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A random ramble
It’s a cool grey day but dry so far. (The forecast shows the possibility of rain later.)
We set off along St John Street.
We crossed Rosebery Avenue into Spa Green Garden where a cheerful passer-by wished us a pleasant walk.
We walked along Exmouth Market which was unusually quiet for s Saturday.
We stopped for coffee at Caffè Nero and then thought to catch a bus. It turned out, however, that, for reasons I didn’t bother to discover, the routes were curtailed. We therefore decided to go for a local ramble instead.
We set off down Rosebery Avenue, passing the lovely old fire station. Though no longer serving its original purpose, this Grade II* building will, I hope, be preserved to continue charming us and future generations. Built in 1912-7, it incorporates two earlier fire stations.
We walked through a neighbourhood in which “streets” alternate with “mews”, narrow roads where, in times past, the inhabitants of the houses used to stable their horses. The horses, of course, are long gone, and the erstwhile stables have been converted for other uses.
We stopped to admire this Art Deco structure dated 1938. The design, with the tall superstructure, is somewhat odd. We think it may once have been a maternity hospital or something similar.
Over the door are two reliefs very much in what would have been the “modern” style of the period.
As a lover of clocks, I soon noticed this building, now residential, with a large clock on its façade, suggesting that the premises were once put to commercial use.
I was pleased that the clock is in working order and amused to see that it bears the motto “YOU’RE LATE”. So many old clocks have fallen into permanent disuse that any still in running order are to be celebrated and cherished.
I enjoyed this decorative Classical-style doorway. If you are interested, it belongs to a house where writer Dorothy L. Sayers lived from 1921 to 1929.
We paused to photograph this Victorian (1867) pub with nice period tiling. It is called the Rugby, not because it favours Rugby football (though it might for aught I know) but because it resides at No. 1 Rugby Street.
This public passageway is called Emerald Court. A reasonably portly person might have difficulty passing along it. The obvious question springs to mind: is it the narrowest public thoroughfare in London? According to Londonist, Brydges Place near Trafalgar Square wins that honour by being 15 inches wide at its narrowest point to Emerald Court’s 26.5 inches.
Nearby is this pretty shop. Today selling jewellery, it was originally called a “French Dairy”. It is Grade II listed though its actual age seems problematic. For one thing, the large display window is obviously modern.
We soon arrived at Lamb’s Conduit Street which is a fairly picturesque area with shops and cafes. It takes its name from the water supply engineered from a tributary of the River Fleet to serve the local community, financed by philanthropist William Lambe.
We passed this building, which I think is part of Great Ormond Street Hospital and whose entrance boasts a long frieze of females figures in relief. We didn’t stop to identify them – perhaps another day.
When we arrived at the Brunswick Centre, which is a famous mixed residential, shopping and entertainments development, we felt it was time for a rest. So we went to the cinema!
We didn’t go to see a film but to have coffee in the Curzon Cinema Cafe. The cafe is a rather bare bones sort of place but the coffee is fine.
Photo by Tigger
While we were there, we paid a visit to the local branch of secondhand bookshop, Skoob. (We didn’t buy the book in the photo despite its intriguing title.) I ransacked the French section and collected three books by Georges Simenon.
From there we walked down to Euston Road which we reached near the British Library (left) and the picturesque St Pancras Station.
Here we boarded a number 30 bus that carried us up the hill back to the Angel.
Photo by Tigger
Arriving at the Angel, we allowed ourselves to be tempted into going for lunch at L’Angelo Cafe. This has definitely become our favourite local cafe. This brought our outing to a pleasant conclusion.
The Barbican then lunch
We – or rather I – have not been very active lately. This is because of the cold weather that has encouraged us to stay at home except for necessary outings such as shopping. Tigger, of course, has had to go to work and on Friday I spent the day with her in her office.
When I speak of the cold, some of you will laugh at me. The temperature here has hovered around 0°C while in Edmonton, Canada, where my sister lives, it is -40°C. Our weather must seen spring-like to the good folk of Edmonton. I cannot begin to imagine such cold and, in fact, would rather not think about it!
