East End of London Tour

On our first day of orientation, we took a walking tour of the East End of London. First we saw where the first of five people, murdered by Jack the Ripper, was found. Then we moved on and heard about the immigrants that lived/grew in that area. Then we heard about a very old Jewish Cemetery. According to tradition, after 100 years of no one being burried in a cemetery, the land could be re used for other purposes. But because the last Barron Rothschild was burried there, the cemetery was saved.

Then we moved on to a library that had been nicknamed "The University of the Ghetto". It was called this because poor immigrants would sent their children to school to learn English and at night the children would teach their parents English. During the day, adults could go to this library to read and practice their English. In 2000, the library was converted into "The Idea Store." The library was converrted into a more modern library with more books and the internet.

Next we learned about a very historic pub. Outside of this pub the founder of the Salvation Army often stood and "preached" about how money should be spent to help others rather than at pubs. We also learned about how some murders happened outside of that same pub.

A very cool part of the tour was when we saw the Hospital. A doctor here had met the Elephant Man and had promised him a safe place to live away from all those who wanted to put him in freakshows. He lived there for many years. One night he wanted to sleep laying flat on his back, but the weight of his head cut off his wind pipe and he died. To this day his bones are still at the hospital. In 1980 Michael Jackson tried to buy these bones for $1 million, but the doctor had promised that the hospital would always be a safe place for the Elephant man and that promise is still kept today.

Also at the Hospital we learned about Queen Alexandra. She was very interested in the welfare of others and so was the orginal President of the hospital. She also donated a light that cured Lupis to the hospital. Another interesting fact about this Queen is that she set the length of a marathon. During the fourth Summer Olympics held in England, the orginal length of a maratho was 26 miles, but the queen wanted to be able to see part of the race so it was extend by 385 yards so that the race finished in front of the Royal Box.

The tour was SO Informative, and I learned alot about a part of England that I wouldnt have otherwise gone to.



-Cam

"England and America are two countries separated by a common language."
~George Bernard Shaw