I was shocked when I visited London and realised Downing Street is fenced off from the public with a huge iron fence and lots of guards. All of these kinds of shots had led me to believe that it was just an open street that you could walk down, although of course as soon as I saw it I realised that wasn't really practical in terms of protecting the prime minister and family. Still - shocked I say!
"For most of its history, Downing Street was accessible to the public. There had always been some security at Number 10 but it was minimal: a police officer standing guard. The front door has no keyhole on the outside. A second officer is on duty in the entrance hall to open it for the Prime Minister.
Gates were installed at both ends of the street during the premiership of Margaret Thatcher due to terrorist threats. On February 7, 1991, the Provisional IRA used a white van parked in Whitehall to launch a mortar shell at Number 10. It exploded in the back garden, blowing in the windows of the Cabinet Room while Prime Minister John Major was holding a Cabinet meeting. Major moved to Admiralty House while repairs were completed. Because of this actual attack, heavier security measures were imposed, if not always visible."
But it's pretty cool you could right up to the door until 1992, I remember going to peep with my parents as a kid.
@Mafalda para Presidente: Boot cleaners! They're for scraping the dirt off the soles of your shoes before you go into the house. They're especially useful at country houses. And I love them.
@Mafalda para Presidente: they are boot scrapers...originally for cleaning the soles of your footwear before entering a building back in the days of horse shit everywhere.
Now the only horse shit around Downing Street is what politicians talk, so they're just decorative now.
"Today, the Minister Without Portfolio for Nut Finding, will be meeting with Prime Minister Brown to go over plans for a nationwide planting of trees..."
Isn't there a holiday in Britain where people wear red clown noses? Something to do with a charity of some sort? I was hoping the police officer was wearing a clown nose. This is very cute though.
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"For most of its history, Downing Street was accessible to the public. There had always been some security at Number 10 but it was minimal: a police officer standing guard. The front door has no keyhole on the outside. A second officer is on duty in the entrance hall to open it for the Prime Minister.
Gates were installed at both ends of the street during the premiership of Margaret Thatcher due to terrorist threats. On February 7, 1991, the Provisional IRA used a white van parked in Whitehall to launch a mortar shell at Number 10. It exploded in the back garden, blowing in the windows of the Cabinet Room while Prime Minister John Major was holding a Cabinet meeting. Major moved to Admiralty House while repairs were completed. Because of this actual attack, heavier security measures were imposed, if not always visible."
But it's pretty cool you could right up to the door until 1992, I remember going to peep with my parents as a kid.
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Now the only horse shit around Downing Street is what politicians talk, so they're just decorative now.
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Those plastic noses are painful!
The design changes every year, my favorite was the glitter one circa 1998.
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Must not grab and see if he makes squeaky toy noises.
Honestly, I think I'm saved by the fact that he's a little on the scrawny side. And then there's that little ocean in the way...