London Calling

This is a must see for all visitors:

You've just been roaming the dimly lit subterranean corridors of the Cabinet War Rooms--the very space beneath Her Majesty's Treasury from which Winston Churchill directed Britain's war effort, spoke to Franklin Roosevelt by telephone and broadcast some his greatest orations--when you reach the threshold of the magnificent new Churchill Museum. There's a quote on the wall: "We are all worms," says Churchill from the grave, "but I do believe I am a glow worm."

Welcome to the first permanent national exhibition dedicated to the life and achievements of the man voted by the British public in 2002 as the Greatest Briton ever. Housed in a long-abandoned storage area, the museum took £6 million ($11.1 million), and more than two years, to realize. Approximately 25% of the funding came from U.S. donors, along with several of the artifacts, including Sir Winston's polo pants, which were given by an unnamed American collector who "flew to London in his private jet," relates museum director Phil Reed, "and handed them to me over breakfast at the Ritz."

I'm proud to say that I did my part, as I hit the tip jar when my wife and I toured the Cabinet War Rooms in November 2003.

UPDATE: Here is a link to the museum itself. Happy now James?