July 02, 2004 - London

     I was out of bed at 4:00 a.m. today, having figured out a way of using the free hotel internet service and my laptop.  A few minutes later, I discovered that I was almost right.  I was able to upload all the recent photos and journals, though not as easily as I had hoped.  I was able to handle the 300 or so emails that accumulated during my absence from the net.  By 7:30, I was feeling GOOD.  

    After breakfast in the hotel (very well done by them), both Sheila and I went to the library for some work on the net.  Whereas she had been unable to work aol yesterday, it was doing just fine this morning, so, ironically, I came back to the room and she stayed to work some more.

    The day began with some rain and a lot of overcast, but by mid-day, it was at least semi-sunny.

I had one aim for our London sightseeing.  That was satisfied this afternoon.      When the utilitarian philosopher, Jeremy Bentham, died, he left University College a very special gift.  Once any useful bodily parts had been dispensed, he requested that his skeleton be reassembled in a sitting position, topped with a wax head, clothed from his wardrobe, and placed where he could continue to participate in college life.      Here he is, in what is known as an "Auto Icon."

     Sheila was very good about supporting me in what some might call a ghoulish quest.  Little did I know the price would be our searching all over London (well, about a two block area of it) for the Toy Museum.  In this tiny, cramped building, accessed by climbing up and down narrow, steep, curving stairs, we saw a lot of old British toys.  Now and then I saw something similar to something I had as a child, but mostly I was as excited as that day, years ago, when we visited the Louvre and walked through room after room of samurai swords.  Thanks to my fine acting skills, Sheila never suspected that I was secretly praying for lightening to strike.  (No luck on that front, though it did rain, which kept us inside even longer.)


     I ask you:  Jeremy Bentham?  Toy Museum?  You decide.  One thing is for sure, London has something for everyone.


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