London was our favorite city, and our family took many trips there. I’ll recount the stories which are the most important reasons for telling you about them rather than the dates.
First, I want to tell you about what we liked about London. I had entry to most of the private clubs in London through the Cosmos Club. We liked two in particular. One was the Naval and Military, better known as the In and Out Club. The driveway has two large signs with "In and Out'' on it for members who are not too bright. Those words are also on the glass swinging doors to the men’s room. The place was a little seedy, as are most all the British clubs. Despite that, we enjoyed going there.
Another favorite was on Pall Mall, the Reform Club. Its most famous member was Jules Verne. The club has been seen in two James Bond movies. And it is the club used in the movie "Around the World in 80 Days.''
Around the corner is the Athenaeum Club, which has members who are politicians from Parliament and the British government. Across from the Reform Club was St. James Square, where The East India Club is located and is very nicely appointed. If you go over to Bond Street, there is the Oriental Club, which serves many kinds of curry, a favorite of Sara’s.
Let me outline a wonderful walking tour that I have taken many times. We always stayed at a hotel called the Knightsbridge Green on a street of the same name facing the park. The street ends about 30 yards away and meets Brompton Road. Further back Brompton Road by three blocks is Harrods department store.
Another street intersects these two roads is called Sloane Street, which took me to the Chelsea Flower Show and the National Army Museum. Buses or the tube (Underground) also meet there. I started my walk there and continued on Constitution Street until I was in front of Buckingham Palace. Usually, it was too early in the morning to wait for the changing of the guard. They don’t perform that ceremony every day in the week.
I then went to the side of the Mall, and there is a small parallel street called Bird Cage Walk between the Mall and the Wellington Barracks, where the guards are stationed. At the end about two blocks away is the Guards Museum. It is a good one with a great display of toy soldiers.
Across the alley is the Guards Chapel. Along the right wall are small chapels for each of the foot guards. The first one has a floor-to-ceiling window made out of one piece of Waterford crystal. On the other side of the chapel is Downing Street, the residence of the Prime Minister.
Behind that house is the Horse Guards Headquarters and Parade. If you are tired or just thirsty at this time and don’t have entry to the clubs, walk through Horse Guards Parade through the arch. Across the street directly is a great pub.
After you finish lunch, go back to Bird Cage Walk, which ends in about 30 yards at Nelson’s Arch leading into Trafalgar Square. Then cross the Mall and in about one block is Pall Mall SW, where there is the Athenaeum club. You can’t miss it with the huge gold statue on its roof. I usually ate lunch there. I did not eat dinner there since it was so spartan. It is then one block up to Piccadilly Circus.
Soldier Shops
Many a day when I was walking back from the Horse Guards, I would go to Piccadilly Circus, then past the two arcades and look at one of the soldier shops I liked to frequent in the Burlington and Piccadilly arcades. After a few blocks, there was another soldier shop in Grays Mews.
I would then go behind by a block or two to Barclay Square that had lots of trees and benches. I would sit down and have my one cigar for the day. Then I would go to the edge of the park, and there was an antique cartographers shop where I could look over the old maps.
The next street was Curzon Street and my last soldier shop. Come back a few feet and there was Half Moon Street. One block down and I was at the side entrance of the Naval and Military. I would go in and get a cool one while I relaxed. Then, I'd go down along the park and stop in at the Guards Club for a second one.
If I were not too tired, I would go to Apsley House, which was Wellington’s house and is now a museum. From there, it was three blocks to my hotel.
Another place I would go was the Queen’s Gallery on the side of Buckingham Palace. Behind that are the stables with all the carriages and polished harnesses.
Sally always liked the Victoria and Albert Museum, which was just a few blocks from our hotel. I always liked the National Army Museum near Sloane Square. Next to that was the Chelsea Hospital for retired soldiers.
The museum was all about the Victorian British Army. One of the great displays is a great number of military paintings lining the large staircase between all the floors. One of the displays they had at one time was a picture of the last Great Durbar in India that was held for Victoria’s son when he became king. That was Edward the Seventh.
I arranged to get a copy. The picture fills an entire wall that covers part of my Durbar soldier collection. I also have a picture of the Chelsea Home.
