Battersea Power Station

Website: http://www.batterseapowerstation.com

Today I went along with ML and VB to Battersea Power Station. This former coal-fired power station has been disused since 1983 and its iconic building has been slowly decaying ever since. Located next to Battersea park its four tall chimney stacks are a famous part of the London skyline. There's an urban regeneration project which plans to transform the site into a huge entertainment complex with cinemas, bars, restaurants etc. Before that happens, however, the site has been opened, by popular demand and for a limited time only, to the public.

We arrived at about 1pm on our bikes and a steward told us where to lock them - a green wire fence that seemed deliberately designed to ensure the bike frame was kept at an unlockable distance from it. Finally, with grunts and heaves and two locks between three bikes, we managed to cram them in securely.

Pausing for a quick look at the dominating architecture we then entered a small white building at the edge of the power station grounds. This was an exhibition about the regeneration project which we wandered around:There had been a regeneration project before funded by the then Alton Towers chairman which aimed to set up an indoor theme park. Unfortunately this ran out of money and left the building with no roof and no western wall.

The current regeneration project involves making an environmentally friendly greenhouse-like complex next to the power station:
The old building would be restored and would house restaurants and cafes etc. Judging from the scale model on display the new building (with a huge chimney roof) will dominate the site. It reminded us of the Millennium dome project.

After the exhibit we had to sign disclaimer forms before we could set off. These made the trip sound incredibly exciting - there was talk of machinery and rough terrain, dirt and dust everywhere, rubble etc. We happily signed away all liability and then set off for the site. We handed in our disclaimer forms at desk outside and were given a free bottle of water. Considering that the whole trip was free as well this made us all very happy.

We now got better views of the power station as we approached it from across the derelict site. Everyone had their cameras out and was snapping away. The people with zoom lenses and fancy cameras would labouriously set up their shots only to have someone else carelessly walk in front of them.

We arrived at the power station and followed the fenced-in route. All the time we were anticipating that we'd get to go inside and climb up and down ladders and gantries, pull levers, press buttons etc. Unfortunately the best we got to do was peer into the empty decaying power station halls from behind a fence at the outer wall. We peered into one hall and saw the chunks of wood and masonry scattered around:We then walked around the back and looked in at another hall. It looked like a sad ruin with its roof ripped off and pigeons living amongst the girders.Both VB and I spent a lot of time taking arty pictures:
One of the reasons Battersea power station is so famous is that it appeared on the cover of the Pink Floyd album Animals. During the photo shoot they tethered a huge inflatable pig to the power station which apparently broke loose and ended up crashing somewhere in Kent. (See here for more information and photos.)

Summary: Good free fun but a little disappointing we couldn't climb around inside.

Buckingham Palace

Website: http://www.royal.gov.uk

Today I went on a tour around the State Rooms of Buckingham Palace. The palace is only open at certain times of the year and have intended to visit it ever since I first moved to London over 5 years ago!

I'd booked my £14 student ticket a few days earlier for a slot at 2pm today. I arrived and had to work hard to navigate the hordes of tourists and find the Buckingham Palace Shop where I could pick up my ticket. I then took my ticket to the Visitor Entrance at 1.45pm in time for my 2pm slot. There were lots of young helpful "wardens" dressed in smart uniforms to help the clueless tourists. We were corralled in a holding area while we waited for the "airport style security area" to empty ahead.
We finally were let through and filed slowly through the metal detectors and bag scanners. After that we snaked through to a tent to pick up our complementary audio guide. I chose the English language one, slung it around my neck, pressed the green PLAY button and set off.

As the stirring introductory music played I stepped up the red carpet and entered the Palace. I usually hate audio guides but have to admit that the one used at Buckingham Palace was really good. It provided options to select what to hear about, the information was interesting and not too lengthy and it always said things like "If you would like to then you might consider moving to the next room..." rather than the usual "Next we have...".

We began by seeing the quadrangle which is a huge open square just behind the front of the Palace. It's used for parades and for greeting heads of state. They enter the vast quadrangle through a small archway at the front and, standing right in front of them, is the formal entrance to the Palace - an imposing multi-columned entranceway.

Just inside the formal entrance is the Entrance Hall which is a large impressive room with rich red carpets, immense columns and gold decoration everywhere. From here we climbed a staircase with an intricate bronze balustrade which was made a long time ago and, in modern day money, would cost £210,000 (that's just for the balustrade alone!).

