Benjamin Franklin in London
“For when you assemble a number of men to have the advantage of their joint wisdom, you inevitably assemble with those men, all their prejudices, their passions, their errors of opinion, their local interests, and their selfish views. From such an assembly can a perfect production be expected? It therefore astonishes me, Sir, to find this system approaching so near to perfection as it does; and I think it will astonish our enemies, who are waiting with confidence to hear that our councils are confounded like those of the Builders of Babel; and that our States are on the point of separation, only to meet hereafter for the purpose of cutting one another’s throats. Thus I consent, Sir, to this Constitution because I expect no better, and because I am not sure, that it is not the best.”
On our walk to Benjamin Franklin’s London home, we walked past St James’s Palace. It was the residence of Kings and Queens of England for over 300 years, until the reign of Queen Victoria.
Today it is the home of several members of the Royal Family and their household offices. The Palace also hosts up to 100 receptions each year for charities associated with members of the Royal Family.
Today The Mall (rhymes with pal) was closed to vehicular traffic, so we could just stroll down the entire boulevard. The Victoria Memorial and Buckingham Palace are visible to the distant left. St James’s Palace (brick) and Clarence House (white), which is the official London residence of The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall, are behind me.
The Elizabeth Tower (Big Ben) in the background from The Mall.
The Grand Old Duke of York, he had 10,000 men, he marched them up to the top of the steps…
On the pages are the names of every police officer who died on the fourteenth of January (today’s date). The pages are turned daily.
The National Police Memorial
The Horse Guards Parade
Great Scotland Yard is a street in Westminster, London, connecting Northumberland Avenue and Whitehall. By the 16th century, this “yard,” which was then a series of open courtyards within the Palace of Whitehall, was fronted by buildings used by diplomatic representatives of the Kingdom of Scotland. In the 19th century, it was a street and open space, which was the location of a public entrance to the original headquarters of the Metropolitan Police Service of London, causing the name “Scotland Yard” to become synonymous with the police service.
Right next to the Great Scotland Yard is the spot where Harry and Mr Weazley enter the Ministry of Magic in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. The way in is via a telephone box which descends underground. Unfortunately, there is no telephone box there in real life. The bridge next to the booth was either a set or CG’d in to cover the brown door.
The street is seen again in Deathly Hallows Part 1, just before Harry, Hermione, & Ron use Polyjuice Potion to enter the Ministry undetected.
There probably aren’t many of you out there, but maybe a small few will study the photos and notice the one inconsistency in the photo with me and the one with Ron.
(I’d write this upside down at the bottom of the page if I could: the building near the small blue car in the photo with me has undergone a complete restructuring of the building’s façade since the film was made.)
A few blocks later we arrived at our destination: 36 Craven Street. The is the only surviving house where Benjamin Franklin lived.
Benjamin Franklin was born in Boston, Massachusetts in 1706 to an American mother, Abiah Folger, and a British father, Josiah.
For nearly sixteen years between 1757 and 1775, Dr Benjamin Franklin—scientist, diplomat, philosopher, inventor, Founding Father of the United States, and more—lived in a rented flat at 36 Craven Street. In London he was chief colonial diplomat and this home was, in effect, the first US embassy.
The house was used as a stage to present a mini drama where an actor, lighting, and visual projection told the rich story of Franklin in London.
Keith was fond of learning about and visiting sites associated with the founders of the USA, so we added a note to the visitor’s book.
For many years now Amanda has followed vegan educator Earthling Ed (Ed Winters) on social media. He is a leading expert of veganism as an ethical movement. Being Veganuary, Ed’s new book has been widely promoted throughout London, as in the window of this bookstore.
Unity Diner was founded in East London in September 2018 by a group of close friends (including Ed Winters) on a mission to make a positive difference. Amanda and I have wanted to visit for years, so this was a bit of a dream come true this afternoon.
Unity Diner is now London’s biggest 100% vegan diner and cocktail bar.
Unity Diner’s menu includes Redefine Meat, which is only available at a handful of restaurants in London, including Unity Diner. Redefine Meat's 3D printed steak has been featured in media across the world due to its mind-blowing realistic texture and taste. The “new meat” steak is considered the “holy grail” of the plant-based industry. Sorry, I had a hankering for a burger so I can’t report on the bacon-wrapped filet mignon.
Our dinners were delicious and lived up to the hype. However, it was the dessert of ice cream waffles, with fried chicken and bacon, that really stole the show—it was phenomenal! We forgot to take the picture before we had half devoured it and completely destroyed the presentation, but trust us, it was soooo good!
