Walk: Discover the Secrets of the 19th Century London Docks

Yesterday, back with Discover London - History Walks and Events to Discover the Secrets of the 19th Century London Docks. Always love this part of town - again, this was walking distance from my new place. So it would've been nice to stay the night.. still waiting on word of my keys. Anyway, I was so glad it wasn't on till afternoon, and I could lie in!

Still ended up rushing, knowing me - just made the bus in perfect time though. Wow - must have been the hottest day of the year (or one of them) - I felt like I was cooking from the minute I stepped out of the house. Glad I brought a hat. Was a bit early for the start, and took myself first to the nearby ice cream stand - never has an ice cream tasted better. And they had Flake to put in it - that shortage must have ended! Well now..

I finished it before joining the others - didn't want to have to multitask by eating, talking, and paying, all at once. We made sure to stand in the shade as we waited the usual 15 minutes for people to arrive. And indeed, we spent most of the walk in the shade - much pleasanter.

We started on the attractive St. Katherine Dock:

It's always lovely to be near water on a sunny day:

We moseyed mainly through less-trafficked, more residential areas: with, we decided, utterly unaffordable housing. Except for wildlife, which there was in plenty:

before coming to Tobacco Dock - most recently a conference centre, as, indeed, mentioned by one of our group, who had been to a conference there. The hogs' heads decorating the gate refer to the name of the large barrels they're depicted with:

We passed through Wapping Woods to get to Shadwell Basin, the largest remaining body of water in the docklands. Which seemed to be hosting a tightrope competition! Well, of all the days to get a dunking:

And so, finally, to the Prospect of Whitby - an attractive pub, with lots of cubbyholes, and a long history. Used to be called The Pelican - which is where the adjacent Pelican Stairs, down to the water, got their name. The tour actually ended down the stairs, but I've been down there before, and have a thing about stairs - so I gave it a miss.

Into the pub then, for what turned out to be a long afternoon - a couple of us had food. It's a Greene King pub, whose steak and ale pies I love, but I skipped it on this occasion, what with the heat. Decided on chicken kyiev instead. We sat upstairs, where there was more space - and handily, there was service up there too. Mind you, although the queue was shorter, it was still a pain - and the food took forever to arrive. When it did, the coating on my chicken was a bit burnt - and it didn't taste much of kyiev - but it was succulent, and hit the spot. My fellow eater had a burger, which she proclaimed lovely. And then the afternoon passed merrily, with a few of us sharing bottles of wine, and some excellent conversation. All in all, a most enjoyable outing! Pity I don't get to go with this group more.. Anyway, with all that wine, I was too tired last night to blog.

For today, got a cheap ticket with CT for From Swing to Soul, a concert series at Wonderville. I do wonder whether they fixed their tech issues from last time..

Tomorrow evening, back with Up in the Cheap Seats (UITCS) again - this time, for A Strange Loop, at the Barbican. Multi-award-winning, it seems - cheaper tickets available from WhatsOnStage (WOS), fulfilled by London Theatre Direct. Interestingly though, to get the cheaper offer, buy through WOS..

On Wednesday, thinking film - and delighted to see that Asteroid City has risen in ratings, and is now top of my list! Ah well, that's a no-brainer - a Wes Anderson comedy, with an all-star cast, including Jason Schwartzman, Scarlett Johansson, Tom Hanks, Jeffrey Wright, Bryan Cranston, Edward Norton, Maya Hawke, Rupert Friend, Steve Park, Liev Schreiber, Matt Dillon, Steve Carell, Tilda Swinton, Jeff Goldblum (playing an alien, appropriately I guess..), Adrien Brody, Willem Dafoe, Margot Robbie.. and probably some other people I recognise. Anyway, I love Wes Anderson's stuff - and it's on in my local cinema (for flat #1). And there are showings all day, so, given that I probably shan't have any other demands on my time that day, until I get another job, I can go to whatever suits!

On Thursday, thinking of heading back to Watkin's Bookshop, for the first time in an age - they have an author talk called Holy Waters - Searching for the Sacred in a Glass. There's a new book about this, which considers the use of alcohol in religion - sounds interesting! Then I'm back to Ireland for the weekend again.

And next Monday, I'm back with UITCS for A Playlist for the Revolution, at the Bush Theatre.

Walk: The Great Plague 1665 - The Full Story

Today - which is yet another bank holiday, but the last for a while - I was with Discover London for a walk entitled The Great Plague 1665: The Full Story. Certainly makes a change from the Great Fire.. and another group I don't get to see often enough!

