A gallery of photos from my wanderings.
As regular readers know, I like to wander. Even when I have a destination in mind, I often ignore the map and “follow my nose” by aiming in the right general direction and hoping some combination of left and right turns will lead me to my destination and new discoveries along the way. Today, I’m sharing a gallery of photos taken in London, in January or February. It’s quite a random collection – just things I found beautiful or interesting. None appear in my other blog-posted galleries. Enjoy!
a loving memory
Twice in the last week, on my rambles through London parks near our home, I’ve encountered a park bench covered in flowers. This afternoon, in a small Westminster park along the shore of the Thames, I found this bench. The two Happy Birthday balloons and the “15” balloons implied a 15th birthday for someone named “C”. Colorful and cheerful… but the dozen bouquets of flowers warned me of a sadder story behind this bench.
An organ recital in a 13th-century architectural icon.
It is hard not to be moved when the first notes of the organ echo throughout an iconic 13th-century cathedral, especially one with such a storied history like Westminster Abbey. You feel the deeper notes resonate throughout your body as the music fills the hall with an even greater sense of grandeur.
We were sitting near the front row, along with perhaps one hundred other lovers of music, history, and travel, and treated to a 40-minute organ recital by one of the Abbey’s senior organists. These weekly recitals are free and open to the public, as are weekly choral recitals and daily Evensong.
“Although Westminster Abbey was founded in 960AD, the building we see today dates from the reign of Henry III in the 13th century.” You can read lots more about the history of Westminster Abbey, which has been used for 16 royal weddings and every royal coronation since 1066.
Just across the street from the Abbey is Westminster Palace; we crossed the Thames on Westminster Bridge for a good view of Westminster Palace (Parliament building) and Elizabeth Tower (with the bell named Big Ben). Westminster Abbey peeks out from behind the palace, just to the right of the construction cranes.
Three random sights in London.
I often take long walks, here in London. Sometimes I have a destination – going to work at Imperial, or visiting a museum, or shopping for an obscure item. Othertimes I just wander. Either way, I sometimes ignore the temptation of Apple Maps, point my nose in the general direction, and zigzag through streets and parks until I get close to where I want to be. Along the way, I enjoy the sense of discovery, often about the smallest things.
David Kotz 