We had a day to spare before catching our flights home, it was gloriously fine and we had unfinished business in central London, so we popped on the underground and came up at Westminster. Turned out it was the day of the global climate change protest which, in London, was based in Westminster. So we arrived with the placard carrying crowds, police and barricades. Westminster and Big Ben were covered in scaffolding so after a few shots, including of the London Eye, we went back underground and headed along to Tower Bridge. Our target for the day was Leadenhall Market and the Lloyds Building based on a friend’s recommendation. We quickly turned our back on the crowds at the Tower of London and headed away from the Thames. We soon came across All Hallows Church, which claims to be the oldest in London, and enjoyed its delights free of the throng of tourists. As we headed on we were mesmerised by the glass skyscrapers with their idiosyncratic names including the Gherkin, the Cheese Grater, the Walkie Talkie, The Scalpel, the Boomerang or Vase, the Shard and others. We enjoyed the juxtaposition of this modern architecture with “old London town”. We found Leandenhall Market and the Lloyds Building (aka the Inside Out Building) before making our way back to the Thames and The Millennium Bridge, where we caught the best view of St Paul’s Cathedral, before heading back to Hammersmith. London put on a splendid day for us, the streets were alive and all seemed well. Just six months later and the world has changed. While not the existential threat that climate change poses the Covid 19 crisis, which has London in lockdown as this gallery is loaded, is a more immediate threat to the global economy and the wellbeing of humanity. May be it will really be the last time we get to visit London and we have a deep sense of sadness at that prospect.
