the tower

[llywela]

Okay, so another thing that I did during my week off was get up at the crack of dawn to catch a bus up to London and spend the day hanging out with my cousin Huw. Huw always tries to make the effort to come down to Cardiff for family stuff - most recently, Uncle Col's 70th birthday bash - and always asks when I'm coming 'up the Smoke', I think he feels a bit isolated from the rest of the family, so we arranged this day out together.

This is Huw. This is the view of him that everyone gets, because he never comes out from behind that camera!

It is a very nice camera. I'm jealous of the gorgeous pictures it takes - but not of the weight of it to carry around!

We went to the Tower of London, currently dominated by the stunning Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red display, which marks the centenary of the outbreak of World War I - a sea of ceramic poppies, each one representing a life lost in the war. The poppies are beautiful and the display is extraordinarily striking, really driving its point home - especially when you consider that, with just under 300,000 poppies being made, this still represents only a tiny fraction of the total loss of life.




After admiring the display for a while, we finally made it inside the Tower - which was packed, of course, being school holidays. It's a really big place and we didn't have a huge amount of time, so we struggled to get around the whole thing before closing, but we gave it our best and I think we saw all the important bits. I particularly liked this hidden assassin, crossbow squarely pointed out through an arrow slit toward the traitor's gate.


There were sculptures everywhere - made from what looked like chicken-wire!



The White Tower was striking against the summer sky, standard flying


There is a display of armour, both for man and horse



I was particularly struck by this dragon, made out of guns and armour


And this rather adorable lion, going googly-eyed trying to see his own halo


I rather enjoyed seeing Sir Walter Raleigh's apartment in the Bloody Tower (he was incarcerated so often, he should have had frequent flyer points!)


But the torture devices in the dungeon are a bit unpleasant


The Tudor offices look a bit like a small village, inside the walls of the castle (The soldiers on duty looked to be about 12!)


We also got to see the Crown Jewels, which are very sparkly, but photography in there is strictly forbidden - this is the building where they live, you'll just have to imagine the bling for yourselves!


And of course, no trip to the Tower of London would be complete without saying hello to the ravens (battery powered, of course - if Doctor Who is to be believed!)


All in all, a lovely day out - I even escaped with my head still on my shoulders!

Comments

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

Battery powered? The ravens were battery powered? No wonder the country's in such chaos if the real ones are gone!

I had no idea about the poppies - can you see them from outside the tower, or do you have to buy a ticket to go inside? What a beautiful way to remember...

[llywela13.livejournal.com]

LOL Well, the Doctor Who anniversary special claimed that the ravens are battery powered, and who am I to argue with Jemma Redgrave? :D They looked flesh-and-blood to me, though - fed on blood-soaked biscuits, apparently.

You don't have to pay to see the poppies - you just stand outside and admire them. They look incredible.

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

I'd completely forgotten about that! See, I need to watch that again too... *vbg*

And excellent - thanks! I'm in London weekend after next, but if I don't have time to go into the Tower (it's bad to say I like the Tower, isn't it!) then I shall see them from outside...

[solosundance.livejournal.com]

Your pictures of the ceramic poppies are amazing - I've seen pics in the papers but didn't realise how effective it looks as a whole. Will definitely go along and see it now, although will maybe wait until the end of the school hols... I confess that on visits to the Tower my favourite part is always the bling :)

[llywela13.livejournal.com]

We almost didn't make it to the bling just because the queue was so enormous - we went off and did everything else first, then came back just as the last few were trickling in, so hurried to join the end of the queue and just made it before closing!

The sea of poppies is stunning - it's probably grown since it was on the news, as they add more every day.

[bowtrunckle.livejournal.com]

Oh, the poppies! I read an article about them and the pictures were so striking. That's great you got to see them in person.

We didn't make it to the Tower of London when I was there (maybe next time). I think we got side-tracked with the museums. The torture devices, argh! D:

[thisbluespirit]

I'd seen a picture of the poppies before, but yours really show how striking it is. Such an effective piece of remembrance.

Glad you had a nice trip!!

[primsong.livejournal.com]

Beautiful and almost disturbing at the same time, but that probably sums up much of the Tower and its history - what an interesting afternoon, thank you so much for sharing it with those of us too far away to ever see it ourselves. :-)