Day 16 -- London: The city with "all that life can afford"

150 years before the Oxford Dictionary was completed, Samuel Johnson's A Dictionary of the English Language was considered the preeminent word [no pun intended] on the use of English. I think his famous quote about London should still be considered the preeminent final word on that city.

Let me admit to my bias right up front: I love London. I think it is the best city in the world. I have probably visited it at least once every year for the past 30 years, and that's not including when I lived in England and worked for Macmillan publishing. Macmillan's head office was in London, and every time I had to come in for work, I felt like I was living a little bit of the dream.

I have never tired of London, and I can't imagine that I ever will. Why? The answer is simple: every single time I am there, I discover something new. You can meander its streets and find the most interesting and unusual tidbits in the most unexpected places.

Once, I was wandering down a side street in a section of the City (the one square mile that is the central historic and business district) lamenting inwardly about the fact I was passing the ugliest of office buildings, and that it had probably ruined something that had been here before. I was near an area known as the Barbican Estates. In the 1960s and '70s, much of this area was built in what is known as British Brutalist architecture. Some people love it. I don't particularly. I suddenly noticed the sign in the picture to the right. By the end of the war, this particular area had been virtually destroyed by bombings. I couldn't help but be moved and feel a little ashamed. I remember thinking that you just never know when history will jump up and bite you firmly in the ass.

Today, Phil and I were in London again, our first time since we arrived on this trip. While Phil went to an hour-long meeting at City, University of London, I decided to take a short walk around the area that is in the London Borough of Islington. It's the home of our Alex's Arsenal Football Club, for those of you interested. It is the most densely populated area in England with almost 14,000 people per km.

Near to the university are several large Council estate buildings. I walked another block or two and found myself surrounded by tree-lined Victorian-era housing. Ahead of me I could see a sign on what looked like a large shop that read "Coin Laundry." On closer inspection, I discovered it's actually a '70s retro pub and restaurant. I turned the corner and was suddenly in the middle of Exmouth Market, a pedestrian street lined with restaurants of every variety. Toward the end of the street was an outdoor food-stand market of about 10 stands. Each had a long line of people waiting for the delicious boxed lunches on offer all for a mere 5 or 6 pounds. The aroma was unbelievable! Curry spices, mixed with barbeque, overlaid by garlic from Italian foods, and then a hint of Thai.

I resisted the urge to eat, and rounded another corner. I could see a small park, so headed toward it. I spotted the sign to the left. Yes, in the ground below this small space, now a modern park complete with children's play ground and benches on which many office workers were enjoying their boxed lunches from the market, 80,000 people had been interned! The key here is they were not interned permanently. Seems the grave keeper had exhumed many of the bodies, burned them and refurbished the coffins all in an effort to get more than the allowed 2,700 bodies the graveyard had been designed for.

But, the trees growing in the park looked healthy. ;-)

I was heading back toward the university, when I noticed a sign for the Islington Museum. I can't resist a museum. This one was in the basement of a community building, and when I entered I was greeted by two lovely ladies at a reception desk. I inquired if the museum was free; it was. Almost all museums in the UK are free. Inside was a small, but really interesting museum about the history of the area. I had the place all to myself. I discovered that Islington had been a hotbed for revolution. Suffragettes, communism, even the Sexual Offences Act 1967 that decriminalized homosexuality all found strongholds of supporters here. The museum had a wonderfully fascinating temporary exhibit on the Sexual Offences Act, including the stories of many men whose lives had been ruined by imprisonment because of their sexuality.

My hour now up (yes, just an hour), I met back up with Phil. We ate a late lunch back in Exmouth Market at the Exmouth Arms pub, then walked about 45 minutes to Waterloo Station to catch our train back to Salisbury. We continued to soak in the history around us, passing the site of the old Smithfield wholesale meat market, St. Paul's Cathedral, then over the Millennium Bridge, past the Tate Modern and down the South Bank.

But that is all for you to discover on your trip here...and I dare you to do your best to be tired of London!