Old Soldier
One day, as I was walking past it going to the museum, one of the retirees came over to talk to me. We discussed what old soldiers talk about. He invited me in to see one of the cubicles on the first floor, which had a bed and a window overlooking the lawn with a large easy chair in front of it.
I asked him how he liked it and he said it was OK, except for the officers. He said they couldn’t give up being an officer and giving orders. He said it was as hard as getting s*** off a blanket. He then took me to the chapel.
On each kneeling stand was a pettipoint representation of that man’s regiment. Across the hall was the dining hall. The long wooden tables were polished like a mirror. And every few feet there was a brass lamp that was highly polished. Then from flag staffs on each wall were old regimental colors. It was very worthwhile seeing.
The other museum was quite a bit away by the Underground. It was between Lambeth Walk and Elephant Walk. It was the Imperial War Museum, which covered the Second World War. It was not as interesting, but I enjoyed it anyway. It used to be the psychiatric hospital called Bedlam. That is where we get the term.
Another aspect of London that we liked was the taxi cabs. They have lots of room in the back seat, and we loved to see them do a U-ie in the middle of the street. They can turn on a dime, like they are on a turntable.
On the first trip to London, we stayed at a small hotel in Kensington, which is just beyond Harrods. After that, we stayed in Knightsbridge at the Knightsbridge Green Hotel. It was near the Texaco building and it was an inexpensive hotel the Texaco people used for friends like us.
At first look, it seemed like a vagabond’s flop house. The owners had taken over the entire building and left stores below and renovated the rest as a hotel. The lobby was at the end of a dingy hall that made you wonder about the upstairs. It turned out to be great. They were all suites. Ours faced out on the street, and we could see where the Horse Guards Regiment was located. When you got up in the morning, you could see the horses being groomed from our balcony. It was a lot of fun while I was having my coffee.
The place was relatively inexpensive since the only amenity was breakfast. We didn’t want anything else since we were out during the day and ate dinner at one of the clubs. In a few years, they added a laundry service and later a bar.
The best amenity was a large icemaker on the second floor. We would take one of our plastic shopping bags and fill it with ice. We got sodas around the corner from a small grocery store. The first day, Sally would get cheese and crackers at Harrods. When we came home, we had cold sodas, cheese and crackers.
Even if there wasn’t a bar initially, we really wanted to just put our feet up before bathing for dinner. I’m sure the cleaning people not only wondered what we were doing in those plastic bags but why we used ice.
The bus to Sloane Square was across the street. That would take me to the Chelsea Hospital, where the flower show was held. It was next door to the National Army Museum, which was about the Victorian Army and my favorite.
The tube was also across the street, and we took that everywhere. One of the first places we would head for upon arrival was the Grenadier Pub about three blocks away. It was originally used as Wellington’s Officers Club. They served great fish and chips.
Queen Square
Our first trip was in 1978 when I was invited over by Mike Saunders, who did Neuro-Op at Queen Square. He and I were to become the best of friends.
The hospital is really called the National Hospital for Neurological Diseases. Those in the know call it Queen Square, where it is located. It was dedicated by Prince Edward, Queen Victoria’s son.
The stairs were so old that even though they were stone, they had been worn way down. An interesting point of trivia is the water pump at one end of the park in the square. It is called the Yale Pump because Elihu Yale, who also gave the money to upgrade what became a college named after him.
About two blocks away is Russell Square and that is where the British Museum is located. The day we arrived, my friend Mike called to tell me he would pick me up on the way to the hospitals. He lived in the next section of London called Acton. He asked if 9 o’clock was too early. I said no. I usually have two to three hours of work done by that time.
First, we went to the hospital across from Parliament. There are five buildings that date back to the Crimean War in 1857. One building was new because one was destroyed during the blitz. It was called the Florence Nightingale Building.
We made rounds with the doctors and a nurse holding all the huge heavy metal charts. Nobody tried to help her, and I’m sure she was at least two inches shorter by the time we had finished.
We then went over to Queen Square and did more rounds. We then ate lunch at a nearby pub and finished up at the hospital by 3 p.m. They certainly don’t work hard. Mike had a private office a few blocks away. I would use his office later in my career when I was coming over to see somebody behind the Iron Curtain.
