And now the beloved Queen has left us.
I have an opportunity to go to London which I previously declined, but now with the Queen’s death I feel the strongest desire to go. So I shall travel there in about six weeks. I already feel the British accent coming on.
This is a must. The Punk Rock of all Punk Rocks. I love you Jeff.
Pubs
Fish and Chips
Black Cabs
| T Fly | |||||
| W Arrive @ Heathrow 11:10 AM | |||||
| T SW Tour | |||||
| F NE Tour | |||||
| S SE Tour | |||||
| S Fly Home |
A thick porcelain plate, oversized cutlery, two-on-two beef pies turned upside-down, and mashed potato. On top, your pick of liquor: a green parsley sauce, or a controversial ladle of gravy. If thirsty, an R White’s lemonade or milky tea. For the most part since the 19th century, this is what fast-food looked like in London.
Wednesday – Arrival
Wednesday – What really happened?
Thursday – Buckingham Palace – SW
Palace of Westminister – 20 min walk – Westminister Hall where the Queen lays in state.
Westminister Abbey – 20 min walk – where the Queen’s funeral will be held.
Buckingham Palace – 20 min walk
Windsor Castle (day trip) – book ahead – changing of guards is 11am – head straight to St. George’s Chapel. Then explore Windsor and have tea.
Lying-in-State describes the formal occasion in which a coffin is placed on view to allow people to pay their respects before the funeral ceremony. You will enter the Palace of Westminster through St Stephen’s Entrance which opens at the foot of a short flight of stairs.From there you will pass into Westminster Hall by proceeding down two longer flights of stairs to ground level.
During Lying-in-State, the coffin rests on a raised platform (catafalque) in the middle of Westminster Hall. Each corner of the platform is guarded around the clock by members of the iSovereign’s guard of the Household Cavalry, Foot Guards and The King’s Bodyguards.
Thursday – What really happened?
7:30 am – awakened from a dead sleep by a super crisp fire alarm advising to vacate the building and not to use the ”lifts”. Sure enough there was a fire. Fortunately it was quickly disposed and after sheltering with other sleepy guests in the hotel next door we were returned to our hotel after about an hour and a half. All in all a very successful calm evacuation and quite the wakeup call!
10:30 am – walking the beautiful and busy streets of London to get breakfast. Saw a guy actually vacuuming the streets. Not one homeless person, visible drug addict or beggar. This is a very stylish city full of stylish people.
11:00 am – Apple Butter Cafe in the Seven Dials area. This is a smallish cafe catering mostly to groups of two so we had to wait a while but turned out to be worth it! All I can say is truffle scrambled eggs and a cappuccino. Great service too! Loved this area with all its little shops. We stopped by Tatty Devine for a custom made name necklace. There were lots of original affordable necklaces including odes to David Bowie.
Also nearby is the Cambridge Theatre where we would later return to take in a performance of “Matilda”.
12:30 pm – back to the Londoner to refresh and to inquire about the 7 pm performance of “Matilda” at TKTS booth in Leicester Square. Sure enough they had two tickets on the aisle in dress circle (no discount!). Purchased anyway and made a 10 year very happy.
Met with the hotel concierge about the other items on my preliminary itinerary and found out Buckingham Palace was closed to visitors but would be nice to visit. He suggested Kensington Palace which is open to visitors. He advised the Palace of Westminster was currently closed due to Parliament being in a tizzy which then left Westminster Abbey. Sadly I had already eliminated Windsor Castle due to time limitation (plus a whole lot of walking).
1:30 pm – so we hopped in a taxi and headed to Westminster Abbey which turned out to be the greatest decision for myself and a very enthusiastic 10 year old.
2 – 4:30 pm – Westminster Abbey 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟- I cannot describe how emotional I felt being in this sacred place. There was not enough time to truly explore this ancient place of Christian worship and centuries old tributes to dead people. An entire day would need to be dedicated to fully experience it and even that would not be enough time. I would also attend a service here given another chance.
Friday- Punk Rock Day – NE
punk is eternal
said every punker ever
Today is October 28, 2022 and there was a strong 57 in my life today.
October 28th 1977.
Release of ‘Never Mind The Bollocks, Here’s The Sex Pistols’ the Sex Pistols one and only true LP.
Lou Reed died on this day in 2013.
Jerry Lee Lewis died today.
Vince Dooley died today.
😢
- 10 minute walk to Tin Pan Alley (Denmark)
- No Tom Guitars
- No. 6 Denmark Street – in 1975, Sex Pistols’ manager Malcolm McLaren rented the space to serve as part-studio, part-home base for the band. Some of the Sex Pistols’ earliest demos were recorded in the No. 6 Denmark Street studio, including the tracks “Anarchy in the U.K.” and “Pretty Vacant”.
- The Cambridge Pub
- 100 Club
- Soho
- Cookes and Mash (double mash per Steve Jones) – CLOSED
Covent Garden – NE
- Food! Oystermen – 8 minute walk
- White Chapel – requires a ride
Dinner at the Ledbury – solo
Will require a taxi:
- Vivenne Westwood Worlds End – the shop with the big clock is where Malcolm McLaren and Vivienne Westwood opened ‘Let It Rock’ in 1971 (renamed SEX in 1974).
- Kings Road
- Chelsea
Sid Vicious
Friday – What really happened?
“Every punk, young or old, has a story of a band that shaped them, of a song that grabs them by the stomach and made them think about the world in a different light, and it’s these bands and these songs that drive people to take action.”
Jay Kerr
Saturday: Tower of London – SE
- The Bell Pub (where Johnny drinks)near Jack the Ripper territory.
- 12:30 Double Decker Tea Tour
- 3:45 Wedding Dresses – someone got engaged!
- Ben Franklin House – 36 Craven (9 min walk)
Saturday – What really happened?
9 am ❤️
