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: A City Built by a Genius - Wren's London

Now, I have an old friend, Vicki, in Cork, whom I usually go down to see once a year, staying the night - usually at Christmas, but she was too busy for me last Christmas. So we arranged for me to go and stay last Tuesday, coming back next day. (Just when the first storm of the season was supposed to hit! Typical.) Now, that realistically meant I couldn't fly to London before Thursday - but with nothing unmissable yesterday, I booked to fly back last night instead. I checked on my holiday request, and it looked approved.. Long story short, the "severe weather" we were promised didn't appear as scary when I tested it - and I was lucky with petrol, which I got on Monday night, and which jumped by 2c/l overnight! And gee, it was great to see her.. tricky to organise things with people you don't see often, but in this case, worth the effort. Roll on the next time..

On Thursday, I thought about Plan 75, showing at the Belltable as part of the Japanese Film Festival - people aged 75 or older are given the option of assisted suicide, with free burial, and a $1000 grant to do with as they please in the meantime. Mentioned it to my mother, who raised no objection.. until, of course, I had booked it, whereupon she suddenly started begging me to stay in that night. Bah humbug - I was half expecting it, but she could have said it earlier..

Flying back, I couldn't get the early evening Ryanair flight, and was on the late one again. Which was, of course, late.. only by an hour, this time though - I've known it much worse. Main thing is to make the Stansted Express, whose last departure from Stansted is at 12.30am, and which I did. I definitely had to be back in London for today though, when I was booked on another walk with Laurence Summers and the 45+ Not Grumpy Old Londoners! This one was A City built by a Genius - Wren's London. He's now scheduling walks I haven't done for days I can make them! Very cool.. because I do love his walks. And lunches.

Still, it was hard to pull myself out of bed - but it's been worse. And I just made the bus. Changing buses (because I could, and it saved me a lot of walking), I was privy to some excellent high-speed driving by a car with a siren and flashing lights, zipping in and out of the traffic; I couldn't have bettered it myself! Arrived at The Liberty Bounds - where there was no-one outside. Correctly assumed - on what wasn't the warmest of days - that they were sheltering inside, and joined them there. Mind you, as someone remarked to me - stay away from the hot chocolate. Funny, I've never had it here, but that exact thought occurred to me en route.. Rather lacking in chocolate, it seems!

And in due course - after determining that the no-shows weren't just lost - off we went. Now, this was primarily a church walk - but not exclusively. For example, we passed the evocatively named Hung, Drawn and Quartered pub, just down from the Tower of London - which bears the following amusing plaque:

Speaking of churches, I'd heard of Sir Christopher Wren proving the stability of one of his structures by having his daughter sleep under it - behold, that church turned out to be St. Dunstan-in-the-East!

Destroyed by the double-whammy of Great Fire and Blitz, it's now a picturesque garden. Where a party was in swing as we passed:

Again, there was more to see than churches:

Of course, our path took us to the Monument (to the Great Fire) - where we had a chat about the architect:

D' you know, they used to have a telescope inside! Well, why not..

Our most successful church of the day was St. Mary Aldermary ("Older Mary", there having been a previous St. Mary's on the site). Turned out to be open - unusually for a Saturday; they were preparing for Orthodox Easter, tomorrow! And not only were we let in, but got a detailed lecture on the building's history from someone who works there - runs the church on occasional Saturdays. And graciously, he gave us all a flier on the church's history, and told us everything he knew about the place! Really, he couldn't have done more.

He helpfully explained to us that this is not Wren's typical style.. and pointed out to us the stained glass memorial to a benefactor:

Most of the stained glass windows bear the arms of the livery companies that sponsored their restoration, following the Blitz. Lovely place to visit, all in all - and they have a cafe on weekdays, if you want to check it out.

And so to St. Mary-le-Bow, within the sound of whose bells you must be born to be considered a Cockney. I'd heard that before - but not the story of the balcony, reminiscent of an earlier, wooden one, which had collapsed, taking the King and Queen with it, during celebrations for the birth of their son!

