Lloyd Baker Street

The day started with a panic. We had booked flu jabs at our GP surgery at 8:35 and I had completely forgotten until 8:10 when Tigger reminded me. There was then a mad rush to dress and hurry to the surgery. We managed it, fortunately, and received our jabs. Afterwards we retired to the deli for coffee where I took the above photo of Lloyd Baker Street lit by early morning sunshine.

Forecourt, British Library

Later, we went to the British Library where Tigger wanted to do some research.

Humanities 1 reading room

As required, we left our bags in the locker room. This time I remembered to take my membership card with me to be admitted to the reading room but… I forgot my reading specs and the charging cable for my phone. Maybe next time I’ll remember everything,

Ossulston Street

Leaving the library, we walked down Ossulston Street (named after politician Charles Bennet, Lord Ossulston, 1776-1859), somewhere we go only rarely (in fact, I don’t recall ever going there).

As an aside: It annoys me intensely that when I want to photograph a street, the view is cluttered by two continuous lines of parked vehicles. I remember that when I was a child, parked vehicles in a residential street were the exception rather than the rule. We children could play in the road because passing vehicles were a rarity.

A private garden

Through closed gates, we saw this garden, private to residents. Strange how inaccessible places exercise a fascination on us!

Global Generation

We came upon what appeared at first sight to be a community garden but which, on further inspection, turned out to be much more. It is run by Global Generation which describes itself as an educational charity. Certainly, there was a lot going on and we didn’t really get to the bottom of it all.

Classroom

The was a classroom,…

Roundhouse

…a roundhouse,…

Yurt

…a yurt,…

Hugel mound

…at least one Hugel mound and a story garden which we could not visit because there was an activity taking place in it.

The neighbourhood we were now exploring is called Somers Town. It has seen many waves of immigration, notably that of Spanish political dissidents fleeing the repression of King Fernando VII of Spain in the early 19th century.

Mini parks

As we progressed round the streets, we saw a number of these mini parks, spaces created in the road with plants and seating. Anything that reclaims space from motor vehicles is welcome in my book.

King’s Cafe

We were both beginning to have thoughts about lunch when we serendipitously came upon King’s Cafe.

In King’s Cafe

It’s quite small as cafes go (in fact it was a tight squeeze between our table and the one next to it) but the steady stream of customers indicates that it is popular with the locals. We certainly have no complaints about our lunch.

The Somers Town Coffee House

My attention was caught by this pub – at least, I think it’s a pub – called the Somers Town Coffee House. They advertise that they serve food all day (and presumably, coffee too). We didn’t investigate it today, though, having just had a satisfying lunch.

Churchway

We wandered down this pedestrian street called Churchway. This seems to indicate that the local church once stood hereabouts, an impression supported by the fact that names of saints abound along Drummond Crescent to which Churchway leads.

Glimpse of a church

I think the original church that gave rise to the names must have vanished though, from Drummond Crescent we did glimpse this curious drum-shaped building, identified as a church by the cross on the roof.

St Aloysius RC Church

The drum belongs to the RC Church of St Aloysius whose front is in Eversholt Street.

Horizontal housing estate

I noticed this housing estate, looking cheerful as it basked in sunshine. I thought how nice it was to see a horizontal housing estate instead of the dreadful, dangerous and anti-social tower blocks. It amazes me that such towers are still being built. Planners, it seems, are immune to learning the lessons of history. Or does the idea of a quick profit outweigh all other considerations?

Dead pub

I read that pubs are closing down at a faster rate than ever before. Some are being demolished but some are “repurposed”, often as residential properties. We first saw this one and then, not far away,..,

Dead pub

…another one, seemingly also entering forced retirement. This one still bears its original name – Eastnor Castle – whereas the previous one has been rendered anonymous.

A lane between greenery

Another pedestrian path, this one with greenery on both sides, led us to…

Tiny library

…a quiet street where, at the top of a flight of steps, was one of the smallest libraries I have seen. It contained a stock of books and CDs. I don’t know what you do to become a member or whether membership is even necessary. There is a mystery here, though: the flight of steps must surely once have led to a door. What happened to it?

