Mailboxes

This may seem like a mundane topic for a blog but there's actually a lot of history in these red pillars. And if the BBC can do a program about them, then I think they are worthy of some recognition!

The first English mailboxes were installed on the islands of Guernsey and Jersey in 1852. They were olive green in color which turned out to be a problem because they could not be seen in the fog. Hence the change to red--that's, "Royal Mail Red."  The cast iron pillars may look mostly the same but a little closer inspection shows that each one has been manufactured with an insignia  or "royal cypher" consisting of the reigning monarch's initial and numeral.  The "R" stands for "rex" or "regina."

This one, along Wilberforce Road and closest to us, if from George VI's reign.  This is the king of "The King's Speech."

This Edward VII box is along one of the main downtown streets in Cambridge.  Edward VII was Victoria's son who reigned only 9 years.

Here's a father-daughter pair of George VI and Elizabeth II.  You won't see the "Elizabeth II" cypher on mailboxes in Scotland.  There were protests in the 1950s about using that insignia since Elizabeth I was never queen of Scotland.  Instead of "E II R" the Scottish crown is used.

Queen Victoria's boxes come in several styles.

This is the more rare Penfield design, a hexagonal box, in front of Kings College Cambridge.  (The "no bicycles" must refer to no bicycles permitted on the King College grounds since there is always a bicycle parked by the sign).

Today there is only one manufacturer of the royal mail boxes: Machan in Denny, Scotland.  The manufacturer's name appears on the black pedestal but I haven't spent time on the ground checking out that information! 

The Neighborhood

Lest you think all of Cambridge is classical buildings with Gothic spires or Norman arches and slate roofs, here are some pictures of where we live on the west side of the city--a very modern building much easier to maintain than the older buildings.

7 Charles Babbage Road (Charles Babbage is given credit for originating the concept of a programmable computer)

Rectangular is beautiful--even the trees!

Some of our gentle neighbors--the veterinary school is across the road from us.

The field along the footpath we walk everyday.  It's been planted for the winter. On windy days the gusts coming across the field make for a challenging walk on the way back from grocery shopping.

Burrell's Walk

Garret Hostel Lane--the canals on either side are full of duck weed.

Our bridge over the Cam--a deceptively steep incline.  Beyond this bridge are a few more narrow passages and then the city center.

The walk, lane and bridge are full of meandering pedestrians and speeding bicyclists during the day.  There does not seem to be a tradition of one side of the path being for cyclists and the other for pedestrians.  It's a free for all!  I am amazed I have not seen any collisions.

Every once in awhile there's an unexpected visitor along the canal that calls for a pleasant pause in the daily routine.

London Revisited, October 13

We spent our last day with Emily visiting London since she was staying with friends there before returning to California.  Our list of "must see" attractions seems to be growing rather than diminishing  but we limited ourselves to three so that we could make the best use of our time.  Our first stop was Buckingham Palace whose famous balcony is the site of many royal wedding pictures --and a few kisses.

EVERYONE wanted a picture in front of the gates so we were hard pressed to get one with with just us.

I was surprised to see the fleur de lis design all along the top of the gates and fence and have been  unable to find a definitive answer.  One person told me it may have something to do with Wales and indeed, the emblem on the Wales Rugby team's jerseys looks something like a stylized fleur de lis but it is the Prince of Wales' feather design (three feathers emerging from a gold crown).  Overall, I think although we may see the fleur de lis as a design strictly associated with all things French, that is not the case in Europe.

In front of Buckingham Palace is the Victoria Memorial filled with various statues and fountains.  It is unclear what is wrapped up in scaffolding but we assumed it was from here that television cameras were perched to get a good look at William and Kate. Next June will be Queen Elizabeth's Diamond Jubilee (60 years on the throne) so maybe there are already preparations for that celebration???

A lucky shot. This is the only horse drawn carriage we have seen.

Our next stop was the Tate Modern art museum on the south side of the Thames, a short ride away on the underground.  The Tate Modern opened in 2000 in the former Bankside Power Station.  Like many museums in London, it is free but requests a donation of 3 GBP.

