Hyde Park and Speakers' Corner

Hyde Park was on my list of attractions to visit in London, mainly because I wanted to see whether anyone was really trying to rally a crowd at Speakers' Corner.

No one was, possibly because I went on a Monday, and the soapbox oratory that supposedly goes on there happens on Sunday afternoons.

So drat!

According to Rick Steves' London 2012, anyone who has something to say and wants an audience can gather one on Sunday afternoons at Speakers' Corner. Apparently, speakers climb step-ladders, wave flags, wear sandwich boards and do whatever they can to attract attention and listeners. (A few days later, I did see a guy standing in The Thames playing an electric guitar, but we're not there yet.)

London's Central Park
Hyde Park is Londoners' version of New York City's Central Park. Its 600 acres of lush greenery and broad lawns were originally Henry VIII's hunting grounds. My friend and unofficial guide Steve and I took a stroll through part of it on an uncharacteristically cool-but-sunny day that he described as "tropical" by London standards. Actually most of the week was like that, but I don't doubt the veracity of those who say that it's usually raining.

With two and half days of sight-seeing about to wind down, the reason for the trip -- graduation -- was just hours away, scheduled for the following morning.

Steve and I would be among eight graduates receiving a master's in organizational psychology, though about 400 bachelor's and master's candidates from all over the world would be participating in the ceremony at the Barbican Center.

Coffee, conversation and OP
As much as I enjoyed the sight-seeing, it was even more fun to actually converse in person with a fellow student and graduate. OP has been around for along time, but even though I live in a city with three four-year colleges, none of them offers it -- and having studied through distance learning, I'd never actually met any of my fellow students. Although some close friendships had developed during conferencing and emailing, being able to sit down and have a conversation about OP with a kinsman was an experience I'd been imagining for the past five years.

Steve and I would walk for a while as he shared his knowledge of London and England, then we'd decide it was time for coffee and sit-down conversation -- and a coffee shop was never far away. London is like that. Looking for a pub? Start walking... Need to buy a postcard? Start walking... Need to find an Underground station? Start walking...

We never ran out of things to discuss... courses we enjoyed or didn't, our experiences with various tutors (i.e. professors/instructors), and our OP areas of interest. Steve is intrigued by non-violent conflict and e-learning, among other things, while I am focusing on cross-cultural psychology.

The comparison may be lost on readers who are not Star Trek fans, but meeting my OP pals reminded me Deep Space Nine's Odo and how he felt when he found his home planet.

Below are a few more photos of Hyde Park. In case you haven't noticed, the slideshow at right includes all of the 34 photos I've posted so far. To view them as a slideshow, click on the photo, and you'll be taken to my flickr page. There, click on the "action" menu at the top of the page, and then choose "view slideshow."

Do you want chips with that?

Let's get this thing about chips and french fries straightened out before we go any further. (Or as the British would say, let's get it "sorted" -- not "sorted out" just "sorted.")

As I was soon to learn, it's not quite as simple as "french fries" in the U.S. being the same thing as "chips" in England.

British chips are actually more like what we refer to in the U.S. as "steak fries," though maybe not quite that wide and thick. As my friend and fellow graduating pal Steve explained, British french fries are different than British chips because British french fries are skinny -- and skinny french fries are not "chips." French fries in England are more like McDonald's fries in the U.S.

The British actually do have what we think of as "chips" (as in potato chips), but they're called "crisps."

But anyway...

Meeting Steve
I was so excited to meet Steve because we had begun our organizational psychology master's program at the same time way back in 2007 -- and were actually in the same conferencing group of newbie first-years. After years of conferencing, emailing and commiserating before exams, we were finally going to meet in person -- and we did -- around noon in front of Big Ben on the Sunday before Tuesday's graduation ceremony last March at the Barbican Center.

Steve is British by birth, but he lives with his wife and young daughter in Geneva, Switzerland, where he is an IT specialist with the World Trade Organization. The goal was never stated, but it was as though he was determined to prove that the word "hospitality" belongs right behind the word "British."

Not only did he set aside Sunday afternoon and Monday to help me get acquainted with London, he insisted on treating me to a traditional British lunch in a British pub.

Peas? Yes, please
Which brings us to the chips, the fish and an unexpected side dish -- peas.

Yes, peas. They are standard fare on the plate with fish and chips in London, sometimes on their own and without seasoning, but other times mashed, well-seasoned and delicious. And, oh my goodness, the fish is absoutely the best.

After lunch, we walked over to Buckingham Palace. The crowds were milling, and the clouds had dissipated to reveal a glorious sunny Sunday afternoon in London. But wasn't London always supposed to be rainy?

Guess not.

Above: The Victoria Memorial, located in the Queen's Gardens, in front of Buckingham Palace. Below: My friend and fellow graduating student Steve in front of the gates to Buckingham Palace. This was the staging area for Queen Elizabeth's Diamond Jublibee celebration last month.

Below: The columns at upper right frame the balcony

where the royals stand when they appear before the public.

Below: Wasn't the right time for the changing-of-the-guard ceremony. Taken through a space

 in the gate, this was the the closest shot I could get of the only guards I saw.

Below: Hyde Park at dusk. After Steve caught the train back to Woking, where he was

staying at his sister's, I decided to see if I could find Speakers' Corner at Hyde Park.

 Had to head back, though, because it was getting too dark.

Below: This is the entrance to my room at the (not-that) Four Seasons, a boutique hotel with no elevator. Check-in was actually on the other side of the street. More about the accommodations later. So many of the buildings have the same white-stone-block facade, and you never know what's behind unless you find a sign. Might be a hotel, might be a restaurant, might even be a Pilates studio.