London Sunday Walk

With all the news of a takeover of London by foreign billionaires, I have been reluctant to venture into Central London. But, determined to bite the contemporary bullet, I am going forth into areas I knew well as a child when many of the city’s buildings were still in ruins.

 

Arriving in Victoria station, I walk up the familiar Buckingham Palace Road to “Buck’ House”. (It isn’t REALLY a palace the REAL Palace is across the road as St James Palace but, as the Queen sometimes lives there, I suppose we must call ‘Buck House’ a palace also.)

 

It is fairly early so the road in front of Buckingham ‘ Palace’ is almost deserted. So is Birdcage Walk in front of Wellington Barracks. The lack of people in St James’s Park is wonderful. Having stretches of this lovely park to myself is a great way to spend Sunday morning.

 

 

After enjoying the lake, I cross the Mall, along which the stage 3 of the ‘Tour de France’ has recently finished, and then come up to Green Park. It seems as though NOTHING had changed there. Not many people and it seems very peaceful.

 

 

There are a three police horses under a tree with kids stroking them. I have a chat to the rather older lady on one of them and she says this job is the answer to a dream. She has been on front line policing for the last ten years and NOW she is very happy on a horse!!! (She had been a “horsey girl” since she was a baby!!) But, although this seems like a ‘easy’ number for a police person, it is VERY serious work these days. A police person on a horse probably has a better view of a terrorist than a helicopter and, of course, a terrorist has a good view of the police horse person.

 

I walk through Green Park then up Constitution hill and across Hyde park Corner into Hyde Park.

 

 

This brings back an old memory when I was working in Piccadilly. I used to go to work late morning as I was always at performances in the evening. I arrived at my tube stop which was Hyde Park Corner and walked up the stairs into the sunlight by the gates into Hyde Park. The gates were open but the whole of Hyde Park Corner seemed deserted. Anyone who knows London will realise that this could only happen if the world had ended!!

 

Coming up constitution Hill I spied a number of cars travelling quite fast. They drove across the area heading for my gate. They seemed full of very official people and they were in open cars. As they reached me, I saw the Queen was in the third car.

 

What do you do if the Queen looks at you wondering why you are there? Nervously I raised my hand. Her response was a very professional slight movement of her hand. Then they were gone followed by more cars full of even more extremely official people.

 

After recalling this horrifying memory I walk into Hyde Park. There’s a long road just inside the park along which the Horse Guards trot to mount the guard just inside Whitehall. Half way to the Household Cavalry Barracks is a monument to the time when the IRA blew up the procession and killed a number of men and horses.

 

An old school friend became the Director of Music of one of the Horse Guards. He had to spend a lot of time learning to ride a horse. He told me that the procession would stop by the memorial in order to remember their dead comrades. On his very first day, his horse stopped as usual but slowly slid its legs out either side until its stomach was resting on the ground.

 

My friend was naturally very alarmed and called back to the NCO in charge of the band. “what do I do?” The band sergeant called back, “just hang on for a bit!”. Slowly bit by bit the old horse stirred and gradually got up, blood coming from its wounds. eventually the horse regained its stance and the procession continued. The old horse completed the morning’s guard mounting and was immediately retired.

 

The replacement horse was another problem because it insisted on crossing its legs when standing still in front of the band. During part of Trooping, this meant standing opposite the Queen, one of the best judges of horses in the world. As she probably selected this horse for the Household Brigade, I’m sure she had second thoughts about that second replacement horse!!!

 

 

Walking past the Household Cavalry barracks I see the names of the horses which have served the regiments in recent years on the walls surrounding the barracks. It is difficult to understand the enthusiasm of these soldiers who return from Afghanistan to ride to the standard required of them to mount guard on horseback.

 

 

Probably the most useful memorial to Queen Victoria’s beloved husband Albert is the Albert Hall just along from Hyde Park opposite Kensington Gardens.

 

 

But just opposite in the Gardens themselves is the Albert Memorial. We used to regard this as the ugliest and most OTT memorial in London but perhaps things have changed? It is certainly a very positive Victorian statement, as well it might be!!!

 

 

I walk across the road to the Albert Hall. They often have concerts at three o’clock on Sunday afternoons but I am glad they don’t have one today as I would be tempted to stay here for a concert and see those ‘flying saucers’ which I helped put up 46 years ago.

 

 

I walk down the steps to the RCM then left past Imperial and turn right into Exhibition Road to reach the Science Museum. This is still FANTASTIC!!! You need a few days to appreciate that place but I stay to see two people get a huge steam engine going with a HUGE flywheel about 20 feet across!!! An amazing museum!!! SO exciting. It hasn’t changed its approach.

 

 

I now rather reluctantly leave the Science Museum and venture next door to the Natural History Museum. Whereas the Science Museum is rather thinly populated, the Natural History Museum is filled with people mostly seeking out the dinosaur skeleton collection.

 

When I was a kid I would spend most of my time in the Science Museum sometimes attending a few lectures. Before I did this, I always paid my respects to the Blue Whale. Every time I looked at this huge animal, it reminded me of how small we humans really are. Squeezing my way through crowds of kids enjoying the dinosaurs, I once more see my blue whale. It still amazes me.

 

 

After the Natural History Museum, my next stop is the Victoria and Albert Museum. Only a brief visit this time. I notice that a lot of ladies are attracted by the special exhibition of wedding dresses.

 

 

I exit through the front door on to Brompton Road and walk along to Brompton Oratory, a very famous Catholic centre for religious music. I manage to hear some singing at the end of the last Mass of the day then some wonderful organ music.

 

Walking further along the street, I come to some rather famous shops with crowds of mainly Middle Eastern visitors issuing from them. Further along the road I return to Hyde Park Corner and, instead of walking along Constitution Hill again, I take the direct road back to Victoria past rows of imposing but slightly seedy old buildings. One of them contains the headquarters of the Tata group.

 

There’s too much traffic on the main roads but, on my walking route, there has been very little traffic for most of the way. There were very few people around until I reached the sports areas of Hyde Park. Plenty of visitors in the Science Museum but the only crowded areas were around the dinosaurs in the Natural History Museum.

 

At last I reach Victoria and catch the train home after a walk which which has not taken very long. It seems longer because it has stirred many of my childhood memories – Guard mounting at Buck House – feeding the ducks in St James’s Park – listening to the band in Green Park – walking around and rowing on the Serpentine – wandering in Kensington Gardens – working and listening in the Albert Hall – Sitting in the orchestra for conducting exams in the RCM and visiting Tristram Cary’s studio – SO many visits to that treasure house of science, the Science Museum – the Blue whale – the V & A museum where we all saw a copy of the complete Bayeux tapestry – the tunnel from South Kensington station to the museums . . . . . . . .

 

A child can have a LOT of fun and learn a lot of things in Central London!!!! OK, I missed a lot of places where I went elsewhere in London butTHOSE childhood memories around Kensington are SO precious!!!