I headed out in good time, by bus. Could have got a direct bus, but first the 19 arrived, and I discovered I could get that to Knightsbridge and take the C1. And it was cold, so I did. I'd be getting off at Stop KK, needed Stop KJ. Mind you, when I got off at Stop KK, the C1 stopped there as well.. and I couldn't see Stop KJ.. and so I just waited until a C1 happened along to the stop I was at. At least it was sheltered.
It wasn't until the C1 dropped me at Victoria, and said that was the terminus, that I said, wha'..?! Spent a confused time checking the route online, only to discover.. yes, the bus did go where it was supposed to. It was just that I'd got it in the wrong direction. Duh! Honestly, it just never occurred to me that I'd have to change direction mid-route! I checked, and another bus from there would have taken nearly half an hour, so I said sod it, and took the Tube. Only three stops, and I still had to double-check which direction I was going in, it's been so long!
At Gloucester Road Station, our organiser had told us to turn left - but Google Maps said to turn right. Oh for goodness' sake.. was this confusion never going to end? So I followed Google Maps, and did come, in the end, to the Hereford Arms, with a picture hanging overhead of a Hereford cow. And a big wave from the organiser, somewhat obscured behind a hedge - they hadn't been able to find space inside, and were doing their drinking in a roped-off area under an awning outside the door. He apologised profusely for the mix-up with the directions - I went and got a drink (lovely fast service), and came back outside, and we passed the time waiting for anyone else to come. No-one else did, and it was just two of us, with the organiser, who duly set off on our travels.
The walk was around Gloucester Road, and yet again, a panoply of famous people lived here. As we strolled the leafy streets, lined with white, portico-ed mansions, we heard first that the Hereford Arms was the pub that Sir Arthur Conan-Doyle used to drink in, just up the road from where a chap called Holmes lived and worked. We passed the houses of Mervyn Peake and Jenny Lind, and came to where Beatrix Potter used to live:
(Round the corner, mind - as our canny organiser pointed out, had they put it outside where she actually lived, nobody would've seen it, tucked away on a back street as it is!) Interestingly, she lived right across the road from Hugh Lane, and later William Orpen - and just down the road from where Princess Diana used to live, in Coleherne Court! (not all at the same time, I hasten to add). And wasn't Diana the lucky one, gifted a flat there for her 18th birthday that would now be valued in the millions..
More photos here. It's an interesting part of town, if you look closely enough - close enough to a place I used to live, in fact, but I never did pay this much attention to it. We had fun peeking into the windows of houses that had obligingly left their curtains open and lights on, and perusing the artworks there - and nature was never far away:
Near the end, we came to the Queen's Elm, something of a historic ex-pub: many's the famous artiste supped there, and our knowledgeable organiser speculated on whether Laurie Lee eventually bought the place. We ended up in an establishment that's still going strong - indeed, our organiser was delighted to discover we could actually get space inside the Angelsea Arms, and even a table in the corner!
The local for both Dickens and DH Lawrence - and I hope they made use of it, because the food - what I had of it - was lovely, the staff friendly, and I can see why it gets so crowded. They were out of the one thing I wanted from the menu, so I just had a bowl of rather excellent chips, and when we'd finished those, and our drinks, and our conversation, off we took ourselves into the night. And this time I got the direct bus home!
Tonight, Let's Do London - for less! is off on its last scheduled trip to the opera house - the occasion is Mayerling, my favourite ballet, and has long been sold out. We have tickets in both slips and amphitheatre, as usual. The clock is counting down on remaining Meetups for this most excellent group - we're already feeling the pinch of its events being scheduled less frequently. There isn't another group out there like this man's. May the hiatus be brief.
For tomorrow, I'd bought a ticket to Nell Gwynn, at the Globe - then it turned out that London Dramatic Arts (LDAM) is going on the same night! (Buy Your Own Ticket.) As the organiser said, it must be fate.. it'll certainly be nice to have company. Odd venue for them, though - I know the organiser doesn't like it.
And on Saturday, I'm joining the London European Club for a classical concert at the Royal Festival Hall. Oh joy, they're playing Beethoven's 9th. LDAM has a double-bill that day, in the Arcola, but it wouldn't be convenient, and I'm not that pushed anyway.
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