The Monkey sits near one of the world's most famous sights, London's Tower Bridge. This delightful structure was built in response to rapid population growth in London's East End in the 19th Century, and complaints from residents there that all the Thames River crossings were located far off in the western regions of the city. The peculiar design of the Tower Bridge stems from the fact that the structure had to be built so as not to disrupt riverine traffic to the port of London further up the Thames. This 1884 design by Horace Jones and John Wolfe Barry won out, and the bridge, combining steel and stone, took eight years to complete. The lower roadway is a draw-bridge that still rises almost 1000 times a year, while these days the upper walkways are mostly for pedestrians in search of a great view over London.

The Monkey in repose on the South Bank of the Thames, across from the Houses of Parliament. With the Tower Bridge, Parliament's 96-meter tall clock tower is the symbol of London (perhaps even the UK as a whole) par excellence. The clock tower houses the famous "Big Ben," a bell weighing nearly 14 tons!

The Right Honourable Monkey visits the Houses of Parliament, the focal point of Westminster, the British power nexus. Parliament is the UK's highest legislature, and technically has three constituent parts: the House of Commons (the large, elected, representative chamber of Parliament), the House of Lords (members of which are hereditarily-admitted to Parliament rather than being elected) and the Crown (the King or Queen of the United Kingdom). The latter two parts yields largely symbolic power in the modern legislature. The executive-like Prime Minister is selected by the party that wins the most seats in elections to the House of Commons.

The current Houses of Parliament was built from 1834 onward on a plan by Charles Barry and Augustus Welby Pugin. It is a stunning neo-gothic mass with innumerable spiky embellishments that replaced the Old Palace, which dated from the 11th Century and was the seat of the English kings into the early 16th Century, when fire damaged the building. In 1605, five men attempted to blow up the Old Palace. The day is commemorated each year on November 5, or Guy Fawkes Day (named for one of the conspirators). During World War II, Nazi air raids succeeded in destroying the Chamber of Commons, but it was subsequently rebuilt.

In recent years, Westminster has been devolving some power to Edinburgh, Cardiff, and Belfast: in 1999 Scotland voted to create its own Parliament and Wales created its own National Assemby; both legislative bodies make domestic affairs decisions. In the case of Northern Ireland, the 1998 Good Friday Agreements, though on-again, off-again, allow for a semi-autonomous parliamentary structure at Stormont, in which the Republic and the North have a power-sharing agreement.

In this, er, atmospheric (or blurry) photo, the Monkey rests on a bench with the great dome of St. Paul's Cathedral behind him. This is, in fact, the fourth St. Paul's Cathedral on this spot: the first, built in 604, burned after 71 years. The second was erected after Viking ransacking, but later burned. Work on the third, built by the Norman French who had recently conquered Britain, began in 1087—they hoped it would be the longest church in the world. But the structural limitations of the day meant that although the church, today referred to as Old St. Paul's, had stone walls, it needed a wooden roof. When, in 1666, the Great Fire of London ravaged the City (London's old, walled core), Old St. Paul's was badly damaged and had to be demolished.

This set the stage for the fourth and mightiest St. Paul's Cathedral. In 1668, King Charles II chose architect/scientist Charles Wren, who was to have overseen the restoration of Old St. Paul's until the fire gutted it, to design the new St. Paul's Cathedral. Wren saw his first two designs rejected and but the third time was a charm. Construction began around 1675, and the church took only 35 years to complete. Its 112 meter-high, 34 meter-diameter dome towered over the London skyline. During World War II Nazi air raids, the church survived miraculously undamaged. It is considered one of the finest examples of English Renaissance architecture, and it something a symbol of London. Though the first St. Paul's Cathedrals were Roman Catholic, since the 16th Century Reformation the facility has belonged to the Church of England.

Another view of the Monkey at London's Tower Bridge.

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