In the belly of London
Ryder Gabathuse | Monday April 1, 2024 10:36
Aside of official work, we mingled with the Londoners. It is a moment we all cherished as the majority of us were first visitors to the first world country in Europe. Mounted police patrol the Palace area on the back of horses attracting attention of more people who took selfies with them, albeit under strict warning that the horses were trigger happy and could unleash their kicks anytime. Just as Botswana Guardian and The Midweek Sun journalist Dikarabo Ramadubu, who was part of our team was taking a few selfies, he was thoroughly warned to stay a bit far away from the horse as the closer he got, he could experience the worst. And we are now in the midst of young and old people who are pushing and shoving through narrow paths leading to the country’s monarch residence. The UK government calls the monarchy "a unique soft power and diplomatic asset". We could tell from the various languages spoken onsite and the colours of the people that the Buckingham Palace is a place patronised by a diverse of races in the City of Westminster, in central London.
The Buckingham Palace serves as the official London residence and administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Historians and guides who mingled with the masses out there in the open, were able to share a bit and even pointing to one of the windows high up there in the tall building of the Palace, as the exact place where the King resides. It was exciting but not helpful as we could only see the small window from that distance.Those who have experienced it indicated that on a good day, the King would even wave in appreciation of the masses around the Palace area. The atmosphere seemed like there was a major announcement that was just about to be made as the number of people out there continued to swell. But, it was just a normal Sunday with no pressure on the people and the monarchy at all. The numbers of enthusiasts who visit this place grow substantially within minutes and to those in the know, the place experiences an incessant flow of masses, day in and day out. People coming from all walks of life to the UK complete their itineraries by paying a visit to this monumental structure and the side buildings. Due to time pressure on us that afternoon, there were other places of interest that we had to quickly visit before we returned to our residence, which to some of us was in The London Borough of Hounslow, geographically situated in outer west London.
This is a large borough (a town or district that is an administrative unit) in east of Heathrow Airport. Other places that we had targeted but just passed outside included the British Museum, Science Museum and the History Museum. Some of us had the benefit to go to the British Parliament albeit, we could only go as far as outside as our numbers were limited to enter. It was now time for adrenalin rush or exhilaration as we finally agreed to board London’s fast underground train with a moniker, ‘Tube’. In the tunnel, the whole space has a network of electric cables which facilitate the Tube’s speedy movement, reminiscent of a human network of veins or arteries tightened together perfectly on the wall. The moment of truth finally came as the Tube’s arrival at the station in Central London (underground) was announced from a distance by its screeching sound from the steel wheels. It just took a quick swoop like a whirlwind and it was at the station and then abruptly gone paving way for another train on the same path. It is called the Tube because of the shape of the tunnels where it plies the trade.
The speed at which it ran was reminiscent of some Gaborone-Joburg mini buses often referred to as laela mmago (bid your mother farewell) as the trip could turn badly due to the speed. To those in the know, the Tube is one of the safest methods of travel in the UK. It requires total concentration and thorough knowledge of one’s destination on the Tube as otherwise one can spend the whole day underground and bearing the costs of travel. At every station, before boarding, you just tap your credit or debit card on the pay chip and the metallic doors will open the way for one to enter into the next station area. We took turns into zone one to zone four stations in Central London just for the sake of enjoying the ride as fear of the Tube slowly escaped us. This is a train that is currently operated by a local government organisation known as London Underground Limited, which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Transport for London. Popularly known by its nickname the Tube, the London underground train “is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent home counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England.” Information gathered from the UK show that in 2020/21 the Tube was used for 296 million passenger journeys, making it one of the world's busiest metro systems. All the trains that we boarded were all full to capacity, confirming that Londoners utilised the mode of transport. It, however, raised issues with information we gathered from some Batswana living in London that the crowded nature of the train could have negatives especially in winter.
The Piccadilly line, part of a deep-level London underground line running from the north to the west of London finally led us out of the Central London where we had moved around the four train zones to Hounslow, leaving some of us asking for some more from the Tube.