We then entered the Guards Room and the Throne Room. All the interiors were designed by architect John Nash and he must have been good. The rooms are supposed to impress visiting heads of state and diplomats and they certainly meet that goal. Everywhere is rich wallpaper, carpets, silk, golden designs, complex mouldings, vast chandeliers etc etc. The Throne Room held the coronation thrones of the Queen and Prince Philip as well as a few coronation thrones from previous monarchs. During my visit I discovered that asking questions to the older "wardens" got a better answer to my question than asking the younger ones.

Next stop was the Picture Gallery - a narrow 50ft long room with huge paintings hanging on the walls. This led to another narrow room with curved, etched skylights in the roof. Apparently there was a small fire recently that led to three of these skylights being smashed. Although they could have been replaced by modern glass makers the original workers were thoughful enough to have made 4 spare windows. These were found in the Palace carefully crated up in a store room. They were installed after waiting 100 years.

We passed a display of photos of the Queen with visiting heads of state and were then led to the Ball Room. This was one of the most impressive rooms and is where the Queen hosts state dinners for visiting heads of state. It's apparently one of the largest rooms in London and luckily had a seating area where the tourists could rest. I took a seat there amongst the prostrate visitors. It was like sitting in a battle-field hospital surrounded by the dead and the dying.

In the center of the room is a huge U-shaped table that can seat around 200 people. The Queen sits at the centre of the U with her guests on either arm ahead of her. The chinaware and silverware are layed out days in advanced and carefully measured onto the tablecloth - to ensure they're all in a perfect line when you look down the table. Each place has a number of different glasses - for red wine, white wine, port, champagne etc. I've eaten in places where they put a lot of time into the presentation I've noticed that the food is always a bit of a let down. I hope the food they serve up in the state banquets is tasty! Next was a little video display about the behind-the-scenes preparation for the banquets. All the plates etc are washed by hand because they're too valuable to entrust to a dishwashing machine.

The next few rooms all overlook the gardens at the rear of the Palace. They were differently themed and contained a variety of very fancy furniture. There was a table which once belonged to Napolean and is made of one huge disc of porclein which, by firing and gilding, was decorated with very intricate artwork that took 6 years to complete! One of the most valuable pieces in the collection was a writing desk which had layer-upon-layer of inlayed wood.

We then travelled downstairs again and into a long corridor with marble statues on display. By far the most impressive was a huge 2 metre tall statue of the gods Mars and Venus sculpted from a single block of marble.

The tour finally finished at the rear of the Palace, exiting onto the Garden Terrace. Here we returned our audio guides and were allowed to take photos once again. Immediately all the tourists whipped out their cameras and began snapping the rear-end of the Palace:
The tourists also got to visit a gift shop which they thrived in:I should admit that I bought some chocolates there too... There was a nice walk out through the gardens:
Summary: An impressive place to visit. The rooms, the decoration and the expensive furniture are all well worth seeing.

The list (number four)

Here's an updated list with a few more items crossed-out and one added:

• Tour round Buckingham Palace
• Go up the BT Tower for the view
  
• Cycle around Richmond park
• Sneak into the fancy hotels - Hilton, Savoy etc
• Go to all the museums in London
• Go to all the major art museums in London
  
• Have a drink in the ice-bar off Regent Street
• Do the sing-along sound of music at the Prince Charles cinema
  
• Watch a film at the Electric cinema in Notting Hill
• Watch a film at a Leicester Square cinema
• Watch an IMAX film near Waterloo
• Go to a casino
• Explore the new O2 centre at the Millennium Dome
• Tour round the BBC TV centre and BBC Broadcasting House
• Watch a live, well-attended debate in Parliament (e.g. Prime Ministers questions)
• Go out for an artsy night out in the east-end.
• Shop at Petticoat Lane market
• Go on the rides at the London dungeons
• Sit in on a Sotheby's auction
• Eat at a traditional pie 'n' mash shop
• Tour round Lord's cricket ground
• Tour round Wembley stadium
• Go to the London wetland centre
• Visit Chelsea Physic Garden
• Get into London fashion week
• Tour around City Hall
• Tour around Tower Bridge
• Go to the tennis at Wimbledon
• See some plays
• Ride home in a rickshaw
• Eat at some famous restaurants
• Visit the hidden-away nature reserve behind St. Pancras station
• Visit a big mosque, big synagogue, other big places of worship
  
• Use an "isolation tank" near London Bridge
• Get a free Hare Krishna vegetarian meal
• Go to the the Jazz Cafe in Camden
• Go to some jazz club I've heard about in Soho
• Eat a meal in one of the touristy Leicester square steak houses
• Tour around Battersea power station.
  

