Woke up at 6.00AM. Watched a bit of Carry on at your Convenience for a while until it became unwatchable. The same 120 channels available as last time. A few nostalgic old films on. I then watched the Parliamentary channel for a longer while. Scenes from both the Scottish and Welsh Parliaments. They both make the Australian Parliament look uncivilised which of course it is. Also a lecture about the Easter Uprising by historians. Some mention of the large number of women involved which is not very well known. Blood Pressure 121/78 Pulse 85. We left home at 10.00AM. Light cloud covering the sky. Still quite warm. Went by tube to Liverpool Street. At one of the stations we passed through football hooligans were chanting some slogan. Very disconcerting. Reminded me of Skinheads behavior in 1970 in almost the same circumstances. Finally got to Liverpool Street. Last time we were here it was being renovated. Finished now although the MacDonalds I used as a toilet is no longer there. The Station has a sign that says Toilets with an arrow but I could not find them. Did the IRA ever understand what kind of lasting impact they would have on London? We should sue them for pain and suffering. 46 years ago there were toilets everywhere. Or so it seemed to me. We walked towards the city but it being Sunday everything was closed. Including Leadenhall Market. We will have to come back again during the week because I have not been there before. We noted that Threadneedle Street was off to the right. Building going on everywhere. Police and Firetrucks driving up the street with sirens blaring. We waited for some time for a bus and eventually a couple told us that the street did not have any buses as they had been diverted. We walked until we found a bus to Hoxton and went to the Geffrye Museum. This is a Museum showing the evolution of the house or home since the 16th Century. Well worth the visit. It is crammed with examples of everything relevant to living over the past 4 centuries. I listened to some extracts from Samuel Pepys. His passion was house renovation. He definitely did similar things to what we do. For instance : On one day he walked to Bermondsey. Looked at the shops. Bought some building material. Went home to find the washing everywhere and the house in disorder. Looked at his maid and noted he could see her breasts through her clothing. What has changed in 400 years ? Dont we all do this from time to time? Or whenever we get the chance? The Museum building itself looks American. Like Washington could have owned it. Even has the look of the American Embassy in Canberra. Must have been built at the same time. Beautiful lawn and garden. It was originally a charity that gave homes to poor ex servants. Donated by a wealthy middling sort. An Ironmonger who made it in politics. Name of Geffrye. Houses have got bigger and more complex over the past 400 years. This is obvious but its interesting to have it laid out for you to see. Houses have got better and bigger. Didn't have water on tap until very recently. The standing of servants and staff has surprisingly changed also. In 1600 servants were part of the family and were treated well. They were important people. Mainly female. Society at that time was only Aristocrats and those who served them. As time went on the "middling sorts" (those between the aristocrats and lower classes) made more money and created the middle class. In time they became the real ruling class. They controlled public tastes. Houses reflected this. The position of servants changed - it became a lesser respected position. Masters and Staff were strictly segregated. The museum has displays of rooms from each century or half century which show the evolution. We both have injuries which prevent us from doing much. I did not want to walk any more and Jenny has a painful looking blister on her heel. So we had lunch at the Museum Cafe. I had Pea Soup with sourdough bread. Jenny had salad with cheese. We had a problem in ordering the tea. We wanted one pot with two cups. The male waiter could not understand. We explained twice but he kept saying two teas so we let it go, But when he sent a girl to deliver I explained that what we had really wanted was one pot and two cups. We would have been drinking all the afternoon if we had accepted both pots. No sooner had she said she would fix it and gone back to the serving area that he came almost running up asking what the problem was. The real problem was that he wasn't English and the nice waitress was. And that he was in a superior position and felt his authority was being compromised. Anyway we told him he misunderstood what we asked. He calmed down. Had no choice because the girl had already changed our bill. Perhaps she got into trouble later. We took three different trains to get home. North and south London now has an above ground system that is integrated with the underground. You can do a complete loop of London above ground if you want to. We got back to Preston Road at 4.30PM. Both very sore. Jenny took off her shoe to walk home from the station. We had salad and rissoles for tea. Meat bought from The Cooperative in Preston Road on the way home. We watched Michael Portello on a Northern line for a while but mainly we watched Timothy West and Prunella Scales on their longboat. She knows she is in the early stages of alzheimers. But she can still talk. Not to good on doing two things at once. Steering the boat and changing the speed is a problem. Anyway the scenery was amazing. Lots of historic background shown. Interviews with experts on waterways. Very enjoyable programme. To bed at 9.00PM Slept well. Blood Pressure 176/81 after walking up two flights of steps but after 15 minutes it was 132/63. Pulse 79.
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