February would have turned out similar to January if it had not been for a 10 day business trip to London which injected a little bit of variety. It also gave me the opportunity to tie up some loose ends, because, even though I was able to see and do a lot of things while we lived in the UK I was not able to do it all.

This time I learned from the previous experience and instead of staying in a little town on the outskirts of London I found a hotel next to Victoria station and commuted in every day. Being on the first train and going against the flow meant that the train was essentially empty and the 45 minute ride gave me time to read the paper and have the first coffee of the day. Very civilized.

Because I stayed for 10 days I had one whole weekend all to myself. On Saturday I headed out to the port town of Sandwich. The main reason for visiting was the funny name but Sandwich was actually a very important harbor from which many military expeditions against France were launched – this is how the town got its coat of arms.
(Click on the picture to see it full size, use a back button to return to this spot.) In peace time is was the busiest port on the east coast but it all came to an end when the bay silted up. Today a very small river with only small recreational boats provides a link to the sea. The town is a very pretty gate to the past. The Saturday I visited was sunny but cool and brisk. I decided to go and see the sea which is today about 4 km from the town center. The path leads through a golf course (the English have a wonderful habit of preserving ancient right of way) and everybody was very polite, waiting for the golfers to t-off and the golfers then thanking everyone for waiting. How civilized. It was a good walk and getting back I was ready for a pint and a good sausage. Next to the bridge stood Crispin Inn apparently dating from the 15th century and it seemed like a good bet for a traditional English meal. I ordered a beer and started to read the menu: I found 8 kinds of wraps and 2 kinds of fajitas. Then I looked around and saw sombreros on the walls and a Mexican flag on the ceiling. Did not find out if the owner was from Mexico or if he only went on vacation there. Ended up having a hamburger sandwich – I do not usually eat hamburgers but I thought it would make the old Earl of Sandwich happy. He probably regrets that he did not invent wraps – they are even easier to eat than sandwiches.

On Sunday I headed over to the Highgate cemetery. The tourist information told me that I could visit only on an organized tour and so I dutifully got into line at the gate to the west cemetery. After about 15 minutes an elderly woman appeared, but just before she opened the gates she said: “ Marx is on the other side, only important people are buried here”. I still had to pay to get into the eastern part but I was free to roam around on my own. As far a cemeteries go it was quite nice, non-selective with Jewish and Moslem graves side by side with those of more common religions (or none at all). Some gravestones are well over 100 years old and look even older, some are more modern and very recent. Marx grave, with an oversized bust appears with a jolt. Clearly the most popular grave with visitors but it was not clear if they were Marxists or antimarxists like myself. Interestingly heads of unsuccessful communist parties of assorted countries are buried next to Karl – at the feet of their master – so to speak.

Well there was only a limited amount of time I was prepared to spend in Highgate and I headed back into town – on foot, most of it was downhill. On the way I checked out the newly refurbished St. Pancras station – the Eurostar leaves from here now. Very nice, much nicer than London airports. Then I did something I should have done while we still lived in London – I went to the National Portrait Gallery. One of the floors has portraits of all the important Britons (starting more or less in Tudor times) to the recent past. Each portrait has a short biography attached and one could spend easily more than a day traveling through history. I got tired after a few hours and walked out on the Trafalgar Square. There is always something going on in London. This time, it was the Kosovo Albanians celebrating the declaration of independence – driving around, playing Albanian music and waving the double headed eagle flags. In London – never a dull moment.