London Bridge and Abbey Road

Bonnie: Since you didn’t spot the Loch Ness monster, what was next on your trip?

Scott: Several days after leaving Loch Ness, I found myself standing in the middle of the Tower Bridge so named because of its proximity to the Tower of London. Since the London Bridge was moved stone by stone to Arizona, the London Bridge has become the symbol of London. It was 7:30 at night in a city of 10 million and 610 square miles and I was wondering where I was going to sleep, but I never felt wary or afraid as I had sometimes felt when I lived in New York City.

I was approached by a fellow named John who asked me where I had come from. It was obvious I was touring. I told him I had been in Scotland for about three weeks and expected to stay in London and then to continue my journey and end up in Greece by fall. He said he’d made a bicycle trip to Greece three years before and he would love to show me his photos and share stories of his travels.

He lived just half a block away from the Tower Bridge in Southwark. I agree to accompany him to his flat which was well appointed and very comfortable.  We spent the evening and John and his male roommate fixed dinner.  Both worked in Soho as waiters in a very upscale restaurant. John told me the largest tip he'd ever gotten was from an Arab who gave him $10,000 for serving seven people. His roommate had similar stories so I had no reason to disbelieve him. That day they were both off work, although their normal working hours were 3 or 4 pm until 3or 4 am. I was taken aback when they asked me to stay as long as I wished and use their flat for a base from which to tour London. They wouldn't let me pay anything. The only thing they asked was that I move about quietly in the morning so I wouldn't wake them.

I only saw John once in the three weeks I was there. Ironically he had been asked by a recording artist to sing backup in an upcoming recording. That one day I saw John, the recording artist visited and we all began to sing some songs I was familiar with and knew well. He looked at John. Then he looked at me. He looked back at John with a frown and said, "I'd like Scott to sign backup on this song. I hope you don't mind".  John said, “Of course not. The song is what’s important ".

The artist gave me the recording date and time which was three days hence. Interestingly enough the location was only a few blocks away from Abbey Road which is where the Beatles recorded. The recording went off without a hitch and I was happy that I'd had a part in it. It was the last I ever heard that song.

Scott's Military Science Fiction Novel, The Last Apocalypse, written while on this European cycling tour is available at:

Createspace https://www.createspace.com/4569527
and
Amazon Books http://www.amazon.com/The-Last-Apocalypse-Scott-Haverly/dp/1494465531/