richmond to hampton

Posted on July 27, 2009 by Rama Arya

Richmond and Hampton with a cruise down the river Thames. That’s the plan for the day.

The nice thing about travelling when you are older is you appreciate the finer nuances better. 😀 For one, I learnt that Richmond used to be called Shene and was highly popular with the royal family who lived in the manor house until Henry VII built Richmond Palace in 1501. It’s a little startling to take a turn and actually step back 500 years. Though much of the palace has been lost to time, the Maids of Honours Row, Wardrobe, Trumpeter’s House and Gate House still stand intact, now converted into rented apartments behind the historical facades.

Walking past the Victorian Richmond theatre, boutique shops and the Green which has held cricket matches since 1666, I reached the edge of the Thames to catch my boat to Hampton, as I was told Henry VIII would have done! The cruise is hypnotic with its serene landscapes intertwined with picturesque houses hugging the edge of the river. One feels one is somewhere far away in the country. But it is still London or to be technically correct, Greater London.

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georgian bath, roman bath

Posted on July 23, 2009 by Rama Arya

Bath has to be the most beautiful city in England. It is like a sliver of Europe with all its Baroque and Palladian splendour, but imbued with the elegance of the Georgian period—the reigns of the kings George I, George II, George III and George IV (1714-1830).

The weather was lovely. When you live in London, half your conversations end up revolving around the weather! But having blue skies and clear breezes is seen as something of a good sign. 😀

What do I say about Bath? I won’t go into the histories or the architects. There’s loads of it on the net. What rather came across, at least for me, was the lifestyle it represented. It echoes a period that Jane Austen revelled in writing about. The mornings spent drinking the spring waters which were believed to cure all kinds of illnesses, the corridors one went shopping in where musicians entertained, and come evenings, everyone’s flocking to the Assembly Rooms to play cards, drink coffee and do some ball room dancing. And exactly at 11 pm everyone left for their apartments to start the cycle again the next day. Funnily enough, they never ever got bored of it. It was the centre of fashionable life in England during the 18th Century or until Brighton took over. Continue reading →

tower of london—flirting with the beefeaters

Posted on July 22, 2009 by Rama Arya

When you live in London, it is only right that you do at least some of the absolutely touristy things the city is famous for, which includes going to the Tower of London, packed with swarms of holiday-makers. Most famous for the beheadings of Henry VIII’s (1491–1547) wives when they failed to provide blessed little boys, the Tower has to be on the top things-to-do list in every guide-book on this country. And does it live up to its name. Millions of tourists cannot be wrong. 🙂 Continue reading →

london’s dlr and docklands

Posted on July 15, 2009 by Rama Arya

I once took the Docklands Light Railway (DLR) to get back to the city. It took me through the Docklands area, and I was smitten for good!

The DLR and Docklands are archetypical expressions of new age, steel and glass, corporate, moneyed urban planning. The Docklands used to be part of the Port of London before, but containerisation, air cargo and the bombing during the World War II blitz led to massive job losses and the area eventually became derelict and unused. The ensuing redevelopment (1981-98) has transformed the docks into THE key economic hub in London, complete with its own airport. Warehouses, once for storage and packing, are now up-market restaurants and apartments. Gleaming edifices by the docks house over 2,500 offices. And the DLR, as its artery, slices through the buildings, running on lines towering above the streets.

It was grey and cloudy, today. Perfect for good pictures. 🙂 Traipsing with my umbrella, backpack and camera, I managed to take the below images. I quite like them. I hope you do too.

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brighton: sun, sea, pebbles and george IV

Posted on July 13, 2009 by Rama Arya

Brighton is the story of George IV (1762-1830), the king who liked to party, party AND party, and whose patronage subsequently, turned the once small fishing village into one of the most ‘happening’ places in the country.

As Prince of Wales, and later Prince Regent, his life revolved around lavish gatherings, heavy drinking and an indulgent lifestyle. The Royal Pavilion, his palace designed by John Nash in 1822, testifies to it. I stood in the music and dining rooms with my mouth open and had to blink once, twice, thrice. Continue reading →

the london underground—part 1

Posted on July 7, 2009 by Rama Arya

I wanted to do something different this afternoon. To see London a little more closely, a tad more me-ishly.

This is part 1 of a series of photo essays on the London Underground. I went mid-afternoon—the crowds are always lesser at that time—to explore the platforms and escalators on one of the architecturally acclaimed parts of the tube, the Jubilee Line. It was awesome! I knew the CCTVs were recording my every move as I clicked away. Even Security was keeping an eye. But they were really sweet about it. Guess my enthusiasm was contagious. 🙂

I love the tube. It is so lived in. Comfortable, and efficient. But the section of the Jubilee Line that I have here is the most spectacular part. Avant garde, monumental, sleek; scores of feet underground. Enjoy.

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stratford-upon-avon, the place shakespeare called home

Posted on July 4, 2009 by Rama Arya

The other day I went to Stratford-upon-Avon. It was like having tea with Shakespeare (1564-1616) and his family. Replete with gossip and a walk around the house to see the gardens. 🙂 I met his wife and his daughters, sons-in-law, and his last descendant Elizabeth, his granddaughter. I was shown the room where he was born, and the workroom where his father made and sold gloves through a window overlooking the street. I sat on the courting settle which according to legend is where William too used to sit when wooing Anne Hathaway, and peeked into the bedrooms of the Hathaway farmhouse with its lopsided floors, crooked roofs and minuscule beds. Apparently they used to sleep half-seated during Tudor times and that is why their beds were so tiny. Continue reading →

of verulamium, romans and saints

Posted on June 29, 2009 by Rama Arya

Once upon a time, a long time ago, 1959 years ago to be exact, there was a Roman town by the name of Verulamium. It was the third largest town in Roman Britain and had been granted the rank of municipium which meant that it could collect its own taxes and administer itself.

It was complete with all the trappings of Roman civilized life—a theatre, temples, an arch, roman baths, basilica, and a forum for its population of nearly 15,000. Trade flourished and its people lived in fine town houses equipped with underfloor heating systems. This town was my stop for today. Continue reading →

it is pronounced ‘greenich’, my dear

Posted on June 28, 2009 by Rama Arya

Greenwich has always been inexorably bound to the sea and all things maritime; right from King Henry VIII’s time when he lived in the Royal Palace of Placentia that used to stand here and oversaw his naval fleet from it. Came the 18th Century, and along with it Queen Mary and Christopher Wren. The Queen decided to build a naval almshouse at the site of the Old Palace. Known as the Royal Naval Hospital (1752), it provided lodging and meals to the disabled and retired seamen of the Napoleonic Wars. Wren’s grand edifices later became the Royal Naval College in 1873 and were finally leased to the University of Greenwich, in 1999, and the Trinity College of Music.

The connection with the sea doesn’t end there. Greenwich is home to the National Maritime Museum which pulsates with the trade, exploration and colonization ties that the seas have had with England. And then there’s what everyone comes to look at. The Royal Observatory where John Harrison invented his famous sea clocks, and THE Greenwich Meridian Line, Longitude 0 degrees 0’ 0”, home of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT). Continue reading →

oxford, city of dreaming spires

Posted on June 25, 2009 by Rama Arya

On the steps of the Sheldonian Theatre where Oxford’s graduation ceremonies are to date conducted in Latin!

First let’s get the bigger picture in place. 🙂 Oxford University is not one campus. It is made of 38 independently founded colleges, each with its own history and administration. Originally there were no buildings as such. The university consisted of a group of students gathered around individual masters. And when did it all begin? The oldest college dates to the 13th Century. The university as a seat of learning goes back to the 10th Century. Continue reading →