I was out in time to get a bus - which showed no sign of coming. Checking the ETA of my delayed bus - which should have come by then - on Buses Due, I discovered it wasn't due for another 15 minutes! Sod that, I might be late - I took the Tube. Arrived in brilliant sunshine - another day when I ended up carrying my coat around with me! As I remarked to someone else, you just don't know what to do with the weather, these days..

Apparently, the plague started really slowly - for a bit. A few deaths in Westminster - which, at that point, was far out of town - and one in the City, the victim being buried here:

Wasn't long before it ramped up though - half the population left (anyone who had somewhere to go), and in due course, the city gates were closed. There were quacks, of course - imagine what you'd do, faced with such a deadly disease and no idea what caused it, or how to cure it! We don't know we're born, these days. Anyway, we stopped at a pub named for one of these:

I have to say, one of the most fascinating facts of the walk was the name of our best source of information about the plague - A Journal of the Plague Year, by Daniel Defoe, of all people! Apparently, opinion differs as to whether this is better represented as fact or fiction, but it is a great record of the streets, the locales - I might get a copy, if I can. Also, she reminded us that the only confirmed plague pit was discovered, just a few years ago, under Liverpool Street Station! (Using new DNA techniques, they discovered the bacillus in the teeth.) 

It was really nostalgic for me, walking around the area - I lived there up to about a year ago! Passed this, too, once, so it was nice to get some more info about it - apparently, it used to be a Victorian bathhouse. Now a bar/restaurant, it apparently has a large basement area, and is available for private rental:

Ah, I miss the scenery around here!

The Lord Mayor at the time of the plague - apparently a forward-thinking man, who did much to mitigate the misery - is buried at St. Helen's, Bishopsgate:

We finished with a bit about Samuel Pepys - and a stop at his local church, St. Olave:

And so to The Liberty Bounds for some of us, with a nice view of the Tower, and Tower Bridge:

Some of us had food, some just drinks - but a lovely time was had! Have to say, too, the food was lovely - a really tender and tasty lemon and herb chicken, crispy chips, and a tangy dip. Plus a lovely, Marlborough, sauvignon blanc. Also delighted to meet some old faces, and that I managed to come today, on what was a really interesting walk. Cheered me up, in what is a difficult time - I had to rush to get back in time for the landlord's son, who was serving us our eviction notices, and then he ended up being nearly an hour late! And after I took the Tube back and all..

Tomorrow, having tried several sold-out shows, I finally plumped for Dixon and Daughters, at the Dorfman. Got the last cheap, restricted-view ticket in the pit..

On Wednesday, back with Up in the Cheap Seats at last! Well, I couldn't resist a performance of Aspects of Love, with Michael Ball - I've never seen it. Showing at the Lyric - there have been cheap offers, but the best I could find were with the official website. Aisle seat, for the legroom - thanks for the advice, Seatplan!

And yes, film on Thursday - and I thought I might finally get to see The Blue Caftan! It's Moroccan, and again showing at what is still, for now, my local cinema. Although, checking the listings again, I found a new one - A Crack in the Mountain is a documentary about Hang So'n Doong, the largest cave in the world, which is in Vietnam. Looks gorgeous - but it's only on in the Curzon Wimbledon, at 5.40, which I'd never make in time if I stay at work as long as I should! However, it is on their Home Cinema.. which would also save the fare.. Then I'm back to Ireland for the weekend again.

Walk: Discover Historic Chelsea - From Quaint to Quant - 1660s to 1960s

Today, back with Discover London at last - she does excellent walks, but sometimes they clash, and sometimes they sell out before I get to them! This one was Discover Historic Chelsea: From Quaint to Quant - 1660s to 1960s.

Ah, TFL and its diversions.. I could get the bus there in under an hour, but they said the second one, the #19, was diverted and wasn't going where I needed. Well, as I got there just in time to take it, I said I would, and would see what happened. What happened was, it terminated early, and the driver told us all to get on the #38, right behind us. Which goes to Victoria. And as that was the closest I could seem to get to Sloane Square on it - which was where I needed to be - that was where I got off! Naturally, I headed the wrong way out of the station - London stations are designed to be confusing - but I ended up walking the rest of the way. In bitter cold.