Finally, to Wren's masterpiece - St. Paul's: on the corner where we stood, of course, you can see four of his churches at once. And, massive as it is, I'd forgotten that a line of sculptures, rounding the edge of the area where it sits, mark the original expanse of the cathedral that preceded this one! Now, that must have been a sight..

Lovely tour, plenty of winding alleys, unexpected corners, and well - nooks and crannies! It's amazing how there's always more to explore. Fair enough, as he said, you have a better chance of finding churches open on Fridays, when he normally does the tour - but yay for the weekend outing for those of us who can't typically manage that! And needless to say, entertaining as ever.

Ah, I miss working in the building we were standing in front of at this point.. great area for shopping, as I remarked. And for lunch. Speaking of which, we then dispersed, most of us coming for lunch, in the Punch Tavern. Where I wasn't sure I'd been, but thought so - but no, methinks now I only saw it in passing! Hey-ho, I had steak again - and while not the pinnacle of all steaks I've ever had, it was very welcome. Lovely peppercorn sauce with it - and massive chips! And a real character of a manager - you can't miss him, tall as he is, with a booming voice. And a jovial time was had. Ah, great to see folks again.. Roll on the next, although I'm limited when I can come:

Rolled home at last - to find the most passive-agressive parking I've seen, in my road!

Now, my boss suggested - quite a while ago - that we might have a jaunt to the head office in Tel Aviv tomorrow! I hadn't heard anything since, though - so I finally asked him. He confirmed that it won't be until at least next month now - wants to get the latest release out. (Just as well really, with all the unrest over there.) So I'll be in London this week. And in fact, tomorrow, I finally found something good to do - London Herstory Guided Walks is doing Movers & Shakers of Marylebone! Great to be back with Mandy again.

However, there isn't honestly much coming up that interests me on Meetup - so I'm thinking of heading to the cinema on Monday and Tuesday. I've been having terrible trouble with that film listings site, though - even at time of writing, the listings for this week aren't complete! and new listings have been added since yesterday. Anyway, for Monday, what it's currently looking like is The Beasts - set in Galicia, in Spain, this is the story of a French couple who move to a rural area, only to spark an argument with a couple of their neighbours.. I hear good things. Showing in my local cinema, the Curzon Bloomsbury. Not that you'd know it from the listings site, which - last I looked - had no listing for that, in that cinema, for Monday!

For Tuesday, what's coming up is a Ginger Rogers film - the BFI is doing a season of her films. This one is a comedy called Bachelor Mother - daring for 1939, it has her as a single mother! Mind you, in her case, she finds the baby abandoned outside an orphanage.. also stars David Niven, and Charles Coburn as her father.

For Wednesday, I've booked For Black Boys Who Have Considered Suicide.. at the Apollo. I have a front-row seat in the Dress Circle - now, I seem to remember ridiculously tight legroom, here - so I'm at the end of a row, and Seatplan says it'll be OK if I lean forward.. Just today, they asked me to "check in", and thereupon sent me my ticket..

On Thursday, I'm with TAC for a talk on Arab & Islamic Roots of Europe's Architecture, at St. Mary Magdalene Church.

Then it's back to Ireland for the weekend. On the 24th, back with Up in the Cheap Seats for The Secret Life of Bees, at the Almeida - no seats left in the stalls, when I booked! Seatplan made me wary of the cheapest seats, so I'm in the next bracket up..

And on the 25th, back with Over 40 Living the Life, for dinner at the Greenwich Yacht Club again. Well, it was good last time - good food, cheap prices, good company. Four of us going so far - I'm sure there'll be more!

Strange Tales of Old (and New) London Tour

Today, I booked for the Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street Tour with Poppy's Events for 40s 50s and 60s, another new group to me. But Laurence and the 45+ Not Grumpy Old Londoners had a walk today as well - the Strange Tales of Old (and New) London Tour. And with the company I'm waiting on saying they wouldn't let me know before today (and haven't, at time of writing) - I was free. So I went on this instead - didn't fancy doing both, although I could have.

