London

Jennospot 109  London

 

'Ave yew been ter London? Oi went there one toime wiv Peter by train when the Lions Avenue Lot got up their petition.

 

London's a real big place, yew c'd fit the whole o' moi village o' Widdlin'ton in one corner there an' yew wouldn't even notice it. An' cripes, all them people! Oi didn't even know there was so many people in all the world like wot yew find there. There's so many people, they 'ave ter 'ave trains wot run in tunnels under the ground, so as there's enough room in the streets, an' even then there's 'ardly enough room. Some of the stations under the ground have even got places where yew c'n sleep, but that's only because o' the war. It's safer down there from the bombs, see. Peter'n me 'ad a little kip down there durin' an air-raid, but it weren't noight time. It were mostly 'cos we was a bit tired after runnin' away from ticket collectors, an' traipsin' around tryin' ter see the the King an' the Prime Minister, an' all. Wot didn't work out loike wot yew might expect.

Any'ow, we saw some anti-aircraft guns in St James' park an' a barrage ballon by Bucking'am Palace. The best was visiting Emmeline Pankhurst; at any rate seein' 'er statue, wot is roight up against the fence o' the 'Ouses o' Parliament, so it weren't a complete waste o' toime. Did yew know that Emmeline Pankhurst were quite little? Oi wouldn't never 'ave thought it until Oi saw 'er statue, 'er bein' so important an' all…

 

Annuvver fing we did was ter visit the famous Tower Bridge. Yew know, that's the one wot lifts up in the middle so as ships c'n go through. It were just getting' dark when we got there, wot is the favourite toime fer air-raids ter start. An' one of 'em did. There were an air-raid warden there wot sent us down under the ruined church o' All Hallows by the Tower. We met a vicar there wot 'ad the name o' "Tubby", leastways, that's wot 'ee said we should call 'im. It were only afterwards that Oi learned that 'is real name were Clayton, wot is curious, 'cos it's also the name o' the village next after Widdlin'ton. Actually, Tubby were real famous, 'though we didn't know it at the toime, cos 'ee started up an organisation ter 'elp soldiers called TocH. (Yew c'n google that if'n yew want 'cos Oi ain't a-going ter say no more about it 'ere).

 

We didn't get bombed that noight, even though one came pretty close. Tubby only shrugged, 'cos 'ee said that wot wiv the church bein' bombed last year, it'd be real unlucky if'n it were 'it a second toime. 'Ee weren't wrong neither…

 

The next day we went back ter see the Prime Minister, wot lives near a big lump o' stone in the middle o' the street called the Cenotaph, only we 'ad ter run from there 'cos the perlice were after us by this toime. An' then 'oo would o' thought it, we finished up at the BBC wiv the famous radio programme, "In Town Tonight" (Yew c'n google that an' all, if'n yew want).

 

An that's about all Oi c'n tell yew 'ere about London (wot ain't bad fer jus' one visit, if'n yew ask me). If'n yew'd loike some more, yew c'd do worse'n ter take a dekko at http://www.peterstjohn.net/index_6.htm.

Luv from Jenno.