Today started with a walk down to Exmouth Market where we had an errand to run.
We followed this by going into the local branch of Caffè Nero for a “French breakfast” (coffee and croissants). We dawdled there some time in the warm.
We eventually bestirred ourselves, walking down Pine Street past this neat little building inhabited by the Michael Palin Centre.
On the way we stopped to greet a local inhsbitant.
Continuing on, we came to the London Metropolitan Archives and, seeing that they were staging an exhibition, went in to take a look.
The exhibition, entitled Unforgotten Lives, is about “Rediscovering Londoners of Afrucan, Caribbean, Asian and Indigenous Heritage”.
There were photos and artworks to view and…
…a seating area where you could sit and browse related books and maps.
The LMA is also a place of study and there were numbers of people making use of the facilities.
We walked through the intriguing Hayward’s Place, named after ironmonger James Hayward (1801-51) who owned houses hereabouts. The Place was built in 1835, was destroyed by bombing in 1949 and was rebuilt in 1951.
Feeling it was time for a warm and a beverage, we went into Costa for coffee.
We set out again along Goswell Road towards our goal, the Barbican Estate, two of whose Brutalist towers were now in view.
Photo by Tigger
The Barbican Estate is a residential complex built to replace housing destroyed by bombing. There is also a public library and various other public facilities such as a cinema, an exhibition hall and a cafe.
As well as tower blocks there are medium-rise apartment blocks, all in the “Brutalist” style which you either hate or love.
The first exhibition we attended consisted of various screens playing films of people performing – to me – meaningless movements or singing or… well, other stuff as well which we didn’t wait to experience. It was entitled Chorus in Rememory of Flight. Maybe it meant something to some of the spectators but to me it seemed pretentious nonsense of which there is a glut in art circles these days. If that marks me as a Philistine then I am happy to wear that badge.
The exhibition we had come to see was about “popular music”, something that Tigger is keen on. (I find it difficult to relate the terms “popular” and “music” in any meaningful way.) The exhibition was entitled From the Cariibean to Coventry, subtitle “Plotting the Rise of 2Tone”. If that means something to you, so well and good, but it means nothing to me.
There were exhibits of various kinds but the exhibition, held in a relatively small area, was uncomfortably crowded and so, after a quick look round, we left.
Leaving the Barbican, we walked down to Finsbury Square where we soon had a number 214 bus. It carried us up the hill to the Angel where…
…we found L’Angelo Cafe open and went in for lunch, a pleasant way to end our outing.
After this we returned home where we have made tea and where we will stay in hibernation until tomorrow when the need to go shopping will draw us out into to cold once more.
A stroll with coffee
As it’s the first day of the New Year, we thought we had better show willing and go for a walk, if only to have coffee and come back home.
We set off down St John Street which was unusually quiet. All the shops were shut and there were few people about, whether on foot or on wheels.
We cut through Brewhouse Yard.
The “yard” takes its name from the brewery that used to operate within in. Brewing ceased long ago but the building survives, diverted to other purposes.
Its rather fine front door is still in place.
Walking through the yard, we crossed into Goswell Road.
A nearby branch of Costa was open so in we went! We ordered coffee and individual panettones.
Setting off again, we walked along Old Street, normally a busy thoroughfare but today as quiet as everywhere else.
We spotted these two stand-pipes with spinning cowls on top. I suspect they may be ventilation pipes for the sewers but I am nor certain.
We walked through this residential complwx called the Wenlake Estate.
We emerged beside the 18th-century Church of St Luke Old Street, with its impressively tall but narrow spire. Having become derelict and at risk of demolition, the building was rescued and refurbished to become the home of the London Symphony Orchestra.
We met a friendly cat who rolled about on the ground asking to be stroked.
We followed Radnor Street which was as quiet and deserted as the other places we had visited.
We reached City Road and saw our bus already at the stop. We hurried (no time for photos!) and managed to reach it before it departed.
