FROM LONDON, ENGLAND

(click on images to enlarge)

A Walk in the Park(s)

LONDON, Mar 14, 2008 - Since the weather forecast for today called for continuous rain, I canceled my plan for a drive through the English countryside.  But since the British weathermen turned out to be no better than ours, and completely blew the forecast, I decided to use a sunny morning for a walk in the park.  Well, make it parks, if you will...

First, I witnessed an interesting operation at the little private park in Cornwall Gardens where my daughter and her family live.  Someone was moving in to a top floor "flat" (apartment) in a nearby building.  And rather than navigate the narrow staircases, the movers showed up with a truck equipped with an extension ladder a.k.a. crane that they used to move the heavy boxes and furniture up to the top of the building.  One thing that seems to be common everywhere is nosy neighbors.  See that one in the middle shot "supervising" the operation from his apartment window? :-)

Just by how much the weathermen completely blew the forecast for today you can see for yourself from the above pictures.  Spring was in the air everywhere.  I took the above photos in the little private park in front of my daughter's apartment.  What surprised me the most are the gorgeous pink magnolia blossoms (leftmost shot).  I had no idea they even existed in a cold climate like Britain's.  Nor that they were pink.  The ones we have in Arizona and in the American South are all white.

I next walked on toward Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens.  The route took me past this magnificent structure that's the British Museum of Natural History.  Being a school day, the entrance to it was bustling with kids of all ages and sizes (middle right photo).  And then just before entering Hyde Park through Kensington Gardens, I saw a street with red brick buildings that epitomize the British architecture (right).

The red spot on the above map shows you where I entered the Kensington Gardens.  In the immediate vicinity are the monuments that Queen Victoria had erected to her late husband Albert. Undaunted by the presence of all this history, a small bird was happily looking for kernels of food in the grass, no more than three feet away from me.  That's how tame and friendly the birds are in British gardens.

The Serpentine Lake looked calm and peaceful today after the gale force winds in the last several days.  The bridge from which I took the left two shots is shown in the middle right picture.  At the foot it, there is a playpen for Canada geese which they jealously guards against any passers by. :-)

Having a large park in the center of London is certainly a blessing for local residents, just like New Yorkers relish their Central Park.  The scenery was quite serene this Friday morning, with mostly the preschool kids with their Moms and older people using the park.  And dog-lovers, of course.  If you ever had any doubts about the Britons' love of dogs, take a look at that lady walking five of them through Hyde Park! (middle right).  Not far from there Canada geese were happily grazing in the grass. (Do the geese really graze?  Hm....).  They flew a long way from home (Canada) looking for food.  :-)

One of the somewhat unusual park visitors was this Muslim woman, clad in black top to bottom.  The nearby black and white ducks (I have never seen ducks of such colors!?) seem to complement her.  A bit farther up Serpentine Lake, a group of boys were playing soccer.  And right next door was an equestrian track, unused at the moment, as you can see.

"Oh, I wish there were some people riding horses," I muttered to myself as I took that picture of the track.  Lo and behold, when I turned around, these two girls showed up out of nowhere and walked their horses right by me.  It was such a pretty sight.  "Thank you, God," I said out loud.

I then turned around and walked back toward where I had come into the park - at the Kensington Gardens entrance.

Schoolchildren were now milling around the steps under the Albert Memorial and around the Royal Albert Concert Hall (two middle shots). I thought that ornate building on the right was particularly striking.  It is the Royal College of Organists.  (Is there anything that's NOT "royal" in this neighborhood?).  :-)

Before I returned to my hotel, thought I'd show you what a typical Kensington street looks like (above). Many of the buildings in this area are foreign embassies.  What is not typical, however, is this abomination of an automobile.  It apparently seats two people, but only if they are under 180 pounds.  :-)  No wonder you don't see any such cars back home in the States.  :-)

And that's all she wrote from this walk in the parks...

TO BE CONTINUED... 

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