Day 10 - Hyde Park, Buckingham Palace and Trafalgar Square
It was a sunny and warm day. Such a perfect day, of course have to walk around lah! Asked my fellow exchangers at UCL, since they asked me to ask them if I'm going to Hyde Park, Palace or the river. So Itinerary for the day - Hyde Park, then Palace, and if it is still bright, Thames River.
Marble Arch, at the corner of Hyde Park. Former entrance to the palace till it was expanded.
The other side of Marble Arch at Hyde Park corner. Yes, there are a lot of benches there for you to relak at that corner.
Speakers' Corner Cafe in Hyde Park.
Hyde Park. Will want to come back in Spring.
Here lies the Revolution Tree. They wrote such lor-sor things around this, where you have to walk round and round to read it.
Aku at the Serpentine.
It's only 3pm and it feels like 5pm Singapore.
Ducks, goose, swans. I'm not a biologist, so I'm not sure about the taxanomy.
Fountains that drain the Serpentine
Are these plum blossoms? How apt for Chinese New Year
From far, Ming Li tought that the unicorn and lion were fighting.
Valkyrie on the gate
Me and Ming Li. Note the horse excrement. It's everywhere on the path.
Royal Crest on the gates
Memorial Gate for WWII
Buckingham Palace
So touristy right.
A wider view of Buckingham Palace
Queen Victoria Memorial
Ming Li: "Wah, so good to be a queen. Got memorial for you one"
Me: "Of course you have to be a damn good queen lah! You think they suka-suka make for you one ah?"
Fountain at the side of Queen Victoria Memorial
My spastic attempt of trying to look like I'm falling into the fountain.
Old Admiral House or something.
It's only 4pm.
We were wondering why there were so many policemen around. Turns out there is a Gaza protest at Trafalgar Square. As a suaku Singaporean, this is the first time I see a organised protest in person.
Till now, we have no idea waht a legal observer does.
Against the backdrop of National Gallery.
I call this "Perch". Standing above a pole, for very different reasons.
Future lesson material, to teach my students not to over-generalise things. It's never a case of Jews against Palestines or Jews against Muslims, or those against the Gaza invasion are Muslims only.
The admiral on the podium has his back turned against the crowd. I wonder if that's the case for many of the governments
Different groups showing their opposition against the occupation of Gaza.
It was interesting to see the protest. What I'm most impressed with is that people of different ideas converge to discuss and talk more about it. It is not just a one-sided view - ideas and views were shared and disucssed.
Labels: .London Jalan Jalan, .Musings about London
posted by mr luo at
10:03
3 Comments:
Hey, just realised that you're a teacher! Well, I'm sure the kids would love to hear the 'happenings' in your time spent in London.
I saw my first protest (in Trafalgar Sq as well) the first month I reached London. It was a Palestinian protest. Like what you said, I marvel at how different groups can come together on a single cause. Though its peaceful for most of the time, some can get pretty violent.
Not sure whether you've reached London when a clash between pro-Palestinians and pro-Israelis broke out in Kensington a couple of weeks back, which resulted in some properties being damaged.
Oh, do check out the Speakers' Corner during the weekends. It's nothing like what we have at Hong Lim park back home. Over here, anything goes. You'll understand when you see it.
If you're like me, prefers parks to shopping malls, do check out Hyde Park again during summer. Lying on the greens watching the clouds above is a really refreshing way to spend a lazy afternoon. Hungry for some action? Rent a boat and paddle down the Serpentine with your pals.
Cheers!
C K
CK,
Thanks for dropping by!
No I'm not yet a teacher, though I did relief teaching before.
It was my first week end in London where the clashes occurred. It was when they had a protest at Hyde Park right? I wasn't there (that Saturday was -3C) but I heard about it.
Hope I'll have the money and visa for summer to come. Paddle down Serpentine? Given the murky water, I'll give it a miss. :P
Cheers!
Yanjie
Hmm... Sorry, I thought you were a teacher because you mentioned your 'students' and all.
Just wondering when will your exchange stint last till. Do try to catch more plays before you return!
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