(A) Happy Independence Day… or, as it’s known here…
We went to London today, and we couldn’t have hoped for more perfect weather. We woke up earlier than a person should when on vacation, drove to the Swindon Station, and boarded a train for Paddington Station.
We took a train because we did NOT want to drive in London. And we picked up the train in Swindon because the tracks are being worked on between our rental house and Swindon. I’m telling you, there was a rationale to it all.
We are very fortunate to have a friend who has lived in London for 15 years. We worked with him at the bookstore in Indiana. He’s an independent scholar, a historian, an author, and a heck of a bloke. His name is Devon. Here he is between us…
(The tall guy behind us is called Ben.)
Devon met us and led the way on a lovely walk. Our route took us past the Thames River, the London Eye (a huge Ferris wheel), some mounted Royal Guards, Downing Street (where the Prime Minister resides), Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament, Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, and a few wonderful parks.
We got to Buckingham Palace right at the end of the Changing of the Guard, but I did capture a short video of the Royal Marching Band that followed.
Then we walked to University College, where Jeremy Bentham’s auto-icon is on display. As you’ll certainly know, Bentham was the father of the ethical theory called Utilitarianism. He was an advocate of women’s rights, animal rights, and prison reform. He was ahead of his time. He also made clear in his will his desire to, after his death, have his skeleton cleaned off, padded with straw, dressed in his own clothes, and put on display in the school where he taught. Creepy, eh? Check it out…
I’ve been telling ethics students about this for years, and now I can finally show them the picture of me with Bentham!
Our last stop was to the British Library, where Devin often goes to write and do research. It’s an amazing collection, and on display were some seriously old items. There was a sketch of a leg by Michelangelo, a sheet of music by Mozart, a drawing of acupuncture techniques from 700 AD, a copy of the Magna Carta from 1225 AD, and a letter (with drawings) that John Lennon wrote to one of his friends in the early 60s. (That last one isn’t very old, but it is very cool.)
The thing that impressed me the most was a letter written by David Hume to his friend (Richard Davenport) on July 15, 1766. In the letter, he was complaining about Jean-Jacques Rousseau, with whom Hume feuded, famously. Hume was a Scottish philosopher whose works I have studied closely and taught for years. To see a piece of paper that he held and wrote upon with his own hands… it’s just mind-blowing.
We will be forever grateful to Devon for meeting us and showing us around. To see London in the company of a proper historian was fantastic, and to add a happy chapter to a long friendship makes it all the more special.