Shipping Out
Phil and Sue John visited us in London for the day on May 21st. Phil was Chuck's host during the year Chuck taught at the Royal Military College of Science/Cranfield University in 2000/2001. Phil is the head of the Systems Engineering faculty there; he and Sue and their three kids live in Harpenden, a village a few miles north of London. We had visited them a couple of months ago and this most recent visit was a chance for the four of us to have a fun day out in London.
We started the day with a great brunch at our flat, courtesy of Kathi. From there it was off to visit HMS Belfast, a Royal Navy cruiser of World War II vintage that is now a floating museum in the Thames. We took the Underground to London Bridge Station on the south bank of the river and walked from there, stopping at the Hays Galleria enroute. This was a covered dock on the river bank; built in the 19th century, it was a water-filled berth which ships could be brought into, with warehouses on either side, covered by a glass roof. (Another example of the kind of Victorian engineering Chuck is enamored of.) One of the major cargoes handled here was tea from the tea clipper ships. In recent years the water has been filled in, the warehouses renovated and it is now the home of offices and shops -- a "galleria".
From there it was a short walk to the ship. Chuck was in his element -- a former ship's gunnery officer, he provided a personal guided tour of the gunnery installations on Belfast. Sue and Phil were good sports and paid attention the whole time! The ship has been very well preserved and is presented very well -- a great deal more of the ship is open to the public than is usually the case in preserved ships such as this. It was fascinating to see the living conditions aboard a Royal Navy warship of the 1940s and to visit the bridge, the operations room (combat information center (CIC) in USN terms), the galley, laundry, gun installations and so on. The ladies even developed a reasonable facility with traversing the inclined ladders found everywhere on a Navy ship.
From the Belfast (and after a restful cup of coffee at a cafe) we took the Underground again to Covent Garden to mingle with the crowds that are always there, browsing in the shops and enjoying the sidewalk entertainers. On to dinner at a very nice restaurant just off the Garden then on to a play at the Comedy Theater near Haymarket. The play was "The Home Place" starring Tom Courtenay -- a drama set in Ireland in the time that country was undergoing the transition to home rule. The show had gotten very good reviews -- but all four of us agreed we "didn't get it" -- the first act was very slow and the somewhat more active second act led to an abrupt ending that left us all somewhat baffled. Some of the reviews had compared the play to Chekhov -- maybe we should have taken that more seriously and expected to be left baffled.
To see some of the pictures from the day click on: http://chuck.smugmug.com/gallery/556253/1/23126034
At the end of our very enjoyable day, Phil and Sue caught the Underground to the railroad station and returned to Harpenden while the Calvanos took the bus back to our "little London flat". Great day. We hope to have another adventure with Phil and Sue before too much more time passes.
We started the day with a great brunch at our flat, courtesy of Kathi. From there it was off to visit HMS Belfast, a Royal Navy cruiser of World War II vintage that is now a floating museum in the Thames. We took the Underground to London Bridge Station on the south bank of the river and walked from there, stopping at the Hays Galleria enroute. This was a covered dock on the river bank; built in the 19th century, it was a water-filled berth which ships could be brought into, with warehouses on either side, covered by a glass roof. (Another example of the kind of Victorian engineering Chuck is enamored of.) One of the major cargoes handled here was tea from the tea clipper ships. In recent years the water has been filled in, the warehouses renovated and it is now the home of offices and shops -- a "galleria".
From there it was a short walk to the ship. Chuck was in his element -- a former ship's gunnery officer, he provided a personal guided tour of the gunnery installations on Belfast. Sue and Phil were good sports and paid attention the whole time! The ship has been very well preserved and is presented very well -- a great deal more of the ship is open to the public than is usually the case in preserved ships such as this. It was fascinating to see the living conditions aboard a Royal Navy warship of the 1940s and to visit the bridge, the operations room (combat information center (CIC) in USN terms), the galley, laundry, gun installations and so on. The ladies even developed a reasonable facility with traversing the inclined ladders found everywhere on a Navy ship.
From the Belfast (and after a restful cup of coffee at a cafe) we took the Underground again to Covent Garden to mingle with the crowds that are always there, browsing in the shops and enjoying the sidewalk entertainers. On to dinner at a very nice restaurant just off the Garden then on to a play at the Comedy Theater near Haymarket. The play was "The Home Place" starring Tom Courtenay -- a drama set in Ireland in the time that country was undergoing the transition to home rule. The show had gotten very good reviews -- but all four of us agreed we "didn't get it" -- the first act was very slow and the somewhat more active second act led to an abrupt ending that left us all somewhat baffled. Some of the reviews had compared the play to Chekhov -- maybe we should have taken that more seriously and expected to be left baffled.
To see some of the pictures from the day click on: http://chuck.smugmug.com/gallery/556253/1/23126034
At the end of our very enjoyable day, Phil and Sue caught the Underground to the railroad station and returned to Harpenden while the Calvanos took the bus back to our "little London flat". Great day. We hope to have another adventure with Phil and Sue before too much more time passes.
posted by Chuck and Kathi Calvano @ 8:11 PM
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