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The E-Sylum: Volume 10, Number 26, July 1, 2007, Article 13 WAYNE'S LONDON DIARY 1 JULY, 2007 Last week's E-Sylum was published from Pittsburgh, where I was visiting relatives over the weekend. I arrived back in London Wednesday afternoon. So it's been a short week with few numismatic events, but it's been interesting nonetheless. On Friday morning I turned on the television during breakfast and the big story seemed to be the Royal Mail strike - postal workers throughout the country had walked out in a labor dispute. There was a much shorter mention of "potentially viable" explosive device found in a car in London overnight; the report seemed inconclusive and almost routine. If a location was mentioned, I didn't notice. I took my usual tube ride to the office and everything seemed quite normal. A television monitor in the building lobby showed a news report with more information and a more serious tone. The "potentially viable" device was now being described as a bomb, which had been disabled by police. The car was in Haymarket, but I didn't know just where that was. As it turned out, it was only three or four blocks away from the office, near Piccadilly Circus. By coincidence, my officemates had scheduled a lunchtime outing - a walking tour including a visit to Westminster Abbey. A phone call confirmed that the tour was still on, and midmorning we ventured out toward Piccadilly. Soon we encountered police crime scene tape blocking the sidewalk and road. Police were directing crowds and traffic away from Piccadilly Circus. Down a side street we saw more police tape blocking out the entire area. The center of Piccadilly with its famous fountain was empty. Normally teeming with people, the sight was eerie and disturbing, reminiscent of the recent horror film "28 Weeks Later", which depicts a deserted London in the aftermath of a deadly epidemic. Other than the area immediately around the crime scene, London life went on as normal. It was cloudy and cool, as normal. With dozens of others our guide led us through Green Park toward Buckingham Palace. Huge crowds of tourists were on hand for the changing of the guard ceremony. We waited at curbside to watch the uniformed guard march down the street toward the Palace, led by a marching band. Next we walked along St. James Park and ended up at Westminster Abbey. By now it was pouring down rain. We gladly entered the Abbey. Site of coronations since William the Conqueror in 1066, the magnificent living church symbolizes the endurance and lasting power of London. The present building was begun in 1245 by Henry III and has survived centuries of political and economic upheaval, and the Nazi bombings of World War II. I was unable to take notes, but was pleased to see a number of engravers (probably not coin engravers) honored with burials in the Abbey. The most famous numismatic resident of Westminster Abbey is Master of the Royal Mint Isaac Newton, whose tomb is adorned with a huge sculpture including a globe, alluding to his non-numismatic fame as an astronomer and mathematician. On the way out I noticed a sign for the "Pyx Chamber" and quickly scooted inside. My tour was unplanned, but I recognize a numismatic term when I see one. The chamber became a treasury in the 13th century. There are two large rectangular chests in the Chamber dating to the 13th and 14th centuries which were apparently built inside the room. For numismatists, this room is "best known as the home of the wooden boxes, called Pyxes, where a sample of the coinage of the realm was kept to await the "Trial of the Pyx". This was a public demonstration to show that the coinage was pure and samples of coins were "tried" by being melted down and the silver content measured. The Trial itself was never held in the Chamber but in the Palace of Westminster. It still takes place today in Goldsmiths' Hall in the City of London." (text from the Westminster Abbey site) We took a taxi back to the office, grabbed sandwiches and got back to work. By now the street in front of our office was half blocked, preventing traffic from heading toward Piccadilly. All afternoon various sirens rang out around London, although that's not unusual. We heard reports of other suspicious cars, but nothing yet definitive. About 6pm we grabbed a taxi back to our hotel. After dropping off our bags we walked to a nearby pub for a pint. All of London seemed to proceed as usual. Our excursion was uneventful, but historic in another way - it was the next-to-last night when smoking would be permitted in pubs, restaurants and other enclosed public spaces in London. As of today, 1 July 2007, London pubs are be smoke-free. As a nonsmoker the change is a welcome one - the clothes I wore that night still reek of cigarette smoke. I understand sales of beer kegs have risen dramatically, though - the pubs could be in for a slow time for a while. Back at the hotel television and Internet reports explained that two rigged cars had been parked near Piccadilly. The second one, illegally parked, had been towed by police to a pound near Hyde Park, not realizing what was inside. For a