Hammersmith

Weather - Cool, mixture of cloud and sun - Min - 8, Max 18

What a day! All our plans went out the window when we learned that the 81st VE Day commemorations were going to be a low key affair this year. However, it turned out to be a brilliant and busy day sightseeing. We decided to focus on the St Paul’s Cathedral area for the day and it turned out so well.

As we approached St Paul’s we could see it clearly against the blue sky and it looked magnificent. 

We arrived at St Paul’s bang on 10.30am and just in time for an hour’s tour of the cathedral. The experienced, elderly guide called Jill was very knowledgeable. Not only did she describe the cathedral but imbedded her talk in an historial context. One half of the cathedral is quite plain and the other half is highly decorative. I took this photo using panoramic view of the decorative area taking in the dome as well.

Following the tour we were keen to climb the stairs to the top of the cathedral to see the London views. The walking plan looked a bit daunting with 528 steps to the top. 

The internal steps were relentless made up of stone, wood and metal at various stages. Initially the walk took us to the Whispering Gallery which took us inside the cathedral at the bottom of the dome overlooking the area 30m below. We had to walk a quarter of a way around to the next set of steps. When we reached the Stone Gallery the expansive views were outside on a wide stone terrace. We could see the Millenium Bridge, a pedestrian walkway across the Thames River to the Tate Modern Gallery.

From the Stone Gallery the internal spiral stairs inside the dome were metal with holes so we could see through them to way below. It was at this point Henk had to pull out as he is not good with heights. He headed back to the Stone Gallery to wait for me. I was pleased he did as it became challenging and the stairs were steep and narrow. 

The views from the top were as people say, as far as the eye could see and it was a good day for viewing. When I went onto the very narrow balcony with the iron railings I was pleased Henk didn’t try to continue. His back would have been tight against the wall. 

There was quite a brisk breeze on top. The landmarks like The Shard were easy to see.

Henk was waiting for me at the Stone Gallery after I descended the steep stairs on the other side of the dome.

We visited the large crypt where there were memorials to many including Florence Nightengale, Horatio Nelson and Sir Bartle Frere whose name we recognised from our Social Studies’ days and remembered it’s the name of Qld’s highest mountain. We had lunch in the crypt cafe before heading back onto the streets crossing the Millennium Bridge to the Tate Modern Gallery housed in a huge industrialised building. 

Most of the artists we didn’t recognise however there was Andy Warhol’s “Marilyn Diptych” which has been newly restored by the Tate conservation team. The accompanying video showing how it was conserved over two years was enlightening. 

Close to the Tate Modern Gallery is The Globe. As we walked to it we realised we were a bit peckish and bought some caramelised peanuts and almonds. We sat on a park bench overlooking St Paul’s with The Globe behind us.

We arrived at The Globe just in time for an hour’s tour. We were in luck again and doubly lucky as there was a rehearsal on the stage for Brecht’s ‘Mother Courage and Her Children’. It had opened the previous night and they were doing some fine tuning. We couldn’t take any photos of the theatre stage until there was a break in the rehearsal. For £5 we could have seen the play tonight in the standing room area but after all our walking and climbing steps we couldn’t have stood for two and a half hours watching the play. Also, I find Becht’s plays a bit depressing and would prefer to watch Shakespeare at The Globe. The theatre stage area is impressive. 

Our guide, Michael was a Shakespearean aficionado and his talk was fascinating. There were hundreds of pavers surrounding the theatre and it was a way to raise funds for the building of The Globe. It reminded me of how we raised funds for the deck at the Kilcoy Art Gallery by selling deck planks. We had fun recognising the well known names such as Alfred Hitchcock and Stephen Hawkins. John Cleese donated funds and bought a paver on behalf of Michael Palin only if they misspelt his name. Comedians!

On our way back to the Monument railway station we walked passed the Monument to the Great Fire designed by Christopher Wren and Robert Hooke. It’s located near Pudding Lane and its height of 61m is the distance between where the column is situated and the location of the bakery where the fire started. A plaque on a very ordinary building shows where the fire started in 1666.

The half hour train trip from the Monument station to Hammersmith was busy as it was Friday afternoon rush hour. As it was getting late we decided on buying takeaway as we were tired. In Hammersmith there are dozens of takeaway places, cafes and restaurants from which to choose. We chose Chinese. 

As I wrote this blog post Henk did the washing. We watched our favourite program ‘The 1% Club’ and had an early night. It was a great day and we ticked off a few more from our ‘must see’ list.