Tigger has a half-day at work today and will leave the office at 11:30. I am, of course, going there to meet her. The rest of the day is ours!

Aboard the 153

I started my journey on a 153 bus, leaving plenty of time in case of delays like last time (see Midweek tigers).

London Wall – no congestion

When I changed buses in London Wall today, the road was clear and there were no holdups.

Zephyr

On arriving, I went down to St Katharine Docks as I usually do. The familiar crowd of yachts graced the moorings and today I photographed Zephyr which, with its tall mast and long bowsprit, is the one that most looks like a sailing ship, though the spars are bare with no sign of actual sails. (As you probably know, “Zephyr” is a poetic word for a light breeze or, according to some, the west wind.)

Ivory House

Gatepost elephant

The gateway from the road is decorated with a pair of elephants. Pretty as they are, they have sinister connotations as indicated by the name of the old warehouse to which the gate gives access: Ivory House. How many hundreds of elephants were slaughtered solely to harvest their tusks?

Crossing Tower Bridge

We walked across Tower Bridge. It was very busy with a long queue for visits.

Looking along the Thames

The weather is not very nice, as you can see, though it’s not actually raining at the moment.

Tower Bridge Road

We walked down Tower Bridge Road, looking for lunch.

The Raven

We found lunch in a small pub called the Raven. There were a couple of vegetarian items on the menu.

Cactus garden

There was a small cactus garden on our table.

Carriage entrance

Afterwards, we continued walking here and there and passed through a housing estate. Unusually, it had a carriage entrance but this was blocked with bollards.

Railway bridge

Continuing on, we went under a railway bridge and found ourselves in Bermondsey.

Boys’ entrance

Many London schools date from the early 20th century when they were commissioned by the old London School Board whose logo they still carry. These schools had separate entrances for boys, girls and infants. The gates often still survive though they are no longer used to segregate pupils.

Cornerstone
Austin Emery

We passed Tanner Street Park where this rather strange sculpture resides. By Austin Emery it is entitled Cornerstone.

Fuckoffee

We stopped for coffee at this coffee bar with the, shall we say racy, name? It was quite busy but we found a deep, soft settee which proved hard to leave!

St Mary Magdalen

This is St Mary Magdalen, a tall church hard to photograph in a narrow street.

The Watch House

Next to the church is its burial ground and in a corner of this stands a small but solid building. Currently a coffee bar, its original purpose is indicated by its name: the Watch House. Such shelters were built in burial grounds for the watchmen. Their job was to make sure that body snatchers did not steal newly buried corpses to sell to medical researchers. Closure of London burial grounds in the 1850s removed the need for guardians. Just a few watch houses survive.

Bermondsey Market – closing

We came upon Bermondsey Market and had a quick look but it was now 1:57 and the market closes at 2 pm so there was not much to see.

Methodist Central Hall

We stopped to admire the striking façade of the Methodist Central Hall, designed by Charles Bell and opened in 1900.

Albert Edward McKenzie memorial

We paused at this modern-style (almost cartoonish) likeness of Albert Edward McKenzie, holder of the VC for his bravery in the face of danger and dubbed “local hero”. Strangely, the name of the artist is not credited.

Aboard the 63

If you had asked me how to return to the Angel from here, I wouldn’t have had a clue but Tigger knew, of course. We crossed a busy junction to a bus stop and there caught a number 63 bus going to King’s Cross.

When we left the bus and crossed in front of King’s Cross Station, Tigger said she could smell coal smoke. Coal smoke, in London? Surely, not! But Tigger was right.

The Flying Scotsman – hardly visible

It turned out the the coal-burning steam locomotive the Flying Scotsman was in the station. We tried to see it but of course, crowds had gathered and we couldn’t pass the barrier to approach it without a ticket. We had to gaze from afar.

The Flying Scotsman glimpsed
Photo by Tigger

Tigger’s phone camera is better than mine and she managed this glimpse of the soon-to-be centenarian locomotive.

Aboard the 73

When we left the station, we saw a 73 bus at the stop. Surely, it would depart before we reached it? The driver saw us hurrying towards the stop and waited for us. We often encounter this sort of kindness on the part of London bus drivers. Our favourite back seats were available and we sat in them as we were carried up in hill to the Angel and home.

Not only have we had a weekday afternoon together but, as I often say on a Friday, “the weekend starts here!”