Eight Days In London

Westminster Abbey

We leave St. Margaret as I open the doors for Abbey to through first.  We were outside now as I look at my watch seeing it was three minutes after eleven.  Soon I begin to see Westminster Abbey as there were tourist and people entering it’s door to get inside.  I knew there had to be somewhere to get admission tickets for I remember in my guidebook of London reading that tickets were sixteen pounds.  There was a police officer walking around the outside entrance of the Great North Door of the Abbey as I went up to him. 

“Excuse me sir, but where do you go to get tickets for the Abbey?” I asked him.  The man just smiles at me “Why sir just get in line over by the Great North Door entrance and tickets will be available to purchase as you walk through the doors” he answered.  “Thank you” I said to him as Abbey and I got in line going through the Great North Door of Westminster Abbey. 

Within a few minutes while going through the doors  I purchase two tickets paying a total of thirty-two pounds.  We walk further inside the Westminster Abbey as I was absolutely flabbergasted looking at all the art and the architecture.  As I was looking around I was given a self-guided tour phone device by one of the volunteers of the church.  Abbey receives one too as she takes a brochure off one of the stands.  The volunteer lady points us to go right to begin the self-guided tour. 

We go all the way to the right as Abbey opens up the brochure and I look at it with her.  The brochure had a map of the Westminster Abbey. “Oh look at this Grinny, there are numbers on the map in red that give you direction of the order of the tour” whispers Abbey.  “Ah and I’m guessing you type the numbers on the phone as there will be an automated voice talking about the history inside the areas of the Abbey?”  “Yep, that’s right” said Abbey.  I take the phone I had placing it around my neck for it had strap connected to the end of the phone.  I turn on the phone as the screen came on seeing a picture of the Westminster Abbey that said introduction.  I press the button on the phone placing it against my ear to listen. 

I began to chuckle with a bit of surprise moving the phone away from my ear looking at the phone strangely.  “What?” asks Abbey quietly seeing my reaction to using the phone.  “You won’t believe this but the tour guide talking on the phone is the voice of Jeremy Irons...” I said.  Abbey looks at me strangely with a muffled laugh “are you serious?” she added with a whisper.  “Yeah, go ahead use the phone” I answered softly.  Abbey and I had to be quiet within the church walls as I looked  to my left seeing small tombs and plaques of those in memory.  I hear Abbey slightly laugh to herself “Oh my God, that’s so cool...” she said. 

As she said that I turn to her seeing that she placed the self-guided tour phone against her ear hearing the recorded voice of Jeremy Irons.  “The recorded voice on the phone even introduces himself as Jeremy Irons...”  she said looking at me with phone still against her ear.  “That’s because the recorded voice is Jeremy Irons” I stated.  “I loved him playing as Scar in The Lion King!” said Abbey quietly.  I laugh slightly “what’s so funny?” she asks me as we started moving on.

“That brought up a childhood memory of mine.  When I was little I use to hang around two friends of mine from my street and when I first moved to Ohio up in my attic we use to hang on holding onto the ledge of a railing.  We thought it was the coolest thing ever, and of course doing that with them reminds me of the scene where Scar slams his paws against Mufasa’s causing him to fall off the cliff.  Anyway, one time my cousins came over to the house when we were all very little for Thanksgiving.  And of course I wanted to impress them so I showed them what my friends and I did.  Well as I was showing off hanging off the ledge I lost my grip falling and I fell on the landing right on my ass...”

Abbey laughs putting her hand over her mouth “and what’s so grand about hanging off the ledge falling on your arse?” she finally said able to speak.  I thought for a moment “now that I think about it not really sure , but my friends and I thought it was the grandest thing in the world” I replied.  We stop as I look at the floor seeing the tomb of the Unknown Warrior buried in the Nave part of the Abbey. I began reading encryption on the tomb.