Breakfast at Borough Market & Wellington Arch

Today was a double-bill with Bucket List London, starting with breakfast in Maria's Market Cafe, followed by a trip to Wellington Arch (two separate events). And ooh, this was a tough one to drag myself out for - I was cursing having booked it, as I dragged myself out of bed. Not enough sleep.

I should have been able to walk it - but by the time I left, I was in doubt of getting there in time, so I took one of the mercifully quick and plentiful buses that head there from near my place. And then I had a short walk - and mercifully, Google Maps seems to have fixed itself, and in the maze that is Borough Market, led me straight to the cafe! And just as I realised that I'd found it, I was hailed by the organiser, who was there ahead of me, with a couple of other attendees. And we grabbed tables, and ordered - caveat, I think they only take cash! Amazingly, I even had some - imagine, it's been sat in my wallet for years, waiting for this very moment. Service was quick and friendly - drinks are served straight away, but keeping an eye on when your food comes out is maybe a better option than waiting for them to remember who ordered it..

We were lucky to be able to source two tables, close together apart from a railing that divided us. Some had breakfast baps, which looked substantial - my tummy doesn't generally wake that early though, and I stuck to toast, which was great, because I hadn't had it for years. (I do possess a toaster, but never get bread in, because it always goes off before I can get to it.) And hot chocolate, natch. And the best natter I've had in a while. Which continued as we headed off for doughnuts - not all of us felt like them, and unfortunately our organiser, who'd generously bought one extra, found no takers for it, and ended up babysitting it as we walked on..

The craic was mighty, as you might say - a very friendly bunch had turned out, and it was something of a wrench to leave them. And I sincerely hope to meet them again soon. But we had another Meetup to get to! Now, under different circumstances, I might have thought of a bus to Wellington Arch - but today was the Lord Mayor's Show, and lots of central London was blocked off. So, Tube it was - and to be fair, we arrived just in nice time, and were in situ before anyone else came.

There's a chariot on top - I wasn't organised enough to get a photo, but did learn a new name: "Quadriga". So, this chariot, drawn by four horses, is apparently a quadriga, and was erected in 1911, in memory of Edward VII, who had just died. How did I get this far in life without hearing the name "quadriga"..?

Well, the gift shop here is well worth a look. And mercifully, there's a lift to the third floor - where you can look at some artwork, and take a flight of steps to a level with a heavy door on either side, each of which leads onto a balcony, where you can take in the view. 

Now, I have to say, we were not massively enthused by the artworks on display. Actually, I think if we'd looked on the intermediate floors, we'd have found more - but TBH, we weren't that pushed. No, instead, as suggested, we schlepped across the road to Apsley House, the former residence of the Duke of Wellington, which the organiser had been to before and which he said was good. 

It's positively criminal that photos aren't allowed - this house is gorgeous! More than all the works on display - and there are lots: artworks, china collections, sword collections - the decor is sumptuous, and not too overbearing. The upstairs rooms have a cosy feel, and the attention to detail is tremendous. One room, modelled on Versailles, has mirrored windows, and we had a demonstration - close the shutters, and there's a panel that slides out of the side of the window, and has a full-length mirror! Apsley House was a terrific Plan B, and kudos to our organiser for retracing his steps for our benefit. Highly recommended.

In due course, he and his companion doughnut took themselves off, and those of us left went in search of edibles. In search of somewhere not a full restaurant, we ended up in Pret a Manger, where we had lunch, and a good long chat. Another very successful day with this group - I don't have anything else booked with them just yet, but will keep an eye out!

The next three days, no socialising for me - I'm with my cheap ticket groups. Tomorrow, I'm at Conway Hall with CT, for a concert by the Coull Quartet.

The following two days are with TAC. On Monday, I'm headed to Whattalife! - part of the Wimbledon Music Festival, which I always end up attending at least once in a year, this is the story of English contralto Kathleen Ferrier. Takes place in St. John's Church, as usual.

On Tuesday, it's comedy - Holier Than Thou is a one-man show about a vicar, playing in the Canal Cafe Theatre.

On Wednesday, back with Invigorate for a pub crawl! (Oops, I mean a tour of historic pubs..) Now, that's also my birthday, so I'm sure I'll get a birthday drink! ;-)

I would have travelled somewhere foreign for my birthday, but well, that's not so much of an option these days. Anyway, I'm taking that day off work - so my boss has suggested birthday drinks for me on Thursday, as we should be back in the office by then. And then I'm back to Ireland for the weekend - it's easier to get Friday flights at the moment!

Kenwood House, Hampstead, Visit

Today, my first outing with another new group - Bucket List London is off to Kenwood House, and I said I'd join them. You don't have to book, but it guarantees availability- tickets for free from English Heritage, via See Tickets. We were to meet at 11, and it'd take me the better part of an hour to get there - so naturally, I didn't get to bed early enough. And waking this morning wasn't the easiest, let me tell you..

Well hey, off I went. In light rain, which hadn't been forecast the night before. The only option to get me there in under an hour was Northern Line, followed by a bus - which is what I did. And happily, the Tube was early, so I got there early, and had time to get slightly lost, as usual. But it isn't desperately hard to find:

Well, our organiser had given good directions, so I managed to find our meeting place without too much trouble. No organiser, though - until I finally spotted him, dressed as he'd said he'd be. Full of apologies for being slightly late. See now, this is why I wouldn't fancy being an organiser - I do my best to be on time, but it's not always easy, and stuff happens. Anyway, no harm done - some of the group had already gone in, it transpired, but we caught up with them.

