The travelling was starting to take its toll. I was constantly tired and had a sore throat that wouldn’t go away. Lack of sleep plus being close to other people’s germs every day (train and tube) isn’t the greatest recipe for good health. This made my decision to enjoy an hour of fresh air and light exercise every day all the more important. Lunch hours exploring the streets of London were the one thing that I did on a daily basis that was good for my health.
Like all animals humans are creatures of habit and I had got into the habit of going to the same places each lunchtime – usually Trafalgar Square or the South Bank. Eating your sandwiches and watching the world go by in Trafalgar Square is of course a great experience: Not only do you feel that you are in the centre of London (and therefore England), you get to do some quality people watching. The steps leading to the National Gallery may not have the same romance as the Spanish Steps in Rome but they are certainly not without their charms. For me, one of the most heart-warming sight to be had in London is a toddler chasing after a pigeon. The sheer joy they get from a bird that is hated by most adults is a great example of the innocence and beauty of childhood.
Trafalgar Square may be a great place to go for lunch but I was aware that I had been visiting it and my other regular lunchtime spots (South Bank, Covent Garden) all too often and it was time for a change. So the next available lunchtime I went somewhere different. Walking west along the Strand I went past Trafalgar Square and up Whitehall to Horse Guards. Normally I just pat the horses on the head when I walk past but this time I thought I’d wonder in and take a look at Horse Guards Parade, home of the famous changing of the guard.
In the archway between the street and the parade ground was a soldier in uniform standing with what appeared to be the sole reason of having is picture taken with tourists. For any man who is a trained killer this must be quite a strange experience. What’s more surprising in this finance-obsessed time is that there was no charge to have your picture taken with the soldier. Hundreds of tourists pose for photos every day and I’m sure they’d be more than happy to pay a few pounds for the privilege. If the silver spray-painted statue artists of Covent Garden do it then why shouldn’t the Household Cavalry?
After taking in Horse Guards Parade I took a side street back onto Whitehall. I looked to my left – the Foreign Office and then to my right – the Treasury Office, and wondered how many important decisions had been made in these buildings. The next thing I noticed was a fleet of brand-new 60-registration top of the range silver Land Rovers, about 20 of them, probably pool cars for the Treasury or Foreign Office. How do these vehicles, costing close to a hundred thousand pounds each, fit into the Conservative government’s promise to cut Whitehall waste?
Walking back along Whitehall I took in many of the national monuments – from the field marshals – Montgomery and Hague to the women’s memorial and the Cenotaph. There are probably hundreds in total, all in black and all memorials to the horrors that were suffered to keep Britain free. From Trafalgar Square to Whitehall, wherever you are in this part of the city you can’t help but feel that you are in the centre of London and therefore the centre of England. So it’s perhaps no surprise that many people who live and work in the capital think that London is England. Of course it’s not, it’s a very different and unique place – one that I have the pleasure of exploring every day.
We already pay for them to be there through tax. Plus, for foreign visitors, isn't London expensive enough?
ReplyDeleteI'll be coming down to Brettenham house fairly frequently in the coming months, you'll have to show me some of this stuff dude. I was born in London and have never really taken it in.
Simon