September 11, 2014

.... Dawned a bit grey in Ye Olde London Towne. 13 years after that day it was interesting to be in a city not unfamiliar with the failed efforts of a few sad and misguided individuals, but more reflecting later (but not too much reflecting don't worry). 

After rising still somewhat groggy we found breakfast near the markets and then it was back on the London Underground (take THAT international terrorism!!). (Having said that breakfast was in an organic cafe, so possibly the terrorists won after all). We quickly and efficiently found our way to Covent Garden (this tube thing is pretty good if you ask me) and had a nice stroll around the old market and surrounds and had a pretty darn decent bit of duck on a bun (ok there were French words involved).

             

We strolled some shops and had a drink in an awesome little pub called the Porterhouse, full of copper and stairs and nooks and crannies and many, many beers.

                                     

 More tube action followed and we found our way to meet up with our local friends at the Imperial War Museum, one if the 'must see' places if the trip.

                                                              

Hard to know where to start on this one, the IWM is as much an institution as a place and on walking in the door you know it is going to be something pretty special. Rather than filling the place with a million old bits of stuff (which, no doubt, they do possess) they have instead opted to present on many of the floors just a few items, but these are pieces that resonate with significance you will rarely see anywhere else.

Passing through the entrance into the central main hall you come to a railing where you find youself looking down a level to the floor below, and up several stories to the skylight roof. Multiple levels of mezzanine rise on both sides with glimpses of various displays prominent, including a camouflage Landrover hanging halfway out in mid air. More distracting first off however are the objects filling the void in front of and above you, most notably a Harrier, Spitfire and V1 and V2 rockets

                                                 

Down on the floor another Landrover in white 'Press' livery, a rusted car wreck, an aged cannon and a Russian tank sit amongst video pedestals telling the stories of each specific vehicle... Actual gun camera footage of that Harrier in combat in the Gulf... The story of that actual Spitfire flying in the Battle of Britain... Pictures of the terrorist bombing in Baghdad that destroyed that actual car, and of the results of an Israeli missile hitting that actual Landrover in Gaza... Onwards from there the rest was equally impressive and at times confronting. One of five actual casings made for the Little Boy bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima - 

                                          

A huge bronze eagle taken from the Reichstag in Berlin, and the tailfin from Heinz Schnaufer's Bf110 painted with symbols for each of his 121 Allied aircraft kills 

                                     

The fact many of the larger non-fragile items were not behind glass but displayed in the open where you could walk around and touch them made the history all the more tangible. The one item out of many amazing things that really made the visit for me was an old Chevy truck which I was somewhat blown away to find was the one and only surviving WWII Long Range Desert Group vehicle, belonging to one of the New Zealanders of W patrol and named Waikaha... Recovered after bring stumbled across in the desert in 1983, she is rust free and almost good as new, apart from many years of sandblasting

   

                                                               

If you don't know the story of the LRDG and their legendary raids, stop reading this babble and read some history!!! Elsewhere large and impressive displays also showcased in impressive detail specific topics such as World War One, the UK special forces and SOE, the Holocaust and, in a special room at the top of the building, an utterly amazing collection of dozens upon dozens of Victoria Cross medal groups, each with a photo of the recipient and a short description of the acts of valour which earned them.

It was, however, a large, mangled and unrecognisable mass of twisted steel that had to be the most topical and poignant item, on this day of all days... And so it was that I stood for a moment and reflected as I ran my hand across a large beam that was once a window frame from the World Trade Centre.