A Walk Over Tower Bridge
It was a nice day today, so I decided to enjoy the last of this year’s sunshine by going for a walk along the Thames from London Bridge and then cross to the North side using Tower Bridge.
Strangely, I’d never ever walked further from London Bridge than HMS Belfast.
These are a few thoughts.
The Shard
I still don’t like it, as it sticks out like a saw thumb on the South Bank.
At least on the North Bank there is a cluster of skyscrapers, which make a more interesting and comprehensive backdrop.
The Tower Of London
I’ve only ever properly visited once, when a friend from University; Dave Roberts, visited me in London.
Although I did go to see the poppies. See Viewing The Poppies In The Rain. But I never went inside.
City Hall, London (Southwark)
The former City Hall looked all sad and abandoned, as it was being refurbished for whatever purpose.
I can’t think what use it will have except possibly as a showroom for Chinese EVs.
The deal between the Kuwaiti government, who own the building and London’s politicians, doesn’t appear to have been the best interests of both parties.
The Girl With A Dolphin
The Girl With a Dolphin sculpture is on the North side of the River Thames in front of the Tower Hotel.
This article in the Times, which is entitled The Naked Girl With A Dolphin At Tower Bridge? That’s Me, Says Virginia Wade, reveals the story behind the sculpture and its sculptor and model.
Conclusion
This is a walk I can recommend, as there are some excellent photographic opportunities. I think, I was lucky as the light was good and there was little cloud.
And Virginia Will Take Tea With The Queen
The title of this post is a classic quote from Max Robertson, the doyen of radio tennis commentators, when Virginia Wade won the Ladies Singles in the Silver Jubilee Year of 1977.
They asked the commentator today, if he had rehearsed a classic line for today, if Murray should beat Federer.
Celebrities
The case of Steven Gerrard is in all the newspapers at the moment. It raises a lot of issues, including the case of celebrities behaving properly.
After all, we’ve had a lot lately, who have got into trouble. Read something like Popbitch and you’ll get all the dirt on many who have overstepped the mark.
I go racing a lot, mainly at Newmarket. You see quite a few people there, who are in the news and they are rarely bothered and I’ve never seen anyone behaving less than impeccably. So perhaps, what happens occasionally and gets in the papers is just an aberration.
One tale I remember, is when we were flying to Greece I think and Susan Hampshire was on the plane. It must have been some time in the 1980s and the plane only had one class. She just said hello to everyone, signed a few autographs and just was extremely pleasant. We all left that plane, saying that she such a nice lady. I’ve had a soft spot for her ever since.
It must have been about 1973 or so, when I travelled to Middlesborough on a train. I had breakfast on the train and sat in a set of four seats in the dining car, with two gentlemen from Evans, who ran the shops for larger ladies, and their guest, Janet Webb. If you remember her from her closing the Morecambe and Wise Show, you will remember that she wasn’t a small lady. She entertained the whole carriage. What a trouper!
I also shared a similar four going to Liverpool on a train with two railway engineers and Virginia Wadeat about the same time. I think she was tired as she slept most of the way. Or was it that we talked about trains all the way up! If I remember, she got off at Crewe to take the train to the tournament at Hoylake. How lives have changed for tennis players since.
These are just three instances, where celebrities have enlightened the everyday lives of others. I could add more.
The Anonymous Widower 