Greenwich, London, UK
I am typing this in my new living room in Greenwich, London. Well, it's new to me anyway - I have moved into the house of my friend of 20+ years, who has very kindly taken me in as a waif and stray (more stray at the moment I admit.)
He is currently only home at the weekends as he's working on a shoot in Wales. This is good news as it means I get to ease into living with another person gradually. Bad news as he takes his laptop with him and I'll only have weekend access to the Cellar until September. But hey, that's better than nothing!
My boys have come with me, and are currently circling the house wide eyed and trying to work out if we're staying this time (we came down for a trial run about 2 months ago). The good news is they have met my HM's cat again and still not tried to fight. She's nine and they're two, so hopefully they will continue to show her respect as an old lady. I just home she doesn't feel too crowded out next week when HM goes back to work - one strange woman and two strange cats in her house, she might feel a little put out.
I'm sat here surrounded by boxes and suitcases. We got here at about 05.30 this morning and I'm waiting for HM to move things out of "my" room so I can properly take possession. I'm not too bothered, I have all next week to get myself settled, but it does feel a little weird to be dallying in the Cellar while all my worldly goods are just lying around.
The reason for our all-night trek is that we've had torrential rain and floods in the UK this weekend. Poor old HM left Cardiff at about 19.45 last night, and tried three motorways before having to travel due East (as opposed North-East) just to find a road that wasn't flooded. He originally said he'd be with me 22.30 and ended up turning up gone 01.30. This is after getting up at 06.00 for a twelve hour day on set.
So we both crashed til lunchtime, and are now chilling. I am deferring to him, because as well as being kind enough to take me in, and drive approx 450 miles in order to pick me up, I also sprang this on him at very short notice. Like Wednesday night. So I'm very aware of the fact he already had his weekend planned out before he knew I'd be here!
Anyway, this is all exposition. Back to geographical location. Greenwich in London is pronounced Grennitch (not sure if that's commonly known). I'm two streets away from the Thames, a 10 minute walk from the Observatory and from the map I reckon about the same from the Dome. I'll link to the Google Earth map when I work out how, and as soon as I'm unpacked and sorted, I'll go out and take some pics. It might be next weekend before I can get on and upload them, but that might give me the time to take some good ones rather than just point and shoot.
Hi SG! Happy landings! Greenwich is a pretty good bit of London to be in. Hope you get settled in OK.
Congratulations Sundae.
At least we will always know what time it is at your place.
Maybe Undertoad will switch the Cellar from Greenwich Mean Time to Sundae Girl Time.
Fun Facts:
Greenwich is 0 longitude.
Greenwich is home to the Greenwich Observatory, a pioneer in accurate timekeeping, which was necessary for navigation.
Here's a
good site.Welcome to the capital SG, don't trip over that meridian line when your out and about! Glad you're settling in OK (or seem to be). Look forward to your photos (should jog my memory cells when I see them). Just heard about the rain (make that deluges) myself having been away from the UK a few days. Blighty seems to be suffering a lot with storms and unsettling weather this year. Fingers crossed for August being more like a summer should be!
Welcome to the capital SG, don't trip over that meridian line when your out and about!
Unfortunately, I couldn't afford to live at the prime meridian. The best I could do is ground or chuck.
At least it's not the
tenderloin.
There has only been one good day weather-wise since I moved in, so I took the opportunity to jump on a bus into town. I love to travel London by bus, you get heart stopping glimpses of the landmarks when you least expect them, and you also get to see the living, breathing (and in this case sweating) city.
The two below are my tourist shots, because I spent a lot of time in Waterloo as a child and seeing the Houses of Parliament and the South Bank (where the Eye is now, although a relative newcomer) was like greeting old friends.
This is the former Millennium Dome, now the O2 Dome - a concert venue. It's where I'm going to see Prince.
I took the photo from the riverside walk along the Thames, but the factory on the left hand side is at the end of my road. It started chucking it down soon after I took this, and although I don't mind the rain I didn't think it would do the area justice if I took pictures in that weather.
So more to follow, promise.
Forgot to add on the above pictures, the 188 stops just across the end of my road and goes all the way into the centre of London. It comes within spitting distance of Tower Bridge, past the Old Vic (theatre), across Waterloo Bridge and so on. Which delights me - when I'm working I suppose I'll go everywhere by Tube or at least overland train, but for the time being I'll enjoy the view from the top deck of the bus.
I read somewhere the double decker busses were being phased out? Maybe it way somewhere else.
Waterloo is the area around the Waterloo Bridge, or a section of london?
They phased out the old Routemaster buses, which were the ones which were open at the back and you could embark and disembark while they were moving. Not only was this considered dangerous, and the buses not friendly for disabled passengers or prams, but it also meant the driver did not see the passengers so a conductor was necessary. Obviously a bus where the passengers enter past the driver means the staffing can be halved.
There are articulated buses in London, but they are unpopular with drivers (slower and taking up twice the amount of road) and not really suitable for the tighter streets of central London. Certainly 75% of the buses I've seen between here and town have been fairly new double deckers, the remainder have been single deckers on the local routes. The only articulated buses I've seen were 5 years ago, in Ealing (West London). I doubt double deckers will be completely phased out here.
Waterloo is the area around Waterloo Station and Waterloo Bridge. Away from the river it's a residential area, but it does have quite a few things to see and it's a 5-10 minute walk to most of the other sights from there. My Grandparents lived there until I was 12, and I still mentally navigate most routes from either Waterloo or Westminster Bridge.
Old habits die hard. My mother still frets that I take the back(dirt) roads to her house instead of the paved way 'round.
Hi SG - a few places to consider visiting. Try the back streets around Borough Market - that's next to Southwark Cathedral on the south and wets side of London Bridge. The area has become a bit trendy these days, but there's still some original spots, like
Clink Street which was the site of London's oldest prison. Walk a little further around the lanes and back twoards the Thames and you'll cone across the very old
Anchor pub, and just along from there is the reconstructed Globe Theatre. Trace your steps back to London Bridge Road and heading south about 100 yards on the left is The George Tavern (can't find a picture) an old coaching inn in a private yard.
Another pub worth visiting is the
Blackfriar on the north side of Blackfriar's Bridge - it's pure English Arts and Crafts Movement design with plenty of beaten copper murals and original features inside. Move into Fleet street and there's the Cheshire Cheese pub (a haunt of Charles Dickens) and also Dr Samuel Johnson's house (just behind Fleet street in an old cobbled courtyard).
Lastly, on a Sunday, try
Spittalfields Market - close by Liverpool Street Station and off Bishopsgate in London EC3 - it has lots of intersting shops and resaturants - and probably the best Tapas bar/restaurant in the city!
Shame on you cf, tempting our sweet innocent Sundae Girl into unwittingly traipsing into those dens of iniquity that serve the devils spirits.
That tapas bar (damn, what's it called, I can see it now ...) is where I've spent some fine lunches and evenings way back when I was something in the city ... You brought back some (of the very few) good memories of those times for me CF ...
That tapas bar (damn, what's it called, I can see it now ...) is where I've spent some fine lunches and evenings way back when I was something in the city ... You brought back some (of the very few) good memories of those times for me CF ...
I hope it's
this one... - I used to go there quite regularly myself in the 90's when I worked for Reuters and handled their shipping service (I used to be a tanker broker prior to joining Reuters - the Reuters service was a high speed messaging facility for the tanker market way before the Internet and Yahoo and MSN messaging). I had some great lunches there too, with fellow brokers, who had by then become customers!
I hope it's this one... - I used to go there quite regularly myself in the 90's ...
That's the one. Prolly saw you there ... :3_eyes:
CF - I've actually been to those places already, but I do agree they are worth seeing. Last time I lived in London I didn't get on with my housemates and would try to get out of the house before they got up at the weekends. I'd often get the Tube to London Bridge and walk up to Westminster - always past Clink Street Museum, always thinking about going in but being too scared (over-active imagination coupled with mild claustrophobia).
Even further back, when I worked for a marketing company in Thame (Oxon) one of the accounts I worked on was the Post Office, and any time we visited them, they'd drag us to the Blackfriar. Being a lowly assistant, I didn't take much dragging, but it used to irritate the Account Manager, who was actually there to work and didn't appreciate a three hour round trip to spend two hours in the pub.
