After several technical issues with WordPress I have decided to move my blog back to Blogger. I am not a technical person and cannot solve the problem with the photos I upload disappearing from the blog.
I’ve not used Blogger since 2020, but I always kept it. I have changed the name of the blog to My London+ and will posting there from now on. All my past posts here will stay here, but if you want to continue to follow me, please follow me on Blogger.
My first post will be about my few days away in Peterborough. It’s not up yet as I am still writing it. Hopefully it will be up later today. Meanwhile you can read past posts there. I have some interesting Thames Path posts and so on. You can fine me on the link below. It would be good to see you.
This past week has been catch-up time with friends and a visit to the cinema to see The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry. The film kept to the book, which I read some time ago. I often don’t go and see a film if I’ve read the book first, and vice versa, because I’m often disappointed. This time I wasn’t. The film was sad, heartbreaking, but also had touches of humour as Harold Fry, having heard that an ex-colleague of his is dying in a hospice, sets out to the postbox to send her a letter, only to keep walking. He walks from Devon to Berwick-on-Tweed on the borders with Scotland. It really is a beautiful film.
This weekend gone has also been the coronation of King Charles III. Some roads here have had street parties, and while the day of the coronation itself was rainy, last night it was warm and dry for the concert at Windsor.
Bunting in some streets to celebrate the Kings Coronation
The flowers are mainly taken in the park where I jog. Everything is looking spring-like and lush.
I hope my jogging isn’t as slow as this chappie!
We have had to dog-proof the veg patch as Rue freely runs through here and will chew plants. Even so, he’s tried to get underneath the chicken wire. I’ve planted courgettes and aubergines to start with, making a circle of barcarbonate of soda around them to try and keep off the slugs and snails. I’ve just been outside to check them and they are doing fine.
Gardening is something I took to during Covid lockdowns and have kept to it since. I’ve been busily repotting my plants and have tomatoes, basil, borage, peas and sprouts. Some seeds haven’t taken and I’m on the second go.
Aubergines and courgettes
The above photo is of the lime tree which the council put in outside out house, to replace the old one as it was hollow and dangerous. Good to see the leaves looking so well.
Beverley Park shortly after 6am this morning
In the thick of it – Beverley Park
The photo of the moon was taken from my front garden with my bridge camera and hand held (no tripod, but I did lean on a post).
I’m dying to get out on the Thames Path again, but the weather has prevented this. As it happens the sections close to the source of the Thames have been flooded after all the rain we’ve had. And it’s the sections further away from London I’m yet to walk. I’m hoping to do some proper planning soon and get back there in June, July and August. It includes overnight stays once we get beyond Goring (Berkshire).
However, last week a friend and I walked a short length of a London section which we’d done before, but separately. My friend has had a hairline fracture of her foot and this was the first walk she’d done. So we took it slowly and had a sit down once. We met at Teddington for a pub lunch close to the river and then walked to Richmond, about 2.7 miles.
Lunch
The day was warm but overcast and we ended with tea and cake overlooking the river at Richmond.
Tea and cake by the river
Yesterday morning I woke to realise I’d pledged to myself to go jogging. I had an inward groan as I slid from bed and wondered whether to bother. I’d not been jogging since the first Covid lockdown and I’d kept it up for around six months. But on Saturday I was trying something on in a shop fitting room and suddenly seeing myself in multiple mirrors my reaction was, how did it come to this? There and then I pledged to get fit. Since I had to stop playing short tennis in December last year (due to tennis elbow), walking was my only exercise. I re-started back at short tennis two weeks ago and now it was time to look at my diet and exercise.
Beverley Park
I was out of the house at 6.35am yesterday. Immediately I got that buzz of being out so early when it’s quiet with hardly anyone else about. Nature seems closer. You can hear the birds sing, the air is sharp, but not cold, and yesterday the sky was blue and the scent of flowers drifted in the morning haze. I headed to my local park and hoped the wet end wouldn’t be too bad. The park looked lovely in the early sunshine and I was the only one there at first. Later a man and his dog overtook me (they were on the third lap when I left after one lap of jogging and walking!)