time Hyde Park was emptied by police while the bomb was disarmed. Thankfully, neither car caused any injuries. Saturday morning I got up and worked a bit on The E-Sylum, then went out for lunch (the hummus and warm pita were divine). Walking to Paddington Station, I caught the Heathrow express train to the airport and found a table at a coffee shop. I was waiting for a plane from Cork, Ireland carrying Darryl Atchison, editor of the Canadian Numismatic Bibliography project. We'd never met in person before and it was a pleasure to finally put a friendly face to the name. I knew I'd like him right away - he was carrying his airline reading material - a bound copy of Out on a Limb, the house organ of numismatic literature dealers The Money Tree. Written and edited by the late Ken Lowe, Out on a Limb was (and still is) a bibliophile's delight. E-Sylum readers should remain on the lookout for back issues in literature sales. Darryl and I talked about Ken, whom he'd never had the chance to meet. Soon after I learned the answer to my one burning question - how did an Irishman get hooked on Canadian numismatics? Well, it's simple - Darryl is a Canadian who married an Irish woman. Out of his bag Darryl pulled the real star of our meeting - a very thick binder holding the complete Canadian Numismatic Bibliography manuscript. We poured over it for a couple hours, with me taking notes for today's E-Sylum issue. I just can't stop gushing over what I saw. The project is well worth every minute of waiting, and as I said above, subscribers and any numismatist interested in research should consider making a cash donation to the project to help cover the increased costs. Reversing my steps when it was time to part, I took the train back to Paddington. The rain was pouring down outside, so I waited a bit and browsed in the shops. Once the rain slowed I put up my umbrella and walked back toward my hotel. It was nearly dinnertime. I browsed in a nice little art gallery on Westbourne Grove Road and when the woman asked if she could help, I explained that I was interested in artworks relating to money. She referred me to the nearby Bankrobber Gallery for one upcoming graffiti artist who has done some things on a money theme. She hadn't heard of J.S.G. Boggs, but I left a card. So far I haven't bumped into anyone in the numismatic or art worlds who'd encountered Boggs in his time in London. I'd like to add one of his Bank of England "Boggs Bills" to my collection. Simon Narbeth knew about him but had never handled one of his bills - he said the art world is where they tend to land. But if the art dealer directory I picked up at the gallery is any indication, my search will be for a needle in a haystack - the 70-page booklet was crammed with hundreds of listings for British dealers. I had dinner at a Brazilian Grill, but went vegetarian instead of having beef sliced fresh by waiters at my table. Go ahead, call me a wimp (this means YOU, John Burns!), but the sight of dripping blood on a plate in front of your face is enough to make a vegetarian out of anyone. The salad bar and veggie casserole were great. Stopping in a grocery store for some bottles of water and juice I saw a television monitor covering the latest news. At 3 pm, while I had been talking with Darryl at Heathrow, a flaming car was driven into the arrivals terminal at Glasgow airport in Scotland. The bollards did their job, keeping the car at the curb. The rest of the evening the news stations covered the unfolding story. Two people were arrested at the scene, one with critical burns. Luckily none of the innocent public was hurt. So it's an interesting and uneasy time to be in London. We're nearing the two-year anniversary of the 7 July 2005 bombings which killed 52 people and injured some 700. Below is a link to an E-Sylum article following the attack with an account from Doug Saville. Doug was working at Spink at the time, and one bomb was very near their location. But life goes on. So far the 2007 score is +7.5 million Londoners and visitors, -5 terrorist suspects (three more were arrested today in connection with the recent attacks, but at least one suspect remains at large). We'll see what next week brings. Last night the government raised the security level to its highest point (Critical), meaning further attacks "are expected". SPINK NEAR LONDON BOMB SITE, BUT UNAFFECTED esylum_v08n30a02.html To view images of Isaac Newton's Westminster Abbey tomb, see: Newton's Grave (image) For an online tour of Westminster Abbey, see: westminster-abbey.org/tour For more information on the modern Trial of the Pyx, see: modern Trial of the Pyx For a history of the London Assay Office, see: thegoldsmiths.co.uk/assayoffice/ For more on the Bankrobber Gallery, see: bankrobberlondon.com/ Wayne Homren, Editor The Numismatic Bibliomania Society is a non-profit organization promoting numismatic literature. See our web site at coinbooks.org. To submit items for publication in The E-Sylum, write to the Editor at this address: whomren@coinlibrary.com To subscribe go to: https://my.binhost.com/lists/listinfo/esylum | |
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