We have to set up a meeting at some point - I'm not sure how far I can come out on my Oyster Card, but if you can suggest something I'll sure I can find some way of getting there.
Okay, two pictures of Canary Wharf - for those not familiar with London this is an area of regeneration in the old docklands. It dominates the skyline in East London - when I used to drive from Aylesbury back to London it would be my first sign that I was getting close to home, from about 15 miles away (due to the lie of the land it disappeared closer to).
The distance picture is my walk to North Greenwich tube station. It shows you how undeveloped this area is at present. There is literally just the Dome and the tube station surrounded by wasteland and industrial sites at the moment. And looming improbably over all this, a beacon of tertiary industry is Canary Wharf (offices, restaurants, shops etc). If I go into Greenwich proper - which I will take pictures of soon - the outlook is very different. It's a proper town, with historic buildings etc.
The second picture is taken from North Greenwich tube station - again just to show how Canary Wharf stands alone, waiting for the tide of development to rise to meet it.
And this is my street and house.
The commentary is quite faint - it's been so long since I used the video function I'd forgotten I need to keep it quite close to my mouth. You can just mute it pretty much anyway - it's self explanatory.
The walk down the street is pretty uneventful, but bear with it if you want to see the house - I have no way of editing. I don't show the house from the outside out of courtesy to my housemate - I'm pretty casual about people knowing my details but it's not my house after all.
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Thank you, SG, for your hospitality. That does indeed look like a very nice home and I hope it is a happy one for you. Seeing this quick tour and your boys was quite a pleasant surprise. Oh, and please allow me to say what a lovely voice you have; I am a sucker for an accent, but this goes beyond that and it is simply delightful to listen to you.
Been missing you SG. Congradulations on your new home!
Need to get back to my office to watch the video; I'm on a wireless laptop right now and it is slow. Great pics. Oh, I must travel!
Your bedroom looks like heaven for kitty cats... so much stuff to poke into and tip over. Thanks for the tour.
Your bedroom looks like heaven for kitty cats... so much stuff to poke into and tip over.
You're quite right of course. I fit a flats-worth of knicknacks into a room and then wonder why the cats are mean enough to try and wreck it. That's why my two ceramic clocks are on the side rather than on top of the wardrobe where they'd look better - I'm waiting to see if the boys get done exploring after a few weeks.
This morning Dylan decided that he would see if he could get through the skylight. He wasn't bothered about the fact the blind was drawn - he knew it was open and he went for it. I was woken to the crashbangwallop of the blind coming down and Dylan's furry hindquarters disappearing over the edge of the window. Luckily, finding himself at roof height made him pause for thought and I managed to grab the base of his tail and tow him back far enough to grab him by the scruff back to safety.
Thanks Dylan, now I have to sleep in a bedroom over 80 degrees.
That was wonderful! How neat to get a glimpse into your life. I loved how your kitties followed you around filming. And I also loved the under the breath "child. can't talk."
Thanks for sharing that! :)
Good grief, SG, was that the blind we saw at the end of the clip - a blue blind hanging over the head of your bed? It's lucky the blind didn't land right on you. I can certainly see just how curious (and acrobatic) Dylan is now.
Yes, it's a temporary blind, which just hangs down when it's not drawn. The futon is temporary as well - my fault for moving in with 3 days noticce when my housemate is on a 3 month job in Wales.
Dylan tried it again later in the day when I had the window closed. Bonk. Made me laugh anyway.
The silly thing is, HM warned me that the cats might be able to get out of the skylight and I scoffed. Famous last scoff of course.
Nice accommodation SG - looks like a fairly recent refurb and I hink I spotted a few examples of IKEA extravagance around the place as well... and the pussy-cats seem to have made themselves at home already!
I'm in town shortly and in a couple of month's time running training courses - always gasping for a drink after 8 hours of talking and teaching, so one of these may be a good opportunity to grab a drink and have a chat - I'll PM you details.
"Child, can't talk."
I swear I saw that movie. Thank you Sundae!
Oh, and please allow me to say what a lovely voice you have; I am a sucker for an accent, but this goes beyond that and it is simply delightful to listen to you.
You need to hear her sing, she is all that and a bag of chips.
I must admit, even though I know that 'chips' means 'crisps', I did automatically think of chips, as in fish'n'chips.
As long as they're potatoes, call 'em chips or call 'em crisps, deep fry 'em or French fry 'em, I'll take a double order......... Ah, not that I'd eat them all by myself. No, I was uh.....going to share them with Dana and SG. Yeah, that's it.
Did you really think they were that impressed with your zucchini?
Everyone knows a girl likes a bit of zucchini
(bag of crisps.)
*makes note to write in English next time*
Okay, I've kept some of these fairly large because I think it's justified. I hope I'm not taking up too much space in doing so. When I have more access to this laptop I'll start linking them via a hosted site rather than attaching them.
These are from the top of Observation Hill - where the Greenwich Observatory is and through which the meridian runs.
First picture shows the Naval College, with Canary Wharf (see previous photos) behind it. The water you can see is the River Thames. I kept the grass in the foreground to give it proper depth and to show how popular it is on a sunny day.
Second picture is the view if you turn slightly further left (anti-clockwise). Roughly centre is the dome of St Pauls, to the right is The Gherkin - a recent addition to the skyline - and on the left you can just see the top of Telecom Tower (formerly the Post Office Tower) poking above the white building.
Another one from the hill, this time with some tourists to give it a proper sense of location.
And the Old Observatory.
Self explanatory tourist pictures
Prince Phillip's concern with new buildings being too generic is well founded, in my opinion. The picture with the Korean girls in the foreground could very well be in the Orient. The observatory, however, is unique. Thank you, SG.
Not taken in Greenwich, but not worth starting a new thread for.
Some pics taken out and about with Teri in London on Tues & Weds.
I have learned that I need to stabilise the camera when taking pictures in low light. Ahem.
Teri on Hungerford Bridge and the same view further along the bridge.
Boats on the canal in an area of London called Little Venice.
And Camden Lock (hippy/goth/emo market area, but still a working lock) Teri is part of the Narrow Boat Trust who still have working boats, so we went there for her.
Okay - some pictures I'm finally getting the chance to show you - taken with you in mind.
I went for a walk at the end of last year on a perfect British Winter day - a little bright for me eyes (which leaked) but still and cold and clear. Again, I have kept them fairly large as the gods are in the details. Well, the putti anyway.
The route: across Hungerford Bridge, as in the photo with Teri above, up through Trafalgar Square and through Leicester Square to Piccadilly Circus, then up Piccadilly to Green Park. Across Green Park to Buckingham Palace at the top of The Mall.
First pic - Buckingham Palace from the gates of Green Park
Second pic - The gates of Green Park with Buckingham Palace behind me
The Victoria Memorial, which stands aloof from the traffic in front of Buckingham Palace
This is the bridleway connecting Buckingham Palace to Hyde Park (along the side of Green Park) and Rotten Row. Rotten Row is the Hyde Park bridleway where the aristocracy used to (and the upper classes still) exercise their horses. It's a corruption of Route du Roi or King's route.
It leads up to Constitution Arch (or
Wellington Arch). And the next photo is taken from the top of that.
The next picture is from the top of Constitution Arch, looking back towards the river.
You can see firstly how the day is beginning to draw in.
And then see the Eye Wheel and Parliament's clock tower (aka Big Ben) in the near distance. I took this really to show where I'd walked from.
I wanted to go to Apsley House, just across the traffic from the Arch, but maybe I'll go back another day - by then it was getting towards their closing time, and although I really wanted to see the HUGE nude statue of Napoleon, I figured the House would repay a longer visit.
I took some pics in Hyde Park (across to Speakers' Corner then Marble Arch, Oxford Street and home) but from then on the lighting was too poor to keep them.
Great additions SG. All I could say to myself was,'oh''oh''oh' at everyone. I wish I was there :)
thanks for sharing * sigh*
Cool, thanks for doing all that walking for us.
I just have to know where you were in reference to the railing when shooting this photo.:)
JK Sundae! I'm glad to see a little of what's going on in SG's world! Nice. It would be so nice to be there!
But wait, what is that painful.....lol!! 'Tis beautiful m'dear!
