Part III: London and Environs in .NET

Printing QR Code in .NET Part III: London and Environs

The Hermitage Rooms (% 020/7845-4630; wwwhermitage roomscom): An offshoot of the State Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg, this area exhibits pieces from the Russian Imperial collections in changing shows 10 Downing Street (10 Downing St, SW1; Tube: Westminster): The residence of the prime minister, is on many London visitors mustsee lists, so I m sorry to tell you that there s nothing to see here except a heavily guarded gate By peering through the gate, you can get a glimpse (on the right side) of No 10, the official residence of the British Prime Minister since 1732 The Chancellor of the Exchequer usually resides next door at No 11, and No 12 serves as the office of the chief government whip, responsible for maintaining discipline and cooperation in the unruly House of Commons These three small brick terrace houses, built on a cul-de-sac in 1680, stand in sharp contrast to the enormous 19th-century offices lining Whitehall, the government quarter around Downing Street

Of course, London gossip swirls around 10 Downing Street, just as it does around Buckingham Palace After Tony Blair s position on the Iraq war cost his New Labour Party one-third of its seats in 2005, he announced that he would not run for a fourth term In 2007, Blair stepped down and handed over the reins of power to Gordon Brown, a Scotsman who had served as Blair s Chancellor of the Exchequer Unlike the voluble Blair, Brown is something of an enigma to the British public Born in 1951 in Glasgow, he earned a PhD in history at the University of Edinburgh (and is only one of four prime ministers not to attend Oxford or Cambridge University) During a school rugby match he was kicked in the head and suffered a detached retina that left him blind in his left eye Later, the same symptoms threatened the vision in his right eye, but several surgeries saved his sight After working as a lecturer in politics and a journalist, Brown was elected to Parliament in 1983 After the sudden death of Labour leader John Smith in 1994, Brown was regarded as a potential party leader, but did not contest the leadership when Tony Blair became the favorite It has long been rumored that a deal was struck between Blair and Brown in which Blair promised to give Brown control of economic policy in return for Brown not standing against him in the leadership election In public, the two remained mostly united but there have been many reports of serious rifts between them The new resident of 10 Downing Street has been careful not to suggest that there will be any changes in the key areas of Blair s social policy, or any radical changes in New Labour itself Since taking office, he has promoted the idea of creating several eco-towns with affordable, environmentally friendly housing, and proposed tighter coastal security controls after the thwarted terrorist attacks of 2007 The new prime minister is married to Sarah Macauley, a public relations executive, and has two sons, one of whom was diagnosed in 2006 with cystic fibrosis

Tower Bridge Exhibition (North Pier, Tower Bridge, SE1; % 020/ 7378-1928; Tube: Tower Hill): You get to go inside one of the world s most famous bridges to find out why, how, and when it was built and see how the mechanism for raising the bridge works And you definitely want to see the magnificent views up and down the Thames from the bridge s glass-enclosed walkways Admission is 6 ($12) for adults; 450 ($9) for seniors and students, and 3 ($6) for children 5 to 15 The attraction is open daily October through March from 9:30 am to 6 pm, April through September from 9:30 am to 6:30 pm (last admission 75 minutes before closing) The Wallace Collection (Hertford House, Manchester Square, Marylebone, W1; % 020/7935-0687; wwwwallacecollection org; Tube: Baker Street): In the palatial town house of the late Lady Wallace The French works by such artists as Watteau and Fragonard are outstanding, but you also find masterworks from the Dutch (including Rembrandt), English, Spanish, and Italian schools Vying for your attention are collections of decorative art, ornaments from 18th-century France, and European and Asian armaments You need at least an hour just to give everything a cursory glance Admission is free The museum is open daily from 10 am to 5 pm