Not Just a Granny

...And then my heart with pleasure fills, and dances with the daffodils.

So a couple of weeks ago I decided to participate in the Marie Curie UK ‘Great Daffodil Appeal’ that was due to launch on March 1st.  I love daffodils and they are my 2nd favourite flower after yellow roses, which is brilliant, coz here in the UK they are prolific at the start of spring.  A fabulous burst of bright sunny yellow to brighten even the darkest days at the tail-end of winter.
I usually buy a daffodil pin from Marie Curie each year (now have quite a few 🙂 ) and this year I decided that as part of my increased ‘contribution’ drive I would register to do a stint as a ‘Daffodil’ lady and be a ‘collector’.  My chosen patch is in Hampstead Village and I will be there on March 11th for an hour between 1-2pm 🙂   So cool, it’s gonna be great fun and I am so looking forward to the day.    I get to wear a yellow apron and a great big yellow hat too, so should look fabulous at fifty!! hahahaha. (Okay, okay dissenters in the troops, I know I am not 50 anymore……)

fab at fifty+

Anyhow, as usual I digress.  So back to the daffodils. I connected with Marie Curie on facebook and twitter and a few days later noticed a status update to say that in support of ‘The Great Daffodil Appeal’, London would #goyellow for one night only on March 1st!!!! whoo hoo. Get ya boots on girl!! However, since it is not easy for me to get time off, especially at night, I thought I would most likely have to miss it….again!!!  I have missed so many of this type of event the last few years, but lucky me…..as things turned out that night, I could take off and go #walkabout to get photos for my collection….awesome if I may say!

I had a fab time whizzing about and covered a large area within the two hours I had available to me.

I started my journey at London Bridge (quickly becoming another of my favourite places in London).  I arrived there at 6.31pm and spent a bit of time taking photos of the bridge and buildings in the area. I am totally loving Number 1 London Bridge, such a fantastic building.  From there I made my way along Queen’s Walk past amongst others, the London Bridge Hospital and Cotton’s Centre which looks totally gorgeous at night.

the Cotton's Centre, Southwark

It’s such a great area to walk along and if you continued straight along you would reach Tower Bridge.

The night was by now quite dark and the lights glittered brightly on the water. I kinda took my time at this stage and felt as if I had the whole evening ahead of me!  There were lots of people about, striding along, strolling, meandering, standing tight in corners kissing and ahugging! 🙂

London is such a people city.

I strolled along the promenade and then voila! There she was…. HMS Belfast at her moorings, looking ghostly and  surreal; bathed in a yellow glow.

HMS Belfast moored on the River Thames, London

I faffed around taking photos, sending a twitpic and a tweet to say where I was when suddenly I heard the chimes of the hour!!! 7pm already!!!   What?   I only just got here!   This also meant that I was now 15 minutes behind schedule and it was time to get a move on!
Making my way back from whence I had come, I strode along with purpose towards Southwark Cathedral which was looking ethereal in the night light, albeit not bathed in yellow.

Southwark Cathedral, London

I am so loving this part of London, the cobbled lanes and alleys of Southwark – lined with buildings that crouch brooding in the dark, lamp-posts cast pools of flickering light that dance and chase the shadows, dark corners, ancient ruins, riverside pubs, historical and modern side-by-side creating a tapestry of mystery and excitement.  This ancient area is a mix of very old and very new, neighbours that span centuries, comfortable together in their present incarnation.

modern buildings like phoenix rise.....

The scenery along this part of the Thames Path is wonderful and along the way I passed some of our iconic bridges and buildings, enjoying the night lights dancing on the Thames.  The Thames tide was out and the air icy cold.  By now my fingers had begun to curl with the cold and standing in one spot to type up my tweets was an exercise in restraint……the temptation to pop into the warm welcoming doorways of the riverside pubs and cafes was huge.

St Paul's Cathedral - ethereal in the night light

As I strode along I kept my eye on the profile of St Paul’s looming larger the closer I got.  It is such a beautiful building and looked quite ethereal and mysterious from afar.  The Millenium Bridge now faintly visible in the night light, a beautiful structure and the latest of the Thames bridges crossing from north to south, a gateway to St Paul’s Cathedral from Bankside.

the Millenium Bridge gateway to St Paul's Cathedral from Bankside

I finally passed Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, then Tate Modern after a brief diversion onto Millenium Bridge to take a couple of photos of St Paul’s and the river.