This is the picture I couldn't upload last night (turns out I was trying to upload the original, which is huge).
Cic, I rested the camera on the railing, I wasn't straddled myself! I was trying to avoid the camera shake I evidenced in the previous set of London pics :)
London looks so...stately...in those pictures.
This is the bridleway connecting Buckingham Palace to Hyde Park (along the side of Green Park) and Rotten Row. Rotten Row is the Hyde Park bridleway where the aristocracy used to (and the upper classes still) exercise their horses. It's a corruption of Route du Roi or King's route.
It leads up to Constitution Arch (or Wellington Arch). And the next photo is taken from the top of that.
Just in passing, I think I heard from somewhere another meaning, that 'Rotten Row' comes from the French 'route en rue' which means a route alongside a street, the 'route' being the bridle track for the horse-riders.
How fabulous! Great photos!
This kind of inspires me to do a bit of the same with NM now that I have some time off! I'm not so sure about the capabilities of my camera and being able to get such great shots, but I will see if I can record some of my area too. (isn't as prestigious but still has it's beauty)
I am also working on a scrapbook so it might come in handy there as well.
Just beautiful SG! I might have to create a file combining the photos of DanaC's Valley and your photos so I can visually take a trip to England.
:)
For the record (and for those in chat) this is the workshop at night!
First shot shows work on the Phoenix - it may not look like it's in a de-sanctified chapel, but it is - I'll do a video walk-through at some point. Second is a closer shot of the phoenix head.
Crazy cool there SG! Very well done!
is that Mylar ?? or silk ??
The head is punched aluminium (aluminum)
the feathers are wrapped fabric on aluminium frames
the head & body are mounted on a driven device
the head is manipulated by one artist sitting on the body
the body is driven along by a driver beneath
will get pics of the whole thing
I've just uploaded a video of the place to youtube - waiting for it to load.
If you want to hear the commentary (not necessary) you'll have to turn up it up LOUD - I was whispering because other people were in the building.
Apologies for the mis-information - what was being built in the above photos was a Garuda, not a Phoenix. It ended up with big flashing eyes - I'll see if I can upload some footage.
What is being built now is a phoenix and is in the construction stage. You will see if the vid ever uploads. And that is covered in natural silk. You know your stuff Zip!
In the mean time, here is a pic of the ivy covered windows with sun coming through - which the video doesn't show as I filmed it while it was raining.
Here 'tis!
(check the times of the posts, I am SO impatient!)
As said before, whack the sound up if you want to hear me, but be prepared when I walk past the stage and open the next door - the creak with blow your eardrums.
I wish I had any talent at this - it's an amazing place. Let me know if you want any more pictures. Or come & take them yourself :)
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A further update
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Let me start by saying I didn't take these!
I've just been forwarded them as part of an ongoing issue with the council about repairs to the roof here (at work).
The three to follow were taken on a beautiful frosty morning and they really appealed to me.
The first shows Blackwall Lane, the main road which runs across the end of the street we are on. Incidentally the view would be different now as a tyre repair company occupies the lot shown as vacant in this picture. You can tell it's morning by a number of indicators - the queueing traffic is one.
The large white structure mid left is my local Odeon, and the hoop which shows across the front of it is in fact the footbridge across the dual carriageway in between. On the same retail park (hard to see - low flat roofs) are my local large supermarkets.
The second picture is looking down Azof Street, our official address. Again the picture now would show flats being built in the vacant space, but pretty much unchanged apart from that.The distant chimney (in between the prop and the spike) is one of four on the disused power station on the Thames.
To reach the position of the previous photo you'd just turn approx 180 degrees.
This one is in a similar position to the first, just further round to the left (anti-clockwise)
The Odeon is clearer, as is the footbridge.
The top of the industrial building bottom left is on Mauritius Road, where I used to live.
I had my camera with me when I went to the cinema the other night. I've only just remembered I took these. Nothing exciting - I'm sure Odeons look the same everywhere, but just because it was in the distance on the other picture.
One from one end of the pedestrian bridge, one from the other.
Now you know what to look for when you come looking for me...
Oops, I thought it was a worldwide thing - it's a cinema chain.
This is my local multiplex, although I'm more likely to go to the Greenwich Picture House which is an independent and therefore shows more foreign language films and less blockbusters. Also the people there tend to be film lovers and less likely to talk through the film. Oh and you can take a beer from the bar in with you :)
Did someone steal the S off your weathervane? Or do you just never get southerly winds in London so they didn't bother? Or is suppressing South an Anti-Australian plot to get revenge for the humiliation suffered in the last Ashes tour? ;)
My favourite cinema is the Picture House in Hebden Bridge.
It's subsidised by the local council, and is run very much as a community resource. It shows big hollywood films, but also lots of art house and indie films. The best thing about it though is that not only is it an old fashioned picture house with big velveteen seats and lots of leg room, but the refreshments counter sells tea and coffee in proper pot mugs, which you can take in with you. It's like watching a film on a giant screen but in your own living room. Lovely.
Oh, and they let me in for half-price even though I didn't have my student ID as proof:P
Dana---when do you next go to Hebden? I'd love some pics!!!
Work in progress.
We've been commissioned by Tower Hamlets (local authority) to create a giant puppet to help promote their recycling campaign. It's been made out of the same wheelie bins that the borough are using.
He's drooping in the pictures because he's not being activated at the mo - they're trying to sort out the sound effects. I find the voice a bit creepy, but I'm not a child. It's intended to be a benevolent giant - it says thank you a lot. In fact a group of kids has already gathered outside the gates in awe. I'll capture it with the sound for you (they're rehearsing currently)
oooh, love that SG. video please :)
Sorry - I forgot I can't edit on my work PC, so I took it in the wrong format.
You'll have to turn your head sideways.
It's still in rehearsal stage - they put some sound on for my benefit, but there are a number of phrases, sounds etc they will use, which will be coordinated with the movements.
It's very impressive when it's coming towards you!
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You have an awesome job, SG!
Soon, Bri! Haven't been able to get onto that 'cause the two J's split up (they're now dating again but not living together) so I haven't been up there lately.
From the official launch.
I included one with some local schoolkids to show the area's demographic. This might help to explain why the local councillors were so keen on courtesy to Muslim colleagues (in the Ramadan thread - it's the same London borough)
Our puppet of the Dagda for Halloween in Dublin.
As you can see, the technical aspects are finished, but he needs some dressing. He will grow hair and a beard, and be filled out more.
They are rehearsing the movements in the yard this afternoon, so I snuck out for a pic.
Damn. Came back to here as it seemed like the right thread for my new London pics, forgot how much I loved my job. I've been trying to convince myself it was crummy, but it wasn't. Sigh.
Anyway.
On Weds I went to London. I saved the train fare (far and away the most expensive part of any trip) over the last three weeks, and also had some money to get my hair cut. Funnily enough, it costs almost twice as much in l'il old Aylesbury as it does in the Big Smoke. Then again, the place I have it cut is very unusual - it's the only place I know that cuts hair as cheaply, or as well.
I planned to meet my bro after my haircut and before the screening I was going to. On the day I was so glad I was meeting Stevo. The whole trip down I was feeling very vulnerable and not looking forward to my Big Day Out at all. Ridiculous - I've never had an issue with being in London alone before. Still, that's where I was. Luckily, once I had my hair cut I lost my worries and enjoyed my day. Haircuts are not on my list of Nice Things, but this one was fine. So silly to worry so much about things.
After the cut (Covent Garden) I hopped on over to Waterloo Station. Still my favourite part of London because this is the area Nan and Grandad lived in, and we spent our school holidays in. Walked up the South Bank to Westminster Bridge.
The London Eye for you.
And a Dali elephant with the Houses of Parliament in the background.
Composed Upon Westminster Bridge
Earth has not anything to show more fair:
Dull would he be of soul who could pass by
A sight so touching in its majesty:
This City now doth, like a garment, wear
The beauty of the morning; silent, bare,
Ships, towers, domes, theatres, and temples lie
Open unto the fields, and to the sky;
All bright and glittering in the smokeless air.
Never did sun more beautifully steep
In his first splendour, valley, rock, or hill;
Ne'er saw I, never felt, a calm so deep!
