Rabbits, religion and racism (but is it art?)

Garry and I are seeing London for the first time again. Today we took Garry’s parents for a tour of Bankside, one of London’s older and more colourful river districts. They marveled at sights all day including many I’d long forgotten were anything special. We started the day with a tube ride to London Bridge. Our train halted briefly at Baker Street while the police escorted singing football fans from their carriage.

Our first stop for the day was Borough Market. Murray and Rhonda loved it. Goose eggs, goose fat, giant French cheese wheels and gutted rabbits captured our eye at every turn. We stopped to sample everything on offer. The chocolate brownies were particularly good! At one point Murray asked how much a giant cheese wheel cost. We decided to pass after being offered a discount on the £700 asking price.

Our next destination was right next door; Southwark Cathedral. This gothic building is more than 900 years old. From here it was down a short lane to the Thames bank, stopping to admire a replica of the Golden Hind. This was ship used by Sir Francis Drake to circumnavigate the world.

Lunch was taken on the river bank at The Anchor. This pub was rebuilt in 1676 after fire devastated the area. Its original structure has been added-to over the centuries, creating a maze of odd little rooms, brick fire places, warped oak beams and worn, creaking floorboards. It’s hard to imagine that people have been dining and drinking here for more than 300 years.

With our appetites sated it was time to feed our souls. First item on the menu was Tate Modern. In 2000 this modern art museum opened in the shell of a former power station and has been a popular every since. This weekend marks the closing days of Carsten Höller’s installation art sculpture called Test Site. This work is simply a series of stainless steel slides spiraling down from various levels to the floor of the turbine hall. Queues of people were waiting their turn to slide, but is it art?

Next up was St Pauls Cathedral. To reach it we crossed the Thames using the Millennium footbridge. The Cathedral simply took our visitor’s breath away. It was wonderful to see them marvel in the opulent art and design of this grand building. Garry and I have visited so many religious venues we’d simply forgotten how magic the first one really is.

The Crypt was a magic experience. Here we saw the tombs of the Duke of Wellington, Lord Nelson, Florence Nightingale, Alexander Fleming and Christopher Wren (the cathedral’s architect). We sat for a while under the main dome soaking up the space, height and grandeur. Cathedrals really are art on a gilded scale. Our souls revived, we made our way home to rest our weary feet.


However, our day of art had one last finale. After dinner we wandered up the street to our local theatre for the final night of a first run production. King of Hearts was a hilarious comedy. We saw it all from our front row seats as the future King of England made plans to marry a Muslim. The political games of the Prime Minister, the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Leader of the Opposite had us in stitches until the final curtain. The perfect end to a day filled with rabbits, religion and just a hint of witty racism disguised as concern for the British monarchy.