The bus was a bit crowded but we managed to find seats. I took a moving picture out of the side window as the bus carried us up the hill to the Angel. We reached home just in time for lunch!
To Greenwich
It’s strange to think that this is the last weekend of the year 2023, like the last kick of a dying horse.
Just before 9 am we went out into a damp, grey world and walked down to the bus stoo at the clock tower.
We boarded a number 43 bus.
We stopped off at Blank Street in Moorgate for coffee and croissants.
We intended to take the DLR (Docklands Light Railway) to Greenwich, where we’re meeting friends, but found it was partially closed for some reason. We took a bus to London Bridge Underground Station.
From here we took a Jubilee Line train to Canary Wharf.
Here we eventually found the DLR station (it’s hidden sway in a shopping centre) and boarded a train for our destination at Greenwich.
Arriving at Greenwich, we saw the Cutty Sark but only from a distance.
We met our friends in the cafe of Waterstone’s bookshop.
We then went for a walk in the streets of Greenwich. This town seems to be a popular destination and there were crowds everywhere.
We approached the 18th-century (designed by Hawksmoor) Church of St Alfege. It was closed and so we were unable to look inside.
We did go into what is now known as St Alfege Park, a public amenity, but was originally the church burial ground. As is common with inner-city graveyards, most of the gravestones have been unrooted and moved to the perimeter. Too bad if you were trying to locate the resting place of an ancestor.
We met an excitable squirrel who hoped we had food to share. (We had to disappoint him.)
We came near to Greenwich’s 1930s Town Hall with its unusual tall but narrow clock tower.
As it was now lunchtime, we went into a branch of Banana Tree. There is a branch in Islington where we sometimes eat, so we knew what to expect.
Tigger wanted to show our friends Gloucester Circus, a square with a central garden rather like Granville Square in Islington. It too is accessed by a flight of steps though these are not as impressive as our Riceyman Steps.
The central garden looks pleasant enough but it is private to residents and I could only gaze through the railings.
The square contains several series of buildings of different periods, some Georgian-style with basements, like those around us in Islington, and others more modern – probably built to replace houses destroyed by wartime bombing.
This pleasantly curved run of houses all had basements and matching coal-holes in the pavement, similar to houses round our way. Note also the street lamp whose lantern is of burnished copper, not the more usual painted metal.
The square also boasts a fine pillar box bearing the cypher of Queen Victoria (note the comparatively small slot for letters).
We entered Greenwich Park and…
…walked through the grounds of the National Maritime Museum.
The grand entrance was open and receiving visitors but we did not go in this time.
We passed by the famous covered Greenwich Market. It was unpleasantly crowded and we didn’t pay it a visit.
We went to Ole & Steen for coffee and cake. It too was crowded but we found a corner where we could sit.
We parted from our friends and, before going hime, went to have a closer look at the Cutty Sark though in fact much of it is hidden by the building that contains it.
At Greenwich Station, we started for home by going down the escalators.
The platform was crowded but when the DLR train arrived, Tigger grabbed seats for us. (She’s good at that!)
Our journey home was of course the reverse of the morning’s journey and so, at Canary Wharf, we changed from the DLR to the Jubilee Line on London Underground.
The one difference was that at London Bridge, instead of catching a bus, we stayed in the Underground and changed to the Northern Line.
Four stops later, we reached the Angel and started our journey back up to the earth’s surface by taking London Underground’s longest escalator. Most passengers stand still and allow themselves to be carried upwards but some hardy souls like to walk up the escalator.
(In London, the convention is that you stand on the right on the escalator, leaving the left free for people who wish to walk. Visitors from outside London don’t always realise this and find themselves being shouted at for blocking the path.)
I was glad to escape the crowds and to relax at home over a pot of tea. Cheers!
A day at the office
Today started, as did yesterday, with a visit to Saint Espresso. (And why not? A good start is always worth repeating!)
Photo by Tigger
We again ordered a “French breakfast”, that is, coffee with croissants.