The river glideth at his own sweet will:
Dear God! the very houses seem asleep;
And all that mighty heart is lying still!
I suppose it helped that Wordsworth was theere on a sunny morning.
The view, and me on the South Bank.
On the bridge is a statue of Boadicea.
When I was growing up that's what we called her anyway, pronounced bo-deh-SEE-a.
Now she's called Boudica, pronounced BOO-dicka.
I assume it's a more correct reckoning, but it doesn't feel as nice in my mouth.
She was a warrior queen anyway - fought against the Romans. A heroine for many warlike schoolgirls.
The clock tower. More commonly known as Big Ben, but as has been mentioned before, this is the name of the bell [COLOR="White"](yeah, I call it Big Ben too)[/COLOR]
Walking to my brother's workplace I passed two grand buildings. Well, many grand buildings of course. But I thought I'd take some pics for the engineers here.
And for the uncivil ones...
This is the courtyard to the back of the building Ste works in.
Is that Bruce?
And a very blurry shot of the pelicans in St James' Park - literally across the road from his building. I didn't have time to go down to the entrance and get close enough for a proper pic, sadly. I love them. There've been pelicans in the park for more than 300 years now.
Brought this poem to mind
Immigrant
November ’63: eight months in London.
I pause on the low bridge to watch the pelicans:
they float swanlike, arching their white necks
over only slightly ruffled bundles of wings,
burying awkward beaks in the lake’s water.
I clench cold fists in my Marks and Spencer’s jacket
and secretly test my accent once again:
St James’s Park; St James’s Park; St James’s Park
Fleur Adcock
And here is 1 Horseguards Road, the bro's office.
The second pic shows the office he was interviewed in - the large one above the round window. It looks straight out onto Parliament Square. Intimidating? Hell yes, says Stevo.
Beautiful pics, SG. (And I love the new haircut!)
Yes, that's me. Notice I'm so toxic I've pocked all the adjacent stones.;)
Not Greenwich at all - Central London again, but it all fits (ish)
Had my special day out with Mum yesterday.
We came into town for 10.30 and went on a London Walk (darkest Victorian London.) Sad to say it's the one I've enjoyed least so far - there was less architectural evidence and more story-based information. Still fascinating, but we slipped out before the end. Mum and I were starving and figured there could only be five more minutes left anyway, so we nipped into Borough Tube station rather than walk back along to Monument with them. I was still laughing when we sat down to eat. Mum loved it because it was around the area where her Mum grew up, so I chose something important to her in virtual ignorance.
First pic is The Monument, after which the station is named. It's a monument to the Great Fire of London, although it's generally recognised just as The Monument. Like the Doctor.
Second pic is me on London Bridge. Mum couldn't work my camera. Then she worked it out at the exact time I was trying to take it off her. Terrible arms, but at least you know I'm keeping it real and not airbrushing. Mum told me off for being impatient, "I was just making sure I got Tower Bridge in the background!" Which made me laugh so hard I thought I was going to have to sit down - check out the size and position of Tower Bridge, it would be harder NOT tro get it in the background!
We had moules et frites in Belgo Centraal.
Nowhere near as good as I remember :(
I didn't say so to Mum, who was totally charmed by it.
It's an underground Belgian restaurant just off Covent Garden. Literally underground as in a basement location, not a pocket of Resistance fighters who haven't realised Germany lost.
Express Lunch is £7.50 and includes a wine, beer or soft drink.
I found the mussels flabby and the frites woody. Still, like I said, Mum found it all very new and exciting and wants to take Dad there.
After lunch, off to my cut-price-hairdresser for both of us. Again, Mum loved it. It#'s a no-frills service, but she was very happy with the cut, and with the number of different cutting tools used. Her home hairdresser - the one who butchered my locks - seems to have a single pair of scissors. The lady who did it yesterday used about 5.
Pic - Mum at Belgo (they'd already taken away our mussel shells, I was too slow) and then after her haircut - see next post. No, there isn't much difference, but then Mum says I'm flamboyant enough for both of us. Just as an aside - I had three people come up to compliment me on my hair - one being our train driver, who stepped out of his cab to tell me so. And one of the ladies on the London Tour loved my false eyelashes. She was American. One man walked backwards along Haymarket just to get a good look at me. I am fabulous, it's true.
Now, first pic above and subsequent until I tell you otherwise are taken in Harvey Nichols Department Store - 5th floor bar.
Mum has always wanted to go there, and even me printing off the list of cocktails, and allowing her to see the prices did not dissuade her. I bought her one and she bought me one - Grandad gave her some money to do this as a treat (he used to be a cocktail waiter - he won prizes for keeping Americans liquored up during the war :))
We were not exactly blown away by the setting. It was dark and a bit 70s, and garish pleather. We decided we were too provincial to appreciate very expensive taste, because to us it had a whiff of porn! Still, much laughter and pleasure and sillyness, which was what the day was all about. She'll be in pre-op in about an hour, and if thinking about red and cream seats puts a smile on her face it is well worth it.
Mum had 2 Blonde Bombshells - champagne cocktails. A bit too sharp for me. I had a Lynchberg Lemonade which was glorious, and some frothy mandarin thing which was a cross between a cocktail and death by foam. All good fun.
Second pic is in the Ladies. I'm amusing myself with the idea of showing the photo to people i nyears to come and saying, "Look! That's me just having had a poo in Harvey Nicks!" I hadn't, but you can see my opinion of my own humour on myself. Two cocktails and I think I'm Phyllis Diller.
The foamy one.
Mum tried to stop me eating the pansy. I had to sing "Edible Flowers" to her to convince her it was okay. Well, it didn't convince her, but it was a face-off. I'm happier sitting singing than she is listening. Once again I win the game!
And then off for dinner.
We didn't go to Yo! Sushi in Harvey Nicks, because they don't offer the special Blue Monday deal (every plate is a blue plate, £2.20.) We went over to the Haymarket instead, as it was between us and the theatre.
Mum has never been to Yo! Sushi before -she has never eaten sushi at all. I steered her towards the chicken dishes, and lucked out with a couple of good choices from the off. We did have some fish, but I waited to see if she wanted to experiment with sashimi and she chose not to. Fair enough.
We ended up having 7 plates, all of them shared so we got a taste of everything (I know she likes this aspect of tapas especially.) I backed off the ones I could see she was really blown away by and we finished with a fruit salad. We took advantage of the unlimited free water (still for her, sparkling for me) rather than have any more alcofrolics.
Mum adored it. Again, she wants to take Dad. I've told her that Blue Mondays are available in Oxford & Wycombe, so I do expect them to go at some point. She's in Wycombe on Thursday... but of course she'll have other priorities then. Think of her at 15.00 GMT if you would, please.
And after that, there wasn't much more left to do but walk to the theatre!
We went via Leicester Square - hardly a detour - to get a Haagen Daazs ice cream each... technically greedy pigs, but one scoop only with no sprinkles and sauce...? Not bad.
Snapped off a pic on our way past Trafalgar Square.
We popped into The Sherlock Holmes on the way for Mum to have a wee. Turns out Dad took her therer one fog-bound November night when they were courting. It was so dense that Mum was worried about the safety of him driving, so they went for a few drinks, as was acceptable in the 60's :)
And here we are at our final destination.
The show was magical. We laughed. We clapped, we sang along. I recognised John Barrowman's husband and agent - two separate people - in the row in front of us. Yes, Scott did have the best seat in the house - and he was sat in a good place too :queen:
Mum said disapprovingly, "He didn't bother dressing up, did he?!" to his burgundy polo shirt and jeans. I told her he was an artitect - true - and probably spent his whole life in suits - conjecture - and that mollified her.
A wonderful day. Wonderful company. Something to hold against the heart in the months to come. Easy for me to say, I'm not going to be the one suffering. But I'm glad it all workewd out so well. We left the threatre with out fabulousness turned up to 11.
Super, good job making mom happy, and keeping us informed. :thumb:
aww sundae Great new update! Your mom is beautiful. Now I know where you get your great looks and the day you had together and they way you put it all together for us is wonderful!
What a magical day for you both :)
btw That Lynchberg Lemonade looked too pretty to drink.
Okay.
Borough Market, London.
Serious-foodie-London.
This is where people like Nigella and Jamie Oliver and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall shop (when he's not grubbing about in ditches for his dinner.)
