The Tower Installation - Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red

As promised last week, we've been on another trip to my lovely London town which in part was to show you the installation of the poppies at the Tower of London.  This trip was a real marathon which took us from the Tower of London all the way to Waterloo!  Lots of shoe leather was worn down but, my oh my, so many wonderful delights to capture along the way and share with you!    However, if I put them all into one post it would take forever to get through, so I am going to do this in sections over the next couple of weeks (also, by then my legs and feet will be back to normal!!).  So, here we go again, grab a glass of Pimms and a bowl of fresh strawberries and cream, are you ready?  Here we go to the first part of our trip - Tower Hill...

The Tower of London on its own looks formidable, a fortress to imprison traitors and Royalty (even the Kray twins!) as well as the protector of the Crown Jewels.  A place to torture and behead.  An imposing place indeed!  One entrance would have been terrifying, arriving through Traitors Gate from the Thames.  The lapping of the tide against the stone walls and the boat that was the carrier of the condemned on dark, foggy nights.

Can you see the steps through the wood?  These would take you from the boat to your place of doom.  Today though, it was a tour at the top of the stairs with one of the many Beefeaters.

However, the reason we were here was for the poppy display "Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red".  The photos I took, and the images on the TV can't prepare you just how huge this display is.  Thousands of people lined the 11th century moat of the Tower, mostly in silence just trying to take the spectacle in.

The poppies cascade out of one of the windows and then pool around the moat.

Each poppy represents one life that was lost in World War I.

Volunteers arrive each day to add to the installation which will continue through the next couple of months until Armistice Day in November.  888,246 ceramic poppies will be placed in the moat.

Going past the entrance to the Tower you can see a wave of poppies making its way over the bridge.

The queues were huge to get into the Tower!  How times change!!

The welcome is a lot more friendlier too!

The installation of this amazing artwork is a thing of beauty, reflection and grateful thanks to those who gave the ultimate sacrifice.  The shadows of their time on earth forever remembered.

If you are planning a trip to London in the next couple of months, this really should be on your list to witness even if you only had ten minutes to spare.  It is a piece of history that will not be repeated, unfortunately this is not the case with War.

Next week, I'll share with you our walk from the Tower to Tower Bridge and along the South Bank.  A colourful and varied trip!

(I hate taking a panoramic shot and a lamp post decides to make an appearance!).

Have a wonderful, reflective, weekend and week.

Take care

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Our World Tuesday

A First World War Mother's Torment

With the Centenary of the beginning of the First World War, I started to think of the men that were lost and those who survived with my own family.  Recently Mumsy gave me a photocopy of a letter which was to my Great Great Grandma, whose sons were sent to War.  Can you imagine life one hundred years ago and watching your young son leaving?  I look at my own 16 year old and just can't comprehend that this would have been a fact a century ago.  The sickness fills my stomach and tears sting my eyes as I try to put myself in those angry, anxious, loving mother's minds.

The letter is almost 100 years old, dated 26 May 1915, regarding one of her sons.  With age, the letter is incredibly fragile but its words can be photocopied for safety and its ink saved for generations to come.

The words contained within this thin and fragile paper are heart breaking.

Dear Madam

Your letter of the 7th inst, and addressed to General Woodruff, has been passed on to us to send you what little news that we can concerning your son who has been missing since March 23rd.

When the enemy attacked us on March 21st we lost practically the whole of our Battalion and two days later when the enemy broke through again, all details including the Band, were sent up the line to try and check his advance.  I myself were with these people, and I am sorry to say we were driven back with rather heavy losses again.

I would very much like to give you some hope that your son was captured and perhaps he was, but the only men who were taken prisoners that day were those who were wounded too badly to get away.

I myself was the last to leave the position and certainly nobody was captured unwounded, so either your son is severely wounded and in a hospital somewhere in Germany, or he was killed.

I tender to you, on behalf of the Battalion the deepest sympathy, and although we ask you to be brave and hope a little that he is alive, we have very grave doubts.  I regret that this is all the news that I can give.

I can only imagine the pain and anguish that the family went through as they waited throughout the war for any snippet of news, holding on to whatever hope they could.  The heart wrenching and uncertainty would have been too hard to bare.  However thankfully, her son (my Great Grandad) survived!  He had been captured and spent the rest of the war in a prisoner of war camp but he was alive.  Amongst the family's papers I hold, there is a small slip of paper that shows the medals he collected up until the late 20's when he was discharged. 

Even though his body was constantly shaking from the results of War injuries and he never left anything on his dinner plate (a result of being in a Prisoner of War camp where there was hardly any food), he continued to collect his medals through being a soldier with the Coldstream Guards and then the Police.

Here he is in 1940 (the one with the pipe!) and his brother.

A survivor, a man who kept the horrors of war firmly in his mind and never off loaded these to his family, which was a common thing for those heroes that lived through these awful times.  I only knew him for a few months of my life, held by him in his safe arms as a baby, but this man who was initially thought to have been killed in the First World War lived until he was the grand old age of 85, knowing that his family were safe through the actions of him and his colleagues, where most had made the ultimate sacrifice.  He was a kind and respectful man (even though this photo of him looks quite stern and serious!).

We are off to London next week to see the Tower of London's poppy installation, the link is here, and I have ordered a poppy from this display to proudly remember all my family members that lost their lives and also the ones who survived this awful war such as my wonderful Great Grandad Christopher.