Looking at the chimney of the Tate Modern.  The railings in front are part of the Millennium (pedestrian) Bridge.

We spent our time looking at a photography exhibit and paintings and sculptures by artists of the early 20th century.  The most unusual exhibit was by the Chinese artist, Ai Weiwei, the artistic consultant for the Beijing National Stadium ("Birds' Nest") from the 2008 Olympics. He had been jailed for 3 months earlier this year for his criticism of the government.  The current exhibit "Sunflower Seeds" was taken from his work of the same name that was in another area of the Tate where people could interact with the seeds.  There was concern that dust from the porcelain seeds might cause a health hazard so this smaller version of the exhibit was installed.

Our last planned activity in London was to walk across the Millennium Bridge, a suspension pedestrian bridge that opened in June 2000 and was almost immediately closed because the bridge "wobbled."  It reopened about 2 years later after an $8 million fix-up.  The bridge spans the Thames from the Tate Modern to St. Paul's Cathedral.

Walking to the Millennium Bridge.  Supposedly the design of the handrails deflects wind over the heads of the pedestrians.

St. Paul's at the other end of the bridge.  After our visit St. Paul's was the site of the global "Occupy Wall Street" demonstrations.  With so many demonstrators camped around the cathedral, St. Paul's was closed for the first time since WW II.

We thought we could make a quick getaway by jumping on the underground at Blackfriars station.  However, construction had closed that station and we walked (and walked) towards the next one.  At one point vehicular traffic was stopped to let a bus go by.  Too bad I didn't pull out the camera then; a busload of men dressed in red costumes with black hats (were these Lords or jesters??) was given the right of way. Another English mystery.

We eventually made our way to Euston Square, had a pub dinner, and bid farewell to Emily as she headed back to stay with her friends and we caught the train back to Cambridge.

Punting on the Cam

Punting is one of the most popular tourist activities in Cambridge--and hawkers of the "punting experience" are aggressive in rounding up potential customers.  Punting consists of pushing a long, flat bottomed boat along the river by means of a pole.  It's harder than it looks and novices can end up zigzagging their way down the river, bumping into other boats, falling into the river, or all three.  We chose to be entertained by a punter and hoped to hear more about the colleges as we passed by them.

Waiting for the next boat--beer always helps.  The Silver St. Bridge is in the background.

It was really windy on the river.  Tom's ball cap has just blown off into the water!  Thanks to our trusty punter, the cap was retrieved, soggy but still in good condition.

The wind is NOT bothering Emily, however.

Our punter Edward graduated with a Master's Degree (not from Cambridge) but has been unable to find employment in his area, hence his current affiliation with the tourist trade.

We passed under bridges in the old colleges area which surrounds and is part of the city center of Cambridge.

The Mathematical Bridge connecting parts of Queens' College.  The design is NOT due to Isaac Newton and it IS held together with nuts and bolts.  This is the rebuilt 1905 version.  The Queen Mum liked it and railings were placed on both sides to prevent any royal missteps.

The Clare Bridge, the oldest of the current bridges.

The Bridge of Sighs, fashioned after the famous one in Venice,  connecting St. John's College.

St. John's College, the second largest of the colleges, founded by Lady Margaret Beaufort, the mother of King Henry VII

The Magdalene Bridge, close by the site of the Romans' settlement in Cambridge and the first crossing of the Cam.  In 1988 Magdalene (pronounced "Maudlin") College was the last to admit female students to Cambridge.  At the time, male students wore black armbands and the college flag was flown at half-mast.

Quayside, a commercial area owned by Magdalene College, and our turn around point of our trip.

Punting was an enjoyable and relaxing way to see the older parts of Cambridge but I was happy we had taken a walking tour earlier since we learned much more about the city then.

Stonehenge and Bath, World Heritage Day! Saturday October 8

Emily arrived for a visit on Friday and after a three hour bus ride from Heathrow (on top of her overnight plane trip) we headed out the next day on yet another long bus trip right back in the direction of Heathrow.  Our destination was the Salisbury Plain and the Stonehenge Monument, a World Heritage Site.