There are many photos.
Some won't even have my bon mots attached.
So abandon hope all ye who enter here. And all that.
Off to Borough Market.
Come into Marylebone, get on the Bakerloo Line ( you can walk if you can be arsed) and change to the Lovely-jubbly Line. Okay, the Jubilee Line. It's new and fresh and runs on time. Off at London Bridge.
The Mater at Baker Street. Thank you Mr Beck, for your sterling work on the Underground map. Really, he's one of my heroes.
A slightly blurry photo of the alleyway closest to the station. There are more salubrious entrances.
French stall. Smelled gorge.
Round the other side I swear they were serving chestnuts (marron?) but surely the wrong time of year, even for marron glace? Live and learn.
Cakies!
Nowhere near as good as Amsterdam I am sad to say.
These two just give you an idea of the market in general.
We arrived late (midday) and I think the real foodies come early.
Not complaining - the sounds and smells and variety were still amazeballs.
Second pic you can probably guess the produce from the colours - Jamaican.
Was tempted.
Love me some Levi Roots (Dragon's Den success story here - look it up if the terms don't translate.) Reggae Reggae Sauce, mon. This was not his stall, but I imagine the flavours are similar.
NB, so I don't have to say it for every photo - I was looking not buying.
Only one exception. I'll get to that.
Could've spent a fortune. But you know I don't have one ;)
Okay I lied. I made two purchases. Only remembered when I saw this pic.
Soft pretzel.
Well it did end up being breakfast, lunch AND dinner I guess.
I can't get them in Aylesbury.
Good job they didn't offer them with fillings.
Cheese and ham? YES PLEASE!
Offered some to Mum but she had a tiny bite and pulled the face of disgust. Fair enough, if you don't like you don't like. Mum's lunch is to come...
Fish.
And pickled onions.
Mum tasting freebies. Nom nom nom.
And look at those HUGE WHEELS OF CHEESE!!!!
Probably a very rich man contemplating buying a whole stack of them.
Stacks of bread.
Bowls of olives.
Match me up with Rich-Cheese-Man and I'd be sorted for life.
Just outside the market.
The really nice eateries are upstairs. The ones that get written up in the Sunday papers. I mean the ones that serve squirrel and pigs cheeks and truffels.
The decent but cheaper ones are part of the market itself.
The traders outside are more like shops than stalls.
A bound haunch of something.
And they sell anchioves too apparently.
Second pic is very sweet Spanish man who sold me mulled cider.
Mum didn't like it, so I had two.
Didn't tell her he let me have two-for-one for a kiss! On the cheek of course - no cider is worth tongue down throat.
His ploy worked though. An empty market stall looks unsavoury. By the time I left there was a queue of Japanese girls behind me.
Much healthier than mulled cider.
But damned expensive.
And the menu for the demonstration kitchen, which we missed. But you gotta love the Welsh. Well I do, anyway.
Tatws Pum Manud? It's bacon and veg!
Paella.
Mum's lunch.
No, not all of it, just this lickle bit.
Champignons.
And rhubarb, rhubarb, rhubarb (supposedly said by extras on stage to simulate normal speech petterns.).
Moar mushrooms.
And a real chef, buying chillies for a real restaurant.
I know because I earwigged.
Carrots! Apparently. 'Cept for those that obviously aren't.
Gosh I'd have liked to buy the purple ones. Imagine them roasted in honey and mustard, eh?
And chervil.
Looking like monkey knackers.
Peggs and peppers.
Nothing to be said.
[COLOR="White"](Larkin poem, actually)[/COLOR]
Citrus.
And busy stall despite distressing prices.
FISH!
Fish, fish and moar fish, until I tell you otherwise.
Gosh I'm craving fish now
This little piggy went to market...
This little piggy never came home.
Oh, sorry.
And The Shard and me and that's the lot.
Thanks if you waded through them all.
Great photos Sundae! I'll have to take back all that trash I talked about food in Britain.
That's also a gorgeous coat.
How did the duck egg prices compare to chicken egg prices? Over here they're ludicrously expensive.
I loved the Borough Market the last time my wife and I were in London last February (2012)! It was quite cold, snow even fell on London but I dragged my wife down to the market on a Saturday morning and we got some cheeses, cured meats and breads, enough for the week we were there for snacks and fun foods. I liked it more than Chelsea which is fun but a bit more touristy.
Great photos Sundae! I'll have to take back all that trash I talked about food in Britain.
That's also a gorgeous coat.
You were right about me losing my sense of humour though.
I guess sometimes the things that make you go hmmm are the ones that strike home :)
I'll forgive you anything if'n you like my coat anyway... Still getting used to it. It's technically a cape - has no arms.
How did the duck egg prices compare to chicken egg prices? Over here they're ludicrously expensive.
Damn, I cut the price off in my photo.
They are more expensive than hens' eggs, but they're not in the luxury food realm. They're probably £2-3 per half dozen. Large free-range eggs are about a pound cheaper. Caged (battery) farmed eggs are cheaper yet, but I don't buy those.
We're a nation of duck-keepers. Or at least we're a county of duck-keepers. True Aylesbury Ducks are rare now, but a recognised breed.
I loved the Borough Market the last time my wife and I were in London last February (2012)! It was quite cold, snow even fell on London but I dragged my wife down to the market on a Saturday morning and we got some cheeses, cured meats and breads, enough for the week we were there for snacks and fun foods. I liked it more than Chelsea which is fun but a bit more touristy.
Am now embarrassed at the idea that it's possible to go to Borough Market and
not take countless photos...
Glad you enjoyed it too. With a bigger budget - or any at all - I might not have been able to make it home under the weight of my purchases. Even with my stomach shrunk to the size of a pickled walnut I still could have purchased something from every stall.
Those photos are great! Thanks for posting them, Sundae.
I love how the fish look surprised.
Fish are routinely surprised.
Mostly by the fact that bait comes with a pointy reckoning.
I liked the tour as well. It reminds me of my local Pike Place Market; I'll try to put together a similar tour sometime.
regarding the rhubarb, do you mean like
walla?
Indeed. I had no idea it was regional.
Grommish.
Off to London to see Teddy P!
AKA Edward Petherbridge, classical actor, talented artist and all round jolly nice chap.
Comes from Bradford apparently. In the days when actors had to lose their regional accents I assume.
Lots of pics of me me me, just in slightly different settings. And some of Steven. And just one or two of London. When I publish my Photo Album, like Tracey Emin, I will have plenty of material to draw from at least.
And we're off.
16.05 to Marylebone. Train fairly empty as you would expect at this time on a weekday.
Filled up as we got closer to London and it got later.
My jewellery courtesy of Brianna's sister.
They were Bri's and when I wear them I think of her.
Gosh, the sunlight shows my age doesn't it?
Ah well, I hated the way I looked well into my twenties, so I'm hardly pining for them now.
Free toilets! Huzzah! Saved me 30p anyway. Wish I could have gone twice to get more value out of it.
Some of the few photos of London I took. These are all around Monument/ Cannon Street/ London Bridge.
Many more cyclists in London now than when I lived there. I think the Congestion Charge (payment to enter London by car) has something to do with it. Still not as many as say Oxford - or anywhere where students can't afford cars.
When I took the second photo I thought it might be of Athena, given the owls. Editing the photo I realise it's Perseus (the shield, the Gorgon's head and all that) under the protection of Athena. I love that London is littered with barely noticed details like this.
Let me take you by the hand, and lead you through the streets of London...
One of the entrances to Monument. The one closest to Stevo's work.
I've taken a photo of the actual Monument before (it's for the Great Fire of London in 1666.)
Cellar post.
My lovely brother, The Shard and London Bridge.
Three amazeballs in one photo, best only look for a second, it might explode.
The Golden Behind.
Oh, okay, a replica of the Golden Hind, Sir Francis Drake's ship in which he circumnavigated the globe in Tudor times. It's tiny when you think about how many were on board originally. Many of them died of course, so it must have felt quite roomy by the time they got round to drinking their own urine.
History via Blackadder ;)
And bro and London.
Impaled tourist from above shot.
That's for the Burma railway, Johnny Foreigner!
And off to the Gourmet Burger Kitchen - GBK.
