Boxing Day: Reflecting on Dec. 18 in London

Today is Boxing Day in England. There is a dispute about how the day got its name but it was traditionally the day on which people from the upper classes gave gifts to those from lower classes who worked in their homes. It is very much a fmaily holiday here in England and many are very upset that shops are beginning to open on Boxing Day and they believe that the day should be kept for family events.




Last Thursday, Tom and Bonnie and I explored London a bit. We went to Borough Market and saw this cheese shop. When I showed the photo to John, he noted that he knew the men in the shop - of course! What would one expect of a cheese expert!




THE JUDGE AND THE CLINK! --- We walked a bit from the market and I took this photo of MY BROTHER, THE JUDGE, IN FRONT OF THE CLINK! The Clink was a notorious prison in Southwark which functioned from the 12th century and was used at one time by the Bishop of Winchester for his prostitutes!




ON A MORE EDIFYING NOTE -- we also saw Park Street! Does the name ring a bell? Spurgeon's first London church was on Park Street. Later he went to the Metropolitan Tabernacle which is about a mile away from this location.




As we wandered around, Tom suggested that Iain would really enjoy this photo of the Golden Hinde.

This is a full scale replica of the ship that was an English galleon best known for its global circumnavigation between 1577 and 1580, captained by Sir Francis Drake. She was originally known as the Pelican, but was later renamed by Drake mid-voyage in 1577, as he prepared to enter the Strait of Magellan, calling it the Golden Hind to compliment his patron, Sir Christopher Hatton, whose armorial crest (family coat of arms) was a golden 'hind' (the heraldic term for a female deer). Hatton was one of the principal sponsors of Drake's world voyage.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Hind




Iain, Do you like these photos?