Dandelion – a favourite of mine
In the wooden area where the mud is particularly bad
I’ve captured my local park in photos so many times over the seasons. I remembered how the first time I jogged there I watched spring turn into summer and then the early stages of autumn. The trees in particular change from stark branches to blossom and then green. The park was muddy in places, but I was determined to walk through my favourite bit down by the wooded part. I had to divert off the path a couple of times to avoid the most muddy parts, but someone had kindly put a few stepping stones down in one section.
Bluebell
Thanks to the kind person for putting down some steping stones
The flowers were looking colourful in the beds near the railings as I came along my finishing path. I saw the post I call my finishing line and sprinted towards it as I always used to. Somehow there is always a small reserve for the big sprint, which I love doing. I then collapsed on the low garden bed wall to recover! I even managed a jog down my road coming home.
I’ve watched these tree stumps rotting over the years
I thought I’d be suffering after that, but this morning I’m not too bad. Legs ache a little, but nothing major. I’m aiming to jog every other day. I need to be mindful of my knees and not overdo it. The diet is a low carb, no dairy, no meat diet, and as I don’t do the last one and only eat diary sometimes, it’s just the carbs I’m going to miss. It’s a sort of detox diet which I did years ago. It’s a 28 day diet. All that chocolate I have is going to have to sit there for a good long time!
Seat, anyone?
My sprint post/finishing line when jogging from the far side (taken from my collapsing point!)
How long can I keep up the jogging? It’s not my favourite way to keep fit. Very far from it. It’s a slog, but during lockdown it kept me fit. I prefer playing badminton or short tennis, but during lockdown all that closed down. Walking was my life saver during lockdown and jogging helped to keep me fit while I couldn’t have a racquet in my hand. Let’s see how things stand in month. Meanwhile, I shall still be out there walking and taking photos. Have a good week everyone.
A little dive into the archive this week and a bit of a mixed bag. We start off at Postman’s Park. Here a whole array of plaques can be found to the people who saved others. The park can be found close to the Museum of London (though that’s on the move), near London Wall, but it is easily missed. I’d probably walked past it many times without knowing it was there.
This is just one of many plaques
Postman’s Park
Guildhall Art Gallery
Next is Guildhall. It sits on a square within the City Mile, the very centre of London. Do look at this great website with video explaining the square. There are lots of background/historical facts here where you can learn more than my flash visit gives!. The art gallery is wonderful and holds a number of Pre-Raphaelite paintings. This gallery has the wow factor!
Below the gallery are the remains of a Roman Amphitheatre and a must to visit.
Roman Amphitheatre
Not far away is Barbican. Some call this a concrete jungle. The architecture is known as Brutalism. It’s something you either love or hate! I rather like it. In Barbican, it is softened with gardens and water, and many of the apartments have window boxes. On Sundays you can visit the conservatory, which is normally only open to residents (I’ve not yet been inside). Here you are also close to Roman remains. Part of the old city walls run through here. Once when I was visiting with my brother, we met a man who lived on the estate. He had keys to places the general public aren’t allowed to walk through, and he gave us a short tour! It’s definitely worth reading the articles on the estate of Barbican and Brutalism highlighted here with links.
Taken from one of the many walkways in Barbican
Barnes Wetland Centre
Now to a place that looks like it isn’t in London, but is! The Barnes Wetland Centre is an oasis of calm. Here you can come and look at wildlife, especially birds. It changes throughout the year depending on the season as birds migrate. There are wonderful walks, hides to get up close to the wildfowl, and for the kids there is pond dipping. On site is a cafe/restaurant and indoor displays. Check out their website. Their webpage photo is stunning.
I’m ending this post in Brixton. This is a colourful and vibrant part of London with wonderful markets that reflect the Caribbean community. It has two stations (Northern Line Tube and mainline network rail).
In the market
Electric Avenue
Electric Avenue was one of the first streets in London to be illuminated with electric light, hence its name. It was the place for shopping. Later, in the early 1980’s riots broke out after years of hostility between the community and the police. The song by The Special (Ghost Town) was a background to these events, but the song I remember most is the one written by Eddy Grant (Electric Avenue). I was a bit of an Eddy Grant fan back then (Reggae in general), so his song is the one I identify with.
One of several statutes on at Brixton station
I hope you’ve enjoyed this quick diverse tour of parts of London. The links will give you far more information, so do enjoy reading in more depth about these fascinating places.