My bro likes them so much he has a loyalty card.
I'm not so sure...
I feel a huge weight of red meat sitting in my gut today.
I did pig out though, so it's my own fault.
Can't remember the last time I ate red meat - and even then it would have been mince.
Still, it was a meal bought for me. I enjoyed it with my brother. The service was excellent and the taste was sublime.
I had The Don, but got Ste to change the brioche bun to a standard one. I love brioche, but with butter and hot chocolate, not with beef grease.
Brioche bun, bacon aioli, blue cheese, American cheese, onion jam, rocket & mustard mayo
I'm sorry to say I have no idea what Steven had!
I took a pic but it's well blurry. Beef-drunk I was.
The fries... hmmmm.
I chose skinny fries, as did Ste, but he is used to them, I was shocked. I thought they would be like McD's fries. I mean they're skinny compared to chip-shop chips. No, these were more like crisps.
Steven ate most of them, after I told him I was getting too full to finish them.
The restaurant.
ME.
Semi-industrial setting. But very clean.
The Don. Note weirdy fries. Also I had a bottle of the real Budweiser - Budvar :)
Waiter noticed me looking around and hurried up to the table.
"Do you have any hot sauce?"
Yes, they had hot sauce.
Burger in the process of being stripped bare.
I should have finished eating at this point. Anything else was pure greed.
My attempt at taking a photo of the table, including Steven's burger.
As I said, beef-drunk.
What I left.
What a glutton.
One of a series of photos of me in toilets.
This time I am holding the heart of the Tardis.
Off we went to the Young Vic (as opposed to the Old Vic, where I went to see Mark Gatiss in All About My Mother.)
It didn't open its doors on time or start on time - of course.
But when it started I didn't think about that again. In fact I've only remembered it now in writing this up.
My Perfect Mind is a two-hander with Paul Hunter and Edward Petherbridge.
The premise is that Paul Hunter is a psycho-analyst dealing with a patient who believes he is Edward Petherbridge. The fourth wall is broken on many occasions, and it is seen Petherbridge has a King Lear complex. In fact he went to New Zealand to play Lear and had a stroke before he got onstage. In the play this is obviously eating away at him, but it must be cathartic in a way.
There are many references to his previous work, to Shakespeare and past and present events. It's a masterpiece. Hunter is wonderful but of course Teddy P steals the show. And not sneakily in the night; in a complete balls-out suave gentleman burglar kind of way. "Yes I'm stealing it, but you want me to really, don't you?"
He is generous too, no need to prove his acting chops.
We walked out and there was an usher with something like an old cigarette tray/ ice-cream tray. I hoiked Ste back and asked whether he wanted to buy Mr P's book for Mum - it was referenced in a wink-wink way in the show. Oh yes, he wanted. Bless him.
So we asked where we should wait for Teddy to come out (I was thinking Stage Door) and it turned out he left through the bar and often had a drink with friends and fans. So we waited there. Now me, with my extensive online stalking credentials, knew that if we were to ambush him without annoying him, we would have to have our tricks of the trade ready. Pen? Check. Camera ready to switch on and take photo immediately? Check. Book out and ready to sign? Check.
I have the eyes of frightened prey and therefore am always alert to my surroundings.
I spotted him as soon as he stepped into the bar and hissed at Steven "Go, Go, Go! Operation Teddy P!" Or something like that.
I heard him tell the lady in front of us (the only other person waiting) that he was meeting some very important people, so couldn't talk. Bugger. He is a working actor and no doubt it was about a job. She was obviously a long-term fan as he recognised her. Still reasonably undeterred, I approached him and immediately apologised, because I'm English.
He was lovely. He said he really didn't have any time to spare but I asked if he could just sign the book for my Mum, who wasn't able to come because she was ill. Just a signature. His demeanour didn't change - the appointment was obviously genuine and not an excuse, but he insisted on writing a proper message and telling me to give her his love. He then apologised for his writing which he admits has not come back completely since the stroke.
Kiss on both cheeks. Thanks from him for coming, for buying the book. Thanks from me for a sheer enormity of the show (haha, got it in!) and his talent.
And photo. Bless Stevo. All ready to go and done and dusted. We took up about 3 minutes of his time, probably less, and I think we were all the happier for it. Oh - just to note this was approx 10 minutes after he came off stage. Although it's a small theatre he is still wearing some stage make-up. I've seen him in many other settings, he's not a make-up kinda guy.
Ste and I in the Young Vic.
That blazer is far too big for me now, but I wanted to look smart.
It looks better when I am standing up.
Ste waiting for the Tube.
Jubilee Line, gotta love how new and sparkly it is, even now.
Almost obligatory shot of me on escalator.
Modern chap on way home on late train.
Got a taxi back home.
Wonderful afternoon/ evening.
Very happy.
Looks like you had a lovely time :) and extra props on getting the book, signed and all, for your ma! x
Free toilets! Huzzah! Saved me 30p anyway. Wish I could have gone twice to get more value out of it.
They would charge for breathing the air if they could. Actually, it's very civilized of the English to not pee on the sidewalk when they charge to use the toilets. They would do that around here. Actually, they do it anyway, and charging for toilets is a thing of the past here.
One of the entrances to Monument. The one closest to Stevo's work.
I've taken a photo of the actual Monument before (it's for the Great Fire of London in 1666.) Cellar post.
That's so cool! We went up to the top of the Monument when we were there last Spring.
Oh, okay, a replica of the Golden Hind...
And bro and London.
Very cool again! We didn't go on the Hind, but stood where you stood, and also by those church ruins where Steve is.
Wonderful afternoon/ evening.
Very happy.
Thank you so much for sharing it with us. It looked very fun.
Thanks for sharing. Looks like a wonderful time.
I love those skinny "weird" fries. A chain in the US called "Steak & Shake" serves them (among many other places, with varying success). It was a regular treat growing up. Now I go once every couple of years. Then as now, I dip the fries in a chocolate shake. Sweet and salty, and now I'm really hungry.
I'll forward that to Ste :lol:
He really is a lovely brother but I bet he can't help thinking that.
The only Get Out Jail Free card I have is that he is the photographer in his marriage. It's rare he appears in a photo. So I know he understands when I stop dead to take a pic and I'd like to think he sneakily appreciates me including him.
Saved me 30p anyway.
Don't you mean 30 pee?:)
And off to the Gourmet Burger Kitchen - GBK.
I will have to remember to post some pictures of
In-N-Out Burger in Las Vegas. No offense to the Brits, but we Americans pretty much own the whole burger thing, from the mass produced McD to the more specialized chains like In-N-Out with a diehard fan base.
There are, however, additional named items not on the menu, but available at every In-N-Out. These variations reside on the chain's "secret menu," though the menu is accessible on the company's web site. These variations include 3x3 (which has three patties and three slices of cheese), 4x4 (four patties and four slices of cheese), Neapolitan shakes, grilled cheese sandwich (comes with the same ingredients as the burgers except the meat, plus two slices of melted cheese), Protein style (wrap with lettuce; comes with the same ingredients as the burgers except buns), and Animal Style. Both Protein and Animal Style are house specialties that the company has trademarked because of their association with the chain. An Animal Style fry comes with two slices of melted cheese, spread, and grilled onions on top; Animal style burgers are cooked in a thin layer of mustard, and in addition to the lettuce and tomato it also includes pickles, grilled onions, and extra spread. Hot peppers are also available by request.[32]
Until recently, it was a trademark of In-N-Out to accommodate burger orders of any size by adding patties at an additional cost. A particularly famous incident involving a 100x100 (100 patties, 100 slices of cheese) occurred in 2004.[33] Once word got out of the incredibly large sandwich, In-N-Out management disallowed anything larger than a 4x4.[34] However, one can order what is called a "Flying Dutchman" which consists of two meat patties and two slices of cheese by itself (no bun, condiments, or veggies).[35]
We won't pretend to own Fish and Chips, but burgers are all about the U.S.A. :us: (insert burger smiley here)
:rolleyes:
Wasn't the hamburger invented in Hamburg, Germany? And the idea of putting it between two buns invented by the Earl of Sandwich in England?
Once word got out of the incredibly large sandwich, In-N-Out management disallowed anything larger than a 4x4.
