We spent a couple of days in London, walking everywhere and seeing whatever we could. We took a walk through Regent's Park, which is quite possibly one of the most beautiful places ever. Then we went down to the Thames and caught a river tour where we could see and hear about some of the more important places in the city. Then in the evening we worked our way back to Regent's Park for the Open Air Theatre and a performance of "Macbeth."
Sadly, it was raining quite often while Kate was here (by the way, we have had the strangest weather - here it is the first week of July and it's been 50 degrees and raining every day). Ten minutes into "Macbeth" a downpour hits and the show was canceled. The tickets are valid forever, more or less, so I can always go back with someone, but unfortunately Kate missed something she had really been looking forward to.
The next day we buzzed through Harrod's briefly and then met up with Paul Moore, a friend
from Lakeside who lives and works in Edinburgh. He was in town just for the week and had asked if I too would be in the city. Interestingly, Kate also ran into someone she used to work with from the North Shore who now lives in London. We had a great time catching up with Paul and his friends over a couple pints and some pub food. That afternoon, Kate and I took a trip on the London Eye, which is basically a giant ferris wheel on the Thames. At the peak, you're on one of the highest points in the city, so it's an interesting perspective on the town below.
As we prepared to return home Tuesday evening, we noticed everyone flooding out of the tube station and announcements evacuating the underground. Not knowing what was happening exactly, we hailed a cab to get us to the train station so we could return to Orpington. Arriving there, the taxi driver was told he couldn't enter the vicinity of the station and when we went in the trains were all awry and the station was absolutely packed with people staring at the boards waiting for trains to arrive. Now, for trains to not run on time in Britain is a big deal. Evidently, we learned, someone had left a backpack somewhere along the transport line, causing things to halt all over the city. It turned out not to be anything, but terror alerts in the UK are at their highest. And, as July 7 is the anniversary of some bombings that happened a couple years ago, people are on alert these days. Please pray for the UK and London, specifically.
At any rate, Kate and I spent the last couple days locally. On the 4th, we celebrated Independence Day by hiking to the Wilberforce Oak, where William Wilberforce swore before God that we would work in Parliament to fight Britain's slave trade. The Oak is dead now - just a stump with a new, smaller tree growing beside it, but it's an inspiring place (very quiet and naturally peaceful). There's something wonderful about standing in a place in which someone in the past has stood up for something valiant and good, where someone did something that could legitimately be called righteous. Such is particularly noticeable next to the monuments throughout the area that commemorate and honor war heroes (and probably rightfully so). Nevertheless, the Wilberforce Oak would be easy to miss if there weren't a small sign next to it and a tiny laminated 3"x5" card attached to the fence telling very briefly what had happened there. It's quite unassuming and a great lesson towards a "quiet" Christianity that shakes the earth without the use of grand trumpets and clanging cymbals.
Thanks again to everybody for your prayers this past week. Having Kate here was refreshing. The people here loved her (of course) and many (including me) wished she could have stayed. If anyone else wants to come and visit (and Kate, if you want to come back), you're more than welcome. We'll find the space.