When the 205 arrived, it was moderately full and I sat in the centre seat at the back.
It turned out that our bus was being diverted because of road closures and so we left it in Great Eastern Street. A famous landmark here is a pair of old London Underground train carriages perched on supports above street level that now serve as an “artistic creative space”. They are no doubt firmly anchored but I think I would feel increasingly nervous if I were to spend time inside them.
We cut through to Shoreditch High Street passing this talking point on the way. I assume it’s meant to be a work of art though what, if anything, it is supposed to convey, I do not know. It’s vaguely reminiscent of those chocolate biscuits that are individually wrapped in coloured foil.
As we walked through here, Tigger remarked that I was looking upset. I explained that it was the effect on me of the ugliness of this architecture. I cannot understand what possesses supposedly trained architects to deliberately design such ugliness and what possesses their clients to accept such ugly designs. If I worked here, I would feel my humanity was being crushed out of me between jaws of iron. I was glad to get away.
As we walked through the back streets and squares we saw several trees made of moving and flashing lights. Around their bases are folds of white material, probably imitating the snow that London has been spared so far.
George Segal
In Exchange Square we encountered a real work of art. It used to be in Broadgate Circus and then disappeared before turning up here. It is Rush Hour by George Segal and shows a group of six people walking as in a group but each seemingly locked in his or her own thoughts and preoccupations.
The path we followed from Exchange Square took us inside Liverpool Street Station where we had a view, over a 6-foot tall glass fence, of trains quietly awaiting being assigned their next duties.
We reached London Wall and hailed a number 100 bus to complete our journey.
On arrival, we paid a quick visit to the local branch of Sainsbury’s to buy the makings of lunch.
Reaching the office, we established ourselves in the meeting room we occupied yesterday. We enjoyed our lunch and then Tigger went off to do her tasks, leaving me comfortably seated in one of the big red armchairs.
When I first came in here yesterday, I looked all round the walls for a power point for my phone and couldn’t find a single one. Tigger revealed the secret: the power points are in the floor in the middle of the room. Because in meetings, projectors, recorders and other electronic devices may be used, it makes sense to have power points where these will be set up.
Later in the afternoon when things had quietened down, I decamped to the reception area where Tigger was working and had made me a cup of tea. (You might be able to spot my hat lurking on a cabinet.)
In between writing this blog post and drinking tea, I read some more of the book Marseille Noir, one of those that Tigger bought me for Christmas. Each story features a district of Marseille – or even the whole town – as an important element in the narrative. Some of the stories are particularly noir, a word we might translate in this context as “bleak” or “dark”, involving crime or human tragedy.
At 6 pm, we put on our coats and headed through the darkness to St Katharine Docks. We often eat out on Friday and thought we try the Docks today.
We walked through Docks, looking at the lights.
There were tables free at Café Rouge and their “Festive Menu” included acceptable vegetarian options.
After our meal, we made our way up to the main road, called East Smithfield, which, as usual, was quite busy, and waited for a bus.
We caught a number 100 bus to start our journey home. It had been a good day during which I had enjoyed Tigger’s company, despite her being at work, but I was glad to reach home and put my feet up.
First day back
Holidays, like all good things, must come to an end and Tigger has to return to work today. As her presence is required only from 12:30 to 18:00, it was decided that I could accompany her.
We started with a visit to Saint Espresso in Pentonville Road as it is near the bus stop so we can make a dash when the 205 is due.
Photo by Tigger
We there partook of a “French breakfast”, as Tigger calls it, coffee with croissants.
When we emerged to catch our bus, it was raining hard and we had to take care not to be splashed by passing traffic.
We boarded a number 205 bus and set off towards the City.
We transferred to a single-deck 100 which brought us into the edges of Docklands…
…a place of tall buildings and an unlived-in feel, like some sort of gigantic film set.