Mike would get any X-rays or lab I wanted and we did not get excited about not having a license. This was to occur twice in the 1980s. I always picked London since we loved it so much and it was the easiest place to examine a patient.
Oxford Ophthalmological Society
The next time we were in London was 1980. I had run the meeting of the American and British Study Clubs in Malaga, Spain. We ended up running all the social events and all but one of the cocktail parties at our expense. I was a hero to the British. As a result, they made me a member of the Oxford Ophthalmological Society, which is the Brits' Senior Society and to which very few Americans have been admitted.
I also was one of the two guest speakers at the meeting in early July 1980. We went to London for a few days and saw Mike and Thalia Saunders. We took a train to Oxford. That was not the best idea. It seems that was the day everyone was returning for the summer. When we arrived at the station, it was raining and there was a melee trying to get taxis. I got a hernia moving the bags so we could get a cab.
We had extra clothes with us since the final dinner at this society as well as the garden party was a black-tie affair. I wanted to stay in college as they say, so I dropped Sally off at the woman’s college, which was quite nice. I told her I would see her in the morning for breakfast. She had her own schedule with the ladies.
I took my bag of clothes and walked to Balliol College, where I was staying. I arrived at the entrance to an alley way to this building, which is the oldest at Oxford. I introduced myself to the hall porter. He welcomed me in a very heavy British accent and took me to my room. We went up a winding staircase three stories up. My room was like a prison cell in "Les Miserables.''
I started to unpack and then discovered the bathroom was all the way down in the basement. You had to go downstairs for everything. I noticed there was no soap or towels. I then went downstairs again and went to see my old friend, the hall porter. I explained to him there were no towels. He was shocked beyond belief. He then asked me if I had brought any with me. I told him no, but I did have soap. It seems that you are supposed to bring your own. Nobody told me.
I asked him where I could buy some since I was now quite wet from all of my trips through the rain. He said there were no stores open. We ended going into the basement and finding some old drapes that I ended up using.
I finally got cleaned up and went to the master’s house for the cocktail reception. I was asked where Sally was and I said she had not been invited. They apologized, but it was now too late. I finally left the party and went to my room. I felt like Jean Valjean.
The next day, I went to the dining hall, which was quite grand. There were long tables with the high table at the end of the room which was where the master and the college professors dine. There were huge portraits of past masters along the walls.
Then we went over to the zoology building. The auditorium was quite old and in an amphitheater style. The stage was historic. The founder of the Society, Dr. Robert Doyne, was a famous ophthalmologist and whom the big lecture is named for. That is only offered to a British member.
Special Honor
Then there is what they called the European Lecture, which was offered to me even though an American. I was impressed when I heard that other men who had stood on this stage were Sir Henry Stanley of Stanley and Livingstone fame and Dr. Joseph Lister, who discussed his method of purifying water in the field by chlorination, which has been around for over 100 years.
I didn’t expect my name to be carved on a plaque commemorating my lecture, but I did have some grandiose moments. The lecture was well-received, and we met a lot of great people.
I brought Sally up to my room so she would not think I was faking it. After one of the dinners, we were asked up to Dr. Foulds' room in my dorm. He was a very famous English doctor. A few others and us went to his room for a drink and some conversation. When we got there, Dr. Foulds asked Sally if she would like a beer and she said yes. She got a real surprise when he took it off his bookshelf. They don’t believe in icing drinks.
One evening we all went to Stratford-upon-Avon to hear Shakespeare, but it was performed in blue jeans without any no sets. It was a disappointment.
Another night, I had made a reservation to take the two doctors and their wives to dinner in order to thank them for proposing me as a member. I had received the name of a great restaurant from my Neurology chairman who had spent his summers at Oxford. I called ahead from the U.S. to be sure of a reservation. I then checked it again when I got to London.
When my friends, Sally and I arrived, the restaurant was closed. We found someone to ask why. He told me the place was closed for July. I asked him why he took the reservation. He said he did not want to disappoint me and he did not think we were really going to come. We found another place, but it was no great meal. It worked out despite the hassle.
