Thames | Donna Maree Hanson, Author, Phd in Creative Writing

Posts Tagged ‘Thames’

Highlights from the UK and Ireland Trip Part 3

Posted in Travel, UK, tagged bog bodies, Buckingham Palace, Harry Potter, Harry Potter Exhibition, London, Thames, travel. British Museum, UK on November 16, 2019| Leave a Comment »

I’m sorry it’s taken a bit to get this third post together, but life!

We spent about four days in London, mostly so we could go to the Harry Potter Experience, which was very fab. At the beginning of the tour they asked the audience if anyone had been before. One woman said she had been 53 times. Wow! The cost alone must run into thousands of pounds. The exhibition was fantastic, which lots of displays from the talented people who made the costumes, sets, prosthetics and make up.

The Gringotts bank set was amazing. I took lots of photos and video of it. We had a nice lunch there and drooled over the merchandise. I’d totally do it again, but not 53 times.

We had an accommodation issue in London which soured our experience somewhat, and then we headed off to Ireland. I was there for three weeks, including Dublin Worldcon and a workshop with David Farland. So I went between Donegal and Dublin a little bit.

Warning: there are images of a bog body here, that is a corpse that is thousands of years old so look away if that does not appeal. We stayed in Westminster so these are a few along the river. We wished we could fossick on the shores of the Thames but you need license now.

Then we did a tour of the State Rooms at Buckingham Palace, which included a Queen Victoria exhibition. Unfortunately no photos but we did get some of the grounds and the back part of the palace that you don’t see from the street. I love the lake in Buckingham Palace, not that we got to walk around but it was visible on the exit path.

Then we went to the British Museum. I’ve been a few times and it is so big I’ve not see all of it.We were focussed on early Britain this visit. It was incredibly busy and the food was so expensive. The following shots are of the bog body. I saw more of them in Ireland (in a museum, not the wild).

These are some roman hoard. The quality of manufacture was amazing. And the head, early Christian I believe.

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I am going to keep Ireland for the next post. Sorry, I’m out of time.

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Tripping around London

Posted in Fashion, Regency, Travel, United Kingdom, Victoria and Albert Museum, Victorian, tagged Cheapside, Eastend, fashion, historical fashion, Jane Austen, Limehouse, London, London Bridge, Pride and Prejudice, regency dresses, regency fashion, Thames, Victorian era fashion on September 2, 2014| Leave a Comment »

As a follow on from my Loncon 3 report, I thought I’d do a post on London. We arrived Tuesday 12

September. We were sharing an apartment in Limehouse with Kim and Shauna. It was a lovely place and close to the DLR, which we needed to get on the metro and to the Excel where Loncon 3 was being held.

I thought a self catering apartment would have advantages. We could could meals, wash clothes and hang in the sitting room. This was a good plan except Kim and Shauna discovered the cafe on the corner and once I went there I wasn’t keen on cereal for breakfast. We think it might have been Polish but we don’t really know. We went there everyday and when we left popped in to say goodbye. Limehouse is in the East end of London, closer in to the river from Whitechapel (Jack the Ripper fame). I wanted to walk to Whitechapel, but as it was Matthew and I walked into Gracechurch Street and cheapside on day.

The walk in was interesting because of the ethnic mix of people and the sort of poorer area. We went to a market and had a look around. Along Commercial Road there were numerous direct to public clothing warehouses. I was sorely tempted but I had a goal to walk into the city. We could see the Gerkin for most of our walk.

Gracechurch street is where Lizzie’s uncle lives in P&P. It’s in Cheapside. We also found a patch of river and I picked up some pieces of pottery, which satisfied the archeologist in me. On the way back we got some fab shots of the Tower of London.

Tower of London, exterior, taken August 2014

Banks of the river Thames with bits of the past washing up

Under London Bridge

Gracechurch Street, Cheapside, London, August 2014

During our time in London we went to the Victoria and Albert Museum and we have some lovely photos. We went to the Wedding Dresses exhibition but no photos were allowed. I really enjoyed just walking the streets and soaking up the feel of the place.

You will see from the photos that I concentrated on the Regency and Victorian fashions. Be prepared for a photo fest.