Enjoying retirement
In The Red Rose County
An unexpected change of bus led us to the Catholic Westminster Cathedral, impressive and rather strange. I liked the 'bamboo shoot' building in the background... After an interminable journey through depressing Peckham (I never want to see Peckham again) we arrived at Greenwich. National Maritime Museum Old Royal Naval College We went first to the Queen's House, built for Henrietta Maria, where the contents were amazing...all sorts of famous portraits I had always wanted to see, and much else of interest. You are greeted by a couple of Canalettos of London.... Winterhalter's Queen Victoria..... Vice Admiral Sir Edward Brace KCB (bap. 2 June 1770 – 26 December 1843) was a senior officer of the British Royal Navy during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. The more casual portrait of William Orpen by Herbert Barnard John Everett is full of character.... Loads of impressive maritime paintings, mainly Dutch.... The Earl of Shrewsbury with King George IV... William Howard, 1st Baron Howard of Effingham (c. 1510 – 12 January 1573) was an English diplomat and military leader. He served four monarchs, Henry VIII, Edward VI, Mary I and Elizabeth I, in various official capacities, most notably on diplomatic missions and as Lord Admiral and Lord Chamberlain of the Household. The original builders of the house King Charles and Henrietta.... Richard Drake of Esher (1535[1] – 11 July 1603), was Equerry of the Stable and Groom of the Privy Chamber to Queen Elizabeth I. The Queen's House, Greenwich - The Queen's Bedchamber - the ceiling. But we were not able to see the highlights of the house features - the Tulip Staircase and the Great Hall because annoyingly of a wedding. Sir Francis Drake, 1540-96 The famous Armada Portrait.... King Philip of Spain (and England).... A rather gloomy Henry VII.... Another luscious portrait of Queen Elizabeth....... and her father Henry VIII. James VI and I Frederick V, 1596-1632, Elector Palatine, King of Bohemia and Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales (1594-1612) Queen Anne....plain to say the least! Nelson of course.. and Emma in one of her poses..... Portrait of Anna van Gelder, third wife of Michiel Adriaenszoon de Ruyter, Lieutenant-Admiral-General of the United Provinces. and Michiel, obviously a pair of paintings meant to be hung together. The Solebay Tapestry The important Battle of Lepanto, defeating the Turks in the Med. Our next destination - the Royal Observatory.....where a poor lunch, if you could call it that. The signs had promised 'the best view in London'....who could argue? We didn't have time for anything but lunch......I did touch this however. On our way to the boats, our chosen means of getting back (and avoiding Peckham thank God), we just had time for half an hour in the Museum which really deserved a whole day - yet another amazing building in the whole Greenwich complex. Fiji decorated canoe.... Cupola from the old Baltic Exchange.... Victorian lighthouse model.... Roman anchor..... A 68 Deep sea diver's boot..... On the left (below) Admiral John Byng...... “In this country, it is good to kill an admiral from time to time, in order to encourage the others”. This comment is taken from Voltaire’s ‘Candide’ which commented on the execution of the Admiral John Byng on 14th March 1757, with the charge of “failing to do his utmost”… Also....Admiral Jervis, 1787 and Captain the Honourable George Edgcumbe, 1720-95 Greenwich pensioners..... A fairly recent attribution of a painting to Gainsborough.......one of the finest surviving examples of Gainsborough’s early portrait work, depicts naval officer Captain Frederick Cornewall. Admiral Alexander Hood.....a commander of the Channel Fleet during the French Revolutionary War.... A General at Sea...... Scaled model which the Admiralty insisted on and now one of the many many treasures to be found in the Museum. Dobson's portrait of a naval officer...... Greenwich and the Cutty Sark... Our sleek and comfy Uber boat......very good value....we went from Greenwich to Putney. Sister craft....they varied in size. Our was one of the larger ones..... We passed old wharf after old wharf.....all now an unbreakable series of posh apartments. Lots of icons along the way..... Nearly back..... and dark when we got to Putney.......
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August 2023
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