As we were early, we spent a while in a branch of Urban Baristas, one of the new style coffee houses that have come rolling in, seemingly intending to displaces old favourites like Starbuck’s, Costa and Caffè Nero. Their functional, uncomfortable seating seems a deliberate part of the image they seek to create. (The coffee cups tend to be small as well,)
We then went to Tigger’s office and occupied in one of the unused meeting rooms. We ate the lunch that we had bought on the way in and then Tigger went to work, leaving me in sole possession.
Tigger’s office and the meeting room are on the fourth floor. The windows of the meeting room are full-length, meaning that when you stand at the window it feels as if you are standing on the edge of a cliff. (Well, it does if you are me and have a phobia of heights.) I steeled myself to go to the window and take this photo.
Wherever you go, the lights come on automatically and then go out again after a few minutes if the sensors do not detect any movement. If you sit still and the lights go out, you have to wave your arms until this causes them to come on again. I walked through an area where there were dozens of desks with computers but no humans to be seen. Very few had come in to work. In fact, since the pandemic, the habit of “WFH” (working from home) has been taken up so enthusiastically that bosses are now resorting to various coercive actions to try to draw employees back into the office, for at least a few days per week.
6 pm took a while to arrive but turned up eventually. We went out in the cold once more. Happily, our bus appeared within a minute or two.
I was surprised to find the bus crowded as the streets were empty.
Tigger wanted a takeaway coffee so we left the bus and walked up Old Broad Street towards Liverpool Street Station. On the way, we called in at a Starbuck’s for the coffee.
We walked through the station which was as busy as an overturned ants’ nest.
On the other side of the bus station, we could see our bus, a 153, lurking: the driver was taking him statutory break.
The bus came at last, we went aboard and it carried us through Clerkenwell back to the Angel.
While going to work is nothing new for Tigger, for me it had novelty value. All being well, I will have another chance to try it again tomorrow!
Dull but warm
When I was a child, Christmas seemed a rare event but as I have aged, the years have become shorter snd shorter and, hardly have we dispensed with one Christmas before the next one hauls into view with all the fuss, commercialism and endless repetition of Christmas music blaring out of radios and loudspeakers. For me, happiness at Christmas, or at any other time of year, is sharing it with the one I love.
We went out at about 11 am. I remarked to Tigger on the unusual quality of the daylight – a slight rusty coloration. Perhaps it has something to do with this being slated as the warmest Christmas for many years (though, at 12°C, it doesn’t feel all that warm).
Tigger had done her homework and was thus able to state that all local businesses were closed today with one exception – Starbuck’s. So thither we went, finding a vacant table on the first floor.
Despite coming here many times before, I had never noticed that from here one can look along Goswell Road (on the right in the semi-circular window). The arguably more important City Road is hidden by the ugly building works.
Tigger chose her usual latte but as I don’t like Starbuck’s coffee, I preferred tea. Not that it was much better. We also had ginger biscuits which, unlike the coffee, were very good.
Tigger proposed going for a walk and off we went, first passing along White Lion Street, named after a tavern that once stood here.
As we progressed, a light rain began to fall. That was enough to persuade us to curtail the proposed walk and make for home.
At home, we made lunch and settled in comfortably for the rest of the day.
I wish all my readers a happy and peaceful Christmas.
Lazy Christmas Eve
We had a long lie-in this morning and why not? It is, after all, Christmas Eve and, in the words of the song, a season to be merry.
When we eventually bestirred ourselves (well after 11 am) we first paid a visit to Saint Coffee.
Photo by Tigger
We hoped for a “French breakfast” but they had no croissants so we made do with coffee in its own. (By now you know who had what!)
Tigger reckoned we needed to top up our Christmas shopping with a few more items. We could have gone straight to the shop but we decided to add a little bit of a walk to it for good luck. We went round by Duncan Terrace.
You may recall that Duncan Terrace runs alongside the course of the New River though this is now covered up by Duncan Terrace Gardens.
Several of the houses had Christmas wreaths on their doors which we dutifully photographed. I’m including just a sample pair as you are probably becoming bored with them now.
