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Gherkin Sneaks Up on You
London UK - elaine - Monday, January 8th, 2007 : goo
Browsing articles in London UK - [previous] :: [next]
what you might not realise about london is that the City is different from london as a whole - it's the bit that was inside the roman wall, well, still is, though the wall is a bit crumbled away now, being as it is 2000 years old.
in 1666 the 'great fire of london' burned down pretty much everything except st paul's. this gave london the opportunity to impose a grid plan instead of the tiny wriggly streets that had grown up since the middle ages. but no, people didn't want it, they wanted their own old plots back, and to rebuild and get on with their lives. it is now the financial district, and unlike any sensible area with high buildings, it is still on the old street plan. hence you get the squished in weirdness demonstrated here, from the lloyds building -
also, an insane amount of antiquey old churches exist in the city, as well they might as those who work there may have plenty to pray about. so you get a lot of this kind of juxtaposition -
the church is called st andrews undershaft, for what reason i know not.
oddly, on a personal note, i have been spending a fair bit of time in the city in a way in which i have hardly been doing at home. this is because lurve takes me to the country and so nothing to photograph for you there. fields, mainly. but i come back to town mainly to go to hospital appointments, usually at barts, which is in the City. i enjoy wandering around there, for coincidental reasons it's been a while, so i feel a bit of a tourist.
anyway, you may have noticed my lack of posts lately. partly this has been because of lack of city to post noise thereof. i have been writing a bit in my livejournal, feel free to have a look if you can be bothered. it's mainly writing, i warn you.
This article has been viewed 1977 times in the last 41 months
roland: 8th Jan 2007 - 11:35 GMT
St Andrews Undershaft looks like a friendly crumbly bit of religion, in a cosy COE kind of way - but beware the wandering visitor - Hawksmoor's chilling edifices lurk at the edge of the City should you stray too far from the Gherkin... Sorry bought myself "From Hell" for Christmas - seeing London in a very different light.
colavitos ghost: in front of shaft is more like it!!!
jack: 8th Jan 2007 - 17:01 GMT
interesting, a rocket to God. good to hear from you elaine. by jove, you and catherine on the same day, too much for the common man. i'll read your journal.
Catherine Penfold-Waxman: 8th Jan 2007 - 17:07 GMT
Much like typhoid, I am always here.
I have yet to see the Gerkin with my own eyes, but I'm really hoping to get to the UK this spring. It's been so long that I really am a tourist.
jack: 8th Jan 2007 - 21:00 GMT
once i was in uniform at london airport and a man said, "top of the morning to you" and i, a learned young man replied, 'AND THE REST OF THE DAY TO YOU SIR". that is the correct answer for top of the morn.....
Peter: huh. i didnt know that, jack. interesting.
Jamie: 19th Jan 2007 - 20:05 GMT
was this man irish, jack? and what kind of a uniform were you wearing? i like how i can be away from here for so long and come back to find the same people doing the same old things. i can certainly identify with your lack of city elaine. it's mostly the reason for my lack of presence here lately. rest assured though i'm beavering away, albeit spasmodically and extremely slowly at some major new citynoiseness that might see the light of day sometime this year. perhaps. hope the cambridgeshire thing is working out for you. i will read your lj sometime when i have some time to spare, but i'm going to go have a nice bath now.
elaine: 12th Feb 2007 - 18:07 GMT
i hope you had a very nice bath, jamie. and do you know that credit suisse have now made it possible for the man in the street to buy shares in the gherkin now! i wish i had lots of money so i could have a slice of that action, no matter what the return. imagine the amusing quips one could make all day long...
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