14c: Westminster walk & Mousetrap day

London: Thurs Sept 29 – Mon Oct 3

Accommodation link.

Saturday 1^st October

It was a relief to see the sun shining this morning so we got out for an early walk. We headed down to the Thames through a mostly residential area. Houses in this area of London have to be painted in ‘British Standard Colour 08B15’, which is essentially a magnolia colour, and the conformity was lovely but a bit unsettling at the same time; you sometimes feel like you’re stuck in a maze.

Our first main activity for the day was an 11 am walking tour of Westminster. Our guide, Oliver, was very well informed and kept our large group, of 20 or so, entertained for two hours as he took us through the streets of a very busy Westminster. We hadn’t been aware aware until this walk that the London Marathon was being run tomorrow and so the area was very busy and congested with all the preparation for the event. It was a great way to spend a couple of hours in the sunshines though as, like with the previous night, we were taken to parts of London we hadn’t walked through before and the history attached to the area never ceases to capture and enthrall. Oliver dazzled us with lots of information but its funny how the trivial items remain with you. For example, he explained how the phrase ‘to fall off the wagon’ was derived from medieval criminals being transported to prison and being allowed the occasional jump off the prisons wagon to have a final swig of rum or ale or whatever. Also, the reason that two birthdays for the Brisitish monarch are celebrated is because George II had his birthday in winter and preferred to celebrate in summer and, hence, the dual dates of birthday acknowledgment. The final bit of trivia was that Big Ben, so our guide believes, is most likely named after a cockney boxer, and this man is mentioned in parliament’s Hansard with reference to the clock tower. There were lots of other more serious and detailed stories as well making this walk well worth the while. It was 1 pm by the time it concluded and we walked back to the apartment to rest up before for evening outing of dinner and the theater.

Our plan for the evening had been to catch the bus in early to the theatre district, as this was the most direct option, and have a stroll around the area followed by dinner at a nearby restaurant before our 7.30 pm session of Mousetrap. Best laid plans and all that. We ended up being on the bus for over an hour, our journey was meant to take 30 minutes, before we eventually got off and walked the remaining 30 minutes to the restaurant. The London Marathon, being run the next day, had resulted in traffic chaos, diversions and delays and with many police cars rushing and weaving through the traffic with sirens blaring and lights flashing. There was a time warp quality to this experience as I thought I was back in an episode of the Bill. We would have been better off walking the whole route from our apartment as it would have been more direct and, in the end, quicker.

We ended up making it to the restaurant, albeit 30 minutes, late but they still squeezed us in and served us quickly so that we were on our way to the theatre with some time to spare. St Martins is a lovely old theatre but the heating was too high and the acoustics too low. The end result being that I slept through most of Mousetrap so there’s no worry about me revealing the plot to anyone who may want to catch this production.

The thing that stood out for me from the evening was how the streets, parks, theaters and restaurants of London were heaving with all sorts of people. Families of all descriptions, young children, groups of teenagers and older people; you name it; they were out enjoying all that the city has to offer. The theatre district was packed and reminiscent of the first day of the Easter show; it was buzzing with activity. No fear or concern about Covid was anywhere to be seen or heard!

We did not bother with the bus on the way home but took the tube and were home within 30 minutes! Lesson learned!