Me, my pipe, and 1,000 years of history

andystewart · Feb 5, 2014

I'm currently quietly smoking Chelsea Morning in my Dunhill. I have the Palace of Westminster on my right and Westminster Abbey in front. Both are beautiful and both were here when William the Bastard invaded in 1066. I wouldn't trade this moment and the peace I have I a city of 8 million souls for anything man can offer.

phred · Feb 5, 2014

Ah, nice.
Haven't been to England yet, but on my other trips to Europe I've found that one of the biggest adjustments I had to make in my perspective was just how much history I was surrounded by - the museums, in some cases, were over 100 years old... :D

papipeguy · Feb 5, 2014

London is one of my favorite cities to visit. I( really enjoyed staying at the Loundes Hotel and spending evening at the Nags Head, which claims to be London's smallest pub. A cozy place to partake in a pint of bitter.

latbomber · Feb 5, 2014

Sounds awesome! That square is my favorite place to sit in the whole city.

virginiacob · Feb 5, 2014

Haven't made it over to Great Britain yet but hope to get over there some day to visit the land of my ancestors (have ancestral ties to England, Scotland, and Ireland). My English ancestor left England with Christopher Newport and arrived at the Jamestown Colony in 1608. My branch of the family has lived in Virginia ever since!

Perique · Feb 5, 2014

I lived in Suffolk for a year. Travelled throughout the English and Scottish countryside. I love and miss the old pre-Brussels England. Just as I love and miss the old London. Today I find London a challenging city. But then the same could be said of most Western European and North American cities. It's one thing to have one's culture taken. It's a whole other thing to simply give it away.

cortezattic · Feb 5, 2014

Thanks for sharing the moment, Andy. There are a lot of Anglophiles such as myself hanging out in the forums, envying your situation.

andystewart · Feb 6, 2014

Thanks very much for the feedback guys! Anyone who's coming over please PM me and I will happily buy the drinks. There are still beautiful spots where you can eat drink and smoke, particularly in Covent Garden and other parts of the West End. Andy

andystewart · Feb 6, 2014

Virginia I live near the Mayflower pub in Rotherhithe in London, whence the ship went to Plymouth to pick up the pilgrims and on to the New World. There a lot still unchanged from then and in the area. There's the remains of a medieval palace on a housing estate(!) and Execution Dock , where Captain Kidd and other pirates got theirs, is the other side of the river. We are very lucky. Although if Brussels has their way we will all soon be micro-chipped ciphers using numbers rather than names and rewriting history to suit the mainland Europeans. And relax...!

foggymountain · Feb 6, 2014

Nice to hear from you Andy. I enjoyed my trip to your country many years ago.

kcghost · Feb 6, 2014

I would love to get to London someday and attend an Opera at the Royal Opera House. And to have a smoke in the garden would be dandy.

jeff394 · Feb 6, 2014

A few years ago, my father was down in Florida (or was it Houston, I can't ever remember) watching the space shuttle take off. By chance he met a man from England and struck up a conversation. The two hit it off pretty well. At one point during the conversation, the English man looks over and says, "You know, my house is older than your country". Kind of puts things in perspective.

andystewart · Feb 6, 2014

LOL that's true of a lot of places In the UK Jeff, but he must have liked your Dad to have said so. That would usually be left unsaid for fear of being thought condescending. As an American colleague of mine said last year, for a nation who would happily fight the World in a phone box, the British worry a helluva a lot about hurting your feelings! Andy

anglesey · Feb 6, 2014

At one point during the conversation, the English man looks over and says, "You know, my house is older than your country". Kind of puts things in perspective.

My friend ALWAYS says this to americans, it invariably pisses them off.
I havent been to London in donkeys' years. I kind of miss it a bit, but then I'm a country lad and I just can't get my head round the sheer amount of people there.

rangerearthpig · Feb 6, 2014

There is a pub across from Westminster Abbey....seems like it is called the Old Star or something....great food (and ale, of course). I would surely buy you a round if I could join you!

jeepnewbie · Feb 6, 2014

Thanks for sharing Andy, that is really awesome. I would love to visit that area one day.

Me, my pipe, and 1,000 years of history

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