Oliver Twist Walk

A walk with Hazel is always a tempting prospect, so as soon as I saw that Walks, Talks & Treasure Hunts had one scheduled for today - with her as guide - I booked. Pity it had to start at 12 - I do like a lie-in, when I get a chance, and had an idea to head to the post office beforehand. Of course, that didn't quite pan out - I would probably have made it, but didn't want to risk it, and so headed straight up the road to catch the 73 to Angel - we were to meet outside the Tube station.

I arrived about 20 minutes early, so popped into the nearby Pret. Where the most appealing thing on offer was a chocolate "moose" - and delish it is, too! I crossed the road and found our guide there, nearly blown over by a considerable breeze, sign brandished in front of her. We had a nice chat while waiting for the others to arrive - a couple were a bit late, but she does start on time. Still, by the time the tardy two had arrived, we'd only moved over to the shelter of the corner, where Hazel was telling us all about the origins of Oliver Twist. (And, unlike the last time I was with her, I'd already found a bin to accept the remains of my "moose"..)

For this is an Oliver Twist walk. I haven't read the book, but apparently we were covering the path that the Artful Dodger led Oliver on when they came to London - which is quite carefully delineated (she read out that bit for us, at the start). And that meant starting at Angel.

Now, among all the guided walks I've taken, Hazel is unique in making the streets come to life. You know, we stopped a bit further down the hill from here - a road I've taken many times, en route to Sadler's Wells - and such images she conjured up for us! The road was wide, she said, to accommodate the huge herds of livestock being driven on foot for slaughter. Cattle, geese, turkeys.. and because they'd have walked a long way, and needed to be fattened again for market, they'd be kept for a couple of weeks on the corner, just across from the above building. Can you imagine, she said, the noise, the stench, of thousands of animals? We were stopped outside a butcher's, as she described the rivers of blood flowing along the gutters.

Not to mention the poo.. and two small boys running barefoot through it, at night. We followed their route through backstreets that are much more pleasant now:

The Harlequin is probably named for Grimaldi, a famous clown of Dickens' time, about whom she spoke at length as we stood outside Sadler's Wells, just at the end of this street. And just around the corner and down the hill a bit, we got a sit-down on a bench, while she told us about the infamous rookeries. So we meandered through town, as usual hearing stories we hadn't heard before - or old ones in a new light - until we finally fetched up outside the pub that Dickens called the Three Cripples.

As she described to us how Fagin had a room above the pub, I did notice that today, there's a hotel there.. where you, too, can be a Fagin, I guess! Not that I'm recommending his line of work, you understand.

Around the corner then, to the Sir John Oldcastle - a Wetherspoon's, of which I was grateful, because it made a handy eatery. I had the ever-tasty bbq chicken melt, someone else a curry that she proclaimed equally tasty. And this was the first time I've had wine - on draught! I have to say though, the pinot grigio was insipid - perhaps it was the combo, but I found the chardonnay much tastier. Stayed chatting for most of the afternoon - a most satisfactory day!

And I am going to love having a lie-in tomorrow. It's not a Man with the Hat event, but one he's advertised. One member of his group plays Spanish guitar, and is giving a concert tomorrow night - so I've booked a ticket. Well hey, I do love Spanish music..

Monday, I'm off to a Funzing talk on The Science of Psychedelics. Courtesy of London Speaks Sessions, LDN Talks @ Night, and London for a Tenner or Less.

Tuesday, I'm with London European Club (LEC) for Carradine's Cockney Singalong, at Hoxton Hall. Had some fun with this a couple of weeks ago, when I noticed another group member had confused it with something at a different venue, and thought it wasn't now happening..

Wednesday, I'm headed with LEC again - with a different organiser - to see 2 Cellos in concert in the London Palladium. Cool - never seen them before, never been there before, and I can probably walk there! Unfortunately, I heard today that it's one of those steep venues.. oo-er, I'll just have to manage somehow.

Thursday was another Funzing talk, with the same three groups, on The Science of Hypnosis. And then, wouldn't you know it, Henning from the LEC advertised.. Hypnosis - Altering Consciousness! With Pint of Science. (What is it about that day and hypnosis?!) Anyway, I do enjoy events with Henning, and I can cancel Funzing up to 48 hours in advance without penalty. So I did, and booked the other instead. And then it's back to Ireland for the weekend again..