot of Abbey Road Studios.

That's it. That's all for the Abbey Road photos. Please see the separate Live at Abbey Road travelogue for further (and many) other photos.

20 February 2007


There's not too much happening today. We're catching a train back to The Hague in a while so we won't be doing all that much this morning. But I found it interesting that the this part of the London Underground was part of the first subway system ever built.


Very close to London's Waterloo station (where the trains to Brussels and Paris leave from) is the Imperial War Museum. It is yet another free museum to visit (it never used to be) and is definitely worth a look around.


In the exhibition about the Holocaust there is a stark white replica of Auschwitz-Birkenau. I am reminded of my Trip to Auschwitz a couple of years ago and the feeling of walking through the train gate and along the unloading platforms shown here.


In the foreground you can see a fighting para-trooping Jack Russell Terrier.


Are you ready for the final picture of this travelogue? Here it is. This is a V-2 rocket, the same variety that was once launched by the Germans at London from locations in Europe. One such location from which they fired V-2s at London was The Hague. In fact, the very first V-2 rocket ever fired at London was launched from The Hague, as was covered in my V-2 Rocket Sites in The Hague travelogue of December 2004.

Perhaps this is a fitting picture with which to end my trip to London because another location from which V-2s were fired was from Statenplein, which is just by my house. And so from here I take the reverse journey from London back to Statenplein and bid all of you picture-lookers farewell.