Kenwood House, it turns out, is famous for being the beneficiary of the Iveagh bequest - the first Earl of Iveagh saved the house from development by buying it. Then gifted it to the nation. Decent bloke.

The contents had already been sold, but he used the house to showcase some of the finest pieces from his art collection. I'm not an art aficionada, but even I had to be impressed when viewing the mixture of Rembrandt, Gainsborough, Constable.. and interestingly, he preferred pictures of women and children, in general..

The architecture is lovely, the presentation of the paintings carefully considered - and the volunteers hanging around in most rooms are generally only delighted to chat about their subject! "Yes, this is the family associated with Guinness, the stout." "Yes, this clock is as old as your country!" (said to an American). Mind you, I thought I'd never get away from the woman who wanted to talk about Ireland, which she'd visited, and loved.. well, she eventually got snagged by somebody who wanted to ask about a painting, and I made a graceful exit. But they're among the most engaged volunteers I've met, anywhere.

The gift shop didn't tempt me - but the coffee shop did, where I had a most excellent, vegan, chocolate orange cake and a hot chocolate. Large. And very hot. And we sat in what was now very pleasant sunshine, where we found plentiful seating, and chatted merrily - and I was back on the Tube with our gregarious organiser. Yes, had a lovely time meeting people! and this is a group I'll keep an eye out for, from now on.

Now, I hadn't had a huge amount to eat yet today - and food was high on my list. So I said, well, for the hell of it, I'll try Cote Barbican again - you might remember that they were booked up when I tried to get a table there, in lashing rain, a couple of weeks ago.. So, in I went, started by saying I didn't have a reservation, but - could I get a table for one? (I could see plenty of empty tables this time.) "Of course! Where would you like to sit?" Hmph. Maybe it was the weather, last time..?

Steak-frites, as usual, and wine, and I decided to try the garlic bread. Yeah - not sure I will again: nothing wrong with it, except the quantity. I didn't have it half finished by the time my main course arrived, and never did get more than half of the garlic bread eaten.. it's just too much. Besides, I needed to leave room for dessert - which was their delectably rich chocolate mousse (topped with cocoa powder). Yup, I was well fed, and practically rolled home. Wow, a much more successful day all round than two weeks ago..

Tomorrow, I found something interesting with London Walks, Art & Culture Explorers! Yet another new one for me. This is an "Uncomfortable Statues Walk" - statues commemorating controversial people. I can think of a few, and it'll be interesting to see which come up on this! Another early start though, damnit. Still, it'll be an early night tonight.

On Monday, I'm with London Classical Music & Theatre Group, for a choral performance (annual, apparently) by The Sixteen in Temple Church. Fantastic, and I've never actually been inside!

On Tuesday, I'm with Guided Walking Tours in Brighton and Sussex (!). They have an online talk entitled Hallowe'en Penny Dreadful Online Show - The Art of Victorian Horror. I have to say, online has become much more of an option since lockdown. And that'll be a night I can move stuff from my desk - we have to clear them out by the end of the week, as we're moving office next month!

On Wednesday, I booked another walk with Invigorate - this one is a tour of (the outside of) Christopher Wren's churches. Starting even closer to the office than the last one, handily. Rain is forecast - I hope it doesn't get too bad.

On Thursday, an online storytelling double-bill - I'll have to see how that pans out. First, I'd booked Universe, a Crick Crack Club (CCC) show happening in Oxford and live-streamed. Clare Murphy - and I've seen it before, and it was the best show ever! And then I saw that Martin Shaw from the CCC was doing an online show, earlier in the evening.. this one, in association with Watkins Bookshop, is called The Smoke Hole, and it's free. So I said, hey, why not? (And this is realistically the last night I can move stuff from my desk.)

On Friday, back with the London European Club for a concert - Balkan Music, courtesy of Raka & Balamuc, in The Post Bar, Tottenham. Sounds like fun. Even if I have to bring my work laptop, as we won't have access to our desks by that night. Then I'm back to Ireland - another Saturday flight - and with a few days off, I'm not flying back until the 28th. At least I'm not working from home this time, so don't have to bring the laptop on the flight!

But on the 29th, back with that group again, for Carmen - contemporary flamenco at The Place. (Might work from home that day, as we won't be in our new office yet, and I'd have to carry my laptop around with me.) Funnily enough, someone in the group said there were no individual seats left, and asked whether anyone wanted to double up with her. I offered, if there were no other takers - but she never got back to me. So, since I was now up to that date in my schedule, I decided to check for myself - and got an individual seat! So I've booked it.

And on the 30th, I'm doing something nice and Halloweeny - a ghost story event entitled Night Owl - changed from Scared to Death in the Woods, which they're now doing on Hallowe'en itself, and which has sold out. Tickets from Design My Night. So, an organisation called London Dreamtime is leading us off into a undisclosed location, somewhere around Hampstead Heath (where I was today, actually).. we're to dress warmly, and bring a blanket to sit on, and a "candle in a jar" - I actually went out and bought an LED flickering candle in a lantern-style holder. Well, thought it was the most practical! Now I just need batteries..