FREE PARKING (WESTMINSTER)

     I’m able to park near Westminster Abbey, by the side of the Methodist Central Hall ….

       

     Robbie Williams, Madness, Queen and Bryan Adams have all played the Methodist Central Hall as it’s always the venue for the BBC’s New Year’s Eve headline act – well it was until this year. Tourist tip: In normal circumstances there’s free tours and a nice cafeteria (open Tues – Thurs only) in the Methodist Central Hall.

    My plan is to walk Whitehall and Northumberland Avenue via Trafalgar Square. Rather oddly, Whitehall doesn’t run all the way from Trafalgar Square to Westminster. It becomes Parliament Street south of the Cenotaph. There’s not even a road junction at that point.

          

    But Westminster is too good to miss, especially for statue lovers, starting with Parliament Square where some of the world’s great statesmen have been honoured ….

       …. and since 2018 a stateswoman, suffragette Millicent Garrett Fawcett …..

        The classic shot doesn’t really work with the Elizabeth Tower still undergoing refurbishment. But I’ve been here before with my camera. (NB Big Ben is the bell, pay attention at the back!)

   “We are with Europe, but not of it.” Winston Churchill

 

     Churchill's statue stands on the corner where the world's first traffic lights were erected in 1868 - commemorated by a plaque diametrically opposite Winston.

     The statue of Oliver Cromwell outside the Houses of Parliament is notable for his spurs being upside down .....

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March 29, 2022

     Having spent most of yesterday hunched over my keyboard, I need to get out. For once I set off on the Central Line with no idea of where I’m heading. By the time I get to Mile End I’ve decided my destination will either be the Science Museum or the British Library, depending on which train arrives first - and it's the former.

     I wasn't aware the Science Museum (unlike the British Library) has not fully reopened yet and is shut on Mondays and Tuesdays. So I double back for lunch at the Methodist Hall.

    

     I’d forgotten it was the Duke of Edinburgh’s memorial service today at Westminster Abbey, which is opposite the Methodist Hall. But I fight through the crowds and TV crews for a pleasant lunch in the spacious basement café. 

    The Methodist Hall café is not signposted or advertised. So even after the service has ended only a smattering of people in the know arrive for refreshment.  There must be thousands outside looking for somewhere to eat. Smug, moi?

    To round off a very pleasant day I take the River Bus from Westminster Pier to Greenwich for a pint in The Trafalgar. Maybe I should be wildly spontaneous more often.

October 18, 2023

Westminster Abbey