Cruel Brits

Today was a big outing for our first full day in London.  And it was a great history lesson for the kids, in ways you just can't get by reading a book.

First stop was the Tower of London. It was used initially as a fortress, then later as a prison, but we focused mainly on the prison part. We rented audio guides, and got to hear all the great stories about all the people held here, including Anne Boleyn (Henry VIII's second, and most famous wife), Sir Walter Raleigh and more.  The religion of the King usually dictated who would be imprisoned, and the Catholics were threatened by the Protestants, and vice-versa.  However, Kings changed all the time, so today's prisoner could become tomorrow's powerful leader, and the guards had to treat their political prisoners well and respectfully. Other less well connected prisoners weren't so lucky.

The "bloody tower", as the prison part was known, also had graffiti-like carvings in the wall from many prisoners. Usually, they said something nice about God so that they would have a smoother path to heaven after their impending execution.  Beheadings were a common method, but the more cruel rulers would burn people alive, even taking care to use less-smoky wood so the prisoners wouldn't pass out beforehand.  Drawing and quartering was also a popular method.  It seems like the point was to make your enemies fear you, and word of a painful, horrible death to traitors would keep everyone in line. These were not nice people.

 

One of the guards at the Tower.

 

The Tower of London

 

One of the famous ravens of the Tower.

 

Sir Walter Raleigh's Study (while imprisoned)

The other main attraction at the Tower of London is the Crown Jewels.  On this trip, we've seen the treasuries of various churches, but nothing compared to what we saw here.  The crown had the biggest diamond I have ever seen - so big is has a special name.  Some of the other regalia was equally impressive.  But my favorite thing was the three foot long, solid gold punch bowl (with matching ladle) used for Royal ceremonies.  The punch bowl was massive, holding up to 144 bottles of wine. Almost everything on display dated from the 1600s.

 

The crown. Note the huge diamond below the ruby.

 

The Royal Punchbowl. Cheers!

As bad as it was to be a royal prisoner, it was worse to be a commoner.  Our next visit was to the Clink Prison Museum, which is on the site of London's most famous jail.  The guests here were thieves, murders, and even debtors.  There was no budget for prisoners, so you had to pay for your incarceration, or depend upon the kindness of others in order to survive.  Some of the more fortunate ones would be given a ball and chain, and were allowed to beg on the streets provided they returned at night.  Others could beg through the prison bars.  The townspeople were actually very generous to the prisoners, since the Church encouraged it, and because they could easily find themselves in the same predicament.  Children of inmates had to live with their parents, but were free to come and go as they pleased, and would often steal or beg to pay the jailer's rent demands.

 

Bryce and Laurel in the Clink

After the first part of the day the kids were especially well behaved.  Were they feeling luckier about their lives? Or was it because our next stop was Hanleys (no apostrophe on purpose), the famous London toy store?  We tubed over to the famous Regent Street,  and the kids enjoyed five stories of all kinds of toys.  Laurel restrained herself, but for Bryce the car collection was very good, and he added some novelties to his collection.  I would up seeing a demo for an AstroJax, and bought one.  The scene was pretty crazy, with demos happening on every floor, and the occasional ill-behaved kid destroying a carefully planned out toy display.  But it was a fun place to visit nonetheless.

 

Bryce posing in front of one of the car displays. I had Corgi cars as a kid too.

 

Bryce demoing a cool remote control stunt car at Hanleys.

For dinner, we randomly picked the Little Bengal Indian restaurant in Fulham, right by our house.  London is known for their Indian food, and this place didn't disappoint.  I ordered a chicken dish with 21 different spices, which was terrific. Our other choices were good too.

Maybe the Brits aren't so bad after all...