A Trip to Greenwich
by Gavin Atkin gmatkin@clara.net
It's impossible to file pictures from this part of the
metropolis without including something from Greenwich, which is famous for many maritime
items of interest, and is easily accessible via a foot tunnel or by railway. Here's the
shot of the Seamen's Hospital's two blocks flanking the old Queen's House further up the
hill - the Queen now lives at Buckingham Palace, Windsor and Balmoral, and her old shack
is now part of the National Maritime Museum. At the top of the hill is the Greenwich
Observatory, and the famous Greenwich Meridian.
Queen's house
This is the Gypsy Moth IV, the boat that Sir Francis Chichester
famously sailed around the World single-handed with one stop in the 1960s. Sadly, he
loathed it, for as soon as it heeled more than a few degrees it would lose all balance and
fly off uncontrollably in the wrong direction.
For More about Gypsy Moth:
https://greenwich2000.co.uk/info/tourism/
Gypsy Moth
And here are some shots of the last remaining tea and wool
clipper, the Cutty Sark, which I believe is one of the great glories of Greenwich. Sadly,
and madly, it has just been refused a National Lottery grant for repairs, a decision for
which I could gaily throttle someone.
Notice the figurehead, an evil flying spirit. The words 'cutty
sark' mean a short night-dress in Scottish dialect, and this girl comes from a North-of
the-Border legend in which just such a creature chased a chap on a horse, but only managed
to catch the horse's tail - which you will see is still in her hand. The rider got away.
Once or twice I've wondered whey thy didn't name the ship after
the horse, which must have been even faster than the spirit, and would have caused the
sailor's fewer sleepless nights than this immodest person. Be that as it may, the Cutty
Sark was a famous champion among tea clippers.
For more about the Cutty Sark:
https://www.cuttysark.org.uk/history.html
Cutty Sark pic 1
Cutty Sark pic 2
Cutty Sark pic 3
Cutty Sark pic 4
And finally, I had to include this, a picture of what must be
the most interesting second-hand bookshop in the World. I'm the guy with the camera you
can see reflected in the glass door!
Bookshop pic