Working Men’s College

I had been following Tigger, as I usually do, without necessarily knowing where we are or where we are going, trusting her to lead us safely to wherever we should end up. In seeing this venerable building, the Working Men’s College, founded 1854, I knew where we were – in Crowndale Road.

Aboard the 214

This was good news because it brought us onto the route of the 214 bus and I was beginning to feel tired and ready to catch the bus home. A bus duly arrived and we clambered aboard.

Saint Espresso

The bus delivered us to our nearest bus stop which is in Pentonville Road. It just so happens that the stop is next to a branch of Saint Espresso. Would a coffee round off our outing nicely?

Coffee at Saint Espresso

Yes, it would and did! We sat at a table in this tiny coffee shop and lingered a while over our our drinks before finally heading for home.

Yes, we are off on a bank holiday outing to the seaside. London is in an unusual state with road closures and transport disruptions so that leaving it for today seems the best option.

Great Northern Hotel, St Pancras

We caught a 214 bus to St Pancras Station and left it in front of the huge Great Northern Hotel, a symbol of past times and the elegant travellers of the Victorian era.

Eurostar departures

We are not alone in escaping London: as we entered St Pancras Station we found Eurostar departures crowded and long queues snaking through the concourse.

E L & N

As we often do when passing through St Pancras Station, we stopped off for coffee at E L & N. All the seats inside were occupied and so we sat outside.

St Pancras Thameslink Platform

We went down to the Thameslink platform and found it almost empty. This was a telief as I was half-expecting trains to be crowded with escapees like us.

Aboard the Brighton train

At 9:30 our train arrived to convey us to Brighton, today’s seaside destination. The train is not at all crowded, happily.

Blackfriars Station
Photo by Tigger

When we arrived at Blackfriars Station, which affords a view of the Thames, we could see that the (in)famous queue for the lying in state had of course disappeared, returning the river bank to its normal aspect.

On the way to Brighton
Photo by Tigger

Arriving at Brighton

The journey was uneventful and took about 75 minutes.

Queen Street

From the station we walked down Queen Street. I had imagined that many cafes etc would be open but in fact most were closed. Wisely, we had brought food with us in case.

Pigeon banquet

We found a flock of pigeons enjoying a banquet provided by some kind person.

Down-to-earth coffee
Photo by Tigger

In East Street we found a coffee bar open. It was called Super Natural but the coffee was fortunately down to earth.

The Pump House

A quiet corner

Vegetarian macaroni cheese and tea

Exploring possibilities, we found a pub called the Pump House open and serving food. We chose a table in s quiet corner and placed our order for lunch.

The Royal Pavilion Grounds

We went into the grounds of the Royal Pavilion, hoping the museum would be open as there was an exhibition that Tigger wanted to see. Unfortunately, the museum was closed.

The William IV gate

Near to the Grade II* listed William IV gate, dated 1832, was a bench where we sat for s while enjoying the peaceful atmosphere of the Pavilion gardens. (On the gate, the reign number appears as “IIII”, not as the more usual “IV”.)

Palace Pier (part)

We now walked to the seafront and…

Onto the pier

…went onto the Palace Pier.

The beach from the pier

We looked along the famous shingle beach from which I went swimming so many times in my childhood.

A view of the sea

You also have a view of the sea – which, after all, is what piers are all about.

Tigger and SilverTiger walk the promenade

From the pier we went for a stroll along the promenade.

Last view of the pier

We then climbed up to Marine Parade and on the way I captured a last view of the pier, albeit in silhouette.

Marine Parade

There are some fine period houses in Marine Parade and we speculated on whether it would be pleasant to live there (not that we could ever afford to do so!). It might be a bit noisy on what is a main road.

Back to the station

We caught a bus in Marine Parade back to the station. We reckoned that the rush to London (if any) would be over now and that it would be comfortable to travel.

