Well, I finally have something worthy to note after days of endless reading and paper writing. Yesterday, I took a greatly-welcomed break from the books and experienced Greenwich with my new friend Steve. Stephen Wates is the brother of my Museum Studies & Anthropology tutor, Alison, and is incredibly bright and knowledgeable about the history of Greenwich. He fortunately had the day off from work, and I am so thankful he was so generous as to spend his free time showing me around and indulging me in my endless curiosities. And don't worry! I won't bother you this time with my over-exuberant enthusiasm for British Maritime history, as this trip was to experience London for a few hours through my tour guide, Steve.
Greenwich (pronounced Gren-itch) is an old maritime neighborhood of London and lies on the southern shore of the River Thames. Today, Greenwich functions as another residential neighborhood with historic sites scattered throughout the local area.
After a morning tutorial with my other tutor, I finally arrived in Greenwich by 3 pm (I had a little confusion switching tube stations but I'm getting the hang of it!) Steve was there to greet me and we immediately headed out towards the first point of interest: The Greenwich Observatory. Steve is a world-traveler and enthusiastic hiker, and so I had to practically jog to keep up with his abnormally fast walking pace. We trekked through Greenwich park, and passed London's very first hospital which was the size of a cottage & sadly neglected. Continuing up a steep hill, Steve proceeded to tell me that during the Bubonic Plague, London needed to bury millions of dead. They began digging a series of mass burial pits beginning at Greenwich (the farthest part of London at the time) and stretched all the way out to where there is a city called Graves End. (Get the connection?) So we walked up this hill that was once a burial mound in the 1300's. At the top, I beheld one of the most beautiful scenic panoramas of London and Greenwich. From there, one can see the Thames meandering through the City, the Millennium Dome, Isle of Dogs across the river, everything...especially Greenwich immediately in front. We walked away to the left and into the Greenwich observatory and saw a display about famous British astrologists and astronomers, old scientific instruments and telescopes in the old Royal observatory, once again, designed by Sir Christopher Wren. The most famous fact about the Greenwich Observatory is that it is where Greenwich mean time begins, meaning it was established as the original intersecting point of longitude line 0 degrees and time (as in clocks) is derived from that, I guess. It was a scientific development that greatly benefitted the Royal Navy in nautical charts and navigation around the globe. We moved through the observatory so quickly, I didn't have enough time to try to fully comprehend it, but that just serves to be another excuse to go back again.
We then descended the hill to the Royal Naval Hospital which became the Royal Naval Academy in the late 19th century. Inside is a vast collection of portraits and paintings pertaining to naval officers, admiralty officials, naval wives, as well as a large amount of nautical battle scenes. Among those I saw were: a portrait of Nelson before he lost his arm and eye, a portrait of Nelson's beautiful mistress Emma Hamilton, a British portrait of Napoleon commissioned when he was captured and held in Portsmouth, as well as original paintings of pacific island scenes done by the commissioned artist taken along with Captain Cook's explorations. Again, however, we rushed on, this time however because the museum was closing down. Because it was too late I did not make it into the Greenwich Maritime Museum, but that was probably a good thing, so I wouldn't keep Steve waiting while I might have lost myself among all the relics. I also could not see the Cutty Sark, the last of the tea trade Clipper ships surviving today. She was almost completely gutted out in a suspicious fire not too long ago and is undergoing extensive restoration.
He then took me to see the Greenwich market and see what the community was like. It was very charming but, being not as popular as Kensington, Whitehall, Tower Hill and other parts of London, it felt different. More residential, indifferent to tourists, and much more symbolic of the everyday working-class man. Walking around the city, Steve and I had some very interesting conversations, one of the most memorable when we compared American and English vocabulary. It was quite amusing, and we had some good laughs over odd word usage or minor misunderstandings. He especially enjoyed poking fun at me for saying "totally" or "sure" and other words said on TV by California Valley-Girls as well as other American slang words...I now think twice, as I do not want to be associated with that!
We eventually found our way to his neighborhood of Deptford, right next to Greenwich. There he showed me the church of St. Nicholas. In St. Nicholas' graveyard he pointed out to me Christopher Marlowe's grave and tombstone which was very exciting! At the front gate of the church, there are two pediments with figures of a skull and two crossbones mounted at the top. These figures were allegedly the original skull and crossbones that were later popularized by Captain Morgan while pirating in the American continent. When I took a good look at the Tudor era figures, they appeared incredibly intimidating even in the light of day. Made of a dark, almost charcoal colored stone, covered in moss on one side, the figures seemed more menacing from the roughness of aging marks and had deep, cavernous looking depressions in the skull. I can see why someone like Morgan would pick something so morbid looking as that to represent his evil deeds on the high seas. On our walk around town we also saw the filming of the upcoming movie National Treasure 2 which was very exciting!
I spent the rest of the evening talking with Steve on various subjects after he took me back to his flat to show me an incredibly HUGE Oyster he bought at market that morning. He is a very very talkative person, and also very aggressive in conversation unlike I've known before. He enjoyed telling me about things he knows, he's discovered, experienced or would like to do but is also interested in hearing the other side, and listening to my opinions and what knowledge I can impart. We talked about political and social issues and our opinions in regard to, we talked about themes in some of the latest movies, we talked about general misunderstandings between the mindset and culture of America and England, and we talked about certain questions about spirituality and the human psyche. I also eagerly listened about his travels around the world on motorbike, his experiences in America and the opinion about us as a nation he came away with.
Before I came to England, I have also heard much about dying spirituality in Europe as secularity grows more prevalent. It wasn't until I began talking with Steve on these matters when I really began to realize the truth in the statement. He mentioned earlier when we visited the church that he didn't care to step foot inside and I questioned his comment to myself for a fleeting moment. Later, when I remarked on something being a "blessing from God", Steve responded to my comment stating that he was sensitive to the word "God" and didn't like when people used His name so carelessly. Because I used God's name in a more reverent tone he then asked "Oh, do you go to church regularly? Are you a born-again Christian?". I was struck, because I've never been called a "born-again". I would assume, then, from Steve's comments that for the British, everyone who is God fearing is a Christian. In many historical texts the Western world is generally referred to a Christian culture. In that case, I would assume anyone who is a practicing Christian is referred to as a born-again Christian. I am still sorting this concept out in my head but I definitely have something to meditate on and look for when I am traveling the European continent in 2 weeks.
On a more adventurous note, spending my day with Steve opened my eyes to many new experiences too. While there I experienced my first taste Oyster (i tried once before but gagged), my first taste of Amaretto Liquor he had brought from his trip in Italy which is light, tart & sweet at the same time and very pleasant, and I also had my first taste of Licorice herbal tea which is also very good.
All in all for just over 6 hours, it was a very full day! Though I would have liked to do so much more and see lots more of Greenwich, I will have to content myself with another day at another time. It looks like I might be going back to London again next Saturday to have my last tutorial there, as well as meet up with my good friend Kristen Elmes and a relative from posh Kensington! More exciting stories to come!
Cheers,
Lindsay