The Old Man And The Pelican

While cutting through Saint James Park to get to the Admiralty Arch, we came upon this big gorgeous bird that was attracting quite a crowd. It seemed to enjoy having its picture taken, shifting poses and moving its head to the side and front and tilting it up and down like a model during a photoshoot!

Alongside the gazillion of tourists and lunchtime snackers who had come to visit the park, we noticed an elderly gentleman who was seated on a bench behind the bird, gazing at it affectionately.

After snapping a couple of pics, we were out of the park and must have been gone for at least three hours before we came back in again, on our way back to the train station. To my surprise, the elderly man was still with the pelican though they were now in another part of the park. It appeared that everywhere he went, the bird followed. Those two obviously shared a special bond.

A friendship this special must have been forged over the years. I couldn't resist asking the old man if he came to the park regularly. Showing us a peanut he had fished out from  one of the 3 large plastic bags he was carrying, he explained that he traveled from Peckham to the park every 3 days to feed the pelicans. Like a proud father, he regaled us with stories of the pelicans' antics. Stroking the head of his feathered friend, he added, "This boy pelican here is very shy, unlike the girl pelican out there on the pond. She's the one who catches the fish for him."

Then he asked us, "Is this your first visit to England?" We nodded and with a salute, he greeted, "Welcome to England!"

Awwww! What a sweet old man!

* On googling, I learned that the boy pelican is Willy, as affectionately named by his fans. He's London's most photographed animal and the old man is Willy's biggest fan.

St. James Park

One of the suggestions on the "Top 10 things to do in London" list that was posted in most of the travel forums I googled is visiting the city's many royal parks. Growing up on Peter Pan stories, I had Kensington Gardens in mind as the park was the setting of J.M. Barrie's book "Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens". Unfortunately, there were just too many places to go in the short time we had and we ended up in Saint James Park, the oldest of London's royal parks. It was just across the street from Buckingham Palace. I was so glad we did! The park was crawling with the cutest camera-friendly critters!

The squirrels in this park were super friendly. One actually climbed onto my lap, expecting to be fed! I was going to reach out for my camera, then changed my mind. The spell would have been broken.

And this pretty duck here just waddled up to me waiting to be photographed!

A plaque marking The Diana, Princess of Wales, Memorial Walk

Dedicated to the memory of the late princess, the walk is a 7-mile (11 km) long circular walking trail in London It goes between Kensington Gardens, Green Park, Hyde Park and St. James's Park in a figure-eight pattern, passing five sites that are associated with her life: Kensington Palace, Spencer House, Buckingham Palace, St. James's Palace, and Clarence House. It is marked with ninety individual plaques, each of which has a heraldic rose etched in the centre made of aluminium. It has been described as 'one of the most magnificent urban parkland walks in the world'.

We could see the Eye Of London from where we were standing.

If I lived in this country, I could see myself visiting the park daily, sitting on a bench all day, enjoying the invigorating cold air and watching the world go by!

"And this, our life, exempt from public haunt, finds tongues in trees, books in the running brooks, sermons in stones, and good in everything."

WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE

Bath, Somerset

Here we are in Bath, a World Heritage Site. Bath is famous for its hot springs, Roman baths and stately Georgian architecture.

Rolling into the city of Bath in our coach

Great Pulteney Street

The Circus

Strolling along one of the mainstreets

The Roman Baths

The domed ceiling at the reception hall

The Great Bath - Built by Romans in the first century

The hot water in the spring rises at a rate of 1,170,000 litres each day at 46°C. It bubbles up into the King's Bath which was built in the 12th century AD.

The pool of the Great Bath, heated by the ancient Sacred Spring. The spring and the temple complex were dedicated to the goddess Minerva.

12 facts about the Bath House:-
1. There were hot, warm and cold baths
2. Water was heated by a boiler over a fire
3. The hot room was called the caldarium
4. The cold room was called the frigidarium
5. Men and women used separate bath houses
6.The floor might be covered with a mosaic
7. You had to pay to use the baths
8 .You could buy refreshments at the baths
9. People did weight lifting at the baths
10.Public slaves could give you a massage
11. There was no soap so people used oil instead
12. Sticks called strigils were used to scrape dirt off the body

source - http://www.historyonthenet.com/Romans/bath_house.htm

The Celtic people were well aware of the curative powers of the hot springs. In 863BC Prince Bladud supposedly took a dip and had his leprosy cured. He is said to have dedicated the area to the Goddess Minerva.

The Romans arrived in Britain in AD43. They discovered the wonderful thermal springs and established the town of Aquae Sulis, meaning 'Waters of Minerva'. They developed the baths as a scaled down version of the great baths back home. The original plan included heated rooms, steam rooms, baths, swimming pools, a gymnasium, playing field and social rooms for eating and drinking. Around the site was the Temple of Sulis Minerva. The temple was believed to bring good fortune to those who bathed there.

source - http://www.burkesbackyard.com.au/factsheets/Burkes-Backyard-Overseas/Roman-Baths-UK/2864

Costumed characters alongside the Great Bath

Model of the Bath Temple Complex

Gorgon's Head from the Temple Pediment

Goddess Sulis Minerva

Bath Abbey

A statue in front of the Bath Abbey

The Bath City Hop On Hop Off Bus

Bath and the Somerset countryside

Jane Austen lived at No 4 in this house

Salisbury

Salisbury was one of the stops we did on our 3-attractions-in-one-day tour. How I wished we were given more time to explore this charming town. Unfortunately, we were only allotted an hour and a half for this stop, with the options of either exploring the interior of the Salisbury Cathedral or the town with the quaint marketsquare and traditional shops. We chose the former.

I snapped these pics as we were walking out from the cathedral to our awaiting coach.

The school where William Golding (novelist of "Lord Of The Flies") taught.

Lord Of The Flies was required reading in Malaysian secondary schools back in our days.

Oh, before I forget, Salisbury is pronounced as 'Sawlz-bree'. Those English names were continually messing with my mind.

Noticed the bricked-up windows in the above photos? They are the result of an unpopular income tax called the "Window Tax" that was introduced in 1696. Property owners were taxed on the number of windows their houses or buildings contained. In order to avoid the tax, house owners would brick up some of their windows and as the bricked-up windows prevented rooms from receiving any sunlight, the tax was referred to as "daylight robbery". It is alleged by some that the idiom "daylight robbery" originates from this window tax.

Notice the sign that mentions Sunday Roast, a traditional British meal served on Sundays

Our tour guide explained that during the agricultural revolution, Yorkshire families left a cut of meat in the oven before going to church on a Sunday morning and returning to find lunch cooked. Hence the name.

Saw this neat contraption made of cast iron located near the front steps of some buildings.

We learned from our guide that it was a wall mounted boot-scraper used to scrape dirt or mud from the bottoms of shoes or boots before entering the building. They were common before roads were paved.