Here is a time to tell you a Yale-Oxford story. I may have written this before, but not the rest of the story. Dr. Gilbert Glazer, my Chairman of Neurology, and I were good friends and he gave me a joint appointment when I first came to Yale. He had married an English woman and they had a summer home at Oxford. He went there all summer to refresh his mind like academics used to do.
While there, the lady who did the EEG tests was really smarter than she needed to be to have that job. As I mentioned before, her name was Colleen McCullough and she went on to write "The Thorn Birds.''
Train to Scotland
Now back to the Oxford meeting. After the meeting, we got on a train and went to Scotland, where we visited our friends the Strachams. He was the one who coordinated the Spain meeting with me. We had a good time and I lectured at the university. They had friends at the local castle of the Duke and arranged for a personal tour. The tour guide was full of stories about the Duke and the castle. After a few days, we got on our train again for London and then our flight home.
Our next trip to Oxford was about 1984. Since the meeting occurred during the Fourth of July, Sally suggested we go to see the Wimbledon tennis matches. We planned to go to Oxford the next day, but this time our hotel arranged for a car and a driver. Since we were coming back to London, I left some clothes to be cleaned. I did not realize how important that was going to be.
The driver was great. We not only had a grand tour of the countryside on the way, but he had been an officer in the Scots Guards. We hit it off immediately. We arrived at our two colleges and, this time, with our towels.
I was on the program again and everything went well. The next morning at breakfast, I sat next to an American. As we were eating our breakfast, the waiter asked my friend if he wanted tea or coffee. He said he would have tea since he had tried their coffee the day before.
The last day, I packed up my things before breakfast since the driver was coming early to take us to the Henley Royal Regatta races on the way back to London. Sally had two invitations through a company in London. I left my valise at the front door, but I had my bag with all my papers and my camera on my person.
After breakfast, I found that someone had stolen my valise. I reported it to the police and went off to Henley. Our tent was on the river’s edge, and the food was marvelous. We went back and forth for food and libation from time to time. We then walked down to where there were a few stands and the finish line. We did not have tickets for that.
Someone came over to us and asked if we wanted his two seats. I was still in a mood because of the lost of my clothes and I brushed him off. Sally took over and, before I knew i,t we had two free tickets to the stands. We stayed for a while and then went back for some more food and libation, and then on to London.
That laundry I had left at the hotel came in handy. That is particularly important considering my size. The next morning, we took the train to Scotland. I was lecturing in Edinburgh at the eye hospital.
The next day, we took the trip to Loch Lomond and Stirling Castle. I told you about it earlier on and how the ''Bridge on the River Kwai'' story began developing. We went to the New Club again for dinner and the wonderful view of the castle lighting up, as it got dark.
I always enjoyed the name of the New Club since it was over 200 years old. I had to get home, but Sally had gotten tickets to go to the British Open at St. Andrews. Sara came over to go with her and to do the driving. There are great stories about that also and I will put them in the next chapter for Sara.
Trooping the Colour
The next story is true, but may be hard to believe. In the late '70s, I was able to get tickets to the Trooping the Colour. It is one of the great parades of the world. I thought that it should be put on videotape. I wrote the Brigade Major and after a few letters and a phone call he said he would put me in touch with a man at the BBC.
The man at the BBC liked it, but the BBC did not have a commercial video business. However, in late March, I received a first videotape in the British system. I could not play it on my VCR, so I gave it to my friend at ABC and he said he could convert it to VHS since they do it all the time.
I received that tape the night before I was taking my first trip to China. It was great and I have watched it many times. I thought the British video business would then flourish, and it did one more time. The next one was the 1981 wedding of Princess Diana. After that, they did one on beekeeping and another on doing an English garden.
Another story about London is by a good friend of mine that is appropriate. He was in London with his wife and was out for a walk by himself. He was walking down Pall Mall, which runs behind St. James Palace. He saw a lady struggling with her packages and she was having a hard time opening the door to her house. He helped her and she invited him in and offered him some tea. She said her husband was out.
When my friend got back to the hotel, he told his wife about his experience. His wife asked him the husband’s name. He said it was Earl. His wife said that was his title and not his first name. Those houses along that part of Pall Mall are part of the palace and are given to members of royalty. So much for being suave.
There were more stories, but I think that is enough to tell you why we loved London.