Having only returned from a
business trip that included stops in London and Edinburgh, it was just a few weeks
later that we boarded a flight to follow a similar itinerary. Mixing a little
business chatter with an opportunity to visit old haunts wasn’t so much a chore
as it was yet one more opportunity to familiarize ourselves with the greater
London town we are getting to know well. When you find yourself back in a place
you only left a short time before, such familiarity doesn’t take long to take
hold.
Many years ago, I happened to be on a trip to London as part of extending the reach of our business. While I was there, I was given the opportunity to visit a hotel that could serve the HPE NonStop community well as a place to hold a conference. It was a Hilton DoubleTree with a location that placed us close by to many of London’s main attractions and while the designated chatter often extended into the wee hours, being able to step outside to dine by the Thames in the late twilight made any thoughts about the wisdom of returning to London so soon meaningless.
That earlier trip to London
did result in holding the conference in this hotel the following year.
Unfortunately, it was at a time where I made commitments to be elsewhere.
Missing out on this event was something I regretted as one of the conference
sponsors held an evening social gathering atop the Shard. With our stay in the
DoubleTree we could see the Shard of an evening so no real surprises here to
find out that Margo and I together with parties we were entertaining, took in
the sights late one night.
London calling? What really
struck me this time in London was just how much had changed from when I first
visited the town. But what I recognized too was how challenging it is to cross
the Atlantic twice in one month – surely, it would have been wiser to simply “hang
out” in London for a couple of weeks. But work did necessitate a time best
spent back in the office.
It was during the mid-1970s at a time of severe austerity under then Prime Minister, Harold Wilson. For those who may not recall the period, my presence in London occurred during the final two years of his leadership – 1975 to 1976 and a challenging time indeed! It was at a time when my career in IT took a pronounced step forward although at the time I, along with almost everyone else in London, was miserable. Benefitting from a two-year transfer to “Head Office” I was done after just six months heading at the time and as quickly as I could, for Alberta Canada.
During those days in the mid-1970s
I had plenty of time on my hands. Broke and unable to afford anything else, I
walked the parks surrounding Buckingham Palace. I was intrigued at the time to
find the lamplights were gas and that there was a lamplighter making the rounds
lighting rows of these lights at sunset. Much to my surprise on this most
recent trip, I came across maintenance being performed on an upgraded lamplight
– the ignition system apparently had been upgraded to where the lights came on
by themselves. Somehow, nostalgia kicked in and I thought what a shame; would
have loved to have seen those lamplighters of former times doing their rounds.
Much has definitely changed for London across the decades since I first arrived. No longer being able to simply walk from a park up to and then along Downing Street being one rather obvious change. There was so much freedom to go pretty much anywhere you wanted to go, although, there are still many memories of restaurants in Chelsea sandbagged to the roofline leaving small tunnels between the bags for patrons to make their way into the restaurant. It was the height of the Irish attacks and there were places better left alone.
The Thames River has always
been central to the comings and goings of London. Whether it was in support of
trade, immigration, the arts or simply an opportunity to muck about in boats,
it is a prominent geographical feature of the town than continues to be a
source of interest to all visitors. Spending a long weekend in London meant we
did have time to visit Greenwich and to marvel at its place in history. Then
again, it was the height of summer and the place was inundated with hordes of
tourists.
That’s what historically significant locations are bound to do these days. Pulling in the crowds by Greenwich seemed a natural outcome of the role it played in providing homes for royalty. Who could have imagined that a simple argument between a King and his Queen could have resulted in an apology in the form of a regal residence built to show penitence. And then there is the Cutty Sark about which I was to learn a lot more, including the meaning behind the name Cutty Sark - an archaic Scottish name for a short nightdress, apparently, about which I will leave it up to you to read more on this topic.
Out on the waters of the
Thames River wouldn’t be complete without taking a look at the O2 Arena. An
entertainment complex that to this day, intrigues me as to why and how it was
built. Build the roof first then erect the walls and then figure out the
seating. Close by to the Canary Wharf development – yet one more pseudo city
built long after my departure in 1976 – looking downstream at the city and the
arena you couldn’t help but think that a modern-day jigsaw puzzle was dumped on
the landscape leaving developers to pick up the pieces willy-nilly.
At one time the O2 Arena was the world record holder for the largest event gathering under one roof. Entertainers from all genres have performed for Londoners for a long time. And yet, there it sits on a bend in the river surrounded by some of the strangest artworks. Can someone please explain to me the significance of an electric power tower deployed (and supported) that is upside down?
London was only one of the
cities Margo and I visited on this latest trip to the UK. As much as we like to
dine in London and we had an opportunity to do so in style – yes, we always try
to get in an outing to Rules restaurant and our party warmed to the opportunity
– and to wander through open markets including the Borough Market, we still had
to make our way once more to Edinburgh.
On the previous two times we found our way to Edinburgh, it was by train. The first time we chose the western route that took us through Manchester but this year, we took the eastern route through York. It was this later route that we would recommend to anyone looking to travel by train from London to Edinburgh but having done it twice now, we elected to take to the sea for a sail up the English coast.
The deciding factor was that
such a journey can now be undertaken where the voyage begins in Greenwich. This
gave us almost an entire day to sail down the Thames to where it enters the
North Sea. To slowly glide through the Thames Barrier and past the Tilbury
Docks familiar to me from my past life working with Sea Containers, there was
no hiding just how much modernization has taken place on both banks of the
Thames.
Very few ships can pass through the Thames Barrier and giving us the experience was something to be seen to be believed. And yet, it saves London from tidal flooding which these days, with the developments upstream, would prove devastating. With the entry into the North Sea, it was time to marvel at the many windfarms dotting the estuary under surprisingly clear skies. Then again, with the height of summer and the long, languid afternoons with little more than a glass of chardonnay to slake one’s thirst, it was an ideal backdrop to a gentle exit from old London town.
As for those memories of
London in the mid-1970s, that is what they have become; just memories. For now,
there is a realization that with each visit to London it’s not just developing
new memories as it is coming to terms that there are many more miles to travel,
more places to see and yes, new chapters beginning almost every day.
There is more to come from this latest BizCation but look for it to follow shortly. In the meantime, whereas the trip to the UK only a few weeks earlier was all hustle, it proved to be the complete opposite this time and for that, Margo and I make no excuses for allowing ourselves an opportunity to unwind as for all of us from the US, the extended July Fourth weekend was about to begin.
Comments