This is one example of top management not causing 85% of the problems. They made the right call banning those disgusting monstrosities. As a restaurant, I would be embarrassed to have such a gross item come out of my kitchen.
...coming out of anywhere!
:rolleyes:
Wasn't the hamburger invented in Hamburg, Germany? And the idea of putting it between two buns invented by the Earl of Sandwich in England?
I'm pretty sure that was The Greeks.
The hamburger, a ground beef patty between two slices of bread, was first created in America in 1900 by Louis Lassen, owner of Louis' Lunch in New Haven, Connecticut.[4] There have been rival claims by Charlie Nagreen, Frank and Charles Menches, Oscar Weber Bilby, and Fletcher David.[5][6] White Castle traces the origin of the hamburger to Hamburg, Germany with its invention by Otto Kuase.[7] However, it gained national recognition at the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair when the New York Tribune namelessly attributed the hamburger as, "the innovation of a food vendor on the pike."[6] No conclusive claim has ever been made to end the dispute over the inventor of the hamburger with a variety of claims and evidence asserted since its creation.
wikiSo, as the actress said to the Bishop, "Wow, this is a long one."
Mum and I went to London yesterday. I was offered the choice of a number of gifts, and a trip to London would be the most expensive of all. But I honestly knew by the way she pitched it, that she really wanted us to go.
She missed out last year (because we had a huge row before my 40th and I couldn't even face it.) And she missed out on her theatre trip with Steven because she was ill and I ended up taking her place. And she has had a lot of worry and stress recently. And let's face it, a trip to London isn't exactly a hardship for me!
We'd actually got into town when she said she's always wanted to go to Camden Lock.
Now it was one of the places I had thought about, because it's one of the places you can walk and talk and meander through for hours without spending anything apart from a penny. Or 30p nowadays. But I didn't know if it would be her bag. And although it was "my" day, I'd always rather she was happy, because I enjoy myself much more when we are in synch.
So off to Camden we go!
Now, Camden Lock is denigrated by the uber-cool and trendy. It's a tacky tourist trap, everyone there looks the same and yet are pretending to be themselves and unique, it's over-priced and a rip-off. I don't give a stuff what the cool crowd think, I like seeing things I don't see at home. I like the food stalls and the jewellery and the tiny tiny beautiful clothes that only fit the hoardes of Asian princesses that descend on it every Sunday.
We had a great time, and we only really went round half of it.
Given the right budget even I, who am grossly over-sized for the clothes - could have spent hundreds. But it wasn't about buying. It was about looking and talking and showing and laughing. Job done.
1. Camden from just outside the station.
2. And there are still some traditional boozers alongside all the trendy places.
The sort of clothes you can buy here.
Uniqueness ready-to-wear.
I honestly missed the No Photos sign.
Mum said it's because all the shop-staff/ stallholders are on benefits and don't want to be caught on camera.
Rubbish.
It's because they don't want everyone else copying their ideas and undercutting them.
I respected future signs, which is a shame because I fell in love with a whole stall full of cushion covers of cats dressed as famous people. Amy Winehouse looked just like Diz. Hey, I've never claimed to be classy...
But honestly, the colours were so bright and the images so well done they really worked.
So many pictures of dresses and shoes to follow.
Even female Dwellars may need to retire to a man-cave for a while.
1. Captain John Hart, anyone?
2. The market-proper, although it's only really a tiny part of the whole shopping environment. Lots of rockabilly dresses and bags. No prices on anything. It's not a case of "If you have to ask you can't afford it," it's a case of, "how much can I fleece you for?" The phrase I saw you coming springs to mind.
1. Another traditional pub. And because I come from Bucks.
2. Detail. Looks like the goat of Mendes to me.
Many of the buildings have external decorations.
I took some of these photos for Dad because I know he adores that sort of thing.
We went for an All You Can Eat buffet in Max Orient.
More expensive than street food, which is what I really wanted, but Mum wanted "Somewhere proper to sit down. With a toilet."
I refer you to the above - I'm happier when she's happy. And it was okay. I ate there with Terri the last time I was in Camden (it's documented in the Cellar somewhere.)
1. More building decoration.
2. Mum perusing the drinks menu in Max Orient.
No photos of the food because AYCE means you get a plate of stuff you can't remember the names of anyway.
Note: NO REFUND ON BUFFET FOOD.
They also had notices that a surcharge of £5 would be added for food wastage. Mum and I pretty much ate the patterns off our plates just in case.
Onto the right hand side of the market, where some of the food stalls are.
They are all over Camden Lock, but they do cluster together.
1. Moped seating, looking out onto the water. White people love being near water.
2. Example of an Indian food stall. So many more to come.
Warned, you have been.
I need to lose 30lbs and gain £1000 and then I can take these home.
1. Carmen Miranda style shoes that even I acknowledged I wouldn't be able to walk in.
Coveted them anyway.
2. Mum surprised me by saying if she had the money and a wedding to go to, she would love a pair of these. She'd have to have enough money to sort her bunion out first though :thepain:
I would honestly wear these. They are gorgeous.
I'd probably try to do something completely improbable in them too, like walk on a shingle beach :rolleyes:
Well, not all.
But many.
We're on the left hand side of the market now, and another dedicated outside food area. We've eaten by this point, which is a shame, as we were offered so many food samples. Tiny ones of course, but given the amount of stalls we could have filled up for free! Must remember this next time Dani comes to visit ;)
This was about 13.30 and Mum was convinced they were "giving it away" because they wanted to pack up. Hello? Camden Lock comes alive in the afternoons. I wasn't as dismissive as I might sound here, but she's kinda basing Camden on her memories of wholesale food markets, not on those that cater to tourists, and especially teenage tourists.
Anyway, Cowboy Cottage Pie and the detail of their embarrassment.
1. Slightly sinister looking chap on the afternoon tea stall. I'm not even sure he's from the Commonwealth.
2. One of the outside dining areas in this part of the market. No mopeds.
1. Merkins!
Actually I don't know, may also be imposters.
Mum said it all looked very dry (sez the woman who cooks beef to buggery.) I assured her that if it really was smoked American-style then there was no way it was dry inside.
2. Even being stuffed to the lungs with Chinese buffet, my mouth managed to salivate when I passed this stall. Damn the French and their Tour Eiffel.
1. Italian. Yum.
2. Something for Lola. Yorkshire puddings as street food? Well, okay. Makes sense in many ways.
I didn't take photos of the stalls where we were implored to eat samples.
It just encourages them.
But they were throwing themselves at Mum. "Mummy, Mummy! Try this!"
I assured her it meant she looked affluent :)
We didn't have a drink from either of these stalls.
I just loved the colourful vibe of the Smoothie stall.
I also offered Mum a Sangria (I was going to have a lemonade) but she decided it probably wouldn't have enough alcohol in it for the price, and that she would rather sit in a bar with a toilet if she was going to have a cocktail. I didn't offer the drink randomly, my parents have holidayed in Spain for years and Sangria is a staple Spanish drink - a bit like Pimms over here. But cheaper.
Mum's need to be near a toilet comes from years of bowel trouble (sorry, TMI), much of it stress-related. So I do understand. I was trying to bring a bit of the al-fresco lifestyle into a grey day in North London, was all.
The antiques part of Camden starts in The Stables Market, although there is overlap.
Yes, it used it be horse-based. When barges and narrow boats were drawn by horses, Camden Lock, so yes it was and still is a working lock. As such it was a centre for vets and blacksmiths.
Now Mum and I did not go as far as the antiques market.
She's 63 you know!
By which I mean she'd been on her feet a while and I could see her flagging.
But I did dabble in the shallows to get pics of some of the scultures for you.
Is that horse sniffing me?
We couldn't go into Cyberdog as the music was too loud. It would have made Mum's ears bleed. But they sell the more extreme-end of clubwear. I don't mean fetish, just out-there.
And a big chap outside a South African restaurant.
We didn't really want to eat zebra that day, even though we were handed a money-off flyer. Nice looking place though. I kept the stall in front in the frame to try to give some perspective. Not sure it works.
But it is colourful.
And detail.
Outside dining and decoration.
I wish I had been able to spend more time at Camden Lock when I was there last year. Very cool place. I never saw the moped seating, but that's really funny.
