We are going to Bromley today to meet friends, our first meeting with them since the onset of the pandemic.

Black Sheep Coffee

We started with coffee and croissants at Black Sheep near King’s Cross Station.

The twin stations

We then continued down the road to King’s Cross and St Pancras Stations. We set off from St Pancras, knowing we would have to change trains.

Platforms for the south

We descended to the lower level to catch our first train. The nearly empty platforms were a good sign and I hoped it would be as uncrowded everywhere.

On the escalator at London Bridge Station

Our first change is at London Bridge. Here we are on an escalator going down.

We change here at Peckham Rye to a train for Bromley South.

Aboard the train for Bromley South

We arrive at Bromley South

It’s raining in Bromley

We are waiting in Caffè Nero

We met our friends and walked along Bromley High Street. The rain had stopped, fortunately.

We entered the shopping centre which is called the Glades but is not anything like a glade and was too crowded for comfort.

Our friends had business at the Three Mobile shop.

This wall is painted in honour of Charles Darwin.

In front of Darwin is the old town pump.

We had lunch at the Japanese noodle bar.

Afterwards, we went for a walk, passing this fine old pub.

Do you think we are in Bromley North, by any chance?

We met the balloon seller. Just as well it’s not windy today.

There is a street market as well as shops.

Well, I had to photograph this, of course.

We walked along here, looking in some of the shops. I can’t say that Bromley impressed me either with its beauty or its interest, though I expect someone loves it.

We returned to Caffè Nero for coffee and cake. Then we bade our friends adieu.

We went to the station where we soon had a train.

Here we are, on the train. This one went to London Blackfriars where we changed to one that carried us to St Pancras.

From St Pancras, a 214 bus took us the rest of the way home. Thus ended our trip to Bromley.

Written “on the hoof” during our trip to, at and from Bromley.

Crafts Council Gallery

This is the Crafts Council Gallery in Pentonville Road. For quite a long time it has been closed while renovation work was in progress. Tigger noticed that it finally opened today and proposed that we pay a visit. The current exhibition is entitled Maker’s Eye: Stories of Craft.

As is usual these days, even though admission is free (and photography is permitted), you still need to reserve tickets, to prevent overcrowding. However, we were fortunate in arriving at a quiet time and were admitted almost immediately.

A tantalising glimpse

During our brief wait, we sat in the lobby from where we had a tantalising glimpse of the exhibition. Very soon we were able to pass through the door and view the exhibits.

I’ll be honest and say the crafts are not my bag and that I did not really pay close attention to the exhibits. The fact that not everything was labelled was also a discouragement to close attention. Most of the photos are therefore general views of the exhibition.

View including “St Sebastian”
Photo by Tigger

This view by Tigger includes a knitted one-piece suit that includes a non-detachable head covering. It was suspended from the ceiling and rotated slowly back and forth creating, to my mind, a rather sinister tableau, an effect increased by the fact that it was transpierced by a number of knitting needles, a clear reference to St Sebastian. I think this is an example of “crafts meet art”. You will find the creator’s explanation of the work here.

Oversized coffee mug

There was an oversized coffee mug (about 4 feet tall) and…

A giant glove

…a giant knitted glove, which I estimate to be about 3 feet long from the cuff to the end of the middle finger. These are obviously exhibition pieces to demonstrate the skill of the makers, not practical products.

Jointed wooden snake

As usual, my attention was caught by animal shapes. If I could have taken one object home, it would have been this one.

Chairs

Here is an easy chair and some stacking chairs, surrounded by a bewildering collection of objects in all kinds of materials.

A Whatnot

This large and somewhat strange object naturally produces the reaction “What’s that?!” The answer, according to the label, is that it is a “Megatron – Whatnot – Étagère”. I think that means that you can put things on it to keep them and/or display them. It was made in 1985 by Fred Baier.

I might add that much of the space on the walls was occupied by shelves continuing books in sufficient numbers, I think, to deserve the title “library”. Presumably, visitors can consult these books to learn about crafts.

Sunshine in Claremont Square

Tigger was hoping that the gallery boasted a cafe but in this she was disappointed. Instead, on leaving the gallery, we headed in a predictable direction, passing through this familiar square upon which the sun was now shining.

