I visited recently the UK (London and Manchester) for a two week work related visit. I managed to squeeze in a visit to Leigh-on-Sea, Essex as well to visit the old family homestead on my Mother’s side – the Crooked Billet Pub. My Mother’s family name is Hattox – which got corrupted from “Haddock” somewhere between Virginia and Ecru, Mississippi. Several, several grand fathers ago, our ancestor Sir Richard Haddock lived in the building above in Leigh-on-Sea – right off the mud flats. It is now a very popular and cosy pub. Enjoy the photos
The view out of my hotel room of the Thames. A very nice place. The Locke at Broken Wharf
My walk to work each morning up from the Thames
The Millennium Bridge from the Tate Modern Museum to Saint Pauls
Some of the general feel around my hotel on the north bank of the Thames – lots of winding and interesting spaces
The HMS Belfast, a museum ship moored by Tower Bridge and the Tower of London. She served as a flagship during WW2 mostly in very northerly Atlantic with convoys going past Norway to Russia. Lots of foul weather for a ship with an open to the elements bridge
The monument to The Great Fire of London of 1666. The destruction of property was extensive and after the fact, thatch roofing was banned for many centuries – only exempted recently for the reconstruction of Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre. From Wikipedia
The material destruction has been computed at 13,200–13,500 houses, 86 or 87 parish churches, 44 Company Halls, the Royal Exchange, the Custom House, St Paul’s Cathedral, the Bridewell Palace and other City prisons, the General Letter Office, and the three western city gates—Ludgate, Newgate, and Aldersgate.
Visiting the Tate Modern on a damp Sunday
The former Turbine Hall, where a large portion of London’s electrical power used to generated
Concrete structure is interesting!
Front and back of a hand sewn quilt from Nigeria
Saint Pancras train station – showing some amazing Victorian iron work (and several neat public pianos that folks tend to play interesting music on!)
Last morning, on the way to work
and on a last note – the pubs in Manchester seemed to have a very humorous naming themes going. I particularly liked this one and The Rat and Pigeon – hahaha!
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