Berthe was married to Eugène Manet, the brother of her friend and colleague Édouard Manet, but who himself was an artist. Berthe was unique in still painting throughout her marriage. Most women artists, like one of her sisters, who herself was an excellent artist, gave up art once married to look after husband and children. It was the done thing in those days.
As part of the ticket price there was an downloaded App to accompany the exhibition. You just had to remember your earphones!
Alongside Berthe’s own paintings were art works she had copied, taking a segment of that painting and giving it her own style.
This is Berthe’s husband looking through a window
One of these paintings was the Blue Boy by Thomas Gainsborough. Here she uses a girl instead of a boy, and sets it in a domestic scene.
All the blues. Excuse the reflection, this one was under glass.
Morisot used to go out early to paint, around six in the morning. She used the same models, wearing the same dresses each time, to capture the scene.
Berthe travelled to England and in the above picture is a letter she wrote talking about the places she visited, including the Isle of Wight, St Leonard’s and Worthing.
This is another painting where Berthe copied a section of another artist’s picture to create her own.
There were many paintings of her daughter, Julie Manet. The one below is in pastel.
I took this photo to show the different styles of pastels. This is not by Berthe (Sorry I can’t remember who it’s by). It sat alongside the pastel of Julie Manet but it is still a pastel. I was amazed at the detail, how smooth. I needed to go close to this because it looked like paint. The white mark on the crease near the shoulder confirmed it!
Julie Manet
I admire Berthe’s use of white in her paintings to emphasise drapery, and in this, the curtain behind the girl.
Again here, those light touches.
Berthe painted this picture of her daughter wearing mourning clothes. She lost her father at the age of fourteen and the empty chair was his. Tragically, Berthe died just two years later.
What a sad note to end on. I wanted to know what happened to Julie. I was pleased to find that Julie was an artist, diarist, and poet. I found this wonderful article about the Morisot’s, and especially Julie, in the Irish Times, which includes paintings. She lived with her cousins and married Ernest Rouart in a double wedding with her cousin Jeannie. Fascinating story. Worth a read.
This is the last part of my trip away to Limehouse. Coming home on the Friday I decided to fit in another short walk. Having looked at a map of what’s nearby on my journey home, I found two gardens near Aldgate East tube station that might be worth a look. Unfortunately, one of the gardens (Four Seasons) was closed as the trees were being lopped. I had a look through the railings and it did look good, but that will have to be a visit another time.
Whitechapel and Aldgate were known as the silk quarter of London. Sadly, when you Google ‘silk quarter’ now you get a lot of companies advertising their new developments. The whole area is a mass of new high-rise apartments and squares. Finding historical facts was low down on the list for searches. However, I did find a survey you might be interested in reading. It’s quite long, but informative. I also found directions for a walk in the area.
Chaucer Gardens are off Alie Street and is a quiet oasis in the bustle of London, though surrounded by tall buildings.
Chaucer Gardens
There is so much more to see, I feel. If I’d I had more time, I’d have got off the tube at Whitechapel and walked from there. Next time! The back roads were interesting with old buildings, a hint of what used to be there. I found a wonderful cafe cum shop off one of the main roads for a hot chocolate and comfort break. Maybe next time the Four Seasons gardens will be open too.
In Running Horse Square
Have a read of this article about Browne & Eagle Ltd.
It was quite a cloudy and windy start to the day with the prospect of rain, so wearing my waterproof I set off, though a small detour was in order first. St Anne’s Church opened that day (Thursday), and I wanted to see inside before I went off to the station.
Limehouse Basin with Canary Wharf in the background
Our Lady Immaculate & St Frederick.
Before reaching my destination church, I found this one and then promptly couldn’t find St Anne’s, even though I’d walked there the day before!
I guess this is Fred!
As it happened I wasn’t far from the church, and further along the road I came in by a different entrance to the one I’d used before. The daffodils were looking lovely in the gardens.