At Myddelton’s

We betook ourselves to Myddelton’s deli (as you no doubt guessed) and found a table outside.

Watching the pigeons

We watched the pigeons and…

Drinking our coffee
Photo by Tigger

…of course, drank our coffee.

St Mark’s Church

Then we returned home and my last photo was this one of St Mark’s Church lit with afternoon sunshine.

Today is once more cloudy with a promise of rain.

Cloudy skies

We went out for coffee followed by a local walk. Ever and anon we felt rain drops on our face or hands.

Looking across Amwell Street to River Street

We took our coffee at a table outside the deli. I took this photo and the two following ones, views from where I was sitting. Need I say again that I have come to love this neighbourhood and feel happy looking around me?

Amwell Street and the Lloyd & Son dairy

Amwell Street is intermittently busy with traffic using it to connect main roads. When it’s quiet, it gives the impression of a village high street, into which the old Lloyd & Son dairy (currently a hairdresse’s) fits perfectly.

Lloyd Baker Street

All three views are from our table outside the deli. This one shows Lloyd Baker Street and a row of smaller Georgian-style houses.

I had to use a walking stick

I had to use a walking stick today. This is because when I woke up this morning I found I was suffering severe back pain. I have suffered this before, though some time ago, and it is disappointing that it has occurred again.

Entering Cumberland Gardens

After our scoffee break we went for a local stroll. Here we are entering Cumberland Gardens.

I have mentioned that a window box competition has been arranged in the neighbourhood and below is a selection of boxes we saw today.

Some are more ambitious, and perhaps more “expert”, than others, but all are welcome as they brighten up the houses and the streets.

New growth for the tree stump

And so back to the title of this post, “Never give up”. I was saddened when this tree in Inglebert Street was cut down though I expect that there was a good reason for this. When we passed by it today, we saw that the stump has grown new branches with leaves, showing that there is life and determination in it yet. If one needed an illustration of fortitude in the face of adversity, this is surely it.

When we set out this morning, the weather was cloudy with a threat of rain. We dressed accordingly, that is, with enough garments to fit whichever way the weather decided to turn.

Cloudy and threatening to rain

We strolled round Myddelton Square, making our way in leisurely fashion to the deli.

The sun came out… briefly

By the time we reached the deli, in one of those turn-abouts typical of our beloved British weather, the sun came out. It was a brief respite, though, and for the rest of our outing cloudy spells alternated with sunny intervals and the occasional spattering of rain. Don’t you just love it? 🙂

Aboard a number 30

After our coffee break, we returned uphill to the main road and caught a number 30 bus which started us on the way to our intended destination.

St Martin-in-the-Fields

The bus delivered us to Trafalgar Square and the early 18th-century Church of St Martin-in-the-Fields. After nearly 300 years, the church is still here and in use but the fields that once surrounded it and in whose honour it was named, are long gone.

Nelson, still atop his column

We changed buses at Trafalgar Square where I took a quick photo through the traffic of its most famous inhabitant. Nelson is still standing on his column but for how long? There is a body of opinion that he should be removed because of his alleged racist views.

Beside the Thames

We disembarked beside the Thames which was dressed in grey to harmonise with the meteorological theme.

The Tate Britain Gallery

Opposite was our destination, the Tate Britain Gallery. We were not sure whether or not we would manage to enter as all galleries currently limit access to avoid over-crowding and you need to obtain tickets, even for free exhibitions. Perhaps because it was a week day, we were able to acquire tickets without difficulty. These were for the main exhibits, not for the special exhibitions which were booked up solid all day. We were happy with this as there were a couple of temporary exhibitions that we could see. In order to obtain tickets, we had to give our names and telephone numbers in case we needed to be notified of Covid infections occurring in the gallery.

Inside Tate Britain

The building itself is worth visiting for its architectural interest as this view of the staircase perhaps suggests. A one-way system was in force, as everywhere these days, and these stairs were “up only”: to come down you had to go another way.

The gallery cafe

Before proceeding to view the art, we paid a visit to the gallery cafe.

Coffee and cake

Here we treated ourselves to coffee and cake. Well, why not? It was a special occasion in a sense, our first post-Covid visit to a major art gallery.

