Final Bits with Georgia in London...

Although I’ve never eaten at the Trafalgar Tavern just outside of the gates of the Old Royal Naval College, I appreciate its nautical theme.

Rather than hopping back onto public transport from Greenwich, we walked under the Thames in the Greenwich Foot Tunnel.

On our way to the Islands Gardens DLR Station, we stopped along the river to admire the view of where we had just visited.  

We stopped in Canary Wharf, where we spotted Tandem Lovers (Rabbitwoman and Dogman) by Gillie and Marc on our walk back to Wapping.

And we had dinner that evening at the Prospect of Whitby. Georgia was really interested in having dessert to take back to our flat and was quite amazed when she was given a proper bowl rather than a takeaway box. She left the following morning and I did eventually get around to returning the bowl. I was really touched that Georgia made the effort to spend such quality time together and feel lucky to have such an amazing woman as my friend.
 

Old Royal Naval Coillege...

The next day I took Georgia to Greenwich to visit the Old Royal Naval College. Originally the site housed a palace from 1498 to 1696. Famed architect Christopher Wren was hired in 1696 to design the Royal Hospital for Seaman for elderly and injured veterans of the Royal Navy. At its peak, it served as a retirement home for 2,700 naval vets, eventually closing in 1869. 

From 1873 until 1998 it served as the Royal Naval College, providing courses for naval officers. After the school closed, it reopened as the Old Royal Naval College, later designated as an UNESCO World Heritage Site. 

Most recently restored in 2019, the Painted Hall has 40,000 square feet (3,700 square meters) of Baroque walls and ceilings from 1726. 

Despite not remembering anything we learned from a very enthusiastic guide, I do know that we thoroughly enjoyed seeing this masterpiece. 

It was originally intended in the 18th century to be a dining room for the retirees, but became a tourist attraction and ended up only being used for dining on special occasions. 

The original Royal Hospital Chapel was built following Wren’s designs, but was gutted by fire in 1779. The remodeled chapel included nautical designs.

 

A Very Special Visitor...

I was thrilled when Georgia, a dear friend from the American Women’s Club of The Hague, reached out to ask when it would be good for her to visit. So great that it worked out for her to come last July while Jimmy was at Love Trails, a running festival in Wales. She stayed for three nights and I had two full days to take her to some parts of London she’d never been to before. We started with Horizon 22 to see the views from the 58th floor.

Then we went to The Garden at 120,,,

…on the roof of this building.

After a pub lunch at The Hung, Drawn and Quartered, we headed to the Victoria and Albert Museum to see Fragile Beauty, featuring photographs from Elton John and his husband’s impressive collection. 

 

Culture in Early July...

I was so surprised when I arrived at Southwark Playhouse Borough to discover that much of the lobby...

…and all of the toilet stalls had been decorated with pictures of Tobey Maguire, who became famous for playing Spiderman in 2002. 

The fact that the stage was also covered with photos of the actor was a strong indication that the play was about an obsessed fan. 

While funny, I’m Going to Marry You Tobey Maguire was actually pretty intense delving into loneliness and abuse. The three actors were excellent. After the show Samantha Hurley, the writer, came out to speak to our group from the American Women’s Club. It was interesting to learn that she wrote the play during the pandemic in New York City while in her early 20s. 

I was impressed with the building when I had lunch at Mercato Mayfair, a food hall housed in St Mark’s, a former church that was deconsecrated in 1974.

Pumpkin by Yayoi Kusama was installed in Kensington Gardens in July 2024 for four months. At 20 feet (6 meters), it was her tallest bronze pumpkin sculpture to date. The artist grew up with fields of pumpkins surrounding her home and they frequently appear in her artworks. 

 

Celebrating One Year in London...

July 5 was our one-year anniversary in London. How nice that Veronica was there to celebrate with us and to help make pizza.

The following day, Carlin and Kent came into the city just before moving back to the Netherlands. We started with a visit to Horizon 22 to see the view.

Jimmy then managed to sweettalk our way into the Sky Garden without a booking. 

After dinner at the Prospect, we watched the Netherlands beat Turkey in the Europe Cup Quarter Finals.

A few nights later, we joined some hashers to watch the Dutch play in the semi-finals at It Aint Much if it Aint Dutch, a bar in the train arches in Bermondsey. 

The place was quickly transformed into party central, and brought back good memories of watching football in Holland.

England managed to beat the Dutch, but then lost to Spain a few days later in the finals. 

 

Opee Hares 4th of July Hash....

Opee was recruited to hare for West London H3 in Pimlico on July 4, 2024 as it ironically fell on a Thursday. After he set off to live lay his trail, I was responsible for explaining all of his symbols to the pack. 

It wasn’t a big surprise that his trail brought us to the American Embassy, where we had a song stop. You might notice that Veronica is standing next to me as she’d arrived earlier that day to spend two nights with us before heading to Brighton to meet up with her Ultimate Frisbee friends. 

Sky Pool

The trail also went past the UK Parliament. 

Of course, Opee had to do a down-down for being the hare...

…and Comes Too Soon received one for being a visitor. I also got one for my crazy pre-run brief.