We are meeting a friend this morning and the chosen meeting place is Waterloo Station. After breakfast, we prepared ourselves and set out.

St John Street

The weather is grey and dull though the temperature has risen to more comfortable levels (around 11°C). We made our way to the bus stop in St John Street.

Aboard the 341

We caught a 341 bus that has its terminus at Waterloo Station. The journey was longer than normal because road works caused the bus to be diverted but we arrived at the rendezvous at last.

Entering Waterloo Station

We entered the station which was quite busy today. There were no rail strikes in progress so all trains were running.

A view from the terrace

We went up the escalators to the terrace where there are shops and eateries though they all seem to be closing down at present. I don’t know why. From here you have a view of the station concourse with people rushing hither and thither, like an overturned ants’ nest.

Benugo

We had a while to wait for our friend and so we found seats and bought coffee from the Benugo stall.

The Sunbathers
Peter Lazlo Peri

Our friend arrived and we made our way out of the station, on the way passing this sculpture entitled The Sunbathers. It was made by Peter Lazlo Peri for the Festival of Britain (1951) and subsequently lost. Having been found and restored, it is now displayed on a wall of Waterloo Station.

Female face, Waterloo Station

The station has its own set of sculptures, some of which are memorials of the two World Wars and others, like the above face, which are part of the decor.

Lower Marsh

From the station we went into the nearby street with the intriguing name of Lower Marsh. You will find an explanation of the name here.

Vaulty Towers

On one of its corners is this highly decorated pub with the rather derivative name of Vaulty Towers.

Stow-Away Hotel

In stark contrast to the foregoing is the unlovely façade of the Stow-Away Hotel. Why, I wonder, do modern architects deliberately cultivate ugliness? And what is wrong with their clients that they actually accept these awful designs?

Scooter Caffe

We went into one of our favourite coffee places, now called Scooter Caffe. It used to be called Scooter Works and I think it did originally sell motor scooters. This days it is just a pleasant and popular coffee bar.

In Scooter Caffe

We spent some time here, catching up, and then, when our friend had to leave, walked a little way with him.

Into the Graffiti Tunnel

As we usually do, we walked through a now closed-off street that passes under the station. Originally called Leake Street, it has been turned over to street artists and is familiarly known as the Graffiti Tunnel or, more recently, as Leake Street Arches.

Painting, Leake Street

There was plenty of activity there today with some artists at work.

Looking back

The tunnel continues to be well used and paintings continually succeed one another. In my view, however, its glory days have passed – something that I feel is true of street art in general – and much that is on offer today is lacklustre. I emphasise that that is my personal opinion; others might disagree.

Mamúska

Having parted from our friend, we went for lunch. For this we chose the Polish bar restaurant Mamúska.

In Mamúska

The restaurant occupies an arch in a railway bridge and the interior might be described as cavernous. Despite the size, the staff were attentive and we didn’t have to wait long to be served. The menu of course contains Polish dishes, most of which contain meat or fish. There are a few Vegan options, which are Polish dishes in which the meat has been replaced with something else. I don’t know what this is and didn’t care ti investigate. Tigger enjoyed hers but I an not in a hurry to repeat the experience. In a curious twist, we ordered tea and this came accompanied by hot milk!

Iranian protest

We walked to Westminster Bridge and became briefly mixed up in an Iranian protest group. The protest was peaceful and well behaved, the protestors being shepherded by a number of police officers.

Palace of Westminster

We walked along the south bank if the Thames from where I took this photo of the Palace of Westminster, which of course includes the Houses of Parliament and the clock tower known popularly as Big Ben, possibly the best known clock in the world.

National Covid Memorial Wall

We visited the National Covid Memorial Wall which is covered with thousands of pink snd red hearts, many with moving inscriptions to individual victims of the pandemic written by their bereaved loved ones. The sheer number of hearts brings home to one how many people died in the pandemic.

In the shadow of Lambeth Palace

We reached a bus stop in the shadow of Lambeth Palace, the London home of the Archbishop of Canterbury. We waited there for a bus to take us on the next stage of our journey.

Aboard the C10

We caught a single-deck C10 bus which took us through a maze of streets to Victoria Station.

Already boarding

It was our intention to catch a 38 bus back to the Angel. I was hoping to have a look around Victoria and take some photos but the 38 was already boarding when we arrived so we went aboard.

Back seat on the 38

We were able to occupy what are our favourite seats in these 3-door buses, the rear-facing back seat. This has plenty of leg room and affords a quick exit through the rear door. The large window provides a wide-screen view of the world during our ride.

Back at the Angel and home

The 38 delivered us safely to the Angel, the place that since 2005 has been the centre of my universe or, in common terminology, the place I call home.