St Anne’s Church, Limehouse
Inside St Anne’s
Detail of ceiling
Stratford
After visiting the church, I walked back to Limehouse DLR and caught the train to Poplar where I changed to another DLR line to take me Stratford for the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park (see map on link). A lot has changed since I was last here in 2012. Back then, we were a heave of excited Olympic enthusiasts. I came here with one of my sons and his friends, who was staying with us, to watch hockey. We came twice, both times for hockey, as it was all I could get tickets for. I remember going online when as soon as the website opened (getting up early for this unique moment in history) and tearing my hair out as event after event was sold out, and then the website crashed! Finally, we got our hockey tickets and tickets for a football match at Wembley. Phew! The excitement of being here then was up there with the best things in life. We were here on Super Saturday, which was wonderful. We could see on the big screen what was going on with Mo Farah, even though we weren’t in the main stadium. It was my biggest disappointment that I couldn’t get tickets inside the stadium for athletics, as I’ve loved watching them on TV since I was a teenager. But at least we were here to soak up the atmosphere. Back home I watched everything, even things I wouldn’t normally watch! I was in London the day the Olympic torch came through along the South Bank, and I was in Kingston to watch both the Olympic torch relay and the Olympic cycling road race! I think you could say, I was well into it!
Passing through Westfield on the way to the park
So to be here again brought back memories of that first time walking across the bridge from Westfield’s Shopping Centre and getting my first sight of the Olympic Stadium, now West Ham United Football Stadium. It was much quieter, this day and work was still going on the East Bank, but the gardens were beautiful and there were plenty of places to stop for a hot drink or snack.
The Aquatic Centre
Crossing the bridge with the former Olympic Stadium ahead
So peaceful today
Another view of the stadium
Work is still going on in the next building phase of East Bank. Here is a new V&A, a building for the BBC and Sadler’s Wells.
Under a bridge over the River Lea is some rather nice art by this lady.
Art by Madge Gill
Orbital. No, I’ve not been down it!
Paralymnpics emblem
The further away from the main area you get, the more wild it seems. I love this part of the park.
London Blossom Garden is a new addition since Covid to remember those who died during the pandemic.
The Blossom Garden
The Velo Park where all the cycling took place
Wild and windy
Something unexpected!
The Olympic Bell
It was a lovely day out at the Olympic Park, reliving old memories and seeing new things. I had a cup of tea in a cafe run not-for-profit. Everything is ploughed into helping homeless people and training for jobs. Very community based.
I arrived back at my accommodation just in time that afternoon, as the rain began and carried on all night! But I was in the dry, except when I had to skip across the gardens to the chapel for the concert in the evening. (see previous post)
The final part of this trip will be posted on Easter Monday. Have a lovely Easter everyone. See you next week. Thank you for reading.
Last week I spent two nights in Limehouse at The Royal Foundation of St Katherine’s, a Retreat House and B&B. I stayed there once before a few years before Covid in order to walk part of the Regent’s Canal and Limehouse Cut. This time my main reason for staying was to see a singing duo, Ben and Dom, perform in the chapel at the Retreat House. I have seen them perform live before and their harmonies blend so well. I sing in a choir and these two chaps are former choir leaders of that choir. Since leaving, a few of us have followed their careers. They lead other choirs, sing with other groups and write and sing together. So here is my promo! Have a look at this video.
So, that’s what I was doing in Limehouse. However, whenever I go away, I’m always looking for new walks. I packed everything I needed into a rucksack and set off. Before arriving in Limehouse, I took a slight detour to Shadwell where I would walk to Wapping.
A little info about St Katherine’s
My first stop was Cable Street mural. This commemorates the time when Sir Oswald Mosley and his Fascists intended to march through Shadwell. The residents, Jews and Irish Catholic banded together and set up barriers to stop them. Fighting broke out between them and the police, and Mosley was asked to cancel the event.
Cable Street mural, Shadwell
Not far from there is St George-in-the-East church, built in 1723, but badly damaged in the Blitz. Only the outer walls and tower survive.
St George-in-the-East
The gravestones, with an unusual one at the end. See below.
Inside the church
The tower
Walking further down towards the Thames, I came to Tobacco Dock, built between 1811 and 1813 and used to store tobacco, tea and spices. When it was closed, the dock was converted into a shopping centre, but that too has gone, and it is mainly empty now. I was unable to find a way in through gates mentioned in the guide book, and wonder if this is due to the book being slightly out of date. There are apartment blocks surrounding it now, but I saw a fountain through one gate.
Tobacco Dock
A nod to the past – Tobacco Dock
And then a couple of interesting sights nearby:
This pub was supposed to have been given to the artist, Turner!
