On holiday for the rest of the week, which naturally meant that I had a ton of stuff to cram in today - I stayed at the office as late as possible to get as much as possible done. I could stay longer if I took the Tube instead of a bus, so that's what I did - much quieter than usual because of the match, but jeez it was hot. A confusing exit at Camden Town, with no fewer than six roads leading from the junction - I spent some time criss-crossing before I got the right direction! It was easy after that to find The Colonel Fawcett.
How, I wondered as I approached, would I ever find the group in this frenetic crowd?! Never fear, our leader was sat at an outside bench, on his own for the present - Mary had already gone to brave the crowds and get them drinks at the bar. I decided not to, joining him instead - we could barely see the match on the screen at the end of the beer garden, but the gasps and groans of the crowd gave us a pretty good idea what was going on. What with the timing of the match, a general consensus was reached to delay the walk a little, as people gradually arrived. The atmosphere was terrific, anyway. However, when it went to extra time.. we slipped out.
Not that we were ever that far away - again, we could hear how things were progressing from the groans and yells coming from various quarters of the neighbourhood. Blithely ignoring them, we learned several interesting snippets about the area. We passed the Camden London Irish Centre:
More photos here. Agus is maith liom conas a n-usáideann siad Gaeilge in aice le Béarla ar ghach síniú (I like how they use Irish as well as English on all the signs). Major Irish centre, by the look of it. Maybe I'll pay a trip one day. Anyway, we also learned about the local spiritualist centre.. and passed many Irish pubs. Obviously a part of town full of character.
At Amy's old house, we were stalked for a bit by a curious fox - the spirit of Amy, anyone? We did spend some time by the tree across the road, which is festooned with memorabilia from fans:
And on the way back, stopped off for a drink in The Hawley Arms, where she used to work, back in the day. A cosy pub, it was absolutely hopping, a thumping rock soundtrack heavily influenced by 60s music, lots of nooks and crannies. A bit noisy for a chat though, and we only stayed for the one.
On the way home, we stopped by Camden Market to see whether we could spy the Amy Winehouse statue - but it was pretty much closed up for the night. Still, another excellent night out with this group!
Tomorrow, after a late, lazy start, back with Up in the Cheap Seats (UITCS) for Immaculate Correction, at the King's Head. Ages since I've been there - and it sounds like fun.
On Friday (13th, woo!), Walking in London is taking me on a walking tour of The Secret History of Magic, Witchcraft & the Occult. Starting outside St. Paul's, of all places. Mmm yes, had my eye on this for a while. And being Funzing, the code crazy_fun will score you a 10% discount.
And on Saturday, why, I was spoiled for choice! UITCS alone has three events - I finally plumped for the first, chronologically: so we're off to see Machinal, at the Almeida. Always dependably good drama there - and again, close to me. And, it being Bastille Day, we're off to La Petite Auberge beforehand for lunch / brunch!
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