Lions and Daleks and Wizards, Oh My!

Trafalgar Square seems a popular place to linger with one’s friends.  Perhaps it always has been.  When the Doctor Who production team filmed “The Dalek Invasion of Earth” here in 1964 (nearly fifty years ago!), they arrived just after sunrise, and still had to beg hippies and late-night partiers to go elsewhere.  Thus, as Barbara, Jenny, and Dortman flee the city, they come upon an empty square, where they hide behind plinths until the Daleks roll past.  

In addition to the statues of famous people, and Admiral Nelson atop his tall column, four lions look outward in all directions to guard the square from invaders, much as the females would guard their male (and the rest of their pride) from unexpected attack.  The lions, a symbol of England since Richard the Lionheart first placed them on his royal crest, are a familiar sight in London.  But these lions are special, for the plinths they rest upon once bore special identifying marks in the Dalek language.  If memory serves, an irate policeman made the designer stay behind after filming ended until he had personally scrubbed the plinths clean.   (Bad Designer!  That’s what you get for defacing public property!)

Fountains take up much of the square, and they are beautiful to look at.  But more overwhelming was the large screen that had been erected in the square, along with loudspeakers.  The latter’s presence was due to Trafalgar Square’s first ever movie premier, which had been held the week before.  The film: “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2,” the final installment of the series (based upon the novels of J. K. Rowling).  The idea of holding a movie premier in Trafalgar Square struck me as somewhat ironic, as one reason for the fountains’ presence was break up this large, flat area in order to prevent large groups from assembling here.

Certainly many had gathered here this morning, most of whom I took to be associated with school field trips or tour groups.  Kids, teens, and camera-laden adults chatted and ate and drank, enjoying each other’s company on this concrete expanse, when they could have played or strolled through the serene natural beauty of nearby St. James Park.  Speaking for myself, it was nice to visit a place that I had seen so many times on TV (mostly because “The Dalek Invasion of Earth” is one of my favorite Doctor Who stories).  But I realized I had no real reason to linger outside, because just few steps away awaited the work of so many masters of the canvas.  Artists whose work had inspired people not just for the last few decades, but for centuries.

So, I walked along the flat concrete courtyard where Daleks had once patrolled, bid the lions adieu, and climbed the steps toward the National Gallery.