Inside the station

Brighton Station is light and airy and has a fine curved glass roof. I was relieved to find that it was not crowded.

Aboard the Bedford train

We boarded the Bedford train that calls at St Pancras. We were right that it would not be crowded. We settled down calmly for our journey back to London.

Plane landing at Gatwick
Photo by Tigger

We passed through Gatwick Airport where Tigger photographed a plane coming in to land.

A glimpse of the Thames
Photo by Tigger

At Blackfriars, we crossed the Thames into home territory once more. (Though I also feel that Brighton too is “home”.)

Aboard to 214

At St Pancras, we left the train and went up two escalators to reach ground level. We exited the station and within two minutes a bus arrived to take us home. Today’s Brighton adventure has ended but we shall return there again one day soon.

We performed our usual shopping run to Sainsbury’s this morning and then…

Mercer’s for coffee

…we called in at Mercer’s for coffee on the way home.

Sunshine in Amwell

After lunch, we went to the deli in Amwell Street for coffee. Tigger expressed her wish to do some study at the British Library, if it should be open. We therefore walked to the bus stop in Pentonville Road.

Aboard the 476

We jumped on the first bus to arrive which happened to be a 476.

King’s Cross Station

The Lighthouse at King’s Cross

The bus took us to King’s Cross Station. As that is its terminus, we had either to change to another bus or walk to the library.

Arriving at the British Library

As it wasn’t far, we chose to walk. Would the library be open, though? When we arrived, we saw people entering and leaving, so it seemed to be open. So far, so good.

Inside the British Library

We entered the library and it seemed fairly busy. All the study seats in the public area were occupied, mainly by young people, all seemingly studying hard.

Choose a locker, any locker…

As bags are not allowed in the reading rooms (understandably enough), our first port of call was the locker room. We chose the yellow lockers this time around. How it works is thus: you put your belongings in the locker, close the door, think up a four-digit PIN and enter this on the keypad twice. Now try the door and if you entered the same number twice, the door will be locked.

Busts of the Great and Good

When we went to the reading room, however, we found it closed! Everything in the library was open, except the bit we wanted. We sat for a while on a relatively comfortable seat in the corridor, overlooked by four busts of famous people of the past.

Sir John Ritblat Gallery

Opposite where we were sitting was the Sir John Ritblat Gallery where there was an exhibition, Treasures of the British library. We decided to go in and take a look.

General view of the exhibition

The lighting was subdued, of course, because strong light can have deleterious effects on books and, indeed, on other articles. The exhibition was large and very varied – the BL has lots of treasures! So I can show only a few samples.

Music…

There were books on music,…

Literature…

…books on literature,…

Maps and views…

Globes…

…books of maps and other sorts of views and a case of globes,…

Art of the book

…and, not least, a fascinating section on the art of the book, showing some of the strange and wonderful variations on the basic theme of the book.

Walking back to King’s Cross

Afterwards, having recovered our possessions for the yellow lockers (typing in the PIN only once this time), we walked back down to King’s Cross.

Black Sheep Coffee

We there called in at the local branch of Black Sheep Coffee…

Latte and black americano
Photo by Tigger

…for our usual order of a latte and a black americano.

Aboard the 214

After our coffee break, we walked up the road to the bus stop, reaching it almost at the same time as a number 214 bus. We boarded this and it carried us back up the hill to the Angel and home.

—————————-

Tomorrow, September 19th 2022, has been declared a bank holiday for the funeral of the late Queen Elizabeth II. We have no reason to stay in London for this and have therefore planned an outing. I will recount it as and when it happens.

It’s a cool day but warm in direct sunshine.

Sunshine in Amwell Street

After the customary coffee at the deli, we set off down Great Percy Street.

Friendly number three

Today proved a lucky day for cats: we spotted no less than three. Two were stand-offish, intent on their own business, but the third, a pretty ginger, was friendly and interacted with us.

