Kings, Commemorations, and James Bond

Our first full day in London included guided tours of Westminster Abbey, St. Paul's Cathedral, St. Margaret's Church, and a basic orientation to Parliament, Big Ben, Covent Garden, and the London tube. Our friendly tour guide was Nigel Hake, who both charmed and informed the group. He really was a great and fun host with excellent connections all around the city.

Westminster Abbey has great symbolic importance to England; it is here that virtually all kings and queens since the 11th century have been coronated, and many have been married and buried. Our quest for Tudor people and places was deeply satisfied here, as we found memorials to Henry VII, Elizabeth of York, Elizabeth I, Mary I, Mary Queen of Scots, Anne of Cleves, Sir Walter Raleigh, William Caxton, and many others.

On the academic side, there is something interesting about kings, sacred spaces, and public power that we are trying to sort out.  Class readings for Tues-Thurs will return to the War of the Roses and Richard III/Henry VII, in preparation for our play Thursday night at the Apollo Theatre (Shakespeare's Richard III).

Meanwhile, the weather is nice-- cool but no rain.  The group is riding the tube and busses like experts, and we are all minding the gap and "looking right" when we cross the street.  Good hotel breakfasts; lunches and dinners are being consumed all around town.

Here is a group shot featuring most of us in front of Westminster Palace:

Also a group conversation in front of Westminster Abbey:

And some fun around a British phone booth near Whitehall, where many government offices are still located. We looked for James Bond but did not see him.  (Did he see us?)  Henry VIII also had a palace in Whitehall, but only one building remains of it from the 16th century.