First glimpse of the art

We first visited an exhibition, a commission by Heather Phillipson entitled Rupture No1: Blowtorching the Bitten Peach. I will not attempt to interpret or “explain” it. Make of it what you can with the help if the linked page.

There were still objects, like this one which is paired with an identical twin, and moving objects or screens with motion pictures as in the photo above. The universal red lighting sometimes made it difficult to see clearly.

“Like something from a nightmare,” said Tigger of this piece. Agreed.

This is a detail from the “nightmare figure”, showing that it is papered all over was sheets from newspapers.

These wheeled vehicles or machines, provided with massive animal horns, were grouped around a pool of water like animals round a waterhole.

From the outside and…

…from the inside.

My Tuk Tuk
Chila Kumari Singh Burman, 2018

We stopped to photograph this object as we were on our way to the next exhibition.

This exhibition consisted visually of a structure like a theatrical stage on which were a number of animals on stalks. It was accompanied by a monologue or commentary of which I, with my faulty hearing, could understand little. We stayed only a short while. It is called COOKING SECTIONS SALMON: A RED HERRING. Perhaps you can make sense of it.

There was the rest of the permanent collection to see but with art, as with any nourishment, there is a limit to how much I can consume at one sitting.

The gallery shop

We of course visited the gallery shop but didn’t buy anything.

St John Smith Square

From the Tate Britain we set out on foot and passed through Smith Square which is dominated by the early 18th-century church dedicated to St John. No longer serving as a church, St John’s Smith Square is now a concert hall. Many concerts broadcast by the BBC take place here.

Aboard a number 88

We boarded a number 88 bus to begin our journey home.

Eros, boarded up

We passed through Piccadilly Circus and saw that the famous fountain with its statue of Eros was boarded up. A workman was applying to the barriers what I took to be anti-climb paint. I imagine this is because an influx of hooligans is expected, stupid people whose idiotic behaviour spoils things for the rest of us.

We changed buses in Piccadilly and arrived home in time for a late lunch. It was a good outing and, all being well, there will be more tomorrow.

Tigger was at work today and I had things to do at home. I did go out later, though, as the title hints and I shall explain shortly.

The main event was the Annual Gas Check. If you do not know what this is, I will briefly explain. In the UK all domestic properties are required by law to be inspected annually for gas safety. Every year, then, we receive a letter from the Council inviting us to phone to arrange an appointment. I arranged for this to be done today, when Tigger was at work, so as not to mess up a day when she was free. As they never tell you exactly when the engineer will call, you have to wait in until that felicitous event occurs. This year there was a bonus: not only did they check our installation for safety but also stuck a CO detector on the wall to warn of leaks. (Actually, we had already bought one ourselves but I suppose having two makes us doubly safe!)

The other matter keeping me at home was a couple of deliveries of online purchases. These were too big to post through the letterbox so I had to be on hand to receive them.

These tasks having duly been completed, Tigger suggested I meet her at Liverpool Street Station on her way home. Some time ago, we had bought a packet of pancakes and they had been languishing in the fridge ever since. As their best-before date was fast approaching, we needed to eat them soon. The plan was to buy takeaway coffees, find somewhere pleasant to sit and consume coffee and pancakes there. What could possibly go wrong?

The bus stop

Tigger left work at 6 pm and at the same time I left home and walked to the bus stop in St John Street.

Aboard the 153

Here I am, aboard the 153, heading towards Luverpool Street Station.

Entering Finsbury Avenue Square

At this time of day, many coffee outlets are closed but we made our way hopefully to Finsbury Avenue Square where we found Baraka still dispensing coffee. We now had to find somewhere where we could sit and eat our pancakes. I asked above “What could possibly go wrong?” The answer is: rain. It started spitting with rain.

Everyman’s terrace

We decided to be a little cheeky. The Everyman cinema has a terrace and it was currently empty, so we sat here and ate our pancakes, managing to dispatch them before the rain became too heavy.

Shopping arcade

We then retired to this covered shopping arcade adjacent to the bus station to finish our coffee sheltered from the rain.

A bus is lurking

We then went to the bus station where our bus was lurking during the driver’s rest period. We didn’t have long to wait, fortunately.

Back at the Angel

Here we are back home at the Angel, mission accomplished!

Tigger is not working tomorrow so let’s hope the weather allows us to make the most of the day.