Tag: history

Finally, A Return to Leicester

A couple of years back, I set off from London to Leicester to see the tomb of King Richard III, the last Plantagenet king of England who died from wounds suffered at the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485.

For those who came in late, King Richard’s mortal remains were found under a parking lot in 2012 on ground that had once been the Grey Friars Friary where Richard had been interred. Then came the dissolution of the monastaries and the Reformation and the King’s remains were lost until 2012.

When I got to Leicester, I found out that the cathedral (which is dedicated to Saint Martin of Tours) was closed for renovations. See my blog post from 2022, “A Visit to Leicester but No Parking Lot King.”

I had been captivated by the story since the discovery of “the King in the parking lot.”

It Was Worth the Wait

The cathedral, seen above is, perhaps, not as grand as some I have visited. It is, however, a warm and welcoming place. The new tomb of King Richard is simple but elegant.

When the King laid in rest before his reinterment, this cloth covered the casket.

On the left, you see historic figures from his reign. On the right are important people who were involved in finding his remains and working to assure he was laid to rest in the cathedral. The fabrics used are beautiful and give an almost three dimensional feel to the figures. A docent told me that the depictions of the modern figures were true likenesses of them. She knew them all.

Stained Glass and Other Delights

Elephants Galore

I thought it a bit strange to see an elephant sculpture outside the Cathedral. Inside, I found more. It was all part of a fundraising campaign for a local hospice.

One final note for train travellers to Leicester. Their station restrooms are clean and safe.

Wellcome and Welcome

It has been a week of gloomy weather with rain and hints of sunshine. On a cloudy day I took a walk up to the Wellcome Collection, a museum with rotating exhibits focusing on health, medicine and the human experience. I always enjoy approaching the museum from Kings Cross, along Euston Road because that particular stretch of the Road has various interesting places along the way, including Euston Train Station Friends House, owned and managed by the Quiet Company, a subsidiary of the Quakers of Britain. It contains a lovely Quaker Bookshop and a small cafe, as well as a Quaker Meeting Room. There are also a Birkbeck University Campus that happened to sponsoring a graduation ceremony on that day. It is always great fun to see the gowned graduates with their loved ones. I’ll say more about another favorite spot, St. Pancras New Church later.

Wellcome

The Wellcome Collection is running an exhibit on the search and need for fresh water. The earliest example of a water war is found in the Epic of Gilgamesh (2100-2000 BCE). It is captured in this clay tablet (below).

The exhibition included interesting ways water was stored in different cultures.

Another interesting item is this depiction of “The Lifegiving Spring” from the 1700s. It represents an Eastern Orthodox belief that the Virgin Mary in 450 AD directed a soldier searching for water for a blind man to a spring.

I also enjoyed the display of diving rods used traditionally to find water in the ground.

There is also an interesting permanent collection that I have previously written about and a nice cafe with friendly staff.

Welcome

On my way back from the Wellcome Collection, I stopped in at St. Pancras New Church which I have also discussed in an earlier post. This is a wonderfully welcoming place and an important part of its community. Here are the three stained glass windows above the altar.

After sitting enjoying the peace of the church, I came upon a young man who happened to be a verger at the church. We had an interesting conversation about the Anglican Church and its differences and similarities with the Episcopal Church in America and with Roman Catholicism. He also told me about various upcoming events at the church and invited me to attend. St. Pancras New Church really is a welcoming place.

Esoterik Italian Art and Other Adventures

Whenever my friends Nigel and Gwynne come up to visit London, I know I am in for a good time and so it was when they and Gwynne’s brother Mike spent a delightful afternoon with me. But. there were more adventures this week.

The Esoterik Collection

Nigel, who I mentioned above, introduced me to the Esoterik Collection several years ago. It is dedicated to modern Italian Art. Today’s visit was to view an exhibition of the work of Claudio Parmiggiani, an artist whose career spans over 50 years of Italian modern art. In some works he used smoke and soot creating etherial images. After the exhibition, I climbed the (many) stairs to view the permanent collection.

Parmiggiani

Esoterik Permanent Collection

This outstanding collection of modern Italian art includes these thought provoking works.

Good Times on the Canal

My friends Nigel and Gwynne, and Gwynne’s brother Mike joined me for a day of fun along one of London’s canals. The visit included the Canal Museum, lunch at a great little cafe and a walk along the canal where we observed numerous long boats that folks live or holiday on.

The Blue River Cafe

We stopped at the Blue River Cafe on Northdown Street in Kings Cross. Great food, great service and a pleasant atmosphere. Here are my friends enjoying the cafe.

Mike, Nigel and Gwynne. Some of the best people I know.

The Canal Museum

Small museums are like little gems. The Canal Museum could be easily overlooked. I’m glad we visited. In this case, we sometimes forget how important canals were in the period before rails linked rural and urban locations. The museum contains a replica of a canal boat showing cargo and living space.

This picture above shows the colorful pots and cans that canal boats are known for.

Working on the Canal

We saw an ice pit where canal workers would load huge blocks of ice to be delivered to resaurants and homes with ice boxes, the precursor of refrigerators and freezers.

After we left the museum, we took a stroll up the canal path back towards Saint Pancras International where my friends were getting their trains home. Here are a picture of canal boats and the path.

My next blog will include a visit to another favorite museum. Here are a few late August roses from the front of that museum.

More Wigmore, The Silk Roads, and The Wallace Collection

The ŠkampaQuartet at Wigmore Hall

I must say that three-times lucky was how I felt after the Škampa Quartet’s performance at Wigmore Hall. This incredibly talented Czech string quartet played Mozart and Brahms and provided a lovely Czech traditional song as their encore. Two violins, a viola and cello, all played with great expertise provided an hour of absolutely delightful music for a rapt audience. Like most of these concerts, this one was a full-house of classical music fans.

The Silk Roads

I am fortunate to be staying in a flat very close to the British Library, a large modern brick building with a lovely courtyard in front that holds its own against its Victorian neighbor, the Saint Pancras Hotel and the massive Saint Pancras International Train Station with which it shares two city blocks on Euston Road in London. The library gathered an incredible collection of manuscripts on various materials and objects of interest that demonstrated how the international trade that was carried out along the silk roads, brought together people, languages, and cultures from around the ancient world.

The cultures and lives the above items represent cover great portions of the ancient world. There were also things like a letter from a wife, left behind in a silk road trading town when her husband returned to China and never came back for her or their daughter. They were left in dire straits. As real as life is today.

The Wallace Collection

Culture has just been pouring out of my ears recently. I decided to revisit the wonderful Wallace Collection on another dreary day.

The Wallace Collection is in Hertford House on Manchester Square. I have written before about this unique collection of furniture, sculpture, china, paintings, all in the former townhouse of the Seymour family, Marquesses of Herford. The townhouse has an interior courtyard that has been covered to keep out the elements and turned into an elegant restaurant. Here are just a few of the incredible pieces you will see when you visit this wonderful place.