We turned up Duncan Street on whose corner (the left corner in the photo) stands the old Clerkenwell County Court. It no longer dispenses justice, though, having been converted into a residential block.
These streets are named after Viscount Adam Duncan, who, as admiral, secured victory over the Dutch in 1797 – about the time when Duncan Terrace was being built.
We passed through the Angel Central shopping and entertainment centre which was very busy.
A small Christmas market had been set up with just a few stalls.
For a change, we went into Waitrose for our shopping instead of Sainsbury’s. The layout was unfamiliar to us so it took a while to find what we wanted. (There seem to be two distinct clienteles, one who shoos in Sainsbury’s and the other that shops in Waitrose.)
To pay, there were two queues, one for the manned checkouts and a second one for self-checkouts. As we had only a few items, we chose the latter, thinking it was be quicker.
On the corner of Chapel Market with Liverpool Road is a pub currently called the Islington Townhouse (it has been altered and refurbished many times and has traded under many different names). Casting a curious eye over their menu, Tigger saw that they offer Sunday Roast. There are several options, one of which is vegetarian. So we took a chance and went in.
Ohoto by Tigger
The vegetarian options were Vegetarian Haggis or Vegetable Wellington. What arrived on out table was neither of those but a vegetable pie. Probably we should have complained and sent it back but, to be honest, it felt like too much trouble. We’ll just avoid this pub in future.
Carrying our shopping, we started for home, walking through Chapel Market. It was quite busy as you would expect on Christmas Eve as people are, like us, making their last-minute purchases.
Soon the sun will go down and darkness spread across the land, leaving the sky to Santa Claus in his mad dash across the world to deliver his stack of presents. If you would like to follow his progress, you can do so by opening the Norad Santa website. Ain’t modern technology wonderful? 🙂
Neighbourhood ramble
This year, Christmas has seemed to creep up on me almost unnoticed and the reality only hit me suddenly yesterday when Tigger took me round to Sainsbury’s for our Christmas shopping.
Tigger came home early from work yesterday and does not have to return until Thursday. Five whole days together is the best Christmas pressent.
We made a lazy start to the day and emerged into a windy, grey day only around 11 am. A local ramble seemed appropriate especially as we had an errand to run in Exmouth Market.
It is of course the season for Christmas wreaths and pictures of a few of those we saw decorate this post. There is a whole range from tiny, scarcely noticeable wreaths to elaborate doorway displays. Even so, there are fewer wreaths than during Christmas 2021, perhaps because, with the pandemic fading into history, people are more outward looking and spending less time at home.
In Exmouth Market, we went to Caffè Nero for what Tigger calls “a French breakfast”, that is coffee and croissants.
Later, we walked down the passage called Northampton Row. (Several streets and squares are named after the Marquess of Northampton who owned land in this neighbourhood before transferring it to public ownership.)
This brought us into Spa Fields, which has had a turbulent history but is today a pleasant park.
We went to look for the grape vine that grows here. In summer its luxuriant foliage had filled the trees in which it anchored itself. By now, the leaves had all gone and the vine itself could hardly by distinguished among the bare branches of the winter-bare trees. Here and there, a bunch grapes hung, now dried up and shrivelled.
I don’t know the purpose of this strange building in the middle of the park but, in any case, it was locked up and quiet.
This tree seems quite healthy despite leaning at a severe angle. Such trees are apt to be blown down in a gale though this one has survived so far.
We left the park and took to te streets once more, noting a few more Christmas wreaths in passing.
We came into Sekforde Street where the Grade Ii listed Finsbury and City of London Savings Bsnk still stands, proudly displaying its address as “18 and a half Sekforde Street”. Charles Dickens is said to have had an account here. No longer a bank, it has been converted to residential use.
Perched above what was once the Manager’s Entrance…
…i spied a pigeon couple, thoughtfully watching the street and my heart went out to them. Such is my affection and sympathy for Columba Livia that I sometimes wonder whether I was a pigeon in a previous life.