There is no church of St John’s in Wapping now (well, not this one). Only the churchyard remains. However, there is evidence of the charity attached to the old church over the road from the churchyard.
St John’s Churchyard
I was now close to the Thames and old dock warehouses (converted into apartments) came into view.
Oliver’s Wharf, Wapping
And here we are at Wapping Old Stairs beside the pub, The Town of Ramsgate. At low tide you can go down onto the shore, but be careful, the steps are green and slimy, making them slippery. To left of the stairs is Execution Dock, used for 400 years and where those convicted of piracy were executed and left for three full tides.
I then took the Overground back to Shadwell where I changed to the DLR for one stop to Limehouse for my stay. Above is a photo of the gardens at St Katherine’s, and the chapel is where the big windows are to the left. Once I unpacked, I went to the Yurt Cafe for a lovely lunch of lentil stew and rice. The Yurt Cafe is part of The Precinct and outreach to the community in Limehouse by the Royal Foundation of St Katherine’s. The food is good!
The Yurt Cafe
After lunch. I took a stroll around Limehouse Basin and the area in general.
Limehouse Basin
River Thames, and to the right is Gordon Ramsey’s restaurant.
Thames Path fingerposts
The Grapes on Narrow Street is owned in partnership with actor Sir Ian McKellen
Narrow Street, Limehouse.
Herring Gull
Ropemakers Fields
Banstand – Ropemakers Fields
Urban Limehouse
Lock at Limehouse
Limehouse
Typical older housing, Limehouse
Old water pressure tower. This used to regulate the water for the cranes, swing bridges and locks in Limehouse Basin.
This was the end of my first day. In the next blog I will be visiting the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford to relive old memories!
Circumstances and bad weather have prevented me from walking or visitng places in the last seven days, so I have delved into my archive of photos to find something for this weeks blog.
Back in 2018 I booked for me and my husband to go on Thames River Cruise from Westminster Pier to Greenwich and back. What sparked my interest particularly was the part about the Frost Fairs which I had become obsessed with. These fairs took place between 1600 and 1814 when the River Thames became iced over. The ice was so thick that tents were set up on it, food was cooked and sold, musicians would play and games took place. Once even an elephant walked across! Frost Fairs were the highlight of those winter years.
Our guides
Globe Wharf
The O2
Greenwich showing Greenwich Foot tunnel (with the dome) and The Cutty Sark
The ice formed due to the old London Bridge which had many piers over the river, jamming up the flow of the river as ice formed. The river froze and people took advantage of this and set up stalls for food and entertainment. To learn more and see some old pictures depicting those times have a read of this article.
Canary Wharf
Just to set the scene for Frost Fairs, we boarded the boat on a late afternoon in December, and it was windy! Of course the Thames is nothing like it was back then. And later the river became narrower when civil engineer Joseph Bazelgette’s sewer system was put in, reclaiming some of the Thames to instal it. Today we have the lovely Embankment Gardens which also would not be there because the river would have been.
Tower Bridge
Going under Tower Bridge
Now we have lots of skyscrapers, particularly around Canary Wharf, and the dockside warehouses have been converted into luxury apartments and restuarants and shops. It’s hard to imagine what the river would have looked like back then. If you visit St Magnus the Martyr on the north side of London Bridge you can see a replica of what London Bridge looked like with shops lining the length of it. See photos here.
Tower of London , right
Hays Galleria
We had two well informed ladies who spoke about the River Thames in London and its past. Maps and other information were available for each of us to take away afterwards. I think one of the ladies was from the Museum of London. A few people braved going up on deck, but I wanted to hear all about the Thames and Frost Fairs first. We even had a chance to ask questions, so I wanted to know how far the ice extended up river. It sometimes extended as far as Lambeth Bridge. It must have been quite a sight! Of course there were accidents, people fell through ice that wasn’t thick enough. Also this was a great place for pickpockets to operate.
Looking back at Tower Bridge with HMS Belfast to the right
Once we reached Greenwich, the sky had darkened considerably. It was now time to brave the wind on the deck. So we stood up there all the way back, which is when I took the majority of my photos. I also took a few videos, but the movement of the boat made most fuzzy, so I came away with one video which I was happy with.
London Eye
If you get a chance to join one of these cruises you will learn a lot about how the river worked in bygone days and maybe get a flavour of old London.
