Mom and Me . . . Church and Chums . . . Lombard Logos

Mom and Me Adventuring

My sweet mom came back to London with us for a few months after my dad passed away.  It was a tender and sorrowful time for us to have him gone; having the distraction of being somewhere different helped healing for her.  

Mom traveled quite a bit throughout Europe with work when I was growing up and so London was a familiar haven for her in some ways.  In fact, my first trip abroad was to London, Paris, Munich and Amsterdam with her when I was just 10.  Caught the travel bug then!

We had a terrific time exploring and taking it all in afresh and together though!  Just a few of our adventures were the Palace Fashion Show of Queen Elizabeth’s clothing throughout the years, including her extraordinary coronation dress, the Sky Garden at 20 Fenchurch Street, a stone circle in the Lake District, an afternoon of lounging on striped slings in the St James’s Park, and an elegant day at Ascot!  Of course, we wandered all over London taking in St Paul’s Cathedral, the Globe Theater, various museums and tea times, as well – plus oodles of explorations with Mike, Justin and Elise, too.

Church & Chums

Too far to walk to our church ward and not having a car, we nonetheless felt a little odd taking a car service to church at first.  The members were so warm and friendly and the Spirit and services so familiar though, we felt at home right away.  We were two of a few other Americans and very few Brits!  Almost everyone was originally from Africa.  Students from Brigham Young University on study abroad programs joined the congregation during their semester throughout the two years we were there, too. 

Here’s the crazy thing:  of all the wards in England, there was a couple in ours who had actually lived in Marietta, Georgia and were in our Shallowford area ward there, moving away just a couple of months before we moved to Marietta!  That meant, we actually shared lots of the same friends here in our Georgia ward!  We had some grand times together before they moved back to the USA.

Other friends were from the American Women’s Club and we enjoyed lots of service opportunities, field trips and such.

There truly are amazing people everywhere; their friendships enriched my life and I’m grateful!

Signs of Old Lombard Street

So, there are a few unique and curious hanging signs above businesses on Lombard Street.  That area and surrounds became home to family-run banks and small goldsmiths.  Because not all Londoners could read in the 1700s, and street numbers were only used occasionally, eye-catching signs became the solution to standing out and making your business known.  King Charles I passed a charter during his reign to erect such signs.

There are four remaining signs today.  The cat and a fiddle (originally denoting a secondhand clothes shop; taken over by Lloyds Banking company in 1884) and the grasshopper (which was originally the family sign of Thomas Gresham in the 16th Century.  He founded the Royal Exchange) are two of them.  Additionally, there is the anchor and the clock, but their exact origins are not known.

Records indicate that over 160 Lombard hanging signs existed.  Some of those include:  a ram, an African lion, a blue anchor, a unicorn, a star, a pelican, a vine, an artichoke and a phoenix.  Most of them were affiliated with banks back in the day.  These signs became what we know today as "logos."

Look up!  You never know what there is to see until you do!