|
|
 |
 |
 |
| Wednesday, 16 June 2004 |
 |
|
 |
Artscope | |
| News Business Features Editorial Security Politics World Letters Sports Obituaries
|
An experience of a lifetime by T. V. Wijeyaratnam Here I was standing on the Westminster Bridge where stood Wordsworth in September 1802. It was September 2003 when I got the chance to go to the Westminster Bridge. Even then I felt "Earth has not anything to show more fair". Well what he saw two centuries before - the ships, towers, domes, theatres and temples were there basking in the sun on that bright morning. And the Thames did glide at its own sweet will "for the 200th year!" There were a few additions like the colourful cruising boats packed with more colourful tourists, and then of course the London Eye the giant of a giant wheel.
I gazed at all this with awe and wonder - "Dear God" said Wordsworth,..... and all that mighty heart is lying still. "Dear God" mused I, "All that mighty heart is throbbing wild". Visiting Manchester and the lake District was an experience of a life time, no wonder Wordsworth, a nature lover got the inspiration from the crystal clear lakes and the salubrious climate to compose most of his poems. The "Dove Cottage" where he lived with his wife and five children is well maintained. Even the thin long ekel - like sticks and charcoal he used to brush his teeth were there though one cannot guarantee their authenticity. His little summer cottage overlooked the lake and his walks along the lake and slopes of the mountains were all too clear. "I wandered lonely as a cloud" sprang in his mind in this beautiful, lovely calm serene stretch of land. Fun Straford-on-Avon was full of people, lot of noise, fun and laughter and flashing cameras, and way side minstrels. Roads were paved. The Avon too bore a lot of cruising boats as it glided along side banks rich with foliage and flowers of thyme and sweet violets. A monument set up for Shakespeare shows him mounted sky high with some of his characters. Hamlet, Lady Macbeth, King Lear and Malvolio at the base - it is a remarkable sight. Going from room to room one could see the simple home life led by the bard. Anne Hatheway's cottage was a few yards away from Shakespeare's abode. Madam Toussad helped visitors to be with the great personages of England and the world. You name them and they are there. Detective Sherlock Holmes stands outside the Gallery of Statutes. All were life like and looked very much alive silent, smiling statues of the Royal family. Lincoln, Gandhi and other leaders and artistes of different countries. The Kew garden were a many splendoured thing. A botanical garden housing varieties of plants in halls, the temperature of which were controlled by computers providing the visitor with scenes of xerophytes, hydrophytes, epiphytes, all in a row but in different temperature controlled compartments suitable for their growth. Bright The English Rose was big and bright and Oh! So beautiful. So was Victoria regia so majestic - floating in a pond. This water plant is a unique one in that its leaves are round and the edges turned up. It is like a leafy tray - students of Botany were scribbling notes sitting around the pond. In my four months sojourn in the United Kingdom, I have been to all the important places - the Vel Temple at Wales, the Science Museum in London, the Kew Botanical gardens, Straford-on-Avon, Manchester Lake District, Madam Toussad's not to mention the Windsor Castle and Buckingham Palace and St. James Palace. Thanks to my sons who financed my trips - I covered all these places in the short time and came back with memories of these lovely places stored in the cells of my brain forever. Anytime I can switch on to the memory centre to look back into this world of wonders. **** Back **** |
|
News | Business | Features
| Editorial | Security
Produced by Lake House |
