Notes on my D-Day Tour London to Portsmouth (continued)

London: Sun, 8 Oct 2000
The flight over was a dream! My first class seat 1A on the UAL 777 was like an island unto itself. Spacious, no one around, private TV, music, movies on demand, moving map, bed, reading light etc. NO PROBLEMS! Flight was 9 ½ hours and I arrived hotel at 7:00 a.m. London time. Had to wait 4 hours to get into my room at the Copthorne Tara Hotel!

We are in the Kensington area not to far from Lady Di's former home (and shrine) and I am now ready look around.

London: Monday, October 9th

The day started off with a glorious blue sky which has deteriorated into a nasty hard-driving rain storm. Glad I remembered to bring my umbrella.  

Just returned from seeing "The Guardsman." Acting was excellent .. the play was good, but not great.

Earlier in the day a noodled around the British Museum and checked out the Elgin Marbles and the spent a few minutes deciphering the Rosetta stone. Most of the time was in the exhibit on the middle-ages! 

Some observations about London: All the mannequins have erect nipples, but I haven't observed the same phenomena among the live ones! Many people of all ages walk down the streets of Kensington, Oxford Circus etc. with cell phones attached to their ear. Much more than in the US. 

The internet café that I am using has 500 computers and flat screens at a going rate of £1 pound per hour, and there are 6 of the like it in London. And it is full of people now at midnight! Let see £500 x 24 x 6 x 365 makes a potential cash flow of only £26,280,000 pounds per year (about $39,420,000.00 US dollars)! 

More smoking here ... but a lot of them are non-European. I've object twice in the hotel lobby to people sitting next to me lighting up. They respond.  

I'm really relaxing! Getting some good zzzzz and some decent walking. 

London: Thursday, Oct. 11
Our group had a special  time together with a moving dinner with tour members sharing their personal connections to the war.  Several members were vets of World War II and three had served in Europe after D-Day.  I am quite struck by the depth of emotion created by memories of those terrible days over 55 years ago. I feel a real connection to the sacrifices made by them and by our allies.

London: Thursday, Oct. 12

We leave London tomorrow after touring many sites the past two days. Of special interest were the War Offices of the British Cabinet which were underground because of the blitz. I was also taken with the British War Museum by its depth and thoughtfulness.  One exhibit on the trenches of World War I was especially engaging.  It was a detailed replication of what it was like to be on the western front, and I felt like was actually there.

Over 50 million people died in Europe and Russia  during World War II. That is one helluva price to keep freedom!! 

This afternoon we floated down the Thames to Greenwich with wonderful views of the London skyline and shipping on the River.  Of course "time begins" at  the Greenwich Observatory where there is an outstanding display on clock making and the challenges of navigating at sea in the 15th-18th centuries.

Tomorrow we transport to Portsmouth to stage for our Channel Crossing on Saturday. We will "invade" France and be on the Normandy Beaches by Sunday.

The weather here has been a bit beastly, and it is clearing.

Some more observations:  The Health Minister here announced a zero tolerance policy toward cannabis! Then at least 7 ministers of the shadow cabinet announced they had used the weed when young (indeed) and that it was not a slippery slope to drug addiction. The government minister backed down! A lovely flap!  

I'm entranced by a new BBC show called "The Weakest Link" that is a cross between the "Survivor" and "Become a Millionaire."  A bitchy woman emcee starts by drilling questions to a panel of 9.  After each round, the panel votes off one member, until there are just two. They do a face-off, and one person wins up to £10,000 pounds.. It is BRUTAL. And the dominating and unsmiling emcee makes it work.

Of course the telee is full of the Mideastern crisis tonight. I saw pieces of Al and George late last night doing their thing at the 3rd debate. 

This internet café has been a real kick.

Portsmouth, Friday, October 13th

The invasion was launched from here, and we lunched at an Irish pub frequented by Eisenhower and Montgomery. The highlight for me here was the village of Southwick which has been wholly owned by one family since the 16th century Church and all! I asked the vestryman an the Church about the level of their Anglican services, and he replied "we don't do smells and bells here!" 

From Porstmouth we boarded a channel ferry for a six hour crossing to Ouistreham, on the far left flank of the all the invasion beaches.