Good for me, I got out in time to get the bus. I'd have to change, but that should have been fine - except for the slowest driver known to humanity, who moseyed along the route, stopping at every stop regardless of whether anyone was there, waiting at stops for no apparent reason - and of course I missed my connection. So, I ended up on the Tube after all - which I could have taken in the first place! At least the District Line was nice and cool - outside was a different story, as the heat was becoming oppressive. It was but a short trot to The Liberty Bounds, where we were to meet, but I was glad to have Google Maps to direct me - and there was our guide, who just stepped out as I arrived, fielding calls on his phone, and was able to direct me to the back, where the others were. As we were waiting, I had time to grab a much-needed lemonade..

Some interesting historical stuff down the back:

Throughout today's walk, Laurence took care of us, stopping in the shade where possible - and it was most helpful. We spent some time around the Tower, where some gruesome tales were told.. and members of his audience were oh so ready to contribute. In due course, we continued to the City - imagine, only a couple of months since I lived there! Still feels like home, in a way.

There's a wealth of information to be told about all these buildings, and their layers of history.. Sadly, when we came to the church of St. Helen Bishopsgate, it was closed to us - unusually, it seems. But it certainly sounds worth further investigation.

And so to the knight that symbolises the knights to whom the land was given, once upon a time..

Afterwards, back to the Lord Aberconway, where after having a sandwich the last time, I decided to get a steak and ale pie. Which was very tasty - I had to leave most of the crust, mind, which was too tough! Interestingly, they had developed a policy of asking for people's names when taking their orders, so they could ask for the person when they arrived with them, rather than for who ordered what - a very good idea, except for the name they completely mispronounced so the fellow had no idea they were talking about him! Otherwise, it was a good lunch, where - as one of our table said - we "set the world to rights".

Thence, on to the Red Lion again, where we took up most of the upstairs - as Laurence remarked, it was great to see that most people from the walk did stay for lunch, and then for drinks! and a good conversation, as ever. As we left, someone fancied ice cream - so we ended up doing a tour of Eataly, and finishing with some goodies. Another excellent afternoon with Laurence, and with this group - there are advantages to being (temporarily) unemployed.

Tomorrow, I'm off to see The Ehrlich Brothers, a magic show at the Wembley Arena. (Oh goodee, a lie-in!) This is with Friendly Frolickers 50+ Meetup Group - so I've joined them as well. I was - as often happens - rather frazzled when I booked though, and completely forgot that they have their own, discounted tickets! Blast - they do this specifically so that they can sit together. Well, I've booked my own - more expensively - and explained. Can't be helped. Oh, and again, CT now has tickets for that very day..

On Sunday, I booked with the 45+s again - but not with Laurence this time! They do have walks guided by other people, and this one is of Brick Lane. Except.. today I noticed it's also on TAC. So I've now cancelled my original booking, and booked through them instead (cheaper). Oh, how mercenary of me.. but the guide was the one who decided to advertise it there as well!

For Monday, I finally gave up on Meetup - the best things coming up were walks, and it's supposed to rain. Instead, I'm headed with TAC to a show called Mediocre White Male, at the King's Head (another place I haven't been to in years!).

On Tuesday, back with Civilised London - for a Syrian meal this time, at Imad's Syrian Kitchen. Meeting beforehand at The Clachan.

On Wednesday - well, I've signed up with Soho Comedy Factory Shows and Socials, which organises free events on Wednesdays at the aforementioned Soho Comedy Factory. Again. And again, this is subject to change. Watch this space..

On Thursday, I've decided on film. Having garnered all the available films this week, I had an interesting choice to make: ended up eliminating lots of films from the top of the list for sheer lack of interest! Basically, the decision process ran like - if this came on TV, would I watch it or turn it off? And so I came down to the one I really wanted to see. Nope is the latest from the excellent Jordan Peele, and stars Daniel Kaluuya (again) as the hapless victim of horrific events - extra-terrestrials this time. With Jordan Peele's typical injection of humour, this promises to be fun! And it's on at my local, so I get to see it for free.

And then, of course, I'm back to Ireland for the weekend again.