Well who is he, Mr. Rand McNally...

"I dreamed I went to England, and met the Spice Girls there for tea. They lost one more and down one more to my favorite number three. But they're still quite spicy, as the orange flavor, now do me a favor and lick my icing under the table now. But I've got to leave town Mr. 'Nally- just as Scary Spice was about to go down on me!" Jason Mraz

3/13- London, I started the day with an "English Breakfast", which consisted of a bowl of cornflakes, water and a croissant; which would be much of the same as a normal breakfast for me, minus the pastry. I set out on foot to the Glouster Road underground station via the District Line to Westminster, where I changed for the Waterloo Line to get to Waterloo Station. My first destination of the day was the London Ambulance Service. They are headquartered out of Waterloo Rd., on the south side of the Thames. Right next to Waterloo Station there is a converted fire station turned restaurant aptly named Firehouse. When I got to the LAS headquarters I managed to photograph a number of vehicles, and was able to get a motorcycle paramedic to pose. Inside, I spoke with a representative from their Media Department. Unfortunately, they were unable to provide a paramedic to interview, but I realise I am not the New York Times. I got some very good information (yes in shorthand) and an e-mail address to send follow-up questions to. Protip: Bring credentials when interviewing emergency service workers, they treat you differently than a regular journalist. While I was there, a doctor and an air ambulance paramedic came in from a run.

London has a quite interesting set-up. It has both paid and volunteer components to it. LAS is less like FDNY, and more like New Jersey's volunteer ambulance services if they all regionalised and functioned like they are supposed to. LAS has some components that could be integrated into our system in New Jersey, and really benefit us, like Clinical Telephone Advisers (CTA). LAS realised that not every patient needs to go to an emergency room. When a 999 emergency call (our 911 equivalent) is determined not to be an emergency, a CTA steps in either over the phone, or goes out into the field and determines the most appropriate course of action. It could be to arrange a doctor's visit at the patients leisure, a trip to the pharmacist, or a non-emergency transport to a hospital or urgent care facility. This option has greatly reduced the impact of non-emergent cases in hospitals and Emergency Departments. Just think of how many patients we could keep out of our EDs if we implemented a system like that? Bypass might go away during peak seasons.

I also got a kick out of their bicycle paramedics. In London, they are more than just for special operations. They are used year round to respond in congested areas of the city where motorised vehciles are delayed (including the motorcycle medics). The bicycle medics are also used inside the terminals at Heathrow. Take that RAmbulance.

After finishing up at the London Ambulance Service, I walked over to the British Airways London Eye, and took a "flight". Unlike NYC, the London skyline's most photogenic areas are isolated. The Victoria Embankment and its opposing side of the Thames are one of the two most impressive areas which fortunately had a good view from the Eye.

From the Eye I continued up the Southwark, stopping to photograph a street performer making bubbles. I headed over the Thames to St. Pancras/Kings Cross Station where I grabbed lunch at a nearby pub.

For those of you familiar with my life, you know that fish and chips have usually eluded me throughout my adult life when I am in areas uniquely poised to provide that meal, eg. trips to the shore with Anika, Dom and Sean; so I was quite pleased with the fact that I could readily get it. I was also pleased to get a pint of cider and a pint of Stonehenge Seasonal Lager, which in an apparent Dutch Spring tradition, is coloured green. I also discovered that the English has a macabre sense of humor, as one of their best selling ales is Captain Smith's Private Stock, being the same Capt. Smith of the RMS Titanic.

Content and liquored up, I headed up the Strand towards St. Paul's Cathedral stopping to photograph things here and there like the royal courts and the RAF chapel. St. Paul's is the second largest cathedral in Europe, behind the Vatican.. Unfortunately for the Protestants, I'm sure, I did not find the three-hundred year old cathedral as impressive. That is not to say it is without merits. Historic figures like the Duke of Wellington, Admiral Horatio Nelson, Florence Nightengale and Sir Christopher Wren, whose tombstone reads- "If you need a monument, look around you", are among the glorious dead interred here. The Whispering Gallery and the Stone Gallery are quite impressive, the latter offering great views of the cities of London and Westminster.

Across the street from St. Paul's is a monument to the Fire Brigade for their wartime efforts.

Then it was down from the cathedral and over the Thames via the Millennium Bridge to the Southwark again. I headed over to the Globe Theater. Unfortunately, it was still too early to have performances, but I did take the tour and learned a lot about London during Elizabethan times. Additionally, you really learn a lot about how Shakespeare's plays were meant to be heard, and not seen. Apparently it was customary for people to talk throughout the plays, and for the actors to interact with the audience while in character. This just reinforces my belief that Shakespeare is best understood through the spoken word, not read.

From the Bard's playhouse, I continued up the Southwark. In my humblest opinion, there is a magical hour in London in which it is best viewed; dusk. I arrived at the Tower Bridge at just the right time, providing for some spectacular photographs. The Tower Bridge area is quite extraordinarily lit at night. For whatever reason, the London Bridge, Tower of London, and a few other buildings were lit red that night.

After I finished up photographing, I decided to call it a night. I had done a lot of walking, and had been up quite early that day. I took a District Line train from Tower Hill back to Glouster Road station, and walked back towards my hotel. I stopped at Sainsbury's and picked up take-away pasta and some Walkers Crisps (Lays brand in the UK)along the way. I got back to the room at about 2230, and passed out for the night.