Prime Time on the Meridian

Greenwich - birthplace of Henry VIII, Elizabeth I and home of the Cutty Sark.  A lot of the tourist attractions are maritime related - something neither Bill nor I are very interested in.  I was so grateful that he didn't want to go on that boat or look in any of the maritime related shops.  Perhaps the pre-blog Captain Frank debacle has something to do with it? Either way, we were able to by pass a lot of crap and go right to the market (Bill bought a leather computer bag, I bought a doorstop in the shape of a chicken) and then off to the park.  

 One tourist spot that I was interested in was the observatory (pictured below). Now that I look at these photos I don't understand why there aren't more people in them because the park was packed.  It was a beautiful sunny day and everyone was stripping down (girls were sunbathing in bikinis!) despite the fact that it was barely 70 degrees.

I left Bill to lounge while I headed up to the observatory.  

 This is a 24 hour clock.  Frankly I'm not sure why that is a big deal, but everyone was taking pictures and I figured I ought to as well.  Plus I had no intention of paying to go into the museum so I had to take advantage of all the free stuff on the perimeter.  (That is one thing I haven't totally gotten used to here - they use military time which means train schedules, TV listings etc will say 19:00.  I still have to stop and think, 'That's 5:00...no, 7:00pm...")

Ok - here is the real draw of the observatory - the Prime Meridian.  There was a long line in this courtyard to straddle it.  However, you could only get into the courtyard if you paid the museum admission.

But just below the courtyard was what I called The Beggar's Meridian - it's all the same  line, people, and this one was free. A quick snap of me in two hemispheres and I was able to reunite with Bill and Mr. Dibley in the park.