A bummer and bumming around

This morning I had a rather unique experience when I opened the door to our apartment only to discover a homeless man stretched out across the threshold. Not the most pleasant way to greet the new day, and I had to draw myself up to full height before telling the fellow to push off. He did so without so much as a wimper, but I must admit the experience shook me up more than him. We have been here since last Wednesday, and have seen quite a bit for such a short period of time. On Thursday we went to the Tower of London where we enjoyed the tour given by a “Beefeater” who could easily have been a stand up comic. That is no small feat for someone who is charged with regaling visitors with gruesome tales of imprisonment and dismemberment. The fortress itself was very impressive, and although we spent at least two hours there I doubt we saw half of it. The place was delightfully deserted, too, and there was absolutely no line to go and view the crown jewels or to view any of the other treasures. The next day we went to see the British Museum and again found it so vast that I doubt we explored the half of it. It was a real pleasure to see the Rosetta Stone, and the Elgin Marbles from the Parthenon, but there were so many relics and antiquities that it became overwhelming after a while.

I had not realized how many souvenirs one could make of the Rosetta Stone: ties, paperweights, stress squeezers, mouse pads, earrings, etc. etc. We did not opt for any of the gift shop offerings. We left that place and walked up to the next underground station located near the city college of London where we stopped in to give our regards to Jeremy Bentham, whose remains have been stuffed and seated in a corner since the 1830s. When I asked a guard where we could find him, the fellow answered, “There’ss no hurry; he’s not going anywhere, is he?” On Saturday we saw the Lord Mayor’s show, a long parade which I already summarized on my Facebook page, and afterwards saw “Let it Be,’ a Beatles tribute band that put on a very energetic show at the Savoy theater. That was a fun day. On Sunday, the very somber Remembrance Day ceremony at the Cenotaph where the Queen and family were in attendance and we watched from some unbelievably comfortable seats in a nearby pub. We also saw Picadilly Circus and Trafalgar Square. After kicking the bum off our doorstep, Jayne and I made our way to Wimbledon to visit the aunt of Jayne’s niece. Mirabelle was a very charming hostess and took us all around Richmond Park where the views were obscured by some pretty rainy and overcast conditions but beautiful nonetheless. Mirabelle served us dinner at her home, and got us back to the tube station in enough time to take the train back home by 10:30 pm. I wonder what today’s wanderings will be?