Just a photo, but I liked it, one of the roundels at Clapham Common underground station has been replaced with a “Winter Walks” sign. I approve…..
Category: Lambeth (Borough of)
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London – Lambeth (Borough of) – Waterloo Station – Former Eurostar Platforms
Another in my series of niche posts (although, to be fair, I rarely veer into mainstream posts…..). These are the former platforms at Waterloo Station which were used by Eurostar between 14 November 1994 and 13 November 2007, when the services were moved to St Pancras railway station. It was decided that St Pancras was a better long-term solution for Eurotunnel, as that’s the end (or beginning, depending where you’re going) of HS1, not too far from the end of HS2 which is at nearby Euston.
I’m glad to see the platforms back in use, as since December 2018 they have been used by South Western Railway. I’d noticed they were in use before, but hadn’t had a need to use them since they opened.
The platforms are on the left-hand side of the above aerial photo, with the cursor marking where I was standing to take the photos.
This is what the station looked like at the beginning of the twentieth century and it can be seen just how much land these buildings took up, and how much had been demolished to allow for their construction.
On that subject, and apologies it’s not very clear, but there’s the area at the end of the eighteenth century, with the cursor marking where Waterloo Station is today. It’s fair to say that this south river side of London has changed considerably over the last 200 years.
This additional section of Waterloo railway station was first opened at a cost £120 million to provide a connection for the London to France rail link which used the Channel Tunnel. There was an inaugural service on 6 May 1994 which carried HM the Queen and the then British Prime Minister John Major to a formal opening ceremony in Calais. Passengers got to use the platforms a few months later when all the official approvals had been granted.
It seemed a shame that this whole section of the station was closed off after 2007, with just some temporary usage when work was going on in the main part of the terminal. Here, they retain their open look and are now firmly back being used by the rail network. All spacious, with plenty of seating before the gatelines, still I think looking bright and modern.
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London – Lambeth (Borough of) – Brewdog Brixton
I’ve been merrily working my way around all the Brewdogs in London and just as I thought I was about to finish that task at Brixton, I discover that Brewdog have a pub near Tower Bridge and have now opened a new bar in Ealing. This journey might take longer than I had anticipated, but I am trying to remain committed.
I turned up at this Brewdog with a mess of a reservation, of my own making. I arrived an hour early, was far too hot and I had realised I had accidentally booked the limitless cauliflower wings rather than the limitless chicken wings. Fortunately, someone who appeared to be the manager was very forgiving and was able to resolve all the little issues that I had caused before I was even seated (and I walked in the wrong door as well to add to the situation). I’m sure cauliflower wings are probably lovely, but it wasn’t quite what I was looking for in a visit.
The bar wasn’t busy, so I could sit anywhere. It’s a slightly smaller outlet than I had expected for Brewdog, a little more compact than the Norwich one (which doesn’t help many people reading this if they haven’t visited Norwich Brewdog). I’m not sure how well all this fits into Brixton either, which has a character very much of its own.
The view looking towards the front of the bar.
The beer fridge and bar area, with a relatively limited selection of cans for a Brewdog.
This was a delight, the Blackcurrant Trifle from Mad Scientist brewery in Budapest. It’s an imperial pastry gose and the manager at the bar wasn’t wrong when he said it hits you at the back of the throat with the tartness and acidity. But, it’s a beautiful beer and a beer style that I’m starting to enjoy more, I’m liking those sharp flavours. This style of beer was once very popular in Germany and is making something of a comeback, so that’s another reason I’ll have to visit Germany soon.
The first plate of chicken wings arrived. Unlike when we visited the Norwich bar a few weeks ago, the wings were pretty much on demand here. That was aided by there being nearly no customers, a situation that certainly helped on chicken wing delivery times. They’re not the easiest thing to eat without covering the nearby area with sauce, but they’re always tender and that blue cheese sauce is a little decadent treat. Credit to Brewdog for opening up these bars at the moment, it must be marginal as to whether they’re actually making any money with the number of customers who are out, but hopefully the good times will roll again soon enough.
And then the Tonkoatko from Brew York arrived, which is an outstanding imperial stout. A common comment on this beer is that it’s like a liquid Bounty bar, because of the chocolate and coconut tastes. A rich mouthfeel and punchy aftertastes of Bounty ingredients, whilst also retaining a sweetness despite it being an 8.5% imperial stout, this was another magnificent beer from Brew York. I’m going to York in a few weeks I will have to investigate their tap room.
The chicken wings kept coming……
The engagement from Brewdog staff is very often excellent and this bar was just as friendly as the Canary Wharf branch that we visited a few days ago. Everything was clean, organised and laid-back, a comfortable atmosphere and the best bar that I’m aware of in Brixton. How very lovely.
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London – Lambeth (Borough of) – Hercules
I saw this pub when leaving Lambeth North underground station and it wasn’t listed in the Good Beer Guide and there didn’t seem anything obviously exciting. But, it looked an interesting building and I had anticipated getting half a pint of London Pride.
The welcome was authentic, prompt and engaging, with the staff member seeming personable and keen to welcome customers. I looked at the beers on the pump clips and there were a few options, but I asked if there was anything dark anyway as it’s best to check.
What I had managed to miss was the huge selection of beers behind the bar, with four dark options available. This was a ridiculously good selection and it’s marvellous to get offered dark beers of varying strengths. The staff member was very tempting in selling the imperial stout, but I went with the rather more moderate Coldblooded from Siren Craft Brew. This was a decent beer, initially unexciting perhaps, but with a delightful lingering taste of chocolate. I like this from a beer, subtle but with an element of decadence and it grew on me during the drinking.