At the back of the bus

In King’s Cross Road we caught a number 63 bus but had to sit in the cramped seats right at the back.

The (in)famous queue

We exited the bus on Blackfriars Bridge. The (in)famous queue of people wishing to witness the Queen’s lying-in-state passes through here. Personally, I cannot imagine why anyone would subject themselves to this but perhaps you – like them – think differently.

South Bank Central

We entered this precinct, called South Bamk Central, because Tigger knew that here there was…

Black Sheep Coffee

…a Black Sheep Coffee place. I was invited to sit in the comfy seats while Tigger…

Coffee and croissants

…bought us coffee and croissants.

Bernie Spain Gardens

We sat for a while in this pleasant small park called Bernie Spain Gardens after Bernadette Spain, “a campaigner on health and housing provision for the local community”, according to the information board.

Bug hotel

I was glad to see they have at least one “bug hotel” for the smaller denizens to use.

AstroTurfed

There were several manhole covers in the grassy area and we were amused to see that these had been “disguised” by covering them with AtroTurf.

Along Southbank

We walked to Southbank which was very crowded (and I hate crowds – they make me uncomfortable). The (in)famous queue was here too, of course. At least one venue was advertising that it was open 24 hours to cater for them. (Imagine standing in that queue at night…)

Along the river

The queue was stretching along the river, making it difficult to reach the edge to view the river without queuers thinking you were trying to push in. A few hardy souls were sitting on the benches though the queuers could hardly pass them without bumping their knees.

Into the Southbank Centre

We went into the Southbank Centre which was less crowded than I had feared.

Somewhere to sit

We found somewhere to sit for a while with both sunshine (for me) and shade (for Tigger).

Beauty fronting ugliness
Photo by Tigger

Out into the streets again, we passed this handsome Classical-style colonnaded gateway in front of an ugly modern building, a contrast that comments unfavourably on modern design.

The Graffiti Tunnel

This walk brought us to Waterloo where we entered the famous Graffiti Tunnel, once an ordinary road but now closed off and turned over to artists for free use. Tigger took photos but I saw nothing to excite me. Street art seems to be languishing in the same doldrums of inconsequentiality as conventional modern art. It’s time someone started a new art revolution to liven things up.

Lower Marsh

From the tunnel we reached the interesting street called, intriguingly, Lower Marsh. We came here for a reason.

Marie’s Cafe

That reason was to visit Marie’s Cafe for lunch. Marie’s is an English-style cafe by day and a Thai restaurant by night, a formula that seems to work extremely well.

Inside Marie’s Cafe

The cafe was busy but we found a table right at the back. They seem to be very efficient and we were soon served.

Greensmith’s

After lunch, Tigger wanted to visit Greensmith’s shop, also in Lower Marsh, and so we did.

A shop and cafe

On several levels

It is a shop and a cafe on about three levels and therefore intriguing to visit.

Aboard the 453

Walking to the main road, we saw a 453 – a bus we wanted – arrive at the stop. We ran to try to catch it. Fortunately, several people boarded the bus and the delay enabled us to reach it in time.

Marylebone

The bus dropped us at Marylebone where, three minutes later…

Aboard the 205

…a number 205 bus arrived and carried us back to the Angel and home. The day was interesting in its way but I was glad to be away from the press of the crowds. I made tea for us both and finished this account of our outing, most of which was composed along the way.

Tigger has a half-day off work today and we of course want to make the most of it.

Aboard the 153

Tigger went off to work early and I followed later, first catching a 153 in St John Street and then…

All Hallows, London

…changing in London Wall to a 100. (You can just see it approaching behind other vehicles.

East Dock, St Katharine Docks

As usual, I went down to look at St Katharine Docks and the ships (“boats”?) moored there.

Walking round the dock

When Tigger came out at 11:30, we set off round the docks.

Bridge over the lock

We passed, but did not cross, the bridge that carries pedestrians and vehicles over the lock.

The lock

The lock connects the docks to the Thames and is necessary to preserve the water level in the docks because the Thames is tidal at this point and rises and falls twice a day.

