Tyler and I winged our way back to London after leaving New York and enjoyed adventuring together there before he headed back to Brigham Young University for school! Here are some highlights . . .
Ahoy!
"Sailed” over to Greenwich to check out the Cutty Sark – world’s sole-surviving tea clipper ship, famous for her record-breaking passages around the globe. Such an interesting wander through and beneath almost every inch of this conserved, interactive museum. She was launched in 1869 and was one of the fastest ships on the seas. Her cargos through the years included teas, wool, whisky and even buffalo horns. Cutty Sark is quite an imposing figure weighing 963 tons, with towering masts and 11 miles of rigging.
Docents regaled us with tales of a sailor’s life aboard ship
and we found some of the phrases we use today stem from such a life. For instance, able bodied seamen were called
such because they “knew the ropes” – i.e. which rope in the rigging did what
and how to use them. The name “Limeys”
came into fashion because sailors drank lime juice to avoid getting scurvy. “Lesser of two weevils/evils” had to do with a
initiation for new sailors who had to tap the hard-tack biscuits to get the
weevils out and then eat the smallest one.
We also met quite an array of merchant-ship figureheads in a
unique display! Fun venturing to be sure!
“Prime Time" in
Greenwich
Checking out the Royal Observatory in Greenwich meant
“prime” time as we viewed the Prime Meridian Line of the world from which all
longitude is measured. “Every place on
Earth is measured in terms of its distance east or west from this line. The line itself divides the east and western
hemispheres of the Earth.” from:
rmg.co.uk website
The Prime Meridian
is the reference line for Greenwich Mean Time – the world’s standard time
measurement, too.
An intriguing museum there features displays and
navigational tools that tell the history of time and astronomy including old
and new telescopes, numerous styles of clocks, charts, histories and measuring
devices through time.
Fascinating stuff!
It was
“Aces”! . . .
Touring Wimbledon, world-class tennis club, was indeed
“aces”! It’s actually more properly
known as the “All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club” and is a private
members’ club. The Wimbledon
Championships are the only Grand Slam tennis event that are still held on grass courts.
A guide led us through the beautifully landscaped areas to
Center Court, the press room where players are interviewed, past leader-boards
and historic sites like Henley Hill, the court where the longest recorded match
(11 hours 5 minutes) was played, and other famous spots like Courts 1 and
2. He shared such interesting stories
and stats and made the area come alive for us.
And, since the tournament was recently concluded, the place was in
pristine condition.
I also really liked a Rudyard Kipling quote that is featured
above the players’ entrance to Center Court:
“If you can meet with triumph and disaster and treat those two impostors just the same.”
Their museum was fantastic, complete with hands-on exhibits,
video clips, a 3-D highlights movie, holograms, memorabilia from Lawn Tennis’
history and, of course, the iconic trophies.
Tyler and I were ready to break out our tennis rackets and
serve it up! Center Court looked nice –
maybe next year if we really practice?
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