First, a picture of an Egyptian mummy from our visit to the British Museum day before yesterday.
Barry had gone to bed the night before last night feeling awful and thinking he was coming down with a really cold. Fortunately, he woke up feeling much better than expected and really didn't start to show signs of the cold until late in the day.
We were off early in the direction of the Tower of London. There is a "underground" stop about two blocks from the hostel. The entrance features this incredible "Green Wall," an effort on the part of the transportation system to address air quality in London.
It took about a half hour to get to the Tower with one transfer. Jordan Landes, whose doctoral dissertation was on Quaker immigration to the United States, had told us night before last night not to miss the church right near the Tower because it is where William Penn was baptized. Jayne's ancestors were related to William so that was of particular interest to us.
It turned out that the church was hosting an exhibition called "Bonuses, Benefits, and Bailouts: the morality of the King James Bible." It featured various ancient documents intended to stimulate reflection on morality and ethics, including an early King James Bible and documents from William Wilberforce, the famous anti-slavery crusader. In the crypt we were able to see some actual Roman floor tiles from the 2nd century, as the church is built on some Roman ruins.
(We should explain: as part of our "sharing" our voyage with elementary students in Madison and the Bronx at Quentin's charter school, we are taking pictures of "Flat Stanley in important sites along the way.)
The Tower was constructed in the 11th Century as the royal castle for the English King. Over the years, it became the place where many political prisoners were housed, tortured, and executed, all of which our guide described in exquisite detail. The most famous victims of the tower are Thomas More, the story of whose resistance to Henry VIII breaking of the English church's ties with Rome is marvelously told in A Man for All Seasons, and, Anne Boleyn, Henry's second of six wives. The Tower also houses the Crown Jewels. We had been told that the numbers touring the Tower are down fifty percent because people in the U. K. had been warned to stay away from London because of the crowds associated with the Olympics and Paralympics. Outside the building housing the Crown Jewels we say the first evidence of that. There were provisions for incredibly long lines set up, but they weren't at all necessary. We were able to have a leisurely look at various emerald encrusted swords, diamond studded crowns, and gold service for royal banquets—including a gold punch bowl that must hold 50 gallons!
From the Tower, we took the Tube down to Westminster. We decided not to pay the entrance fee for touring Westminster Abbey, but outside we ran into two lifelong learners from the ship who made us aware that right across the street we could go into the Parliament and observe the House of Commons in session. There was a significant wait, but they moved the line along from place to place so there was always something interesting to see. Most impressive was Westminster Hall where British Royalty lie in state at their deaths.
The House of Commons was debating a Liberal Party Bill aimed at providing support to people who had to quit their jobs or school to care for elderly parents. The Conservatives were opposing it, though one Conservative spokesperson commended the Liberals for showing concern for efficiency this time, rather than taking their usual approach of simply throwing money at problems. The debate sounded all too familiar!
After Parliament we got back on the Tube to head back toward our hostel, where we were to meet our bus back to Southampton. We stopped along the way to get a look at Piccadilly Circus. Then we had a late lunch at a little pub near the hostel. It was amazing how difficult it was to find a pub. I had noticed that there seemed to be lots of Muslim folks in the neighborhood around our hostel. When we went looking for a pub we began to notice that most of the stores had signs in Arabic. When we finally found a pub I asked the bartender about the neighborhood and where the people were from. I was surprised that she said she had no idea. On the way back, we paid closer attention to the various shops and restaurants and saw references to Lebanon, Turkey, Persia (Iran), and Iraq. Quite a neighborhood. Barry wished he had the opportunity to talk to someone to get a sense of what life is like in London for Muslims. He'll be asking students in his World Religions class tomorrow if they noticed the Muslim presence in London and if they had any conversations with folks about it.
It took forever to get out of London on our big charter bus, but we finally got back to the ship just after 8 pm. Fortunately, they had kept the cafeteria open for us and we were able to get a bite before bedtime. We have decided to take it easy today. We may take a taxi into Southampton for a bit this afternoon, but mostly we are resting up for Belgium and Germany. Tomorrow we will sail to Antwerp and Barry will meet with his World Religions classes.
Do you remember our friend David who bought Barry a beer at the pub in Winchester? This morning at breakfast, John Serio who teaches English on the ship, told us he ran into a guy in a pub in Winchester who asked John, "Do you know Barry?" as soon as he found out John was with Semester at Sea!
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