The Thames and Tower Bridge

From the river end of the lock, there is a view of Tower Bridge.

Downstream Thames

Here is the view looking downstream. As a working river with a long history, the Thames is cluttered with all sorts of structures, some still in use, others long abandoned.

Thames Tigers

I had to photograph these speedboats because of their name – Thames Tigers – although I know nothing about them.

Tower Bridge

When you are close to it, you realise how big and powerful Tower Bridge is. Its image appears here, there and everywhere, and it’s easy to forget what it is in reality. It wears the disguise of a medieval fortress to match the nearby Tower of London (see below) but it is a working bridge whose spans can be raised to let tall ships pass through. It was opened ceremonially in June 1894 and who can now imagine a London without a Tower Bridge?

Lunch at Côte
Photo by Tigger

For lunch, we went to a nearby branch of Côte Brasserie. We ordered vegan French onion soup and vegetarian mushroom and camembert tart. What was amusing was the waiter’s excited reaction when we ordered the soup: he declared that he too was vegan and was happy to meet others.

Passing under Tower Bridge

After lunch, we passed through this archway under part of Tower Bridge.

The grounds of The Tower

This led us into the outer grounds of the Tower of London. This part, beside the river, is open to the public whereas you need to buy a ticket to enter inner parts of the Tower.

A glimpse inside

Above is a glimpse inside and below are a two more views from our walk along the outside.

Outside views of the Tower

From the Tower, we continued along the Thames. Here are some of the views.

Views along the Thames

I don’t know what the purpose of these stanchions was but we always observe them carefully because they are a favourite perch for cormorants for drying their wings. Strangely, today we saw only one cormorant and it wasn’t hanging out its wings to dry so hadn’t been fishing. Perhaps their fishing routine is determined by the tide and now was not a propitious moment for that.

Old Billingsgate Fish Market

We passed by this striking building, Old Billingsgate Fish Market for long London’s main fish market. In 1982, its business was moved to Poplar and the building now seems oddly silent compared with the bustle of times past.

London Bridge

Here we are approaching London Bridge. The first, and for a long time only, Thames Bridge in London was sited near here. Many bridges were built in the varying styles of their historical periods. The present, plain but functional, bridge was opened in 1973. Will it too be succeeded by others?

Fish symbol

At a particular moment, we passed between gateposts each of which was embellished by by a fish symbol.

Entrance to Fishmongers’ Hall

The fish on the gate was a sign that we were approaching Fishmongers’ Hall, the headquarters of the Fishmongers’ Company, one of London’s original Livery Companies.

Cousin Lane Stairs

Along both sides of the Thames, one comes across many such flights of steps whose role is to provide access to the river, whether for embarking or disembarking from boats. They are referred to as “stairs” and all are named. Some are more famous than others and many have a tale to tell.

Ornate tunnel-

One of the picture panels

There are many quaint passages and tunnels along the Thames. This one must have a name but I don’t know what it is which is a pity because it is one if the most elegantly decorated with picture panels and subdued lighting.

Leaving the Thanes

We left the riverside by climbing this flight of steps. It was so narrow that we had to wait until people descending had left it clear for us.

Black Sheep Coffee
Photo by Tigger

We found a branch of Black SheepCoffee and went in for a rest and refreshments.

St Mary Aldermary

Opposite Black Sheep we saw a church and, not knowing what church it was, went in to take a look. It turned out to be St Mary Aldermary. Thought to be the City’s oldest church, its name may derive from “Elder Mary”. The church also seems to host the orthodox church of St Nicholas, though how that works, I don’t know.

Impressive ceiling

The church has a rather impressive ceiling.

St Paul’s Cathedral

We now walked to St Paul’s Cathedral and then to a nearby bus stop where…

Aboard the 4

…we caught a number 4 bus that carried us home.

We have the prospect of a relaxed evening ahead and, as I often say on a Friday evening: “The weekend starts here!”