I arrived a bit early, and seeing a place, beside Sloane Square Station, selling hot drinks, decided a hot chocolate would be just the thing! And it was - piping hot. Warmed the hands, warmed the insides. "Chocolate" might be something of a misnomer though - I dropped two sachets of sugar into it, and it still didn't taste of anything much. Hate it when that happens.

Our guide was there early too - and as we waited, the others gradually arrived. Some of them, anyway - most didn't show, probably because of the cold weather, we figured. Funny how many no-shows you get for events you don't have to pay for in advance - which is as it is, but strikes me as rather unfair to all the people on the waiting list (this was booked out for a while), as well as to the guide, who might feel obliged to wait for people who haven't confirmed that they're not coming. It only takes a few seconds to say you can't make it..

Meantime, Chelsea residents were as colorful as ever!

We walked pretty briskly, which helped to warm us up a bit - still, it was painful to be out. As we roamed the backstreets of Chelsea, we came to..

Yes, this is the site of the original Chelsea Bun House, famous for its Chelsea Buns! The owners apparently closed it down because it got too successful!

Now, I've been to the Royal Hospital Chelsea before - but had missed the ironic fact that, while it was built by Charles II, its first inhabitants were those who fought against his eldest son in a battle for the crown!

Plenty of famous inhabitants of Chelsea, over the years - I was intrigued to notice that Bram Stoker's old house has a skull over the door! Someone offered the opinion that it was there to ward off evil spirits.. (wouldn't they have done better with garlic? ;-))

And just around the corner, his pal, Oscar Wilde:

We came to the Chelsea Physic Garden, where I'll be on Wednesday - Lordy, if we're going to be outdoors, and the weather continues this cold, I might want to bring a throw!

It's an historic borough:

And I never realised that Scott's team were the first to discover Antarctic fossils:

This wasn't my first guided walk in the area, but I was pleased to learn several new things - and fair play to us all, and in particular to our guide, for braving the cold! Delighted I made it, this time.

Afterwards, I fairly ran to get a bite to eat, and to get in from the cold - Cote, in Sloane Square, fitted the bill perfectly. Ah, they had such a blast of hot air as you went in.. got me a table without delay, and service was prompt. I felt so much better for the meal, and for the heat - and it was interesting that Google Maps gave the correct, diverted, bus route on the way home.

Tomorrow, back with - you guessed it - Up in the Cheap Seats (UITCS), for Romeo and Julie, at the Dorfman.

On Tuesday - not so much appealed on Meetup. Free Stuff and Free Events does have Free Community Singing with Ros Hone and the Global Fusion Sound Singers, which you can attend on Zoom, or in person at Fossdene School Community Hall. Which sounds just fine - except that this is the sort of thing I keep cancelling! So I decided not to confirm until nearer the time. Which is just as well, because - predictably last-minute - Eleanor Salter Thorn, from Tuned In London, just advertised an evening of Iranian music with Shahab Azinmehr, with the World Music Meetup. I adore this kind of music - and for once, it's not all the way out in Rotherhithe! It's just such a trek.. no, this is in St. Ethelburga's Centre for Reconciliation and Peace. Which, ironically, is just down the road from where I last lived.. anyway, much closer than usual for these concerts! Refugees and asylum seekers get free tickets.

On Wednesday - back with the Crick Crack Club, woohoo! for Goddesses in the Garden, at the Chelsea Physic Garden. Features my favourite, Clare Murphy, along with Sarah Liisa Wilkinson, Laura Sampson, and Xanthe Gresham. As I say, might bring something to keep myself warm..

On Thursday, my final booking - for the week - with UITCS, for Brilliant Jerks at Southwark Playhouse. And wouldn't you know it, I still had credit on my Pay as you Go subscription, so got it for free! And then it's back to Ireland for the weekend again.

Walk - Secrets of the Riverside Part 1: Tower Bridge to London Bridge

Today, I was back with Discover London, for a walk entitled Secrets of the Riverside Part 1: Tower Bridge to London Bridge. These events are excellent - I was delighted to be back on one! And this one booked up, well in advance.

My day's exercise started early, when I saw the bus approach and I wasn't quite there yet! Trotted over to it - and what with two people boarding before me, I made it. Now, it's supposed to stop just at the south side of London Bridge - nope, although the button was pushed, it carried on to the station. I wish TFL wouldn't confuse us like that - I've complained (again). Well, I got to the location about five minutes before she said she'd be there - to discover I was the second to arrive! In the end. out of over 20 that RSVPed yes, only seven of us showed up! Now, I know the weather forecast was bad, but it's tough on the people who couldn't come because all the places were taken.

