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  • London – City of London – Police Call Box

    London – City of London – Police Call Box

    This police call box, which is no longer in use, is located where Aldersgate Street joins St Martin’s Le Grand. It was installed here in 1935 and the listed building record notes that it’s a relatively rare survival. It’s a chunky piece of iron and although bits have dropped off, the instructions for use have apparently remained. They were once a handy way of alerting the police to an incident and there was no charge made for using them. They were taken out of usage in the 1960s and most were destroyed, but a handful still remain in the city.

    The police box from the side, which has recently been painted a much lighter shade of blue that it had previously. This is deliberate as paint analysis was done on these boxes and it was discovered that this was closer to the original colour scheme.

  • Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue – Day 176

    Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue – Day 176

    The Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue was first published at the end of the eighteenth century, and given that the current health crisis is giving too much time to read books, I thought I’d pick a daily word from it until I got bored….

    Kingdom Come

    Another cheery little definition from Grose, he defines this as “he is gone to kingdom come, he is dead”. It’s better known now as a computer game franchise and also as a phrase in the Lord’s Prayer, although there it’s a reference to the Kingdom of God that will come in the future. This future state of glory is also relevant to the meaning of the phrase, it just means the next phase and in human terms that means being dead.

    The phrase had fallen out of favour, but its new meaning has seen a recent rise in usage.

  • Craft Beer and Brewing – Melvin Me, Myself and Thai

    Craft Beer and Brewing – Melvin Me, Myself and Thai

    I’ve decided, I need to spend several weeks in the United States next year. I keep reading Craft Beer and Brewing magazine and there are hundreds of beers that I want to try. The people of Alpine, Wyoming should feel very pleased to have this sort of innovation. Just remember that the people of Bury St. Edmunds have Greene King IPA.

  • London – Westminster (Borough of) – Frank Pick Memorial at Piccadilly Circus

    London – Westminster (Borough of) – Frank Pick Memorial at Piccadilly Circus

    There’s a new one-way system at Piccadilly Circus which is of no relevance here other than it meant I had to go a different way to enter the underground network. Which meant that for the first time I saw this rather lovely tribute to Frank Pick, the first Chief Executive of the London Passenger Transport Board. He oversaw the introduction of new modern station buildings, new fonts and also the now famous roundel used across London Transport.

    This installation was opened on 7 November 2016, commemorating the 75th anniversary of Pick’s death. Apparently a quiet and thoughtful man who shunned publicity, he declined a knighthood and a Peerage when they were offered to him. Nikolaus Pevsner, who as far as I’m concerned is the final word on matters such as this said:

    “He is the greatest patron of the arts whom this century has so far produced in England, and indeed the ideal patron of our age”.

    A true honour from such a respected man as Pevsner.

  • Hull – Lion and Key

    Hull – Lion and Key

    This is a pub that I hadn’t been to on my previous visit to Hull and I hadn’t expected it to have so much character internally. There was a huge choice of ales, over ten, with three darker options. The staff member was helpful and engaging, being able to make a recommendation when I asked what they had.

    The suggestion was the Peculiar from Cathead, which I only discovered after is made in house at the brewery they own themselves. I went for half a pint of this and it had a pleasant taste, but it wasn’t in great state and I thought it was on the turn. Or, perhaps, just not pulled through as we arrived soon after the pub had opened. Either way, it didn’t really meet my expectations, but was still drinkable.

    And some photos of the pub, with the labels on the ceiling adding a huge amount of character. Although, that Fosters one seems a little out of place. It’s great to see pubs with such an innovative interior and there was a homely feel, with plenty of reserved tables from those planning to dine. The pub is well-reviewed and their food seems to be quite acclaimed, so perhaps I’ll visit again for that next year. I’m not sure why the beer I had wasn’t perfect, but the selection of beers was substantial and much wider than I would expect from a pub.

  • Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue – Day 175

    Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue – Day 175

    The Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue was first published at the end of the eighteenth century, and given that the current health crisis is giving too much time to read books, I thought I’d pick a daily word from it until I got bored….

    Kill Care Club

    This is defined by Grose as “the members of this club, styled also the Sons of Sound Sense and Satisfaction, met at their fortress, the Castle Tavern, in Paternoster Row”. There’s some good timing with my working through the dictionary as, by chance, I walked through Paternoster Square today in London, which is the remnants of what was a badly damaged area during the Second World War.

    Paternoster Row was until the Second World War a home of book publishing, with millions of books destroyed during the Blitz. The Castle Tavern had long since closed by then, but it was located on the north side of Paternoster Row, between Eagle and Child Court and Lovels Alley. As for the club, I have no idea, it’s something that Grose must have been intrigued by and there’s little else that has been written about them.

  • Hull – George Hotel (Second Visit)

    Hull – George Hotel (Second Visit)

    This is my second visit to the George in Hull, I first visited late last year. This was what I considered the pub most fortunate to be in the Good Beer Guide, with a rather generic selection of beers. It’s a Craft Union pub, which seem to me to be on a downwards trajectory to say the least, with the ‘craft’ in their name being a complete mystery to me.

    Social distancing was being enforced and the staff member was helpful and engaging. The beer selection was similar to that last year in terms of there being little of interest. The Wainwright from Marston’s Brewery was well-kept, but I didn’t find much of interest with the beer. I’m guessing the problem here is the Craft Union selection of beers is limiting the pub from offering anything innovative, local or unusual. Another customer called the Wainwright “rubbish” when the member of bar staff offered it to him, he went with the Brain’s Bitter instead, with Adnams Ghost Ship being the other choice. There were no dark beers available.

    It’s a fascinating building though, especially with their smallest window in the UK claim to fame I mentioned last time I posted.

    I think it’s fair to say that this isn’t a pub for me.

  • Hull – Wake Up Hull Protest

    Hull – Wake Up Hull Protest

    The police carefully watching over a demonstration in Hull which was telling the people of the city to wake up and not wear face masks or believe the Government hype about the current health situation.

    I’m disappointed to hear media reports that some on the protest decided to berate passer-bys, but perhaps that’s all part of the media cover-up that they’re talking of. Individuals can make their own mind up about this little arrangement, but to be fair to them, they did have around 50 people or so there, which is more than I thought they would have got.

  • Random Post – Fixed Penalty Charge

    Random Post – Fixed Penalty Charge

    This is just spam, unless the HM Courts are now operating from a favela in Brazil, which is mostly evident by it’s unlikely I’d get a penalty charge in the absence of owning a car….. Quite believeable though in some ways, although I’m amused by the fact there’s only one contact centre option and that’s currently unavailable. Hopefully no-one will get scammed by it.

  • Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue – Day 174

    Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue – Day 174

    The Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue was first published at the end of the eighteenth century, and given that the current health crisis is giving too much time to read books, I thought I’d pick a daily word from it until I got bored….

    Kent-Street Ejectment

    This term is defined by Grose as “to take away the street door: a method practised by the landlords in Kent Street, Southwark, when their tenants are above a fortnight’s rent in arrear”. Kent Street is now better known as Tabard Street, which had its fair share of slum housing and where the poorest were taken advantage of, something which has perhaps not changed much over the centuries. Anyway, I suppose taking the door off is a pretty effective way of making someone feel unsafe and uncomfortable, but things must have got pretty bad given that the area became known for it.