There weren’t any other customers for a while, although a couple came in for a Diet Pepsi each. It was a moderate shame that the pub’s fine beer selection wasn’t being taken advantage of and they must get busy in the evenings to justify having this range. There was a food menu available, but it was quite punchy in terms of the pricing and they probably needed a better value lunch-time menu given the current situation.
All told, I think that this pub should be in the Good Beer Guide and it has changed my mind entirely about Fuller’s, as this is a beautiful location. I also liked how pro-active the staff member was in offering samples of beers, it gives me confidence in what they’re offering and it gave him a chance to show his knowledge. Friendly, comfortable and welcoming, it might yet be a candidate for my pub of the year…..
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London – Lambeth – Imperial War Museum (Another War Recruitment Poster)
On the theme (well, I posted about one other) of recruitment posters at the Imperial War Museum photo archive, this (© IWM Q 33121) is another First World War recruiting poster. I wonder whether a similar campaign would work today if they needed men (or women now) to fight, would a call to protect Queen and country be enough? Hopefully we’ll never need to find out….
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London – Lambeth – Imperial War Museum (War Recruitment Poster)
This poster can be found on the on-line collection (© IWM Q 71310) rather than the physical displays of the Imperial War Museum, but it’s an interesting poster and I was intrigued by the reference to Lovain as I hadn’t heard of it. The town is in Belgium, better known as Leuven today, and on 25 August 1914 the Germans attacked the town and went on a frenzy of destruction, including wrecking the university’s library and destroying 230,000 books including over 1,000 incunables. The British helped to re-equip the library after the war, although it was destroyed again during the Second World War with over one million books destroyed.
Anyway, the poster is a reminder of how the Government wanted the Germans to be portrayed during the First World War, which was as a population who couldn’t be trusted. The allegations of firing on the sacred Red Cross and trashing cities certainly caused anger and concern amongst the British people, so I imagine this was a particularly successful campaign.
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London – Lambeth – Imperial War Museum (Margaret Thatcher Spitting Image Puppet)
I’m not sure that I expected to see this former Spitting Image puppet of Baroness Thatcher at the Imperial War Museum, although it’s with reference to her image as a strong war leader when the Falklands Islands were attacked by Argentina.
The puppet is made from metal, copper alloy and polyurethane foam, with a latex skin. It’s just over a metre in height and it was shown in the television’s musical sketch, ‘Go Now’. It appears in the Youtube video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KCO5q1SQJNQ, although it’s shown there backwards in an attempt I assume to avoid copyright issues.
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London – Lambeth – Imperial War Museum (Car Bomb)
I thought that this was a powerful exhibit at the Imperial War Museum, it’s an Iraqi civilian vehicle which was destroyed by a suicide bomber at the Mutanabbi Street book market in Baghdad, Iraq, on 5 March 2007. There were 38 people killed and over 100 people injured, with the artist Jeremy Deller then taking the car on tour in the United States as a reminder of the impact of war and hatred. The street was devastated by the attack and it wasn’t restored until 18 December 2008, when the then Iraqi President Nouri al-Maliki was present at a ceremony at its re-opening.
Abdul Baqi Faidhullah, a local poet, said at the time:
“There are no Americans or Iraqi politicians here — there are only Iraqi intellectuals who represent themselves and their homeland, plus stationery and book dealers. Those who did this are like savage machines intent on harvesting souls and killing all bright minds.”
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London – Lambeth – Imperial War Museum (Pig’s Head)
I have to say (write) that this is rather unusual…. Back in the First World War, British sailors from HMS Glasgow saved this pig when the German cruiser Dresden was sunk in Chile as part of the 1914 Battle of the Falkland Islands. They liked the pig and it became the ship’s pet, having a lovely bath every day and, on Sundays, they put an iron cross around its neck. It was named Tirpitz, after the German head of the navy Alfred von Tirpitz.
In 1919, the loving members of the navy flogged off the pig (photographed above on the HMS Glasgow) for its meat to raise money for charity. It was purchased by William Cavendish-Bentinck, the 6th Duke of Portland, who preserved the pig’s head and trotters and gave them to the museum. It has remained in the collections of the Imperial War Museum and was first put on display in 1920 and has recently gone back in the First World War galleries. As for the trotters, they went to the replacement HMS Glasgow, but have since also arrived at the Imperial War Museum. And the pig must have been lucky for the ship, it was never damaged and it was sent for scrap in 1927 after having been used for a while as a training ship.
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London – Lambeth – Westminster Bridge Road Pret a Manger (Eat Out to Help Out)
I wouldn’t normally post about a Pret, but one thing that moderately surprised me is that around 75% of customers were saying they’d take out rather than eat in. This is surprising only insomuch that if any customer said they were eating in, then they’d get their food and drink at half price.
I took this photo at just about the only time there were no customers at the counter, there was a steady stream of sandwich and coffee buyers. The staff member at the counter didn’t mention the ‘eat out to help out campaign’, but then again he wasn’t meant to. I did though feel slightly sorry for the two people who dithered over whether to eat in or take away, then opted for the latter. It must have been quite a dilemma for Pret staff to know whether or not to mention this offer to customers.
And, back to Pret. Their food and drink is excellent, this was the half-price cheddar and pickle, one of the finest sandwich combinations that exist and, incidentally, pretty much the most popular choice at LDWA events. Anyway, I digress. I’m not sure how Pret are going to cope financially given that they are predominantly a London company and this is the area struggling at the moment to attract commuters back in. A fair few of their shops are currently closed in London and many are operating on reduced hours.
As another aside, Pret for years have refused to operate a loyalty scheme, instead they let their staff give free things to customers who they like. I’m not sure that this has been particularly effective and perhaps they should have gone down the Greggs route (I mean the Greggs loyalty app rather than selling chicken bakes, although the latter would work for me too). Now Pret has no contact details for customers and needs their customers to show loyalty.
