I had a lot planned for today, but alas…I had to settle for a stop at the Museum of London, The Churchill War Rooms and the Churchill museum. Not a bad day, I must admit. It just wasn’t as I had planned it.
It started off with a ride on the tube to the Churchill War Rooms. These were the underground tunnels that Churchill used to run the war efforts during WWII. But before I go much further, let’s stop for a moment. Let’s stop in the narrative and also literally, as the tube broke down. Not only that, they took the whole route (which would normally be a quick ride from my hotel) down for the entire day. So I changed gears and backtracked to the Museum of London instead.
I think I confused the Museum of London with the British Museum when I was planning my trip, because this was exactly what I was expecting! It recounts the history of London from 50BC all the way through to present day. Some of the highlights for me were the recreation of Victoria London (with a pub, shops, banks, etc). Being a Sherlockian, this was certainly a treat! I also really liked the displays of London fashions of the 1960’s as well. The museum had a GREAT exhibit dedicated to the women’s suffrage movement of the 1910’s and 1920’s. It was inspiring and also sad to see what those women went through in the name of equal rights. The strangest part of the museum was this room called “The Pleasure Gardens,” which depicted what amounts to an 1890’s orgy…all in live action video projection! It was super odd…so of course I shot a few minutes of it on video and also stayed to see where things were headed….and it got pretty weird. 1890’s weird, of course. But pretty weird.
Then it was onto the Churchill War Rooms and Churchill museum. Because of the tube breakdown, it took about an hour to get there through an absurd round about route. Once there, there was an hour long line to get in! The attendant said “There’s an hour’s wait from here, sir. Just so you know in case you want to come back later.” After the tube ride fiasco, I wasn’t going to come back later. And in an odd moment of clarity, I thought to myself “I’ve waited an hour for the Peter Pan ride. If I don’t stay, what kind of human being am I?” So I waited in the line.
On the plane ride here, I watched the film “Darkest Hour,” which told the story of Churchill’s rise to the Prime Minister and his role in WWII. Therefore, I thought I was pretty up to speed on what this place would have in store. I, of course, was not even close and completely blown away. The War Rooms themselves are an underground stronghold that the war department used in WWII. In the tour we got to see pretty much everything…the living quarters, phone rooms, map room, dining hall, offices, etc. It was amazing to be standing in such a historic place, where so many crucial decisions formed the world we live in today. The museum was also excellent, with lots of high tech displays and wonderful quotes accompanied by pictures. I’m not sure I need to shed much light on who Churchill was and what he did…but if I do that makes me very sad.
I want to again point out that WWII happened because the distribution of wealth in Germany was so lopsided that average citizens, in desperation for change, elected a leader who was completely incompetent, narcissistic, and most likely insane. But boy, he could fire up a crowd at a rally, right?
So, that was today. I must say that these two museums and the war rooms were even better than I could have imagined! What a great and educational experience! I recommend both to anyone…you might just want to keep your children out of the “Pleasure Garden.”
Jeff.
Aug 5th, 2018
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