A Ripper Of A Day
It was another uncharacteristically blue-sky day today here in the Big Smoke; the weather couldn’t be better. Since it was Sunday, we made our way to All Souls, Langham Place, for their morning service and it was great. We met a lovely couple who had ventured Down Under a few times so we’re excited to meet some Aussies.
One of Molly’s friends, Taylah, moved to London a couple of months ago to work as an au pair and had arranged to meet Molly after church, so they had a wander around town and a good chin wag, enjoying their £3.50 meal deals from Sainsbury’s in a park overlooking St Paul’s Cathedral.
I did some solo exploring. I thought it’d be nice to walk across the Tower Bridge but so, I’m afraid, did the rest of London. Joining the heaving crowd, I made my way to the other side of this gorgeous, century-old London icon. A summery Sunday meant every square inch of lawn lining the river bank and in the numerous parks along my walking route, was taken up with picnicking Poms, shirts off, milk-bottlish complexions turning various shades of red as the morning wore on. They certainly don’t take the sunshine for granted. Popping into a Costa Coffee shop for a bite to eat, I was amazed to find several people in the queue before me had ordered takeaway cups of hot porridge for lunch. Thah’s noh ha ye eat porridge.
The Pimm’s Summer Festival was in full swing and I sat to watch a hip hop dance competition that was fun (but hot). We’ve noticed the lack of outdoor umbrellas here, with people sitting on restaurant terraces in FULL sun.
A friend suggested a a Jack-the-Ripper walking tour was a must-do whilst in London so I signed myself up. I took the Tube down to the East End - the brown end of the Monopoly board - and waited for my fellow tourists to arrive. Our guide, Tom, was absolutely fantastic, not only full of fascinating facts about these still yet-to-be-solved murders, but also brimming with enthusiasm. He dubbed us all “Ripperoligists” and starting from Whitechapel (just near the fish’n’chip shop, Jack the Chipper and the barber, Jack the Clipper) we followed the trail of Jack’s murders, looking at clues and hearing all the evidence. Every time Tom outlined a suspect, gave us their motive and all the damning evidence surrounding them, I’d be convinced they’d done it. Then we’d move to the next suspect and I’d think, no, it was definitely them! We learnt so much about London in the 1880s and though a little macabre at times, I’d totally recommend too (thanks Mahlia!)
Molly had Googled “coolest restaurants in London” to find our dinner destination for tonight and this place was on the definitively hip list. Called Maya, the entry was through the trendy Hoxton Hotel, out to the back street and then entry was through the mysterious green door. There we met a young girl at a reception desk who told us she’d escort us up to the roof. The lift opened to reveal a funky rooftop terrace with big, low hanging lights, velour lounges covered with cushions, salsa beats and jungle-like foliage. Very cool indeed. The food was modern Mexican tapas - really delicious- and surprisingly not too pricey. The views of the city were great and we watched the sun go down and the moon rise over the London skyline. Molly ordered a lemonade and was presented with the tiniest little bottle we’d ever seen. It looked too small to have been separated from its mother. A mere 125ml - she sipped it slowly.
As we left the restaurant and tales of Jack-the-Ripper swirled around in my head, I must admit I may have felt a little more vulnerable than usual, strolling the deserted city streets. Luckily the bright lights of the Tube weren’t far away.
The Tube stations have gigantic, steep escalators here, that seem to stretch up so high you can feel a shift in altitude when disembarking. Foot traffic is frantic on these things and if you don’t aggressively move to the right as soon as you get on, you might just lose a limb as people with places to be, sprint past you in packs, at a feverish pace. Tonight, we reached one such escalator and were dismayed to see it was turned off. It was a loooong way up to the top. There was much sighing and tut-tutting amidst the huffing and puffing commuters grudgingly ascending, until we realised the reason for the stoppage. There were calls all down the line to see if there was a doctor in the crowd, as a man was in serious need of medical help after passing out and hitting his head on the sharp metal steps. Hopefully he was OK.
We seem to have more or less mastered the Tube (Molly is the Tube Champ). It’s so well organised with colour-coded platforms and amazing signage. On my solo adventure this morning I may or may not have got on and sat down on a couple of trains, only to hear the announcer outline where we were heading, realise that wasn’t where I wanted to go, and promptly get off. Like I said, “more or less mastered it”.
We have huge curtains in our hotel room and three massive Roman blinds. Hauling them up and down is like a vigorous workout. Molly calls it ‘hoisting the main sail’ so you’ll be pleased to know we are getting plenty of exercise while we are away.