My walk began at Tower Hill tube station, and I was following the route from the AA book of London walks which I used for my walk in Barnes. The instructions this time were easier (because it’s hard to get lost in London anyway….mostly!), though I did find some of the alleyways tricky to find. However, that might just be me!
The view from outside Tower Hill tube station towards the Tower of London is pretty awesome. Of course I have been here before. Part of this walk incorporates a few places I’d seen when taking part in ‘Pocket Park’ walks with Walk London With Us a before Covid. However, Tower Hill Memorial was new to me.
The memorial covers quite a large area with gardens and plaques. From here I went to see where executions used to take place. Most prisoners were brought from the Tower of London to this spot.
More than 125 people were put to death here. Some of the names are listed around the square.
A view of All Hallows by the Tower through the Tower Hill Memorial
All Hallows by the Tower. This was my second visit here and is one of my favourite London churches, and it has a crypt. What’s not to like! It is the oldest church in the City of London, founded in AD675 and 300 years before The Tower of London!
The Nave
Altar
Organ Loft. There was a party of school children in that day, hence the jackets slung over the pews to the right. One of things they were learning about was Saxon times.
Saxon Gate
Roman pavement (in the crypt)
Roman London
Bomb damaged doors
Chapel in the crypt
Ceiling roundel in one of the crypt chapels
Another chapel, once used for tombs
There was so much of interest in this church. Please do look at the website for more information. I took lots of photos, but I have more to show you on this walk.
Close to All Hallows by the Tower is this pub which stands on the site of yet more execitions….the grisly kind. When I was school, all I remember learning in history about was the Tudors and their thirst for bloody excutions. I could never remember the dates of battles. Numbers have always been a problem for me. I don’t even know my mobile number!
Samuel Pepys ‘pocket garden’ on the site of one of his offices. In the path are some nice reliefs. A great place to sit on a summers day, perhaps reading his diary entries!
A view across the park back to All Hallows
St Olave’s is a splendid church. I loved it. Even the heating was on, so it was nice a cozy. It is one of only few churches to survive the Great Fire of London in 1666.
Back on the street there was a notice on a pub which explains where it got its name.
The next part of the walk was down rather a dark alleyway. I have to say I stopped to think about this one as it looked like it was going into some sort of underground car park, and indeed there were cars parked there. It was eerie, but I strode on and in a short while I was out on the other side.
There are lot of ‘lost churches’ in London. Churches no longer standing. Either demolished (like the one above) or badly damaged in the war and never repaired. Often the graveyards are still there and have had make-overs in to what we call ‘pocket parks’. They make nice places to sit away from the hustle and bustle of London. They are regularly used by office workers, construction workers and tourists.
This is what has become of St Katherine Colman.
Another pocket park is found here in Fen Court, close to Fenchurch Street
Fen Court
Fen Court
Lloyds of London building. I cannot believe that in all the trips to London over the years, this was the first time I’d seen this building. Isn’t it brilliant?
Which brings me on to Leadenhall Market, another place I’ve never walked through. What a beautiful place. Some of the architecture dates back to the 14th century.
I don’t know what this building was (not mentioned in the book), but I just loved it. It was just around the corner from the market.
Plaques everywhere in London tell of what was there once.
Another alleyway with closed premises, but I believe this one has been saved from demolishion. You can find this in Ball Court. Read this excellent article about it here.
St Michael’s Church, Cornhill
Now, if I hadn’t wanted the loo so badly I would have stayed and enjoyed an organ recital here. But having found the toilet in Pret (where I’d stopped for a hot chocolate) out of order, my only course of action was to go into a pub (but I’d just had a drink and didn’t want to use the loos without purchasing something) or finish the walk quickly and catch the Waterloo & City tube back to Waterloo where I could use the station loos. I chose the second option.
The inside of St Michael’s, Cornhill
A list of the alleys engraved into the pavement
The journey back to Waterloo was quick (it’s straight through, no stops). I thought I was then going mad because I couldn’t see the toilets at the station. They were being renovated and I had go outside to use the portaloos by the bike park. By this time I really didn’t care as long as I could use one!
This walk was really interesting and all the places can be found in a short radius of each other. It always amazes me how much history is packed so close together in London. Look at this map to see how close things are.
My London+ 