Henry VIII, his wives, and Elizabeth I on Charing Cross Station

Charing Cross murals remind me of Henry IVIII and his unlucky wives. Henry doesn't look too pleased. Nor does Ann Boleyn. Cardinal Wolsey doesn't look terribly happy either. Elizabeth I is not exactly delighted either. Why do I like these portraits when they look so grim? I refuse to buy pictures to hang in my house which show glowering people. Same goes for miserable looking Teddy Bears and toys. But rather than looking at a blank wall, I'd always rather look at portraits of important people, and be inspired to learn a little more history.

Many kings and queens of England had dramatic lives, or made memorials of events in their lives. I love these murals. Charing Cross is associated with Eleanor, whose loss was

Problems
How do you know when it's your stop?

Answers
On most London trains you get a recorded announcement:
The next station is ....

Stories
I once missed my stop. What was worse, my stop was the point at which everybody got off. The train diverted off down into a dark siding. I alerted the driver and he took the train and me back to the station. I did feel foolish.

I expect when I arrived home late, somebody said to me, "What took you so long?"

The answer was, "A train driver accidentally took me into a siding. But when I pointed out that the train was not empty, he brought me back."

Tips
1 If you get off at Charing Cross Station, as the signs tell you, you can visit Trafalgar Square, The National Gallery, or The National Portrait Gallery.
2 If you are simply passing through, sit by the window and keep a look out for the murals.
3 Get to know what your usual stations look like.
4 Some people aim for an exact train time.
5 Some people can plan which end of the train to sit at to be near the exit stairs.
6 Note the time of your last train.

Breakfast On The Go
Others who change trains at a big station allow time to dash to a kiosk for a breakfast croissant before returning to make their connection. One girl had a regular morning order. She would arrive and wave. The cafe owner would grab her wrapped croissant from the counter and hand it over. She would hand over the exact money, race back down the stairs and onto the train to arrive at work exactly on time.

Keep a tube map in your pocket for every journey. Then if the trains are delayed you can plan an alternative route.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charing_Cross_tube_station

Author
Photos by Angela Lansbury.
See my other posts on London stations and stations in Singapore.