28 September 2014

Home stretch. Michael has a list of what he wants to do over the next couple of days. St Paul’s and Westminster are not open on Sunday’s except for services so we opt for Churchill’s War Rooms and the British Museum. The Circle line is still down so we go back to Charring Cross and walk down to the War Room Exhibit, which is quite good. Hard to imagine living below ground for 4+ years, but they did. Hard to believe that they ran the war with typewriters and telephones, but they did.

Typicla office bedroom for senior staff

Conference room

Room for 11 typists

Map in the map room showing the lines

Tally of V1 rockets

Churchill's office/bedroom. There was also one for Clementine

There is a contiguous exhibit of the life of Churchill, with ephemera, videos, and interactive displays. It’s very well done, and if you are a student of WWII, you could spend most of a day down there. They have interviews with the people who worked with Churchill and spent the war in those rooms. Churchill worked 18-hour days and so did most of the support staff. It’s very moving.

Then we headed off to lunch. I had a route planned on the tube, but the station I wanted to change lines at is closed until December. Pfft. Try finding a cab at Westminster on a sunny Sunday at noon. We were only 7 minutes late and the cabby assured us traffic was light. LOL.

Great lunch with Scott and Crystal at the Grazing Goat near Marble Arch. They’ve been living in London since 2000. For some reason, Scott and Michael have not met before – probably because Michael spent more time visiting his cousins on his mother’s side.

After lunch we head off to the British Museum. I thought I had been here before, but once inside, I am not so sure. It’s a huge place so we pick out a few things to look at. Egyptian mummies, clocks and watches, the Sussex Hoo burial, some Iranian metalwork, the rest of the Lewes chess pieces, and a lot of other things enroute. Another place where you could spend a day - or until your brain gets full. 

Mummy wrappings

Netting made from tubular faience beads

Automaton with clock

Part of the Anglo-Saxon burial hoard at Sutton Hoo

At about 4 we hopped back on the tube for Paddington. We stopped at the Brasserie for drinks, but decided to stay for dinner.

Tomorrow is our last day and we’ll try to visit the Tower, St. Paul’s and Westminster Abbey before taking a car to at hotel near Heathrow.