The Tower, the Library and the Abbey

Today we got up late-ish, circa 9. Terry and I snuck down to breakfast leaving Tallis sleeping, and discussed the disturbing dreams I had had, probably stirred up by Vanessa Redgrave's play last night.  One of the things we discussed was my sadness over the loss of the other genetic kids - had had a sci-fi novel sort of dream about that theme. When we got back to the room at 10, I wanted a nap almost immediately and lay on the bed sort of dozing while Tallis finally took a shower around 11.  We hit the road at noon, heh heh.

We tubed over to the Tower of London and had a fabulous time exploring much of it. Of course there were excellent re-enactors there (*cheer*) We saw the White Tower with its armor displays, the Medieval Palace on the Wall, the chapel where Sir Thomas More is buried along with about 40 other famous, sad murdered Tower residents.

Then we tubed to the British Library where we saw many glorious things including the original "Beowulf" text, the Codex Sinaiticus (4th century Bible in Carolingian line drawings and letters!), the Magna Carta, a Gutenberg Bible, a Lindisfarne one, piles of amazing Books of Hours and Gospels, Beethoven, Handel and other famous musician's handwritten texts, Charlotte Bronte original manuscript, Oscar Wilde, a 3rd Century Buddhist Sutra for Tallis, and on and glorious on.

Then, enlarged, enlivened, enlightened, and exhausted, we tubed to Westminster Abbey for a very lovely Evening Prayer service, led by Canon Sagovsky of the Abbey, at which I met Sister Judith, an Episcopal nun who knows sister Mary Cristobel, and in which I cried because it reminded me so strongly of Madeleine. I lit a candle for Madeleine, and for lots of other folks I love. We sang"Be Thou My Vision", and  William Blake's "And did these feet in ancient times walk upon England's pastures green", as the service was partly to pray for the end of the Olympics, and to pray for the London ones in four years.

Then, limping from my new blisters, we took a double-decker bus for Tallis (to remember his stay here at age 5 when we came to see Lynn's play) and got a bit lost, stopping for not-very-good Italian food.  The company was lovely though of course, and we plotted some new SCA characters, inspired by our very medieval day.  After exiting the Dolce Vita Restaurant (though it wasn't), we limped along for a bit, quite lost, then gave up and took a cab home to the Milestone.

Wow do our feet hurt. It is 9:45 and we are sprawled out in our amazing residence and reading and listening to the Tallis Scholars sing medieval music on Terry's Ipod (since the hotel of course provides an Ipod dock *giggle*. I am going to have trouble leaving here tomorrow . . . except that we are going to WALES!!!!