So, another thought provoking trip out next week which I hope you will join me on dear Readers.

Take care.

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We Will Remember Them

On the anniversary of the announcement of the First World War, my thoughts go to all those who died and those who continued to live through the horrors of the First World War.  In particular to my Great Great Uncle Ernest George and other members of the family who lost their lives at the front and to my Great Grandad Christopher who was captured and returned to his family at the end of the War after their years of angst as to whether he was alive or dead.

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Where Shall We Go On Our Journey Today... St Paul's and the South Bank, London

Yes, you've guessed it, I've done it yet again!  Cathedral climbing seems to be a new thing in my life and I didn't realise just how painful fun it can be!  For those who follow me on Instagram (a new toy for me), you will know that the train tickets were ordered and I was counting down the hours for when we would hop on the train back to my home town.  So, you know the drill - cup of tea and a McVities chocolate digestive in hand and let me take you on another journey to old London town.  

The iconic dome of St Paul's Cathedral is so beautiful and can be seen from all over the City.  I have visited it so many times, but the highest I've ever been is to the Whispering Gallery and that was when I was about ten years old!  So, feeling brave with my two teens and their friend, we started our ascent!  Photos are not allowed inside the Cathedral so I will have to describe our experience.  The first climb is along very shallow, wide, windy stairs taking you up to the gallery.  These were more modern than expected and never ending - no rest breaks here!  These take you 30 metres up (257 steps!).  The first thing you have to do is sit at the side to get your breath and then listen to messages being said from the other side of the dome.  These were a little confusing as there were so many!  But to be a little closer to the dome's ceiling brought so many happy memories back to me.

Then a little door invited us to go to the next level.  This time the stairs were narrower and stone - another 119 steps taking us to 53 metres from the Cathedral floor!  This time we could go out onto the balcony and look at the City from this height (and take photos!!).  Here we could see the Millennium Bridge leading us to the Tate Modern with the Strata Tower (the Razor) in the distance.

 Moving around you can't miss the London Eye as the Thames bends round to Westminster from Charing Cross Station.

And then the newer buildings gradually popping up with the Isle of Dogs in the distance, Canary Wharf and Greenwich (regular readers will know Greenwich as my 'happy' place).  There's the 'Cheesegrater',  the 'Walkie Talkie', the 'Guerkin'.  So many nicknames!!

With water consumed and legs beginning to feel every movement, we took the plunge and decided to climb the last set of stairs to the top!  152 more steps to climb making us 85 metres from the Cathedral floor.  Want to see?...

You can just make out the spiral staircase that we had climbed.  It hurt!  I mean really hurt!!  But there was one photo I just had to take.  So many photos are taken of the Cathedral looking up with it's two towers and then the central dome, but I wanted this shot...

By now we were in pain but this view down the dome to the west front with the tiny London red buses was worth it!!  Another climb, another Cathedral!

After more refreshments, we made our descent, slowly, painfully, but we got back down to the ground and made our way towards the Millennium Bridge.  Near to the Bridge and looking back towards the Cathedral you come across the National Fire Fighters Memorial.  This was originally depicting the fire personnel during the Second World War but is now a memorial to all fire fighters.

Ok, are you still with me?  Let's take a walk over the Millennium Bridge.

This shot was taken from the South Bank looking back at St Paul's.  The bridge is full of wonderful sights but my favourite part is when you see the city etched on the side to give you some idea of what you are seeing.

Both up and down the river.

There are artists on the bridge too.  This one I could have spoken to for hours!  His art is to paint on blots on the landscape... namely chewing gum left on the floor.  Ben Wilson is a bit of a celebrity and the link here is really worth a read as to why he does this.  As he paints the chewing gum, he is not defacing the bridge, and his work is so intricate and so much better to look at than the faceless, awful gum that is left behind.  As we walked along, we could see more and more of his work (the photo has an overlay of a close up of what he was currently working on).

On the other side we took a quick look at the Globe Theatre...

... and the Tate Modern.

On we went to the South Bank to take in some of the vibrancy of this great place.  Wherever you look there is something to see.  The suited man after a paddle in the Thames...

The smoking trumpeter, yes when he played there was smoke coming out!

The happy juggler! 

The pink double decker bus selling frozen yoghurt!

Such a wonderful, colourful place and great for teenagers!!

 But here was the main reason why we had come to the South Bank.  Miss Teen loves street art and wanted to see the skate park and the graffiti tunnel.  Unfortunately we couldn't find the tunnel but we found the skate park! (the first shot was taken by Miss Teen - she loved this place!)

 So, we started to head home, albeit slowly with the amount of walking and climbing we had done.  How I wish we could have jumped on this boat!

A pit stop at Green Park was needed, an ice cream while sitting on a bench.

And then a visit to the Palace...

I think the Police Woman was telling a joke and the Soldier just wasn't getting it...

 I love the little details that surround Buckingham Place.

 And of course, lanterns!  I love lanterns!!

 The Mall with it's red tarmac looked pretty empty compared with the crowds that were surrounding this place.

 With Queen Victoria looking out across London.

 So, after a very long and tiring day, it was time to turn our back on my home town.

 We will be back soon to follow the dolphin lamps.

And so, as I sit here (unable to stand up!), I do hope you have enjoyed your painless trip along this little part of the River Thames.

Have a wonderful weekend and week.

Take care.

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Travel Photo Mondays
Our World Tuesday