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"On April 11th, the Easter Show will be held in Battersea Park. All
afternoon long, you can see many magnificent parades. In the park, an amusement
park and many other entertainments will be held, so both adults and children
can enjoy them."
When I visited England by myself for the first time, I was given a booklet,
"London Dayori" in the ariplane. There were many pieces of information
for instance about shopping, museums and theatres in London. Moreover,
on the page of "This Month's Topic, they introduced us to many events
associated with Easter, because it was just around the corner. Among this
information, I was attracted to the Easter Show in Battersea Park.
"Battersea Park? I've never heard the name. Where is it?", I
wondered and looked at a map which I reguraly used. I found it was located
at the middle bottom of the map. Only half was shown on the map. It seemed
to be located along the River Thames and not so far from Sloane Square.
"mmm, What kind of atmosphere has Battersea Park?", I wondered. "I'll be in London during Easter. Shoud I visit?"
Therefore, I'd decided to go there on April 11th and walked from Sloane
Square to Battersea Park.
I didn't have a detailed time table of the Easter Show, so I missed the
parades.
However, a lot of activity was going on as I arrived at the entrance of
the park, I saw a specially erected amusement park and zoo. Moreover, there
was a clown who was giving some ballons to children, a trailer which was
selling some sweets. Some children's faces were painted. Anyway, the park
was quite crowded.
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Some years later, when I walked along Embankment from Sloane Square to
Chelsea Physic Gardens, I saw a strange golden object on the opposite side of the River Thames.
"What is it? It looks like Daibutsu.", I wondered. It was surrounded
by many trees, so I thought that it must be Battersea Park.
That night, I said to my friend. "Today, I saw something which looked
like Daibutsu on the opposite side of the River Thames." She answered,
"I think that you may have had a dream." "It was probably
Daibutsu", I insisted, but I had no chance to find out the truth during
the trip.
One year after, I visited Battersea Park again to answer my question!
The things which I found were exactly Daibutsu! Wow... They stood on a
tower whose atmosphere was Japanese.
Needless to say, I printed a photo of the Daibutsu the same size as a post
card and sent it to my friend who had said, "I think that you may
have had a dream"
According to "Your Free Souvenir Guide to The Thames", which
I got on the ship to Greenwich the next day, it is a Peace Pagoda. It was
given in 1985 by the Nipponzan Sect of Buddhist Monks who were aiming to
ring the world with similar temples.
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There are the only two occasions I have visited Battersea Park, probably
because it is located a little far from the center of London. However,
Battersea Park showed me a unique and strange aspect which was different
from other parks in London.
Chelsea Bridge from Battersea Park
(2002.8.19)
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 I really love London! |
Scenery from the Parks--