Wednesday, January 31 – Harrow on the Hill

Taking the photo of the entrance to The Temple Church on Sunday made me realize that I had never visited The Temple complex (or if I did, I don’t recall). Not really sure why that is, probably just ignorance on my part! Anyway, my mission is to rectify that today.

Self-guided tours of the church are available throughout the day. Unfortunately, my timing was a little off though because a guided tour was on the schedule today too, but it started 20 minutes before my arrival. Ugh! I had even checked the church’s website this morning to confirm that it was open, and saw no reference to a guided tour. I mentioned this to the person at the entrance, and after checking the website she confirmed that the guided tour should have been listed, but was not. Anyway, she also told me that on Friday the Reverend and Valiant Master of the Temple would be giving a talk in the church, and highly recommended that I attend. Sold, I’ll be back on Friday!

I did some walking around The Temple complex, but it wasn’t a very photogenic day (overcast), so I decided to hold off on any picture taking, with hope for better conditions when I return on Friday.

The Temple is located on the north bank of the Thames, just to the east of Waterloo Bridge. Since I had some extra time on my hands I decided to take a walk along the Thames, heading up river to the west. Again, not a great day for photos. Sorry about that! I did make a quick stop at the Tate Britain however, and have a couple pictures from that visit.

Not a great day for photos, but a good day for steps! 22k.

Travel Note: For those of you who’ve not been to London, you might find the photo below interesting. These indicators are provided at most major crosswalks, and are very helpful for those of us who are used to looking for traffic traveling in the opposite direction!

Thursday, February 1 – Harrow on the Hill

Not much to report today. I went for a walk and booked another trip. I now have four short trips planned – taking place this month and in early March. So hopefully you’ll have some interesting things to read about over the next few weeks!

Mark Knopfler’s Guitar Auction Update

The auction was held yesterday, and to quote the auction house, Christie’s, the results were “staggering”. The auction lasted more than six hours, and the proceeds totaled over £8.8 million ($11.2 million)!

Friday, February 2 – Harrow on the Hill

Okay, I’m heading back to The Temple Church today for a tour and a talk (£5).

The church was built by the Knights Templar and was consecrated in 1185. It was heavily damaged by German bombing during World War II and has since been greatly restored and rebuilt.

And luckily we have a better day for picture taking…

The talk by Robin Griffith-Jones, the Reverend and Valiant Master of the Temple, was entertaining. He talked about the Knights Templar, and touched on the role The Temple Church played in Dan Brown’s book The Da Vinci Code. He wasn’t happy about the inaccuracies in the book, but as he said, considering the book was published in 2003, “its time has probably passed”.

The Temple Church sits amid a complex of other buildings that is one of the main legal districts in London.

Saturday, February 3 – Harrow on the Hill

Early on in my trip Ed suggested I take a tour of Big Ben. Great idea! Sadly, I should have consulted with him last fall, because these tours are hugely popular and sell out months in advance. When I checked the booking website, there was nothing available through the end of April, which is when I’m heading back to the States. I’m an idiot! However, one sentence on their website offered a glimmer of hope: If more tickets become available due to cancellations, these will be available on the booking page. Mmmm… Okay, so my path forward was clear: be relentless in checking for cancellations! And thankfully, an opening appeared a week or so ago for this morning. Yes! Luckily, the extended duration of my stay in London helped overcome my stupidity!

The tour (cost: £25) began at 10am. We were instructed to report to the visitor entrance at the Houses of Parliament at 9:30am to facilitate passing through the airport-style security search. Our group was 15 people (now I know why it sells out so fast!), which was great. No phones or cameras were allowed on the tour. It was claimed that this was for security reasons, which I can understand. But I have a feeling it’s also to avoid having people clamoring to get photos. I actually liked this aspect as well.

The tour involved climbing 334 steps, with stops at various levels on the way up. And it was timed so that we were in the mechanism room when the clocked chimed the 3/4 hour, and in the belfry at the top of the hour to witness the bells chime (we were given earplugs!). And as our guide pointed out, we were lucky to be on the 10am tour because that allowed us to see/hear the bell rung 11 times; whereas the tour group that starts at noon would only experience it once! Ha!

It was a good time to be taking the tour because the Big Ben Tower had recently completed a lengthy restoration (2017-2022), when it was shrouded in scaffolding. Some of the displays even smelled new! However, the bells were not restored, in order to maintain their patina.

The tour lasted 90 minutes, and was wonderful. Thanks Ed!

Sidenote: This was the second time I’ve toured Big Ben. The first time occurred when I was living here and Janet Earnshaw arranged for seven of us to tour the Clock Tower and the Palace of Westminster. Back then the tours had to be booked via a request sent to the House of Commons. And each of the visitors were subsequently vetted by the Metropolitan Police prior to being allowed to take tour. Quite the undertaking. Thanks again Janet!

A fun day, and it’s not even over yet! I thought I might try and see a show on the West End today.

Back when I lived here, if I was looking for theatre tickets, I would head down to Leicester Square to the TKTS booth to check on what discounts were available for that day’s performances. Well, I noticed when I’ve passed by the booth on this trip that there were hardly any customers. That seemed odd, because there always used to be a line of people waiting. Finally it dawned on me. It’s all done online now!

So, this morning I checked the TKTS website and found a 50% off ticket for the matinee performance of The Motive and The Cue. The play is based on the making of Richard Burton and John Gielgud’s Hamlet on Broadway in 1964. The synopsis, per the play’s website: Richard Burton, newly married to Elizabeth Taylor, is to play the title role in an experimental new production of Hamlet under John Gielgud’s exacting direction. But as rehearsals progress, two ages of theatre collide and the collaboration between actor and director soon threatens to unravel. The play is directed by Academy Award, Tony Award and Golden Globe winner Sam Mendes, and stars Johnny Flynn, Mark Gatiss and Tuppence Middleton as Burton, Gielgud and Taylor.

The 1964 production of Hamlet was a financial smash, achieving the longest run for the play in Broadway history at 137 performances. The run’s popularity was due in no small part to the attention Burton received for his romance with Taylor. Ironically, John Gielgud (who was a renowned Shakespearean actor) portrayed Hamlet in a 1934 production that took place in the same theatre as today’s play – at the time called the New Theatre, now named the Noël Coward Theatre.

It was a very enjoyable performance. The fitting end to a wonderful day!