New Year's Resolution #4 -- (re)start my London blog

OK, so this was New Year's Resolution #4: "Focus more on writing projects."  And since my only "writing projects" right now are this blog that I never work on and fifteen pages of a romance novel/bodice ripper that was supposed to make us some quick money this year of not working (it stalled when I bogged down in getting the historical details right for late 19th century American ranch life), the blog seems the more worthy pursuit (ya think?).

Lisa and LT in front of Anish Kapoor sculpture

Anyone who's been following Isabel's blog a little or reading the occasional  FB post from me, will know what a good time we're having in London.  You don't always know you're having the experience of a lifetime while you're having the experience of a lifetime, but that's the situation here.  Isabel, leaning over my shoulder, noted that I am writing about the quality of the experience without actually conveying any information about that experience.  So, without further ado, I'm going to write about possibly our favorite London phenomenon:  Hyde Park.

Lisa and Matt (and Isabel and me) reflected in another Kapoor Sculpture

Hyde Park was originally set aside as a hunting ground for Henry VIII and successive monarchs and it still has that wild, heath-y feel in parts.  But much of it, too, is given over to human activity.  All three of us run regularly there.  The Round Pond, Isabel's favorite place in the park, is full of all manner of water and other fowl -- swan, goose, seagull, coot, pigeon, wren -- being fed by all manner of tourist -- Portuguese, Japanese, Italian, Slovenian, you name it.  The Queen's Guard in their feather crested helmets and starchy uniforms practice in the mornings on their horses in specially provided corrals and regular riders canter or walk up and down a rutted dirt track that extends the length of the park.  There are about 3 different memorials to Princess Diana here, including a fountain and a playground and I can't remember what else.  There is also utterly charming Kensington Palace, dating from 1605, low-slung and of faded brick -- Diana's favorite residence and permanent one once she and Charles split.  Add to all this the Serpentine (river that runs through it), the Serpentine Gallery, Speakers' Corner, the Italian Garden, an outdoor exercise park for the over-65 crowd, and multiple football games on any given day and you've only touched the surface of all that goes on here.


The pictures above are from a 4 piece outdoor sculpture installation by artist Anish Kapoor.  This went up in September and watching the seasons change around them and reflected in them is one of the many pleasures of Hyde Park.  Now that the leaves are off the trees if you stand in one place and pivot you can see all 4 sculptures.  These two pictures were taken by my friends Lisa and Matt who were visiting for the afternoon in October on their way to a vacation in the Pyrennees.  We talked about blogs and narcissism that day and my reluctance to write and post because of a feeling that there is too much of this stuff out there and the pressure to be funny and diverting makes you not want to blog, etc.  Obviously, this didn't deter me in the end... 


I forgot to mention the Albert Memorial, a 150 foot high monument from 1876, commissioned by Queen Victoria to honor her beloved consort.  You can say what you will about architectural overkill, but nothing says "I love you" like a 14 foot high gold-plated statue of your husband protected from the elements by a gaudy neo-Gothic canopy and surrounded by 187 statues representing the continents, arts, industry, sciences, etc.  To Albert's credit, when he was alive apparently he stated most definitely that he did not want a monument raised to him after his death.  So much for honoring your deceased's wishes.

The Albert Memorial

And, last but not least:

WINTER WONDERLAND!!!

Lost in the Hall of Mirrors

Winter Wonderland is a fair they set up in Hyde Park every Christmas season.  It has little Alpine-type stalls selling all kinds of handicrafts (and handicrap) and mulled wine and pretzels and crepes and fudge.  The rides and entertainments range from the ridiculous (see us at the Fun House above and below) to the sublime (see moosehead below) to the terrifying (Isabel and Ben went on something called the Alpen Ski Jump and I just can't fathom how those of us standing below watching weren't covered with throw-up after the five death-defying minutes were over (they loved it, of course).

Alpen Ski Jump

That's us negotiating the spinning floor in the Fun House.

And, finally, the thing that made me most happy at Winter Wonderland:  the singing moose head under which Isabel is sitting in this picture.  It wasn't just that the moose sang; it was that he sang a pop song I love to hate called Last Christmas, I gave you my Heart (and the very next day, you threw it away.  This year, I'm makin' it clear, I'll give it to someone spe-cial...) with a heavy German accent just like "Touch my Monkey" Dieter from SNL.  It's really hard to convey the delight I felt to be hearing this on a cold starry night in early January in Hyde Park in London.