December 3, 2009

• London's Calling...

  We had a great weekend in London, it was a very social weekend meeting up with some old friends and meeting some new ones - I was also partly responsible for a proposal of Civil Parnership! I lived in London for ten years, most of which was in my twenties and they were great years but I am glad I don't live there now. This trip was the first one back where I didn't stay in a mate's house but in a Central London hotel and it made such a big difference. We got a great deal on a 4 star hotel opposite the Houses Of Parliament and the river Thames and everything was within walking distance - such a treat as using the public transport system can be grim!

  We saw many sights that were new to Patrick and some to me too. The best thing of all was just being able to wander along the Embankment from Westminster to the South Bank and just be part of the tourist throng. When I lived in London I often used to go down to the Royal Festival Hall and the  National Fim Theatre - less to see performances and more to just drink in the atmosphere and have a coffee perhaps. The Royal Festival Hall and associated buildings were constructed post-war and were the centrepiece of the Festival Of Britain - a display of all that was good in the 1950s and more importantly perhaps, an indicator that the times of post-war austerity were at an end. I love the spirit of optimism that still pervades the Hall and it remains a bastion of 'Culture', it is an enduring favourite with Middle Class intellectualism - something which is often looked upon distainfully these days in the pursuit of the 'yoof' market and the culture of the low-brow and the crass.

  I'll add more later - got to rush off to teach!

   

  • 9:08 am
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