Well, as to the people who didn't come, it's their loss - it did spit a couple of drops of rain on us as we went around, but no more. Meantime, the first I noticed was how much my shoes were slipping on the wet, flat surfaces - all of these super-flat surfaces that they've put down for tourists are a nightmare when wet! I spent much of the day worrying about falling over.. When we were walking along the merchant line, which shows imports and exports, at least I could walk along the middle, which has a rougher texture!

Cute scale model of the area, at the end:

As ever, fantastic views awaited us at the riverside:

Crossing to the other side, for the only time, we were introduced to Father Thames, at the top of the Four Seasons:

And somoene remarked how like tridents were the lights at the bottom - good point, I hadn't noticed!

We schlepped along to the old Billingsgate fish market:

Now, I heard a lot of facts on today's walk - some of which I knew already, some of which were new to me. But I'd certainly never been in the church of Magnus the Martyr before!

And oh, what a spectacular model of London Bridge in 1400.. gee, I'd like a copy of that myself:

And such attention to detail:

Why, there's even a miniature Henry IV!

And the sculptor himself, depicted as one of the hundreds of tiny figures: he's in this picture, in his policeman's uniform, just to the left of the chap sitting on the edge of the bridge:

Another terrific walk from this guide. She took us to the Monument pub afterwards - those of us who wanted - and we had lunch: unfortunately, they never do have the full complement here! Mind you, at least they had food, unlike the last time I was here (but then, we were earlier today) - but only roasts. Still, they did have the lovely sauce for which Greene King pubs are noted - and the Yorkshire pudding was particularly nice. And a few of us made an afternoon of it. Nice atmosphere in this pub.. and a very nice day was had.

The next two days, I'm back with Up in the Cheap Seats (UITCS) - for some reason, I only just saw their advertised trip, tomorrow, to see Austentatious: An Improvised Jane Austen Novel, at the Arts Theatre. Awesome! This should be good - title decided by the audience on the night.

On Tuesday, we're back at the Park Theatre for the Make Mine a Double series - this week, it's Press, which examines the world of journalism, and Tunnels, about two cousins hoping to escape East Berlin. So, darker than last week's.

On Wednesday.. same problem as last Wednesday. Until just recently, when the London Classical Music and Theatre Group advertised a London Philharmonic Orchestra concert at the Royal Festival Hall for that day! And wouldn't you know it, there's a Black Friday discount until the end of tomorrow if you book on the LPO website with the code BLACKFRIDAY. As I'd only just seen! ;-) So now I'm going to that.

On Thursday - well, my contract has been extended, and the new company is busy with a background check, and hasn't yet given me a start date. Which is just fine, as I only have to give a week's notice. I booked an online talk, The Life and Times of Magnus Folk, from the Surrey History Meetup. One of the earliest electrical engineers in England, it seems. Anyway, it's free, and I've now cancelled - I found something more interesting while I was waiting for the play on Thursday night. The Arabic Music, Dance and Party Meetup Group are advertising an evening at the Bethlehem Cultural Festival - tickets from Eventbrite - in which there's a talk about 19th century travellers, as well as discussion of a forthcoming book, and a talk from a female artist in Gaza. Not that the group is advertising it, but there's also an Arab dance after, and another talk - you can go to some, or all. Happening in The Tabernacle. So, I booked a ticket - stopped short of joining the group though - we shall see.

Then back to Ireland for the weekend again - flying Aer Lingus for a change! My passport is due to expire, you see - I don't technically need one to travel between Ireland and the UK, but Ryanair demands it. Aer Lingus doesn't.. I've finally gotten around to starting the online renewal process. Fingers crossed it goes quickly..

On the 5th - yep, the London Chess Community again looked like the best option. Hmm. But just lately - hallelujah! I was saved by London Social & Cultural Meetups, who have scheduled a talk on The 70th Anniversary of the Great London Smog. (Although oddly, we're meeting outside - perhaps the venue is hard to find?) Anyway, I'm delighted - this is that friendly group I joined a while ago for Evensong at St. Bartholomew the Great, and I'm glad to be seeing them again.

