Royal Albert Hall

Julia says she feels like she is seeing lots of statues and she doesn't know what they mean. I know the feeling because I keep seeing sights, but do not know all the history, so I have to keep researching to find out what I am looking at. From the Royal Albert Hall website:

The Royal Albert Hall was built to fulfil the vision of Prince Albert (Queen Victoria's consort) of a 'Central Hall' that would be used to promote understanding and appreciation of the Arts and Sciences and would stand at the heart of the South Kensington estate, surrounded by museums and places of learning.The list of famous performers and world figures who have appeared at the Royal Albert Hall since it opened in 1871 is unrivalled. Wagner, Verdi and Elgar conducted the first UK performance of their own works on its concert platform, Rachmaninov played his own compositions and nearly every major classical solo artist and leading orchestra has performed at the Hall.

The list of popular music artists includes Frank Sinatra, Liza Minnelli, Jimi Hendrix, The Beatles, Oscar Peterson, The Who, Led Zeppelin, Eric Clapton, Sting and Elton John and from a younger generation Jay Z, Kaiser Chiefs and the Killers.

Among leading world figures who have spoken at the Hall are Her Majesty The Queen, Sir Winston Churchill, Nelson Mandela, His Holiness The Dalai Lama and former President of the United States of America, Bill Clinton.

Just a side note about London weather: we set out and it was a gorgeous, sunny day. By the time we were walking back to the tube after lunch, it was cloudy and cool. You really never know what you are going to get here, but coming from Chicago, I do not understand all the moaning about the weather here. It is really not too bad.