The Underground

As I sit down at my computer with a croissant, I have just returned from a mad dash to the post office to turn in my ticket application for the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Boat Cruise. It's for The American Women's Club (AWS) members. There are only 230 tickets (115 members + partners) available. So to be fair, it had to be  postmarked from 4/26 and onwards. First come, first serve!  The first 115 apps received will get tickets. Sounds like lots of people are applying! Wish us luck! It should be a fun evening! Oh..what to wear?!
I wanted to tell you about my adventure this past Monday..I had to "mind the gap" a few times. I actually did pretty good navigating the train station into Waterloo and then connecting to the Underground. Although, I was not alone. I went with a group of ladies from the American Women's Club of Surrey on a London walk. (This is one of many activities available through the club) It was called Subterranean London. Our guide spoke of the Cobra Room (cabinet briefing room used to describe the formation of a crisis response committee by the UK government), secret tunnels, bomb shelters, rivers, and trains. Most of London is under London! There's a whole other world down there!
Just so you know, I did not crawl through any tunnels or wade through any sewers! There were very
fascinating but freaky stories. We were told of the cholera outbreak in London in the early to mid 19 century. The Thames was basically a giant sewer. All of the city's waste ran directly into the river. People contracted the disease by ingesting the contaminated water. However, by 1866 most of London was connected to a sewer network designed by Joseph Bazalgette. The nasty water was intercepted and diverted to low-level sewers built behind embankments.
We also learnt of a vast complex (over 200 rooms and protected by over 15 feet of concrete) built under Whitehall (area with all government buildings) so could provide gov. services and telecommunications during threat of war. Today, you can still visit a part of the original complex..the Cabinet War Rooms (which we were told was a must-see). Many of the rooms of the complex are still in use today. There is a network of underground tunnels leading to other government buildings in Westminster. There is even one rumoured to lead to Buckingham Palace. This was so the Royal family could escape via the tube to a railway station and out to safety in the country if needed.
Today, members of Parliament and other government officials spend their entire day underground and occasionally pop up to the surface. The Government will neither confirm or deny the existence of many of the underground locations.
One other tidbit of info I found interesting is King Henry VIII's wine cellar which is perfectly preserved deep underground below the Ministry of Defence building today. This is originally where Whitehall Palace once stood but burned down in 1698. The cellar is the only remaining feature (70 feet long and 30 feet wide). Actually, the whole cellar was moved 9 feet over and 19 feet deeper during renovations in the early 20th century. This major operation was carried without any significant damage to the structure. Amazing! It's believed to still be in use today! All those members of Parliament are down there having a little too much "loud mouth soup" as Bruce calls it instead of working!! It's one big party down there..but it's a secret!!
This city is so rich in history! I will never look at the Underground in the same way!

Cheers