Sekforde Street, incidentally, is named after an Eluzabethan notable, Thomas Sekforde, though the street would have been built and named long after his time.
We crossed St John Street near Finsbury Library which was open. Public libraries are under threat and many have closed or been made partially self-service or turned over to volunteers to run or simply closed altogether. A library that is open and functioning is a cause for celebration.
We passed through Northampton Square, another property once owned by the aforementioned marquess.
Here we encountered two more fully decorated doorways.
Entering Goswell Road, we went to a bus stop. The street was unusually quiet and it was a while before a bus arrived.
A number 56 bus brought us back to the Angel which is looking very untidy at present because of building works.
We found L’Angelo Cafe open and went in for lunch.
Photo by Tigger
Before going home, we went into Saint Coffee for a last coffee. We were the only customers and were offered free cake. This provided a pleasant way to round off our outing.
Southwark Cathedral
After shopping and lunch, we ventured out again into the cold, grey world.
We walked to the clock tower and boarded a number 43 bus.
The bus brought us to London Bridge which is decorated at its southern end by a spike made of Portland stone blocks. What’s it for? The idea that it exists as a reminder of the good old bad old days when the heads of executed criminals were displayed on spikes on the original bridge is, sadly perhaps, an urban myth. Officially named the Southwark Gateway Needle, its purpose is anodyne and even a tad obscure. This Londonist website provides an explanation of sorts.
If you visit the bridge you will notice that the pavement on the eastern (right in the photo) side is protected from road traffic by hefty barriers. These were put in place after a terrorist attack in 2017 when a van was deliberately driven into pedestrians on the bridge. The western (left) pavement, however, is relatively scantily protected from motor vehicles merely by a cycle lane.
Photo by Tigger
We went onto the bridge to have coffee in this interesting coffee bar called Roasting Plant Coffee. On one side of the premises, the beans of the various types of coffee brewed here are visibly roasted and delivered to chutes labelled “JUST – ROASTED”. It’s quite amusing to watch – well, for a while, at least.
Photo by Tigger
Another peculiarity of the coffee bar is that the coffee is served in glasses, not ceramic (or paper) cups. Does this make the coffee taste better? I couldn’t say.
We walked down to Southwark Cathedral which, from the main road (Southwark High Street) seems to lie in a hollow. Designated a cathedral only in 1905, the church has a long history during which is was damaged by fire twice and rebuilt and altered on many occasions (see the linked article for details).
From the main road, one way to the entrance of the cathedral is through a crowded Borough Market which is a foodies’ paradise and was uncomfortably crowded.
This building is of course a church and, for believers, a place of worship. However, it is also a tourist attraction and this has been accepted by those in charge to the point of making it easy and pleasant to visit.
The caption reads: “An Oolitic limestone sculpture, found in a well beneath Southwark Cathedral”.
At the bottom of this pit were found remains of a Roman road and masonry fragments from earlier versions of the church that, after a thousand years, was to become a cathedral.
This photo perhaps give some impression of the large scale of the building.
The vaulted roof and, indeed all the stonework, is complex in pattern.
This stained glass window is a memorial to William Shakespeare with an effigy of the bard reclining below it. (You’ve probably noticed that in churches, human figures tend to be horizontal rather than vertical.)
Here are a further couple further examples of horizontal human figures.
Angels are allowed to be upright though I’m not sure which angel this is.
In many churches, the high altar is cordoned off but here, unusually, one can approach it.
At the rear of the church is a row of four small chapels, all very similar to one another.
One of the altars contains this rather strange attempt at a Nativity scene.
When we’d seen enough, we left the cathedral and, to avoid the market, climbed 39 stone steps to reach the bus stop on the bridge. We started our journey by catching a number 141 bus.
We changed buses at Finsbury Square.
We transferred to a single-deck 214 that carried us the rest of the way back to the Angel and home.
Sadly, that brings us to the end of Tigger’s holiday so we must make the most of this evening while also looking forward to Christmas.
SilverTiger 3 