London Central Mosque

Website: http://www.iccuk.org

After a break from being a local tourist I got back into it today by visiting the London Central Mosque. The mosque is on the edge of Regent's park and I've cycled past it fairly often. It's an impressive building with a huge golden dome and a tall tower (called a minaret) to call people to prayer. Before I set off I did a little research into the mosque I was about to visit. There was talk of head scarves for women, removing shoes, stark architecture and there being not much to do. Nevertheless, there was also talk of welcoming security guards and friendly people.

I arrived at the mosque at about 3pm. Outside stood a family dressed very smartly. I stood there a moment, assessing the situation, trying to decide if I was about to crash a wedding. Finally, deciding it was OK, I walked in through the main gate, past the "No photography around the Mosque" sign, and to the security enquires desk. I meekly asked a man on duty there if I could look around and what there was to see and he gave me a helpful orientation. The main parts were the prayer hall, library (which holds around 20,000 books but was closed today) and bookshop. I later discovered a downstairs restaurant and some offices.

I left the desk and walked across the wide open square towards the main building. Inside there were lots of people milling about so I paused and, trying to look like I belonged, surveyed the area. Yes... there was the bookshop... Ah... that must be the prayer hall. I carefully watched a man pass the "no shoes" line and remove his shoes. I then did the same.

After putting my shoes in a rack I entered the cavernous prayer hall. This is aligned with Mecca and can hold 5,000 people. It's left and right walls have a few thin bookshelves on (presumably holding Qur'ans) and the centre of the ceiling lifts up into a huge dome. This is the same golden dome visible from outside and is deep blue on the inside with dazzling geometric tiling at the base. From the centre of the dome hangs a massive chandelier.

Dotted around the soft carpet were about 30 people praying and bowing towards Mecca. A few sat on chairs near the sides of the room. A few were lying on the ground. I sat on a chair at the left wall and listened to a nearby man quietly muttering from the Qur'an. There was a man lying on the floor near me who looked asleep.

After around 5 minutes of soaking up the quiet atmosphere I got up quietly and tiptoed back to the entrance again. On the way I read a poster about "Mosque etiquette" which was very interesting. For example women are not allowed to wear perfume in the mosque (to avoid arousing sexual excitement) but men are encouraged to wear scent. One should not enter the prayer hall with bad breath. There are also various Arabic phrases one is supposed to say when entering or leaving a prayer hall.

I left the hall and decided to explore downstairs. I put my shoes on and went down the stairs to a strange bathroom/shower-room/changing-room area. The men down here were not wearing shoes and there were various signs about not wearing shoes. I hastily took mine off, stowed them on a rack and went in to investigate. I later learned this was a wudu and a place where Muslims were supposed to wash themselves in an act of ablution (called wudu) before going up to pray. Near the room's entrance was a washing area where the user sits on a stone seat and water sprays from a tap in front of them. There are lots of these stone seats arranged in a line and the water pours into a gutter running in front of all the seats.

I left the wash room and decided to explore a bit more. To do so I put on my shoes by the wall. When I looked up there was an aged Muslim man with a long white beard looking despairingly at me. He told me I shouldn't wear my shoes in this part of the building. I apologised and said I was just leaving. As I walked towards the exit he said "No, no! You shouldn't say you're leaving and then walk with your shoes to go. You should take off your shoes first! People pray here." I apologised again and scuttled, shoeless, out the door. I was surprised to think that, at busy periods presumably, people pray in all available space including the stairwells.

I found myself now in front of a busy restaurant. I had a quick look around and then left the building by a side door. I walked up the stairs to ground-level and then back around the building to the main square again. I re-entered the main building and looked a notice board including "A Muslim shopper's guide" booklet by the Food Standards Agency and a poorly spelled notice about people misusing the mosque car park.

I left and tried, not very successfully, to take a few photos (through the trees) from outside the gates:Summary: Not that much to do as a tourist but interesting nonetheless.