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| A 'Small Car Big City' Mini Cooper. |
Saturday October 18, 2025.
It had been a while since Erin and I had taken a trip to London, so we needed to plan something. Erin found out about 'A Wicked Celebration' taking place at the British Film Institute, on the Southbank, so we decided that that would be our starting point.
We left home and made the short walk to Watford Metropolitan station and boarded a train for Baker Street. We changed at Finchley Road, where we boarded a Jubilee line train to Waterloo.
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| Paddington Bear mural. |
As we had plenty of time before the exhibition opened, we took a slow walk from Waterloo station, along Concert Hall Approach, and passed a great mural to Paddington Bear on the way. We then explored the various external floors of the Southbank Centre. I have walked along the Southbank before, but never visited the various raised plazas that make up the Southbank Centre.
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| Water feature sculptures at the Southbank Centre. |
The views from these raised walkways offered nice views of the River Thames, while different sculptures were dotted around, too.
Once we had seen enough we made our way down to street level and Theatre Road. For an exhibition about the phenomenon that is 'Wicked', there were no advertising signs or posters to say that it was on, which was a surprise.
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| Vickers (Charlize Theron) EVA Suit, from Prometheus (2012). |
We made our way into the BFI, via the Cinema and Box Office entrance, and climbed the stairs and joined a small queue of about twenty people.
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| Ozian coins. |
After about ten minutes we were climbing the stairs to the Mezzanine Gallery and exploring 'A Wicked celebration'. Large panels, containing photographs and snippets of information, lined the wall, detailing the behind-the-scenes making of the movie.
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| Erin with Glinda's costume. |
Then there were the four small glass cabinets that held replica props, such as Ozian coins and Glinda's wand. At the end of the gallery were Elphaba and Glinda's dresses, protected behind glass, that allowed people to see the intricacy of their design.
Once we had seen everything, which didn't take long, we headed outside and sat and ate our lunch by the National Theatre.
Once we had eaten we decided to head towards London Bridge, by following The Queen's Walk. As Erin doesn't enjoy walking, as much as Keilyn, I thought that it would be easier if we walked towards underground stations, should she suddenly tire. Wooden huts, selling their wares, were already open and decorated for Christmas.
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| Blackfriars Station commemorative plaque. |
We passed Gabriel's Wharf, Thames Beach, Oxo Wharf and Sea Containers House, before we turned down Marigold Avenue onto Upper Ground. We then turned south, onto Blackfriars Road, passing the original entrance to Blackfriars station, heading to The Cut, where we stopped at a Tesco Express for some more snacks.
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| The Mint & Gospel Lighthouse Mission Shaftesbury Society. |
From here we headed along Union Street, passing the London Fire Brigade Headquarters, an original tram shelter, which is now a 'Heard' burger restaurant, that looks rather nice. We then passed the old Ragged School building and, opposite, discovered that Crossbones Graveyard and Garden of Remembrance was open. So, we went in.
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| La Catrina, donated by the Mexican Ambassador to the United Kingdom. |
Besides a few volunteers, and a handful of other visitors, the place was remarkably empty. While Erin picked up an information booklet I made a donation and, soon, we were exploring this historic place. As we walked slowly around I told Erin about its history.