We rode that water bus from Camden on the canal to Little Venice. That was fun, to be in a boat seeing hidden parts of London, insulated from the hustle and bustle, but right in the middle of it all.
1. Gaudi-esque. I wish Mum had come to this part with me, I'd have loved a pic of me on this bench #vain.
But she was having a sit-down and that's fair enough.
2. A vest top we saw which really made Mum laugh. She said if it had been a t-shirt she'd have bought it for Dad. He'd never wear it out, but would have loved it to sleep in :eek:
I've just introduced Mum to a series of books by Ben Aaronovitch, which marry the supernatural with detailed London geography and police procedure. I thought they might be too bloody and/ or densely plotted for her. She's nowhere near stupid, but she feels she only gets time to read a chapter at a time (insufficient commitment, tcha) and with the large cast of peripheral characters I thought she might lose interest. No, she loves them. She knows the London he writes about, and the police.
So I thought we'd go in search of
J Sheekey's which is mentioned in all three of the books. We found it, but they do not have a bar licence. You can only drink if you are eating. Mum wanted a cocktail, but neither of us wanted to eat. And we'd have to take a a second mortgage in order to do so. But the staff were so polite to us.
So instead we popped into
Browns. Mistake. I had some of the same issues I'd had in Browns in Oxford, plus the fact the toilets were down a spiral staircase, which would not have been good for Mum's gammy knee, and smelt of damp. Oh and the mocktails all looked like they would be sweet and sickly.
So we scampered out of there, feeling quite cheeky and (in my case) relieved.
Into
All Bar One. No seats available.
Crikey me, 16.30ish on a Tuesday afternoon? Have we wandered into a Hogarth engraving?
So we went to
TGI Friday's.
Are they authentically American? Or do they just pretend to be?
The portions are American sized, but the prices aren't.
Anyway, we sat in the bar area and Mum got her Kir Royale and as previously mentioned I had an ice-cream smoothie.
I ordered some garlic bread with cheese because I knew we'd be there at least an hour and by then it would be teatime. It was good. Mum had already snaffled a piece before I got the camera out. It was very good.
Still too early to go, sez Mum.
Okay. I wanted to make a day of it too.
So we wandered Covent Garden Market. Again, no intention to buy, just looking.
Then Mum wanted another cocktail!
Nah, not making her out to be a dipso, she was very respectful. She had two cocktails in two different places and that was it.
But she feels she can't do that with Dad, because he moans about price, or feels uncomfortable in the surroundings, or has trouble with bar stools or stairs etc.
We went into the Covent Garden Grill. Really lovely place. Again, we'd have to think long and hard before eating there, but the drinks were normal price for Covent Garden and the staff were marvellous. I will defo write up on Trip Advisor. Mum had another Kir Royale, I had some sort of strawberry blended drink which must have been made with real strawberries from the taste.
1. View from the inside out.
2. handwash in the Ladies.
And finally.
On our way home.
1. Fast food at Marylebone station.
No, did not partake. I'm not sure if I'll ever need to eat again.
2. Blue plaque for one of my heroes.
From what I recall, TGI Friday's in Britain is pretty similar to TGI Friday's in the US. Definitely Britishized American food, but the menu in general is in line with what's offered here.
We went a couple of times in Newcastle, as it was one of the few places that gave free soft drink refills, which is a big deal to me.
Looks like a fantastic day out.
I wish I had been able to spend more time at Camden Lock when I was there last year. Very cool place. I never saw the moped seating, but that's really funny.
We rode that water bus from Camden on the canal to Little Venice. That was fun, to be in a boat seeing hidden parts of London, insulated from the hustle and bustle, but right in the middle of it all.
Sorry Glatt, missed this in my frenzy of posting.
I've done boat trips to & from Camden over the years and I agree, it's wonderful to see things that even many Londoners don't.
Camden Lock & Market can be very crowded; Mum told Dad it was packed. She's never been on a weekend, where they actually close the Underground station because it's an old Northern Line branch and can't cope with the volume of passengers. It's like Oxford Street at Christmas, only all year round.
Then again, she thought we were being pounced on by stallholders. She followed my lead and became a bit more blase. Trust me, once you've been in countries where stallholders follow you halfway down the street thinking you are trying to haggle, when in fact you just have no interest in what they are trying to sell, Camden is not running the gauntlet.
From what I recall, TGI Friday's in Britain is pretty similar to TGI Friday's in the US. Definitely Britishized American food, but the menu in general is in line with what's offered here.
We were okay in the bar area, but people who were seated in the restaurant at the same time as us waited 45 minutes or more to get their food. That's reasonable in a cook-from-scratch/ independent place, but not impressive in a half-full chain.
Bet the service is better where you are.
Once again, not Greenwich, just London.
We went to Sydenham, South East London yesterday for my Uncle's funeral.
As we live North of London, this meant a trip across the capital.
Sadly, it was all travelling, rush rush rush.
I really must go back and take some photos of Peckham for you.
We left early and got the train to Marylebone.
The Ladies toilet is undergoing renovation, so it's free - yay!
But there are only two working toilets for the whole station - boo!
This meant Mum & I had to queue long-time, and in fact this put us well behind.
Down to the Underground and a trip along the Bakerloo line to Elephant and Castle.
Now when I booked the trip, I thought the 45 minutes between getting off at Marylebone and getting onto another above ground train at E&C would be more than sufficient, even knowing Dad walks very slowly these days.
But I hadn't factored in the long wait for the Ladies and I didn't know that although the stations bear the same name they are in two separate locations. The Elephant & Castle British Rail station is across a very busy traffic junction and through a shopping centre! And of course it's elevated, so another three flights of stairs to negotiate.
The three of us looking like we're off to a funeral. Or a day in Court I suppose - I think Mum & I both look quite sinister.
Needless to say we missed our connection.
Still, it gave us time to recover.
Mum & Dad shared a cheese & ham panini, I had one all to myself (they'd had breakfast whereas I hadn't.)
We also found out that rather than going to a pub after the service, we were going back to my Aunt's flat. I've never been there but apparently it's quite small, so we figured we'd better get some scran in while we could, as the chances were we wouldn't have room to move afterwards, so even if food was laid on it would be hard to get to.
Dad had a very expensive (IMO, but I was paying) double espresso.
I think he felt he needed one after all those stairs.
Once we got to Peckham Rye station, I was sent on ahead to get the taxi.
This is the part of the trip I wish I'd been able to photograph.
It's an ethnically diverse neighbourhood, so there's lots to see.
Or as Aunty Joyce's friend Beryl put it, "It's all full of blacks these days. All their hair shops and nail shops. And there's always someone in there, I don't know where they get the money..." I moved my chair away at that point, before she started on about them all being on benefits or something.
Anyway, I'm getting ahead of myself.
The taxi office was quite a bit further away than expected, but at least it was in the direction of the Crem.
We did miss the start of the service, but at least we were there.
Uncle Ted's flowers. Close family only, donations were requested otherwise (in case it looks like no-one bothered).
Back to the block of flats where Joyce lives.
It's sheltered accommodation, which means all the flats have alarm cords in each room and there are always staff members available to help. There's step free access to all areas and disabled toilets on the ground floor by the Community Room.
Aha! The Community Room! Mum & Dad hadn't been there when they went to visit, so it didn't occur to Mum that this might be where we would go after the service.
It made sense, because that way all their neighbours could come, whereas many of them would not have made it out to a pub. It was a functional space, but there were plenty of tables and chairs and room to move around. I'd say when we left there were about thirty people, which is a decent tribute.
All nicely catered by a rather familiar supermarket. You know, one which employs really sexy staff on their Deli counter.
The "boys" (Ted's sons, both older than me) provided the wine and sherry, or there was tea & coffee.
Mum, Dad and I all managed to have a good chat with various different family members. Auntie Joyce has promised to come and visit this year - she's more sprightly than Ted was, and being very honest she was tied down by him in the last year, because she didn't want to leave him alone. And of course once he went into hospital she wanted to be close anyway.
She'll be coming with Beryl though... it'll be a treat for her to come to Aylesbury and be surrounded by white faces I suppose.
We got a taxi back to Peckham Rye, and the driver took a mini-detour for us to show us London spread out in the sun, it's postal districts packed like squares of wheat.
Nice chap. Jewish.
:lol: