Westminster Bridge and the Imperial War Museum, Tuesday 2 Aug 2016

Today was going to be random Museum day, which Museum should we go look at, while Jeantine was at work. From Waterloo Station we zig zagged via Belverdere Rd to take a comparison photo of Westminster Bridge, then and now

The Parliament Building and Big Ben were the same as was the Bridge, and the lamposts but the Bus Stop had respositioned - and the buses themselves modernised.

Does this replicate the photo taken on my Kodak Retinette with 45mm lens (I think) 53 years ago. We chose a dull day to take this update, trying to match the path down to the left and place the lamp post in front of the first tower in from the right of the Parliament building.

We'd popped up a wet one, so may as well carry on walking on Westminster Bridge Rd to Kennington Rd and onto the Imperial War Museum from the Lambeth Rd entrance. We noted a potential cafe to check out on our return, the Riverside 2 at 18-20 Kennington Rd.

So where is the entrance to the Museum, maybe we should wander through the World Garden from Lambeth Street.

Sadly the World Garden was a little underwhelming, looking like it was suffering from a slight lack of care, similar to what my garden suffers from at home.

In 1967 the museum acquired a pair of 15-inch naval guns. One had been mounted on the Royal Navy's HMS Ramillies and the other on both HMS Resolution and HMS Roberts. Both had been fired in action during the Second World War. They went on permanent display outside the museum in May 1968. This information from Wikipedia

Another view of the big guns, from a different angle - after we had wandered through the Tibetan Garden

The inscription says The overall design of the Tibetan Peace Garden symbolizes the meeting of East and West, by bringing together contemporary western imagery with traditional Tibetan culture. The circular shape of the garden, for expample, is based on the fundamental Buddist image, the Wheel of Dharma,

Perhaps the ground under the trees was dry enough for a reclining break. Time to go inside

We went up one floor to take the video then back down to the main floor, past this girl who thought the information stand seemed an interesting item to climb. Hopefully one day her curiosity will lead her to explore the story of the First World War. Quite harrowing and exhausting to delve into the madness of humanity and the machinations of Nations and their leaders. The photo of the girl was taken at 12:38 and we emerged onto Lambeth Walk at 1:55. Just over one hour at the First World War exhibit floor was tiring as we tried to absorb the immensity of human folly. Time to get back outside and maybe find that Cafe that looked promising. Well that Cafe, on Kennignton Road, The Hub Coffee House I think it was, looked almost all out of food and thus not so appealing so we moved on toward an encounter with a Costa Cafe. Jeantine had tried to steer us from such a place but it seemed one of the options right close by and so in we went to find that Jeantine was right. A franchise cafe with no personality or style, with central kitchen supplied food options.

We should have done a Google search for Cafes to see these options showing on this map

Post coffee stop and 2:51pm. Under the Waterloo Rail Bridge, retracing our steps back to Waterloo Station - what a noise from the trains rattling overhead and the sound of vehicles reverberating back off the hard surfaces.

And what were all these white spots on the pavement. Pigeons? No detritus from gum chewing humans - what an untidy species we can be.

It is reassuring to find the clock on the buiding across the road matches what the camera indicates - 2:57

I took this photo as I was intrigued at how London motorists are obliged to be patient, especially truck drivers trying to negotiate narrow streets with the occasional large loads, in this case of steel reinforcing being delivered to a construction site. London seems to be constantly rebuilding.