St Paul's Cathedral viewed from the Millenium Bridge

Took a  few minutes to send a tweet….despite the cold.  By now I was way behind schedule!   I do wish I could just walk and not get diverted by all the gorgeous things I see along the way.  Under normal circumstance the Thames Path runs pretty much right alongside the river through London central, with the occassional flight of stairs to ascend, a road to traverse, then a descent back onto the path, that mostly runs beneath bridges and in the open along promenades both narrow and wide.

along the Thames Path

So the idea last night was to do just that.  I made good progress till……..disaster! Blackfrair’s Railway Bridge; currently under refurbishment; and unbeknownst to me, the stairs were sealed off!  Urgh!!

Blackfriar's New Bridge November 6th, 1869

 With no other choice but to make a long diversion at a very fast pace, my toes protesting mightily, I finally got back onto the path, now seriously behind time, but I knew that just around the corner was my next goal The National Theatre and then EDF London Eye.

Whizzing along now at great speed my eye on the clock ticking merrily away, I finally reached The National Theatre.  I could see the great granite block all lit up but sadly could not find a suitable position to make a decent photo.  However, I did what I could, sent off a pic and a tweet, and then without further ado I scooted off round the corner to the London Eye, my next stop 🙂

the London Eye....yes it is a bit blurry...I was shivering with cold!!

What a sight; it looked fabulous. The photos I took at the venue were sadly quite blurred, but in my defense it was really chilly and despite the fast pace, I was shivering.  Nevertheless as I made my way across Westminster Bridge, Big Ben enticing me on, I stopped briefly for a view that is truly one of my absolute favourites…..and looking back……there it was looking brilliant, bathed in yellow; the London Eye in all her glory, stealing the limelight from the London County Hall crouched just beside.

London Eye and London County Hall bathed in yellow

By now it was 7.52pm

7.52PM - Big Ben

and I was seriously running out of time….I had to be on the train home by 8.30 and I still had Trafalgar Square and Piccadilly Circus to get to.  Thankfully the route along Whitehall is a relatively quick walk between Big Ben and my next stop……Trafalgar Square! Wow! The fountains were uplit with yellow and looked absolutely splendid.

fountain at Trafalgar Square - the photo doesn't do it justice

I quick-stepped up the stairs, sent a pic and a tweet, then at an increased pace made my way past the National Gallery, the Portrait Gallery and into Leicester Square, thence to Piccadilly Circus!

Hooray!   At just after 8pm I finally reached my final destination…. Piccadilly Circus. 🙂

There on the board was the bright yellow of Marie Curie’s logo and details.

Piccadilly Circus and the Marie Curie 'Great Daffodil Appeal' 🙂

Sadly I missed the 7pm switch-on when the whole of the board was lit up with yellow, but I would never have made all of the stops if I hadn’t started at the other end of town at 6.30.

I had just enough time for a few photos and then back to Leicester Square for the train home.  Piccadilly Circus was vibrant with energy, a kaleidoscope of colour, the endless flow of traffic, a mix of locals and visitors either milling about, rushing along or lingering, taking photos, sitting on the steps chatting, a swirling pool of noise and laughter filled the air.  A fine end to a fun evening.

Then a quick walk back along Leicester past the Trocadero, the Prince of Wales Theatre, through Leicester Square, the garden area now boarded up and ‘Getting Ready for 2012’ (and the London Olympics) and so to the tube and home! (p.s. and it took me longer to prepare this blog than the whole #walkabout!! 🙂 )

Leicester Square - Getting Ready for 2012

So there you have it, and in my defense…..my mother did drop me on my head when I was a baby. 🙂           
You know of course that you are either born mad or get dropped on the head…..mine was the latter! (Seriously!)

What a great life!!  And just to finish it off, I have included the wonderful poem by William Wordsworth:

“Daffodils” (1804)
I WANDER’D lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o’er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,

A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.
Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the Milky Way,
They stretch’d in never-ending line

Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.
The waves beside them danced; but they
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
A poet could not but be gay,

In such a jocund company:
I gazed — and gazed — but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:
For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye

Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.

By William Wordsworth (1770-1850).

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