Unfortunately we encountered several road accidents and had to backtrack making the trip even longer than expected.  We drove through the small town of Amesbury crossing  the River Avon which was more like a ditch.  We were told that "Avon" means "river" and that there are many Avon Rivers, or "River Rivers" in England.

Finally, along with many, many other tourists we arrived at Stonehenge where Matt, our driver and guide, gave us a bit of history and description of the monument.  The reason for the monument is still a mystery: burial ground? device for planning crop planting? religious, healing temple?  The monument began with an earthen ditch maybe 5000 years ago.  Bluestones were brought later, presumably from 150 miles away in the Preseli Hills of West Wales (and there is much speculation about the method of transportation).  Next were the sarsens, the larger stones from 19 miles away.  Currently the monument is within a roped off area to keep visitors from chipping away at the rocks to take a personal souvenir. 

Emily stands next to the large sarsen; I am by the warmer feeling bluestone.  The dating of when the stones were put in place is determined by the manual shaping of the stones by tools from the Bronze Age. 

A bird sits on top of one of the lintels.  In the late 1800s some of the stones that were in danger of tipping over were rearranged.

The exposed nob on top of the center lintel shows how the lintels were attached to the vertical sarsens.  The small mound in front is a barrow.

This stone, the Heelstone, sits outside the Stonehenge circle. At the summer solstice, the sun rises above it and shines through a pair of sarsens.

It was extremely windy and unexpectedly cool for us at Stonehenge. Nevertheless, I would have liked to have had more time to appreciate this ancient monument and compare it to the edifices constructed by ancient civilizations in the Americas.  However, that was not to be and we hopped back on the bus for our next destination, the city of Bath, a World Heritage City and about an hour's drive away.

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The city of Bath dates from the time before Romans arrived in the first century AD and had already been known for its healing hot springs. Today, Bath's significance lies in its still functioning thermal baths and its beautiful Georgian architecture.  It is an affluent city not far from London but set in a river valley so that there are beautiful views wherever one looks.   We were on our own for lunch and we found a pleasant tapas restaurant in the city center.

Courtyard outside of restaurant.  Flowers Everywhere!  Food was good too.

After lunch, Tom took off for the Roman baths and Emily and I visited the Bath Abbey (after a required chocolate stop).  Tom felt the baths were worth a much longer look but once again we were pressed for time.  

View of baths that can be seen from the outside.

One of the statues around the baths--time has taken its toll but then the baths one sees today were excavated after years of being buried underground.

The excavation is ongoing.

Another beautiful structure in Bath is the Abbey, 500 years old with a fan vaulting ceiling like Kings' College Chapel in Cambridge and very light on the inside.  I wonder if part of that is due to the fact that some of the windows are plain clear glass and not stained glass.  I think our guide said the windows had been removed during WW II to avoid destruction by bombing.

Stained glass window and sculpture called "Kind Jesus."

After our own touring we joined Matt for a walking tour of Bath. First item on the agenda was the Pulteney Bridge over the River Avon.  The bridge was built to resemble one in Florence Italy.  Shops are built into the bridge so that one might never know one is walking over a bridge (like the Cap in Columbus' Short North!)

Matt described the cream colored Georgian architecture of the buildings and the reason for wide sidewalks--wide dresses were the fashion!  Doorways were also wider than normal to accommodate sedan chairs that deposited people inside their houses.  Another story was about Sally Lunn and the building that was her bakery.  She was a Hugenot fleeing persecution in France.  The buns she sold were yellow on top and white on the bottom like the sun (soleil) and the moon (lune).  So she called out "soleil  lune" to sell her wares and that became corrupted to "Sally Lunn." Even if it isn't true, it makes a charming story!

The oldest house in Bath.

As we walked through town we heard about Beau Nash, the jet setter of the mid 1700s.  Apparently England was a much livelier place then than during the Victorian era.  Our tour ended with a walk up to see some still fashionable (and very expensive) residential areas.  

The Circus, dating from the 1770's, neoclassical architecture.

The Royal Crescent, a Grade 1 site meaning that any change to the structure has to be approved before it can be attempted. Beautiful but like living in a museum.  And maybe that is what the city of Bath is-a lovely but static image of a bygone era.