This is my third visit to one of the world’s great cities, London. I was there for teacher recruitment and found some time in the evenings and early mornings to explore the city. I stayed at Bailey’s Hotel in the South Kensington district of London. It is just west of the center of London and one of the most affluent sections of the city. It borders Chelsea and Fulham, two other upscale districts. I loved walking around the streets in the evenings.
Late on Saturday evening in an attempt to stay awake (London is 5 hours ahead of Tashkent) I walked from my hotel directly south through Chelsea to the Thames River. The Albert Bridge looked beautiful lit up and reflecting on the water. The bridge was designed and built in 1873 in the style of the Ordish-Lefeuvre system, an early form of a cable stay bridge. It differs from a regular suspension bridge by having thinner cables, called “stays” instead of thicker cables. The engineer Rowan Ordish won the commission to design and build the bridge in 1864. the project ran into a lot of delays. The bridge was deemed structurally unsound in 1887 and some thicker suspension bridge cables were added. In 1973 two concrete piers were also added in the style of a “beam bridge”. The three styles, Ordish-Lefeuvre, Suspension, and Beam in one bridge make it unique. Ordish was not a successful engineer as the only other bridge he designed in that style, the Franz Joseph Bridge in Prague, was demolished in the 1950s because of overuse during World War II. The Albert Bridge is the only Ordish-Lefeuvre bridge left.
Oliver and I also visited Craven Cottage, home of Fulham Football Club. Fulham is my Premier League team, thanks to Damian Hart, my old friend, who picked them as my team when I asked him to match a football club with my personality. He made a great choice. It is a beautiful stadium near Bishop’s Park along the Thames River. It only seats 29,589, making it one of the smallest stadiums in the league. We didn’t have time to do a tour, but did stop at the gift shop, talked to one of the employees who run tours, and walked around the stadium. Jacksonville Jaguars billionaire owner Shahid Khan owns the team and is renovating the stadium on the “Riverside” to include a hotel with an infinity pool. It is just a nice area and they have done a good job of keeping the historic look of the stadium. Oliver the next day did the Chelsea Stamford Bridge Stadium tour so I am glad he got to see inside one of the stadiums. He is a big Premier League fan and follows Manchester United passionately.
Across the street from our hotel was the Stanhope Arms, a classic British pub. Of course we had to have the Sunday Roast (Steak Ale Pie), Fish n’ Chips, and sampled the many different beers. I see why the idea of a British pub is replicated around the world. It is such a cozy and convivial atmosphere. The building dates back to 1869 and is named after the “road terrace” it was built on. A bit expensive, however, and not something I would do on a regular basis, but it was great to enjoy the experience with Oliver.
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