Those British Reds

DOTTING THE CITY AT EVERY TURN, I'm suspecting it may secretly be so they don't disappear into the fog and rain.

But that's just me carelessly musing. Here, some trivia I've gathered on the iconic reds of London. I may have been correct after all:

RED TELEPHONE BOX Designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, the famous phone booths can be found in both current and former British colonies around the world. They are red so as to be spotted easily.

PILLAR BOX Formerly green, the free-standing post boxes were much too unobtrusive that people walked into them. The switch to red happened in 1874 but it took ten years to finish painting each and every pillar box in the United Kingdom.

UNDRESS UNIFORM The dark blue outfit with prominent red trimming worn by Beefeaters, or Yoemen Warders. It is the more casual everyday alternative to the red and gold Tudor State Dress which is said to be very uncomfortable.

FOOT GUARDS Known for their red tunics and bearskin hats, Foot Guards make up the Regular Infantry regiments of the Household Division of the British Army. They currently come in five regiments distinguishable by the spacing of their buttons.

ROUTEMASTER BUS The most iconic of UK double-decker buses, retired in 2005. There are still plenty red double-decker bus running around however and apart from being a vehicle for tours and transport, they are actually used by the Brits as a unit of measurement. "...as long as two double-decker buses."

TOWER BRIDGE Used to be chocolate brown until it was painted red, white and blue for the Queen's Silver Jubilee in 1977. The Tower Bridge is not the London Bridge. They are two different structures, both crossing the River Thames.

I'd love to say I paid attention to the tours except save for Tower of London, I didn't take any. Thanks to Wikipedia, even distracted shutterbugs like me can brush up on some history, long after vacation is over.

Tower Bridge, Victoria and Albert Museum, Harrods, Tate Modern Restaurant, Buckingham Palace and various snapshots from London. Photos by Lady San Pedro.