London, Part 2

“The jubilee line between Waterloo and Green Park is closed due to a fire brigade investigation. This includes Westminster station,” the proper British voice said over the station PA system. I had weaved around three fire trucks just to get into the station, and once inside I saw a dozen firefighters preparing for something in the ticket hall. Was there a fire? No, none that I could see, nor was there smoke. Probably for the best.

Due to the other two tube lines passing through Westminster, I was able to take a detour yet still arrive at Greenwich in a reasonable amount of time. When I got off of the DLR (Docklands Light Rail) train, I was faced with… a tall sailing ship.

The Cutty Sark is quite imposing with its long wooden hull, tall mast, and miles of rigging. However, the thing that really caught my attention was the draft of the boat. The keel was a good 20 ft below the water line. That hidden volume certainly helps explain how ships of old carried such massive quantities of goods. Many little kids appeared to be having a blast dragging their parents around the boat on tours.

I, on the other hand, dragged myself up a hill to the old British Royal Observatory. Once there, I did the typical tourist things: compare my watch to the international standard and stand on the prime meridian. The prime meridian must have been broken that day: as I straddled the line, I didn’t feel pulled in opposite directions, nor did I have the desire to listen to Tupac and B.I.G. at the same time. That was confusing: British engineering usually fails when it’s raining, but the sun was out that day. Hmmm.

Inside the Royal Observatory museum was a wealth of horological exhibits and artifacts. The most impressive were the clocks built by Harrison in pursuit of the 18th-century longitude prize. Those timekeepers were built so well that they continue to operate to the present day. I stared in awe at the gears, springs, wheels, and balances, all dutifully ticking out the seconds, minutes, and hours of the universe. Suddenly, my tranquil admiration was snapped by a shock.