On the 6th, well, Free Stuff and Free Events are holding another online singalong. Again, I cancelled my attendance at the last of these I booked for, so was reluctant to rush off and book again.. Or the Garden Talks have one on How Did Language Begin? Unfortunately, my free trial has long since expired, and they won't let me take out another. Well, I might have paid - but I'd be paying for a month's worth, so I figured I might as well wait until closer to the date, and get the value.. And yay, just yesterday UITCS jumped to the rescue again, with a comedy called Dinner with Groucho, at the Arcola. The setting is a dinner, somewhere in heaven, with Groucho Marks and T. S. Eliot the guests.. best available seats for £15 with the code FRANK15, until Friday.

On the 7th, I'm back with UITCS for Baghdaddy at the Royal Court. About a little girl, realising she's half Iraqi, just as the Gulf War is raging. I see CT now has tickets for this.. unusually for this venue!

On the 8th, I've signed up for another Watkin's Bookshop talk! This is Colin Stanley on Colin Wilson's Introducing the Occult. Well, the last talk I was at here was interesting, so..

On the 9th, I'm heading to Lightopia, at Crystal Palace Park. As suggested by Over 40 Living the Life, who are not actually hosting a trip themselves, but just wanted to advertise it. 15% discount if you subscribe to Lightopia's mailing list, 20% discount for purchases of 10 or more tickets. And durnit if Groupon hasn't just advertised cheap tickets..

On the 10th - I've bravely scheduled another meeting of Those who Do Not Come. It's my last weekend in London before Christmas, you see. Well, so far Ivan and my first boss in London are probable attendees, the one person who came the last two times probably not, for once. We shall see - I've booked The Lucas Arms - O' Neill's isn't taking bookings for that day. Deposit payable, refundable with cancellation up to 72 hours beforehand.

And on the 11th, I'm vaguely thinking of heading to see Carnaby Street's Christmas lights..

London Sheep Drive & Livery Fair

Today, booked with Discover London - History Walks and Events for the London Sheep Drive & Livery Fair. Have to hand it to her, she always comes up with interesting things..

Ah well, it wasn't the easiest thing to drag myself out of bed, but I managed it. Wasn't up as late as often recently, to be fair. And trotted off in time to catch my bus - which was diverted, but handily, that meant it dropped me even closer to the Royal Exchange, where we were to meet!

Ironically, I found myself passing a cash machine - when, for once, I didn't need cash! One person needed the loo, and found it harder to find that - this part of town isn't known for its public toilets, and particularly on a Sunday morning! She eventually found an open pub.

After the scheduled 15-minutes grace period, we headed off - stopping first on Walbrook, for a sheepy connection!

So that's the origin of the word "worshipful" as applied to guilds and such - means they had a church associated with them!

And so, on to London Bridge. Where the footpath on one side was blocked off to regular pedestrians, being for the exclusive use of sheep and their drovers:

There were several "pockets" of sheep, so what seemed to be happening was they were run / walked for a little between stages. And, as subsequently seen at the Livery Fair, it seemed you could apply for a certificate to drive them! There were staged drives through the day, and they seemed to be doing good business:

The Livery Fair also afforded people the chance to get closer to the sheep:

Sheep in the City, eh!

Well, we hadn't really known what to expect, but it was interesting. Our guide had planned to take us to the Lamb Tavern, in Leadenhall Market, afterwards - but it was completely blocked off to the public! For a private event, it seems - perhaps the folks from the sheep drive, being ironic? Instead, we ended back in the Monument pub, across from the Livery Fair - but lo, they were no longer doing food by 2.15 (!) and at least a couple of us were hungry. (The place was filthy, too - nobody seemed to be clearing up. Staff shortage?) So, off we schlepped, to Cote, in Hay's Galleria:

Where the maitre d' was initially dubious about seating us, but there was room to squeeze us in upstairs. And we were v well fed - steak frites for both, one with the optional upgrade of truffle fries, triple-cooked. Unfortunately, he wasn't mad about those. But his cheeseboard went down better, as did the truffles I had for dessert - and a bottle of their v nice Chardonnay. So, it was a long, leisurely, enjoyable lunch, and a most successful afternoon!

Tomorrow, as usual, I'm on my own.. heading to Divas, at the QT bar. Which, of course, focuses on the hits of - the divas! Now, I see that Over 40 Living the Life are going to this, too, but the event is full - I can't actually remember where I got the idea to go to the show, but it might well have been from them!

And on Tuesday, back with Laurence Summers and the 45+ Not Grumpy Old Londoners! (Considering I probably won't be in a job at that point.) Gee, seems ages since I saw them.. Anyway, this walk is around Sophisticated (& Sometimes Seedy) St. James'..