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  • Costa – Iced Latte

    Just as another of my irrelevant asides, I got this drink free as part of the Vodafone Rewards app, and I’m not entirely sure that I understand these coffees. I’ve become quite a fan of cold lattes and espressos mixed with cold milk, so the drink is refreshing but still has a taste of coffee. The Costa version of iced latte, and I assume other brands, has half a cup full of ice.

    This means that the drink is now primarily a shot of weak coffee, a small amount of milk and a heap of ice. Which makes for the most watery and tasteless coffee that I’ve had in a long time. Perhaps it’s important to drink the coffee immediately in an Italian style, because otherwise it’s a pretty dreadful drink in my own very limited opinion…..

    Perhaps I’m just very exotic in my tastes.

  • London (Central) – Wooden Boat with Seven People

    This interesting artwork in Spitalfields is an actual boat which was used to transport refugees from Turkey to the islands of Greece. It has a wider meaning of showing the suffering, terror and struggle of migrants around the world who have to make such perilous crossings.

    The artwork was created in 2011, although it has been in its current site since 2017. It was designed by Kalliopi Lemos, a Greek-born sculptor and painter, who specialises in artworks relating to the politics of forced migration.

    Very much a thought-provoking piece and the location in Spitalfields is also deliberate, it’s a reminder of how the area has been welcoming to waves of migrants over the centuries.

  • London (Central) – Truman’s Black Eagle Brewery

    There was a brewing industry at this site, at Brick Lane, in London in the sixteenth century and it continued until 1989 when this enormous brewery was closed down. For a period in the nineteenth century this was the largest brewery in the world, taking its name from the nearby Black Eagle Street.

    This map from the turn of the twentieth century shows just how big this brewery had become.

    Today the area has been repurposed with numerous restaurants, residential units and offices around the site. There’s something of a creative edge to it, with numerous art events and performances taking place.

    This is the former Head Office of the brewery, a sadly once grand site now looking a little forlorn. FWIW, which isn’t much, I think the site is seriously underused, there is no museum of the brewery or area, no explanation to its history and it seems primarily used for commercialised events which have a tenuous link to the local community.

    I’m sure that there are some marvellous businesses in the area which have taken the opportunity of being in one of the most vibrant parts of London, but I felt that this area was all rather underwhelming in terms of the brewery buildings themselves.

  • London (Central) – Crown and Shuttle

    When Steve mentioned that there was no particular pub planned for the Hike Norfolk day out in London, I felt compelled to offer assistance. This was one of the pubs listed in the Good Beer Guide, so it was here that eight of us came to.

    There was no dark beer, although the barman told me that there was but it had sold out as it was popular. For reasons unknown to me, since I didn’t ask, I was unsure why the pub hadn’t found another alternative. Nothing on the beer list was particularly interesting to me, but I like Redemption Brewery, so I opted for that one.

    The prices were surprisingly reasonable given the relatively central location in London. All of the real ales were £4.80 a pint, and I was pleased that my half cost exactly £2.40, I like it when pubs charge equitably. As for the beer, it was well kept, at the appropriate temperature and there was a pleasant taste to the whole thing with a taste of honey.

    The pub’s beer garden, which was all rather comfortable.

    Brewing tanks on the bar.

    The pub interior. CAMRA notes that this pub was closed and left derelict for 12 years, before reopening in 2013. They did a good job of the restoration, it feels on-trend and contemporary. My one little complaint (other than the lack of dark beer) is that the pub doesn’t seem to make much of its history, either at the venue or on-line.

    The former back wall of the pub, which has been brought back out to increase the amount of space available.

    The service in the pub was always friendly and helpful, so the whole environment was comfortable. We didn’t need to eat at the time, but the food options looked tempting and the prices were reasonable. I’d certainly return again and thanks to CAMRA for recommending it….

  • London (Central) – Principal Place

    Principal Place is a new residential building in Shoreditch which was managing to attract the attention of many passer-bys because of their astroturf bear.

    And an astroturf chair. Although living here isn’t really a cheap lifestyle choice, as there’s currently a one-bedroom flat to rent here for the bargain price of just £3,700 per month.

  • London (Central) – Old Meets the New

    The church is St. Andrew Undershaft, with the current building dating to 1532, although there has been a church here since the twelfth century. It takes its name from when its maypole was taller than its tower and it’s quite remarkable that this church has survived at all given the blitz and IRA bombings it endured.

  • London (Central) – Leadenhall Market

    I’ve walked by the front of this market building many times, but I’m not sure that I’ve actually ever walked through it. It was once the site of a rather more traditional market, although a renovation in 1881 made it something much more upmarket.

    This area was originally the heart of Roman London and it has been a market since the fourteenth century. It was once predominantly for meat and poultry sellers, although in 1488 it was repurposed to only be used by leather sellers. The market was destroyed during the Great Fire of London in 1666 and after that it was covered over for the first time.

    Today it’s mainly modern shops, restaurants and wine bars who occupy the space.

    Although this is a bustling location during the week, it’s rather quieter at weekends since nearly everything here appears to be closed.

  • London (Central) – Sky Garden Views

    Further to my post about a visit to the Sky Garden, below are photos of the views.

  • London (Central) – Sky Garden

    Our visit here was part of Steve’s trip to London and the component parts of the day were mostly kept as a secret to surprise us. When he told us that we were visiting a garden I made clear how unexcited I was, expecting that I’d be looking at some silly little planting effort.

    So, it’s fair to say that I was pleased when we got to 20 Fenchurch Street, which is better known as the Walkie Talkie. There are free tickets available to the three storey garden at the top of the building, and Steve had obtained these for us.

    The Sky Garden isn’t provided by the generosity of the landlord, it’s a requirement of the planning process as this skyscraper wouldn’t normally have been allowed to be built where it is. It seems that there is some controversy about how much effort has been made with the gardens which spread across three floors, but I still think that they look impressive.

    I thought it was an interesting and exciting experience, with the views over the city being extensive (more of which in a separate post). There’s a security process to get into the tower where bags are checked in an airport style arrangement, but this didn’t take too long.

    For anyone who fancies hiring the entire gardens, it’s a bargain, just £35,000 per day plus VAT, and a minimum spend of £25,000 plus VAT for catering.

  • London (Central) – Whitechapel Threads

    This sculpture was designed by brother and sister Tim Coppard and Hattie Coppard and was installed in 1996 as part of the Bethnal Green City Challenge Regeneration Programme. It is sited at the entrance to the Brick Lane Market and is designed to be a reminder of the garment and textile industry which was once so important to the local community. Standing five metres high, the bronze sculpture was made at Meridian Fine Arts Foundry.