headquarters of the british empire – visit the capitol of the united kingdom

Editor at-Large Terry Shropshire stands along the Thames River overlooking the British Parliament.

LONDON – Tuesday, April 24, 9:45 p.m.: I board a Delta flight at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport for the seven hour flight to the 2,000-year-old capitol of the United Kingdom, London. The press junket and premiere of the biological thriller 28 Weeks Later, starring Idris Elba and Harold Perrineau, takes place there. I haven’t crossed the “pond” (Atlantic Ocean) to Europe since my military days more than a decade earlier, when I flew into Frankfurt, Germany. The first thing I notice when I take my spacious first-class seat is the menu. I’ve rarely had a five-course meal in a restaurant, so it was a surprise to be treated with such on my international flight to the British capital. Gil Robertson, a national columnist and author of Not in My Family is also on the flight. London is five hours ahead of Atlanta and the East Coast, so it is really a 12-hour difference in travel time.

Wednesday, 9:45 a.m.: We finally land at London’s Gatwick Airport, the smaller of the two city airports. Vanzant, Robertson and I are immediately whisked away for the hour ride from the airport into the heart of London, the British equivalent of New York. Interestingly enough, the driver drops us off at the Radisson Edwardian Hotel in the area of the city called SoHo. There is also a SoHo district in the lower Manhattan borough of New York. The long ride accorded us ample opportunity to view the vibrantly-green British countryside, as well as the colossal Buckingham Palace, which seemed to stretch into several ZIP codes. It takes awhile to get accustomed to seeing ‘kilometers’ replacing ‘miles’ on the highways; the British Pound instead of the American dollar on advertising billboards; and the double-decker red buses. You never get used to seeing the steering wheel on the right side of the car and then seeing people driving on the left side of the divide. Many brothers and sisters would be pleasantly surprised at the substantial black population in London, despite their conspicuous absence in British film and news. They look just like African Americans — until they open their mouths and that awkward-sounding British accent spills out of their faces.

2:00 p.m.: We take a shuttle to the center of town to the Hospital, a boutique restaurant and club, for cocktails and acquaintance with staffers of Fox Atomic Films. After sampling the local menu, we felt the need to be whisked to the hospital. London’s reputation for ill-tasting food doesn’t fail to live up to its well-earned billing.

The famous double-decker bus driving on the left side of the street.

A portion of the gargantuan Buckingham Palace.

The movie junket for 28 Weeks Later, featuring actors Jeremy Renner, left, and Harold Perrineau.

A trio of Black British actors and models.