We rented a holiday apartment in Lewisham, London, England. This is the same suburb that my 4th great grandparents lived and their first child was born. We would walk to the underground and make our way into the heart of London.
"Mind the gap" is a warning to train passengers to remind them of the sometimes significant gap between the train door and the station platform. It was first introduced in 1969 by the London Underground rapid transit system. The phrase is associated closely enough with the London Underground that the organization sells T-shirts with the phrase imposed on a London Transport symbol. The phrase is also frequently used metaphorically, meaning to mind the difference between what is real and what is not.
Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, more commonly known as the Tower of London (and historically as The Tower), is a historic monument in central London, England, on the north bank of the River Thames. It is located within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets and is separated from the eastern edge of the City of London by the open space known as Tower Hill. The Tower of London is often identified with the White Tower, the original stark square fortress built by William the Conqueror in 1078. However, the tower as a whole is a complex of several buildings set within two concentric rings of defensive walls and a moat. The tower's primary function was a fortress, a royal palace, and a prison (particularly for high status and royal prisoners, such as the Princes in the Tower and the future Queen Elizabeth I). This last use has led to the phrase "sent to the Tower" (meaning "imprisoned"). It has also served as a place of execution and torture, an armoury, a treasury, a zoo, the Royal Mint, a public records office, an observatory, and since 1303, the home of the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom.
Tower Bridge, constructed in 1892, is a combined bascule and suspension bridge in London, England over the River Thames. It is close to the Tower of London, which gives it its name.
The Clock Tower (Big Ben) is the world's biggest four-faced, chiming clock. The structure is situated at the north-eastern end of the Houses of Parliament in Westminster, London. The tower was raised as a part of Charles Barry's design for a new palace, after the old Palace of Westminster was destroyed by fire on the night of 22 October 1834. The clock is famous for its reliability.
Since opening in March 2000 The London Eye has become an iconic landmark and a symbol of modern Britain. The London Eye is the UK’s most popular paid for visitor attraction, visited by over 3.5 million people a year.
Westminster Abbey is a large, mainly Gothic church, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is the traditional place of coronation and burial site for English and later British monarchs. It briefly held the status of a cathedral from 1546–1556, and is currently a Royal Peculiar. Since the coronations in 1066 of both King Harold and William the Conqueror, all English and British monarchs (except Edward V and Edward VIII, who did not have coronations) have been crowned in the Abbey.
Kensington Palace is a royal residence set in Kensington Gardens in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London, England. It has been a residence of the British Royal Family since the 17th century. Today it is the official residence of The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester; the Duke and Duchess of Kent; and Prince and Princess Michael of Kent. Kensington Palace is also used on an unofficial basis by Prince Harry, as well as his cousin Zara Phillips. Until 1997, it was the official residence of Diana, Princess of Wales and of Princess Margaret until 2002.
This is where my 4th great grandparents were married. The family history is strong in this area. Located on Stepney High Street, St Dunstan's, Stepney stands on a site which has been used for Christian worship for over a thousand years. In about 952 C. E. the Bishop of London - who is also Lord of the Manor of Stepney replaced the existing wooden structure with a stone church dedicated to All the saints. In 1029, when Dunstan was canonised the church was rededicated to 'St Dunstan and All Saints', which it has remained. Up until the early fourteenth century the church served the whole of Middlesex east of the City of London. Then new churches were built at Whitechapel and St Mary-le-Bow. The existing building is the third on the site and was built of Kentish ragstone mainly in the fifteenth century (although the chancel dates from 200 years earlier. A porch and octagonal parish room were added in 1872. There are ten bells in the belfry, which were made at the local Whitechapel Bell Foundry - the oldest was recast in 1385. They are mentioned in the nursery rhyme Oranges and Lemons. The church is surrounded by a churchyard of nearly seven acres. The church has a long traditional link with the sea and many sailors were buried here. It was once known as the 'Church of the High Seas', and until quite recently births, marriages and deaths at sea were registered here. The graveyard is also where Roger Crab the seventeenth century hermit is buried after living on a diet solely of herbs, roots and water. In the seventeenth century the churchyard was enlarged to cope with the massive number of deaths from the plague. 6,583 died in one eighteen month period, with 154 being buried in one day in September 1665.
Les Misérables (translated variously from French as The Miserable Ones, The Wretched, The Poor Ones, The Wretched Poor, The Victims) (1862) is a novel by French author Victor Hugo, and among the best-known novels of the 19th century. It follows the lives and interactions of several French characters over a twenty year period in the early 19th century that starts in the year of Napoleon's final defeat. Principally focusing on the struggles of the protagonist—ex-convict Jean Valjean—who seeks to redeem himself, the novel also examines the impact of Valjean's actions for the sake of social commentary. It examines the nature of good, evil, and the law, in a sweeping story that expounds upon the history of France, architecture of Paris, politics, moral philosophy, law, justice, religion, and the types and nature of romantic and familial love. The musical is based on the 1862 novel Les Misérables by Victor Hugo.
Set in early 19th century France, it follows the intertwining stories of a cast of characters as they struggle for redemption and revolution. The characters include a paroled convict named Jean Valjean who, failing attempts to find work as an honest man with his yellow ticket of leave, breaks his parole and conceals his identity; the police inspector Javert who becomes obsessed with finding Valjean; Fantine, the single mother who is forced to become a prostitute to support her daughter Cosette; Cosette, who, after her mother's death, becomes Jean Valjean's adopted daughter (and who eventually falls in love with a revolutionary student named Marius Pontmercy); the Thénardiers, the unscrupulous innkeepers who initially foster Cosette, and who thrive on cheating and stealing; Éponine, their young daughter who is hopelessly in love with Marius; Gavroche, a young beggar boy; and a student leader Enjolras who plans the revolt to free the oppressed lower classes of France. The main characters are joined by an ensemble that includes prostitutes, student revolutionaries, factory workers, and others.
This is my favorite broadway play and as you can see I get caught up in the storyline.
1 comment:
Nice pictures Mom!
Post a Comment