LONDON WALK THROUGH HISTORY A special day to walk past the Queen's coffin in the ancient Westminster Hall, and witness the arrival and departure of the King in Parliament Square for their vigil. It took 12 hours to get to the hall that was a slow 'pilgrimage' along the South Bank that I know so well, with stories from my father that I shared on the walk. I started early at 06.40 at St. Saviours dock, then a slow 3 hours to Tower Bridge. Then past HMS Belfast where I witnessed the firing of the guns in the Royal Pageant in 2012. Also past St. Paul's and other landmarks, such as the Oxo Tower, one of the few buildings left untouched on the South Bank in Blitz according to my father. Past Waterloo Bridge, when I told others about when the stone lions drink (fixtures on the stone pillars on the Thames), London is in danger of flooding, since the level is above pavement level on the other of the Embankment, another story of my father. And, in the late afternoon, , opposite the Houses of Parliament, the Covid Wall with hundreds of hearts for those that died during the pandemic. Then across Lambeth Bridge to Victoria Tower Gardens, the final zig zag route to the hall. A special memory for me. My father, 17 during the Blitz, was a firerunner around Westminster, alerting fireman to potential fires, and stamping out incendiaries (left to burn they caused numerous fires, and it was important to save Parliament and the Abbey). Once he was stamping out incendiaries in the gardens near the Victoria Tower when a policeman was injured by one that exploded when stepped on. A ploy by Nazi Germany to deter people from stepping on the incendries. Then into Westminster Hall and past the Queen's coffin, so difficult to decribe the feelings of history. Once through, Big Ben shone as the sun set, Parliament Square packed, awaiting the arrival of the King and the other royals for the vigil. I saw them all arrive over heads of onlookers from the corner of the square opposite the statue of Churchill. I then stayed here during the vigil, to view them all from the kerbside as they left. A special day #queensvigil #queenscoffin #westminsterhall (at Westminster Hall) https://www.instagram.com/p/CilYNUOjwbm/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=
