City of London

We had a trip up to London yesterday. Not just the general London area, the kind of place I think of as London but is actually Westminster (like the National Gallery) or South Kensington (like the Museums) but the true City of London, full of expensive boutiques, wine bars and men in smart ties! We were on our way to the Barbican Centre to hear a schools' concert by the London Symphony Orchestra. I have always felt the Barbican to be particularly difficult to reach from our side of London and, after much map pondering, I chose to take the Tube and get off at Mansion House. This was a forty minute journey in itself and the children were overwarm, frazzled and train-sick by the time we surfaced again. However, it was such a treat to walk through these streets of such stunning architecture, ancient and modern. It was my middle son who spotted St Paul's Cathedral peeping at us along a side street: There were plenty more examples of the old and new rubbing shoulders. I lost count of the times we stopped to admire a building.

Thanks to the excellent directions which I had downloaded from their web-site, we found the Barbican with no trouble. After not too long we were instructed to follow the yellow line on the pavement - even I can manage that without getting lost!

We crossed the high walk-way over the water gardens. If you look closely, there is a heron sitting on the wall in the centre of the picture (just to the right of and below the wooden 'house'). I declared it a fake due to its unusual brightness in the sun, but it proved me wrong by flying a short distance to perch somewhere new.

The concert was great and Bartok's Hungarian Dance and Grieg's Morning from Peer Gynt were agreed on as our favourites and it is always a fascinating experience to see a full orchestra including even a double basson, bass clarinet and celeste.

Tired children needed a sit-down on the way back and we purchased a punnet of strawberries and ate them straight from the packet in a little square outside the church were John Milton was baptised.

I thought this guy might be Milton but he is actually Captain John Smith.

CAPTAIN JOHN SMITH

CITIZEN AND CORDWAINER

1580-1631

AMONG THE LEADERS OF THE SETTLEMENT

AT JAMESTOWN VIRGINIA

WHICH BEGAN THE OVERSEAS EXPANSION

OF THE ENGLISH SPEAKING PEOPLES

A Cordwainer is a shoemaker, as distinct from a cobbler who repairs shoes. Jimmy Choo trained at the Cordwainer's Technical College in London.
I guess that explains John Smith's fancy boots - no wonder Pocahontas was bowled over!