I want to thank you for keeping the spirit alive (40 WCPD 367)

The Christmas decorations come out early in the United Kingdom, pretty much right after Halloween since there's no Thanksgiving to celebrate in between. And Brits don't seem in any hurry to put them away either. Many holiday events continue until at least New Year's Day. Such was the case for the annual holiday happening at Kew Royal Botanic Gardens. The event's finale consists of carols synchronized with waterspouts in front of the Palm House, a rare Victorian glasshouse, much like the Bellagio fountains (left). But I actually preferred the humming and chanting of the holly bush choir, which came right at the beginning of the trail (right). 

 

The light trail also hints at the natural wonders that can't be experienced during the winter, such as flowering bushes (top left), or seen during the night, such as poinsettias (top right). But by far, the most entrancing part of the light show comes from fire, not electricity. One section recalled the pagan connections to Christmas, with a sun pole surrounded by luminaries signifying the winter solstice (bottom left). Right around the corner was a calming display honoring the Victorian tradition of hanging candles on the tree (bottom right).

 

 

Some traditions along the trail were more participatory, such as roasting marshmallows over an open fire. There was also a tree of bulbs on which to hang holiday wishes and a gazebo of mistletoe under which to snag some kisses (There's photographic evidence of this, but I'll spare you -- and myself -- the smooch pics).

In some ways, London always looks like it's lit up for the holidays, what with the beacon atop the Shard and the strands along Tower Bridge, both of which we saw from the River Bus on the way to Greenwich (left). The city seemed to be a good goal for New Year's Day, considering it is a centerpiece of the passage of time. When we disembarked at the pier in front of the Old Royal Navy College, home to the "Sistine Chapel of the UK," we were greeted with even more holiday cheer: a Christmas tree strung on the masts of the Cutty Sark, the sole surviving British tea clipper (right).

 

By the time we hiked up to the top of the hill in Greenwich Park, it was so dark that we could barely see the dome of the Royal Observatory, and we definitely couldn't figure out who was memorialized at the top of a nearby pillar (left). When another friend came to visit later in the month, we visited the landmark by the light of day, so we could clearly see the time ball above Flamsteed House (right). 

 

John Flamsteed, a student of Isaac Newton, was the first Astronomer Royal, primarily tasked with making longitude more precise for safe sailing. (Surprisingly, the statue outside Flamsteed's front door is not a scientist, but Gen. James Wolfe, a Greenwich native killed in the Battle of Quebec.) It was the eighth Astronomer Royal, William Christie, who developed the Altazimuth Telescope to track star movement patterns in order to further improve navigation (left). Christie also commissioned the still-operational Great Equatorial Telescope, the seventh-largest in the world, contained in the observatory's onion (right).

 

Our modern system of longitude was determined by a series of astronomers in Greenwich, so it should come as no surprise that the line nearest the observatory was chosen by vote of an international conference as the prime meridian: 0 degrees and the delineator of Greenwich Mean Time. On the observatory grounds, you can straddle the prime meridian and stand in both hemispheres of the earth (top left). But even after the building is closed, you can still see the laser representing the prime meridian shooting over the Thames (top right). From the hill, you can see a good portion of the river flowing toward downtown (bottom).  

  

Upon zooming in with my camera, I could see the Cutty Sark tree along with the rest of central London seemingly decked out for the holidays (left). During the later daytime visit, it was easier to see which skyscrapers were which, but they didn't look nearly as Christmasy (right).

 

We worked up an appetite hiking up the heath, so we headed back down to Greenwich Union, where we sampled some offerings from Meantime Brewing Company: I cracked a bottle of Chocolate Porter, and TJ had a stein of London Stout (left). During our day trip to Greenwich, we ate at the Greenwich Market before I dragged my friend to the out-of-the-way Dog & Bell. I wish I could say that was the worst I did to her, but then I took her on London Walks' Jack the Ripper Walk on the coldest night of the new year. Afterward, we put on some alcohol jackets at The Ten Bells, where victim Mary Kelly was seen drinking the night of her murder (right). We, thankfully, managed to make it home alive.