Yesterday, we took the train to London, departing early in the morning after a long walk to the station. The train was fast, inexpensive and on time. We went to London primarily to see the War Cabinet rooms, Churchill’s government shelter during the early parts of World War 2, and again during the V-bomb attacks on Britain. A makeshift shelter, right in the heart of London, that probably wouldn’t have withstood a direct hit with a significant bomb. Makes the paranoia about nuclear war threat seem quite silly now (visit Canada’s Diefenbunker to see the Canadian version of the same) This actually was used during war-time, and was a significant part of London’s war responses. We have seen the remnants of many war-time defenses, all along the ‘natural’ barriers that the canals posed to invasion. The Kennet and Avon canal was one such defense line established when the threat of invasion was real. There are various bunkers and pill-boxes still along that canal, and the same is true up the Oxford canal. History of that period is so much more real when you can actually see the artifacts left from that time.
Repel Invasion? One of the many fortifications along the canals intended as resistance to invasion 1940.
one room of the War Cabinet Rooms museum in London
narrow lock near Rugby
We also went to London to see “War Horse”. Live (not the movie) and in the original theatre. WOW. Having spent so many years doing stage productions, all I can say is WOW. The best. A ‘real’ story, no contrived fairy tales, and superb singing and acting. The men’s chorus was spine-shiveringly good, and the puppets, especially the horses and the goose, were exceptional. This is a show that I would recommend to any theatre lover- be they actor, technician, or just spectator. A sublime theatrical experience. I could go on and on about the staging, the special effects, the lighting, etc, but you would need to experience the show to understand. Do so. It is that good.
Today we decided that the marina in Braunston was the best opportunity for establishing a central ‘home-base’ for me and the boat. We returned to Braunston, and will be making Braunston Marina (http://www.braunstonmarina.co.uk) my ‘home. More details as that is finalized. That means that we are abandoning the Oxford canal exploration, and probably going up the Grand Union canal towards Warwick and Birmingham. We will spend another day in a side exploration retrieving my car (provided by Maj. Chris Jackson of the USAF- an old boy of Bishop’s College School, and member of my house there, years ago).
Sheila Gibbs says: August 9, 2013 at 1:46 am (Edit) We saw War Horse in Toronto last year (as you might remember) & I am in complete agreement. WOW is right! I’m glad you found a home – I shall look it up on the map. Take care, bro
